Blogs & Opinions

As Climate Change Strains Somalia's Path to Peace, Communities Hold the Key

Jul 14, 2022 | International Organization for Migration

Massive livestock deaths due to drought have been reported across Somalia this year. Herds of cattle – often the only source of income and food…

In World Convulsed by Climate-Driven Conflict, Are Peace Parks an Answer?

Jul 14, 2022 | Saul Elbein

The Himalayan high peaks serve as a jagged wall dividing nuclear-armed neighbors — a physical barrier rising in places to more than 8,800 meters (29,000…

Tackling Scarcity and Building Security: A Response to IUU Fishing

Jul 14, 2022 | Johan Bergenas

Healthy coastal ecosystems support peaceful and well-functioning societies. They feed      billions of people, support hundreds of millions of jobs, and provide security to communities at…

Women Should Be Leading Conservation Efforts in Africa

Jul 13, 2022 | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Women make up the backbone of society. Nowhere is this truer than in rural Africa, where the so-called “lesser sex” takes on the bulk of…

Heeding Calls from Environmentalists, South Sudan President Suspends Dredging of Sudd Wetland

Jul 13, 2022 | Yale Environment 360

In May, Egypt delivered equipment to dredge 20 miles of waterways in the north of the Sudd, sparking backlash from environmentalists, who said the project…

Climate Change Exacerbates Violence Against Women and Girls

Jul 12, 2022

It is estimated that 80 per cent of people displaced by climate change are women, according to UN Environment.

When women are displaced, they are at…

Kerala’s Escalating Human-Wildlife Conflicts

Jul 11, 2022 | Aswin V.N.

Incidents of human-wildlife conflict are on the rise in Kerala and it is back in focus with the killing of man by a wild elephant…

Convergence of Conflicts, COVID and Climate Crises, Jeopardize Global Goals

Jul 7, 2022 | United Nations

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 reveals that the convergence of increased fighting, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term climate crisis, could push an additional 75 to…

How Green Can Ukraine’s Recovery Really Be?

Jul 7, 2022 | Michelle Langrand

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, there have been over 580 disruptions in industrial and infrastructure facilities, according to figures by the Geneva-based Zoi…

We Built an Algorithm to Predict How Climate Change Will Affect Future Conflict in the Horn of Africa: Here’s What We Found

Jul 6, 2022 | Jannis Hoch, Niko Wanders, and Sophie de Bruin

The Horn of Africa, on the eastern coast of the continent, is currently being battered by an intense and sustained drought thanks to which around 20 million people…

For Somalia, Nature Is Key to Lasting Peace: UN Expert

Jul 6, 2022 | UN Environment Programme

Just over two years ago, Christophe Hodder was selected as the first UN Climate Security and Environmental Advisor to Somalia. Since then, he had spearheaded…

Exploring Climate Security: Why Bad Outcomes Occur in Some Places and Not Others

Jul 5, 2022 | Josh Busby

Global disaster risk reduction world provides a hopeful sign. Optimists tout that despite large and increasing numbers of people living in harm’s way to climate-related…

Empowering Women Aids Climate Resilience

Jun 30, 2022 | Nina Jeffs, Zainab Yunusa

The overturning of constitutional rights to abortion by the United States Supreme Court is the latest blow in a worldwide rollback of protections for gender…

Her Land, Her Power: How Geospatial Tech Secures Women’s Land Rights

Jun 29, 2022 | Amy Coughenour Betancourt

It is estimated that 70 percent of land in the developing world is undocumented. This makes one billion people vulnerable to eviction and, more specifically,…

Within the Health, Climate, and Security Nexus, Prevention is Better than a Cure

Jun 29, 2022 | Kelly Bridges

Droughts are not the only climate-related disaster that affect WASH and health service delivery.  In addition to being one of the hottest years on record, 2022 is…

PERAC: A Voice for Environment and Indigenous Peoples in Conflict’s Grip

Jun 28, 2022 | The New Security Beat

The harm that comes to the environment during armed conflict is often permanent, yet the lack of advocates to fight for its protection as they…

Exploring the Environment-Conflict-Migration Nexus in Asia

Jun 28, 2022 | SEI

This study examines the nexus between climate change, migration and conflict within Asia, with particular attention to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, the three Asian countries…

PERAC: A Voice for Environment and Indigenous Peoples in Conflict’s Grip

Jun 28, 2022 | Elizabeth B. Hessami

The harm that comes to the environment during armed conflict is often permanent, yet the lack of advocates to fight for its protection as they…

Will a Nile Canal Project Dry up Africa’s Largest Wetland?

Jun 28, 2022 | Fred Pearce

South Sudan is moving ahead with plans for a 240-mile canal to divert water from the White Nile and send it to Egypt. But critics…

Climate Change, Migration and the Risk of Conflict in Growing Urban Centers

Jun 27, 2022 | Tegan Blaine, Ph.D.; Julia Canney; Chris Collins; Jessica Kline; Rachel Locke

From 2015 to 2050, the world’s urban population is expected to nearly double, in part because migrants from rural areas devastated by climate change are…

Preventing a “Green Resource Curse”: Opportunities and Risks of Mining in the Global Energy Transition

Jun 27, 2022 | Yiran Ning

Is a “green resource curse” on its way? Kimberly Thompson, a Senior Advisor for Natural Resources and Conflict and the Industry Lead for Mining at…

Tracking Military Greenhouse Gas Emissions in War and Peace

Jun 22, 2022 | Conflict and Environment Observatory

At COP26, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “there is no way to reach net zero without also including emissions from the military”. Yet, there…

The Armed Lifeboat: The Dangers of Militarising Climate Adaptation

Jun 21, 2022 | Nick Buxton

On 7 February 2022, Arizona’s attorney general, Mark Brnovich, released a legal opinion that declared that the refugees trying to cross the heavily fortified US–Mexico…

Public Participation: A Counter to Climate Policy Backdraft?

Jun 21, 2022 | Kidan Araya

In an increasingly unpredictable world of pandemics, conflict, and disasters, climate change is often at the center of conversations about the instability of global affairs.…

Liberia: Government Agent Connives with Illegal Miners in River Cess

Jun 17, 2022 | Varney Kamara

Illicit miners are threatening the existence of a famous town in River Cess County with the help of an official of the Ministry of Mines,…

Procédure Inédite contre un Suisse Accusé de Pillage de Bois Précieux au Sénégal (Unprecedented Procedure against a Swiss Accused of Looting Precious Woods in Senegal)

Jun 17, 2022 | Radio Télévision Suisse

Une demande d'entraide judiciaire a été adressée par la Suisse au ministère gambien de la Justice concernant un Suisse accusé de pillage de bois précieux…

Addressing Nuclear Weapons Contamination: New Principles for Environmental Remediation

Jun 16, 2022 | Bonnie Docherty

When the First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) convenes in Vienna from June 21-23, much of the discussion…

To Really Lead on Global Gender Equality, the United States Needs Dedicated, Sustained Leadership

Jun 16, 2022 | Megan O'Donnell

It’s been 512 days since President Biden took office, and 216 days since he announced the nomination of Geeta Rao Gupta to be the US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s…

From Where I Stand: “We Need Women’s Voices for a Sustainable Marine Life and Fisheries Sector.”

Jun 16, 2022 | Huriye Göncüoğlu Bodur

“I grew up in a house with a sea view. As a child, I loved watching and being in the sea. I always wanted to…

Taking Climate Security Forward in the OSCE

Jun 15, 2022 | Anniek Barnhoorn

There is growing international recognition that climate change impacts and security challenges—along with their solutions—are increasingly linked. In a new, complex of era of risk,…