IS THE UNITED NATIONS UNITED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PEACEBUILDING? THE CASE OF AFGHANISTAN: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME

Yıl 2022, , 165 - 198, 26.09.2022

Buket Altınçelep

https://doi.org/10.54842/ustich.1142860

Öz

Since the end of the Cold War, studies regarding the linkages between environment, security and conflict have been increased. Parallel to this growth, the impacts of environmental problems (such as scarcity, resource curse, etc.) have begun to be seen as critical and imperative in peacebuilding processes. Within this framework, environmental peacebuilding appeared as an emerging approach that has its roots in the works of Ken Conca and Geoffrey Dabelko in 2002.In 2013, Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx) was established as a knowledge platform including the community of practice for this particular field. Besides, many international organizations such as the European Union, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations (UN) Agencies are increasingly adopted an environmental peacebuilding approach. In particular, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) carries out practices in this context.Within this framework, this paper will critically evaluate UNEP’s assessment program in Afghanistan through the lens of environmental peacebuilding. First, the concept of environmental peacebuilding will briefly be explained. Subsequently, UNEP’s initiative of ‘’Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment in Afghanistan’’ will be used as a case model for environmental peacebuilding.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Environmental Peacebuilding, Afghanistan, UNEP

İRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER ÇEVRESEL BARIŞ İNŞASI İÇİN BİRLEŞMİŞ Mİ? BİRLEŞMİŞ MİLLETLER ÇEVRE PROGRAMININ DEĞERLENDİRMESİ: AFGANİSTAN VAKASI

Öz

Soğuk Savaş’ın sona ermesinden bu yana çevre, güvenlik ve çatışma arasındaki bağlantılara yönelik çalışmalar artmıştır. Bu artışa paralel olarak, çevre sorunlarının (kıtlık, kaynak laneti vb.) ele alınması barış inşası süreçlerinde kritik ve zorunlu olarak görülmeye başlanmıştır. Bu çerçevede, çevresel barış inşası, kökleri 2002 yılında Ken Conca ve Geoffrey Dabelko’nun çalışmalarında bulunan yükselen bir yaklaşım olarak ortaya çıkmıştır. 2013 yılında ise Çevre Barışı İnşası Derneği (EnPAx), bu alana yönelik uygulama camiasını içeren bir bilgi platformu olarak kurulmuştur. Ayrıca, Avrupa Birliği, Avrupa Güvenlik ve İşbirliği Teşkilatı (AGİT) ve Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) Ajansları gibi birçok uluslararası kuruluş, giderek artan bir şekilde çevresel barış inşası yaklaşımını benimsemektedir. Özellikle Birleşmiş Milletler Çevre Programı (UNEP), bu kapsamda uygulamalar yürütmektedir. Bu çerçevede, bu makale UNEP’in Afganistan’daki değerlendirme programını çevresel barış inşası merceğinden eleştirel olarak değerlendirecektir. Öncelikle çevresel barış inşası kavramı kısaca açıklanacaktır. Daha sonra, UNEP’in “Afganistan’da Çatışma Sonrası Çevresel Değerlendirme” girişimi, çevresel barışın inşası için bir vaka modeli olarak kullanılacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Çevresel Barış İnşası, Afganistan, UNEP

Kaynakça

• Akçalı, Emel and Antonsich, Marco. ‘Nature Knows No Boundaries: A Critical Reading of UNDP Environmental Peacemaking in Cyprus’, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 99, no.5, (2009): 940-947, Doi: 10.1080/00045600903245938.
• Aldinger, Peter, Bruch, Carl and Yazykova, Sofia. ‘Revitising Securitization: An empirical analysis of environment and natural resource provisions in United Nations Security Council Resolutions, 1946-2016’, in Routledge Handbook of Environmental Conflict and Peacebuilding, edited by Ashok Swain and Joakim Öjendal, 143-172. New York: Routledge, 2018.
• Bruch, Carl ‘An Introduction to Environmental Peacebuilding: Monitoring and Evaluation’, PowerPoint presentation, Second International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding, Geneva, 1-4 February, 2022.
• Bruch, Carl, Jensen, David, Nakayama, Mikiyasu and Unruh, Jon. ‘The Changing Nature of Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Environmental Cooperation’, The Environmental Law Reporter 49, no.2, (2019): 10134-10154.
• Carius, Alexander. Environmental Peacebuilding: Conditions for Success. Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2007, 1-30, Accessed 18 June 2022. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/CariusEP12.pdf
• Carius, Alexander. Environmental Peacebuilding. Environmental Cooperation as an Instrument of Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding: Conditions for Success and Constraints. Berlin: Adelphi Consult GmbH, 2006, 59*75, Accessed 10 May 2022. https://userpage.fu-berlin.de/ffu/akumwelt/bc2006/papers/Carius_Peacemaking.pdf
• Conca, Ken and Michael D. Beevers, ‘Environmental Pathways to Peace’, in Routledge Handbook of Environmental Conflict and Peacebuilding, edited by Ashok Swain and Joakim Öjendal, 54-72. New York: Routledge, 2018.
• Conca, Ken and Wallace, Jennifer. ‘Environment and peacebuilding in war‐torn societies: Lessons from the UN Environment Programme’s experience with post-conflict assessment’, in Assessing and Restoring Natural Resources in Post‐Conflict Peacebuilding, edited by David Jensen and Steve Lonergan, 63-84. London: Earthscan, 2012.
• De Coning, Cedric, Krampe, Florian, Grand, Anab Ovidie, Tchie, Andrew E.Yaw, Rosvold, Elisabeth L., Tarif, Kheira, Smith, Elizabeth, Seyuba, Katongo and Kim, Kyungmee. ‘Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet Afghanistan’, NUPI and SIPRI, 1-4, 2022. Accessed: 28 June 2022. https://www.nupi.no/en/media/files-open/climate-peace-and-security-fact-sheet-afghanistan.
• Dresse, Anaïs, Fischhendler, Itay, Østergaard, Jonas Nielsen and Zikos, Dimitrios. ‘Environmental peacebuilding: Towards a theoretical framework’, Cooperation and Conflict 54, no.1, (2019): 99–119, Doi: 10.1177/0010836718808331.
• Gauster, Markus. ‘Ecological threats to security and state resilience in Afghanistan’, Security&Defence 33, no.1, (2021): 32-40. Doi:10.35467/sdq/132023.
• Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Institute for Economics & Peace Releases Ecological Threat Register 2021, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, 2021. Accessed 28 June 2022. https://www.gcsp.ch/global-insights/institute-economics-peace-releases-ecological-threat-register-2021.
• Hardt, Judith Nora and Scheffran, Jürgen. ‘Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change: Peace and Conflict Studies at the Edge of Transformation’, Toda Peace Institute, no.68, (2019): 1-20.
• Huda, Mirza Sadaqat. ‘An ecological response to ethno-nationalistic populism: grassroots environmental peacebuilding in South Asia’, International Affairs 97, no.1, (2021):119–138, Doi: 10.1093/ia/iiaa176.
• Ide, Tobias. ‘The dark side of environmental peacebuilding’, World Development 127, no.104777. (2020): 1-20.
• Ide, Tobias, Bruch, Carl, Carius, Alexander, Conca, Ken, Dabelko, Geoffrey, Matthew, Richard and Weinthal, Erika. ‘The past and future(s) of environmental peacebuilding’, International Affairs 97, no.1, (2021): 1–16, Doi: 10.1093/ia/iiaa177.
• Jensen, David and Kron, Amanda. ‘Environmental peacebuilding and the United Nations’, in Routledge Handbook of Environmental Conflict and Peacebuilding, edited by Ashok Swain and Joakim Öjendal, 121-142. New York: Routledge, 2018.
• Jensen, David. ‘Evaluating the impact of UNEP’s post-conflict environmental assessments’, in Assessing and Restoring Natural Resources in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, edited by David Jensen and Steven. Lonergan, 17-62. London: Earthscan, 2012.
• Mayar, Assem. Global Warming and Afghanistan: Drought, hunger and thirst expected to worsen, Afghanistan Analysts Network, 2021. Accessed: 28 June 2022. https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/economy-development-environment/global-warming-and-afghanistan-drought-hunger-and-thirst-expected-to-worsen/.
• Melander, Erik, Pettersson, Therese and Themnér, Lotta. ‘Organized violence, 1989–2015’, Journal of Peace Research 53, no.5, (2016): 727–742, Doi: 10.1177/0022343316663032.
• Renner, Michael. ‘Environmental security: the policy agenda’, Conflict, Security & Development 4, no.3 (2004): 313-334, Doi: 10.1080/1467880042000319908.
• The Institute for Economics & Peace, Ecological Threat Report 2021: Understanding Ecological Threats, Resilience and Peace, IEP, 2021. Accessed 25 June 2022. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/ecological-threat-report-2021-understanding-ecological-threats-resilience-and-peace.
• The Institute for Economics & Peace, Afghanistan: Conflict & Crisis, The Institute for Economics & Peace, 2021. Accessed 25 June 2022. https://www.visionofhumanity.org/resources/ United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, ‘Peace Day 2009: A More Peaceful, Better and Greener Tomorrow’, UNAMA, 17 September 2009. Accessed 28 June 2022. https://unama.unmissions.org/peace-day-2009-more-peaceful-better-and-greener-tomorrow.
• United Nations Development Programme, Economic Instability and Uncertainty in Afghanistan after August 15: A Rapid Appraisal, UNDP, 2021. Accessed 27 June 2022. https://www.undp.org/publications/economic-instability-and-uncertainty-afghanistan-after-august-15.
• United Nations Environment Programme, Afghanistan: Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment, United Nations Environment Programme, 2003. Accessed 14 April 2022. https://www.unep.org/resources/assessment/afghanistan-post-conflict-environmental-assessment. ISBN: 92-1-158617-8.
• United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP in Afghanistan: Laying the foundations for sustainable development, United Nations Environment Programme, 2009. Accessed 14 April 2022. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7669.
• United Nations Environment Programme, From Conflict to Peacebuilding: The Role of Natural Resources and the Environment, United Nations Environment Programme, 2009. Accessed 10 June 2022. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7867. ISBN: 978-92-807-2957-3
• United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Development Programme, The role of natural resources in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration: Addressing risks and seizing opportunities, UNEP and UNDP, 2013.Accessed 20 June 2022. https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/14218. No: DEP/1692/GE, ISBN: 978-92-807-3349-5.
• United Nations Environment Programme, Addressing the Role of Natural Resources in Conlict and Peaceubilding, Executive Summary of Progress from UNEP’s Environmental Cooperation for Peacebuilding Programme 2008-2015, United Nations Environment Programme, 2015. Accessed 20 June 2022. https://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/ECP/ECP_executive_summary_progress_report_2015.pdf
• United Nations Environment Programme, ‘Landscape Ecology and Physical Science’, United Nations Environment Programme, 2022. Accessed: 27 June 2022. https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/disasters-conflicts/where-we-work/afghanistan/landscape-ecology-and-physical-science.
• World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank, Climate Risk Country Profile: Afghanistan, World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank, 2021. Accessed 24 June 2022. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/36381/Afghanistan-Climate-Risk-Country-Profile.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.