REPORT
A New Climate for Peace
Taking Action on Climate and Fragility Risks
This independent report, commissioned by the G7 members, identifies seven compound climate-fragility risks that pose serious threats to the stability of states and societies in the decades ahead. Based on a thorough assessment of existing policies on climate change adaptation, development cooperation and humanitarian aid, and peacebuilding, the report recommends that the G7 take concrete action, both as individual members and jointly, to tackle climate-fragility risks and increase resilience to them.
BLOG
Resilience Compass
When climate change exacerbates conflicts and crises, resilience must be the compass for foreign policy. The Resilience Compass features news, reflections and opinions on climate change and fragility, with contributions from the Wilson Center’s New Security Beat, International Alert and guest authors.
RESOURCES
Factbook, Readings, Events
This collection of resources complements and extends the analysis of the report. It contains an interactive factbook allowing users to explore case studies from around the world and provides background readings and contextualized report and event summaries.
Editor’s Pick: 10 Violent Land Conflicts
15 June, 2018 by adelphi
"Land degradation is a root cause of migration and a trigger of conflicts", said Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in a recent interview with the ECC platform. Whether for growing crops, grazing animals or constructing houses – land is a prerequisite for human life. But global pressures on land are increasing and threaten millions of livelihoods - and thus peace and stability.
Climate change: A source of conflicts or a catalyzer for them?
06 June, 2018 by Planetary Security Initiative
Can climate change be the source of conflicts or is it merely one among several catalyzers that worsen the pre-existing condition on the ground in some cases? And how can we avoid climate change mitigation and adaptation policies not to become a new source of tensions between groups in society?
The Water Wars Within: Preventing Subnational Water Conflicts
31 May, 2018 by Scott Moore
The world’s water resources have come under ever-greater strain. At the same time, institutional frameworks for managing water resources remain weak throughout most of the globe. Only about a quarter of the world’s international river basins have adequate governance arrangements to prevent and resolve conflicts. Does this mean that we can expect the 21st century to be wracked by water wars?
Environmental peacebuilding: What is it good for?
29 May, 2018 by Nina Engwicht (Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate)
Environmental peacebuilding strives to reduce conflict risks associated with natural resources and to enable societies to profit fully from their natural resource wealth. In order to be successful, it must follow a context-sensitive approach. Nina Engwicht shows that, in Sierra Leone, the environmental risk factors for conflict have only been addressed at the surface.
Europe and Central Asia's quest to achieve Zero Hunger is threatened by poverty and climate change
25 May, 2018 by FAO
Achieving Zero Hunger in Europe and Central Asia requires supporting smallholders and family farmers to reduce poverty and, in the face of climate change, managing natural resources in a sustainable way, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said on 16 May 2018.
A Watershed Moment for Iraqi Kurdistan: Subnational Hydropolitics and Regional Stability
25 May, 2018 by Marcus King (George Washington’s Elliott School and Center for Climate and Security)
Iraqi Kurdistan is blessed with abundant water resources, but these resources are under increasing stress. Changing demographics, dam building in neighboring countries, and drought have driven Kurdish hydropolitics to a critical juncture where two distinct water futures are possible—and both have implications for regional stability and for U.S. interests.
New global analysis finds water-related terrorism is on the rise
11 May, 2018 by Jennifer Veilleux and Shlomi Dinar (Florida International University)
Water-related terrorism is not a new phenomenon, but one that is currently on the rise. To better understand the strategic use of water and water infrastructure by terrorist organizations, researchers from the Florida International University looked into over 170,000 worldwide terror incidents between 1970-2016 on the search for water-related terrorism - here is what they found out.
Addressing the livelihood factor in Lake Chad’s multidimensional crisis – Interview with Anja Stache, GIZ
10 May, 2018
The Lake Chad Basin is afflicted with a multidimensional crisis, which contributing factors range from deeply-entrenched regional hostilities to environmental degradation. The vulnerability of livelihood systems to changing climate patterns adds to the security pressures by exposing local populations to intimidation and recruitment by radical groups. Anja Stache, Programme Coordinator at GIZ, explains how the German development agency helps strengthen resilience by introducing climate-smart seeds.
The State of the Field in Climate and Conflict
27 April, 2018 by Joshua Busby (Center for Climate and Security)
After nearly fifteen years of study, what do we know about the relationship between climate change and conflict? To answer this question, Joshua Busby; Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Climate and Security, focuses on five different causal pathways: agricultural production and food prices, economic growth, migration, disasters, and international and domestic institutions.
Beyond Violence: Drought and Migration in Central America’s Northern Triangle
20 April, 2018 by Carrie Seay-Fleming (University of Colorado)
Starting in 2014, the number of migrants from Central America’s Northern Triangle surged. Experts blame the region’s widespread criminal violence for spurring migration. But the Northern Triangle countries also share similar ecology, staple crops, and vulnerability to climate events. While environmental and natural resource factors are just part of the complex picture, understanding how they intersect with other migration drivers is key to creating and implementing effective policy responses.
Climate Change and Conflict: New Research for Defense, Diplomacy, and Development
06 April, 2018 by Ellie Anderson
Climate is unquestionably linked to armed conflict, but exactly how and through what pathways is a subject of much debate in the academic community...