The NERPS research cluster on Drivers of peace, conflict, and environmental sustainability associated with natural resources and protected areas employs basic and applied research approaches to investigate complex social and environmental interconnectivity in multiple geographies and sectors. This cluster seeks to develop the knowledge needed for public, non-profit, and private sector environmental steward to deploy management actions that will safeguard ecological integrity and yield a peacebuilding dividend. Beginning in 2020, this research cluster has employed interdisciplinary scientific study to examine natural resource management strategies and stakeholder engagement pathways that yield better social and ecological results. In addition, it has employed field-based studies to characterize resource the physical, chemical, hydrological, and geographic dynamics of specific natural resources and critical ecosystems to enhance the knowledge base available for data-driven management. In 2022, the cluster expanded to include an educational component that brings together students from around the world to study environmental management and peacebuilding at field sites in Japan. Through that educational component, students receive graduate credit toward their masters’ degrees and build important professional networks. In 2023, the cluster was further expanded to include begin deploying science and knowledge in practical application by supporting resource managers at new field sites in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. As the research cluster moves forward, it will continue to conduct basic and applied research, education, and practice to advance social and ecological resilience around the world.

The research cluster on Drivers of peace, conflict, and environmental sustainability associated with natural resources and protected areas has the following short, medium, and long-term objectives:

Short-term (until March 2025)

• Refine and expand machine-learning approaches to studying the social-ecological impacts of climate change and land use change in critical ecosystems and strategic geographies.

• Expand knowledge base on disasters and natural hazard linkages with human wellbeing and ecological integrity.

• Expand knowledge and data related to strategic resources and GHGs including Lithium, Gold, Agricultural Production, and Carbon.

Medium-term (until March 2027)

• Utilize applied scientific services to assist governmental, non-profit, and private sector stakeholders understand, characterize, and develop management plans for important landscapes and privately managed protected areas in Africa, North America, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands.

• Build robust evidence on how to use PA management to reduce anthropogenic pressure on the natural resource base.

• Conduct foundational research to develop a new and more sophisticated understanding of the linkages between regenerative practices, ecological integrity, and human wellbeing.

• Educate a new generation of at least 100 environmental peacebuilders through joint graduate field courses on environmental management and peacebuilding.

Long-term (until March 2030)

• Publish 2 new books on themes relevant to the peace-sustainability nexus with co-authors from the research cluster.

• Publish research findings in top-tier peer reviewed journals.

• Expand and deepen partnerships with core partner universities and affiliates from government, non-profit, and private sector organizations.

Relevance to the peace-sustainability nexus

The research cluster on Drivers of peace, conflict, and environmental sustainability associated with natural resources and protected areas is directly investigating the social and ecological dynamics that underpin the peace-sustainability nexus by investigating the social and environmental factors that unable better human wellbeing and social cohesion while also enabling more sustainable resource management and nature conservation actions. To accomplish this, the cluster employs interdisciplinary basic and applied science, education, and practice with partners and stakeholders around the world.

Research outputs

Moran, B., Boutt, D., Munk, L.A., and Fisher, J. (2024). Extreme Partitioning of Relic and Contemporary Waters in Arid Environments. PLOS Water 3(4): e0000191. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000191

Fisher, J., Allen, S., Woomer, A., and A. Crawford (2023). Protected area management and governance under pressure: An online survey to assess how to manage critical ecosystems for attainment of social and environmental goals and reduce stakeholder conflict. World Development Sustainability 3:100084 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wds.2023.100084

Fisher, J. (2022). Managing Environmental Conflict: An Earth Institute Sustainability Primer. New York. Columbia University Press. https://cup.columbia.edu/book/managing-environmental-conflict/9780231196871

Kruczkiewicz, A., Klopp, J., & J. Fisher, et al. (2021). Preparing for Compound Risks and Complex Emergencies in a Time of COVID. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 118(19).  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2106795118

Knuckey, S., Satterthwaite, M., Fisher, J., Klasing, A., & T. Russo. (2021). Advancing Socioeconomic Rights Through Interdisciplinary Factfinding: Opportunities and Challenges. Annual Review of Law and Social Science. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-121620-081730

Fisher, J., Arora, P., Simangan, D., Rhee, S., Chen, S., & Blaine, T. (2021). Four Propositions on Integrated Sustainability: Toward a Theoretical Framework to Understand the Environment, Peace, and Sustainability Nexus. Sustainability Science (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00925-y