News


Climate Change: Foreign Ministers Flag Climate Change as Major Spark for Conflicts

Jun 25, 2020 | Laurie Goering, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Climate change impacts - including growing food and water scarcity - are becoming increasingly important drivers of conflict and unrest around the world, and security…


Grant-Fun­ded Post-Doc­toral Re­searcher in 'Toxic Crimes Pro­ject'

Jun 25, 2020 | University of Helsinki, Erik Castren Institute

The 'Toxic Crimes Project' is looking for a full-time grant-funded researcher at the postdoctoral stage for a 26-month period (starting October 2020). Our project is…


Yemen: Seawater Seeping into Decaying Oil Tanker off Yemen Coast

Jun 25, 2020 | Maggie Michael, Associated Press

The United Nations said an abandoned oil tanker moored off the coast of Yemen loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil is…


Colombia: A Community’s Struggle to Protect Itself from Land Mines in the Colombian Amazon

Jun 25, 2020 | Camila Osario, New Yorker

The Siona indigenous territories are located in the state of Putumayo, which has, since the nineteen-sixties, been the crossroads of a war between the Colombian…


Afghanistan: Afghanistan Uses Green Stimulus to Hire Lockdown Jobless, Boost Kabul's Water Supply

Jun 25, 2020 | Sayed Hassib, Reuters

Lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease have taken their toll on Afghanistan's economy, so the government is employing more than 40,000 jobless…


Myanmar: Mogok Bans Entry to Unlicensed Gem Mines

Jun 25, 2020 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Mogok township in Mandalay Region will prohibit people from entering gem-mining concessions that have expired licenses. Ko Soe Min Hlaing, a local resident, described the…


Uganda: Integrating Gender into Climate Change Interventions

Jun 25, 2020 | Sarah Kenyi, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung

The effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts and unreliable weather patterns adversely impact smallholder coffee growing farmers in Uganda. To mitigate this, the…


Libya: Women, Peace, and Security in Libyan Context

Jun 25, 2020 | United Nations Support Mission in Libya

Full and effective participation of women in public life, including all political processes and peace building initiatives remains essential and a core priority for UNSMIL.…


Afghanistan: New World Drug Report: Opium Production in Afghanistan Remained the Same in 2019

Jun 25, 2020 | Jelena Bjelica, Afghanistan Analysts Network

The United Nations Drugs and Crime Office’s (UNODC) World Drug Report, released today, shows a decrease in the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan in 2019 following price…


The Gender Dimension of Sustainable Development

Jun 24, 2020 | Michael Fitzpatrick

Despite the recent ravages of plague, war, and pestilence, we humans still excel in one unceasing task — breeding. So much so, humanity is on…


Water Sharing Tensions Between Iran and Afghanistan Still High as Droughts Ease

Jun 24, 2020 | Phoebe Sleet

Both Iran and Afghanistan have suffered from prolonged droughts over the last several years. In Afghanistan, the worst drought in decades directly affected two-thirds of the country in 2018-19. Around ten…


Water Sharing Tensions Between Iran and Afghanistan Still High as Droughts Ease

Jun 24, 2020 | Phoebe Sleet

Both Iran and Afghanistan have suffered from prolonged droughts over the last several years. In Afghanistan, the worst drought in decades directly affected two-thirds of the country in 2018-19. Around ten…


Climate Change: Dhaka Seeks UNSC's Bold Steps to Address Climate Challenges

Jun 24, 2020 | Dhaka Tribune

Bangladesh has sought a “bold decision” from the UN Security Council to ensure security and peace across nations addressing climate challenges through partnership and collaboration.


Water Wars: The Pandemic’s Great Power Competition at Sea

Jun 24, 2020 | Sean Quirk

As the world continues its fight against the coronavirus, the U.S. and Chinese militaries are testing each other’s limits in the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing is…


Iraq: Iraq Passes Bill to Unlock Funds for Cash-Strapped State

Jun 24, 2020 | Samya Kullab, Associated Press

Iraqi lawmakers Wednesday passed a crucial bill allowing the country to finance a widening fiscal deficit amid an unprecedented economic crisis spurred by falling oil…


South Sudan: East African Court Bars South Sudan, Two Firms from Exporting Oil

Jun 23, 2020 | Luke Anami, East African

The government of South Sudan and two mining companies have been barred from operating and exporting oil due to spills that have polluted the environment.…


Afghanistan: 'Divorce Isn't an Option': Afghan Women Find Hope in Saffron Scheme

Jun 23, 2020 | Stefanie Glinski, Guardian

In Zadid’s village in Herat province’s Pashtun Zarghun district, an area disputed by the Afghan government and the Taliban, an increasing number of men are…


China/South China Sea: South China Sea Surveys Pressure Claimants, Mine Info with Military Use

Jun 23, 2020 | Drake Long, BenarNews

Beijing has increased the tempo of its deep sea surveys in the South China Sea, worrying claimant states and other nations. Experts say the mapping…


How Can Extractive Sector Laws and Policies Contribute to Gender Equality?

Jun 23, 2020

What do governments and international organizations mean when they say that they aim to advance gender equity in the context of natural resource governance? Many governments…


Afghanistan: Drought, Desertification Threaten Future of Agriculture in Afghanistan

Jun 23, 2020 | Afghanistan Times

A former official warns against the successive droughts in the country, calling it a threat for the future of agriculture since deserts are widening as…


China/Vietnam/South China Sea: China Sends Ship as Warning to Vietnam: No Court Case, No Oil Drilling

Jun 22, 2020 | Ralph Jennings, Voice of America

China sent a survey vessel through waters claimed by its maritime sovereignty rival Vietnam this month to warn Hanoi against starting new energy exploration projects…


Egypt/Ethiopia: Dispute Over Africa’s Biggest Hydro Dam Set for Discussion at UN

Jun 22, 2020 | David Wainer, Bloomberg

The United Nations Security Council will discuss for the first time Monday a growing dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over a giant hydropower dam being…


Iraq: Water Hyacinth Pest Chokes Iraq's Vital Waterways

Jun 22, 2020 | Agence France-Presse

The water hyacinth, nicknamed the "Nile flower" in Iraq, is an invasive plant native to South America's Amazon basin that has ravaged ecosystems across the…


Conflict, Conservation, and Cooperation Across the India-Bhutan Border

Jun 22, 2020 | Umika Chanana

In the article, Dr. Anwesha Dutta construes the evolution of separatist movements that stimulates the unbridled extraction of forest resources, impacting the lives and livelihood of…


Liberia: Leaders of Maryland and River Gee Restore Calm into Disputed Goldmine

Jun 22, 2020 | E. Varney Kamah, Global News Network Liberia

At long last the elders of both Maryland and Rivergee Counties have finally agreed to suspend activities at the Besseken goldmine dispute between of the…


Reports Highlight the Need for Further Consideration of Gender, Climate, and Security Linkages

Jun 22, 2020 | Magdalena Baranowska

In a recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) paper, Elizabeth Seymour Smith, a Research Assistant with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme, explores the intersection of…


Senior Researcher - Climate Security and Violent Extremism in Africa

Jun 20, 2020 | UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Last Chance for the Persian Leopard: The Fight to Save Iraqi Kurdistan’s Forests

Jun 20, 2020 | Wil Crisp, Guardian

Between 1999 and 2018, almost half of Iraqi Kurdistan’s forests – more than 890,000 hectares (2.2m acres) – were destroyed, mostly by logging and forest…


Environmental Peacebuilding in the Middle East: The Bridge between Climate and Conflict

Jun 19, 2020 | Madelyn Evans

In recent years, environmental challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, food security, and land degradation have increased competition over resources in the Levant. Environmentalist peacebuilders in…


Iraq: As Conflict Abates, Iraqi Villages Begin to Tackle “Huge” Problem of Rubble

Jun 19, 2020 | UN Environment

On the ground, the level of destruction seems endless. Homes, schools and shops have been reduced to piles of cement and stone, the fall-out from…