ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the linkage between environmental and human systems across all three stages of the conflict life cycle: pre-conflict, violent conflict, and post-conflict. It describes a diverse set of leading experts from academic and practitioner communities to provide a comprehensive overview of the risks posed by environmental shocks and stresses and the prospects for environmental peacebuilding. The book provides a careful analysis of the complex linkages between resources and conflict. It argues that geography – and the uneven distribution of vital and valuable resources – plays a pivotal role in conflict. The book focuses on the feedback between environmental and human systems during conflict. It deals with an exploration of how direct and indirect environmental degradation can be used as a form of warfare.
