Do conservationists have the tools to respond to conflict?

The outbreak of armed conflict can halt and reverse conservation efforts. Considering the proliferation of armed conflict, the amount of attention given to the relationship between conflict and conservation is disproportionally low.

The proceedings of the book titled “Armed conflict and conservation: Case studies from around the world” was launched on October amidst the gathering of the conservationists at the IUCN World Conservation Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain. The first international conference on conservation in times of conflict held in Nepal in 2006 heralded a new opportunity to bring conservationists together from around the world, debate and discuss about the impacts of armed conflict on environment and issues pertaining to the tools and approaches in responding to conflict.

“The book is the compilation of conflict and conservation nexus from around the world, including Nepal, Latin and Central America, Africa, Central Europe, Middle East and Asia. The case studies contained in the volume have emerged from country papers,” says chairman of the Wildlife Watch Group (WWG) who has worked with conservation organizations in examining the impacts of armed conflict on their work, identifying actions for minimizing impacts and harnessing the peace-building potential of conservation.

“Nepal has demonstrated a strong commitment to biodiversity conservation and has established over 20% of its landmass within the protected area system. However, in addition to the tragic human cost, the decade-long conflict has taken a heavy toll to biodiversity conservation in our country,” says Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, author of the book launched today at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

“Experience from around the world suggests there are ways to sustain conservation in times of conflict. The post-conflict period in Nepal will serve to be a window of opportunity for positive change in halting biodiversity degradation and taking action on the ground.”

For more information, please contact:

•  Email:djoshi@iucn.org.np