Chapter 2 maps out major theories in peace and conflict studies dealing with the interaction between nature, war, and peace. While acknowledging that the field is characterised by a broad diversity of research traditions and methodological approaches, the aim of the chapter is to offer a review of the research that has had most influence on international policies and legal development. Although legal scholars often think of this literature as monolithic, what will emerge from this chapter is that there is a vivid debate on the linkages between environment and conflict, which is explained by the different underlying paradigms and concepts. It is important to pay attention to the contested nature of these analytical frameworks to better understand (and challenge) the approaches that emerged at the international level. The second part of the chapter introduces environmental justice as an alternative framework to move beyond certain problematic assumptions about environmental scarcity/abundance that have fed into international law. Environmental justice perspectives will be used in subsequent chapters to think about justice accordingly and beyond international law.

Chapter 5 embarks upon an analysis of the UNSC’s approach to ‘conflict resources’ by considering its use of sanctions, panels/groups of experts, and peacekeeping missions. It will show that UNSC commodity-focused interventions have sought to address the economic motivations for starting and prolonging armed conflict, while failing to bring about the systemic changes necessary to achieve ‘positive peace’. By securitising resource extraction in conflict zones and supporting ‘good governance’ reforms in post-conflict countries, questions of sustainability and more equitable access/distribution of natural resources have been sidelined. Thereafter, through engaging with ongoing debates on the peace and security implications of climate change, the chapter illuminates the limits of existing conceptual/legal frameworks underpinning the practice of the UNSC and the need to rethink what peace and security mean in times of ecological disruption.

The chapter examines three distinct issues related to the sharing of resources in conflict settlements: revenue sharing, shared access to and use of a resource (e.g. water); and shared management arrangements. It draws lessons from how these issues have been handled in federal and devolved governance regimes. It distinguishes between how resource provisions may relate to ending a conflict on the one hand and to promoting longer-term development on the other hand. In finds that relatively few conflict settlements include meaningful provisions on these three aspects of resource sharing. The sharing of revenues, or of access to a resource, is easier to resolve than sharing of management, though there can still be important engagement of local and regional communities and governments in the decision-making process. Moreover, there are established guidelines on good resource and revenue management, including in devolved contexts, that should be considered in peace settlements.