ABSTRACT
Recent debates on potential impacts of climate change have catapulted environmental security to the top of the agenda of many political bodies.2 The discourse, with its Malthusian connotation and alarmist tone, is filled with vivid images of potential water wars, food crises and legions of environmental refugees fleeing from disaster. The United Nations (UN) Security Council has debated the implications of climate change on international security, while the European Union (EU) developed an action plan to marshal all instruments at its disposal to combat climate change. High-level political figures such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon retrospectively associated environmental change with events such as the violence in Darfur,3 thus linking climate change with what many believe to be an incidence of genocide.4 In comparison, the ways in which environmental change – or environmental affairs in general – may contribute to peace is far less discussed. In recent years a solid if small body of literature on this topic has developed.5 In addition, a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations have attempted to use environmental topics as entry points for peace- and confidence-building measures. The focus of their work is often the joint management of environmental affairs and natural resources with a view to overcoming direct, indirect and potential causes of conflict related to the environment and natural resources. In addition, the dialogue between different parties to a conflict may also support confidence-building and reconciliation measures. Occasionally, the latter may even be the primary intention. The underlying idea is that when people meet and jointly work on common problems, they recognize that they share needs and interests, making cooperation the more rational choice than conflict. Hence, it is imperative to create strategic social space in which conflicting parties can meet in an adequate setting to unlearn stereotypes about their respective “Other”.6 In this sense, environmental issues are but one topic among many that can facilitate trust and dialogue.
