Issue #107 – Feb 13, 2018

Announcements

Help Us Get 1000 More Participants for the MOOC!

February 13, 2018

The MOOC on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace starts in two weeks! Enrollment numbers are steadily climbing, but we would like to get 1000 more participants by March 1st.

Now Available Online: The 5th Al-Moumin Award and Lecture with Ken Conca and Geoff Dabelko

February 12, 2018

The 5th Al-Moumin Award and Lecture was hosted by American University's School of International Service, the Environmental Law Institute, and UN Environment on January 30.

Balkans: Environmental Peacebuilding and Sustainability

February 10, 2018

Ohio University is seeking applications for the Balkans: Environmental Peacebuilding and Sustainability program.

Call for Applications: Rotary Peace Fellowship

February 7, 2018

The Rotary Foundation is now accepting applications for the fully-funded 2019 Rotary Peace Fellowship.

Events

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

‘The Nature of Peace’: Exploring Links Between the Natural Environment and Peace-Building in Post-Conflict Societies

April 26, 2018 - 2018-04-27 Lund University
Lund, Sweden

This conference is organized by the interdisciplinary research group ‘The Nature of Peace’ at the Pufendorf Institute of Advance Studies at Lund University, Sweden.

International Tin Conference 2018

April 23, 2018 - 2018-04-25 International Tin Association Ltd (formerly ITRI)
Budapest, Hungary

The biennial International Tin Conference has grown over the years to become the unmissable highlight of the tin calendar, regularly drawing over 250 delegates from across the industry.

Library

In the last two weeks, 33 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Does Environmental Peacemaking between States Work? Insights on Cooperative Environmental Agreements and Reconciliation in International Rivalries

January 1, 2018 | Tobias Ide
SAGE

The literature on environmental peacemaking argues that cooperation in the face of shared environmental challenges can facilitate further cooperation, trust building, and eventually peace between states in conflict.

Returning to Fragility: Exploring the Link between Conflict and Returnees in Afghanistan

January 1, 2018
Oxfam

Huge numbers of people are returning to Afghanistan - more than two million since 2015 - while the country is still highly fragile, with ongoing fighting and internal displacement in many areas and…

Motivations Unearthed: Re-Contextualizing the War in Afghanistan

January 1, 2018 | Derrek Chung
Georgetown Public Policy Review

The terror attacks on September 11, 2001, fundamentally reshaped our nation. The American psyche was left bruised and battered, leading United States foreign policy to take a decisive turn.

Housing, Land, and Property Rights and Peace Agreements: Guidance for the Myanmar Peace Process

January 1, 2018
Norwegian Refugee Council

Housing, land and property rights are fundamental human rights, an essential component of peace processes and a global advocacy priority for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Environmental Peacebuilding

January 1, 2018 | Lesley Evans Ogden
BioScience

As the River Jordan meanders between Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, disease-causing microbes that thrive in water contaminated with sewage pass over geopolitical lines without passports or border checks.

Israeli Water Diplomacy and National Security Concerns

January 1, 2018 | Oded Eran, Gidon Bromberg, and Giulia Giordano
EcoPeace Middle East and INSS

This paper reflects on the concepts of water security and water diplomacy, describes the state of water security in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, and presents a set of recommendations to decision…

Sampling Bias in Climate–Conflict Research

January 1, 2018 | Courtland Adams, Tobias Ide, Jon Barnett, and Adrien Detges
Nature Climate Change

Critics have argued that the evidence of an association between climate change and conflict is flawed because the research relies on a dependent variable sampling strategy.

Sustainability, Stability, Security - Why It Is Vital for Global Security and Stability to Tackle Climate Change and Invest in Sustainability

January 1, 2017 | Antoine Meunier
World Wildlife Fund

The present report, — “Sustainability, Stability, Security” — is an analysis of concrete situations based on existing sources.

Action on Climate and Security Risks - Review of Progress 2017

January 1, 2017 | Janani Vivekananda
Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, adelphi, SIPRI, and Center for Climate and Security

The report comes after a year of ongoing and worsening political conflict and humanitarian crises. At the same time, the impacts of climate change have hit home.

Facing an Unpredictable Threat: Is NATO Ideally Placed to Manage Climate Change as a Non-Traditional Threat Multiplier?

January 1, 2017 | Amar Causevic
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes

This paper examines NATO’s perception of climate change as a non-traditional threat multiplier. For well over a decade, European as well as Pentagon and other U. S.

Environmental Assessment and Recovery Priorities for Eastern Ukraine

January 1, 2017 | Nickolai Denisov and Dmytro Averin
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has resulted in a regrettable range of harm to the region’s lands and terrain, its surface and subterranean water systems, and its vegetation and wildlife.

Water as an Asset for Peace: Atlas of Risks and Opportunities

January 1, 2017
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Over the past decade, discussions about water have not only featured more prominently in the media and political circles; water has also increasingly become associated with words like stress, crisis, conflict and even…

Water Security in Transboundary Systems: Cooperation in Intractable Conflicts and the Nile System

January 1, 2017 | Jenny R. Kehl
Anthem Press

Transboundary water- governance systems are emerging to negotiate watersharing policies to promote security, stability and sustainability.

Jobs

Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

Nigeria: Regional DDG WAM Project Manager (Mine Action)

February 12, 2018 | Danish Refugee Council

Danish Demining Group (DDG) is looking for a dynamic, bilingual (French and English) Project Manager to implement and expand DDG’s programming portfolio in the West Africa region.

Jordan: Field Coordinator Irbid

February 12, 2018 | Action Contre la Faim

Action Against Hunger is a global humanitarian organization which originated in France and is committed to ending world hunger.

Cameroon: Consultancy for Conflict Sensitive Analysis

February 6, 2018 | Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a Danish international non-governmental organisation, which promotes and supports durable solutions to the problems faced by refugees and internally displaced people all over the world.

Somalia: Food Security and Livelihood Program Manager

February 6, 2018 | Action Against Hunger

Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) has been conducting humanitarian programs in Somalia Since May 1992.

Jordan: MEAL Officer

February 6, 2018 | Syria Relief & Development

SRD is an international non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working to provide humanitarian relief in Syria and in Jordan.

Afghanistan: Field Coordinator

February 6, 2018 | Solidarités International

SI has been working in Afghanistan for 37 years.

Senegal: Monitoring and Evaluation Director

February 6, 2018 | Winrock International

Winrock International is a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity, and sustain natural resources.

International News

In the last two weeks, 36 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Protect Environment from Wars and Conflicts, UN Urges on International Day

November 6, 2017 | UN

Commemorating the international day for lessening the impact of armed conflicts and wars on the environment, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the need to recognize that environment is also a victim of…

Afghanistan: Afghan National Saffron Conference Held in Kabul

November 6, 2017 | Zhou Xin, Xinhua

A national saffron conference was held in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday, aiming at creating jobs, particularly for the women, in the poverty-stricken country.

Sudan: West Kordofan Herders Refuse to Hand in Their Weapons

November 6, 2017 | Radio Dabanga

West Kordofan nomad herders are refusing to hand their weapons to the authorities in the current disarmament campaign.

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq's Oil Export Talks with Turkey Vexed by $4-Billion Kurd Debt

November 3, 2017 | Kadhim Ajrash, World Oil

Baghdad’s talks with Turkey about ramping up oil exports from northern Iraq, including the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, is complicated by a $4 billion debt that the Kurds owe to Turkey, according to Iraq’s…

Colombia: Colombia's Land Battles Shatter the Peace in Cauca Valley – in Pictures [Photos]

November 1, 2017 | Guardian

As the peace deal opens up new areas to extractive industries, a long-running fight for land and the environment has erupted anew as indigenous communities try to reclaim their territory

Myanmar: Photo Essay: Along Myanmar’s Charcoal Highway [Photos]

November 1, 2017 | Nathan Siegel, Mongabay

Charcoal and firewood are the most common fuel sources in Myanmar – indeed, in much of the developing world.

Syria: Assad Sets Sights on Kurdish Areas, Risking New Syria Conflict

October 31, 2017 | Tom Perry, Ellen Francis, and Laila Bassam, Reuters

With Islamic State near defeat in Syria, Damascus is setting its sights on territory held by Kurdish-led forces including eastern oil fields, risking a new confrontation that could draw the United States in…

Afghanistan: Afghanistan Woos Farmers with Saffron to Sap Poppy Production [Photos]

October 31, 2017 | Hindustan Times

The Afghan government and international aid agencies have been trying to wean farmers from the lucrative poppy cultivation and transition instead to saffron for a number of years.

Iraq/Kurdistan: Kurdish Leader Barzani Resigns after Independence Vote Backfires

October 29, 2017 | Raya Jalabi and Maher Chmaytelli, Reuters

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said he would give up his position as president on Nov. 1, after an independence referendum he championed backfired and triggered a regional crisis.

Afghanistan: Govt to Build Two More Dams on Harirod River

October 28, 2017 | Zarmina Mohammadi, TOLOnews

The Ministry of Energy and Water is working on the procurement process for two dam projects which will be built on the Harirod River in Herat province – in the west of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: Illegal Mining of Faryab Stucco Continues

October 28, 2017 | Qutbuddin Kohi, Pajhwok Afghan News

Illegal extraction of stucco deposits in Sherin Tagab district of northern Fayab province has been underway for the past two years involving powerful individuals and militants.

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 4 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our platform. Here is a sampling:

Compromise Is Key to Kurdistan Oil Recovery

February 7, 2018 | Alan Mohtadi

Relations between the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) and the central government of Iraq have been at an all-time low since the KRG’s independence referendum in September 2017.

Congo - DRC: Highlight of the New Mining Code and PPP Reform to Be Promulgated Shortly

February 5, 2018 | Julien Barba and Eric Diamantis

Two major reforms relating to the new Mining Code and Public Private Partnerships have been voted and will be promulgated and applicable shortly in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Climate Change and the UN Security Council: Bully Pulpit or Bull in a China Shop?

February 2, 2018 | Janani Vivekananda and Winter Wilson

Last month, the UN Security Council hosted another meeting on climate change.

Sharing and Posting Materials

The strength of the knowledge platform depends on submissions and suggestions on contents from users. To share publications and information on events, job opportunities, and other announcements, please contact share@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. Please also feel free to share ideas on how the platform can be further improved to meet your needs.

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.

Compiled by Sonia Ahmad, Kelly Bridges, Trevor Dolan, Liz Foster, Nina Hamilton, Liz Hessami, Jiameizi Jia, Jessica Lis, Sarita Ruiz Morato, Íris Moriyama, and Erin Wenk
Edited by Joel Young
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