News


Colombia: Forced Displacement in West Colombia up 240% amid Intensified Warfare

Jun 21, 2019 | Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports

The intensification of warfare in western Colombia is particularly aggravating the humanitarian situation in the Choco province where thousands are caught in the crossfire, the…


South Sudan: Centurion to Host Workshop on Domestic Capacity Building in Juba for Oil Sector

Jun 21, 2019 | Devdiscourse

In line with its commitment to support local content development across sub-Saharan Africa, Centurion will be organizing a local content workshop in Juba in the…


Colombia: Colombia to Resume Aerial Spraying of Coca Crops

Jun 21, 2019 | Sophie Foggin, Latin America Reports

On June 8, Colombian Defence Minister Guillermo Botero told Blu Radio that helicopters will resume aerial fumigation of coca crops within 12-16 weeks. President Ivan…


Colombia: How Colombia Is Trying to Prevent Running out of Drinking Water

Jun 21, 2019 | Luke Jacobs, Colombia Reports

A coalition dedicated to protecting the water resources of Colombia formally launched operations in the country on Wednesday. The organization, the Water Coalition of Colombia,…


Women's Land Rights: a Journey to Understand Nuances and Explore Challenges

Jun 20, 2019 | Aditya Chaturvedi

Journeys that compel us to introspect and leave us stunned are not beatific odysseys or intrepid sagas peppered with swashbuckling antics, but there is unvarnished…


Iraq: Exxon's $53 Billion Iraq Deal Hit by Contract Snags, Iran Tensions - Sources

Jun 20, 2019 | Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Just weeks ago, US energy giant ExxonMobil looked poised to move ahead with a $53 billion project to boost Iraq’s oil output at its southern…


Nepal Yet to Take Steps to Ensure Justice for Women Who Suffered Sexual Violence during Conflict

Jun 20, 2019 | Binod Ghimire, Kathmandu Post

Even as Nepal has failed to ensure justice for victims of the decade-long conflict, the country has yet to implement the recommendations of the United…


Serving Refugee Communities with Tech, Energy Access, Entrepreneurship: Mastercard and USAID’s Collective Approach

Jun 19, 2019 | Katrina Pielli and Sasha Kapadia

As we mark World Refugee Day 2019 (June 20) and reflect on the fate of displaced communities all around the world, we are convinced, now…


KP Intersessional Meet Organizes Special Forum on Artisanal Mining

Jun 19, 2019 | Diamond World

The Kimberly Process Intersessional Meet in Mumbai organized a special forum for its delegates on the topic of Artisanal Mining- Small Steps to Larger Outcomes.…


Afghanistan: Government Says to Ban Illegal Mining

Jun 19, 2019 | Afghanistan Times

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says it would ban 'illegal exploitation of mineral resources' to serve national interests. Acting Minister, Narges Nehan, said Wednesday…


Colombia: Colombia Continues to Have Highest Number of Internally Displaced People in the World: UN

Jun 19, 2019 | Luke Jacobs, Colombia Reports

Colombia continues to have the most internally displaced persons in the world, according to the UN. Though Colombia only represents 0.65% of the world’s population,…


Iraq: Rocket Hits Site of Foreign Oil Firms in Iraq's Basra, Three Hurt

Jun 19, 2019 | Al Jazeera

A rocket landed at the headquarters of several global oil companies in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Wednesday, wounding three Iraqi workers and raising…


Iraq: After Years of War and Drought, Iraq's Bumper Crop Is Burning

Jun 19, 2019 | Ahmed Aboulenein and Maha El Dahan, Reuters

Officials in Iraq’s breadbasket province Nineveh warned that if the fires spread to storage sites, a quarter of this year’s bumper harvest could be at…


EnPAx Icon Standing up the Young Professionals Interest Group

Jun 18, 2019

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association is excited to announce the launch of the Young Professionals Interest Group, chaired by Ms. Clare Church and Ms. Lydia Cardona.…


We’ll Never Solve Immigration If We Don’t Solve Climate Change

Jun 18, 2019 | Penny Pritzker

In the recent standoff between the U.S. and Mexico, the Trump administration commingled the issues of trade and immigration. This is the wrong approach, and…


Climate Change Poses Security Risks, According to Decades of Intelligence Reports

Jun 18, 2019 | Dana Nuccitelli

Intelligence analysts have agreed since the late 80s that climate change poses serious security risks. Aseries of authoritative governmental and non-governmental analyses over more than…


We’ll Never Solve Immigration If We Don’t Solve Climate Change

Jun 18, 2019 | Penny Pritzker

In the recent standoff between the U.S. and Mexico, the Trump administration commingled the issues of trade and immigration. This is the wrong approach, and…


Liberia: To Stop Destruction of Liberia’s Rainforest, He Put His Life on the Line

Jun 18, 2019 | Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, Yale Environmental 360

Alfred Brownell had to flee Liberia after challenging the powerful palm oil and other extractive industries that were clearing its forests. But he remains committed…


DRC: DR Congo's Army Moves in to Dislodge Illegal Miners

Jun 18, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Democratic Republic of Congo's army has sent a battalion of troops to oust illegal miners from land worked by a majority-owned Chinese company, the military…


Cambodia: Supreme Court Hears Land Grab Case

Jun 18, 2019 | Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Khmer Times

The Supreme Court yesterday heard the appeal of a former general in the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit who was jailed five years for forging documents…


Water Diplomacy: Creating Spaces for Nile Cooperation

Jun 18, 2019 | Abraham Telar Kuc, Modern Diplomacy

It’s very clear that the long and current regional disputes over the Nile’s waters between the upstream and downstream countries specially Uganda, Ethiopia and other…


Explore Former War Zones and Rebel-Held Territories from Your Living Room: Google Project Shows Users How the Cyprus ‘Buffer Zone’, Abandoned French WWI Villages and Areas of the Colombian Jungle Look Today in Fascinating Detail

Jun 18, 2019 | Ian Randall, Daily Mail

From the fighting lines of World War One to formerly guerrilla-occupied territory in Colombia, a new Google-powered project is immersing viewers in no man's lands…


EnPAx Icon Doug Weir

Research and Policy Director
The Conflict and Environment Observatory
United Kingdom
Jun 18, 2019

Doug Weir is the Research and Policy Director at the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS). His work focuses on research and awareness-raising on the environmental…


Water for Peace and Development

Jun 17, 2019 | Nisar A Memon

Life without water is inconceivable. Humans are born in water and their body contain about 65 percent water. Life on any planet is not viable…


Afghanistan: Helmand Farmers Expand Wheat Growing This Year

Jun 17, 2019 | Pajhwok Afghan News

Agriculture officials say 95,000 hectares of land has been cultivated with wheat crop in southern Helmand province this year, showing a 25 percent increase in…


Liberia: 2 Million Acres of Land for Community Ownership, Control

Jun 17, 2019 | Alvin Worzi, Observer

The Liberia Land Authority (LLA) and three Liberian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have agreed to work with 24 communities in eight of the country’s 15 counties…


Climate Change: Climate Change Intensifies the Future Risk of Armed Conflict

Jun 17, 2019 | Siobhán Dunphy, European Scientist

Does climate change increase the risk of violent armed conflict? A new paper published last week on 12 June in Nature suggests intensified global warming…


Conflict Minerals: Are Crystals the New Blood Diamonds?

Jun 16, 2019 | Eva Wiseman, Guardian

Crystallisation is a transition from chaos to perfection; the evolution of the crystal industry has been less simple. Millions of years ago liquid rock inside…


Myanmar: Regreening a Barren Rohingya Refugee Camp on Myanmar’s Border

Jun 16, 2019 | Kaamil Ahmed, Mongabay

When Mongabay visited after the 2017 influx, evidence of the active deforestation was everywhere. Where the refugees were not clearing space for the still-expanding camp,…


Afghanistan: Distribution of Saffron Bulbs Kick off in Northern Balkh Province

Jun 16, 2019 | Khaama Press

The distribution process of Saffron bulbs among local farmers kicked off in Balkh province of Afghanistan on Saturday. The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock…