In recent years, there has been an increase in international attention on the exposure of vulnerable populations to intertwined climatic impacts and conflict risks. The broad practice and policy space around ‘climate security’ is evolving rapidly. At International Alert, through our on-the-ground programming and close partnerships with local organisations, we are seeing increasing evidence of the compounding and destabilising effects of climatic change and environmental degradation on conflicts related to the availability of natural resources.

This paper presents insights and learning from recent work in northern Kenya and Central Asia addressing the links between climate, (in)security, conflict and natural resources. For more than 15 years, we have been working at the crossroads of climate, environment and conflict by improving research, analysis and responses to climate and natural resource-related conflicts. Here we share our reflections on how a peacebuilding organisation can work effectively on climate adaptation and natural resource conflicts.

Our experiences in Kenya and Central Asia highlight several areas for reflection by practitioners around developing climate security interventions, as well as mainstreaming conflict and gender sensitivity into climate action more broadly.