Topic: Integrating the concept of peacebuilding in sustainability impact assessment
Speaker: Dr. Katharina Löhr, deputy head of the department ‘Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries’ at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF).
Abstract:
This talk discusses the integration of peacebuilding components into sustainability impact assessment (SIA) for application in geographies vulnerable to, recovering from, or experiencing conflict. Based on the understanding that peace is a crucial pre-requisite for sustainable development and vice versa, it argues that integrating peacebuilding into SIA will enhance the development potential; particularly in conflict-affected countries. So far, SIA does not address this nexus of development and peace. Existing SIA tools address many aspects, particularly economic and environmental impacts, but, although crucial to enhance societal relations and peace(building), these neglect societal aspects relating to social cohesion, agency, and transformation capacity. Indicators for assessing peacebuilding potential are proposed for integration in SIA in conflict-affected areas. The indicators are grouped into four components aligning with the key areas identified as missing in existing SIA frameworks but also crucial for positive peace: social cohesion, agency, negotiation capacities, and compensations.
About the speaker:
Dr. Katharina Löhr is deputy head of the department ‘Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries’ at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) in Germany and affiliated researcher and former lecturer at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. She holds a PhD in agricultural sciences (HU Berlin) and an MSc in Peace and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, UK). Her research focuses on the nexus of natural resource management, social cohesion, and peacebuilding, sustainability impact assessment and co-design of innovations.
