Peace talks between Türkiye and the PKK offer a historic opportunity for environmental restoration

Richmond Hill, Canada, 19 September 2025 - For nearly half a century, the conflict between Türkiye and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has not only killed tens of thousands of people but also caused deforestation, pollution, and land degradation in the region. The recent call by the incarcerated PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan for the group to disarm and dissolve offers a rare prospect for peace and order. 

A new publication by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) calls for including environmental restoration in the negotiations agenda to build a just and lasting peace. It proposes a set of policy recommendations guiding negotiators on how to address the environmental legacy of the conflict in peace talks. The recommendations seek to address the limits of conventional peacebuilding processes, which often focus merely on legal and political issues while neglecting the environmental damages that need to be restored. 

“Decades of conflict have devastated lives and damaged the land in Kurdish regions of the Middle East, and peace talks that overlook environmental consequences can cause the same tensions and grievances to return,” said Dr. Pınar Dinç, the Environment-Conflict Nexus Research Fellow at UNU-INWEH. “However, the recommendations set out in this publication can help repair the ecological damage of war and make sustainability, justice, and inclusion part of recovery after conflict.” 

UNU-INWEH's policy brief calls on negotiators to recognize that war harms not only people but also forests, rivers, wildlife, and entire ecosystems that must be restored. It also urges them to hear the narratives of local communities and involve them in the recovery process after conflict, since top-down peace efforts often miss the daily realities these communities face. Finally, it underscores the need to reject rebuilding models based on resource extraction and inequality, and instead support fair, sustainable approaches. 

“Building back the environment that has been damaged by conflicts and wars must be an essential component of peacebuilding and transitional justice,” said Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH. “The ability of local communities to restore the environment and rebuild livelihoods based on their Indigenous knowledge strengthens stability and ensures a lasting peace.” 

In brief:    

• Decades of conflict in the Middle East's Kurdish regions have devastated communities and the environment. 

• The PKK’s disarmament creates a historic opportunity to unite peace and environmental recovery. 

• Conventional peacebuilding process often overlooks ecological harm and non-human victims. 

• A durable peace requires ecological inclusion alongside political and legal reforms. 

• Community-led restoration and Indigenous knowledge are essential for rebuilding after war. 

• Cross-border cooperation on land, water, and climate is critical for regional stability. 

• Justice must be continuous, participatory, and address both people and ecosystems over time. 

• Post-conflict recovery must avoid extractive models and instead prioritize sustainability and equity. 

Read the publication: Dinç, P., Eklund, L., Matin, M., Madani, K. (2025). From Conflict to Peace: The PKK’s Disarmament and the Green Potential of Peace in the Middle East. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, doi: 10.53328/INR25PDR001 

Media Contacts:   

Kyra Bowman, UNU Head of Communications, bowman@unu.edu    

Shooka Bidarian, Media and Journalism Fellow, Sustainability and Climate, shooka.bidarian@unu.edu   

Available for Interview:   

Dr. Pınar Dinç – Research Fellow, Environment-Conflict Nexus– pinar.dinc@unu.edu  

Prof. Kaveh Madani - Director, UNU-INWEH - madani@unu.edu   

Dr. Mir Matin – Manager, Geospatial, Climate and Infrastructure Analytics Program, UNU-INWEH – mir.matin@unu.edu   

About UNU-INWEH   

The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is one of 13 institutions comprising the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the United Nations. Established in 1996 through an agreement with the Government of Canada, UNU-INWEH, also known as the UN's Think Tank on Water is headquartered in the City of Richmond Hill, Ontario. UNU-INWEH specializes in addressing critical global security and development challenges at the intersection of water, environment, and health. Through research, capacity development, policy engagement, and knowledge dissemination, the institute bridges the gap between scientific evidence and the practical needs of policymakers and UN member states, with particular attention to low and middle-income countries. By collaborating with a diverse array of partners—including UN agencies, governments, academia, the private sector, and civil society—UNU-INWEH develops solutions that advance human security, resilience, and sustainability worldwide.