International
Myanmar: The Salween Peace Park: A Radical, Grassroots Alternative to Development in Karen State
Jan 18, 2017
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KIC
A path has opened for environmental conservationists and rights advocates to strengthen their fight against gold mining and other socially and environmentally destructive projects in…
Iraq: Iraq's Marsh Arabs Test the Waters as Wetlands Ruined by Saddam Are Reborn
Jan 18, 2017
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Peter Schwartzstein, Guardian
Authorities in Baghdad are rebuilding lost communities. They are keen to resettle properly at least some of the roughly 250,000 Marsh Arabs who have trickled…
Myanmar: Yangon Chief Minister Hopes to Resolve Land Issues in 3 years
Jan 18, 2017
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Eleven
The parliamentary commission for assessing legal affairs and special cases suggested better land management policy at a parliamentary session last month. It stated that speculation…
Syria: Damascus Goes Dry as Syria’s Grim Water Wars Intensify
Jan 16, 2017
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Sami Moubayed, Middle East Online
Days before Christmas, Damascus went dry due to an aerial attack on the Ain al-Fijah spring 18km north-west of the Syrian capital, which feeds the…
Afghanistan: Bearing Fruit: Japan and UNDP Boost Output for Northern Farmers
Jan 16, 2017
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UNDP
Some provinces in Afghanistan are famous for their fruit. In Kandahar, it’s the pomegranates; in Parwan, the grapes. Now Takhar is earning its own place…
Israel/Palestine: Water Deal Reached between Israel and Palestinians
Jan 15, 2017
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Elior Levy, Yedioth Internet
Israel's Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories (COGAT) signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority's Minister of Civil Affairs on Sunday to renew the…
Sudan: US Set to Revoke Some Oil-Related Sanctions against Sudan
Jan 13, 2017
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Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.com
Outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Friday that would lift certain trade and oil-related sanctions against Sudan in six months’ time,…
Conflict Minerals: Massachusetts to Examine Conflict Minerals Procurement Policies
Jan 12, 2017
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Chemical Watch
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed into law a resolve to examine the state's procurement policies with regard to so-called conflict minerals.
Myanmar: 3D Printing Improves Farming in Myanmar
Jan 12, 2017
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Rapid Ready
Myanmar’s agricultural and other industries suffered numerous setbacks during decades of military rule. 3D printing is helping jumpstart a recovery, and making it possible for…
Afghanistan: Tenkiv Nexus Uses Solar to Clean Water in Afghanistan
Jan 11, 2017
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Tom Spendlove, Engineering.com
The team at Tenkiv Nexus says that the average person needs five liters of water a day to survive, and ten liters a day for…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Gazprom Neft to Increase Oil Extraction in Kurdistan Despite ISIS Threat
Jan 11, 2017
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Igor Roznin, Russia Beyond the Headlines
Gazprom Neft, the fourth largest oil producing company in Russia, plans to increase oil extraction in areas controlled by ISIS, a terrorist organization at war…
Myanmar: Myanmar’s ‘Green Princess’ is a Humble Activist on a Mission
Jan 11, 2017
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Jennifer Rigby, Mongabay
Devi Thant Cin lives on one of the most prestigious roads in Myanmar, just a few feet from the famous Shwedagon Pagoda and next to…
Liberia: Liberia’s Hope for Oil Falters as ExxonMobil Fails to Find Oil
Jan 11, 2017
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James Harding Giahyue, FrontPageAfrica
The future of Liberia’s oil and gas industry did not depend entirely on the outcome of ExxonMobil’s drilling activities last month but it has been…
Colombia: Identifying a Fire Ecology Research Agenda for Colombia
Jan 10, 2017
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Susana Rodríguez-Buriticá, Mauricio Aguilar-Garavito, and Natalia Norden, Eos
Over the years, isolated research efforts in Colombia have highlighted the ecological importance of natural wildfires in some areas and the risks of fire-driven biodiversity…
Iraq: Iraq asks Angola Firm to Resume Work at Retaken Oil Fields
Jan 10, 2017
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Agence France-Presse
Iraq's oil minister called Tuesday for Angolan energy firm Sonangol to resume work at fields south of Mosul where the Islamic State group had set…
Timor-Leste: East Timor Axes Australia Border Treaty over Oil Reserves
Jan 10, 2017
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BBC
East Timor says it wants to tear up a controversial 2006 maritime border treaty with Australia which has soured relations between the two countries. The…
Cambodia: Cambodians Stand Their Ground against Government’s Land Grabs
Jan 9, 2017
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Daniel Soo, Channel News Asia
A spate of land grabs by the government has seen more than 800,000 Cambodians evicted from their homes, according to the International Federation of Human…
Iraq/Kurdistan: How Exxon, under Rex Tillerson, Won Iraqi Oil Fields and Nearly Lost Iraq
Jan 9, 2017
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Missy Ryan and Steven Mufson, Washington Post
When Ashti Hawrami, the oil minister from Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdistan region, unfurled a map of untapped oil fields for a team of ExxonMobil officials…
Timor-Leste: East Timor Tears up Oil and Gas Treaty with Australia after Hague Dispute
Jan 9, 2017
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Henry Belot and Emily Stewart, ABC News
East Timor will tear up an oil and gas treaty with Australia that has been at the centre of espionage allegations, international arbitration and a…
Colombia: Land Access and Restitution at the Heart of Peacebuilding in Colombia
Jan 8, 2017
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Military News
FAO will support Colombia in carrying out a comprehensive rural reform aimed at strengthening food security and peace, including measures which address issues of land…
Afghanistan: The Story Behind China's Long-Stalled Mine in Afghanistan
Jan 7, 2017
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Mohsin Amin, Diplomat
The year 2017 marked the ninth anniversary of the Mes Aynak concession, which was awarded in May 2008 to two Chinese state-owned companies, the China Metallurgical Group…
Myanmar: Resource Ministry Plans Reduction in Export Eligible Timber
Jan 6, 2017
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Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Times
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation will reduce the volume of timber that can be exported abroad starting from May 1, according to…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdistan Oil a Slippery Issue
Jan 6, 2017
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Ali Mamouri, Al-Monitor
Iraqi Kurdistan has been shipping oil to Turkey without Baghdad's knowledge, resulting in Iraq violating an OPEC agreement, according to accusations leveled Jan. 3 by…
South Sudan: South Sudan Renews Oil Deals with China, Malaysia
Jan 6, 2017
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Parach Mach, Anadolu Agency
South Sudan signed an agreement on Friday to renew all oil drilling contracts with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)…
Afghanistan: Gunmen Attack Hazara Miners in Afghanistan, Killing at Least 9
Jan 6, 2017
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Mujib Mashal and Fahim Abed, New York Times
Gunmen in northern Afghanistan ambushed ethnic Hazara coal miners on Friday, shooting at least nine of them dead and seemingly adding to a string of…
Conflict Minerals: Chinese Industry Body Launches Cobalt Sourcing Programme
Jan 5, 2017
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Chemical Watch
Companies urged to align supply chain policies with OECD and China's due diligence guidance.
Iraq/Kurdistan: How a Rex Tillerson Oil Deal Nearly Sparked an Iraqi-Kurdish War
Jan 5, 2017
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Stephen Snyder, Public Radio International
A 2011 oil exploration deal, between Exxon Mobil and Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq, could raise concerns as the US Senate prepares for confirmation hearings on President-elect Donald…
Brazil: Brazil's Quilombos Face Eucalyptus Giant in Land War
Jan 5, 2017
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Luisa Torre and Patrik Camporez Macao, Al Jazeera
In Sape do Norte, in the far north of Espirito Santo, Brazil, 32 communities refer to the 111,000 hectares of land as the "green desert". Quilombolas,…
Syria: A New Casualty of Syria’s War: Drinking Water in Damascus
Jan 4, 2017
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Ben Hubbard, New York Times
For millions of Damascus residents, long-term concerns about the direction of the war in Syria have been replaced by worries about where to get enough…
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State: ISIS Continues to Sell Iraqi Oil to Syria to Fund Terrorist Activities Despite Coalition Strikes
Jan 4, 2017
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Ananya Roy, International Business Times
Despite continued coalition air strikes on Islamic State's (ISIS) oil infrastructure in Iraq, the militant group is dispatching oil tankers from Mosul. The jihadists sent…