Blogs & Opinions

Can Colombia Solve Its Drug Problem Through Peace?

May 22, 2015 | Jon Lee Anderson

In 1971, President Nixon announced the U.S. “war on drugs,” which every President since has carried forward as a battle standard. Until recently, most Latin…

High Stakes for Australia in Limiting China's South China Sea Incursions

May 22, 2015 | Bonnie Glaser

Rising tensions in the South China Sea are not simply driven by disputes over reefs, hydrocarbon resources and fisheries. China is seeking to exercise greater…

Empowered Women = Happy Planet? Gender Equality in a Changing Environment

May 20, 2015 | International Institute for Environment and Development

Gender and women's empowerment are getting increasing attention in global discussions on climate change, sustainable development and the green economy. The international community is recognising…

Obama Highlights Long-Term Climate Security Threats, Releases Review of Federal Resources

May 20, 2015 | Schuyler Null

In a commencement speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy today, President Obama said “climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security, an immediate…

European Parliament Must Seize its Chance to Stop Trade in Conflict Minerals

May 19, 2015

On 20 May, the European parliament will vote on a proposed regulation to tackle the trade in conflict minerals. The trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG)…

Cooperation Is Not Enough: Why We Need to Think Differently About Water

May 19, 2015 | Naho Mirumachi

In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2005 to 2015 to be the decade of “water for life” as a way to encourage countries…

Colombia Halts Aerial Coca Eradication after WHO Glyphosate Cancer Ruling

May 15, 2015 | Doug Weir

As predicted on this blog in March, the classification of the commonly used herbicide Glyphosate as a Group 2A carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Cancer…

Conflict in Yemen: Lessons for Citizen Environmental Monitoring

May 15, 2015 | Andy Garrity

The conflict in Yemen is likely to have produced a range of TRW threats for the civilian population but in common with other conflicts, data…

41 Years in the Making: Why China's South China Sea Plan Will Fail

May 8, 2015 | Leszek Buszynski

While China’s recent assertiveness in the South China Sea might shock and surprise today’s observers, its behavior has actually been remarkably consistent over recent decades.

China…

Fragile States Use Geospatial Data and Maps to Better Manage Natural Resources

May 6, 2015 | Alex Fischer

The g7+ countries (a voluntary grouping of 20 states affected by fragility) have recognized that one of the first step towards addressing the challenges identified in natural…

Oil, Gold, Etc., Invite Investors, and Yes, Corruption & Inequality

May 5, 2015 | J. Yanqui Zaza

Diamonds, gold, etc., resources needed for prosperity, are in abundance in Liberia, specifically, and in general, in Africa. Investors, invited or not, are in every…

Conservation for Peace: Perspectives of Environmental Peacebuilders in Liberia and Timor-Leste

May 1, 2015 | Brittany Ajroud and Janet Edmond

Environmental peacebuilding is an emerging field of practice that responds to the needs of the many remote, biodiverse communities around the world that struggle to prevent…

Amid Katmandu's Earthquake Wreckage, Hints of a Shift to Safer Construction

May 1, 2015 | Andrew C. Revkin

In the world’s crowded earthquake zones, fromthe Himalayas to the Pacific Northwest, every community faces enormous challenges in designing for inevitable, but unpredictable jolts. This challenge is particularly…

Is the Rubber Industry Dragging Its Heels on Sustainability?

May 1, 2015 | Megan Macinnes

Our recent Guns, Cronies and Crops exposé revealed the human toll of the rubber industry in Myanmar, where companies colluded with the former military junta to seize vast…

Environmental Peacebuilding in the South China Sea

May 1, 2015 | Ryan Stoa

In recent years the South China Sea has become a fiercely contested region.  China's rise as a regional and global superpower has emboldened an aggressive…

The Limits of the “Nile Agreement”

Apr 29, 2015 | Mwangi S. Kimenyi and John Mukum Mbaku

On Monday, March 23, 2015, leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan met in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to sign an agreement that is expected to resolve various…

Wicked Problems, Messy Analysis, Clumsy Solutions?

Apr 28, 2015 | Naho Mirumachi

Increased climate uncertainty, changing lifestyles and disparities in socio-economic development make finding solutions to water scarcity and water-related hazards significant. Today, there are both persistent…

Building Climate Resilience in Conflict-Affected States: A Neglected Agenda

Apr 27, 2015 | Grace Keyes

Climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts face many obstacles in fragile and conflict-affected societies. Instead of writing off these situations, however, International Alert’s Janani Vivekananda,…

War, Famine, and Drought – the Unholy Trinity Changing Our World

Apr 27, 2015 | Boyd Tonkin

Earlier this week, the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister at last backtracked on his government’s part in the withdrawal last year of EU search-and-rescue operations for…

Violence and Conflict over Minerals Still Plague Eastern Congo

Apr 23, 2015 | Sarah Morrison

For Darlène Ndango, fear builds at night. Just over two weeks ago, she was woken up in her bed by the sound of gunshots ripping…

Tracing the Source of ‘Conflict Minerals’

Apr 22, 2015 | Denis Mukwege

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — From 1998 through 2002, my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, endured a devastating civil war. The cease-fire that…

The Ukraine Conflict’s Legacy of Environmental Damage and Pollutants

Apr 22, 2015 | Nickolai Denisov, Otto Simonett, Doug Weir and Dmytro Averin

One year after violent conflict began, information is now emerging on the specific environmental impact of war in Ukraine’s highly industrialised Donbas region. Although obtaining…

The Coming Water Wars

Apr 20, 2015 | Jo Ankier and John Fengolio

“Around 60% more food will be needed to feed the world’s growing population by 2050 and with the demand for water set to increase by…

New Photo Shows China's First Airfield in the World's Most Contested Archipelago

Apr 17, 2015 | Ishaan Tharoor

The image, provided by IHS Jane's Defense Weekly, shows that China has begun building a runway on an island in the disputed Spratly Islands in the…

Catalyzing Cooperation: Disaster Diplomacy and its Potential to Short-Circuit the Climate-Conflict Link

Apr 15, 2015 | Tim Kovach

Here is a growing chorus of voices claiming climate change will foster more conflict and violence. Books have been released on the impending age of climate…

President Obama’s Visit to Jamaica: Doubling down on Climate Security Collaboration

Apr 9, 2015 | Oliver-Leighton Barrett

President Obama is making a short but historic trip to Kingston, Jamaica, on the eve of the Summit of the Americas to be held in…

Science and Geopolitics Converging in the Troubled Waters of the South China Sea

Apr 8, 2015 | James Borton

The South China Sea remains at the epicenter of one of the most volatile maritime areas in the world, with little or no agreement on…

Collapse War in the Middle East?

Apr 7, 2015 | Jean-Michel Valantin

The current war raging throughout Syria and Iraq is profoundly singular, because it combines itself with the social and environmental collapse, combined with the severe…

Sand Pebbles: Why are Superpowers Squabbling over Rocks?

Apr 2, 2015 | Keith Johnson

China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea is alarming the Navy and prompting calls for a more vigorous U.S. response. Over the past year,…

Baghdad Scores a Goal in its Oil Dispute with Kurdistan

Apr 2, 2015 | David Romano

Last September, the federal government in Baghdad filed a $300 million lawsuit against the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) most important oil tanker shipping partner, Greece’s…