Environmental peacebuilding is a rapidly growing field of research and practice at the intersection of environment, conflict, peace and security. Focusing on these linkages is crucial in a time when the environment is a core issue of international politics and the number of armed conflicts remains high. This article introduces a special issue with a particular emphasis on environmental opportunities for building and sustaining peace. We first detail the definitions, theoretical assumptions and intellectual background of environmental peacebuilding. The article then provides context for the special issue by briefly reviewing core findings and debates of the first two generations of environmental peacebuilding research. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps that should be addressed in the next generation of research, and to which the articles in this special issue contribute: bottom-up approaches, gender, conflict-sensitive programming, use of big data and frontier technology, and monitoring and evaluation.

The increase in demand and prices of most high-value natural resources over the past five decades has resulted in massive income gains for resource-abundant countries. Paradoxically, many of these countries have suffered from slow economic growth, weak political institutions, and violent conflict. To combat corruption, increase accountability, and promote government effectiveness, the international community and advocacy groups have been promoting transparency as the remedy to misappropriation and mismanagement of revenues. Consequently, advocates, officials, and diplomats increasingly focus on transparency as the means to better manage revenues from high-value natural resources in developing countries. The linkages between transparency, accountability, and management of revenues from high-value natural resources require careful examination. This article provides a review of the literature on transparency and accountability in the context of natural resource revenue management, discusses how transparency is conceptualized and understood to function in this context, and assesses the existing evidence for the proposition that increased transparency leads to more accountability and improved natural resource governance. The article concludes with a discussion on the evaluation of transparency policy initiatives.

Abstract:The food security crisis and international "land grabs" have drawn renewed attention to the role of natural resource competition in the livelihoods of the rural poor. While significant empirical research has focused on diagnosing the links between natural resource competition and (violent) conflict, much less has focused on the dynamics of whether and how resource competition can be transformed to strengthen social-ecological resilience and mitigate conflict. Focusing on this latter theme, this review synthesizes evidence from cases in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Building on an analytical framework designed to enable such comparative analysis, we present several propositions about the dynamics of conflict and collective action in natural resource management, and a series of recommendations for action. These propositions are: collective action in natural resource management is influenced by the social-ecological and governance context; natural resource management institutions affect the incentives for conflict or cooperation; and, the outcomes of these interactions influence future conflict risk, livelihoods, and resource sustainability. Action recommendations concern policies addressing resource tenure, conflict resolution mechanisms, and social inequalities, as well as strategies to strengthen collective action institutions in the natural resource sectors and to enable more equitable engagement by marginalized groups in dialogue and negotiation over resource access and use.

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Natural resource management increasingly plays a pivotal role in the transition of post-confl ict societies towards a lasting peace. This role is not limited to societies where confl ict has been directly fueled by high-value natural resources such as timber or minerals. Unresolved issues surrounding land tenure administration can reignite tensions, and the inability of government to deliver key services (water, food, shelter, and other resourcedependent essentials for life) can destabilize weakened societies that are recovering from confl ict. In addition to eliminating these potential obstacles to peace, good natural resource management can provide opportunities for confi dence-building measures, serve as models of effective and equitable governance, and advance other peace-building objectives. Since the Second World War, there have been more than 300 major armed confl icts around the world. 1 The incidence of confl ict has intensifi ed in the years following the end of the Cold War: The period since 1990 has been marked by a proliferation of violent confl icts, with nearly all of them located in the developing and transition countries, and many in the poorest countries. The character of these confl icts has been changing. While the incidence of interstate confl icts has not increased, the incidence of intrastate confl icts, including armed civil confl icts reached a peak in the early 1990s, with over one third of the world's countries affected by serious warfare at some point during the 1990s. 2 As the vast majority of armed confl icts in the last sixty years have occurred in developing countries, most people directly affected by confl ict live close

The destructive impacts of Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy displaced large numbers of people. While some families were able to return home soon after the disasters, others struggled to do so and remained displaced for extended periods of time. Although much attention has been paid to the immediate response to natural disasters, research on policies and practices regarding long-term return migration has been largely overlooked. This article presents an overview of recent literature that addresses factors affecting displaced individuals' decision to return home or relocate following these two disasters. It discusses five major factors influencing individual and household decisions regarding whether to return home, relocate, or remain in limbo if unable to achieve either. These include: (1) habitability Journal of Asian Development ISSN 2377-9594 2017 http://jad.macrothink.org 74 of homes; (2) affordability of housing; (3) financial burdens; (4) slow restoration of public services and facilities; and (5) sense of place and identity. The article then assesses the types of policies that have been used with varying goals-promoting, discouraging, and, in some cases, prohibiting return. It presents four examples of policy tools that have influenced post-disaster return or relocation after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy: (1) tax policies; (2) buyouts; (3) changes to building codes; and (4) revisions to the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program. The article concludes that a better understanding of factors affecting displaced persons can help policymakers meet their objectives of encouraging or inhibiting return to a specific site after a disaster.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi displaced more than 340,000 people. Four years later, more than 70,000 people were still living in temporary housing. This article summarizes findings from a series of structured interviews with people from Hirono Town that were still living in temporary housing four and a half years after the triple catastrophe. The interviews sought to understand why people were still in temporary housing, rather than moving back to Hirono Town (as many had) or on to more permanent arrangements in other locations (as some had). Five key factors are identified that contributed to respondents' ongoing decision to stay in the temporary housing: (1) a new sense of community in the temporary housing; (2) convenience of shopping, medical care, and dental care, as well as (to a lesser degree) education and recreational opportunities; (3) a sense of injustice and inequality in the benefits they were receiving; (4) concerns about radioactive contamination; (5) a desire to receive compensation.

Adaptation to climate change will play a critical role in water management in the coming decades, necessitating reform of the legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks that govern water allocation, use, and quality to integrate adaptive water management. Legal and regulatory tools can also facilitate adaptive responses. This article provides an overview of the ways in which water laws, regulations, and institutions will need to be rethought and reformulated and offers some thoughts on the future of governing for adaptation in the water sector.