Blogs & Opinions

Getting "Gender Rights" Is Essential for the Sustainability of Food Systems

Jan 23, 2020 | Elizabeth Bryan

The growing emphasis on sustainability of food systems (rather than of agriculture alone) highlights the importance of considering gender at all stages, from production to…

UK-Africa Summit Ignored Gender, Climate and Poverty Concerns, Advocates Say

Jan 23, 2020 | William Worley

Civil society campaigners have raised concerns over the U.K.-Africa Investment Summit’s commitment to gender equality — despite the government’s claims it would be a key focus of…

Women, Burdened with Unpaid Labor, Bear Brunt of Global Inequality

Jan 23, 2020 | Alisha Haridasani Gupta

As world leaders and executives descended in their private jets this week on the snow-capped town of Davos, Switzerland, to discuss climate change and inclusive…

Gender and the Environment: What Are the Barriers to Gender Equality in Sustainable Ecosystem Management?

Jan 22, 2020 | Frederique Holle

A gender gap is a gender-based inequality; it is any disparity in treatment or situation between women and men, often rooted in social, cultural and legal norms…

How Can We Address Climate Change, Pollution and Women's Empowerment? Clean Cooking

Jan 22, 2020 | Anne-Sophie Garrigou and Dymphna van der Lans

From the World Wildlife Fund to the Clinton Foundation, and BP Alternative Energy, Dymphna van der Lans has been working in global development, energy and…

Gender-Focused Policies in Cuban Farming

Jan 21, 2020 | Ivet Gonzalez

The first gender-focused strategy implemented by the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture raised female participation within a key sector for the economy and food security, although…

Why We Need Gender Equality in the Fight Against Climate Change

Jan 21, 2020

Climate change affects everyone globally, but its impact worsens in those sections of the population that are most vulnerable. Social, economic, political and historical factors…

It's Time We Think beyond "Threat Multiplier" to Address Climate and Security

Jan 21, 2020 | Josh Busby

If you have even a passing familiarity with the climate and security literature, you undoubtedly have come across the phrase “threat multiplier.” The phrase conveys…

Operational Challenges for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in South Sudan

Jan 20, 2020 | Angeline Lewis

Experience in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) highlights many of the operational challenges in implementing the UN’s agenda of women, peace and security…

"You Need to Act Now": Meet 4 Girls Working to Save the Warming World

Jan 19, 2020 | Anya Kamenetz

A teenage girl, Greta Thunberg, has become the world-famous face of the climate strike movement. But she's far from alone: Thunberg has helped rally and inspire…

Gender Activists in a March Dubbed Usawa Demand Action Against GBV, Youth Empowerment, Women Land Rights

Jan 18, 2020 | Louise Donovan and Kamau Maichuhie

A section of gender rights activists on Friday held a peaceful march in Nairobi to press for gender equality in the country.

The march dubbed Usawa kicked-off at…

A Lukewarm Commitment: India and Gender Equality in Security Affairs

Jan 16, 2020 | Akanksha Khullar

Nearly two decades after the United Nations adopted the landmark Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, India remains one of the many member states that…

When You Picture a Farmer, Are They a Woman?

Jan 16, 2020 | Donna Hutchinson

CABI has today published a briefing, Empowering female farmers – Gender responsive programming, which is an overview of gender inequality in agriculture, its challenges and impacts,…

Climate Change and Its Unequal Impact on Women

Jan 15, 2020 | Mary Merkenich

While some do not want to discuss the cause of Australia’s horrendous bushfires — runaway climate change — even fewer want to talk about how…

African Women Fight Underrepresentation in Climate Research

Jan 14, 2020 | Busani Bafana

As a child, Kenyan meteorologist Saumu Shaka helped out on her parents' small farm growing maize and pigeon pea and learned how the weather can…

Addressing Water Security Issues in Bangladesh: the Role of Regional Cooperation and Gender

Jan 14, 2020 | Sharmeen Murshid

Bangladesh faces a very vulnerable position in terms of climate change impacts due to its location, and our quality of water is extremely dependent on…

The Female Face of Southern Africa's Climate Crisis

Jan 14, 2020 | Mark Lowcock and Natalia Kanem

The global climate crisis is not gender neutral. Around the world, women and girls are on the front line of changing weather patterns – disproportionately…

A Greener, Gender-Equitable Decade Ahead

Jan 13, 2020

As we enter 2020, we leave behind a decade of successes and challenges in clean energy and climate action.

Wind and solar energy now represent the…

Environmental Effects of Oil Spills in South Sudan’s Unity (2-2)

Jan 9, 2020 | Peter Reat Gatkuoth

When pipelines are built, regulated, controlled and maintained as necessary by international and national legislation, they can be safe environmentally according to national and international…

Indonesia Calls China's Bluff on South China Sea Claims

Jan 9, 2020 | Asia Sentinel

Indonesia’s burst of belligerence against a Chinese fishing fleet that belatedly pulled back from its exclusive economic zone is being regarded as a signal that…

Environmental Effects of Oil Spills in South Sudan’s Unity (1-2)

Jan 8, 2020 | Peter Reat Gatkuoth

“Environment is one of the facets of life that requires utmost attention. The relationship between man (human being) and the environment is one that is…

Beware the Dark Side of Environmental Peacebuilding

Jan 8, 2020 | Tobias Ide

Environmental peacebuilding is a good idea. As a practice, it aims to address simultaneously environmental problems and challenges related to violent conflict. Examples include the…

Everyone Needs to Play Their Part in Protecting the Environment—and the Mine Action Community Is No Exception

Jan 8, 2020 | Kendra Dupuy and Linsey Cottrell

Starting any new role can be a daunting prospect, especially when you move into a new sector. In their first blog together, Kendra Dupuy and…

War Is an Ecological Catastrophe

Jan 7, 2020 | Molly Hanson

The '20s came roaring in with two explosive headlines: reports of Australia's inferno, and the speculation that the United States could be hurtling towards another war in the…

Realizing Dreams Through the Power of Land Rights

Jan 6, 2020 | My-Lan Dodd

In India, a widow named Sonamoti lacks the resources to feed her only son because she was deprived her share of family land. She wishes…

Water Wars: Stare Decisis in the South China Sea

Jan 6, 2020 | Sean Quirk

On Dec. 12, 2019, Malaysia further delineated the limits of its extended continental shelf, directly challenging Chinese claims in the South China Sea. Malaysia submitted information to the UN…

War, Mismanagement and Climate Change: Iraq's Environment Pushed to the Brink

Jan 2, 2020 | Fanack

Water has been Iraq’s lifeline since the birth of civilization in Mesopotamia and features prominently in millennia-old epics as well as contemporary poems. In recent decades,…

Unrest in Iraq Reminds Us of Geopolitical Risks to Oil

Jan 2, 2020 | Ellen R. Wald

Over the New Year holiday, pro-Iran militiamen surrounded the United States embassy in Baghdad. Ultimately, and thankfully, the American personnel remained unscathed, but it was a further…

How the Climate Crisis Could Reverse Progress on Gender Equality Around the World

Jan 1, 2020 | Mark Leon Goldberg

People who directly depend on the natural world for their livelihoods, like farmers and fishers, will be among the greatest victims of the climate crisis.…

China Quietly Pushing Myanmar to Back Its Development Plan for Irrawaddy River

Dec 30, 2019 | Nan Lwin

Chinese think tanks based in Yunnan have been traveling back and forth between Yangon and the Chinese province’s capital, Kunming, since early 2018. But at…