United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) and Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo invite you to an
International Seminar on Natural Resources and the Environment:
Implications for Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding, and Livelihoods
This event will celebrate the launch of the recent UNEP report From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment, as well as showcase emerging research at UNU-IAS and the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo on the intersection of environmental change, natural resources, livelihoods, and peacebuilding.
Changes in the ecosystem influence human well-being. In addition, conflict is recognized as another systematic link to the welfare of livelihoods. As emerging research on conflict shows, and this event will demonstrate that conflict, in particular in the developing world, is not independent from environmental factors either. People’s livelihoods often depend on resources, such as water, land or timber. Changes in the availability of these resources through climate change and other environmental changes, coupled with demographic changes and political factors are increasingly recognized by scholars and policymakers as causes of conflict. On the other hand, and what is often overlooked, but articulated poignantly in the UNEP Report, the sustainable use of natural resources can be a driver of livelihoods restoration, peacebuilding, and indeed economic prosperity.
UNEP’s report argues that state failure and civil war in developing countries represent some of the greatest risks to global peace and human security. Conceptions of security and conflict have broadened, with environmental degradation now seen as a significant contributing factor to conflict. The report links environment, conflict, and peacebuilding through field-based case studies and analyzes the implication between natural resources and the environment with human security issues. It is evident that sound environmental management and governance are required for improved livelihoods and opportunities for sustainable development and peace.
The launch of the report will be followed by an illustration of case studies where the management of natural resources is key to success or failure of livelihoods restoration and peacebuilding. Global environmental change can constrain economic recovery efforts in post-conflict societies. Many of these post-conflict societies, as shown in Afghanistan, have climate sensitive economies, thus making them more vulnerable to global environmental change. The Japanese case study on water resources management will provide the experience of a developed country in its path towards sustainability, peace, and development after the Second World War.
Programme
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
14:00-14:15
Welcoming Remarks, Govindan Parayil, Director of UNU-IAS and Vice-Rector, UNU
Opening Remarks, Claudia ten Have, Managing Research Fellow and Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Governance Programme, UNU-IAS and Mikiyasu Nakayama, Professor of the Department of International Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo
14:15-14:30 UNEP Report Launch
From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment
David Jensen, Head of Policy and Planning Team of the UN Environment Programme’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, Geneva, Switzerland
14:30-14:40 Comments, Carl Bruch, Senior Attorney and Co-Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
14:40-14:50 Comments, Jon Unruh, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, McGill University
14:50-15:05 Question and Answer
15:05-15:25 Coffee/Tea Break
Roundtable Showcasing Emerging Research at UNU-IAS and University of Tokyo
Chairs: Claudia ten Have and Mikiyasu Nakayama
15:25-15:40 Climate Change, Conflict and Livelihoods, Christian Webersik, JSPS – UNU Postdoctoral Fellow, UNU-IAS
15:40-15:55 Demobilization, Reintegration, and Natural Resources in Afghanistan, Mami Sato, University of Tokyo
15:55-16:10 Water Resource Management, Agricultural Productivity, and Flood Control: A Case Study of Japanese Water Projects after World War II, Mikiko Sugiura, University of Tokyo
16:10-16:30 Question and Answer
16:30-16:45 Closing Comments, Carl Bruch
Closing, Mikiyasu Nakayama
Venue: Conference Room, UNU-IAS, 6th Floor, Pacifico Yokohama
Registration: egistration is free and open to the public.
For further information, please contact:
Yoshie Oya, Programme Associate
Tel: 045-221-2334
Email: oya@ias.unu.edu
UNU-IAS Reception
Tel: 045-221-2300
Email: reception@ias.unu.edu
Or register at www.ias.unu.edu/events
