On 23 May 2022 Wetlands International Europe was invited by the European Peace Liason Office to take part in a session on The European Union, climate change and conflict: Conflict sensitivity as an entry point for integrated engagements at the 2022 Stockholm Peace and Development Forum.
The session sought to explore and promote the importance of conflict sensitivity for the European Union (EU) and civil society organizations to address the challenges posed by the interlinkages between climate change and conflict in an integrated manner.
Yurena Lorenzo, Programme Manager, explained the reason why an organization such as Wetlands International is involved in conflict sensitivity discussions: wetland ecosystems are highly productive and essential for water security, food production or biodiversity.
In the Sahel region, where we have been operating since the 90s, more than 10% of the land is covered by wetlands, and its economy, ecology and culture are established on the dynamic interplay of these wetlands and drylands[1], and local communities have developed livelihood and economic systems based on catching fish, growing crops and raising livestock. That is why we can say that there is a partial or entire reliance in the wetlands in terms of food and water security. Therefore, the loss and degradation[2] of these wetlands directly impacts their means of living, fuelling tensions between communities over access to and control of water and land.
At Wetlands International, we think that conflict-sensitivity should be at the heart of responsible decision-making on all projects affecting water and land management, and that is why we consult and plan with these tensions in mind, using wetlands maintenance and restoration as a basis to re (build) cooperation and stability between groups.
Our initiatives and programmes reflect a conviction that by developing multi-stakeholder and Inter sectoral partnerships (nature, peacebuilding, knowledge institutes and humanitarian international NGOs) including local partners, we create a powerful tool to approach conflict-sensitivity.
[1] During the dry season, wetlands become a magnet for pastoralists, and act as a buffer against droughts.
[2] By climate stress, poor water and land management, population growth and related intensive resource use.