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THE WEB SITE FOR IEDS IS BEING DEVELOPED BY TAMARACK MEDIA AND WILL BE OPERATIONAL BY

OCTOBER 30, 2010.

INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DIPLOMACY AND SECURITY (IEDS)

James Jeffords Center

University of Vermont,

Email Contact: ieds@uvm.edu

Mailing address: 153 South Prospect St., Burlington VT 05401, USA

Vision statement prepared by founding director Saleem H. Ali

Environmental resources are an essential basis for human survival and can spur communities

towards conflict but also be a motivator for cooperation. The Institute for Environmental

Diplomacy and Security seeks to be a pioneering research center dedicated to both the study

and practice of techniques that can assist in resolving environmental conflicts, and in using

ecological processes as a peace-building tool. Such praxis of action-oriented research is

increasingly important for policy-makers and community decision-makers. Operating at the

confluence of natural and social science, the institute aims to engage communities that have

endured conflicts with multiple causes and consider what role natural resources have played in

their escalation and consider ways by which environmental factors can also catalyze

cooperation. An important distinguishing feature of the institute will be its ability to operate at

multiple scales of small-scale community conflicts which Vermont can provide fertile ground for

study while also engaging larger international conflicts. The location of the institute near an

international border and between the triad of three important international cities, Montreal,

Ottawa and New York, provides additional geographic leverage to such larger diplomatic

activities. The institute operates under 3 broad themes which capture this vision:

a) Borderlands: Boundaries in physical and cognitive space can be defining themes of

diplomacy. The institute will explore how human territoriality can be most

constructively configured so geopolitical boundaries work within ecological principles.

b) Resource Values: Natural resources are valued in economic and ecological terms and

often a disjuncture in these values can lead to conflict. Finding effective mechanisms for

ascribing and communicating value will be studied and implemented in institute

activities.

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c) Pragmatic Peace: Public policy has often been polarized between “hawks” and “doves”

with either side dismissing each other’s motives and methods. The institute will attempt

to reconcile these differences by promoting a practically implementable vision of peace.

Within these themes, there are four cross-cutting programs of operation (consider as a cross-

cutting “matrix” where each theme will have at least one exemplar of operational areas):

a) Experiential learning: The location of the institute at a major land grant university

provides ample opportunities for bridging teaching opportunities with fieldwork and

problem-solving. In the planning tradition of charrettes, coupled with the emerging

genre of service learning, the institute aims to develop a program where experiencing

the dynamics of a conflict will help students and professionals alike and also provide a

revenue base for the financial viability of the institute. UVM Continuing Education will

assist with the planning and administration of these learning modules which will also be

developed in collaboration with the planning committee of the proposed environmental

policy doctoral program.

b) Measured Mediation: Working with an existing network of mediators and in

partnership with regional centers for mediation and conflict resolution, the institute will

provide a forum for understanding the value added by mediating disputes.

c) Participatory Action Research: Basic research can be coupled with applied problem-

solving through the emerging field of participatory action research. Environmental

conflict resolution provides an opportunity to engage in a program of research that

brings together a wide range of disciplines. The institute will provide an opportunity for

researchers across UVM and our partners to engage in research proposals to provide

empirical support for our work.

d) Clinical Case Compendia: Case development is now widely respected as an effective

pedagogic technique and also of great value in corporate and governmental

benchmarking. Leveraging UVM’s existing relationship with Vermont Law School and

Champlain College to developing a teaching case library in environmental diplomacy.

The institute will initially have a small internal committee of UVM and affiliated institutions

(Vermont Law School and Champlain College) and an external advisory board comprising

leading scholars and practitioners in the field. The director of the institute will be assisted by

program coordinators in each of the three thematic areas. In addition, there will be specific

project managers as needed for new initiatives and contracts.

Here is a list of some immediate specific project tasks which the institute will be embarking

upon:

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a) The first set of cases are going to be developed on mineral conflicts with Native American

communities. Rio Tinto Corporation has agreed to provide access to some of their negotiators

for interview in developing the initial set of these cases. The Harvard Project on American

Indian Economic Development has agreed to partner on this and the initial cases will be

published under joint logos with the Kennedy School of Government.

A memorandum of understanding has also been agreed upon between the Akwasasne, St. Regis

Mohawk community to conduct research on environmental conflicts in this border region

between the tribal community, the industrial plants on the border.

Given the mandate of the Jeffords center to engage indigenous communities in Vermont, a case

will also be developed on the prospective conflict over the power line that is planned across

Lake Champlain and will involve the lands of the Abenaki community, near Swanton.

b) A clinical program in partnership with Vermont Law School to consider how environmental

conflicts are handled through ADR (alternative dispute resolution processes) in the shadow of

litigation. This will be manifest through a new course which will aim to have students from both

schools working together and be the first opportunity to show a clear collaboration at the

curricular level for the existing joint-degree program between RSENR and VLS. We will start

with Vermont-based and regional conflicts to make sure the local and regional mandate of the

Jeffords center is not lost with my larger international pursuits.

Jeffords student fellow, Rebecca Pincus will be working on this project with the assistance of

Jared Margolis, VLS graduate and Burlington-based attorney. Students at VLS will prepare the

cases in collaboration with RSENR students as part of a course assignment.

c) Developing an atlas of ecological cooperation to showcase the positive side of environmental

diplomacy in borderlands. This program has already received initial support from the Swiss

government through a grant to the University of Geneva and I will use my new partnership with

the National Geographic Society to showcase this project. NGS has agreed to host the atlas on

their web site.

d) Mediation roster being prepared for Vermont-based mediating professionals who will be

profiled on the IEDS web site and will also contribute content to our research and teaching

efforts.

IEDS aims to be a unique organization which informs policy decisions at multiple levels, and is

also deeply rooted in the communities it serves with care and constancy.