Ecological resources shared across political boundaries can be a powerful avenue for peace-building.
The power of environmental diplomacy creates a holistic positive feedback effect which can combat political (Track-1) inertia in conflict zones. Our theory of change is that science diplomacy (Track-2) and public diplomacy (Track-3) can leverage change around the dominant discourse within conflict-ridden social ecological systems. We work with stakeholders to leverage artificial intelligence and open source geospatial technologies to bring about environmental security across food, energy, water, climate and public health domains. IEDS operates within a framework of six broad themes that captures its mission and vision:
Research Themes
Featured Projects
Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network
Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network (TWIN) is a network of grassroots organizations, academic & scientific institutions, and individuals sharing a vision of clean water for all. Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network (TWIN) is a network of grassroots organizations, academic & scientific institutions, and individuals sharing a vision of clean water for all. Our mission is to strengthen and mobilize existing organizational networks that work locally, nationally and globally towards ‘equitable and reasonable’ sharing water resources across borders.
Basin Resilience to Extreme Events
Vermont EPSCoR was awarded a Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1, $20M award on June 1, 2016 for research on Lake Champlain Basin Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE).
Videos
Road to Geneva: Second Part on Opportunities and Challenges for Science Diplomacy
Panel Discussion on Transboundary Water with Asim Zia at UNFCCC COP 25
Events
IEDS Guest Speaker Clive Lipchin Presentation: Solutions for off grid food-energy-water in a transboundary context September 15, 2021
Road to Geneva Event: Part-2 Symposia on Securing Clean Water in Transboundary Indus, Jordan, Mekong and Amazon Basins June 16, 2021
Road to Geneva Event: Part-3 Symposia on Securing Clean Water in Transboundary Indus, Jordan, Mekong and Amazon Basins June 24, 2021
News
Asim Zia and Donna Rizzo Presentation at Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group: Meeting #14: October 5, 2021 12-2 PM, Register: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/pes
Recording of Road to Geneva Event: Part 1 of Symposia on Securing Clean Water in Transboundary Indus, Jordan, Mekong and Amazon Basins June 8, 2021†
Contact Us
Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security
University of Vermont
146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Email: ieds@uvm.edu