Date: Wednesday 3 June 2026
Time: 16:00-17:30 BST (online); 16:00-18:30 BST (in-person)
Location: Chemonics UK, 1 Benjamin Street, London, EC1M 5QL, UK and online via Microsoft Teams
How do armed conflicts affect the environment? What are the social, economic, political, and cultural impacts of war-related environmental destruction? And how can affected communities and international actors deal with such destruction?
Recent studies found that the environmental impacts of war are still detectable 25 years after fighting stopped. The first two weeks of war in Iran alone caused an additional five million tons of CO2 emissions by the US and the expected carbon footprint of reconstruction in Ukraine is projected to be more than four times larger than the countries pre-war CO2 emissions. Fighting and the associated destruction of infrastructure put a great burden on local ecosystems and water bodies across conflict-affected areas, where environmental institutions and traditional resource management often break down. This results in short-term, unregulated, and often unsustainable exploitation of natural resources which can constitute long-term obstacles to peace and sustainability.
Drawing on evidence from conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Sahel, this event brings together experts to explore how contemporary armed conflicts reshape ecosystems and natural resource governance, and with what social, economic, and political implications. Crucially, experts will also discuss what communities and international actors can do during conflict and in its aftermath, and why environmental protection needs to be at the heart of peacebuilding.
In-person participation is limited and places will be given on a first come-first served basis. This hybrid event will be followed by a networking reception.
Speakers:
Doug Weir
Director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS). His work focuses on documenting conflict related environmental harm, advancing transparency and accountability, and strengthening legal and policy frameworks to better protect the environment before, during and after armed conflict. He has led research and advocacy at domestic and international levels for two decades, with particular engagement in UN processes on conflict and the environment.
Elisa Savelli
A researcher, practitioner and policy specialist at Mercy Corps, focusing on the intersection of conflict, environmental degradation and climate risks. Her work centres on integrating environmental considerations into humanitarian and peacebuilding responses, with particular attention to natural resource governance, resilience and recovery in conflict-affected contexts. Elisa is currently the co-Principal Investigator of the XCEPT-funded project, ‘Fragile Borderlands: Drivers of Drought Adaptation and Instability in the MENA region’.
Natalia Skripnikova
An Expert specialising in environmental governance and support alignment with international environmental and climate commitments. At GRID-Arendal, she contributes by generating knowledge that strengthens legal frameworks, addresses transboundary environmental challenges, and fosters cooperation among countries. Natalia is also a co-author of XCEPT-funded research on the Environmental Dimensions of Conflict in the Lake Chad Region, focused on understanding how environment, conflict, and livelihoods intersect in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
Sarah Njeri
A peace and conflict scholar at SOAS, University of London, specialising in humanitarianism, development, and environmental peacebuilding. Her work brings together critical, decolonial, and feminist perspectives to examine how power and inequality shape interventions in conflict-affected contexts.She focuses on post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian mine action, and disarmament, with particular attention to the environmental and human impacts of explosive remnants of war. Alongside her academic work, she engages in policy and advocacy as a trustee of the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), and as a board member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association and REVIVE Campaign, supporting efforts to reduce harm to people and ecosystems from armed conflict.
Discussant:
Will Reynolds
The UK FCDO’s Conflict and Climate Lead, working in the Fragility Team within the Conflict and Atrocity Prevention Department in the Humanitarian Directorate. His role brings together conflict and climate expertise and policy from across the UK government and its overseas network. Will is an FCDO Conflict Adviser and has previously served as the UK’s Regional Conflict Adviser in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as a Peace Process and Mediation Adviser with the FCDO.
Moderator:
Tobias Ide
Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at PRIF and the XCEPT Conflict & Climate Research Fellow. His research focuses on the security implications of climate change, the role of the environment in peace and conflict processes, rebel groups, and education in conflict contexts.