Blogs & Opinions

New Tool Offers Key Insights for Tackling Climate and Conflict Challenges

Nov 14, 2024 | Kayly Ober, Daniel Abrahams, Luna Ruiz

When the White House released the US Framework for Climate Resilience and Security in September 2024, it was an important opportunity to highlight the significant impacts of…

China’s Marine Conservation Efforts Prioritise Symbolism over Substance

Nov 12, 2024 | James Borton

China and Russia have reportedly blocked proposals for new marine protected areas (MPAs) at an international conference in Hobart, Australia, focused on preserving Antarctic marine…

What to Expect on Militarism, Conflict and Climate at COP29

Nov 11, 2024 | Ellie Kinney

World leaders, negotiators, and civil society are heading to Baku for what its Azerbaijani hosts have labelled the “COP of Peace”. Set against the backdrop…

War’s Hidden Casualties: The Environment Suffers Severe Damage in the Middle East

Nov 11, 2024 | Veronica Neifakh

The current conflict in the Middle East will leave a lasting environmental impact, prompting calls for urgent restoration and cross-border cooperation.

Transforming Conflict through Climate Action in Kenya's West Pokot County

Nov 10, 2024 | International Alert

How can restoring depleted rangelands sow the seeds of lasting peace? Masol ward, located in the lowlands of West Pokot County, is one of the…

What Causes Water Conflict?

Nov 8, 2024 | David Michel

Mexican farmers set fire to government buildings, ambushed soldiers, took politicians hostage, and seized control of La Boquilla dam to prevent water from being diverted from…

New SPARC Research on ‘Peace with Nature’ Supports the UN Convention on Biological Diversity

Nov 8, 2024 | Baba Ba and Patricia Nanteza

In the heart of Senegal, the Ferlo Silvopastoral Reserve is more than just a protected area – it is a lifeline for the region’s farmers…

War and the Wounded Earth

Nov 6, 2024 | Ellen Teague

Though humanity has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often…

Climate Change: A Growing Threat to Australia's National Security

Nov 6, 2024 | Tobias Ide

Climate change poses a significant threat to Australia’s national security. Major concerns include damage to critical infrastructure, reduced capacities of the armed forces, regional political…

Don’t Ignore the Security Risks of Climate Change Because of “Uncertainty”

Nov 5, 2024 | Tom Ellison

The security threat of climate change has never been more stark, as highlighted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastating communities, killing hundreds, drawing vast civilian…

Finding a Place for “The Planetary?”

Nov 5, 2024 | Simon Dalby

One of academia’s latest buzz phrases is “the planetary.” While it may seem on the surface to lack a clear connection with climate security, a…

The Rise, Fall, and Possible Rise Again of the Middle East’s Most Ambitious Environment Scheme

Nov 1, 2024 | Peter Schwartzstein

For an initiative that has the potential to rework the Middle East, Project Prosperity would leave a remarkably small imprint on the ground. In its…

Advancing an Internet Research Agenda for CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security

Oct 31, 2024 | Ibukun Taiwo

As digital platforms increasingly influence social interactions, social scientists have had to evolve their methodologies to capture this transformation. At CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security, the…

Peace with Nature

Oct 28, 2024 | René Wadlow

The conference of the governments that have signed the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversityare meeting from 21 Oct to 1 Nov 2024 in Cali, Colombia with…

Climate Change, Conflict and Fragility: A Recipe for Disasters

Oct 24, 2024 | Manisha Gulati, Yue Cao, Amir Khouzam, and Mauricio Vazquez

What is common to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen? Besides being classified as fragile and conflict-affected situations, they are…

Demilitarizing Environmental Protection Will Benefit Colombia’s Biodiversity

Oct 23, 2024 | Caroline Delgado and Tatjana Edle von Peter

The peace process in Colombia has transformed the country’s security landscape. With the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC), once…

Iran Presses for Helmand River Water Rights amid Ongoing Dispute with Taliban

Oct 22, 2024 | Amu TV

Iran is actively pursuing its water rights from the Helmand River under Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, according to Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. In a…

Beyond Food Security: The Potential Gendered Consequences of Food Aid

Oct 21, 2024 | Caroline Delgado and Simone Bunse
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

In conflict-affected humanitarian settings where there are high levels of food insecurity, women and men face distinct challenges that can deeply affect gender relations. The same…

Colombia’s Call for Peace with Nature

Oct 21, 2024 | Catalina Gutiérrez Chacón

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) that convenes this week in Cali, Colombia, will have “Peace with Nature” as its main theme. Although this motto,…

Environmental Peacebuilding in Protracted Refugee Situations: From Conflict to Cooperation

Oct 21, 2024 | Tom Cavanagh

In 2024, the global refugee crisis has reached unprecedented levels, with over 120 million people forcibly displaced as a result of violence and conflict. Many…

Climate Security and Geopolitics

Oct 21, 2024 | Project Syndicate

Being especially vulnerable to climate change, the Global South is open to receiving financial, technical, and other forms of support from wherever they can get…

Why Climate Security Needs a Superhero – Its Name, Is Foresight

Oct 16, 2024 | Jennifer Hotsko

Climate security refers to the ways in which climate change exacerbates existing social, economic, and political vulnerabilities, potentially leading to conflict and instability.  It turns…

Securing a Climate for Peace, Grounded in Local Reality

Oct 16, 2024 | Juliane Schillinger

“Climate security” is defined by the UN as the impacts of climate change on peace and security, especially in areas that are already fragile or…

Famine Takes Grip in Africa’s Prolonged Conflict Zones [Infographic]

Oct 15, 2024 | Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Eighty percent of the record 163 million Africans facing acute food insecurity are in conflict-affected countries, including potentially 840,000 people confronting famine in Sudan, South…

Has Climate Securitisation Obstructed Military Decarbonisation?

Oct 15, 2024 | Doug Weir

According to climate security orthodoxy, climate change is a threat multiplier. It is a threat to national security. It is something that is happening to…

Opinion: Weaponising Water

Oct 14, 2024 | Hanna Sunny and Karamala Areesh Kumar

Throughout history, water has been strategically employed as a potent political tool in conflicts and disputes between nations. This has often involved deliberate attacks on…

Historic Rights or Historic Wrongs: The Nile Dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia

Oct 12, 2024 | Reporter Ethiopia

The Nile River is a vital resource for millions in Eastern Africa, and its management has been shaped by historical agreements established during British colonial…

Koshtepa Canal in Afghanistan Could Lead to Water Shortages in Uzbekistan

Oct 10, 2024 | UZ Daily

Koshtepa irrigation canal in Afghanistan may lead to significant water shortages in Uzbekistan, potentially causing large-scale job losses in the agricultural sector. This was highlighted…

How the Russian-Ukrainian War Is Starving African Economies

Oct 10, 2024 | Kenya Times

In 2024, as the world grapples with the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, African nations find themselves at the epicenter of a growing food security crisis. With…

These 5 ‘Post-Truth’ Claims Are Fuelling the Water Wars in Australia

Oct 9, 2024 | Quentin Grafton and John Williams

The contest between truth and post-truth matters when trying to solve big public policy questions. One of these questions is how to sustainably manage water…