International
Bangladesh: A Precarious Environment for the Rohingya Refugees
May 14, 2018
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UN Environment
Andrea Dekrout is Senior Environmental Coordinator for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Based in Geneva, Dekrout is responsible for ensuring sustainable environmental management in UNHCR…
South Sudan: South Sudan Lifts Fuel Subsidies to Cut Expenditure
May 13, 2018
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Xinhua
The South Sudanese government has lifted the fuel subsidies in a bid to cut spiraling public expenditure costs in the youngest nation that has experienced…
Syria/Kurdistan: Syrian Kurds Attempt to Stimulate their Economy through Oil Trade
May 12, 2018
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SOFREP
In northern Syria the economy is struggling in the wake of the Islamic State war, the Kurds of Rojava have resorted to the oil trade…
Syria/Kurdistan: Syrian Kurds Build on a Ramshackle Oil Industry [Photos]
May 11, 2018
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Hussein Malla, Associated Press
The Kurdish self-rule administration seized control of oil fields in northeastern Hassakeh province after the government pulled out of most of the Kurdish-majority regions in…
Conflict Minerals: De Beers Tracks Diamonds through Supply Chain Using Blockchain
May 10, 2018
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Reuters
De Beers said on Thursday it had tracked 100 high-value diamonds from miner to retailer using blockchain, in the first effort of its kind to…
South Sudan: South Sudan to Launch Oil and Gas Policy
May 10, 2018
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Joseph Oduha
South Sudan will launch a policy to regulate oil and gas industry management, official said. Oil minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth said the local content regulatory…
Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan to Make Last Debt Payment to Sudan in June
May 10, 2018
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Julia Payne, Reuters
South Sudan will finish paying off its debt to neighbor Sudan in June with a final cargo of crude oil, South Sudan’s oil minister Ezekiel…
Somalia: Champion of the Earth Fatima Jibrell Attends High-Level Talks on Somalia’s Illegal Charcoal Trade
May 10, 2018
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UN Environment
2014 UN Environment Champion of the Earth Fatima Jibrell once said: “People are fighting about limited resources, destroyed by displaced youth: a ready pool for…
Stabenow, Roberts Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Support Farmer Veterans
May 10, 2018
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High Plains Journal
Today, leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow and Chairman Pat Roberts, introduced new legislation that expands…
Colombia: Call for 3rd National Coffee Quality Competition 'Colombia, Land of Diversity' Is Open
May 9, 2018
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Colombian Coffee Growers Federation
From May 15 to August 15, the call is open for receiving coffee lots for the 3rd National Coffee Quality Competition “Colombia, Land of Diversity,”…
Myanmar: Myanmar Hills Embrace Silkworms over Poppies
May 9, 2018
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Ann Wang, Reuters
Zhou Xing Ci’s family have farmed poppies for as long as anyone remembers. Along with many other farmers in the hills of eastern Myanmar, poppies…
Liberia: Senators Brace for Heated Land Rights Act Debate
May 9, 2018
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J. Burgess Carter, Observer
There are growing indications that the four year-old Land Rights Act (2014) will finally be passed by the senate, and sooner than expected, a source…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Signs Deal with BP over Kirkuk Oil in Basra
May 8, 2018
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Baxtiyar Goran, Kurdistan 24
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced that it has signed a deal with the British Petroleum to develop oilfields in the disputed Kirkuk province. The…
Afghanistan/Iran: New Water Share Detente between Afghanistan and Iran?
May 7, 2018
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OOSKAnews
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the country’s parliament May 6 that Afghanistan has pledged to let Iran have its share of water from…
Myanmar: India Funds Flood, Earthquake Warning Systems in Myanmar
May 7, 2018
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Myanmar Times
India has launched a flood and earthquake early warning systems in Myanmar aimed at helping the country mitigate the effects of natural calamities that affect…
Myanmar: Work on Myanmar Dam Goes on under Heavy Guard
May 7, 2018
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Tan Hui Yee, Straits Times
Work on a massive hydropower dam appears to be picking up in eastern Myanmar as the electricity-starved nation seeks ways to light more homes amid…
Myanmar: Myanmar Court Convicts Farmers of Trespass in 'Blow' to Land Rights
May 7, 2018
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Rina Chandran, Reuters
A Myanmar court has found 33 farmers living next to a Special Economic Zone guilty of criminal trespass, a ruling seen by activists as a…
Combating Water Wars: What It Means to Manage Our Supply with Blockchain
May 7, 2018
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Samantha Radocchia, Forbes
Water isn’t just seen as a basic human need. It’s also viewed as a commercial necessity and a commodity to be bought and sold, which…
Somalia: Somalia Calls for International Cooperation to Stop Illegal Charcoal Trade
May 7, 2018
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UN Environment
At the opening of a two-day, UN-supported conference on charcoal in Mogadishu, the Federal Government of Somalia has called for international, African and Gulf States cooperation in…
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone's Small Towns Learn to Fight Against Land Grabs
May 7, 2018
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James Courtright, OZY
At the heart of the deepening battles is a tussle over Sierra Leone’s development model. As the country began to rebuild in the 2000s following…
South Sudan: South Sudan to Launch New Local Content Regulations in 60 Days
May 7, 2018
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Africa Oil & Power
The Republic of South Sudan is joining the ranks of countries like Ghana, Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea in establishing a solid local content framework…
Nigeria: Herdsmen/Farmers Clash: Catholic Church Predicts Food Scarcity
May 5, 2018
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Grace Obike, The Nation
The Catholic church in Nigeria has predicted that the country might experience food scarcity due to the continuous clashes between farmers and herders. Parish priest…
Kenya: Why Kenya Hopes Blockchain Can End Land Grabbing
May 5, 2018
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Dickens Olewe, BBC
Kenya sees itself as a technology giant in Africa and has embraced the nickname "Silicon Savannah" - now it has set up a special team…
Timor-Leste: Basics in East Timor Allowed Slip as Oil Wealth Poured Away
May 5, 2018
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Amanda Hodge, The Australian
At a debate in East Timor’s capital Dili ahead of next Saturday’s elections, an argument flared between candidates and party flacks over who had the…
Myanmar: Coffee Catches on as a Cash Crop in the Shan Hills
May 5, 2018
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Katrin Schregenberger, Frontier
Of the two main varieties of coffee, Arabica is superior to robusta, with a sweeter, softer taste. It’s also harder to grow because it is…
Afghanistan: Afghan Essential Oils Producer Convinces Locals to Grow Roses Instead of Poppies
May 4, 2018
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Syed Salahuddin, Arab News
Abdullah Arsalan, owner of Ozula Naturals, has introduced rose farming as an attractive alternate to growing poppy for local farmers in eastern Nangarhar province. Nearly…
Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugees Who Fled Massacres in Burma Face Another Lethal Force: The Monsoon
May 4, 2018
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Jason Patinkin, Washington Post
In Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee camp is literally falling apart. With the annual cyclone and monsoon seasons approaching this month and next, hundreds of…
Myanmar: Special Drones and a Crypto-Currency: Mangrove Restoration Goes High-Tech
May 2, 2018
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Katrin Schregenberger, Frontier
In what may be a first for Myanmar, a drone was used in a reforestation project to plant mangroves at the Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park…
Mexico: Water Wars: Ranchers Clash over Scarce Resources in Mexico
May 2, 2018
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teleSUR
El Barzon, a civil society organization of ranchers and activists, has mobilized against an illegal well being built by the LeBaron farming family in Chihuahua, northern…
Colombia: Mining Formalization in Colombia: Multinationals, Informal Miners ‘Have to Live Together,’ Says Dora Elena Balvín, Antioquia Secretary of Mines
Apr 30, 2018
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Loren Moss, Finance Colombia
The mining sector in Colombia has been facing difficult challenges in recent years. Most notably, there have been a series of referendums across the country…