Blogs & Opinions

Anticipatory Action for COVID-19: Building the Systems That Protect Livelihoods throughout a Pandemic

Aug 5, 2020 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis on food systems are vast and varied, and as of yet hard to predict. But nowhere…

Decades of Progress on Gender Equality in the Workplace at Risk of Vanishing

Aug 2, 2020 | Pamela Jeffrey

Five months into the pandemic, the warning lights for female participation in the workplace are flashing furiously as progress made toward gender equality over the…

The Exaggerated Threat of Oil Wars

Aug 2, 2020 | Emily Meierding

Over the past year, Chinese seismic survey vessels and their paramilitary escorts have interfered repeatedly with Vietnamese and Malaysian oil and natural gas exploration in the South China…

Agriculture & COVID-19: Pro Women Farmer Policies Needed

Aug 1, 2020 | Binod Sinha

A two-week survey conducted during the lockdown by Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)…

How the Grand Renaissance Dam Might Spark Basin-Wide Water Cooperation

Aug 1, 2020 | Ashok Swain

Ethiopia’s on-going construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has attracted speculation that it could lead to a ‘water war’.

There is no…

COVID-19 and the Food System: Setback or Opportunity for Gender Equality?

Jul 31, 2020 | Catherine Ragasa and Isabel Lambrecht

Agriculture and the food sector are critical to food and nutrition security. They not only produce food for growing populations but also contribute to economic…

Reviving Energy Cooperation in South Asia

Jul 31, 2020 | Saheb Singh Chadha

Recent developments in South Asian energy security such as the India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline and the India-Bhutan joint venture hydroelectric project have revived conversations on…

The Role of Afghanistan’s Resources in Security

Jul 30, 2020 | Farzad Ramezani Bonesh

During the last two decades, we have witnessed the Afghan government’s efforts to identify natural resources in the country with the help of foreign governments…

We Can't Build Back Better Without Economic Justice for Racialized Women

Jul 28, 2020 | Carmina Ravanera and Anjum Sultana

This summer has been one of racial reckoning. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions joined in Black Lives Matter protests around the world, protesting…

Scale Climate Action by Engaging With Women’s Organizations: Why Climate and Gender Funders Must Work Together

Jul 28, 2020 | Jeannette Gurung

Global frameworks for climate action, including but not limited to the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, have recognized that they must…

USAID’s New Center for Water Security Signals Progress, But More is Needed

Jul 27, 2020 | Stephanie Cappa and Sarah Davidson

As the COVID-19 crisis grew this spring, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) revamped its Water Office, renamed it as the Center for Water…

How COVID-19 Can Bring Gender Justice

Jul 23, 2020 | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Helena Dalli

Disasters shape the course of history. In the wake of the Spanish flu of 1918, more women entered the labour market and in roles previously…

Fund Resilience: Create Systemic Change by Working at the Nexus of Climate and Gender

Jul 23, 2020 | Prachi Seth

Women in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their high dependency on natural resources for their livelihoods coupled with lesser economic,…

To Solve the Climate Crisis, Women Must Own More of the World's Land

Jul 21, 2020 | Martha Merrow

Land, women, and climate change: the future of all three are intrinsically connected and must be addressed comprehensively to create equitable change and a livable…

Why Gender Provisions in Peace Agreements Are Not Enough to Ensure Post-Conflict Progress for Women

Jul 20, 2020 | Nicole Smith

The United Nations recently announced that almost 80 million people were forcibly displaced around the world last year due to war, conflict, or persecution. As COVID-19 continues…

Crisis Reveals the Fault Lines of Gender in Environmentalism—How Do We Value Everyday Environments?

Jul 20, 2020 | Nathalie Blanc, Sandra Laugier, Pascale Molinier, and Anne Querrien

These are times of crisis. One might even think that the COVID-19 crisis looks like a an alternative expression of crises that are already building,…

Science Suppression Is a Security Threat – Whether Climate or Covid

Jul 20, 2020 | Francesco Femia

A little over a year ago, the White House tried to block the testimony of a respected professional, Dr. Rod Schoonover – senior analyst and senior…

In Mozambique, Promoting Biodiversity Includes Greater Gender Equality

Jul 17, 2020 | Amanda Jerneck and Carmen Lahoz Rallo

Increasing girls’ access to education and empowering women has become a core intervention area of the Mozambique Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Portfolio, of which MozBio is…

Conflict in South China Sea Again?

Jul 16, 2020 | Elfren S. Cruz

The pandemic is at the center of public attention because it is the most relevant among current threats to the Philippines. There are, however, other…

How Women Can Power the Green Transition

Jul 15, 2020 | Irene Giner-Reichl

The world needs to shift from the current fossil-fuel-based energy system to carbon neutrality. Most obviously, this will require countries to roll out renewable energy…

COVID-19 and Gender Equality: Countering the Regressive Effects

Jul 15, 2020 | Anu Madgavkar, Olivia White, Mekala Krishnan, Deepa Mahajan, and Xavier Azcue

As COVID-19 continues to affect lives and livelihoods around the world, we can already see that the pandemic and its economic fallout are having a regressive…

Why the Nile Constitutes a New Kind of Water Dispute – and Why That’s Dangerous

Jul 15, 2020 | Peter Schwartzstein

Ever since workers first broke ground on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011, international commenters have fixated on the Nile as a possible…

Tajikistan Shows Why Humanitarian Disarmament Must Adapt to Climate Change

Jul 15, 2020 | Linsey Cottrell

Together with Norwegian People’s Aid, we have been considering how climate change may affect humanitarian disarmament. Tajikistan is affected by landmines and cluster munitions and…

Gender Equity and Climate Change Have More in Common Than You Think

Jul 14, 2020 | Katica Roy

Gender equity is a lot like climate change. It’s a horizontally-integrated issue that largely exists inside a vertically-integrated policy framework. Now is the time to change…

The United States Needs a Natural Security Strategy to Regain Our Global Leadership

Jul 13, 2020 | Sherri Goodman and Johan Bergenas

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly reshaping global economic, security and diplomatic conditions. In only a few months, we found ourselves in a new normal because…

A Dashboard Overview: Gender Inequality and the COVID-19 Crisis

Jul 13, 2020 | Carolina Rivera, Yu-Chieh Hsu, Fernanda Pavez Esbry, and Esuna Dugarova

The human development crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic is putting the fight for gender equality at risk. The immediate effects of COVID-19 are already…

Myanmar’s Jade-Rich Hpakant Caught in a ‘Winner’s Curse’

Jul 13, 2020 | Joe Kumbun

Natural resources are bestowed by the Earth and seem a blessing for human beings. However, an abundance of natural resources is not necessarily a blessing…

The Power of Women on Pathways to Net-Zero Emissions

Jul 9, 2020 | Linda Coady

When we think about transforming our energy systems, we need to make sure that transformation happens in a way that is not only innovative and…

Mainstreaming Gender When Incorporating Advanced Technology In Agriculture

Jul 8, 2020 | Novela Acharya

With the globalization, massive technological advancement has been observed which has revolutionized the whole world and transformed our daily lives. This digital revolution has not…

Why Investing in Women's Land Rights Helps Overall Gender Equality

Jul 7, 2020 | Karol Boudreaux

It is depressing, discouraging, infuriating – pick your word – to see the scale and scope of abuse and discrimination aimed at women and girls…