News


Afghanistan: Congo Fever Spreads in Afghanistan as Displaced Farmers Move Livestock from Drought-Ravaged Land

Oct 23, 2018 | Ben Farmer, Telegraph

Cases of a deadly tick-borne fever are increasingly sharply in Afghanistan as a severe drought forces farmers to move infected livestock around the country. September…


Afghanistan: Can Religious Leaders Help Keep Kabul's Water Flowing?

Oct 23, 2018 | Shadi Khan Saif, Deutsche Welle

Foreign invasions, civil war, terror attacks, competing warlords — fate has not been kind to Afghanistan in the past decades. Now, as many people leave…


Conflict Minerals: Will Blockchain Fix the Mineral Traceability Woes?

Oct 23, 2018 | Collins Mwai, New Times

The persistent concerns by miners and other players along the mining industry value chain regarding the high costs of implementing mineral traceability could find a solution…


Liberia: NGO Coalition of Liberia Launches Strategy Advocacy Plan Aimed at Strengthening Forest Governance

Oct 23, 2018 | FrontPage Africa

Atty. Kofi Woods, ex-minister of Public Works says ownership of logging companies by government officials, the Carbon Credit complication and other forms of criminal quest…


Afghanistan: Poverty Rising in Afghanistan amid Prolonged Conflicts, Drought

Oct 22, 2018 | Xinhua

Harsh poverty and rising unemployment have spread across Afghanistan as the prolonged conflicts and fighting in the country, as well as drought and a decline…


Iraq: The World’s Fourth-Biggest Oil Producer Can’t Keep the Lights on

Oct 22, 2018 | Mohammed Sergie, Bloomberg

Iraq is fast becoming a global oil powerhouse, gaining stature in OPEC after it surpassed Canada this year as the world’s fourth-biggest producer. But the…


Palestine/Gaza: Olympic Dreams: Palestinian Swim Team Braves Pollution to Train in Gaza Waters

Oct 22, 2018 | Arab News

The Mediterranean hugs the entire 40-kilometer western border of the Gaza Strip, but almost no one enters its waters. The desperate shortage of energy and…


Tanzania: Dar, Kinshasa Join Hands against Minerals Smuggling

Oct 21, 2018 | Pius Rugonzibwa, Tanzania Daily News

Tanzania has invited mining investors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as both countries plan to host mining forums and joint strategies in…


Climate Change: Climate Change Is Exacerbating World Conflicts, Says Red Cross President

Oct 21, 2018 | Helen Davidson, Guardian

Climate change is already exacerbating domestic and international conflicts, and governments must take steps to ensure it does not get worse, the head of the…


Iraq: World Iraqi Oil Minister Reverses NOC Decree to Take Ownership of State Oil Firms

Oct 21, 2018 | Kurdistan 24

Iraq’s Oil Minister, Jabar al-Luaibi, reversed his decision to transfer the ownership of nine state-owned oil companies from the ministry to the newly formed National…


EcoPeace Middle East Receives 2018 Stanford Bright Award

Oct 21, 2018 | ISRAEL21c

The Stanford Bright Award for 2018 was won by Gidon Bromberg and Munqeth Mehyar, the cofounders of EcoPeace, for their exceptional contributions to global sustainability…


South Sudan: Interrogation of Lundin Execs for Crimes Against Humanity and Environment in South Sudan

Oct 20, 2018 | Terry Swartzberg, ViaNews

“Lundin Petroleum’s chief executive and chairman are set to be charged with aggravated crimes against human rights over the Swedish oil company’s role in causing…


South Sudan: Sweden to Interrogate Oil Firm over Human Rights Violation in South Sudan

Oct 19, 2018 | Sudan Tribune

The Swedish centre-left government Thursday approved the prosecutor’s application to question Lundin Petroleum’s chairman, Ian Lundin, and CEO, Alex Schneiter, for gross human rights violations…


Liberia: Gender and Land Tenure Specialist

Oct 18, 2018 | Landesa

Landesa helps the world’s poorest people gain land rights; reducing poverty and conflict, increasing economic activity, empowering women, strengthening food security, and improving environmental stewardship.

Landesa…


Politics and Peace: The Fate of Colombia's Forests (Commentary)

Oct 18, 2018 | Haley Wiebel

Deforestation in the post-conflict era has grown at an alarming rate. Rather than a policy solution, Columbia’s former president Juan Manuel Santos’ environmental legacy should…


Lessons from Post-Conflict States: Peacebuilding Must Factor in Environment and Climate Change

Oct 18, 2018 | Karolina Eklöw and Florian Krampe

Natural resource management appears to be an important factor post-conflict states must consider if they wish to build a foundation for a socially, economically, and…


Why Successful Peacebuilding Means Managing Natural Resources

Oct 18, 2018 | World Economic Forum

It might be tempting to dismiss environmental issues when considering the seemingly insurmountable task of building peace after armed conflict. Yet, it is increasingly clear…


Pakistan: Illegal Import of Fruit and Vegetables Affecting Balochistan Farmers

Oct 18, 2018 | Israr Khan, The News

Lawmakers from Balochistan on Wednesday requested the government to block the illegally import of fruits and vegetables from Afghanistan, Iran and India as it was…


Iraq: Iraq Transfers Ownership of Nine State Oil Companies to New National Oil Company

Oct 18, 2018 | Reuters

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi has issued a decree transferring the ownership of nine state-owned oil companies, including state oil marketer SOMO, from the oil…


The End of Conflict Minerals?

Oct 17, 2018 | Jeffrey White

The stated purpose of conflict mineral laws and regulations were laudable, namely, to prevent companies from engaging in trade that support regional conflicts in the…


Rwanda: Rwanda Starts Tracking Conflict Metal Tantalum with Blockchain

Oct 17, 2018 | Yogita Khatri, CoinDesk

Rwanda has turned to blockchain to track the supply chain of tantalum, a metal used in consumer electronics, in a bid to address concerns over…


Iraq: Water Pollution in Iraq Threatens Mandaean Religious Rites

Oct 17, 2018 | Philip Issa, Associated Press

Every Sunday in Iraq, along a strip of embankment on the Tigris River reserved for followers of the obscure and ancient Mandaean faith, worshippers bathe…


Myanmar: Will Myanmar’s ‘Genocide Gems’ Become the New Blood Diamonds?

Oct 17, 2018 | Sheridan Prasso, Bloomberg

A little more than a year ago, Myanmar’s military carried out what the United Nations has called a campaign of genocide and war crimes against…


Is S&P Dow Jones Greenwashing Conflict Palm Oil? (Commentary)

Oct 16, 2018 | Gaurav Madan

In its annual listing of sustainable companies released last month, S&P Dow Jones Indices included Golden Agri-Resources, a palm oil company financing operations in Liberia. However,…


Opinion: Protect Indigenous, Community, and Women's Land Rights for Food Security and Nutrition

Oct 16, 2018 | Fany Kuiru and Paul de Wit

Legally recognized and protected land rights for indigenous peoples and local communities in the developing world are a key part of revitalizing the world’s food…


Global Hotspots for Potential Water Disputes

Oct 16, 2018 | European Commission, Joint Research Centre

Scientists of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) have identified the hotspots where competition over the use of shared water resources could lead to…


South Sudan: Peace at Last for South Sudan? That May Depend on the Price of Oil

Oct 16, 2018 | Okech Francis, Bloomberg

A civil war has cast South Sudan into five years of bloody upheaval. The latest peace deal may hinge on something that’s almost as unpredictable:…


Connecting Disarmament with the Enviromental Pillar of the SDGs

Oct 15, 2018 | Doug Weir

The UN Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament finds that “there is not yet a general understanding on the many areas where the successful achievement of disarmament…


China vs. United States: Competition over Rare Minerals Ratchets up

Oct 15, 2018 | Olivia Smith

The United States has historically been the largest economy with correspondingly high natural resource consumption. However, Chinese consumption is catching up. Both countries are expected…


Urban Food Security In The Global South: Three Ideas

Oct 15, 2018 | Christian Man

What does greater, accelerating urbanization mean for food security? It means urban food systems in the global South deserve a specific place at the table…