Blogs & Opinions

War of Words Heats up between Iran and Afghanistan over Water Resources

Jul 12, 2017 | Dominic Dudley

A long-running diplomatic squabble between Iran and Afghanistan over shared water resources appears to be intensifying, with the two countries’ presidents trading barbs in speeches…

Afghanistan- Editorial: Smart Move

Jul 12, 2017 | Afghanistan Times

Surely, land grabbing is a lucrative, but black business. In the past 16 years, land grabbing has become a permanent feature of Afghanistan's landscape, at…

Could DRC’s Resource Wealth be the Key to Ending Its Conflicts too?

Jul 10, 2017 | Keith Slack

Africa watchers will know that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is once again poised on the verge of violent conflagration.  How the country got there and…

The Potentially Profound and Widespread Consequences of September's Kurdish Independence Vote

Jul 9, 2017 | Feisal Amin Rasoul Al-Istrabadi

There is so little doubt that the referendum called for September on Kurdish independence from Iraq will pass overwhelmingly that it seems a waste of…

Land Committees: An Opportunity for Inclusion

Jul 7, 2017 | Caitlin Pierce and Ye Yint Htun

Of the long list of legacy woes leftover to the new government after decades of military rule, the issue of land confiscation is one of…

Demining Workshop Helps Families in Afghanistan Return Home Safely

Jul 3, 2017 | Amy OHalloran

People in many communities across Afghanistan face daily dangers from landmines and unexploded ordnance that remain behind as a deadly legacy of over four decades…

Why the New Conflict-Free Gold Program May Be about Far More

Jul 3, 2017 | Rob Bates

Most mineral-tracking schemes—and we have covered quite a few—have a serious downside: They generally work with established mining companies. That threatens the artisanal sector, the…

Whose Responsibility is it Anyway? Environmental Obligations in the Nuclear Ban Treaty

Jun 30, 2017 | Doug Weir

We’re just over halfway through the negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons and, while some campaigners and states seem generally happy with the progress being made on…

Costs of Conflict Minerals Compliance (1 of 3) - Why Lower than Expected?

Jun 30, 2017 | Dynda A. Thomas

The out-of-pocket costs of compliance with the SEC conflict minerals rule have been lower than those originally estimated by industry and by the SEC. But,…

The DRC is Revisiting its Mining Code. Why Reform is Long Overdue

Jun 30, 2017 | Ben Radley

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recently announced plans to reintroduce the shelved changes to the country’s mining code. The current mining code,…

Global Rights, Local Struggles: Barriers to Women's Participation in Community Land Decision-Making

Jun 28, 2017 | Celine Salcedo-La Vina

Seven women quietly filed in and sat on the rough cement floor of the tiny stone block house. We were in a small, dusty village…

Water Wars: The South China Sea Security Dialogue That Wasn’t

Jun 26, 2017 | Jared Dummitt and Eliot Kim

The United States and China participated in the inaugural U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue (D&SD) on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.. The negotiations were initially launched by President…

Colombian Town Votes against Huge Open-Pit Mine

Jun 22, 2017 | Michelle Begue

In 2006, a discovery in the small Colombian town called Cajamarca would change its future. Julio Roberto Vargas a community leader of the region, said…

The UN Wants to Respond to Climate Change and Prevent Conflict, but When?

Jun 21, 2017 | Jonathan Rozen

Climate change, civil conflict, and violent extremism are among the most significant threats to global human development, peace, and security. UN-led plans to address all…

Coming Kurdish Vote Could Change the Mid East & Oil Markets as We Know It

Jun 15, 2017 | Ellen R. Wald

The Kurds are a distinct ethnic group of people living in parts of Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. Over the past thirty-five years they have…

Water and Conflict: Fighting Wars over a Precious Resource

Jun 14, 2017 | Peter Neill

We have been fighting wars over the most valuable resource on the planet since thousands of years B.C. We speak today of water wars as…

Food Insecurity Strains Deepen amid Civil Conflict and Drought

Jun 13, 2017 | UN Food and Agriculture Organisation

8 June 2017, Rome--Large agricultural harvests in some regions of the world are buoying global food supply conditions, but protracted fighting and unrest are increasing…

Penn State Experts Promote Cacao as an Alternative to Illicit Crops in Colombia

Jun 9, 2017 | David Pacchioli

As codirectors of Penn State’s endowed cocoa research program and professors in the College of Agriculture, Mark Guiltinan and Siela Maximova work together all over…

Advancing U.S. Prosperity and Security in a Thirsty World

Jun 9, 2017 | Jane Harman & Carter Roberts

The waters of Lake Chad sustain 70 million people in four countries. Beginning in the 1970s, the 25,000-square-kilometer lake began shrinking due to excessive drawdown…

Beyond Humanitarian Hand-outs: Sowing the Seeds of Food Security in Syria

Jun 6, 2017 | Dr. Anas Al Kaddour

Is it possible in the Syria conflict for humanitarian responders to look beyond immediate humanitarian assistance into resilience-focused work? It can seem near impossible, especially…

Understanding Gender, Conflict and the Environment

Jun 5, 2017 | Doug Weir

Last year’s landmark UNEA-2 resolution on conflict and the environment, the most significant of its kind since 1992, was the product of tough negotiations. Fortunately…

Understanding Gender, Conflict And The Environment

Jun 5, 2017 | Alex Reid

The importance of gender in our understanding of the environment and conflict is often camouflaged. Take, for example, the infamous natural resource exploitation that characterised…

Life after Myitsone

Jun 5, 2017 | Joern Kristensen

After more than five years of uncertainty, it seems likely that the Myitsone Dam will be cancelled.

Such a decision would create a rare opportunity for…

Bailing on the Paris Climate Deal Would Be a Huge Security Risk

Jun 5, 2017 | Rep. Raúl Grijalva and Michael Shank

The Trump Administration is poised to isolate itself from reality once again — this time by potentially withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate…

Smuggling Away Myanmar's Chance for Peace

Jun 1, 2017 | Tom Fawthrop

A government-led peace process aimed at ending 60 years of civil war has little chance of success, according to civil society groups, until the government…

The Nuclear Ban Treaty Needs Work if It’s to Deliver on the Environment

May 25, 2017 | Doug Weir

In March this year, 132 states began negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, seeking to resolve an anomaly that had seen other forms of…

People and Wildlife are Both Casualties of Illicit Mining

May 24, 2017 | Richard Ruggiero

Despite its vast size and relative intactness, Congo’s forest area and wildlife are under severe threat. Between 2002 and 2011, forest elephants experienced a devastating 62…

Leaving Mining Behind in a Sustainable Liberia

May 21, 2017 | Roshny Vijayakar

Mining operations degrade the environment through soil erosion, water contamination, air pollution, and often deforestation. These can lead to respiratory illnesses, heavy metal poisoning, sedimentation, and loss of…

Agriculture: An Opportunity for Better Jobs for Afghanistan’s Youth

May 18, 2017 | Abdul Qadeer Jawad

Until the late 1970s, Afghanistan was one of the world’s top producer of horticultural products and supplied 20 percent of the raisins on the global market. The…

Risk, but Also Opportunity in Climate Fragility and Terror Link

May 17, 2017 | Florian Krampe

In a recent article for New Security Beat, Colin Walch made the case that the abandonment of some communities in Mali to deal with climate change on…