News


Afghanistan: Parliament Mocks Environment Protection Committee

Jan 6, 2018 | Afghanistan Times

The Environment Protection Committee on Saturday failed to satisfy Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) of parliament during impeachment that was strongly criticized by the lawmakers. Even…


New Year, New Challenges—and New Questions for our Audience

Jan 5, 2018 | Lauren Herzer Risi

The new year promises some big changes for the field of environmental security—and some big moves for the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP). As…


Oil and the Constitution: Kurdistan vs. Baghdad

Jan 5, 2018 | Biner Aziz

There is an argument that natural resource abundance is associated with slow growth, greater inequality, and poverty for a majority of a country’s population. Therefore,…


The More Things Change: Resilience, Complexity, and Diplomacy Are Still Top Priorities in 2018

Jan 5, 2018 | Roger-Mark De Souza

This new year brings new projects—and some sad goodbyes. Today, I’m excited to begin my leadership of Sister Cities International, the world’s largest and oldest…


A New Approach to Agricultural Development Under the CDC Government

Jan 5, 2018 | Gabriel W. Coleman

Introduction I learned in secondary school many years ago, that agriculture is the mainstay of West African economies as well as other African countries that are…


As Afghanistan’s Mining Race Stalls, the Taliban and ISIS Tap into Illegal Mines

Jan 5, 2018 | Matthew C. DuPée

Afghanistan has some of the richest mineral deposits in the world, but extracting them has proven difficult amid years of instability and war. There were…


Myanmar: Timber Auctions Temporarily Suspended as Illegal Trading Rises

Jan 5, 2018 | Su Phyo Win, Myanmar Time

Auctions for timber rejected by the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE), which are conducted by the Forest Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental…


Myanmar: Mandalay Region Increases Water Charges and Scales up Access

Jan 5, 2018 | Phyo Wai Kyaw, Myanmar Times

Eight thousand water meters will be installed free of charge in Pyigyitagun township with a total of US$20 million funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency…


Sudan: Sudan Recalls Egyptian Ambassador as Relations Sour

Jan 5, 2018 | Middle East Eye

Sudan has recalled its ambassador from neighbouring Egypt for consultations, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, without giving details on why or how long he…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Abadi Asked Oil Minister to Prepare for Talks with Kurdistan

Jan 5, 2018 | Rudaw

Iraqi’s prime minister requested the oil minister to prepare for talks with the Kurdistan Region about oil, the minister revealed, adding he expected a visit…


Afghanistan: ‘No Progress’ on Expansion of Key Mines in Afghanistan

Jan 5, 2018 | TOLOnews

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) said the government is currently assessing Karkar, Dodkash mines and the Ghori cement factory to establish how it…


Iraq/Kurdistan: KRG Questions Reliability of Oil Revenue, Salary Data from Iraqi PM Abadi

Jan 4, 2018 | Rudaw

The spokesperson of the KRG dismissed claims by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who had alleged that the Kurdish government exported 2 trillion Iraqi dinars…


SIS Professor Works to Build Global Environmental Peace

Jan 4, 2018 | Katie Catania, American University

School of International Service Professor Ken Conca’s relationship with water has sustained and taken him around the world as an expert in global environmental governance,…


South Sudan: South Sudan Urged to Adopt Renewable Energy Potentials

Jan 4, 2018 | Sudan Tribune

A donor-led shift from total reliance on diesel to renewable energy in South Sudan can deliver short-term humanitarian cost savings while creating a longer-term building…


Afghanistan: Deadly Silence Against Air Pollution

Jan 4, 2018 | Mohammad Zahir Akbari, Daily Outlook Afghanistan

Both government and citizens are aware that air-pollution have reached a serious threatening level in Afghanistan but knowingly underestimate the deteriorating issue! thousands of people…


Creating New Tools for the Job

Jan 3, 2018 | Lydia Cardona

Headlines about scarce natural resources driving or causing conflicts are not hard to find. Threats of war over the control and use of natural resources…


Myanmar: Villagers Turn to Charcoal Trade to Tap Chinese Demand

Jan 3, 2018 | Khin Su Wai, Myanmar Times

Charcoal demand has risen over the past two years after the Chinese opened a banana plantation across 20,000 ares of land in Myitkyina, not far…


Myanmar: Inaugural Yangon Gems and Jewellery Fair to Promote Value-Added Products, Say Organisers

Jan 3, 2018 | Kyaw Ye Lynn, Frontier

Organisers of an international gems and jewellery fair in Yangon this month say a boycott of precious stones from Myanmar by some luxury brands because…


Myanmar: Overseas Demand for Locally-Produced Coffee Expected to Rise in 2018

Jan 3, 2018 | Phyo Wai Kyaw, Myanmar Times

Prospects are looking good for the Myanmar coffee industry, with coffee prices kicking off the New Year on a high level and domestic market conditions…


EnPAx Icon Environmental Peacebuilding: 2017 in Review

Jan 2, 2018 | ELI and UN Environment

2017 saw many developments in environmental peacebuilding. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the Environmental Peacebuilding partnership and from the broader…


Colombia: The Colombian Monkeys That Could Save Themselves and Their Habitat

Jan 2, 2018 | Rachel Stern, Deutsche Welle

Colombia's cotton-top monkeys and other primates play a key role in preserving their ecosystems. Yet they are under threat due to deforestation, farming and the…


Myanmar: An Army, a Mountain and the Asian Development Bank

Jan 2, 2018 | Su Myat Mon, Frontier

When s group of Kayin State villagers travelled to inspect a big quarrying operation on Mount Lun Nya earlier this month they soon realised their…


Afghanistan: Pollution of Groundwater Threatens Kabul Districts

Jan 2, 2018 | Nargis Mosavi, TOLOnews

A new study has found that many serious health problems among the people in Kabul are due to a dramatic increase in air pollution and…


Afghanistan: In Afghanistan, Clearing Landmines to Save Lives

Jan 1, 2018 | Jennifer Glasse, PBS NewsHour

Afghanistan is home to the world’s largest landmine removal program, but as special correspondent Jennifer Glasse reports, mine agencies have done little to clear the…


Afghanistan/Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan Cuts off Power Supply to Northwestern Afghanistan

Jan 1, 2018 | Qutbuddin Kohi, Pajhwok Afghan News

Turkmenistan has cut off power supply to Afghanistan’s border provinces, Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirkat (DABS) announced on Monday. To the chagrin of residents, power supply…


Afghanistan: MPs Want to Impeach Osmani over Dams, Budget

Dec 31, 2017 | Massoud Ansar, TOLOnews

Legislators in Afghanistan’s parliament are expected to try and impeach the minister of water and energy Ali Ahmad Osmani over his poor performance in the…


Water Shortages Could Trigger Asia Conflicts

Dec 30, 2017 | Brahma Chellaney

In recent weeks, one of the most pristine Himalayan rivers has mysteriously turned black when entering India from Tibet, highlighting how China's upstream tunneling, damming…


Afghanistan: Study Finds Toxic Substances in Kabul Water

Dec 30, 2017 | Nargis Mosavi, TOLOnews

A new study has found that many serious health problems among the people in Kabul are due to a dramatic increase in air pollution and…


Colombia: 'It's a Perverse System': How Colombia's Farmers Are Reforesting Their Logged Land

Dec 29, 2017 | Lisa Palmer, Guardian

Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, trailing only Brazil, and more than half of its territory is covered by forest. But…


Colombia: Khiron Receives Cultivation Quota from Colombian Government and Commences Cultivation of Medical Cannabis Strains

Dec 29, 2017 | Hailey Wahlberg, Investing News

Khiron Life Sciences Corp. reports that the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Khiron Colombia SAS, has commenced cultivation of a variety of medical grade cannabis strains…