Environmental peacebuilding in protracted refugee situations: The camp, refugee–host conflict and pathways to peaceful co-existence

The number of people in displacement settings has grown steadily over the past decades. As refugees spend extended periods outside their home countries, new pressures have emerged in and around refugee camps, bringing refugees and host communities into conflict. Camp-based refugees have been blamed for increased environmental degradation rates, resource scarcity, reduced livelihood opportunities and other social and environmental problems. Many theorists have resorted to presenting these conflicts as an inevitable result of increased the pressure on the surrounding environment and its resources. This article challenges these notions and argues for an understanding of the spatial effects of the refugee camp. It will be argued that environmental resources can be a viable pathway towards a peaceful, sustainable and durable solution to protracted refugee situations rather than a conflict driver. Using the example of Ghana’s experience as a refugee–hosting country, it examines the impact of protracted refugee situations on refugees and host communities, demonstrating how compounding pressures have led to conflicts between the two groups over time. Potential environmental peacebuilding interventions are examined to understand the wide-ranging benefits that cooperation over environmental resources can bring to communities in conflict.