The Basra Forum: Dialogue and Collaboration on Climate, Environment and Peace in Iraq
When: 12 October 2022 | 10:55 – 11:55
Format: Roundtable discussion
Venue: Breakout session
The failure to address climate-related challenges is contributing to citizens’ frustration and protests which are further destabilizing communities in fragile security situations. The Basra Forum for Climate, Environment and Security (BF) brings various stakeholders – and also conflicting parties – together to identify and discuss urgent climate-related matters and elaborate on actionable steps for peaceful conflict resolution. Established in 2020 with support from the Planetary Security Initiative (PSI), the BF, a local environmental peacebuilding platform, fosters dialogue to increase awareness of the impact of climate change on stability and prompt action amongst Iraqi and international political and security circles to address the political and conflict settings which are affected by climate change.
Bringing the BF to Berlin is an important step to support the continued dialogue among different stakeholders in the south to progress their agenda towards peace and resilience, whilst connecting this localised discussion to the broader global climate and security community of practice. This roundtable discussion will pick up on the most recent BF dialogue, advance the discussion, and expand the scope of the discourse to other regional or global initiatives. The roundtable speakers will reflect on domestic politics and how they hampers climate-security policies, and how initiatives such as the BF can be used as a tool to raise awareness and encourage action.
The session will be in Arabic and English with translation available.
Speakers:
- Tobias von Lossow, Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute
- Maha Yassin, Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute
- Dr. Sameh Al Muqdadi, General Manager, Green Charter Europe
Moderated by: Dr. Louise van Schaik, Head of the EU and Global Affairs Unit, Clingendael Institute