Practicing Environmental Peacebuilding: Enabling Effective Programing Through Systems Thinking

Who can register for this course?

This course is designed for peacebuilding professionals who want to make practical use of Environmental Peacebuilding in their work. It can be helpful for participants to already have basic knowledge of the concepts in peace and conflict work, on systemic conflict analysis and Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP). 
However, material for preparation can be provided by the trainer prior to the training. If you have any doubts whether you are sufficiently qualified for the course, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Depending on methods and topic of the training, we limit the number of available spaces to a manageable size (a maximum of 20 participants). Register early to reserve your place!

Content

• Understanding the relationship between environmental change, conflict and its resolution is essentially an investigation into the interconnection between two, heuristically divided, complex adaptive systems: ecology and societal conflict. 
   
• While the exact causal relationships among climate, fragility, and conflict are inherently complex and sometimes contradictory, there is no doubt that climate change is having extreme effects on ecologies, livelihoods, resource use, economies, and health, gender dynamics, migration, and governance. 
   
• Complexity-informed approaches, such as systems thinking, must therefore become the new norm across the triple nexus and complexity must be addressed through integrated or at least strategically coordinated programming. This participatory workshop therefore uses systems based tools to investigate the integration between environmental impacts, peace, and conflict. 
   
• Echoing established work on collective action for systemic change, there is emerging evidence that strategic integrated programming in fragile, climate and conflict-affected situations can provide what is often called “co-benefits” across different sectors. In other words, the interconnectedness of different risk profiles in a climate-affected world, also presents new opportunities, if programing takes this interconnection into account. Systemic, not sectoral change must become the new norm.

Objectives

• Gain the ability to conduct a systems-based environmental peace conflict analysis
• Deliver programming support based on such an analysis that addresses environmental impacts, conflict and fragilitytogether.

Key Concepts

• Environmental Peacebuilding
• Systems thinking
• Collective Action

Methodology

The course uses real-life cases, building on participants own experience, to build systems maps of environment, fragility, peace linkages and develops programing advice by finding leverage, and subsequently entry points into these systems.

In the course, participants use a variety of tools, including a digital learning platform, a video conferencing tool, and an online whiteboard. Participants should therefore have a good internet connection (1 Mbit down/upload or better). A headset is highly recommended.

Workload

Deliverables:

A real-life environmental peace and conflict analysis and programming entry points (group work).

After a successful participation, participants receive a certificate and become part of our alumni network.

Total expected weekly hours: 10 to 12 hours per week.