Issue #14 – Jul 22, 2014

New Library Resources

In the last two weeks, 30 new publications were added to our online library of resources on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Demand, Supply and Restraint: Determinants of Domestic Water Conflict and Cooperation

January 1, 2014 | Tobias Böhmelt
Global Environmental Change

This article focuses on one of the most likely empirical manifestations of the “environment-conflict” claim by examining how demand for and supply of water may lead to domestic water conflict.

Land Rights and Mine Action in Myanmar

January 1, 2014
Displacement Solutions

As Myanmar continues on its path of political and economic reforms and its pursuit of ceasefire and peace agreements between the government and ethnic groups, the various peace processes underway to resolve the…

Mineral Resources and Conflicts in DRC: A Case of Ecological Fallacy?

January 1, 2014 | Jean-François Maystadt, Giacomo De Luca, Petros G. Sekeris,John Ulimwengu
Oxford Economic Papers

The paper estimates the impact of geo-located mining concessions on the number of conflict events recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1997 and 2007.

Natural Resources and Insecurity

January 1, 2014 | Mary Kaldor, Iavor Rangelov
The Handbook of Global Security Policy

The Natural Resources and Insecurity chapter argues that evidence that natural resources cause civil war onset is not as robust as is popularly believed, especially when it stems from cross-country studies.

Managing Myanmar's Resource Boom to Lock in Reforms

January 1, 2014 | Cullen S. Hendrix, Marcus Noland
Peterson Institute for International Economics

Myanmar is in the midst of a multifaceted transition, involving political reform, economic reform, and the resolution of multiple long-standing civil conflicts.

A Human Security Perspective on Natural Resource Conflict and Rural Development

January 1, 2014 | Jennifer Bond
University of Copenhagen

Conflicts in relation to natural resources occur throughout the world in a range of contexts, from rural to urban and across a spectrum ranging from non-violent conflicts of interest to outright violence.

Resource Rents, Institutions, and Violent Civil Conflicts

January 1, 2014 | Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawiab, Raimundo Sotoc
Defence and Peace Economics

Natural resources have been blamed for inducing slow growth and sparking civil conflicts and violence.

Reparations, Land and Natural Resources

January 1, 2014 | C. Kruckow, C. Schraml
FriEnt

Loss of land, displacement and eviction, changed land ownership and tenure patterns and general loss of access to a broad range of natural resources may be consequences of wars and violent conflicts.

Territory and War

January 1, 2014 | Monica Duffy Toft
Journal of Peace Research

In the past four decades scholars have produced a large literature on the relationship between territory and war.

Do Natural Resources Matter for Interstate and Intrastate Armed Conflict?

January 1, 2014 | Vally Koubi, Gabriele Spilker, Tobias Böhmelt, Thomas Bernauer
Journal of Peace Research

This article reviews the existing theoretical arguments and empirical findings linking renewable and non-renewable natural resources to the onset, intensity, and duration of intrastate as well as interstate armed conflict.

The Road to the Two Sudans

January 1, 2014 | Souad T. Ali, Stephanie Beswick, Richard Lobban, Jay Spaulding
Cambridge Scholars

One chapter of this volume, by Sam L. Laki, titled “The Role of Oil in the Sudanese Civil War,” explores the impact of the discovery of oil in Sudan.

International News

Myanmar: Meeting About Salween Dams Troubles Shan Communities

April 2, 2014 | Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy

Communities in northern Shan State have grown worried over two large hydropower dams planned on the Salween River and its tributary, after government officials and representatives of a Burmese and Chinese company informed…

China: A Merkel, a Map, a Message to China?

April 1, 2014 | Rachel Lu, Foreign Policy

On March 28, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a dinner where they exchanged gifts.

Myanmar: Rangoon Land Protesters Undeterred by Late-Night Eviction

March 31, 2014 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

RANGOON — Evicted former residents of Thingangyun Township have vowed to continue their sit-in protest in central Rangoon, despite an attempted forced eviction in the early hours Sunday.

Myanmar: Myanmar’s Oil and Gas: Drilling in the Dark

March 29, 2014 | The Economist

Companies will soon find out how much oil and gas there really is offshore.

Myanmar: Loss of Forests Accelerates as Myanmar Opens for Business

March 26, 2014 | Amantha Perera, Thomson Reuters Foundation

YANGON, Myanmar (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – It is still home to some of the most pristine forests in Southeast Asia.

Israel/Gaza: The Next Round in Gaza

March 25, 2014 | International Crisis Group

The ceasefire between Israel and Gaza has eroded during the past several months and recently threatened to come to an abrupt end.

Africa: U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa: Oil and Commandoes

March 24, 2014 | Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov.com

When the U. S. military raided a renegade Libyan tanker on March 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, the mission was successful by all accounts.

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 Daphne Chang and Joel Young
Coordinated by Patrick Woolsey
Design by Graham Campbell
Managed and edited by Carl Bruch and David Jensen