Blogs & Opinions


Of Milk and Minorities: Equity and Consumption in Vietnam

May 21, 2019 | Jody Harris

Recently, I found myself sitting on a low stool in a small, neat home in the central highlands of Vietnam, talking to three young mothers…


New UN Legal Report Addresses the Responsibility of States and Corporations for Environmental Damage in Conflict

May 21, 2019 | Stavros Pantazopoulos

Now in its sixth year, the International Law Commission’s project to enhance the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflicts is nearing…


Growing Authoritarianism, Social Inequalities Often a Prelude to Conflict

May 20, 2019 | Margot Wallström

I want to talk about peacebuilding and inclusive peace. My main point is that peace begins in the minds of people, and people, communities, societies…


Do Women Care More About Climate Change Than Men?

May 19, 2019 | Tabitha Whiting

Recently I heard environmentalist economist and author of Doughnut Economics, Kate Raworth, speak (she joined us for our Rebel Book Club April meet up). She mentioned…


Science Diplomacy and Environmental Peacebuilding: Oceans Governance and Dispute Management

May 19, 2019 | Sunitha Anup, Carla Elliff, and Dhanasree Jayaram

In the third and final webinar of the three-part webinar series concerning science diplomacy and environmental peacebuilding, the focus was on oceans governance.Our planet is…


This Year's Goldman Environmental Prize Winner Says the Battle for Land Rights in Liberia Is Just Getting Underway

May 17, 2019 | Alfred Brownell

In 2016, I fled my native Liberia to avoid being arrested. My organization Green Advocates had recently filed a complaint before the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm…


Evidence from Malawi: Why Agricultural and Nutrition Eduction Programs Should Engage Both Women and Men in Households

May 14, 2019 | Catherine Ragasa and Noora-Lista Aberman

Gender norms and inequalities are an important factor in Malawi’s ongoing food security problems. They shape agricultural practices and production, knowledge acquisition, innovation, food choices—and…


Local Solutions to Strenghten Women's Voices in Land Governance

May 13, 2019 | International Institute for Environment and Development

With increasing pressure on land in sub-Saharan Africa, including from commercial agriculture and mineral and oil extraction, how can the voices of women be included…


New Water Model Points Way to Gender and Social Equality

May 13, 2019

Valeriana Choque Zambrana and her family manage a small farm in Marquina, growing beans, corn and barley to eat at home and to sell in…


Science Diplomacy and Environmental Peacebuilding in the Polar Regions: Conservation, Resource Management, Geopolitics and Diplomacy

May 13, 2019 | Carla Isobel Elliff, Rashmi Ramesh, Sunitha Anup, and Dhanasree Jayaram

The polar regions of our planet, the Arctic to the north and the Antarctic to the south, are among the world’s most environmentally vulnerable regions.…


A Hazardous Oil Tanker Has Become a Bargaining Chip in the Yemen Conflict

May 10, 2019 | Doug Weir

In May 2018, CEOBS reported on the environmental threat posed by an ageing oil tanker moored off the Red Sea coast of Yemen. A year…


Indigenous Women Land Defenders of the Americas: Protecting Forests, Climate and Communities

May 9, 2019 | Osprey Orielle Lake

From April 22-26, the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International, an LDF grantee, hosted an Indigenous Women's Delegation to New York City for the…


Saving the Irrawaddy by Offering Compensation

May 9, 2019 | Lahpai Seng Raw

Controversy continues over a suspended mega-dam project, backed by China, on the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State. The social and environmental consequences of the proposed…


The Case for Gender Approaches to Urban Resilience-Experience from Coyuca

May 7, 2019 | Hector Becerril, Anna de la Parra, Rocio López Velasco, and Maria Jose Pacha. Translated and edited in english by Mairi

Coyuca de Benitez on Mexico’s Pacific coast has suffered repeated tropical storms and tidal surges in the past decade. The city, sited on the edge…


The Complicated Gender Politics of Going Zero Waste

May 5, 2019 | Alden Wicker

Look at #zerowaste and #zerowasteliving on Instagram and you’ll see mason jars filled with chocolate smoothies and rows of rose-gold straws. You’ll see perfectly organized…


The Nexus Between Gender Equality and Climate Change

May 3, 2019 | Edwin Mumbere

Over the past four years, we have had the highest temperatures in human history, almost 1°C higher than at the beginning of the industrial revolution.…


Sierra Leone's Diamond Industry Must Be Reformed

May 3, 2019 | Julian Lahai Samboma

Diamond smuggling has to be curbed and official corruption weeded out if the citizens of Sierra Leone are to benefit from their country’s natural resources,…


Women Land Defenders Face "Extreme Criminalisation," Added Risks

May 2, 2019 | Anna-Cat Brigida

Since her teen years, Maria Magdalena Cuc Choc, now 39, has defended the natural resources of El Estor, a predominantly Mayan Q'eqchi' community on the…


Resilience Strategy Tackles Climate Change, Governance, Gender Inequality in Coastal Mexico

May 2, 2019 | Hector Becerril, Anna de la Parra, Rocio López Velasco, and Maria Jose Pacha. Translated and edited in english by Mairi

An innovative action research project in Mexico has created a gender-sensitive, local climate change strategy, which recognises how women and men are affected differently by…


Is Empowering Women in Agricultural Development Projects Worth the Investment? Yes, When Done Right

May 2, 2019 | Agnes Quisumbing, Joao Montalvao, and Markus Goldstein

A recent article in Inside Philanthropy has a provocative title: “Top Funders and NGOs Think Empowering Women Farmers Can Reduce Hunger. Are They Right?” The…


Our Relationship with Water Isn't Gender Neutral. Here's Why that Matters

May 1, 2019 | Dalia Saad

When thinking about water management, gender is probably the last thing on many people’s minds. But in fact, the whole process of water management –…


Take the Oil: How Hitler Could Have Led Nazi Germany to Victory in World War II?

May 1, 2019 | John F. Murphy, Jr

With Lt. Gen. Erwin Rommel driving on Egypt and the British pushed out of Greece, a sudden pro-Nazi coup d’état in Iraq lay rich oil…


Gender Transition to Energy for All: from Evidence to Inclusive Policies

Apr 30, 2019

Following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, policy- and decision makers, governments, multilateral organisations, private companies, and civil society organisations, at both…


A Warmer Arctic Presents Challenges and Opportunities

Apr 30, 2019 | Kelly McFarland

As Arctic ice melts, we can physically see glaciers retreating. But what we can’t yet see is the exact effect climate change will have on the…


Mongolian Herder Families Are Being Split Between Countryside and Town

Apr 30, 2019 | B Munkhtuvshin

One snowy winter’s day I went to a small winter camp of just two households 140 km from the nearest soum (district) centre. A dog…


Breaking from Tradition, Indigenous Women Lead Fight for Land Rights in Brazil

Apr 29, 2019 | Anthony Boadle

Brazil’s indigenous women have been overturning tradition to step into the spotlight and lead an international push to defend their tribal land rights, which are…


Marcia Andrade Braga: A 'Stellar Example' of Why More Women Are Needed in UN Peacekeeping

Apr 29, 2019

Training gender advisors and focal points in the Central African Republic (CAR) has earned a Brazilian United Nations peacekeeper a special gender advocate award, it…


Experts Meet on Gender and Social Inclusion in Community Clean Energy

Apr 26, 2019

Experts gathered in Dhaka today for the start of a 2-day conference co-organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to discuss community-based clean energy in…


What Can We Learn about the Environment in Conflict Areas without Going There Physically?

Apr 26, 2019 | Lina Eklund

Access to areas affected by armed conflicts is often limited, posing problems for research into environmental change. In this blog, Dr Lina Eklund provides an…


Articulating, Strengthening and Building Solidarity - Women's Resistance to Mining

Apr 25, 2019 | Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action

 “Our grandparents told them to provide good roads, (electrical) power and hospitals. 
But they didn’t meet any of these expectations.
Here there is no power. 
Development… we don’t…