Szilvia Csevár

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Public international law professional. Current research is focusing on the role of Indigenous women in environmental peacebuilding and justice, with a particular focus on the interaction between colonialism, environmental factors and the root causes of conflict.

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Stephen C Druce

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Lara McKenzie

The University of Western Australia

Dreli Solomon

Kylie McKenna

Charles Darwin University

Camellia Webb-Gannon

University of Wollongong

Tamara Jordan

Oxford Brookes University

Patricia A . O'Brien

Georgetown University

Abigail Abrash Walton

Antioch University New England

Brad Simpson

University of Connecticut

Arifah Rahmawati

Universitas Gadjah Mada (Yogyakarta)

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Papers by Szilvia Csevár

The compounding impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on the insecurity of indigenous women in Papua and West Papua, Indonesia

In October 2016, a research project was conducted in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project's aim wa... more In October 2016, a research project was conducted in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project's aim was to conduct interviews with forcibly displaced indigenous Papuans, one of the world's most ignored and forgotten community, living in the border areas of PNG's Western Province. Over the last decades, several thousand Papuan refugees fled east to PNG to escape violence, political turmoil and economic discontent. Many of them are living in improvised settlements in dense jungle, along the Indonesian border. 1 Provision of fundamental health, educational and social services in these settlements is left entirely in the hands of the Catholic Mission. My spirits were running high as we pulled up to shore after a boat trip to the settlement site on the Fly river. We followed the dirt path to hilly land. A Papuan community leader led the way. Walking at a remarkably fast pace, he was practically running uphill. As I walked behind him, I wondered what the settlement would look like. Back at the Mission, I was told the story of a small village-'stunning view of the river', it was claimedgoing through some gradual development recently. After a good hour of hiking, the settlement was about two kilometers away from the international border, high up on a dump plateau, with the river nowhere in sight. The dirt road continued, leading to several large cleared areas housing family plots surrounded by a swath of tropical rainforest. On a sweltering Wednesday afternoon, I learned of the catalogue of fears that populate the landscape of this mighty forest. There was talk of military violence to repress dissent. An old man in a football jersey expressed concern about political prisoners. Suddenly a young woman stood and cleared her throat: 'Nobody is going after them who are destroying our land.' She talked about the far-reaching adverse impact of pollution on the land and people. How people were sick and ill as a result of the pollution to the water and land. The very fact that they could no longer eat the fish from the river. The fact that what used to be ancient wetland has now become toxic wasteland. This journey provided some valuable lessons and experiences and triggered my motivation to continue the work. This research reflects my changing appreciation of the disproportionate burdens placed on vulnerable communities by environmental factors pushing them further into poverty and marginalization and increasing the risk of violent conflict.

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Voices in the Background: Environmental Degradation and Climate Change as Driving Forces of Violence Against Indigenous Women

Global studies quarterly, Sep 1, 2021

Adopted on the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325, Security Council resolution 2242 has rec... more Adopted on the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325, Security Council resolution 2242 has recognized for the first time the substantial link between climate change and the "Women, Peace and Security" (WPS) framework. Despite this landmark resolution, the intersections of environmental factors, conflict and violence against women remain largely absent from the Security Council's WPS agenda. Competition over natural resources is generally understood as a driver of conflict. The risk of insecurity and conflict are further increased by environmental degradation and climate change. It is therefore clear that the environment and natural resources must be integrated into the WPS agenda. This should necessarily include a discussion of indigenous rights to land and the gender-related dimensions of environmental factors. Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, caused by resource extraction and increasingly compounded by climatic changes. This in turn exacerbates other vulnerabilities, including sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of marginalization. This article argues, by reference to the situation in West Papua, that unfettered resource extraction not only amplifies vulnerabilities and exacerbates preexisting inequalities stemming from colonial times, it also gives rise to gendered consequences flowing from the damage wreaked on the natural environment and thus poses a danger to international peace and security. As such, the Security Council's failure to recognize the continuous struggle of women in indigenous and rural communities against extractive economies and climate change impact as a security risk forms a serious lacuna within its WPS agenda.

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Ten new insights in climate science 2022

Global Sustainability

Non-technical summary We summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings ... more Non-technical summary We summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C. Technical summary We synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and anima...

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The compounding impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on the insecurity of indigenous women in Papua and West Papua, Indonesia

De Haagse Hogeschool, 2020

OUP accepted manuscript

Global Studies Quarterly, 2021

The compounding impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on the insecurity of indigenous women in Papua and West Papua, Indonesia

Gender, Climate and Security: sustaining inclusive peace on the frontlines of climate change, 2020

Immense beyond imagination, the untamed rainforests of western New Guinea represent a biodiversi... more Immense beyond imagination, the untamed rainforests of western New Guinea represent a biodiversity hotspot, home to several unique species of flora and fauna. The territory’s astonishing beauty and diversity is underpinned by a stunning array of natural resources. The island is also home to many indigenous communities practicing hundreds of local languages and traditions and depending on their natural environment for maintaining their traditional livelihoods, identity and culture. The territory’s much-contested decolonization process in the 1950-60s led to widespread discontent among indigenous Papuans and gave rise to persistent dissent from Indonesian rule, routinely met with disproportionately violent action by Indonesian security forces. Adding to these longstanding colonial ills and grievances, indigenous Papuan communities also struggle to grapple with inequitable allocation of land and resources, extreme pollution and environmental degradation caused by the mining and palm oil sectors. In the meantime, climate-exacerbated weather events have become more frequent in the region creating new tensions by putting an additional strain on natural resources and thus leading to an increased level of insecurity and inequality. In particular, these challenges have a disproportionate and profound impact on indigenous Papuan women, whose native lands are deeply embedded in their cultural and ethnic identity, and who are dependent on access to land to carry out their prescribed roles. Displacement also puts women at further risk of violence. Adding to sexual violence and displacement experienced by indigenous Papuan women, the loss of traditional lands and resources has been identified as having a singularly negative impact on women as it impedes their empowerment and makes them vulnerable to continued violence. The Papuan experience thus serves as a timely illustration to exemplify how environmental factors, such as resource extraction and climate change, not only amplify vulnerabilities and exacerbate pre-existing inequalities stemming from colonial times, they also give rise to gendered consequences flowing from large-scale degradation and loss of the natural environment.

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Voices in the Background: Environmental Degradation and Climate Change as Driving Forces of Violence Against Indigenous Women

Global Studies Quarterly, 2021

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Violencia sexual y acaparamiento: un conflicto olvidado y víctimas ignoradas en Papúa Occidental

La violencia sexual cometida contra la gente de Papua Occidental esta siendo ejercida cada vez ma... more La violencia sexual cometida contra la gente de Papua Occidental esta siendo ejercida cada vez mas por las fuerzas de seguridad de Indonesia para apropiarse de la tierra de la poblacion indigena. Szilvia Csevar y Christine Tremblay, de la Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas de La Haya analizan la militarizacion forzada de Papua Occidental y las pautas de violencia sexual usadas como medios para controlar y explotar por completo los recursos naturales de las islas.

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Sexualised violence and land grabbing: forgotten conflict and ignored victims in West Papua

by Christine Tremblay and Szilvia Csevár

Sexual violence committed against the people of West Papua is being used increasingly by Indonesi... more Sexual violence committed against the people of West Papua is being used increasingly by Indonesian security forces as a means of taking land from the indigenous population. Szilvia Csevar and Christine Tremblay from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, look at the enforced militarisation of West Papua and the patterns of sexual violence used as a means to fully control and exploit the islands natural resources.