Conflict And Sustainability In A Changing Environment

Using a case study of the Trio indigenous peoples in Suriname, Conflict and Sustainability in a Changing Environment presents an inside view of a community facing climate change and on the path toward sustainable development. Smith and Bastidas take the reader beyond an examination of examples from the field of practice and into a thorough case study on climate change. With more than ten years of field experience, Smith and Bastidas present an in-depth, bottom-up analysis of sustainable development, including tools for practitioners, insight for academics and advice to policymakers.

This path-breaking collection brings together environmental politics and democratic theory to reveal the deficits of citizenship and how democracy must be extended to achieve a socially just, ecologically sustainable society in Canada.

First published in 1995. Managing today’s rapidly changing environment inevitably involves managing conflicts between the demands of development and conservation; the needs of the present and of the future; and between different community interests, professional positions and political priorities. Risks and Opportunities provides both a guide to managing environmental change, and a training manual to pave the way to successful conflict resolution. It explores the full range of potential conflicts and looks at various methods for their resolution. It covers the who, what, why and when of managing change, and emphasizes the need to develop an active and strategic approach which indemnifies the interests and abilities of all the stakeholders. The book’s detailed case studies provide in-depth material on the conflicting uses of urban, agricultural and natural environments, and the self-teaching guide and exercises will enable individual readers and organizations to acquire the necessary practical and team-building skills.

This book examines the evolution of the relationship between climate change and conflict, and attempts to visualize future trends. Owing to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, current trends in climate change will not appreciably alter over the next half century even if drastic action is taken now. Changes in climate will produce unique types and modes of conflict, redefine the value of important resources, and create new challenges to maintaining social order and stability. This book examines the consequences of climate change and argues that it has and will produce two types of different types of conflict: 'cold wars' and 'hot wars'. Cold wars will occur in northern and southern latitudes as warming draws countries into possible conflict due to expanding interests in exploiting new resources and territories (inter-state conflict). Hot wars will break out around the equator as warming expands and intensifies dry areas, increasing competition for scarce resources (intra-state conflict). Conflict is not inevitable, but it will also be a consequence of how states, international institutions and people react to changes in climate. Climate change and conflict have always shaped human experiences. This book lays out the parameters of the relationship, shows its history, and forecasts its trends, offering future conditions and opportunities for changing the historical path we are on. This book will be of great interest for students of climate change and environmental security, peace and conflict studies, and IR/security studies in general. James R. Lee is a Professor in the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC and Associate Director of American University's Center for Teaching Excellence. He is author of several books on international relations, including, most recently, Exploring the Gaps: Vital Links Between Trade, Environment and Culture (2000).

The gender-differentiated and more severe impacts of armed conflict upon women and girls are well recognised by the international community, as demonstrated by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent resolutions. Similarly, the development community has identified gender-differentiated impacts upon women and girls as a result of the effects of climate change. Current research and analysis has reached no consensus as to any causal relationship between climate change and armed conflict, but certain studies suggest an indirect linkage between climate change effects such as food insecurity and armed conflict. Little research has been conducted on the possible compounding effects that armed conflict and climate change might have on at-risk population groups such as women and girls. Armed Conflict, Women and Climate Change explores the intersection of these three areas and allows the reader to better understand how military organisations across the world need to be sensitive to these relationships to be most effective in civilian-centric operations in situations of humanitarian relief, peacekeeping and even armed conflict. This book examines strategy and military doctrine from NATO, the UK, US and Australia, and explores key issues such as displacement, food and energy insecurity, and male out-migration as well as current efforts to incorporate gender considerations in military activities and operations. This innovative book will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, international development, international security, sustainability, gender studies and law.

The past two decades have witnessed the emergence of a large body of research examining the linkage between environmental scarcity, violent conflict, and cooperation. However, this environmental security polemic is still trying to deliver a well-defined approach to achieving peace. Studies are being undertaken to find the precise pathways by which cooperative actions are expected not only to pre-empt or moderate resource conflicts but also to help diffuse cooperative behaviour to other disputed issues. The recognition that environmental resources can contribute to violent conflict accentuates their potential significance as pathways for cooperation and the consolidation of peace in post-conflict societies. Conceived as a single and reliable reference source which will be a vital resource for students, researchers, and policy makers alike, the Routledge Handbook of Environmental Conflict and Peacebuilding presents a wide range of chapters written by key thinkers in the field, organised into four key parts: Part I: Review of the concept and theories; Part II: Review of thematic approaches (resources, scarcity, intervention, adaptation, and peacebuilding); Part III: Case studies (Middle East, Iraq, Jordan, Liberia, Nepal, Colombia, Philippines); Part IV: Analytical challenges and future-oriented perspectives. Enabling the reader to find a concise expert review on topics that are most likely to arise in the course of conducting research or policy making, this volume presents a truly global overview of the key issues and debates in environmental conflict and peacebuilding.

First published in 1995. Risks and Opportunities provides both a guide to managing environmental change, and a training manual to pave the way to successful conflict resolution. It explores the full range of potential conflicts and looks at various methods for their resolution.

True progress toward an ecologically sound environment and a socially just culture will be initially expensive in money and effort. The longer we wait, however, the more disastrous the environmental condition will become, the more disputes will arise as a result of our declining quality of life, and the more expensive and difficult the necessary social changes will be. The second edition of a bestseller, Resolving Environmental Conflicts demonstrates how to practice the type of conflict resolution that not only settles a dispute but also heals the people. Once the consultants and mediators leave, the work must go on. This second edition covers the basic transformative concepts vital for resolving environmental conflicts. It includes discussions of the inviolate biophysical principles, how the English language is changing, as well as the critical principles of social behavior. It also examines new dynamics in making decisions along with the effects of the younger generations shifting their interests from nature-oriented interest to technologically oriented interests and their subsequent lack of understanding the importance of the natural environment to a sustainable society. No biological shortcuts, technological quick fixes, or political rhetoric can mend what is broken. Dramatic, fundamental change is necessary if we are really concerned with bettering the quality of life. It is not a question of can we change or can't we, but one of will we change or won't we. Change is a choice, a choice of individuals reflected in the collective of society and mirrored in the landscape throughout the generations. Considerably more than a "how to" directive, this book examines the "whys" of the mediation process and broadens the knowledge base by providing the philosophical underpinnings of "a new environmental responsibility."