The Specialist Group on Armed Conflict and the Environment is undertaking two related activities: (1) assessing experiences in post-conflict management of natural resources and the environment (led by Carl Bruch); and (2) exploring current questions of the law of armed conflict as it relates to the protection of the environment (led by Michael Bothe). On 17-18 September 2007, the Specialist Group coconvened an international meeting on ‘Managing Natural Resources in Post-Conflict Societies: Lessons in Making the Transition to Peace.’ Around 35 people participated in the meeting, which was held in Geneva in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch. Co-Chairs Carl Bruch and Michael Bothe led the meeting, with Hassan Partow from UNEP. CEL Steering Committee Member Nawzat Ali attended the meeting. The meeting identified a range of post-conflict countries in which natural resources played an important role in peace-building and recovery. The participants shared observations regarding lessons learned and considered a range of follow-up actions to improve post-conflict management of natural resources, particularly as it relates to peace-building. The discussions from the meeting will frame the analysis that the Specialist Group is undertaking on post-conflict natural resources management. For the second activity – examining the law of armed conflict as it relates to environmental protection – the Specialist Group will form an open-ended reflection group. The Specialist Group will start with a questionnaire to be elaborated by the Co-Chair Michael Bothe. Although the question of the application of the law of armed conflict for the protection of the environment has been an object of political and academic discussion for more than three decades, controversy persists which invites a fresh in-depth analysis of strengths and gaps. Based on this analysis, the Specialist Group will highlight opportunities for making recommendations for amending or developing new law and policy in the field.
