Blogs & Opinions

ICC Expands Remit to Environmental Crimes: Is This What the People of Cambodia Have Been Waiting for?

Oct 28, 2016 | Hannah Gerber

Cambodia’s land reforms in 2001 have led to over 10 years of violent and coercive land grabs, damaging the livelihoods of nearly 10,000 Cambodian citizens.…

Water Wars: Sifting through the Tea Leaves in the South China Sea

Oct 28, 2016 | Chris Mirasola

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing last week precipitated a busy news week as commentators and government officials tried to discern how closer Philippine-Chinese cooperation would…

Liberia's Land Bill in Limbo

Oct 28, 2016 | Sumit Galhotra

A narrow window is quickly drawing shut for Liberia to enact a landmark law that would guarantee millions of its people the right to formally…

In Palm Oil, Liberia Sees Economic Boom — but Forests May Lose

Oct 28, 2016 | Sophie Bertazzo

Liberia views palm oil development as a huge opportunity for economic growth and international trade. But embracing the booming industry is not without its costs. Without proper…

EU Regulation on Conflict Minerals Has Low Potential to Trigger Dynamic Changes in Supply Chains

Oct 27, 2016 | Chiara Macchi

The first version of the EU draft Regulation on conflict minerals came as a disappointment to the many civil society actors. EU institutions were split,…

How to Make Peace with the Forest: Development and War in Colombia

Oct 26, 2016 | Hannah Meszaros Martin

On September 26, the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP was signed with a pen made from a bullet, while the Air…

Environmental Damage as a Weapon of War? Open Source Industrial Risk Analysis of the Mosul Battle

Oct 25, 2016 | Wim Zwijnenburg

The start of the operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS)  has seen unprecedented use of environmental pollution as a means to hinder…

Afghanistan’s Coming Water Crisis

Oct 24, 2016 | Omair Ahmad

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan’s water infrastructure in a mess, and as refugees return to the country, the prospect of water-related conflicts rises. Hundreds of…

Commentary: A Promising Pick for UN Secretary General

Oct 24, 2016 | Ruth Greenspan Bell and Sherri Goodman

The selection of António Guterres as the new United Nations Secretary General is encouraging news for those concerned about the global challenges brought on by…

Mining and Peace

Oct 23, 2016 | Manuel Rodríguez Becerra

The recent ruling by the Constitutional Court over mining has caused a stir in government officials and private sector leaders. According to the ruling, "territorial entities…

As Ivory Becomes Bigger Issue, Environmental Peacebuilding Gaining Ground at IUCN World Congress

Oct 21, 2016 | Bethany N. Bella

A traditional conservation approach to climate change (e.g., habitat restoration, species protection) has been a primary tenet of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) agenda…

Cauvery Water Dispute “Because of Greed”

Oct 19, 2016 | Shivani Chaturvedi

India’s leading water expert and president of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, S Janakarajan, wonders why Chennai, a city that receives…

There Are No Shortcuts to Establishing Trust between Extractive Industries Stakeholders

Oct 18, 2016 | Inga Petersen, David Jensen, and Ousmane Deme

The Extractive Industries are an important driver of global economic growth. They can also be a vital catalyst for national socio-economic development, especially in resource-rich…

District Court Judge Assigned in Conflict Minerals Rule Case

Oct 13, 2016 | Emily Burke, Julia Chen, and Michael Littenberg

This month, the litigation relating to the U.S. SEC’s Conflict Minerals Rule enters its fourth year. The litigation has been quiet for the better part…

How We Saved Climate-Smart Seeds from the Conflict in Syria

Oct 12, 2016 | Mahmoud Solh

Since war broke out in Syria, 11 million people have fled their homes. In 2012, the turmoil reached the doorstep of ICARDA Agricultural Research Station…

Statement to the UN General Assembly First Committee on the Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts (PERAC)

Oct 12, 2016 | Jessica Dorsey

As armed conflict affects the environment, and vice versa, this forms a vicious cycle in which civilians all too often bear the brunt, including those…

Conflict Minerals – In Anticipation of EU's Legislation, Learn from the US

Oct 12, 2016 | Camillo Giovannini and Christopher T. McClure

In the last two decades, there has been an increasing international focus on the so called “conflict minerals” which are mining operations in the Democratic…

The Human Cost of War’s Environmental Impact

Oct 11, 2016 | Wim Zwijnenburg

The environmental damage caused by wars and conflicts, and more importantly what can be done to limit the impact of conflict-related environmental damage on civilians,…

The Rising Environmental Toll of China's Offshore Island Grab

Oct 10, 2016 | Mike Ives

In the late 1980s, marine biologist John McManus and his colleagues made a surprising discovery while studying near-shore Philippine reefs in the South China Sea:…

Vietnam Influences China’s Quiet Legal Compliance in South China Sea Dispute

Oct 10, 2016 | James Borton and Tai Van Ta

It’s been nearly three months since the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued its landmark ruling in the Philippines vs. China case, resulting…

We Have Money to Fight Climate Change. It's Just That We're Spending it on Defense.

Oct 8, 2016 | Kenneth Pennington

Climate change poses imminent threat to global and national security. CIA analysts and our nation’s military strategists are rightfully naming it as a contributor to…

Rights for Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Communities are Crucial for Colombia’s Peace

Oct 7, 2016 | Omaira Bolaños

The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santosfor his efforts in ending a more than 50-year-long civil war, serves as a reminder that…

Do the ILC’s Draft Principles on Remnants and Data Sharing Reflect State Practice?

Oct 6, 2016 | Doug Weir

A new report from PAX and ICBUW on the legacy of depleted uranium use in the 2003 Iraq War could help inform the debate initiated…

Combat vs. Climate

Oct 5, 2016 | Miriam Pemberton

Our military calls climate change "an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic…

As Colombia Pursues Peace, Nature Could be Powerful Bridge

Sep 30, 2016 | Molly Bergen

On October 2, Colombian voters will vote on a historic peace deal between the government and rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known by their…

Myanmar’s Forests Face Myriad Problems as Logging Ban Continues

Sep 29, 2016 | Jennifer Rigby

Between 1990 and 2015, Myanmar lost nearly 15 million hectares of forest and other wooded land. Since 2010, half a million hectares of forest has…

Sierra Leone's Farmers Continue to Fight Multinational Land Grabs

Sep 28, 2016 | Silas Gbandia

A former member of Sierra Leone’s parliament has spoken of his determination to put an end to what he describes as the “underhand deals” taking…

It’s Not Funded Just by Oil and Looting. How the Islamic State Uses Agriculture.

Sep 27, 2016 | Eckart Woertz and Hadi Jaafar

The Islamic State has repeatedly made headlines for commandeering and profiting from the region’s oil. Less attention has been paid to its use of another…

What is Nigeria’s “Third Conflict”?

Sep 26, 2016 | E.A.D.W.

Last week armed men attacked a community in Enugu, a state in Nigeria’s south-east. Local press reported that they kidnapped two villagers and that another…

Editorial: Climate Security, Err … National Change

Sep 23, 2016 | Tim Wiederaenders

The White House on Wednesday published a presidential memorandum setting up a timetable for more than 20 federal agencies to come up with a plan…