Peacebuilding Functions of International Environmental Governance

Issue title: Our Earth Matters: Pathways to a Better Common Environmental Future – Part 2

Guest editors: Bharat H. Desai

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Fauchald, Ole Kristian^{; *}

Affiliations: Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. This article was supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Funding Scheme, project number 223274 – PluriCourts The Legitimacy of the International Judiciary.

Abstract: This article seeks to focus on ‘peacebuilding’ as a construct of peace among groups that have previously been in conflict. This calls for moving beyond peacemaking and conflict resolution to consider the longer-term efforts at establishing sustainable peace. Notwithstanding the longstanding efforts of UNEP’s Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch, there has been very limited development of international normative and institutional structures targeting the process of post-conflict sustainable peacebuilding. The article considers how far the current international environmental governance (IEG) regimes are responsive to the specific challenges to post-conflict situations. It seeks to briefly consider four key characteristics of IEG regimes: (i) Ad- hoc and subject specific; (ii) Incremental and facilitative; (iii) Degree of reciprocity; and (iv) Science-based.

Keywords: Peacebuilding, post-conflict situations, international environmental governance

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-219010

Journal: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 51, no. 1-2, pp. 91-95, 2021