International
Liberia: In Liberia, a Battered Palm Oil Industry Adjusts to New Rules
May 10, 2017
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Ashoka Mukpo, Mongabay
At the heart of the palm oil industry’s woes in Liberia are clauses in their contracts in which the Liberian government promised the land they…
Colombia: Colombias Former President and Two Ministers Guilty of Land Grabbing: Comptroller General
May 10, 2017
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Jamie Vaughan Johnson, Colombia Reports
Colombia’s Comptroller General on Tuesday accused former president Alvaro Uribe and the current and former agriculture ministers of illegally taking land meant for less fortunate farmers.…
Myanmar: 150,000 Migratory Water Birds Protected as Myanmar’s Gulf of Mottama Designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention
May 10, 2017
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Ramsar
Myanmar designates the Gulf of Mottama as a Wetland of International Importance. The Gulf of Mottama is one of the world’s most dynamic estuaries and…
Iraq: Mosul Fires Stop Burning, but Fuel a New Awareness
May 10, 2017
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UNEP
After seven months of spurting flames and thick black smoke, the last oil well fire in the Mosul conflict in Iraq has been put out.…
Brazil: Nine Dead in Amazon's Worst Land-Related Killings in Decades
May 10, 2017
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Fabiano Maisonnave, Guardian
Nine men were stabbed or shot dead on 19 April over a territorial dispute in a remote area of Mato Grosso state, deep in the…
Myanmar: For Myanmar’s Displaced, Landmines Stand in the Way of Returning Home
May 8, 2017
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International Committee of the Red Cross
Decades of ongoing conflict have left Myanmar heavily contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Many people live in fear of the cluster munition remnants.…
Myanmar: Burma Army to Remove Landmines in Karen State
May 8, 2017
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Lawi Weng & Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, Irrawaddy
The Burma Army will remove landmines in Karen State following an agreement with the Karen National Union (KNU), according to Col Wunna Aung, spokesperson for…
Myanmar: Residents Yet to Get Myanmar-China Pipeline Compensation
May 8, 2017
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Nay Aung, Myanmar Times
Crops had been pressed down by soil and landslides have occurred on cultivated fields near the Myanmar-China oil pipeline in the Ngape township of the…
Food Security: WFP Report Highlights Link between Food Insecurity and Migration
May 8, 2017
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Nii Akrofi Smart-Abbey, Reuters
The World Food Programme (WFP) has indicated that food insecurity and hunger are major factors driving people away from their homes. In a new report…
Liberia: Illegal Sand Mining Ruining Coastal Communities in Liberia
May 7, 2017
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Lennart Dodoo, FrontPageAfrica
Several communities that once lined Liberia’s coast are now under the Atlantic Ocean and the country risks losing more communities, infrastructures and key landmarks to…
Sierra Leone: Bridge in Sierra Leone Sparks Row over Diamond Mining
May 6, 2017
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Cooper Inveen, Reuters
A dispute over a bridge in eastern Sierra Leone thought to span diamond deposits has divided a local community with a foreign mining company accused…
Africa: A New Dam on the Nile Reveals Threats from Warming
May 5, 2017
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Kavya Balaraman, ClimateWire
Climate change could play a role in exacerbating water conflict in Africa, likely worsening geopolitical wrangling over issues like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The…
Myanmar: Army Ready to Clear Kayin Land Mines
May 5, 2017
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Zarli Myint Oo and Chan Wai Soe, Eleven
The army will lead mine clearance operations in ethnic-minority areas if they have agreement from armed groups, with work set to start in Kayin State,…
Timor-Leste: Jose Ramos-Horta Warns Gas Dispute with Australia Risks Pushing East Timor Closer to China
May 5, 2017
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ABC News
East Timor's former president Jose Ramos-Horta has issued a blunt warning to Australia that the gas dispute between the two countries risks pushing Timor closer…
Conflict Minerals: Rights Groups Refuse Participation In State Department Conflict Minerals Consultation
May 5, 2017
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ValueWalk
Global Witness and Amnesty International have today published an open letter, highlighting their objections to the US State Department’s recent consultation on responsible mineral sourcing. This…
India/Myanmar: Pangsha Landowners at Indo-Myanmar Border Irked by Survey Carried out without Consent
May 5, 2017
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Morung Express
After the construction of the Indo-Myanmar border fencing at pillar 146 of Pangsha area under Noklak division of Tuensang district was on put halt as…
Myanmar: No New Quarrying Licenses to Be Issued in Mon State Forest Reserve
May 5, 2017
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Zue Zue, Irrawaddy
No new quarrying licenses will be issued in Mt. Kalama Forest Reserve in Mon State’s Paung Township, according to the Mon State divisional government, where…
Afghanistan: Effort to Revive Afghan Pistachio Crop Hampered by Taliban
May 4, 2017
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Khalil Noorzai and Gulrahim Niazman
Farmers in some parts of Afghanistan are trying to revive pistachio crops as an alternative to the opium poppy crops, but they are running into…
Iraq: Iraq Reborn: The Slow Renaissance of Hammar Marshes
May 4, 2017
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Suadad al-Salhy, Middle East Eye
One of the world's most important wetlands, the marshlands used to be a source of fresh water, and home to wide range of fish, rare…
Sudan: Reaping the Benefits of Better Catchment Management in North Darfur
May 4, 2017
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UNEP
Resilience as a result of a better water management. When the project team surveyed 12 random village councils from across the project’s 34, it found…
Afghanistan/India/Pakistan: Pak to Work with India, Afghan on Water Management
May 3, 2017
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Sajjad Hussain, Press Trust of India
Pakistan is seeking a joint mechanism with India and Afghanistan for watershed management and trans-boundary aquifer sharing to minimise the negative impact of development projects.…
Myanmar: Gov’t Takes Steps to Protect People from Ravages of Climate Change
May 3, 2017
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Government of Myanmar
The Union Ministries have teamed up to manage all the water resources of Myanmar to fight flood and drought induced by climate change. At the…
Myanmar: Foreign NGOs Accused of Instigating Opposition against Myitsone Dam
May 3, 2017
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Myanmar Times
The One Belt One Road initiative (OBOR) – Beijing’s grand design to connect China and Eurasia with roads and railways and other transport infrastructures –…
Myanmar: Burma Army Seizes More Than 400 Tons of Sawn Logs
May 3, 2017
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Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint, Irrawaddy
The Burma Army seized 15 trucks and 402 tons of unattended teak and kino (gum) sawn logs in Nansang Township, southern Shan State, on April…
Yemen: Yemen Conflict Leaves 17m People at Risk of Malnutrition
May 3, 2017
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RJ Whitehead, Food Navigator Asia
As Yemen’s conflict continues, two thirds of the country’s population are now suffering from severe food insecurity.
Sierra Leone: How I Funded My Studies by Digging for Sierra Leone Diamonds
May 3, 2017
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Umaru Fofana, BBC Africa
In my teens, I worked as an artisanal miner, waist deep in water, sieving the gravel to find a diamond. Growing up in diamond-rich eastern…
Iraq: Iraq's Fuel Oil Exports Soar Despite OPEC Supply Cut
May 3, 2017
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Roslan Khasawneh, Reuters
Iraqi fuel oil exports have soared since January despite a reduction in the country's crude production in line with OPEC supply cuts, industry sources said,…
Climate Change: NATO Urges Global Fight against Climate Change as Trump Mulls Paris Accord
May 3, 2017
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Timothy Gardner, Reuters
Climate change poses a global security threat that all countries must fight together, a NATO general said on Wednesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump nears…
Sudan: Reversing the Cycle of Conflict over Resources in North Darfur
May 3, 2017
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UNEP
That conflict occurs over scarce natural resources, such as water, is an accepted fact. But in a region in North Darfur, after more than a…
Myanmar: Prospectors Sued after Finding Massive Jade Boulder on Company Land
May 2, 2017
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Zarni Mann, Irrawaddy
Five prospectors who found a jade boulder weighing 8.7 tons have been charged with theft in Kachin State’s Lone Kin jade mining region. According to…