Conflict-Sensitive Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting resilience, nature, and peace

This guide defines conflict-sensitive Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation and provides a framework for integrating conflict analysis into the design and implementation of environmental projects to avoid exacerbating tensions and promote peace.

• Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for adaptation are actions aimed at protecting, conserving, restoring, sustainably using, and managing the natural environment to improve the resilience of nature and communities against climate change. While they can support peace, poorly designed NbS risk creating or worsening tensions and grievances.
• Specific risks associated with NbS include the introduction of new economic burdens, such as animals leaving habitats to find food and water and damaging livelihoods, the restriction of access to livelihood resources, and tensions stemming from perceived inequalities in how adaptation benefits are distributed.
• Conflict-sensitive NbS are defined as activities designed to increase climate resilience while considering the actors, dynamics, causes, and impacts of conflict. At a minimum, they must minimize conflict risks and avoid contributing to grievances, with the ideal goal of promoting trust-building and cooperation.
• The guide proposes a four-stage process for ensuring NbS are conflict-sensitive: Assess (identifying and analyzing conflicts and their intersection with climate risks), Design (minimizing risks and maximizing peacebuilding), Implement (using transparent and participatory processes), and Monitor, Evaluate, Learn (adjusting activities based on their impact on peace and conflict dynamics).
• Effective integration of conflict sensitivity requires a participatory process involving diverse local actors, specifically those most impacted by climate and conflict risks, including women and other underrepresented groups, to ensure co-design and shared responsibility.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Conflict-Sensitive Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting resilience, nature, and peace. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/conflict-sensitive-nature-based-solutions.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Conflict-Sensitive Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting resilience, nature, and peace. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/conflict-sensitive-nature-based-solutions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Conflict-Sensitive Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting resilience, nature, and peace |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/conflict-sensitive-nature-based-solutions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndconflictsensitive, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Conflict-Sensitive Nature-Based Solutions: Promoting resilience, nature, and peace}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-10/conflict-sensitive-nature-based-solutions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }