GECHS

The workshop on conflict prevention and climate change is an initiative by the Madariaga European Foundation and Folke Bernadotte Academy, and will be held on thursday the 24. April in Brussels. The workshop will focus on the analysis of the main security risks caused by climate change and will address the possible responses of the international community. A multi-stakeholder audience is welcomed, fostering a discussion between actors from different sectors and nations, in order to improve cooperation and partnership. In addition, on the 25. April a Dialogue Forum for senior experts will exchange views on security implications and development needs related to climate change in Africa. These events will launch a two-year programme on “Conflict Prevention in Practice”, composed by workshops, dialogue fora and training sessions. Deadline for registration is 22. April 2008. For more information, visit the Madariaga European Foundation website.

The links between climate change, peace and war are analysed in the recent publication “A climate of conflict” from International Alert. International Alert is an independent peacebuilding organisation that has worked for over 20 years to lay the foundations for lasting peace and security in communities affected by violent conflict. In order to understand how the effects of climate change will interact with socio-economic and political problems in poorer countries, the report traces the “consequences of consequences”. This process highlights four key elements of risk - political instability, economic weakness, food insecurity and large-scale migration. Based on the analysis of these elements, the report points out twelve recommendations for addressing climate change in fragile states.

Several members of the GECHS scientific steering committee as well as GECHS associates are among the editors and authors of the comprehensive, new volume in the Hexagon series on Human and Environmental Security and Peace, which will be published on 6th December 2007. The title of the book is “Globalisation and Environmental Challenges, Reconceptualizing Security in the 21st Century”. Among the authors are GECHS chair Karen O’Brien, GECHS SSC-members John Barnett and Indra de Soysa, as well as GECHS associate Richard Matthew. GECHS associates Hans Günter Brauch and Ursula Oswald-Spring, and GECHS SSC-member Patricia Kameri-Mbote are co-editors. 92 authors from five continents and many disciplines, from science and practice, assess the global reconceptualisation of security triggered by the end of the Cold War, globalisation and manifold impacts of global environmental change in the early 21st century. 75 chapters address the theoretical, philosophical, ethical, religious and spatial context of security.

The new report “World in Transition - Climate Change as a Security Risk” is now available in full text pdf-version. The report is published by the German Advisory Council on Global Change, and summarises the state-of-the-art of science on the subject. It is based on the findings of research into environmental conflicts, the causes of war, and of climate impact research. It appraises past experience but also ventures to cast a glance far into the future in order to assess the likely impacts of climate change on societies, nation-states, regions and the international system. The Summary for policy-makers can be downloaded here.

Jon Barnett and Neil Adger have just published a discussion of the possible links between climate change and violent conflict. For a copy of the article, please contact the authors or visit the Political Geography home page.

Citation
Barnett, J. and Adger, N. 2007. Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict. Political Geography, 26(6): 639-655.

Abstract
Climate change is increasingly been called a ’security’ problem, and there has been speculation that climate change may increase the risk of violent conflict. This paper integrates three disparate but well-founded bodies of research - on the vulnerability of local places and social groups to climate change, on livelihoods and violent conflict, and the role of the State in development and peacemaking, to offer new insights into the relationships between climate change, human security, and violent conflict. It explains that climate change increasingly undermines human security in the present day, and will increasingly do so in the future, by reducing access to, and the quality of, natural resources that are important to sustain livelihoods. Climate change is also likely undermine the capacity of States to provide the opportunities and services that help people to sustain their livelihoods. We argue that in certain circumstances these direct and indirect impacts of climate change on human security may in turn increase the risk of violent conflict. The paper then outlines the broad contours of a research programme to guide empirical investigations into the risks climate change poses to human security and peace.