News


Iraq: Iraq Oil Fires Could Jeopardize Mosul Mission

Sep 23, 2016 | Vivian Salama, Associated Press

A fire at one of Iraq's oil fields could hinder military and humanitarian efforts as operations to recapture the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul get…


Liberia: President Sirleaf Calls for Investment in Agro Sector

Sep 23, 2016 | Joaquin Sendolo, Daily Observer

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has informed potential investors that attended the US-Africa Business Forum about the need to invest in Liberia’s agriculture sector. The US-Africa…


White House Announces Steps to Address Climate and National Security Alongside New Intelligence Assessment

Sep 22, 2016 | Schuyler Null, Cara Thuringer, and Lauren Herzer Risi

Yesterday afternoon President Obama announced a new Presidential Memorandum on climate change and national security. The policy directs 20 federal agencies to consider the national security implications…


Our Take: New Intelligence and Presidential Memos on Climate Change and National Security

Sep 22, 2016 | Caitlin Werrell and Francesco Femia in Climate and Security

On September 21, 2016, the Obama Administration made two significant announcements related to climate change and national security – one which highlights the latest intelligence…


Myanmar: The Environmental in Kachin State: The Mixed Blessing of Mineral Wealth

Sep 22, 2016 | Radio Free Asia

Mine Naung, in Mohnyin district of Myanmar’s Kachin state, is home to hundreds of gold mines. Residents of the small village say they are at…


Proposed Sale of Timber from Palm Oil Concession Sparks Alarm in Liberia

Sep 21, 2016 | Jeremy Hance

In July, news leaked out that Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA) was considering a new regulation to allow timber logged from palm oil and other plantations to…


Liberia: House Concurs on Land Authority Law

Sep 21, 2016 | Daily Observer, Leroy M. Sonpon III

The Legislature has finally enacted the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) Law after it was submitted by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to both Houses, and was received…


2017 Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality, and Peace Studies (WESIPS) Biennial Conference Abstract Deadline

Sep 20, 2016 | Organizers of WESIPS 2017

Please consider presenting a paper at the 2017 Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality, and Peace Studies (WESIPS) Biennial Conference to be held at the Center for…


Myanmar: The Next Great Land Tenure Reform?

Sep 20, 2016 | Roy Prosterman

Since World War II, there have been five great Asian development success stories founded upon land tenure reforms that allocated land ownership, or equivalent long-term…


India: The Source of India's Water Wars

Sep 20, 2016 | Stratfor

Rivers sharing boundaries, whether between other countries or internal states, are traditional points of conflict. Often governed by unpopular treaties, they are the subject of…


Major Water Disputes Are Often beyond War and Peace

Sep 19, 2016 | Filippo Menga and The London Water Research Group

Early this June, the Israeli government cut off drinking water to people living in the Salfit region of the West Bank and three villages east of Nablus.…


Conflict Minerals: US House Advances Conflict Minerals Reporting Repeal Measure

Sep 19, 2016 | Chemical Watch

The US House Financial Services Committee has approved an amended version of a bill to repeal the US's conflict minerals reporting rule.


America the Plunderer

Sep 16, 2016 | Timothy Egan

As with everything in Trump’s world, his solution is simple: loot and pilfer. “Take the oil,” said Trump. He was referring to Iraq, post-invasion. And…


Forests in Colombia Fall Victim to Illegal Coca Plantations

Sep 16, 2016 | María Lourdes Zimmermann

The illicit cultivation of coca leaf in Colombia grew by 39 percent between 2014 and 2015, from 69,000 to 96,000 hectares. According to the United Nations…


Yemen: Ravaged by Conflict, Yemen's Coast Faces Rising Malnutrition

Sep 16, 2016 | Ahmen Al-Haj, Associated Press

The U.N. estimates that about 100,000 children under the age of five in the city and the surrounding province, also called Hodeidah, are at risk…


India: In India's Silicon Valley, the Water Wars Have Turned Deadly

Sep 16, 2016 | Chhavi Sachdev, Public Radio International

Violent disputes over water are nothing new in India — in such a large and crowded country, deciding the rights to trans-boundary waters is always…


Conflict Minerals: Al Jazeera Documentary on DRC Minerals up for Emmy

Sep 16, 2016 | Screen Africa

Conflicted: The Fight Over Congo’s Minerals is nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting in a News Magazine. It’s one of five…


Can International Cooperation Revitalize Wetlands on Afghanistan-Iran Border?

Sep 15, 2016 | Fatemeh Aman

Efforts to revive the Hamoun wetlands on the Iran-Afghanistan border are intensifying. A recent panel at the Atlantic Council described international involvement as vital both to…


Cambodia: ICC Focus on Land Grabs May Turn Attention to Cambodia

Sep 15, 2016 | Lauren Crothers, Anadolu Agency

The release of a new policy paper on case selections at the International Criminal Court (ICC) could “open the door” for further consideration of a…


International Court to Prosecute Environmental Crimes in Major Shift

Sep 15, 2016 | Voice of America and Reuters

The International Criminal Court said Thursday that it will start focusing on crimes linked to environmental destruction, the illegal exploitation of natural resources and unlawful…


ICC Widens Remit to Include Environmental Destruction Cases

Sep 15, 2016 | John Vidal and Owen Bowcott, Guardian

Environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court following a decision to…


India: Angry Clashes in Karnataka as India's Water Wars Run Deep

Sep 15, 2016 | Michael Safi and Vidhi Doshi, Guardian

There have been regular predictions that “water wars” between Asian states will be a major security threat to the continent in the coming decades, particularly…


Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals and Firms’ Ignorance over Their Supply Chains

Sep 15, 2016 | Journalist's Resource

Researchers from the University of Michigan analyzed all the due diligence reports the SEC received in 2014 and 2015 — about 1,300 reports per year. They…


Liberia: NOCAL Collapses One Year On - Liberia's Oil Basin Goes Quiet

Sep 15, 2016 | FrontPageAfrica

Liberia's oil industry is at a crossroads: If no new production sharing contracts (PSCs) are signed and existing ones are not extended, there will be…


China, the Underdog Now, Will Work with Vietnam on Sea Dispute

Sep 14, 2016 | Ralph Jennings

Senior officials from China and Vietnam, never friends and even less so over the past two years, vowed this week to work more together – substantially…


Liberia: Liberia Land Policy a ‘Challenge to National Development’

Sep 14, 2016 | Mark M. Dahn, Mongabay

Liberians are anxiously awaiting the passage of the stalled Land Rights Act, which many land experts in Liberia say will help drastically curtail conflicts. Liberia has…


Climate Change: Climate Change Could Pose 'Significant Risk' to US National Security, Reports Say

Sep 14, 2016 | Catherine Thorbecke, ABC News

A bipartisan group of military experts released a statement and two reports today arguing that climate change poses a significant risk to U.S. national security.…


Myanmar: Obama to Lift Myanmar Sanctions, Including Those on Dirty Jade, Sooner than Human Rights Organizations Wanted

Sep 14, 2016 | Benjamin Soloway, Foreign Policy

After meeting Wednesday with Myanmar’s de facto leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, U.S. President Barack Obama made an announcement that few…


Libya: After Libya’s Oil Grab, Compromise Could Lead to a Restart of Exports

Sep 14, 2016 | Claudia Gazzini, International Crisis Group

Key crude oil export terminals in eastern Libya were seized on 11 September by General Khalifa Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA). This is a force…


Request for Proposals: Yale New Directions in Environmental Law 2017 -- Environment, National Security, and Human Rights

Sep 13, 2016 | New Directions in Environmental Law

The New Directions in Environmental Law Conference is soliciting proposals for sessions at the 2017 conference, to be held at the Yale School of Forestry…