News

Sahel Region: Gender & Advocacy Specialist

Nov 3, 2019 | Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every…

Seeking Active Members for the Africa Interest Group

Nov 3, 2019 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association is excited to announce the development of the Africa Interest Group!  This Interest Group will hold its first online meeting in the…

Colombia: Colombia's Growing Sustainable Farming Movement

Nov 3, 2019 | Andrew J. Wight, Public Radio International

In the developed world, concerns around pesticides, herbicides, and industrial fertilizers are often framed around their impact on the environment, but for Carlos Osorio and…

Myanmar: Miners Protest in Myanmar's Valley of Rubies'

Nov 3, 2019 | New Straits Times

Small concession holders in the world renowned "valley of rubies" in Mogok, Mandalay recently protested against unfair allocation of mines by the Myanmar government. Some…

Why Environmental Security Is Paramount to Venezuela’s Future

Nov 2, 2019 | Bram Ebus

Venezuela’s historic meltdown is often explained as a consequence of bad governance, corruption and the collapse of the oil sector or of international sanctions. Solutions…

Myanmar: Myanmar Pushing for Higher Standard to Boost Fisheries Export

Nov 2, 2019 | New Straits Times

In a bid to be more competitive internationally, the country's fisheries industry is finalising guidelines to meet Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP) standard requirements by next…

Myanmar: Mandalay Gem Market to Go Online

Nov 1, 2019 | Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times

A Myanmar and Chinese company are working together to bring the Mandalay gem market into the internet age, a company executive said.

Iraq: How a Collective of Iraqi Women Is Bringing the Country Closer to Peace

Nov 1, 2019 | WLPF International

A delegation representing the Iraqi Women’s Network attended the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) session on the 20th…

Liberia: Court Rules in Nimba County Forest Saga

Nov 1, 2019 | Edward Genoway Jr., FrontPage Africa

The Circuit court in Sanniquellie, Nimba County has handed down its verdict in favor of Liberia Tree and Trading Company (LTTC) and its Chief Executive…

Afghanistan: Afghan Farmers in Kandahar Revamp Cotton Fields to Replace Opium Poppy

Nov 1, 2019 | Xinhua

In Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province where many farmers still highly depend on poppy opium to earn a living, some farmers revive hundreds of acres of…

Women Pastoralists Feel the Heat of Climate Change

Nov 1, 2019 | Sharon Birch-Jeffrey

For many people, climate change is about shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels, longer and more intense heatwaves, and other extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. But…

The Road to Women's Economic Empowerment: Do Women (and Men) Prefer On or Off the Farm?

Nov 1, 2019 | Berber Kramer and Isabel Lambrecht

Improving women’s economic empowerment continues to be the focus of a wide range of development projects, ranging from vocational trainings to microcredit to cash and…

Colombia: Controversy in Colombia for a Decree That Allows Shark Hunting to Market Their Fins

Oct 31, 2019 | Martime Herald

The Ministry of Agriculture issued a resolution that fixes the amounts guaranteed for the fishing of these animals, which aroused the outrage of environmental sectors…

Syria: Trump Wants US Companies to Tap Syria’s Oil, Despite Experts Warning That Could Be a War Crime

Oct 31, 2019 | Negar Mortazavi, Independent

Having provoked bipartisan and international condemnation for abruptly announcing a withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, effectively greenlighting the subsequent Turkish incursion into largely Kurdish-held…

South Sudan: Floods Threaten to Derail South Sudan’s Recovery

Oct 31, 2019 | Obi Anyadike, New Humanitarian

Severe flooding in South Sudan has affected close to a million people, threatening to reverse some of the humanitarian gains made during a year-long ceasefire…

Myanmar: Landmine Casualties Soar in First Nine Months

Oct 31, 2019 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

Forty-two people were killed by landmine explosions across the country in the first nine months of this year, a senior social welfare official said on…

Myanmar: Small Miners Protest over Gem Blocks

Oct 31, 2019 | Kyaw Ko Ko, Myanmar Times

Residents of Mogok township in Mandalay Region are protesting what they say is the unfair allocation of mining concessions, with small miners being assigned to unproductive…

Language Matters: The Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Japan and South Korea

Oct 31, 2019 | Yeonju Jung and Ayako Tsujisaka

Nineteen years ago today, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325—a foundational resolution to the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. Since the…

Afghanistan: Afghanistan Increases Use of Renewable Energy Sources

Oct 31, 2019 | Wadsam

Afghanistan has ample hydropower resources. In recent years, the Afghan government has focused on mobilizing power from those hydropower plants that were under construction or…

Netherlands: How Fairphone's Social Mission Created Gender Balance ... Without Really Trying

Oct 30, 2019 | Oliver Balch

Eva Gouwens had heard that the tech industry was male-dominated, but it wasn’t until she attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona for the first…

Tanzania's Female Parliamentarians to Mainstream Gender in Climate Adaptation

Oct 30, 2019 | Shakwaanande Natai, Madaka Tumbo, Winifred Masiko, and Henry Mahoo

Climate change has been described as a wicked problem, with complexities, feedback loops and tipping points that can cause damage in the most undeserving of…

Men Sweeping? Women Inheriting? Kenya Shakes Up Gender Roles

Oct 30, 2019 | Caroline Wambui

It’s early morning and Moses Njiru 43, has an array of household chores lined up before heading to his job as a cattle broker. 

Dressed in…

Argentina/United Kingdom: Meet the Zimbabweans Who Remove Mines on the Malvinas

Oct 30, 2019 | Buenos Aires Times

Back in 1999 a company called Bactec, which was one of several to later merge into SafeLane Global, was contracted to clear two million mines…

Trump's Baffling Plan to Pillage Syria's Oil

Oct 30, 2019 | Robin Wright

President Trump dropped a stunner during his rambling press conference, on Sunday, after announcing the death of Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, in a…

Rwanda: Rwanda Protests Mineral Traceability Scheme

Oct 30, 2019 | Julius Bizimungu, New Times

Rwanda has said that the ITSCI programme, an international scheme designed to regulate minerals mined from the Central African region, is expensive, unnecessary and prohibitive…

Conflict Minerals: Europe-Led Global Certification Scheme for Raw Materials Expected in 2020

Oct 30, 2019 | Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com

A group of European bodies and companies have joined efforts to create the first global certification scheme ensuring consistent standards of environmental, social and economic…

Egypt/Ethiopia/Sudan: United States to Host Nov. 6 Meeting over Nile Dam Dispute

Oct 30, 2019 | Africanews

The United States is set to host Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on November 6, with a view of resolving a dispute over the latter’s hydropower…

Liberia: Liberia’s Forest Management Guide Launched

Oct 30, 2019 | William Q. Harmon, Observer

A forest management guide intended to ensure the effective management and monitoring of forest resources in the country has been launched in Monrovia. Officially unveiled…

Myanmar: Improvement of Agricultural Livelihoods and Resilience for Conflict Affected Communities

Oct 29, 2019 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The objective of "Improvement of agricultural livelihoods and resilience for conflict affected communities in ethnic minority area" is to improve household food security and in…

Colombia's Ex-Rebels Remove Mines They Left during War

Oct 29, 2019 | Florence Panoussian, International Business Times

A grenade blew off the hands of onetime FARC guerrilla Edwin Correa, but he only surrendered his rifle once a peace deal was struck nearly…