Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Relations beyond Resources: Interspecies Peace and Intergenerational Justice

Date & Time
Jun 19, 2026 | 9.00 - 10.30

Participants
Chair: Breanna Riddick, Climates of Resistance (United States)
Marie Comuzzo, Brandeis University (Italy)
Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao, Kent State University School of Peace and Conflict Studies (United States)
Kalani Reyes (Northern Mariana Islands)
Ruhama Solomon, University of Denver (United States)

What’s in a name? Shakespeare’s most famous play reminds us that names do matter, especially in the relationships they evoke. “Ich und Du” by Martin Buber emphasises the dramatic distinction between I-It interactions, which are fundamentally objectifying, and I-Thou relations, which seek equitable connection between individuals. This panel aims to move us away from the framing of non-human environmental aspects as resources, arguing that the term ‘natural resource’ is, in of itself, an act of violence through objectification and dismissal of an ‘other’. Individual presentations will consider how Indigenous practices from around the world highlight alternative approaches to relationships between people and the ecosystems they’re part of. Speakers will address Land Acknowledgement in Turtle Island, Island-Ocean interdependencies in the Pacific, territorial defense mechanisms in Asia and Latin America, and human-whale relationships around the world. Shared discussion will then consider how the lessons learned from each practice and case study might inform the blueprint for a more sustainable peace.

Relations beyond Resources: Interspecies Peace and Intergenerational Justice

Sounding Change: Whales, Environmental Activism, and Politics of Listening

Environmental Peacebuilding through Defense of Territory, Indigenous Protected Zones and Land Return

Intergenerational Peace and Justice in the Marianas and Pacific

Anthropause! Wait–where am I going with this one?