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Diverse understandings and values of nature at the peace–environment nexus: a critical analysis and policy implications towards decolonial peace

Nardi, Maria Andrea LU orcid ; Krause, Torsten LU and Zelli, Fariborz LU orcid (2024) In Ecology & Society 29(4).
Abstract
Scholarship in peace and conflict studies is paying increasing attention to the role of the environment for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. However, a closer analysis on how different understandings of “nature” implicate policy proposals and approaches to peacebuilding is lacking. In this study, we provide a critical reflection on the diverse understandings and valuations of nature at the nexus of peace and environment. We do this from a decolonial approach and with a particular focus on the concept of sustainable peace. We first discuss our theoretical approach based on a critical and pluralistic understanding of “environment” as “nature” and a decolonial stand on peace. We then construct an analytical framework based on the... (More)
Scholarship in peace and conflict studies is paying increasing attention to the role of the environment for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. However, a closer analysis on how different understandings of “nature” implicate policy proposals and approaches to peacebuilding is lacking. In this study, we provide a critical reflection on the diverse understandings and valuations of nature at the nexus of peace and environment. We do this from a decolonial approach and with a particular focus on the concept of sustainable peace. We first discuss our theoretical approach based on a critical and pluralistic understanding of “environment” as “nature” and a decolonial stand on peace. We then construct an analytical framework based on the values framework developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that highlights different worldviews, approaches, notions, and conceptualizations of nature’s contribution to human well-being and implications incorporating Indigenous and local systems of knowledge. Drawing on academic publications that provide empirical and conceptual discussions on the role of nature and environment in peace transformation from diverse regions of the world, we interpret the diverse understandings and valuations of nature in relation to peace. We find that a limited understanding and valuation of nature (and peace) limits the transitions towards a more profound re-mending of the social-ecological relationships that are needed for sustainable peace. We argue that future research should focus on overcoming the ontological bias that persists in the literature at the nexus of peace and the environment. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
decolonial peace, environmental peacebuilding, IPBES, nature valuation, post-conflict peacebuilding
in
Ecology & Society
volume
29
issue
4
article number
41
publisher
Resilience Alliance
external identifiers
  • scopus:85213356192
ISSN
1708-3087
DOI
10.5751/ES-15198-290441
project
Environmental Human Rights Defenders – Change Agents at the Crossroads of Climate change, Biodiversity and Cultural Conservation
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7775c6c4-ddae-4cf1-9f2a-151d67e03e81
date added to LUP
2024-12-19 01:00:26
date last changed
2025-07-09 11:55:46
@article{7775c6c4-ddae-4cf1-9f2a-151d67e03e81,
  abstract     = {{Scholarship in peace and conflict studies is paying increasing attention to the role of the environment for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. However, a closer analysis on how different understandings of “nature” implicate policy proposals and approaches to peacebuilding is lacking. In this study, we provide a critical reflection on the diverse understandings and valuations of nature at the nexus of peace and environment. We do this from a decolonial approach and with a particular focus on the concept of sustainable peace. We first discuss our theoretical approach based on a critical and pluralistic understanding of “environment” as “nature” and a decolonial stand on peace. We then construct an analytical framework based on the values framework developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that highlights different worldviews, approaches, notions, and conceptualizations of nature’s contribution to human well-being and implications incorporating Indigenous and local systems of knowledge. Drawing on academic publications that provide empirical and conceptual discussions on the role of nature and environment in peace transformation from diverse regions of the world, we interpret the diverse understandings and valuations of nature in relation to peace. We find that a limited understanding and valuation of nature (and peace) limits the transitions towards a more profound re-mending of the social-ecological relationships that are needed for sustainable peace. We argue that future research should focus on overcoming the ontological bias that persists in the literature at the nexus of peace and the environment.}},
  author       = {{Nardi, Maria Andrea and Krause, Torsten and Zelli, Fariborz}},
  issn         = {{1708-3087}},
  keywords     = {{decolonial peace; environmental peacebuilding; IPBES; nature valuation; post-conflict peacebuilding}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Resilience Alliance}},
  series       = {{Ecology & Society}},
  title        = {{Diverse understandings and values of nature at the peace–environment nexus: a critical analysis and policy implications towards decolonial peace}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-15198-290441}},
  doi          = {{10.5751/ES-15198-290441}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}