International
Iraq/Kurdistan: Mosul Battle Shows Link between War and Environmental Degradation, Says UN agency
Oct 27, 2016
|
Chris Mooney, Washington Post
The United Nations Environment Programme is highlighting the battle by Iraqi forces to reclaim Mosul from the Islamic State as the latest instance in the complex but very…
South Sudan: Following the Herd: How Cows Fuelled the War in South Sudan, and How They Can Consolidate the Peace
Oct 27, 2016
|
Simon Allison, Daily Maverick
As South Sudan struggles with the aftermath of its bloody civil war, the fate of its estimated 12-million cattle will be crucial in helping the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Sulfur Dioxide Plume Moving Across Iraq, Satellite Images Show
Oct 27, 2016
|
Elizabeth McLaughlin, ABC News
New images released by NASA show a dangerous sulfur plume moving across northern Iraq in the wake of the battle to retake Mosul. As the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Mosul Battle Brings Environmental Damage, with Serious Impacts on Health, Prospects of Recovery
Oct 27, 2016
|
UNEP
Civilians in Northern Iraq are falling victim to additional suffering - including near suffocation and respiratory illnesses - due to what appears to be a…
Colombia: Environmental Peacebuilding Training for Executives from Colombia
Oct 26, 2016
|
Meredith Smith, Earth Institute
With colleagues at the Center for Information and Earth Sciences Information Network, AC4 designed and offered a one-week intensive executive training program in Environmental Peacebuilding. Fifteen professionals,…
Myanmar: Myanmar to Consider Becoming Full Member of Mekong River Commission: President
Oct 26, 2016
|
Xinhua
Visiting Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw said Wednesday that his country agreed to consider becoming full member of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). U Htin…
Nigeria: Nigerian Militants Say They Bomb Chevron Oil Export Pipeline
Oct 26, 2016
|
Hilary Uguru and Michelle Faul, Associated Press
Nigerian militants have bombed an oil export pipeline operated by U.S.-based multinational Chevron, according to the attackers and residents, and the militants are warning companies…
Iraq/Kurdistan: How the Islamic State is Using Scorched Earth Tactics as it Retreats
Oct 26, 2016
|
Laris Karklis, Washington Post
Satellite imagery of the current operations by Iraqi forces to retake Mosul reveal how the Islamic State can inflict damage even when the militant group…
Climate Security: Charlie Rose and Director Clapper on Climate and National Security
Oct 26, 2016
|
Center for Climate and Security
On October 25, 2016 Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sat down with PBS’s Charlie Rose to look back on his career and six years as…
Iraq/Kurdistan: In the Aftermath of Islamic State's Retreat in Iraq: Destruction, Fire and Toxic Fumes
Oct 26, 2016
|
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times
A coordinated campaign by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to retake the city of Mosul has left more than 20,000 people stranded here near the west…
Iraq: Iraq Balks at Oil Production Cuts, Needs Funds to Fight ISIS
Oct 26, 2016
|
Tim Daiss, Forbes
More disorder among OPEC ranks comes as Iraq says that it will not likely reduce oil output because it needs funds to keep up…
Afghanistan: Opium Fuels the Stalemate in America's Longest War
Oct 25, 2016
|
Peter Bergen, CNN
The resurgent Taliban have captured almost all of the key poppy-growing Afghan province of Helmand. If Helmand were a country, it would be the nation…
Conflict Minerals: Report: Gunmen Still Control Metals Mined for Modern Gadgets
Oct 25, 2016
|
Associated Press
Violent gunmen still menace pick-and-shovel miners in eastern Congo, a new report finds, despite years of efforts to loosen their grip by local reformers, Western…
Afghanistan: There's a Massive Water Crisis Looming over Afghanistan
Oct 25, 2016
|
Omair Ahmad, Scroll
Hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are starting the long trek back home after the latest donors’ conference to rebuild Afghanistan. As they do so,…
Afghanistan: Kandahar’s Grape Exports Fall; Alternative Route Sought
Oct 24, 2016
|
Bashir Ahmad Naadem, Pajhwok
Despite a higher grape yield this year, farmers in southern Kandahar province could not export much of the fresh fruit due to the closure of…
Colombia: What Does Peace in Colombia Have to Do with the Environment?
Oct 24, 2016
|
Camila Bustos and Marcela Jaramillo, Guardian
After 52 years of war, the government finalised a peace accord to cease conflict and construct stable and long lasting peace in Colombia. Without a…
Afghanistan: UN Report Finds Settling Water Disputes Key to Economic Growth, Avoiding Conflict
Oct 23, 2016
|
UN
The demand for water to support agricultural development in conflict-plagued Afghanistan often results in high-stakes water disputes, according to a new United Nations report released…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan's Opium Production Soaring, Says UN
Oct 23, 2016
|
Agence France-Presse
Afghanistan’s opium production has risen by an estimated 43% this year, the UN has said. The annual increase on 2015 levels was due in part…
Afghanistan: Afghan Agricultural Exports Could Soar if Access to Overseas Markets Granted
Oct 22, 2016
|
Abdul Haleem and Jawed Omid, Xinhua
To boost the sector in the foreign-aid dependent country, the Afghan government has been encouraging Afghan and foreign companies to invest in both agricultural and…
Cambodia: Man Charged with Land Grabbing
Oct 21, 2016
|
Khmer Times
A 55-year-old farmer in Pursat province was charged yesterday with allegedly clearing community forest for his own use and encouraging others to do the same.…
DRC: The Policy Analyst Going after War Financing in the Congo
Oct 21, 2016
|
Ozy
Holly Dranginis is a 32-year-old senior policy analyst for the Enough Project, an advocacy group dedicated to ending genocide and crimes against humanity. It’s not…
Sudan/South Sudan: Swedish Lundin Petroleum Company Investigated for Crimes in Sudan, South Sudan
Oct 21, 2016
|
Sudan Tribune
A Swedish oil company, Lundin Petroleum, which operated in Sudan and the then Southern Sudan’s oil rich Unity state in the past, has been investigated…
Sudan: Lundin Petroleum CEO, Chairman to Be Questioned on Possible Sudan Crimes
Oct 21, 2016
|
Reuters
Swedish prosecutors will question the CEO and chairman of Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum about possible crimes against international humanitarian law in Sudan, a company…
Iraq: Iraq's Oil Fields Burn as Government Forces Close in on Isil
Oct 20, 2016
|
Telegraph
Iraqi special forces charged into the Mosul battle on Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, a…
Liberia: The Growth of a New Palm Oil Frontier
Oct 20, 2016
|
Clair MacDougall, Guardian
Open doors, fertile soils, high levels of rainfall and large tracts of uncultivated land made Liberia an obvious choice for palm oil companies, says Golden…
DRC: 'Catastrophic' Decline in Eastern Lowland Gorilla Blamed on Mining for Minerals Used in Mobile Phones
Oct 20, 2016
|
Aislinn Laing, Telegraph
The Eastern lowland gorilla, the world's greatest ape, has suffered a "catastrophic decline" in the restive Democratic Republic of Congo, blamed on mining for minerals…
Myanmar: Illegal Myanmar Teak Importation Widespread to EU, Investigation Finds
Oct 19, 2016
|
John C. Cannon, Mongabay
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) released allegations Tuesday about what it says is the illegal importation of Burmese teak from Myanmar to the EU. In…
Afghanistan: Large Afghan Pomegranate Crop Threatened by Lack of Markets, Farmers Say
Oct 19, 2016
|
Ismail Sameem, Reuters
Farmers in Afghanistan's fertile south harvested a bumper crop of deep red pomegranates this year, but they say barriers to international trade in the landlocked…
China/South China Sea: China Using Ecological Protection to Boost Claims in Disputed Waters
Oct 19, 2016
|
Ralph Jennings, Voice of America
China's public order to keep away from a rare, environmentally unique ocean sinkhole in the Paracel Islands signals a new effort to tighten its grip…
Afghanistan: Research Farms Build Foundation for Afghanistan’s Agriculture
Oct 19, 2016
|
World Bank
The agricultural engineers at the Urdo Khan Research Farm, one of 10 regional research stations across the country owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation…