Peace is often understood as a political process, negotiated around dialogue tables or formalized through agreements. Yet my internship with Oikodiplomatique led me toward a broader and deeper understanding of peace, one that is also built through our relationship with the land, with ecosystems, and with our inner lives.
In contexts shaped by conflict, climate crises, and structural injustice, environmental degradation not only threatens livelihoods. It also affects people’s psychosocial well-being and weakens the very conditions that make coexistence possible. Conversely, restoring nature can become an act of peace, both collective and deeply personal.
This reflection emerged gradually through two complementary experiences: observing the case of Kereita Forest, and participating in a workshop organized by Oikodiplomatique, where an environmental practitioner explicitly raised the question of human healing through nature. Together, these moments reshaped how I understand the links between environment, peace, and the human experience.
Kereita Forest: Peace rooted in the environment
Kereita Forest, located along the Kikuyu Escarpment at the edge of the Rift Valley, is a landscape marked by a history of intercommunal tensions. Past conflicts between Maasai pastoralists and Kikuyu farming communities were closely tied to access to land, water, and forest resources, in a context of growing environmental pressure.
Although Oikodiplomatique does not directly intervene in Kereita, this field experience allowed me to observe a post-conflict reality and to interpret it through the environmental and peacebuilding frameworks developed during my internship. Kereita thus became a powerful space for learning and reflection.
Today, peace in Kereita depends on continuous environmental governance: forest restoration, protection of water catchment areas, regulated access to grazing land, and community-based monitoring systems. These practices go beyond ecological conservation. They directly address the structural causes of past tensions and gradually reshape relationships between communities.
Observing these dynamics made it clear to me that peace is not sustained merely by the absence of violence, but by everyday practices of cooperation around a shared ecosystem.
When nature becomes a space for inner healing
It was during a workshop organized by Oikodiplomatique that an environmental actor introduced a reflection that deeply influenced my thinking. While speaking about forests and ecological restoration, he emphasized how natural spaces can also serve as places of inner healing.
Coming from a context marked by conflict, trauma, and displacement, this insight resonated strongly with me. It helped me recognize a connection that is often overlooked, yet widely experienced. Across the world, people walk through forests, sit near water, or seek the quiet stability of natural landscapes to regain a sense of inner peace. They may not describe this in the language of mental health or trauma, yet something real happens. The body slows down. The mind breathes. Invisible wounds begin, quietly, to heal.
In societies affected by violence, environmental injustice, and uncertainty, this dimension is essential. Conflict leaves deep internal traces: fear, mistrust, emotional exhaustion, and a loss of orientation. Nature can offer a rare kind of space, one without judgment or pressure, where presence, continuity, and natural rhythms support emotional regulation and personal reconstruction.
Linking community peace and human healing
The experience of Kereita, combined with the reflections sparked during the workshop, led me to see peace as a multi-layered process. Social and community peace cannot be fully sustained without some form of inner healing among the individuals who make up those communities.
People who feel calmer and more grounded are better able to listen, to engage in dialogue, and to cooperate. In the same way, a restored environment can foster a sense of safety, belonging, and stability, conditions that are essential for both personal and collective rebuilding. Conversely, environmental degradation can reactivate inner insecurity and reignite conflict dynamics.
This psychosocial dimension of the environment remains largely absent from institutional peace frameworks. Yet it deserves recognition. Restoring ecosystems, protecting forests, and preserving natural spaces are not only acts of conservation or climate action. They are also quiet but powerful contributions to human healing and conflict prevention.
Conclusion: Peace as both ecological and inner
My internship with Oikodiplomatique helped me understand that peace is not limited to political agreements or technical interventions. It is shaped by how communities manage shared resources, as well as by how individuals reconnect with themselves and the environment around them.
In Kereita, restoring the forest contributes to sustaining coexistence. More broadly, nature can also support inner healing in contexts marked by violence and uncertainty. Recognizing this link expands our understanding of peace and affirms that environmental justice, human well-being, and sustainable peace are deeply interconnected.
In a world facing growing ecological and social crises, this integrated approach is not a luxury. It is a necessity.
By Ella Mindja
Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations | Hekima University College
