Blogs & Opinions

The Role of Women and Youth in Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management

Aug 1, 2019 | Tatiana LeGrand

On the 15th of July, nations around the world celebrated the World Youth Skills Day. In defining the importance of the skills of the youth,…

Women, Land and Conflict

Aug 1, 2019 | United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs

Land is part of our identity and is essential for our livelihood. With a growing world population, available land is growing scarcer, becoming even more…

Nile River Water Supply Forecasts May Reduce the Chance of Conflict

Jul 31, 2019 | Annalise Blum

Rising tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have led to speculation that there could be a war…

Mainstreaming Gender in India's Climate-Smart Agriculture Policy

Jul 30, 2019 | Mikhila Menon

India needs to adopt a climate-smart agriculture policy that includes a ‘gender lens’. Since most Indian agriculture is rain-fed, the intensifying effects of climate change…

Crude Holding Pools Set Ablaze in Colombia

Jul 29, 2019 | Xinhua

Four pools containing a total of 2,600 barrels of crude were set on fire in eastern Colombia's Arauca department by unknown perpetrators, oil company Ecopetrol…

Lost in Translation: How Building "Strong" Institutions Can Diminish Human Security in the Global South

Jul 29, 2019 | McKenzie F. Johnson

In the Global South, natural resource conflict has largely been considered a consequence of poor governance and weak political institutions. The international community’s solution? Build “green”…

The Sahel Uncertainty: Climate Change and Insurgency

Jul 28, 2019 | Paolo Zucconi

The Sahel is increasingly affected by underdevelopment, endemic poverty, criminality, and insurgency. Climate change has recently extrapolated these problems by making essential resources scarce. This…

East African Policy Makers Advocate for Gender in Climate Policy

Jul 26, 2019 | Mary Nyasimi, Dana Elhassan and Faith Gikunda

Policy makers from nine East African countries pledge to lobby governments and policy influencers to consider gender mainstreaming in national climate change policies.

Sound Environmental Governance Key to Maximizing Potential of Horn of Africa Detente

Jul 26, 2019 | Inger Andersen

The Horn of Africa today faces increased threats to its people’s security in the form of natural disasters linked to climate change. But as old…

Climate, Conflict and Gender

Jul 25, 2019 | OSCE

Mary Robinson, founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Change and chair of The Elders, the group of global leaders established by Nelson Mandela,…

Iraqi Kurdistan's Energy Reserves: Investor's Paradise or Poisoned Chalice?

Jul 25, 2019 | Energy Reporters

When Masrour Barzani, who recently became the prime minister of semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, named long-serving Iraqi Kurdish natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami his deputy prime minister…

What's in the New China-Vietnam South China Sea Tensions?

Jul 22, 2019 | Prashanth Parameswaran

Over the past few weeks, another round of tensions has been simmering between China and Vietnam over energy resources in the South China Sea. The…

Oil Probably Won't Cause a War with Iran, but It Certainly Adds Fuel to the Blaze

Jul 20, 2019 | Jeff Colgan

Iran, Britain and the United States are engaged in a struggle for control over the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf. A fifth of the…

Colombia Can't Beat Coca Production from the Air. It Needs Rural Investment and Reform

Jul 19, 2019 | Christopher Sabatini and Victoria Gaytan

Four years after Colombia suspended the controversial policy of aerial fumigation to kill coca plants, President Iván Duque is hoping to restart it. His government…

Climate Change: Global Threats Imperil Women of Color

Jul 17, 2019 | Bonnie Jenkins

Women of color are the most impacted by global insecurity. For this reason, their leadership is vital to tackling these challenges.I am frequently asked to…

When Climate Change Meets Positive Peace

Jul 17, 2019 | Marisa O. Ensor

Climate change is being increasingly framed as a security issue—a “threat multiplier” that can amplify the risks of breakdowns in peacefulness. Yet, even extreme climate…

The Missing Piece of Climate Action: Supporting the Leadership of Girls and Women

Jul 16, 2019 | Michelle Milford Morse

To change everything, we need everyone – and that means we need to harness the wisdom and leadership of girls and women to protect the…

War's Physical Toll Can Last for Generations, as It Has for the Children of the Vietnam War

Jul 16, 2019 | Michael Palmer

History often focuses on the immediate death toll of war. But hostilities can have longer-term consequences on a population’s health. In a new study published…

China, Vietnam: What to Take from the South China Sea Flare-Up

Jul 16, 2019 | Stratfor Worldview

Chinese and Vietnamese coast guard vessels have reportedly been engaged in a weeklong confrontation around Vanguard Bank in the southern region of the South China…

UN Lawyers Approve 28 Legal Principles to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of War

Jul 16, 2019 | Stavros Pantazopoulos

This year is a defining one for the laws protecting the environment in conflict. This month, the UN’s International Law Commission has endorsed 28 legal…

From Syria to Sudan, Women Rights Defenders Need More Than Likes

Jul 15, 2019 | Lubna Alkanawati

As a Syrian activist, seeing this photo of Ala'a reminded me of the brave girls and women who also called for change0 in streets, in…

It's Always the Oil

Jul 12, 2019 | Michael Klare

It’s always the oil. While President Trump was hobnobbing with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Japan, brushing off a…

The Looming Accelerant: the Growing Links between Climate Change, Mass Atrocities, and Genocide

Jul 11, 2019 | Robert Kiel

The purpose of this research commentary is to show a growing link between climate change and genocide and mass atrocities. The International Panel for Climate…

Will Climate Change Lead to More World Conflict?

Jul 11, 2019 | John O'Loughlin and Cullen Hendrix

During last month’s U.S. Democratic presidential candidate debates, former congressman Beto O’Rourke, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, and former housing and urban development secretary…

Liberia: "Land Rights Education Will Empower Women, Girls"

Jul 9, 2019 | Alvin Worzi

The Land Rights Act (LRA), which was passed into law in 2018 by members of the 54th Legislature, will serve as an impetus that will…

US Should Support Environmental Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Efforts for Palestinians

Jul 6, 2019 | Josh Busby

What is often referred to as environmental peacebuilding– the process of governing and leveraging the use of the environment and natural resources for building a…

Inclusion of Women in Decision-Making on Environment-Related Security Challenges is Key for Equitable, Safe and Stable Societies Concludes OSCO Event

Jul 5, 2019

Including women at all stages of the planning and decision-making processes in environmental security enables more effective and sustainable responses to the challenges we face,…

Climate Change is a Women's Human Rights Issue

Jul 4, 2019 | Keina Yoshida and Lina Cespedes

On the February 7th 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) enacted its first general recommendation which focuses…

Why Gender Equality is Needed for Successful Climate Policies

Jul 4, 2019 | Anna Sophia Carrigou

On a trip to the Niger Delta when she was young, Alexandra Wandel witnessed how Shell’s leaked oil pipelines and gas flaring were polluting the water, soil…

Women May Be More Vulnerable to Climate Change but Data Absent

Jul 1, 2019 | Namratha Rao and Anita Raj

Women are more likely to observe the impact of climate change on their lives, and are more vulnerable to such impacts, anecdotal evidence has shown.…