Essential Concepts of Environmental Peacebuilding: An Az Guide

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the essential concepts of environmental conflict and peacebuilding by compiling and explaining key terms in an easy-to-navigate A–Z format.

Over the past 80 years, scholarly interest in war and peace has flourished, resulting in the institutionalization of disciplines such as international relations, security studies, and peace and conflict studies. Since at least the 1970s, research has also investigated the planetary effects of global environmental change. Environmental peacebuilding emerged at the intersection of environment, conflict, and peace, weaving together several related threads that address both environmental risks of conflict and environmental opportunities for peace. The language used to describe, explain, predict, teach, negotiate, and form policy in the arena of environmental peacebuilding is often nuanced, evolving, and contested. This book fills a gap in the literature by providing a consistent understanding and approach to key aspects of environmental peacebuilding. The book begins with a thematic introduction to contextualize the topic, written by a team of world-leading scholars. The book then follows an A–Z format, with over 150 entries from experts in the field describing and explaining key concepts and providing examples of how different terms are applied within this growing discipline.

This comprehensive A–Z guide will be useful for students, academics, professionals, and policymakers seeking a wider understanding of environmental peacebuilding. The book will also be useful for those studying security studies, peace and conflict studies, environmental studies, and environmental law.

Carl Bruch is Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and Executive Director of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx), USA. His research focuses on environmental law, policy, and practice in conflict-affected situations.

Rachel Weaver holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, USA, with concentrations in Environmental Economics and Policy, and Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems. At Duke, she served as a Graduate Research Assistant and as a Member of the Conference Secretariat for the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.

Richard Matthew is Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine, USA. He is Director of UCI’s Climate and Urban Sustainability Program and the Alec Glasser Center for the Power of Music and Social Change. His research focuses on the connections among climate change, conflict, health, and displacement in highly vulnerable regions.

Erika Weinthal is John O. Blackburn Distinguished Professor of Environmental Policy, a Member of the Bass Society of Fellows at Duke University, and the President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, USA. She specializes in global environmental politics and environmental security with an emphasis on water and energy.

Larry Swatuk is Emeritus Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is also Extraordinary Professor in the Institute for Water Studies, University of the Western Cape, South Africa; External Researcher, Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, Germany; and Vice-President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.