CURRENT PROJECT

Climate-focused mediation and peacebuilding in Iraq

This project focuses on climate-focused mediation and peacebuilding in different districts throughout Iraq.

Timeframe: June 2022 - December 2022

According to UNEP, Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change worldwide. Iraq’s vulnerability is mainly shaped by its high exposure to floods, droughts and dust storms (increasingly linked to temperature and precipitation variability), its natural resource dependency, and its low adaptive capacity. The impacts of climate change manifest differently in Iraq’s various climate zones and increasingly contribute to tensions, not only between different tribes and communities, but also between various Iraqi provinces. Iraq’s capacities to respond to the impacts of climate change is weakened by years of political and armed conflict within the country.

The project aims to strengthen Iraqi capacities to respond to climate risks and their impact on existing conflict dynamics. Building on the potential of climate concerns as an entry point for peacebuilding and mediation efforts, the project activities seek to integrate climate security risks into existing peacebuilding efforts. The project includes a mapping and climate-conflict analysis process as a key component to better understand the expected impact of climate change on conflict dynamics and as a way to initiate consultation, exchange and inclusive dialogue among Iraqi stakeholders.

Background

With this project, the Berghof Foundation is part of the Climate, Peace and Security Consortium (CPSC) / the Weathering Risk Peace Pillar. This initiative is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and aims to systematically implement and assess the impact of climate-security informed peace programming. The Weathering Risk Peace Pillar translates the analytical component of the initiative into peacemaking and peacebuilding action in the field. The consortium comprises adelphi, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), the European Institute of Peace (EIP) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Berghof Foundation.