Environmental Peacebuilding Association

News

Afghanistan: Bountiful Afghan Opium Harvest Yields Profits for the Taliban

May 4, 2016 | Taimoor Shah and Mujib Mashal, New York Times

As the opium harvest winds down across Helmand Province, Afghanistan’s largest in territory and poppy cultivation, farmers and officials are reporting high yields. The skies…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Explosions Hit Two Oil Wells in Northern Iraq's Kirkuk: Sources

May 4, 2016 | Reuters

Explosions at two oil wells near territory controlled by Islamic State in northern Iraq halted production on Wednesday as firefighters worked to put out the…

Could a Lack of Water Cause Wars?

May 4, 2016 | Pola Lem, ClimateWire

Water scarcity is expected to increase globally as populations boom and climate change sharpens uncertainty around the resource's availability, according to a report by the…

Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Ex-Minister Calls for Global Mediation over Oil Charges with Sudan

May 4, 2016 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudanese outgoing oil minister has criticized the government of neighbouring Sudan for allegedly backtracking from its initial positive gesture to renegotiate the charges for…

New Study: Good Governance of Natural Resources Essential for Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Economic Recovery

May 3, 2016 | ELI, UNEP, University of Tokyo, and McGill University

WASHINGTON, DC and GENEVA—After armed conflict, those who survive need food, water, shelter, the means to earn a living, and the promise of a return…

Liberia: FDA Halts Liberian Hardwood

May 3, 2016 | Joe Abban, New Dawn

The Forestry Development Authority or FDA, has with immediate effect ordered the Liberian Hardwood Corporation (LHC) to haltfelling of logs in Bloquiah forest, Gboe Chiefdom,…

Israel/Palestine/Gaza: Gaza Sewage Crisis, Festering in Conflict, Poisons Coast

May 3, 2016 | Fares Akram and Daniella Cheslow, Associated Press

Each day, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into the Gaza Strip’s Mediterranean beachfront, spewing out of a metal pipe and turning miles of…

South Sudan’s Broken Oil Industry Increasingly Becoming a Hazard

May 2, 2016 | Wim Zwijnenburg

The environment has long been a factor in violent conflict in South Sudan, especially with respect to control over oil. The first oil was discovered…

Afghanistan: Islamic State Eradicating Afghan Poppy Crops

May 2, 2016 | Zia-U-Rahman Hasrat and Noor Zahid, Voice of America

The United States and the West have long targeted Afghan opium and heroin production. Now the industry has a new enemy: Islamic State (IS). Afghan…

Thailand: Under the Pump

May 1, 2016 | Paritta Wangkiat, Bangkok Post

Farmers are crippled by debt and drought, but debate over water management and the government's focus on monoculture means a solution is far from cut…

Iraq: Iraq Oil Exports Near Record Even as Protests Threaten Paralysis

May 1, 2016 | Khalid Al Ansary and Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg

Iraq’s oil exports approached a record high in April, adding barrels to a worldwide supply glut even as protests against public corruption threatened to paralyze…

Libya: Tanker with Disputed Libyan Oil Returns to Country for Unloading

May 1, 2016 | Laura Hurst, Hatem Mohareb, and Anthony Dipaola

A tanker with oil from eastern Libya returned with its cargo to the North African country after the United Nations blacklisted the shipment, amid an…

Natural Resources Leadership Academy

Apr 29, 2016 | Oregon State University

NRLA puts a unique twist on the standard college based learning environment, allowing both the graduate student (credit) and working professional (non-credit) the opportunity to…

Water Wars: Looming Arbitration Decision Tests Regional Partnerships

Apr 29, 2016 | Chris Mirasola

China embarked on a sustained charm offensive this week to rally countries around its interests in the South China Sea. On Sunday, PRC Foreign Minister…

US: Program Associate- Natural Resources

Apr 29, 2016 | RESOLVE

RESOLVE, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., is seeking a Program Associate. The Program Associate will assist in supporting and coordinating collaboration and consensus building…

Conflict Minerals: Fairphone: One Smartphone Company's Search for Conflict-Free Gold

Apr 29, 2016 | Claudia Cahalane, Guardian

Fairphone was among the first to use certified conflict-free tin and tantalum from DRC when it launched its first phone in 2013. It is close…

Myanmar: Myanmar Bans Lucrative Logging in Bid to Preserve Forests

Apr 28, 2016 | Timothy Mclaughlin and Aung Hla Tun, Reuters

Myanmar has banned lucrative logging operations as the newly-elected government of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi steps up a battle on deforestation, an environment…

Islamic State: Islamic State Turns to Selling Fish, Cars to Offset Oil Losses: Report

Apr 28, 2016 | Stephen Kalin, Reuters

Islamic State earns millions of dollars a month running car dealerships and fish farms in Iraq, making up for lower oil income after its battlefield…

Water as a Strategy of War

Apr 27, 2016 | Mara Tignino

In times of war, lack of access to safe water can kill as many people as bombing.Inequality in the distribution of water resources and risks…

Myanmar: Mining Companies Found to Be Polluting in Sagaing

Apr 27, 2016 | Moe Myint, The Irrawaddy

Seven coal mining firms in Kalaywa, Sagaing Division, are operating without any regard for the environmental impact of their projects, according to a report released…

Myanmar: Parliamentary Committee: 6,000 Land Confiscation Complaints Yet to Be Addressed

Apr 27, 2016 | Tin Htet Paing, The Irrawaddy

Some 6,000 outstanding complaints of farmland seizure from the previous parliamentary body are slated to be investigated by the current legislative body, the Upper House’s…

Sudan/South Sudan: Oil Plunge Casts Doubt on South Sudan Plan to End Civil War

Apr 27, 2016 | William Davison, Bloomberg

South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital of the world’s newest nation to rejoin the government and end a two-year civil war. An…

Liberia: World Bank/GoL Sign US36.7 Million Forestry Deal

Apr 27, 2016 | Joe Abban, New Dawn

The World Bank and the Government of Liberia Wednesday signed a US$36.7 million grant from the Government of Norway to support the country’s efforts to…

Sierra Leone: Capacity Development Senior Officer

Apr 26, 2016 | Pact

The goal of the Forest Incomes for Environmental Sustainability (FIFES) project is to develop key rural forest-based enterprises which provide inclusive, sustainable economic opportunities for…

Pathways to Resilience: Evidence on Links Between Conflict Management, Natural Resources, and Food Security

Apr 26, 2016 | Gracie Cook

In 2015, the NGO Mercy Corps released some surprising findings from conflict management programs in the Horn of Africa. Interventions from 2013 to 2015 focused…

Iraq: Aerial Bombardment Kills ISIS Oil Minister in Mosul

Apr 26, 2016 | AhlulBayt News Agency

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan announced on Monday, that the so-called ISIS Oil Minister was killed in an aerial bombardment targeted his vehicle in central…

Liberia: Expression of Interest - Provision of Professional Services to Evaluate the UN Peacebuilding Priority Plans in Liberia for the UN Peacebuilding Fund

Apr 25, 2016 | UN Peacebuilding Support Office

The United Nations Procurement Division (UN/PD) will shortly be issuing a solicitation for the provision of Professional Services to conduct an evaluative exercise for the…