Environmental Peacebuilding

Environmental Peacebuilding in Colombia

The Duke Center for International and Global Studies, Rethinking Diplomacy Program presents a series of five webinars, a conference, and policy dialogue on Environmental Peacebuilding in Colombia. Since the peace agreement signed by the Colombian Government and the FARC-EP (the oldest guerrilla in the world) in 2016, peace-building efforts have been having a transversal component that is related to the management of the rich environment and natural resources of the South American nation.

Organized by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, Duke University Center for International & Global Studies/Rethinking Diplomacy Program (DUCIGS/RDP), the Global Green Growth Institute, and the Environmental Law Institute, the series touches on some of the challenges and opportunities of this major case study on diplomacy, nation and peace building, and environmental policy.    

The webinars will be hosted via Zoom at 10:00 EST during the fall of 2020. The dialogues will run for 90 minutes, with each presenter having a 10-minute intro, followed by a 30-minute discussion among the speakers, and finishing with an audience Q&A. 

The webinars will cover a number of themes: COVID19 and the environment in Colombia, Environmental Defenders and the ESCAZU Agreement, Gender and Race in Peacebuilding, Climate Litigation, Transitional Justice and Rule of Law.

Following the webinar series, a conference will be organized for Spring 2021. A two-day event will be hosted at Duke University. A public seminar will be presented on the first afternoon of the conference, followed by a day-long conference for a small group of researchers and practitioners to discuss preliminary research on environmental peacebuilding in Colombia. Panels include water; land, forests, and protected areas; extractives; conservation; narcotics; and agriculture. This event will be invite-only. We encourage participation and assistance.

Later in Spring 2021, a Policy Dialogue will also be held over a two-day period, in Colombia, (dependent on COVID-19 regulations) with participation of policy makers, civil society and governmental officials. The dialogue will focus on topics such as: judication of deforestation, land and forests management, regulation on extractives, and adaptation to climate change. The dialogue will provide a forum for decision makers and researchers to discuss key issues in managing Colombia’s natural resources to support the transition to peace with legality.

Finally, a Post-Series Report following the end of the dialogue series, will offer key lessons and needs (in the form of white paper/report). There is the hope that this and other key insights may be submitted to the Environmental Peacebuilding Conference (EnPax) for the organizers of the Road to Geneva Conference in 2022.

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Report 1: COVID-19 and Environmental Peacebuilding in Colombia 

Report 2: Legal Scholars Discuss Climate Legislation & Environmental Justice in Post-Conflict Colombia

Report 3: Colombian Environmental Defenders Discuss Ethnic, Indigenous, and Nature Rights

Report 4: Junior Scholars Review Environmental Peacebuilding Literature