Roots of Peace: A Short Film

To support the global mobilisation for the Land, Peace and Security, Surge Africa & Skylark Centre launched a short film that reflect lived realities of people exploring the context of climate, land and environmental security through the lens of societies being affected in Mali, the Andes, Mongolia and Iraq.

WATCH FILM | WATCH IN FRENCH, ARABIC, SPANISH, MANDARIN & SWAHILI

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The proposed CSO-led Declaration on Land, peace and security seeks to address a critical gap in global policy: the underrepresentation of the land–climate–peace nexus in international negotiations, particularly the UNCCD.

Land degradation, desertification, and climate change are increasingly linked to economic insecurity, displacement, conflict, and fragility, yet policy responses remain fragmented and disconnected from local realities.

With UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar presenting a timely political opportunity, supported by the recent G7 Environment Declaration, Mongolia’s national priorities, the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and existing UNCCD initiatives (e.g., Peace Forest Initiative), the Declaration aims to elevate this nexus as a strategic global priority and bridge the divide between technical knowledge, grassroots experiences, and political decision-making.

Watch our short film that follows the story of four characters in Mali, Andes Mountains, Mongolia and Iraq. Their multiple perspectives shows the chaotic patterns of climate crisis, and the uncertainties of land and environmental security.

Our film portrays why community building in a non-negotiable tool to peace and development.