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Linking Environment and Security in East Africa and the Horn

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Heinrich Böll Foundation publishes reports by regional experts on environmental peacemaking

Environmental Change and Security Program

In November 2004, the Heinrich Böll Foundation invited four environmental security experts from Africa to Washington, D.C., and New York to meet with members of U.S. government, U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and civil society organizations interested in enhancing regional and global security through environmental cooperation. At the Wilson Center on November 16, the visitors presented their experiences with conflict in Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan; discussed the environmental implications; and suggested opportunities for resolution through cooperation.

Image removed.Linking Environment and Security: Conflict Prevention and Peacemaking in East and Horn of Africa collects these presentations, which--like the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change--find that ecological problems can contribute to intra- and interstate conflicts. Therefore, this publication seeks to contribute to this year's United Nations Millennium Review Summit and the Special Session of the UN General Assembly, which will address the reform of the United Nations to promote global security in the 21st Century.

Contents:

  • Steve Lonergan, head of UNEP's Division for Early Warning and Assessment, and ECSP Director Geoffrey Dabelko describe their joint work on building a system and network for environment, conflict, and cooperation.
  • Sascha Müller-Kraenner, director of the Europe and North America Desk of
    the Heinrich Böll Foundation, outlines the role of environment and security
    linkages in German and European foreign policy approaches.
  • Patricia Kameri-Mbote, researcher at the International Environmental Law Research Centre, Nairobi, Kenya, describes civil society's involvement in the Nile Basin Initiative.
  • Ochieng Kamudhayi, fellow at the Institute for Diplomacy and International Studies, University of Nairobi, Kenya, highlights the linkages of resources and environmental cooperation in Somalia's peace process and reconstruction.
  • Pauline Riak, co-founder and chairwoman of the Sudanese Women's Network in Nairobi (SWAN), Kenya, describes the impact of Sudan's internal conflicts on women.
  • Aseghedech Ghirmazion, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation East and Horn of Africa, puts these reports in the regional context and discusses strategies for regional environmental peacemaking, as well as the role of the international community in these efforts.

    Image removed.The Heinrich Böll Foundation is a non-profit political foundation affiliated
    with the German political party of Alliance 90/The Greens. Since 1998, the
    Heinrich Böll Foundation has an office in Washington, DC. The Heinrich Böll
    Foundation North America focuses its work on the issues of foreign and
    security policy and transatlantic relations, global governance, sustainable development, social equity and gender democracy.

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