A Step Closer to Peace: Women as Environmental Peacebuilders

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Posted on Jun 13 2022 by Dayana Ghoson, - 6 minutes read
A Step Closer to Peace: Women as Environmental Peacebuilders
Adra Kandil
UN Women reported that women are often the first to respond to a crisis, and Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, has witnessed the astonishing work women have done in crises and requested all governments and private service providers to include women and strengthen women's roles. As she mentions" There is no great force for change, for peace, for justice and democracy for inclusive economic growth than a world of empowered women." This is a chance to look at how women can play a key role in environmental peacebuilding. Women are the main managers and consumers of natural resources in places that are being destroyed by conflict thus they are the most knowledgeable about these resources. But an important question might emerge in into one's mind, how can women’s potential in environmental peacebuilding be used to serve the public amidst the social, political, and economic crises?

      Environmental peacebuilding might be a term that is not familiar to our ears but it is definitely a term that should be. Environmental peacebuilding simply is viewed as a chance for conflicting parties, over environmental resources, to cooperate with one another (Environmental Law Institute). These conflicting countries aim to join forces to recognize the circumstances that can lead to a durable peace between past, current, or potential future conflicts. Perhaps without pointing out the obvious, it doesn't come to one's mind that almost all armed conflicts are inseparably related to the environment. For example, Marisa O.Ensor reports that South Sudan requires consideration of natural resource managementsince it is a premise of conflict (New Security Beat).Natural resources are either the reason for the conflict or are being used as weapons for the conflicting parties to destroy one another. 

 

     Throughout efforts of building sustainable peace between conflicting parties over natural resources, sociocultural, economic, and ecological sustainability become direct results, forming pillars for maintaining the peace built (Eco Peace). With respect to social bonds that form, the communities that once battled for the resources, now share them to build a better stable future. In order to maintain this association, continuous intercultural dialogue is created to develop a sense of trust between the communities. However, after years of struggles and fights, the losses that the weak party endured create a gap of trust between the two. This is a particular problem for the older generation of a society, which suffered during the hardships, will find it hard trusting their “old enemy”. There is a quote taken from the UN-Women’s article titled “The power of women peacebuilders”. ‘From rubble, they rebuild. With singed scraps, they weave together the new fabric of a community, a country, and set the wounds of conflict on the long journey towards healing. ‘This illustrates the importance of women in raising a society that maintains peace between both parties and teaches the new generation about the reasons behind building environmental peace.

 

     

     Moreover, in the world of politics, both women and the environment play a fundamental role in maintaining political stability. Political behavior is any action performed by any person in the society that influences the way people in power make decisions within this society (Ake,1975). This means that social stability is directly proportional to political stability. However, political crises also occur due to a conflict between two different governments, one more powerful than the other, where the powerful one wants to purloin the possessions of the other. This goes back to the necessity of building peace between all communities in a quarrel and maintaining a system of environmental peace, fulfilling the needs of everyone. 

 

  On the other hand, the world can benefit from the experience of women with the way they make decisions to use and manage the available resources in case of scarcity during challenging times. They take over the role of providing for the needs of their households, when income is lost, which is usually a man's job. Thus, women are capable of managing and benefiting from the environment when resources are scarce. For example, in Lebanon today, men have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis so many families suffer from the scarcity of their basic human needs. Here, women are the superheroes that manage to live with what they have to help their families survive. This proves that women can make sure the community benefits from natural resources and highlight, address, and solve the injustice related to the natural resource rights which are usually stimulants of conflict. 

    

      Knowing that the environment holds such power in creating or aggravating hostility and disagreement, this power can be revolutionized as building blocks for peace. Thus, the study of ecopsychology that uses ecological and psychological theories and research methodology to understand the relationship between humans and nature, is needed (International Center for Ecopsychology). Blaschke states that ecopsychology helps people create sustainable lifestyles by bringing them closer to the environment. Moreover, studies by Mathew White and his colleagues prove that time with nature is an antidote for stress (Yale Environment 360). Women are the closest to nature and are the only ones that can bring their family and their society closer to nature. Thus, enhancing their knowledge about Ecopsychology would help all the society and the people they influence be more connected to nature.

 

       Governments should acknowledge women’s skills and seize this opportunity to enhance them and implement interventions to help them develop. They should maximize women’s participation in natural resource management sectors creating a gateway for improved economic, social, and political well-being. Although women are not portrayed in the media as active members it is crucial to continuously highlight the shifting gender roles and break down the barriers to gender equality (UNDP,2016). This will encourage women and other governments to It has been proven that women can prevent and recover from conflict so women should be given more power to save what is left of the environment and rescue what is left of human mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Ake, C. (1975). A Definition of Political Stability. Comparative Politics, 7(2), 271–283.  https://doi.org/10.2307/421552

 

 

Blaschke, P. (2013)Health and wellbeing benefits of conservation in New Zealand

Science for Conservation 321. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 37 p.

Ensor, M. o. (2019, September 12). Is environmental peacebuilding the answer to South Sudan's conflict? New Security Beat. Retrieved January 28, 2022, from https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2019/09/environmental-peacebuilding-answer-south-sudans-conflict/#:~:text=Environmental%20Peacebuilding%20Offers%20a%20Way,as%20a%20vehicle%20for%20peace.&text=South%20Sudan%20Wildlife%20Service%20is%20already%20engaged%20in%20this%20type%20of%20approach.

 

Environmental Peacebuilding Association®: Developing, managing, and sharing knowledge on environment, conflict, and peace. (n.d.). About environmental peacebuilding. Environmental Peacebuilding | About Environmental Peacebuilding. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org/about/

Environmental Peacebuilding. Go to EcoPeace Middle East. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://old.ecopeaceme.org/ecopeace/environmental-peacebuilding/

The power of women peacebuilders. UN Women. (2019, October). Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2019/10/compilation-the-power-of-women-peacebuilders

Robbins, Jim. (2020, January 9). Ecopsychology: How immersion in nature benefits your health. Yale E360. Retrieved January 30, 2022, from https://e360.yale.edu/features/ecopsychology-how-immersion-in-nature-benefits-your-health#:~:text=These%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,reduce%20anxiety%2C%20and%20improve%20mood.

 

Women and natural resources: Unlocking the peacebuilding potential: UNDP in Geneva. UNDP. (2016). Retrieved January 25, 2022, from https://www.europe.undp.org/content/geneva/en/home/partnerships/women-and-natural-resources--unlocking-the-peacebuilding-potenti.html

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

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