Issue #74 – Nov 8, 2016

Announcements

Scarred Lands & Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War

October 31, 2016 | The Video Project

The award winning documentary Scarred Lands & Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War and five companion shorts are now available at no charge. Visit www.

Events

For more upcoming events on environmental peacebuilding, please visit our online calendar of events.

Training Course on Gender Integration in Food and Nutrition Security

December 5, 2016 - 2016-12-09 Indepth Research Centre
Nairobi, Kenya

Women in developing countries play a crucial role in meeting the food and nutrition needs of their families through the three pillars of food security which are; food production, economic access to food,…

Training Course on Shelter & Settlement Planning

December 5, 2016 - 2016-12-09 Indepth Research Centre
Nairobi, Kenya

Shelter & settlement planning in emergencies helps you understand strategies and practices that are intrinsic to the shelter sector and humanitarian sector in general.

Planetary Security Conference 2016

December 5, 2016 - 2016-12-06 Planet Security Initiative & Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
The Hague, Netherlands

The Planetary Security Initiative is glad to announce the (tentative) dates for the second edition of the Planetary Security conference: 5 and 6 December, 2016.

Water Security and Sustainable Development for our Common Future

November 22, 2016 - 2016-11-23 EcoPeace Middle East
Dead Sea, Jordan

The conference will uniquely bring together high level national decision makers from Jordan, Israel and Palestine, residents and mayors from cross-border communities, international stakeholders and media.

Webinar: Land Tenure in Kosovo

November 9, 2016 USAID and LandLinks
Online

Join USAID to learn more about land tenure and property rights country by country, starting with Kosovo.

Library

In the last two weeks, 11 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

A Criminal State: Understanding and Countering Institutionalized Corruption and Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

January 1, 2016 | Sasha Lezhnev
Enough Project

The Democratic Republic of Congo is not a failed state—for everyone. It is a failure for the vast majority of Congolese who suffer from abysmal security, health care, and education services.

Oil Fires in Iraq

January 1, 2016 | Joshua Stevens and Pola Lem
NASA Earth Observatory

For the past few months, a smoke plume has shifted with the winds over northern Iraq. In recent years, periodic oil fires have cast a dark pall over this arid landscape.

High-Value Natural Resources and Transparency: Accounting for Revenues and Governance

January 1, 2016 | Levon Epremian, Päivi Lujala, and Carl Bruch
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics

The increase in demand and prices of most high-value natural resources over the past five decades has resulted in massive income gains for resource-abundant countries.

Achieving Sustainable Development in Rural Areas in Colombia: Future Scenarios for Biodiversity Conservation under Land Use Change

January 1, 2016 | Valeria Borona, Esteban Payánb, Douglas MacMillana, and Joseph Tzanopoulos
Land Use Policy

Agricultural expansion is a complex land use change phenomenon with deep environmental and socio-economic consequences, especially across tropical countries where most of this expansion is occurring.

The Conflict Minerals Effect Video Series Part III: Impact on Creation & Our Partners [Video]

January 1, 2016 | David Smart
Creation Technology

The third and final installment of the first Conflict Minerals Effect video series discussed the direct impact – cost, resources, and opportunities – that the Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals legislation has on the company…

The Conflict Minerals Effect Video Series Part II: Industry Challenges [Video]

January 1, 2016 | David Smart
Creation Technology

This second installment of video series on conflict minerals discusses industry challenges and the effectiveness of the Dodd Frank legislation.

The Conflict Minerals Effect Video Series Part I: The Conflict Minerals Effect [Video]

January 1, 2016 | David Smart
Creation Technology

Supply chain awareness is critical for OEMs. Especially when the raw materials used to make their electronic products might have ties to terrorist groups and human rights abuses in Central Africa.

Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

January 1, 2016 | Hafsa Munia, Joseph Guillaume, Naho Mirumachi, Miina Porkka, Yoshihide Wada, and Matti Kummu
Environmental Research Letters

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins.

Transboundary Water Interaction III: Contest and Compliance

January 1, 2016 | Mark Zeitoun, Ana Elisa Cascão, Jeroen Warner, Naho Mirumachi, Nathanial Matthews, Filippo Menga, and Rebecca Farnum
Springer

This paper serves international water conflict resolution efforts by examining the ways that states contest hegemonic transboundary water arrangements.

Gidon Bromberg on Environmental Peacebuilding in the Lower Jordan Valley [Audio]

January 1, 2014 | Gidon Bromberg
Environmental Change and Security Program and Maternal Health Initiative

“When you turn on the tap in any community in Israel, water will always flow.

Jobs

11 jobs were posted in the last two weeks. Here is a sampling of the new additions. Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

Sierra Leone: International Consultant Technical Advisor

November 7, 2016 | UNDP

The UNDP Sierra Leone Country Office through its Energy, Environment & Natural Resource Management (EENRM) Cluster works together with including Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the private sector, NGOs, and local communities to…

Emergency Programme Manager – Engineering WASH, Surge Team

November 6, 2016 | Concern Worldwide

Description of role:

Concern Worldwide, as part of its emergency and development activities, engages in various WASH projects.

Jordan: Syria Livelihoods Advisor

November 6, 2016 | CARE USA

CARE is seeking a qualified livelihoods expert to support CARE’s growing portfolio of livelihoods activities across Syria.

Iraq: WASH Manager, Northern Iraq

November 6, 2016 | Norwegian Church Aid

For its 2014 established office in Dohuk, NCA is recruiting a WASH Manager for North Iraq.

Iraq: Regional WASH Technical Expert

November 6, 2016 | Norwegian Church Aid

For its newly re-opened and officially registered office in Amman, Jordan, NCA is recruiting an experienced Regional WASH engineer to support the expansion and quality assurance of its programs in Lebanon, North Iraq,…

International News

In the last two weeks, 37 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Afghanistan: Afghanistan Renews Push for Wheat Crops Amid Ongoing Anti-Poppy Drive

July 22, 2016 | Latin American Herald Tribune

In renewed efforts to wean farmers off growing poppies, the Afghan government has over the past decade pushed for agriculturalists to grow wheat, of which this year's harvest amounted to some 4.

Climate Change: Kerry: Climate Change as Dangerous as Terrorism

July 22, 2016 | Matthew Lee, Associated Press

U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that climate change is as dangerous as, if not more, than the threats posed by the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Conflict Minerals: U.S. Companies Providing More Details in Latest Conflict Minerals Filings with SEC, but Supply Chain Transparency Challenges Remain

July 20, 2016 | Source Intelligence

More U. S.

Liberia: Failure to Pass Land Law Could Plunge Liberia Back into Conflict: Activists

July 14, 2016 | Reuters

Liberia's failure to pass a long-awaited law recognizing the rights of rural communities to their ancestral lands could plunge the West African nation back into civil war, a coalition of civil society groups…

Myanmar: Gems and Food Products Added to National Export Strategy

July 14, 2016 | Chan Mya Htwe, Myanmar Times

The Ministry of Commerce has added gems and value-added food products to its National Export Strategy in the hope of creating thousands of new jobs.

Conflict Minerals: Bill Passed in House Would Defund Conflict Minerals Rule

July 13, 2016 | Kelly Franklin, Chemical Watch

The US House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill, containing an amendment that would defund enforcement of the nation’s conflict minerals reporting rule.

Myanmar: Myanmar Cracks Down on Dams

July 13, 2016 | Prashanth Parameswaran, The Diplomat

No new irrigation dams will be built in Myanmar under the current government and spending on existing facilities will be halved given their questionable benefits for national development, a deputy minister reportedly said…

DRC: DRC Declares First New National Park in 40 Years

July 12, 2016 | Morgan Erickson-Davis, Mongabay

Late last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government announced the creation of the country’s first new national park in more than four decades.

South Sudan: South Sudan Oil Revenue Drops amid Renewed Conflict

July 12, 2016 | Oil Review Africa

South Sudan oil revenues have dropped by 75 per cent in June to US$60 million a month and the International Monetary Fund has warned of economic ruin for Africa's newest country.

DRC: Gorillas Are Being Killed and Eaten by Miners in the Congo

July 12, 2016 | James Temperton, Wired

An endangered gorilla subspecies is being pushed towards extinction as mineral miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hunt it for bushmeat.

Afghanistan: An Unlikely Fight to Protect Nature in War-Torn Afghanistan

July 12, 2016 | Jenny Peng and Tamsin Walker, Deutsche Welle

War doesn't only destroy human lives, but also land and ecologies - and therefore livelihoods. Afghanistan is a case in point.

China/South China Sea: In a Chinese Port Town, South China Sea Dispute is Personal

July 11, 2016 | Anthony Kuhn, NPR

The atmosphere in Tanmen has become more tense since an international tribunal in the Hague announced that it would release a ruling on July 12 in a lawsuit brought by the Philippines, challenging…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 11 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. Following is a sampling:

Can Myanmar’s Hydropower Study Truly Be for the People?

November 7, 2016 | Pianporn Deetes

The deadly conflict is taking place around the construction site of the Hat Gyi hydropower dam on the Salween River.

Impact of Conflict Minerals Ruling Begins to be Seen

November 2, 2016 | Celia Taylor

Perhaps the most important result of the long and tortured legal proceedings in Nat'l Ass'n of Mfrs. v.

Rising Water Wars between Indian States

October 30, 2016 | Dr. Yogesh Sharma

India has been facing friction over the sharing of river waters. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been fighting like two warring nations over sharing of Cauvery River water.

Water Wars: Sifting through the Tea Leaves in the South China Sea

October 28, 2016 | Chris Mirasola

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing last week precipitated a busy news week as commentators and government officials tried to discern how closer Philippine-Chinese cooperation would affect US-Philippine ties and regional security.

ICC Expands Remit to Environmental Crimes: Is This What the People of Cambodia Have Been Waiting for?

October 28, 2016 | Hannah Gerber

Cambodia’s land reforms in 2001 have led to over 10 years of violent and coercive land grabs, damaging the livelihoods of nearly 10,000 Cambodian citizens.

EU Regulation on Conflict Minerals Has Low Potential to Trigger Dynamic Changes in Supply Chains

October 27, 2016 | Chiara Macchi

The first version of the EU draft Regulation on conflict minerals came as a disappointment to the many civil society actors.

How to Make Peace with the Forest: Development and War in Colombia

October 26, 2016 | Hannah Meszaros Martin

On September 26, the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP was signed with a pen made from a bullet, while the Air Force “fumigated” the colours of the Colombian flag…

Sharing and Posting Materials

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About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practice on natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing natural resources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helps people to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participate in events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, we bring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our program as well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings.

Please visit us at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org for more information.

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