Issue #301 – Jul 22, 2025

Announcements

Apply Now to become a UN Youth Champion for Environment and Peace!

July 17, 2025
UN Youth Champions for Environment and Peace

UNFICYP and the British Council, through its regional Youth Connect programme, are pleased to offer for the fifth year the acclaimed UN Youth Champions for Environment and Peace programme that will focus on…

Call for Proposals: Path To Ottawa

July 7, 2025 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association & University of Ottawa

In the lead-up to the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding–taking place in June 2026 in Ottawa, Canada–the Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and Conference partners are hosting the Path to Ottawa, a global,…

Events

For more upcoming events on environmental peacebuilding, please visit our online calendar of events.

Applied Environmental Diplomacy: A Path Towards Peace

September 22, 2025 Princeton University, Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment
Princeton, NJ and online

The Middle East is a climate change hotspot. The rising temperatures and decreased rainfall are exacerbating the existing conflict, destabilizing the region and hindering peace efforts.

"Peace Notes" Series: Whalesong;Warsong: Cetaceans, Conflict, and Cooperation (A Path to Ottawa Event)

September 1, 2025 Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative
online

As part of the Path to Ottawa series, join the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative for a series of co-learning sessions about the intersections between environmental peacebuilding, climate justice, and ecological education --…

"Peace Notes" Series: Session 2 (A Path to Ottawa Event)

August 5, 2025 Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative
online

Library

In the last two weeks, 11 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

The Economic Consequences of Climate Change for Afghanistan: Losses, Projections … and Pathways to Mitigation

July 21, 2025 | Mohammad Assem Mayar
Afghanistan Analyst Network

Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Afghanistan faces escalating economic and social crises from climate change.

A Global Minerals Trust Could Prevent Inefficient and Inequitable Protectionist Policies

July 21, 2025 | Saleem H. Ali, Daniel M. Franks, Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira, Kaveh Madani, Owen Gaffney, Eva Anggraini, Leonard Wantchekon, and Xianlai Zeng
Science

The global transition to sustainable energy and infrastructure faces a critical challenge: ensuring equitable access to essential minerals while also providing fair and stable income for mineral suppliers and mitigating the serious risk…

IOM Somalia's Environmental Peacebuilding Programme 2025 [Video]

July 19, 2025
IOM Somalia Mission

Widespread environmental damage in Somalia heightens competition for dwindling resources, intensifies existing conflicts and can lead to new ones.

Disciplinary Perspectives on Environmental Peacebuilding: Insights from Environmental Science and International Relations

July 18, 2025 | Olivier Serrat

By integrating environmental considerations into peacebuilding initiatives, we can create lasting solutions that address recurring root causes of conflict, such as competition over natural resources, environmental degradation, and resource scarcity.

The Thirst for Power: Overcoming the Politics of Water in the Middle East

July 16, 2025 | Natasha Hall, Robin Savage, Hassan Janabi, Neda Zawahri, and Ciarán Ó Cuinn
Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Middle East has battled water insecurity for centuries, but today, the region is on a razor’s edge. Climate change and overuse have threatened water supplies like never before.

Russia-Ukraine War Has Altered the Pattern of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Shipping in the Black Sea Region

July 16, 2025 | Yuanquan Xu, Pengjun Zhao, Tingting Kang, and Kun Qin
Communications Earth & Environment

Recent geopolitical crises have reshaped global shipping patterns, profoundly impacting related carbon emissions.

Water Sovereignty as a Pathway to Food and Energy Security in Afghanistan

July 15, 2025 | Noor Ahmad Akhundzadah and Karim-Aly Kassam
Discover Sustainability

Afghanistan possesses abundant water resources, renewable energy potential, and fertile arable lands to be a viable pluralistic nation in the twenty-first century.

How the Ongoing Armed Conflict between Russia and Ukraine Can Affect the Global Wheat Food Security?

July 13, 2025 | Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb and Velu Govindan
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center

This study examines the potential impacts of Russia-Ukraine armed conflict on the consumption and trade of wheat and wheat food security.

Participatory Approaches to Conflict, Climate Change and Environment: Case Studies from the Middle East and North Africa

July 11, 2025 | Sammy Kayed, Shivan Fazil, Hussam Hussein, Asma Khalifa, Abeer Butmeh, Abdalftah Hamed Ali, Sarine Karajerjian, Ahmad Al-wadaey, and Tobias Zumbraegel
Arab Reform Initiative and Robert Bosch Stiftung

The MENA countries have been confronting profound and far-reaching climate shocks. Experts widely agree that human-driven activity intensely shapes escalating climate stressors—including extreme weather events—dwindling natural resources, and persistent environmental degradation.

International News

In the last two weeks, 24 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Sudan: Sudan’s Gold Trade: Fueling War, Smuggling, and Humanitarian Collapse

July 21, 2025 | Damsana Ranadhiran
Blitz

As Sudan’s devastating civil war stretches into its second year, a sinister transformation has occurred in the nation’s economy.

Afghanistan: UNICEF: Children in Afghanistan Denied Education Due to Lack of Water and Sanitation Services

July 21, 2025
Hasht-e-Subh Daily

Tajudeen Oyewale, the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan, states that children in Afghanistan, particularly girls, are unable to attend school due to a lack of water and sanitation…

Iraq: Iraq Agrees to Oil Plan with Kurdistan in Step toward Export Deal

July 20, 2025
IranOilGas.com

After months of deadlock and oil tensions, the Iraqi central government has made a historic decision by taking full control of Kurdistan’s oil exports and resuming northern oil exports with a $16 per…

Afghanistan: For the First Time in Modern History a Capital City Is on the Verge of Running Dry

July 19, 2025 | Alysha Bibi, Rhea Mogul, and Masoud Popalzai
CNN

Kabul is inching toward catastrophe.

Sierra Leone: From Diamonds to Dirt: Sierra Leone Youth Bring Land back to Life

July 16, 2025
UN

Craters filled with muddy water pocket the landscape of the Kono district in Sierra Leone – the result of past diamond mining ventures which sparked a vicious local battle over resources.

Liberia: Putu Residents Left in the Shadows as Logging Funds Spark Confusion and Discontent

July 15, 2025 | Esther Natelia Scott and Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
FrontPage Africa

As logging trucks continue to haul timber from the forests of Putu, residents of the community say they are left behind in worsening poverty, with little to show for years of financial commitments…

Colombia: In Colombia, Indigenous Youth Seek to Protect Land. They Have to Escape Violence to Do It

July 15, 2025 | Steven Grattan
Associated Press

Indigenous groups have often argued that they are uniquely qualified to act as protectors of the land, and have often fought for legal rights to do so.

Afghanistan: Kabul’s Water Crisis: How Unsustainable Foreign Aid Projects Made It Worse

July 13, 2025 | Modaser Islami
Arab News

As Kabul makes global headlines for being on the brink of running out of water, experts say the crisis stems not only from natural and local causes, but also decades of unsustainable foreign…

Myanmar: In Myanmar, a Rush for Rare Earth Metals Is Causing a Regional Environmental Disaster

July 12, 2025 | Michael Sullivan
NPR

The Wat Tha Ton Temple sits high above the tourist town of Tha Ton, with a magnificent view of the Kok River valley to the south and an equally impressive view of the…

DRC/Rwanda: Behind the Congo-Rwanda Peace Deal: History, Minerals, and Power [Video]

July 11, 2025 | Ahmed Ghoneim
CGTN America

A historic US-brokered peace deal has been signed for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.

Gambia/Senegal: NAM Says Cassamance Conflict Shuts out Gambian Farmers from Accessing Ancestral Lands

July 10, 2025 | Nyima Sillah
Voice Gambia

Hon. Bakary K.

India/Pakistan: Can India Stop Pakistan’s River Water — and Will It Spark a New War?

July 9, 2025 | Abid Hussain
Al Jazeera

India announced it was walking out of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a six-decade-old transboundary water agreement that governs the division of water from the Indus Basin’s six rivers.

DRC/Rwanda Peace Deal: Perspectives on Minerals, Security and Human Rights

July 8, 2025
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

The DRC is a major supplier of critical minerals such as coltan , copper and cobalt , all essential to the technology, security, and energy sectors.

Sierra Leone: Building Resilient Food Systems in Sierra Leone: Sustainable Agriculture, Community Empowerment, and Strategic Partnerships for Long-Term Food Security

July 8, 2025
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) working with its development partners, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 6 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website.

Water Wars in the Making: Are We Headed for Conflict over Access to Aquifers?

July 19, 2025 | Maria Faith Saligumba

In a world where water is becoming more precious than oil, are we unknowingly marching toward a future rife with conflict over this essential resource?

Who Really Profits from Myanmar’s Rare Earths?

July 18, 2025 | Min Zan

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metals that play a crucial role in modern technology.

A Case Study of the Ukrainian War: How War Impacts the Environment

July 15, 2025 | Dakota Mikita

Conflicts across the world have been a detriment to the environment around them.

Is Peace Enough? Why Sustainability Requires More Than Stability

July 15, 2025 | Richard Marcantonio

Around the world, conflict and environmental risks are on the rise – and they’re often connected in complex ways. In the past five years alone, the number of global conflicts has doubled.

Water Wars: Why South Asia and Africa Must Act before Rivers become Frontlines

July 14, 2025 | Queenie Nair

While leaders continue to treat water disputes as peripheral an environmental or technical challenge to be solved by engineers and bureaucrats the truth is far starker: water scarcity is a geopolitical crisis in…

‘Natural’ Opportunities for Dialogue with North Korea

July 9, 2025 | Saleem Ali

As President Trump considers ways to reengage with North Korea, he might consider environmental cooperation as a way to open a new opportunity for dialogue.

Join the Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) is the leading global network that brings together practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working on environment, conflict, and peace. EnPAx includes both individual and institutional members. If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us at membership@environmentalpeacebuilding.org.

Sharing and Posting Materials

The strength of the knowledge platform depends on submissions and suggestions on contents from users. To share publications and information on events, job opportunities, and other announcements, please contact share@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. Please also feel free to share ideas on how the platform can be further improved to meet your needs.

About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practice on natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing natural resources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helps people to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participate in events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, we bring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our program as well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings.

Please visit us at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org for more information.

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