Environmental security: Conflict resolution samples for German East Africa in the postcolonial era

The environmental factor started to take its place in security debates introduced right after the Cold War as environmental problems and environmental derogation start to have a negative effect on human life with the depletion of ozone layer in the 1980s. The environmental factor became an important security issue in a very globalizing world with the extension of security concept and securitization. Environmental causes underlying conflicts especially the violent internal ones started to be studied among different study groups in terms of needs-based and resource-based conflicts since the concept of environmental security was introduced as a separate field in security studies. This study highlights the conceptual development of environmental security and evaluates the historical context in Rwanda and Burundi in terms of environmental security concerns. It also offers conflict resolution samples for needs-based and resource based conflicts with this analysis. KEYWORDSBurundi, Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Environmental Security, Securitization, Rwanda