International


Afghanistan: 'Worst Drought I Have Seen': Afghan Farmers Forced to Flee

Dec 7, 2018 | Phys.org

Wheat and opium farmer Murad Khan Ishaqzai, 80, has never seen a drought as bad as the one ravaging western Afghanistan where more than 250,000…


Colombia: Their Waters Wrested Away, Colombia's Island Fishermen Lament - and Learn

Dec 6, 2018 | Anastasia Moloney, Thomson Reuters Foundation

“But we can’t fish there. I’m afraid to go there,” fisherman Oreste Howard laments, as his small one-engine motor boat bobs in the breeze. The…


Yemen: Almost Four Years of Conflict Leads to Declaration of Catastrophic Food Security Conditions in Yemen

Dec 6, 2018 | CARE

As pockets of famine-like conditions are announced in parts of Yemen and the majority of the population are shown to be suffering from emergency or…


New Zealand: Food Scarcity, Land Disputes: New Zealand Defence Force Issues Alarming Climate Forecast

Dec 6, 2018 | Zane Small, NewsHub

The New Zealand Defence force has issued a stark warning about the effects of climate change and how it will be forced to adapt to…


Peace, Not War, Responsible for Deforestation in Armed Conflict Zones

Dec 5, 2018 | University of Waterloo

Rates of deforestation in war zones increase dramatically once peace is declared, according to a study from the University of Waterloo. Forests and jungles provide…


Myanmar: Jade Is Anything but Green

Dec 5, 2018 | Nick Meynen, Ecologist

Jade is the diamond of the East. A fast-growing, high-income class in China - who often cherish mystical values associated with jade - are causing a…


Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone's 'Peace Diamond' Dividend Slow in Coming

Dec 5, 2018 | Agence France-Presse

They were promised a "peace diamond" dividend in the Sierra Leone village of Koryardu after the stone they handed over for auction fetched $6.5 million…


DRC: DRC Classifies Cobalt, Coltan as 'Strategic' Minerals

Dec 5, 2018 | Africa News

Cobalt and coltan, used in electric vehicle and renewable energy technology have been classified as strategic minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Congolese Prime…


Sri Lanka: Tamil Villagers Call for End to Archaeology Land Grab in Trincomalee [Photos]

Dec 5, 2018 | Tamil Guardian

Locals in Trincomalee have written to the Divisional Secretariat of Kuchchaveli, calling for an end to an attempt by Sri Lanka’s archaeology department to seize…


Iraq: Cleaning up after ISIS: How Iraq’s New Chemicals Team Is Trying to Undo Years of Conflict Pollution

Dec 5, 2018 | UN Environment

ISIS (also known as the Islamic State or Da’esh) has more or less been defeated in Iraq, but throughout the areas it once occupied, the…


Colombia: Colombia Tropical Forest Fires Spike after 2016 Peace Accords

Dec 4, 2018 | Rutgers University

Fires that contribute to deforestation spiked six-fold in Colombia in the year after an historic 2016 peace agreement ended decades of conflict between FARC guerrilla…


Colombia: El Nino May Cut Colombia's Rainfall by 80 pct in Q1 2019 - Minister

Dec 4, 2018 | Reuters

The El Nino weather phenomenon could reduce rainfall in Colombia by 80 percent in the first quarter of 2019, the country's environment minister said on…


Pakistan: Land Grabbers, Henchmen Arrested in Islamabad after Gun Battle with Police

Dec 4, 2018 | Munawer Azeem, Dawn

The police arrested 42 people posing as the Taliban in order to grab land, after a gun battle during an operation Sunday night. Four policemen…


Russia/Ukraine: HotSpots H2O, December 3: Water Infrastructure Still a Target in Ukrainian Conflict

Dec 3, 2018 | Kayla Ritter, Circle of Blue

Attacks on civilian water infrastructure remain a strategic vulnerability in the ongoing conflict between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists. Two major water lines were…


Colombia: Deforestation Is Unexpected Result of Peace in Colombia

Dec 3, 2018 | Stony Brook University

War can have devastating effects on nature, but what happens in times of peace? In a first-of-a-kind study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, scientists provide…


Myanmar: Chinese Company behind Controversial Copper Mine Eyes Additional 100k Acres

Dec 3, 2018 | Zarni Mann, Irrawaddy

Local concerns over the environmental impacts and potential for land confiscation in the Latpadaung copper mining area are rising again with the submission of an…


Iraq: Iraqi Security Prevents Protesters from Storming Oilfield

Dec 3, 2018 | Middle East Monitor

Iraqi security forces yesterday prevented dozens of demonstrators from storming the major oilfield of West Qurna 2 in the country’s southern province of Basra.


DRC: Cobalt Mining Shows Clean Energy Revolution Comes at a Price

Dec 3, 2018 | Zoe Dawson, Irish Times


Iraq: Iraq's Nineveh Province Declares State of Emergency Following Flash Flooding

Dec 2, 2018 | Mina Aldroubi, The National

Iraqi authorities on Sunday declared a state of emergency after flash flooding and torrential rainfall battered Nineveh, further exacerbating the plight of the war-torn province.…


Afghanistan: Farmers Harvest More Saffron This Year

Nov 30, 2018 | Haidarshah Omid, TOLOnews

Amid arrival of saffron harvest season, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said farmers have harvested three tons more saffron compared with the…


Sudan: Sudan’s East Darfur Embracing Shared Natural Resource Management to Curb Conflict

Nov 30, 2018 | UN Environment

As in many parts of western Sudan, Ismail and other East Darfur residents have for decades lived in a fragile environment characterized by climatic variability…


Myanmar: UK Aid, WWF to Help Myanmar Develop ‘Green’ Rubber

Nov 29, 2018 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

The UK Department for International Development (DFID), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Dawei Golden Land Co (DGL) have made a joint investment of over…


Colombia: Interfaith Rainforest Initiative Launched to Protect Colombian Rainforest, Indigenous Peoples

Nov 29, 2018 | Catherine Benson Wahlén, International Institute for Sustainable Development

Leaders from every major religious faith joined Afro-Colombian communities, indigenous peoples, climate scientists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to launch the Colombia ‘Interfaith Rainforest Initiative.’ Through…


Israel/Palestine: Israel Rules in Favour of Settlers after 22-Year Legal Battle against Land Grab

Nov 28, 2018 | Middle East Monitor

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favour of settlers after a 22-year legal battle by Palestinians against efforts to annex their land in the occupied…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Chinese Construction on Remote Reef Rekindles Dispute with Vietnam

Nov 28, 2018 | Ralph Jennings, Voice of America

China's new construction on a remote South China Sea reef has soured its relations again with Vietnam, a claimant to the same islet, after a…


Colombia: Colombian Organic Coconut Farm Attracts Investors from 10 Countries

Nov 27, 2018 | Fresh Plaza

Farmfolio, a Cayman Islands-based agriculture development firm, this week closed the second round of funding for its Colombian farming operation, Pietrasanta. The project encompasses 570…


Afghanistan: Agricultural Development Key to Global Security: Ghani

Nov 27, 2018 | Syed Zabiullah Langari, TOLOnews

Addressing a private sector side event in Geneva on Tuesday, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said that his administration has created the legal structure for the mining…


Afghanistan: Farmers Grappling with Afghanistan Drought Urgently Need Seed and Animal Feed Support

Nov 27, 2018 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

A new drought response will help 1.4 million of the most vulnerable drought-affected people in Afghanistan during the coming winter season and into April next year, the…


Iraq: Iraq Allocates 2019 Oil Sales

Nov 27, 2018 | Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Iraq has allocated its oil sales for 2019, with 67 percent of exports going to Asian markets, 20 percent to the Europe and 13 percent…


Colombia: Religious Leaders in Colombia Form Coalition to Defend Rainforests

Nov 27, 2018 | Manuel Rueda, Catholic News Service

Religious leaders in Colombia promised to step up efforts to prevent the destruction of rainforests in the South American country, as they launched a coalition…