Blogs & Opinions
Water Wars: Unease in the South China Sea—New Normal or Quiet before the Storm?
Sep 23, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
Updated satellite imagery from Google Earth revealed four new concrete structures on Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island (Itu Aba). Taiping Island is the largest maritime feature in the South…
'We Are Revolutionaries': Villagers Fight to Protect Myanmar's Forests
Sep 23, 2016
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Katie Arnold
U Ye Aung spent most of his adult life in a war zone. For over 60 years his village of Kalaikyi served as the frontline…
UN Special Rapporteur Calls for Action on TRW to Protect Children
Sep 23, 2016
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Wim Zwijnenburg
This month, Baskut Tuncak, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxics, presented the findings of his report on the effects of hazardous substances on the lives of children…
Our Take: New Intelligence and Presidential Memos on Climate Change and National Security
Sep 22, 2016
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Caitlin Werrell and Francesco Femia in Climate and Security
On September 21, 2016, the Obama Administration made two significant announcements related to climate change and national security – one which highlights the latest intelligence…
White House Announces Steps to Address Climate and National Security Alongside New Intelligence Assessment
Sep 22, 2016
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Schuyler Null, Cara Thuringer, and Lauren Herzer Risi
Yesterday afternoon President Obama announced a new Presidential Memorandum on climate change and national security. The policy directs 20 federal agencies to consider the national security implications…
Proposed Sale of Timber from Palm Oil Concession Sparks Alarm in Liberia
Sep 21, 2016
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Jeremy Hance
In July, news leaked out that Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) was considering a new regulation to allow timber logged from palm oil and other plantations to…
Myanmar: The Next Great Land Tenure Reform?
Sep 20, 2016
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Roy Prosterman
Since World War II, there have been five great Asian development success stories founded upon land tenure reforms that allocated land ownership, or equivalent long-term…
Major Water Disputes Are Often beyond War and Peace
Sep 19, 2016
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Filippo Menga and The London Water Research Group
Early this June, the Israeli government cut off drinking water to people living in the Salfit region of the West Bank and three villages east of Nablus.…
Forests in Colombia Fall Victim to Illegal Coca Plantations
Sep 16, 2016
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María Lourdes Zimmermann
The illicit cultivation of coca leaf in Colombia grew by 39 percent between 2014 and 2015, from 69,000 to 96,000 hectares. According to the United Nations…
America the Plunderer
Sep 16, 2016
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Timothy Egan
As with everything in Trump’s world, his solution is simple: loot and pilfer. “Take the oil,” said Trump. He was referring to Iraq, post-invasion. And…
Can International Cooperation Revitalize Wetlands on Afghanistan-Iran Border?
Sep 15, 2016
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Fatemeh Aman
Efforts to revive the Hamoun wetlands on the Iran-Afghanistan border are intensifying. A recent panel at the Atlantic Council described international involvement as vital both to…
China, the Underdog Now, Will Work with Vietnam on Sea Dispute
Sep 14, 2016
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Ralph Jennings
Senior officials from China and Vietnam, never friends and even less so over the past two years, vowed this week to work more together – substantially…
Trump’s ‘Take Iraq’s Oil’ Isn’t a New Idea. Here’s Why It Won’t Work.
Sep 13, 2016
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Emily Meierding
During NBC’s Commander-in-Chief Forum last week, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed an unusual policy for dealing with Iraq: “Take the oil.” When host Matt Lauer asked…
Intel Ad Campaign Highlights Importance of Supply Chain Responsibility
Sep 9, 2016
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Lewis Golove
The past two decades in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been characterized by civil war and mass atrocity, the staging ground of “Africa’s…
Water Wars: Series of Summits Highlights Persistent Divisions in the South China Sea
Sep 9, 2016
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Chris Mirasola
Staircase snubs notwithstanding, world leaders traded familiar talking points at this year’s G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. President Barack Obama stated that China should “abide by international law” and warned…
Afghanistan: Mineral-Rich, Conflict Torn Electronics Treasure Trove
Sep 6, 2016
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Jennifer Baljko
Besides oil, gas, and minerals such as as gold, copper and tantalum, a 2010, New York Times article cited an internal Pentagon memo stating that Afghanistan was…
Report Highlights Health and Environmental Impact of Makeshift Oil Refineries in Syria
Sep 5, 2016
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Doug Weir
Many Syrian civilians have begun refining oil due to the drastic decline in production by professional oil refineries in Syria. The conditions in these makeshift…
Climate Change, Arctic Security, and Methane Risks
Sep 5, 2016
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Chad Briggs
Over the past year, the climate risks of methane (CH4) released from natural sources have attracted increasing media attention in scientific and media forums as…
This Precious Resource Leads to Most Wars and Armed Conflicts and Things Are Only Getting Worse
Sep 5, 2016
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Benedict Brook
Armed conflicts are usually seen as falling into one of very few categories; capturing territory, a political ideology attempting to dominate another or, simply, for…
RGS Annual Conference 2016
Sep 4, 2016
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Becca Farnum
The RGS Annual Conference 2016 took place this week at the Royal Geographical Society and included a session on "Environmental Peacebuilding: The Peace-Environment-Conflict Nexus (2): Nature…
In Myanmar, Nature Can Help Communities Face Climate Challenges
Sep 3, 2016
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Ryan Barlett
The impacts of climate change are becoming an ever starker reality around the world, with 2016 on pace to be the hottest year in human history -…
In Kosovo, Post-War Water Faults Show Challenge of Balancing Political with Technical
Sep 1, 2016
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Florian Krampe
Rivers have shaped the Western Balkan Peninsula’s characteristic landscape and played an important role in its history. Following the violence of the Yugoslav secession wars…
In Kosovo, Post-War Water Faults Show Challenge of Balancing Political with Technical
Sep 1, 2016
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Florian Krampe
Rivers have shaped the Western Balkan Peninsula’s characteristic landscape and played an important role in its history. Following the violence of the Yugoslav secession wars…
Liberia’s Land Law Could Protect Forests, People and the Climate
Aug 31, 2016
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Gaurav Madan
Depending on the season, the journey to Rivercess County requires either bumping along dirt paths or navigating endless stretches of mud. In the heart of…
UN Lawyers Present Revised Post-Conflict Environmental Protection Principles
Aug 31, 2016
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Doug Weir
What should parties to a conflict and international organisations do to help protect the environment and those who depend on it from the effects of…
Liberia Must Learn to Honor the Rights of Rural Residents to Manage Their Own Land
Aug 29, 2016
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Alioune Tine
Liberia, the first African country to declare itself a republic and one of three African nations to take part in the establishment and adoption of…
Displacement and Environment in Africa: What is the Relationship?
Aug 29, 2016
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UNEP
Droughts combined with population growth, a lack of sustainable land and water management, natural disasters, political conflicts and tensions and other factors have resulted in…
After Conflict, Peacebuilding and Recovery Efforts Too Often Miss the Environment
Aug 29, 2016
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Tim Kovach and Ken Conca
In June 2010, The New York Times published a front page story trumpeting a Pentagon announcement of roughly $1 trillion worth of mineral resources in Afghanistan. Officials said…
How Lapis Lazuli Turned One Afghan Mining District to the Taliban
Aug 25, 2016
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Adrienne Bober
In the mountains of northern Afghanistan, between Pakistan and China, a region that has historically rejected the Taliban has become the group’s second-largest source of revenue.…
Little Talked About, This Issue Can Choke Colombia’s Peace Deal Down The Line
Aug 25, 2016
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José E. Mosquera
Decades of civil conflict and the formation of the communist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could be attributed in part to the struggle for land in…