François Bausch, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Defence;
Credit: SIP / Yves Kortum
On Tuesday 15 March 2022, the European Institute of Peace (EIP), TrustWorks Global and the Directorate of Defence of Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs will launch an eighteen-month project to promote the inclusion of land and natural resource issues in conflict prevention and resolution in the border region (called Likptako Gourma) of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in West Africa.
Since 2015, violence previously contained in northern Mali has spread southwards into Burkina Faso and eastwards into Niger. As violence escalated and activities of armed groups proliferated, the international community's response has become dominated by counter-terrorism approaches.
Despite vast investments by the international community across the main facets of the "triple nexus" of peace, development and humanitarian interventions, there is little evidence (according to Luxembourg's Directorate of Defence) to suggest that these efforts have contributed to a reduction in violence. On the contrary, as the number of initiatives continue to proliferate and the amount of financial investment continues to rise, the situation has deteriorated further.
EIP and TrustWorks, with financial support from Luxembourg's Directorate of Defence, are thus launching an eighteen-month, root-cause based approach to re-orienting international efforts in the Liptako Gourma region through the lens of environmental peacemaking.
Environmental peacemaking seeks to pursue more effective prevention and resolution of conflict by addressing core climate, environmental and natural resource drivers of conflict. This includes bringing divided communities together and supporting them to find new ways of sharing and governing the natural resources (such as land, water and minerals) of their territory in a sustainable manner and jointly addressing common environmental pressures and climate-related challenges, such as desertification and the lack of water.
According to Luxembourg's Directorate of Defence, the protection, equitable sharing and sustainable management of land and natural resources are the essential and long-term conditions for sustained peace and economic growth in the region and these issues will continue to intensify as a result of climate change.
François Bausch, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, commented: "We are convinced that by finding a way to integrate land and natural resources governance into existing peace making approaches, we will contribute to significantly increas[ing] the chances of peace in the Sahel region. I hope that the lessons learnt through this project will also contribute to a more comprehensive approach in our foreign, security and defence policy".
Paul Seils, Director of Peace Practice and Innovation of EIP, added: "This initiative develops a fresh approach to conflict prevention and resolution in the Liptako Gourma region. It integrates an understanding of deep-rooted natural resource issues and the increasing crisis created by climate change. By doing so, we hope it will inspire new ways of operating – in the region and beyond – that are based on solving and preventing conflicts by addressing the needs of people and the root causes of conflict and insecurity. We are excited to set out on this path with Luxembourg and TrustWorks Global and to engage with a wide range of actors to make it a reality".
Josie Lianna Kaye, Founder and Director of TrustWorks Global, said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Luxembourg and EIP on this important new initiative. We look forward to working with diverse local, national, regional and international partners on the ground to advance environmental peacemaking and our shared efforts to bolster a sustainable peace in the Liptako Gourma region".
