How can engineers support global peace?

Peace isn’t simply no violence.

Peace is being free from the fear of violence. It’s about being tolerant and willing to have helpful conversations to find solutions to problems.

Peace allows societies to thrive and share social and economic benefits. It’s the foundation of prosperity.

How to build peace

Peacebuilding is complex because society itself is incredibly complicated.

It’s made up of multiple systems of systems.

These systems depend on and affect one another, while also responding to internal and external influences.

These influences range from resource costs and mass migration to political short-termism, where immediate gain is prioritised over long-term benefit.

In most cases, it isn't poor national and international politics that cause conflict. They’re more often the catalyst.

The root causes of instability are often as straightforward as a loss of social capital and equity.

This is when trust within a community is lost, leading to fear, intolerance and separation.

Losing social equity means people don’t have the same opportunities, and results in communities that are divided into haves and have-nots.

So, how can engineers help?

The role of infrastructure starts with making sure local communities can benefit from projects.

Too often, projects (new developments and reconstruction) are done in isolation, without understanding how they help or threaten the whole of society.

When it comes to recovering after a natural disaster or a conflict the general flow is:

1. The immediate aid response
2. Reconstruction to stabilise the community
3. Development

Different infrastructure systems can be at varying stages of recovery at the same time.

Understanding recovery

Research has shown that infrastructure development after disasters or conflict is a continuum. The results of one project affect the requirements and conditions for the next.

This means projects should consider what recovery stage the community is in and plan accordingly. This is to avoid having to replace or undo work later on.

Each project should build on those before it, developing the community along with the infrastructure.

This requires all stakeholders to share a common goal.

This can be achieved through life partnerships, and a shared, evidence-based understanding of circumstances and consequences.

We must do better

Infrastructure engineers understand the impact of what they build better than anyone.

The concepts underpin programmes and initiatives such as the Enabling Better Infrastructure programme and Project 13.

Yet we too often pursue grand schemes that ’look good’ from a political point of view, at the expense of the local population.

An example is the ‘upgrade’ of a water treatment plant in the Eastern Caribbean.

The lack of specialist skills and affordable materials in the area mean that it can't be locally maintained. Instead, chlorine is used to clean the water, which leaves the community worse off.

Another example is the construction of the Gaza central wastewater treatment plant, which can't operate because it doesn’t have enough power. This means raw sewage is discharged into the wadi (a freshwater ecosystem).

Each infrastructure project that negatively affects the health and wellbeing of the local community is an ethical and professional failure. We can and must do better.

Taking climate action

As we transform our infrastructure to address the challenges of climate change, we must keep people and their needs in mind. This will help enable social and economic stability as we transition.

We can't leave our humanity to the international and non-government organisations community.

Peacebuilding is enabled by industry, communities and the infrastructure professions that shape the world we live in. It’s time for our profession to add its voice.

We can create the conditions for peace to flourish, or we can amplify inequities that feed instability.

This means we must understand the context and impact of our infrastructure projects during their planning and advise accordingly.

Learn more about peace building