Blogs & Opinions

"Creating the Future Together": SCARA Symposium on ICT and Innovations in Agriculture

Nov 14, 2019

The SCARA Symposium on ICT and innovations in agriculture, “Creating the Future Together“  under the APPEAR project “Strengthening Capacities for Agricultural Education, Research & Adoption in…

Peace, Security and Conservation on Central Africa's Radio

Nov 13, 2019 | Tiffany Gibert

In northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and eastern Central African Republic (CAR), high-frequency radios are helping to cultivate peace, security, and, more recently, conservation.…

Myanmar Risks Losing Forests to Oil Palm, but There's Time to Pivot

Nov 13, 2019 | Nanditha Chandraprakash

Indonesia and Malaysia have long occupied the spotlight for oil palm plantations and their adverse consequences, including deforestation, habitat loss, climate change, and struggles with…

The Many Historical Courses of Gender and Water in India

Nov 12, 2019 | Indu Gupta

Water is essential for human survival and development, but the ongoing water crisis in India, despite 70 years of policy-making is widening the circle of…

Why Should We Care About the Gender Dimension of Climate Change?

Nov 11, 2019 | Renz Louie Celeridad

Women farmers encounter a great deal of challenges that constrain their agricultural activities. Differing societal roles, unequal access to and control of resources, and women’s…

New Challenges for Women's Land Rights in Africa

Nov 11, 2019 | Hosaena Ghebru

A new wave of gender-related land reforms has swept across Africa south of the Sahara in recent years. These reforms have incorporated innovative approaches to…

Debate Urges Broader Thinking on Diversity

Nov 11, 2019 | Kristie Batten

Despite its name, the debate focused on broader themes of diversity, based around the topic ‘a diversity debate that begins and ends with gender is…

How Feminist Research Can Help Confront the Climate Crisis

Nov 11, 2019 | Maria Tanyag

Humanity is now at a point where we can no longer afford to examine climate-related risks and their impacts on humans independent of other ecosystems,…

A Lifelong Fight for Gender Equality: In Conversation with Carmen Barroso

Nov 8, 2019

On a recent rainy morning in Portland, USA, Carmen Barroso, aged 75, stood amongst thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to advocate for…

Science as a Catalyst for Peace and Development

Nov 8, 2019 | UN Environment

Despite the benefits of indigenous knowledge, today the relationship between what some call “Western” science and traditional knowledge is difficult at best. Today, Western science…

How Often Does the UN Security Council Use a Gender Lens? Not Often Enough

Nov 6, 2019 | Katelyn Jones

The WPS agenda was instituted in October 2000 via the unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which marked the first formal…

Can Women Make the World More Peaceful?

Nov 6, 2019 | Paulino Akon Yel Dut

A genuine comprehensive analysis shows that involving women in peacebuilding increases the probability that violence will end in an easy manner. Hence we should thank…

Rooting for the Environment in Times of Conflict and War

Nov 6, 2019 | UN Environment

Eighteen years ago, on 5 November 2001, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 November the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in…

The Environment Has Become a Hostage of Armed Conflict

Nov 6, 2019 | Wim Zwijnenburg

This year, 2019, marked a new nadir for the environment that may reflect an ominous trend in warfare: Environmentally sensitive targets are being weaponized and…

Sudanese Women Urge Gender Balance in Country's Peace Process

Nov 5, 2019 | Amy Lieberman

 Sudanese women were influential in the widespread protests that led to the military overthrow of the country's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in April. Six months…

Gender Equality in African Agriculture: An Innovation Imperative

Nov 5, 2019 | Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg

President Barack Obama once highlighted the importance of leveraging the talents of Africa’s women using the analogy of a football match. He pointed out that…

Ghana Needs a Grievance Mechanism to Secure Women's Land Rights

Nov 5, 2019 | Nana Ama Yirrah

From farms to towns, women are a major provider of food and food security for their families, but women in half of the world still struggle to…

Guatemalan Women Force Development Bank to Investigate Gender Policy Violations

Nov 5, 2019 | Tamara Mohr

After a complaint filed by women's groups from Ixquisis, Guatemala, the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) has started an investigation on several policy violations, amongst which…

Trump Keeps Talking About 'Keeping' Middle East Oil. That Would Be Illegal

Nov 5, 2019 | James G. Stewart

President Trump wants it known that — despite his recent decision to pull back the U.S. militarily back from previously Kurdish-held territory in Syria —…

To Give Peace a Chance in Colombia, It's Time to Protect Women Land Defenders

Nov 4, 2019 | Carmen Sanchez Cumming

More than three years have passed since the government of Colombia signed a peace agreement with FARC rebels that promised to end the longest internal armed…

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Rohingya Camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh

Nov 4, 2019 | Dr. Zahid Hayat Mahmud

Since August 2017, around one million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh following a wave of targeted violence in the neighboring Rakhine State of Myanmar. Most of the…

To Give Peace a Chance in Colombia, It's Time to Protect Women Land Defenders

Nov 4, 2019 | Carmen Sanchez Cumming

More than three years have passed since the government of Colombia signed a peace agreement with FARC rebels that promised to end the longest internal armed…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Climate Change to Further Escalate Violence in Western Africa

Oct 28, 2019 | Rabiya Jaffery

Nearly 50 million people in west Africa rely on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood but the land available for pastoral use has been rapidly…