The implications for climate change and environmental degradation for dialogue and mediation processes in peace operations and crisis management
When: 22 October 2025 | 09:30 - 13:00
Format: Workshop
Overview:
Climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly recognised as central drivers of conflict, displacement, and insecurity. In regions such as the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, local peacebuilding actors are already experiencing this reality firsthand -degraded land, disrupted rainfall patterns, and diminished access to natural resources compound existing governance challenges and fuel instability.
At the same time, there is growing evidence that intentionally addressing the intersection of climate change, environmental degradation, and conflict holds significant potential for conflict resolution and long-term peacebuilding. Small, tangible local initiatives can generate meaningful peace dividends by building trust between communities in conflict. Broader prospects for durable peace can be further strengthened through improved natural resource management, climate adaptation, and the embedding of sound environmental governance into peacebuilding frameworks.
The workshop focused on how to design peace processes that address these risks at local, national, and regional levels, and what partnerships and institutional changes are needed to make mediation genuinely climate-informed. Linking local innovations to institutional reforms is essential - in many conflict-affected regions, environmental peacebuilding is not merely an environmental concern, but a foundational development and security imperative.
About the organisers:
This workshop was organised by the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management (CoE), the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), the Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC), the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It brought together practitioners and policymakers from the UN system, regional organisations, peacebuilding NGOs, and the research community.
Return to BCSC's 2025 official side events