From Threat to Opportunity

Abstract

The research of the relationship between conflicts and natural resourceshas been dominated by an understanding of natural resources as a causeof conflicts, and the term “conflict resources” has been used in connectionwith this. Here I o!er another approach and present the hypothesis that alack of environmental resources (environmental resources and rawmaterials are together understood as natural resources) and environmentaldegradation can o!er a peace-building opportunity. I argue thatenvironmental resources are not transportable, extractable or lootable,which decreases their market significance. At the same time, the conflict-prone communities are aware that non-tradeable goods play a vital role intheir life and the quality of the goods depends on the collaboration amongall the actors in the region. This situation results in so-called “environmentalinterdependence”. Environmental interdependence works as an impulse forcooperation across the cleavage lines. The hypothesis is tested on two casestudies – that of the relationship between Israel and Palestine and that ofthe relations between mainland China and Taiwan.