Blogs & Opinions

We Need to Stop Blaming Climate Change for Conflicts in Africa

May 4, 2018 | Ore Koren

The role of water crises in conflicts in places like Syria, Nigeria and Iran often feature in media and policy outlets. Many believe that climate change could spark future…

Why Blaming Conflicts in Africa on Climate Change is Misguided

May 4, 2018 | Mena FN

(MENAFN - The Conversation) The role of water crises in conflicts in places like Syria, Nigeria and Iran often feature in media and policy outlets.…

The Dangers Lurking Within Iraq’s Oil Law

May 4, 2018 | Nick Butler

In many ways Iraq’s oil industry is a success story. After decades of isolation, oil production has risen by more than 75 per cent since 2013…

Why We Have Launched the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS)

May 4, 2018 | Doug Weir

Back in 2011, when we were first planning to launch CEOBS’ predecessor the Toxic Remnants of War Project, we had been wrestling with a number of…

DRC: The Innovations of the Amended Mining Code

Apr 27, 2018 | Jocelyn Ismaël Itoua Ongagna

The development of the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was anticipated through the adoption of the 2002 Mining Code to…

Abandonment of Transparency & Accountability: A Dangerous Precedent for Liberia

Apr 27, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

The recent peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected government to another signalled a major feat for Africa’s oldest republic, marking the first of its…

Blockchain & the Gold Standard for a Conflict-Free Supply Chain

Apr 27, 2018 | Ariella Brown

Conflict minerals making their way into the electronic supply chain presents a challenge to companies that want to act both legally and ethically. Tracing such…

Draft Report on Climate Diplomacy

Apr 26, 2018 | Arne Lietz and Jo Leinen

In 2015, reaching a universal climate agreement in Paris and adopting the Agenda 2030 - with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core -…

Sampling Bias in Climate–Conflict Research

Apr 26, 2018 | Courtland Adams, Tobias Ide, Jon Barnett, Adrien Detges

Critics have argued that the evidence of an association between climate change and conflict is flawed because the research relies on a dependent variable sampling strategy.Similarly, it has…

Understanding DRC’s New Mining Law Power Play: Will the Congolese People Benefit?

Apr 19, 2018 | Daniel Mulé

Last month, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) enacted a law to revise the country’s 2002 Mining Code. While the law improves environmental and social…

Here’s How the United States Can Help Colombia Thrive

Apr 16, 2018 | Daniel Runde

Vice President Mike Pence set off for Lima, Peru, on Friday, to stand in for President Donald Trump — who stayed home to focus on Syria —…

Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction: Women and Climate Change Adaptation

Apr 10, 2018 | Ellie Anderson

According to a 2015 Georgetown University report on women and climate change, “the impacts of climate change – droughts, floods, extreme weather, increased incidence of…

In Post-Conflict Regions, a Careful and Tailored Approach for Developing Sustainable Projects

Apr 9, 2018 | Luca Marini and Pilar Larreamendy

While much of Latin American is at peace, parts of Central and South America have had to cope with internal conflicts, including in the second…

Liberia's New President Must Lead on Land Rights or Risk Conflict

Apr 9, 2018 | Solange Bandiaky-Badji

Earlier this year, the outgoing President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf handed over power to George Weah in the country’s first peaceful and democratic transition…

En Regiones Posconflicto, un Enfoque Cuidadoso y a Medida Para Desarrollar Proyectos Sostenibles

Apr 9, 2018 | Luca Marini y Pilar Larreamendy

Mientras que una gran parte de América Latina se encuentra en paz, existen zonas de América Central y del Sur que han tenido que enfrentar…

Understanding the Causes of Colombia's Conflict: Land Ownership

Apr 3, 2018 | Jarrod Demir

At the very heart of violence and armed conflict in Colombia is land. This has been the case since before Colombia was a republic and…

A More Just Migration: Empowering Women on the Front Lines of Climate Displacement

Apr 3, 2018 | Saiyara Khan

“It is often expected that women care more, and therefore women are going to volunteer, and be the saviors” in times of crisis, said Eleanor Blomstrom,…

Sun Setting on Timor-Leste’s Greater Sunrise Plan

Apr 2, 2018 | Clive Schofield and Bec Strating

On 6 March 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste signed a landmark treaty that draws permanent maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. The treaty is the result of the…

Water and Peace in Middle East

Apr 2, 2018 | M. Reza Behnam

The Middle East, oil rich but water poor, with about 6 percent of the world’s population, has only 1 percent of the Earth’s renewable water…

How War Games Can Help South Asia Respond to Climate Change

Mar 27, 2018 | Tariq Waseem Ghazi and Rachel Fleishman

Over the past few weeks, this year’s iteration of a major U.S.-led multinational military exercise, the Pacific Partnership, has been playing out, and it will continue…

DRC Mining Industry Is a Prime Example of How Corporate Power Threatens Women’s Rights

Mar 25, 2018 | Valerie Bah

On a research trip to the Kamituga gold mine in her home province of South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), activist Marie-Rose…

The Next “Day Zero”: Water Scarcity and Political Instability beyond Cape Town

Mar 24, 2018 | Nazia Hussain

Cape Town is running dry. But thanks to its sophisticated water management efforts, the city may ride out the crisis. However, other cities that lack these capacities are…

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene: First Response in Conflicts & Natural Disasters

Mar 21, 2018 | Sanjay Wijesekera

When disaster strikes, or conflict rages, families soon discover their most urgent need – water. In such precarious situations, access is usually limited or non-existent,…

A Paradigm for Peace: Celebrating “Environmental Peacemaking”

Mar 20, 2018 | Wilson Center

“Most fundamentally, we turned the ‘resource scarcity drives conflict’ argument on its head and asked, ‘Can environmental interdependence drive cooperation in ways that can be…

Q&A: Getting Women's Land Rights Recognized

Mar 19, 2018 | Philippine Sutz

Philippine Sutz describes work under way to help secure land rights for women in Senegal and Tanzania, and explains how accessing land gives them greater…

How Oil Drives the South China Sea Conflict

Mar 19, 2018 | Tim Daiss

While it’s no secret that China has been intensifying its building frenzy, including military installations on islands, reefs and inlets in the heavily disputed South…

New DRC Mining Code Will Not Alter Positive Outlook

Mar 18, 2018 | BMI Research

The executive decision was made following the passing of the new mining code by the DRC parliament and Senate in December/January 2018 and in the…

Below the Radar, the US Is Making Steady Progress on the Climate-Security Nexus

Mar 17, 2018 | Ellen Laipson

From the homeland security folks who respond to national disasters to the armed forces planning for hostile encounters with state or nonstate adversaries, the U.S.…

Land-Restitution Demands Driven by the Pain of the ‘Colonial Wound’

Mar 13, 2018 | Hans Pienaar

Theorists speak of the "colonial wound", which does not allow the victims of colonialism to see much good in it — if any at all.…

Worse than Oil? The Geopolitics of the Banana

Mar 13, 2018 | Bhaso Ndzendze

Attracting encroachments to national sovereignty by rapacious Washington-connected multinational corporations and the meddling attentions of their powerful home country; stunting reform and economic development at…