News


South Sudan: Are South Sudan’s Wetlands in Danger of Drying up?

Aug 26, 2016 | UNEP

The Sudd ecosystem and its unique cultures are threatened by a variety of development pressures including a plan to almost completely drain the wetland to…


Liberia: Sime Darby Plantation to Inaugurate its First US$18M Oil Palm Mill in Western Liberia

Aug 26, 2016 | Global News Network

The Sime Darby Plantation, a Malaysian Conglomerate Plantation Company operating in western Liberia has disclosed that it will inaugurate one of the modern palm oil…


Iraq: Iraq's Qayyara Oil Wells Still Burning Weeks after Start of Battle

Aug 26, 2016 | Rudaw

After an operation that lasted more than two months Iraqi troops managed to reach the town of Qayyara on Thursday and expel its Islamic State…


Little Talked About, This Issue Can Choke Colombia’s Peace Deal Down The Line

Aug 25, 2016 | José E. Mosquera

Decades of civil conflict and the formation of the communist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could be attributed in part to the struggle for land in…


How Lapis Lazuli Turned One Afghan Mining District to the Taliban

Aug 25, 2016 | Adrienne Bober

In the mountains of northern Afghanistan, between Pakistan and China, a region that has historically rejected the Taliban has become the group’s second-largest source of revenue.…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Seeks Formal Deal With Kurds to Protect New Oil Exports

Aug 25, 2016 | Sam Wilin and Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg

Iraq’s resumption last week of oil shipments through a Kurdish-controlled pipeline bumped up its export capacity by five percent almost overnight. Now OPEC’s second-biggest producer…


Myanmar: Limited Capacity Hinders Myanmar’s Water Management

Aug 24, 2016 | Khine Kyaw, Myanmar Eleven

River basin organisations should be established to support the activities of the National Water Resource Committee (NWRC), to enhance the country’s water management which has…


Myanmar: Shan Groups Warn Salween Dam Could Fuel Conflict

Aug 24, 2016 | Libby Hogan, Democratic Voice of Burma

Shan community groups are calling for the suspension of a Chinese-backed dam on the Salween River that they say risks exacerbating conflict and environmental problems…


Calming the Waters: Why We Need to Better Integrate Climate and Water Policy

Aug 23, 2016 | Sabine Blumstein

The Nile River is shared by 11 countries, for which it is vital for food and energy production, freshwater, and as a means of transportation.…


Myanmar: Shan Farmers Protest Nao Pha Dam Project

Aug 23, 2016 | Thu Thu Aung, Myanmar Times

With the future of the controversial Myitsone dam project apparently still in doubt following Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to China, local…


DRC: Katanga Youth Project Hopes to Cut Minerals Dependence

Aug 23, 2016 | Victor Muisyo, Africa News

The Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa’s largest copper producer, and heavily relies on the mining sector, which, alongside its small oil industries accounts for…


Food Security: Food Security Issues Plague Middle East

Aug 23, 2016 | Chris Lyddon, World Grain

The Middle East is a diverse region, but many believe it needs to work together to achieve greater food security. The region faces the challenge…


Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan, South Sudan Agree to Extend Oil Deal

Aug 23, 2016 | Agence France-Presse

Sudan and South Sudan agreed Tuesday to extend an oil deal between the two countries, officials said, but they failed to settle the exact terms.…


Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Asks for Khartoum Technical Assistance to Resume Oil Production

Aug 23, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai said that his country has asked Khartoum to provide technical assistance to restart oil production from oil…


Iraq: Iraq Has Not Yet Reached its Full Oil Market Share, Says PM

Aug 23, 2016 | Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Iraq's prime minister said the country has not yet reached its full oil market share, suggesting his government would not restrain crude output as part…


Myanmar: Myanmar Coffee to Hit Whole Foods as Economic Opening Continues

Aug 23, 2016 | Luc Cohen, Reuters

Two shipments of coffee beans from Myanmar arrived in the United States this month, the first commercial-scale imports in over 15 years and the fruits…


Colombia: Colombian Agribusiness in the Wake of War

Aug 23, 2016 | Mike Wilson, Farm Future

The Marxist guerilla group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) is the oldest and largest group among Colombia's left-wing rebels. They claim to be fighting…


Hope for Resolving the Water Conflict in the Middle East

Aug 22, 2016 | Marwa Osman

The severity of the water issue in the Middle East is a key strategic issue in understanding future security decisions within the region. Nations in…


China: Chinese Fishermen Caught up in Asian Geopolitical Conflict

Aug 22, 2016 | Lucy Hornby, Financial Times

The territorial tensions that are inflaming relations between China and its neighbours are due in part to a collapse in local fish stocks, which is…


Iraq: Iraq's New Oil Minister Sticks by Demand to Review Foreign Contracts

Aug 22, 2016 | Reuters

Iraq wants to review contracts with oil companies to cut the fees that the firms receive when crude prices are low, the OPEC nation's new…


Colombia: How Cocoa is Part of Preserving Newly-Won Peace in Colombia

Aug 22, 2016 | John Rivera, Sojourners

If an agreement is reached between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the current generation of Colombian youth will have…


Iraq: Iraqi Children Pay High Health Cost of War-Induced Air Pollution, Study Finds

Aug 22, 2016 | John Vidal, Guadian

Air pollution caused by war may be a major factor in the numbers of birth defects and cancers being reported in Iraq and other war…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Will Boost Oil Exports after Agreement on Kirkuk Fields

Aug 21, 2016 | Bloomberg, Khalid Al Ansary and Sam Wilkin

Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest producer, will increase crude exports by about 5 percent in the next few days after an agreement to resume shipments from three…


South Sudan: South Sudan Plans to Resume Oil Production in Unity Region

Aug 20, 2016 | Geeska Afrika

South Sudan has announced it was working to restart oil production in Unity state after more than a year of no operation due to the…


From Machetes to Maps: How a ‘Red Line’ Eased Conflict in Bolivia’s Amazon

Aug 19, 2016 | Candido Pastor

Over the past 30 years, Bolivia has tried to protect its valuable forests from agricultural clear-cutting by establishing a protected area system that covers more than 16…


Every Humanitarian is an Environmentalist

Aug 19, 2016 | Erik Solheim

More than 130 million people worldwide need humanitarian assistance to survive. Some are caught in conflict. Some are caught in disasters beyond human control. Others…


Rivers of Conflict Between India and Pakistan

Aug 19, 2016 | Brahma Chellaney

Just as the Philippines hauled China before an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague over Beijing's expansive claims in the South China Sea, Pakistan recently…


Afghanistan: Funding Cuts, Insurgency Hamper Afghan Goal to Clear Mines by 2023

Aug 19, 2016 | Josh Smith and Mirwais Harooni, Reuters

Afghanistan's campaign to clear millions of landmines left by the Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war is in danger of stalling, as international aid slumps…


Myanmar/Thailand: Chevron Says No Plan to Exit Thailand, May Keep Stake in Myanmar Gas Field

Aug 19, 2016 | Reuters

Chevron is committed to its Thailand investments despite job cuts that have spurred rumours of the U.S. oil major's exit, and may keep a Myanmar…


Afghanistan: Funding Cuts, Insurgency Hamper Afghan Goal to Clear Mines by 2023

Aug 19, 2016 | Josh Smith and Mirwais Harooni, Reuters

Afghanistan's campaign to clear millions of landmines left by the Soviet invasion and ensuing civil war is in danger of stalling, as international aid slumps…