In this video, Yemeni citizens recount how their daily lives have been affected by environmental degradation and discuss how taking part in the EPfR consultations and community dialogues has given them an arena to make their voices heard and to reflect upon the role of environmental changes and natural resources in peace efforts.
Vision
We aim to leverage environmental issues as opportunities for peacemaking in Yemen to strengthen social cohesion at the local level and promote marginalised and vulnerable voices in national level processes.
We believe that if Yemeni society becomes more sensitive to the effects of environmental and climate impacts on the conflict and mobilises towards coordinated environmental governance, it will lead to a more sustainable and long-lasting peace process.
Identify
Enable Yemeni society to help identify environment- and climate-related security risks and peacemaking opportunities
Express
Open spaces to express their needs and find joint local solutions
Integrate
Help integrate environmental and climate security in political and peace discussions
Results so far
We consulted 3,694 people across 13 Yemeni governorates on environmental and climate security. Here is what we have learned:
80%
80% of respondents considered the natural environment essential or important to secure their income.
70%
70% reported tensions and disputes over water resources within their communities. Despite the political and humanitarian urgencies, 85% of the Yemenis consulted considered it essential to address climate change.
60%
Over 60% expressed their support for integrating environmental considerations into conflict resolution. This demonstrates that environmental concerns offer an unexplored entry point for common peacemaking and reconciliation efforts in Yemen.
Community dialogues
We implemented community dialogues in Marib, Hadramawt, Al-Mahra, Aden, Taiz, and Mocha, bringing together a total of over 200 participants to discuss and find joint solutions to environmental security risks in their governorate.
The dialogues enabled increasingly nuanced and forward-looking discussions about environmental and climate risks that contribute to tensions locally. Participants agreed on key environmental priorities for each governorate in outcome statements, which will be shared with key decision-makers.
Bringing together a diversity of actors, the dialogues also strengthened the relationships between participants to support social cohesion at the local level. After the last round of dialogues in 2024, almost 90% of participants reported that the dialogues have allowed them to discuss and interact with individuals that they would not have met otherwise, and that they felt more connected to the other participants after the dialogues.
The project facilitated the first-ever community dialogues on environmental peace and security in Yemen, implementing 14 dialogues in Marib, Hadramawt, Al-Mahra, Aden, Taizz and Mocha.
The participants identified the most pressing environmental issues driving conflict in their area, and proposed potential solutions in informal outcome agreements to be shared with the governorate authorities.
Bringing together local authorities, business owners and civil society leaders to discuss environmental security risks helped strengthening the social fabric by increasing trust, sense of unity, and cooperation.
Engaging national decision-makers
We discussed the status of environmental governance in Yemen and explored pathways for environmental dialogue and cooperation with technical and political representatives of the national government.
Responding to environmental risks through technical collaboration, data sharing, institutional capacity-building, and joint policy development can provide opportunities to foster dialogue and mutual understanding.
The Institute’s engagement at the national level seeks to leverage shared environmental concerns as a new avenue for peace, framing discussions around common interests, and fostering trust-building and cooperation.
Read more about the meetings here.
