Blogs & Opinions


ICL and Environmental Protection Symposium: The Environmental Crisis–Cases for ‘Particular Consideration’ at the ICC

Jun 1, 2020 | Richard J. Rogers

In a world consumed by the pandemic, it is easy to forget an even greater threat facing mankind – the environmental and climate emergency. The UN…


Symposium on the Use of International Criminal Law to Protect the Environment

Jun 1, 2020 | Kate Mackintosh

Despite the brief drop in emissions at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last month, the climate crisis continues to present one of the greatest…


Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam: A Last Chance for Diplomacy

Jun 1, 2020 | Yaseen Mohmad Abdalla

The dispute between Egypt and Sudan on the one side, and Ethiopia on the other, about filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)…


Time to Move Beyond Yemen’s SAFER Oil Tanker Blame Game

Jun 1, 2020 | Doug Weir

The SAFER Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) terminal is a forty-year-old single hulled supertanker moored 7km off the coast of Yemen. Since the Houthis took…


Colombia’s Environment in the Post-Conflict Transition – New Setbacks by the Global Pandemic

May 31, 2020 | Torsten Krause, Ana Maria Vargas Falla, Britta Sjöstedt, Sandra Valencia, and Fariborz Zelli

In 2016, Colombia officially emerged from one of the world’s longest internal armed conflicts when the government, under former President Juan Manual Santos, signed a…


The Implications of Israel Annexation Plan of Jordan Valley

May 30, 2020 | Ayman Matar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revived an old Zionist ambition to annex Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley region, planned by the…


Industries Post-COVID-19: A Gender-Responsive Approach to Global Economic Recovery

May 28, 2020 | Cecila Ugaz Estrada, Müge Dolun, Carmen Schuber, and Nicolas Schmidt

What most crises have in common is that they hit the most vulnerable and marginalized populations—among which women are disproportionally represented—the hardest. The impact of…


Exploring Environmental Harm from Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

May 28, 2020 | Roos Boer and Wim Zwijnenburg

In conflicts around the world, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) is one of the greatest risks to civilians. Research by the…


Overview: Fear and Loathing in the Eastern Mediterranean

May 28, 2020 | Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Julien Barnes-Dacey, Cinzia Bianco, Hugh Lovatt, and Tarek Megerisi

In a world of pandemics, forever wars, and great power showdowns, it might come as a surprise that Europe’s next crisis is emerging from disputes…


Mother Nature Gets Tired Too - How Women Carry the Burden of Addressing Climate Change

May 27, 2020 | Eyitayo Kunle-Oladosu

In dealing with the effects of climate change in the Global South, it seems the world has tasked women with building resilient and adaptable communities.…


Building Sustainable Peace: Transforming Environmental Peacebuilding in Times of Climate Change

May 27, 2020 | Christie Nicoson and Barbara Magalhaes Teixeira

The Sustainable Development Goals outline a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”. However, this is not only…


COVID-19's Disproportionate Impact on Women and Girls

May 26, 2020 | Jenn Williamson

Because women and girls are already socioeconomically marginalized in many societies, they are especially vulnerable in emergencies. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, women…


Afghan Gold Mining: Is Blockchain a Solution for Violence and Volatility?

May 25, 2020 | Manasee Joshi

Centar Ltd, a company that engaged in Afghan gold exploration and mining activities, was the brainchild of the former investment banker and mining trader from…


Climate Change Adaptation and Gender Dynamics

May 24, 2020 | Saudia Anwer and Meer Ahsan Habib

Lack of access to safe drinking water and salinity often causes water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and malaria, not only among the children but also the…


Land and Resource Investment Consultations in the Time of COVID-19: The Hazards of Pressing on

May 24, 2020 | Sam Szoke-Burke

Communities in countries as diverse as the Philippines, Liberia, and Colombia are experiencing increased pressures on their lands and resources. Pressure is coming from governments…


Epidemics, Conflict, and Gold: What We Can Learn from DC’s Ebola Outbreak as We Respond to COVID-19

May 22, 2020 | Kady Seguin and Alan Martin

The COVID-19 pandemic is spotlighting the vulnerability of the world’s poorest during a time of crisis. This is especially evident in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities,…


10 Lessons From the COVID-19 Frontline For a More Gender-Equal World

May 22, 2020 | Katja Iversen

Evidence shows that disease outbreak affects women and men differently, that pandemics exacerbate inequalities for girls and women, who are also often the hardest hit,…


Lack of Flood Maps at Many U.S. Military Bases Creates Risks

May 22, 2020 | Marc Kodack

In the 2020 NDAA, Congress further required that DoD include in its’ installation master plans a discussion of risks and threats that included those from extreme…


Exploring Environmental Governance in Eastern Ukraine

May 21, 2020 | Olga Shashkina

What happens to environmental governance in areas where governments lose control during conflicts? Non-state actors can fill the vacuum but little is known about how…


Women's Empowerment in Agriculture is Essential to COVID-19 Survival and Recovery

May 20, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a devastating threat to lives and livelihoods around the world. Many development organizations and research institutions are raising their voices and…


The Energy Sector Needs a Stronger Female Presence

May 19, 2020 | Nevelyn Black

Globally, women made up 15% of senior management roles in the power and utilities industry last year.  Some industry leaders believe a stronger female presence and voice in…


Climate Change Didn’t Pause for COVID-19: Implications for Military Readiness

May 18, 2020 | Joan VanDervort

As COVID-19 continues to hammer the nation, approximately 61,900 Department of Defense (DoD) personnel (45,600 of which are made up of National Guard) have been…


The Pandemic's Gender Imperative

May 15, 2020 | Ann Linde and Arancha Gonzalez

Regardless of where one looks, it is women who bear most of the responsibility for holding societies together, be it at home, in health care,…


Empowering Women and Youth for Transformative Climate and Environment Justice

May 14, 2020 | Tracy Kajumba

At the beginning of March, Tracy Kajumba was a panellist at the OECD Global Forum on Environment. Here she reflects further on how women and…


Our Recovery from the Coronavirus Crisis Must Have Gender Empowerment at its Heart

May 14, 2020 | Cecilia Ugaz Estrada, Müge Dolun, Carmen Schuber, and Nicolas Schmidt

What most crises have in common is that they hit the most vulnerable and marginalized populations—among which women are disproportionally represented—the hardest. The impact of…


Libya's Forgotten Half: Between Conflict and Pandemic, Women Pay the Higher Price

May 14, 2020 | Asma Khalifa

Immediately after the state of emergency was declared in Libya, the government in Tripoli began dispensing funds intended to combat the pandemic. Half of it…


AU Leadership Absent From Egypt and Ethiopia Dam Dispute

May 14, 2020 | Alvin Young

After years of negotiations, Egypt has written to the UN Security Council about what it considers to be Ethiopia's failure to reach an agreement over the filling…


Women: The Climate Solution We Need to Talk About

May 12, 2020 | Joky François

Women make up nearly half of the agricultural labor force in developing nations—yet in many countries they can’t even own the land on which they toil;…


Securing Pathways to Environmental Justice for Indigenous Women

May 11, 2020 | Laura Cahier

Across the Americas, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) or the World Bank (WB), finance public and private projects to…


Water Fetching Responsibilities Reveal Unequal Gender Dynamics: Elevates Need for Expansion of On-Site WASH Facilities

May 10, 2020

Women in low-income households have limited access to financial services and educational opportunities, which in turn restricts their ability to tap into the labor market…