Blogs & Opinions

The Impact of War: Health, the Environment, and Cultural Heritage in Conflict

Aug 2, 2014 | World Politics Review

The destructiveness of armed conflict has been a painful constant throughout human history. And despite efforts to limit its range and impact, the damage resulting…

Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Recovery: Learning from Post-Conflict and Disaster Response

Aug 2, 2014 | Thomas Curran - New Security Beat

Events like Typhoon Haiyan, Hurricane Sandy, and the civil wars in Darfur and Syria have shown that the environment plays an increasingly critical role in…

Toxic Footprint of Syria's War

Aug 2, 2014 | Insight on Conflict

Pieter Both and Wim Zwijnenburg, from PAX, discuss the long term health and environmental impacts of Syria's civil war.

Syria’s ongoing civil war has already resulted…

Drought, food insecurity and radicalism in Northern Bangladesh

Aug 2, 2014 | Insight on Conflict

In recent year’s climate change and other environmental factors has increased food insecurity in Northern Bangladesh. Ishak Mia asks if there is a link between…

Containing the resource curse: Competition for scarce resources is sorely testing our assumptions about global governance and cooperation

Aug 2, 2014 | Alejandro Litovsky - The Independent

Competition for scarce resources is sorely testing our assumptions about global governance and cooperation, at a time when collective leadership is becoming ever more necessary.…

Africa's oldest nature park counts on sustainability

Aug 2, 2014 | Marc Jourdier

PEOPLE living in and around Africa’s oldest wildlife reserve – Virunga National Park – threatened by armed groups and oil prospectors, are pinning their hopes…

Decline in Wildlife Aggravates Human Conflict - study

Jul 28, 2014 | rt.com

Researchers at UC Berkeley have found an alarming correlation between a decline in wildlife and human conflict. As human activity directly threatens animals, their declining…

South Sudan: Behind the Scene in the Intensifying Conflicts

Jul 25, 2014 | Sudan Vision

For many Nigerians -- a majority of whom subsist on less than $2 per day -- the corruption in Abuja, when combined with the wanton…

Iraq: Iraq Uses Influence to Thwart Kurdish Oil Sales

Jul 25, 2014 | The American Interest

Iraq’s central government is throwing its weight around in the international oil markets to impede Kurdish ambitions for independence. The Kurds, who have announced their intent to hold…

Iraq: Daniel W. Bromley: Iraq's Curse of Oil and Stifled Economy

Jul 23, 2014 | Wiconsin State Journal

The focus in Iraq is on “sectarianism” and political disarray.

But to move forward in Iraq and much of the Middle East and North Africa, policymakers…

Afghanistan: Undoing Afghanistan's Resource Curse

Jul 21, 2014 | LA Times

Afghanistan is teetering on the edge. A little-known bill just passed the upper house of its parliament that could help counter threats to the country's…

What Will it Take to End the “Resource Curses?”

Jul 21, 2014 | World Resources Institute

The discovery of oil in Chad in the 1990s brought new hope to the impoverished, land-locked nation. After the World Bank financed a $4.2 billion…

How Do We Avert a Thirsty Future?

Jul 16, 2014 | The Globe and Mail

There is a tongue-in-cheek saying in America – attributed to Mark Twain, who lived through the early phase of the California Water Wars – that…

Climate Change Will Test Water-Sharing Agreements

Jul 16, 2014 | NewSecurityBeat

Many existing water-sharing treaties should be re-assessed in the context of climate change. While “water wars” have historically been incredibly rare, the changes to water…

Iraq: Is Climate Change Destabilizing Iraq?

Jul 15, 2014 | Slate

This winter was not a good one for farmers in the Fertile Crescent.

A punishing drought hit most of Syria and northern Iraq during what’s normally…

Iraq: ISIS is Using Water as a Weapon in Iraq

Jul 15, 2014 | PRI

According to a report by meterologist Eric Holthaus, militant groups in Iraq are taking advantage of the country's drought, squeezing Baghdad by controlling the water flow to…

Can ISIS Overcome the Insurgency Resource Curse?

Jul 15, 2014 | The Washington Post

The recent advances of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), since redubbed Islamic State, in northern and western Iraq brought into focus the…

Containing the Resource Crisis

Jul 14, 2014 | Project Syndicate

The proclamation of a new Cold War, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, turned out to be alarmist and premature. However, it reflected the anxiety of…

Development Diamonds

Jul 11, 2014 | Rapaport

The diamond industry needs to support programs to uplift its vast artisanal mining sector. The more than 1.5 million diamond diggers – predominantly in West…

Conflict Resources: Conflict Minerals Law Starts Working Despite Poor Industry Response

Jul 9, 2014 | African-American Observer

A U.S. law on conflict minerals is curbing African warlords' presence around mines in Congo, campaigners say, but its full impact remains unclear, with most…

Michael Klare, Fighting for Oil

Jul 8, 2014 | TomDispatch

Call it a double whammy for the planet or simply irony with a capital "I." As the invaluable Michael Klare, TomDispatch regular and author of…

Burma: Burma's Democracy Struggle Hostage to Real Estate Boom

Jul 7, 2014 | Huffington Post

Ethical issues in Burma (also known as Myanmar) have never been simple, and the real estate boom roiling Rangoon ranks with the thorniest. Those poised…

Toxic Footprint of Syria’s War

Jul 7, 2014 | Insight on Conflict

Syria’s ongoing civil war has already resulted in over hundred-and-fifty thousand casualties and has brought enormous destruction in cities and towns all over the country.…

MoU Signing Ceremony to Cement Bilateral Farmers Cooperation in the Region

Jul 3, 2014 | Friends of the Earth Middle East

On Tuesday the 24th of June, representatives from the Jordanian South Ghor Municipality, Tamar Municipality in Israel and Themar Agricultural Cooperative Society from Jordan in collaboration with…

Blood Money and Conflict Minerals

Jul 2, 2014 | BloombergView

The world's insatiable demand for everything from smartphones to jewelry to cars is feeding the bloody war in eastern Congo, where tin, tantalum, tungsten and…

China Reaches Out to Myanmar on Maritime Dispute

Jul 1, 2014 | The New York Times

At first blush, Myanmar, hardly a naval power and not exactly a major diplomatic heavyweight, would seem an odd place for China to seek relief…

How the Terrorists Got Rich In Iraq and Syria: ISIS Militants Are Flush With Funds

Jun 28, 2014 | The New York Times

A few feet from the Bab al-Salam border crossing near the Turkish town of Kilis, there is a shabby cafe where the most interesting items…

Syria Faces an Imminent Food and Water Crisis

Jun 24, 2014 | Chatham House

Humanitarian aid to Syria must target water authorities’ maintenance and disinfection needs, as both the regime and opposition forces are failing to respond to the…

Ford Sustainability Report 2013/2014 - A Step in the Right Direction

Jun 24, 2014 | The Enough Project

On Wednesday, June 18, Ford Motor Company released its Sustainability Report 2013/2014. Available online, the report documents Ford’s efforts to enhance its sustainability through a…

Event Report: Peacebuilding and Environmental Damage in Contemporary Jus Post Bellum

Jun 19, 2014 | The Toxic Remnants of War Project

The TRW Project was delighted to be invited to take part in a recent seminar organised by the University of Leiden’s Jus Post Bellum (JPB)…