Environmental Peacebuilding Association
 
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Issue #52 – Jan 5, 2016

 

Announcements

EnPAx Icon Environmental Peacebuilding: 2015 in Review

January 5, 2016 | ELI and UNEP

The field of environmental peacebuilding continued to grow quickly in 2015. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the Environmental Peacebuilding partnership and from the broader field.

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NR&E Fall 2016 Call for Article Proposals (Water Conflict)

January 4, 2016 | ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ magazine Natural Resources & Environment

The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources’ magazine Natural Resources & Environment will devote its Fall 2016 issue to articles on Water Conflicts.

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Events

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

Meeting on Environmental Impacts of Syria Conflict

January 25, 2016 Emergency Preparedness and Environment Section (Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit)
Geneva, Switzerland

The Joint United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/OCHA Environment Unit (JEU), housed within OCHA’s Emergency Services Branch, helps Member States to prepare for and respond to environmental emergencies.

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Climate Change, Disasters, and Security: Unconventional Approaches to Building Stability

January 14, 2016 Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars Environmental Change and Security Program
Washington, D.C.

Natural disasters are expected to increase in both number and severity as a result of climate change. Many places lack the resources and institutional capacity for disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

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Environment, Peace, and Security Certification - Information Session

January 6, 2016 Columbia University
Online

Evidence is accumulating that linkages between environment and security dynamics are more important than previously thought.

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Library

In the last two weeks, 21 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

The Effectiveness of Treaty Design in Addressing Water Disputes

January 1, 2015 | Sara McLaughlin Mitchell and Neda A. Zawahari
Journal of Peace Research

We examine the design features of treaties governing international rivers and empirically test their effectiveness in managing water disputes.

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From Scarcity to Security, Water as a Potential Factor for Conflict and Cooperation in Southern Africa

January 1, 2015 | Wanjiku Kaniaru
South African Journal of International Affairs

Water scarcity has emerged as a compelling non-military security issue that justifies an expanded human security agenda.

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Conflict and Cooperation over Water - The Role of the EU in Ensuring the Realisation of Human Rights

January 1, 2015 | Inga Winkler
European Parliament, Directorate General for External Policies

The human right to water has been firmly established and its implications for policy-making have been discussed in many fields. Thus far, this has hardly been the case for conflicts over water.

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The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age

January 1, 2015 | David S. Abraham
Yale University Press

Our future hinges on a set of elements that few of us have even heard of. In this surprising and revealing book, David S.

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Warriors and Weather: Climate Change and National Security in America [Video]

January 1, 2015
Economist

The Economist recently produced a short video, Warriors and weather: Climate change and national security in America. It’s a good overview of some of the issues the U. S.

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The Prize: Fighting for Libya’s Energy Wealth

January 1, 2015 | Claudia Gazzin
Crisis Group

Libya’s economic conditions could turn sharply for the worse, as rival authorities vie to control rapidly shrinking national wealth.

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¿Y Cómo se Repara al Medio Ambiente?

January 1, 2015 | Juan David Ortiz Franco
Pacifista

La mancha de petróleo llegó al Pacífico. Las barreras que pusieron los expertos de las compañías petroleras para evitarlo no fueron suficientes.

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Regional Challenges to Land Restitution and Peace in Colombia: The Case of the Lower Atrato

January 1, 2015 | Jairo Baquero Melo
Journal of Peacebuilding & Development

Government policies and practices of land restitution may impede Colombia's peace process. Given the rural origin of the contemporary Colombian armed conflict, peacebuilding and land restitution policies are linked.

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Evaluation of Environmental Peacemaking Intervention Strategies in Jordan-Palestine-Israel

January 1, 2015 | Marina Djernaes, Teis Jorgensen, and Elizabeth Koch-Ya'ari
Journal of Peacebuilding & Development

Working in an ever-changing political context presents a set of unique challenges to sustainable peacemaking, and requires the continuous adaptation of approaches.

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Jobs

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

International: Researchers for Resource Governance

January 4, 2016 | Natural Resource Governance Institute

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) helps people to realize the benefits of their countries’ endowments of oil, gas and minerals.

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U.K.: Campaigner

December 24, 2015 | Land and Environmental Defenders

Global Witness’ Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign aim is for ‘defenders’(including communities, activists, lawyers, journalists, civil society organisations and indigenous people) working on environmental and land rights to be able to carry out…

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Egypt: Programme Policy Officer (Resilience Building Livelihoods) P4

December 23, 2015 | UN World Food Programme

The Cairo Regional Bureau (RBC) is supporting local and national recovery, rehabilitation, “resilience building” and livelihoods protection strategies and efforts.

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International News

In the last two weeks, 19 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Afghanistan: Report: $1B Wasted in Afghan Refugee Crisis

September 3, 2015 | Paul D. Shinkman, US News & World Report

Almost $1 billion in support from the U. S.

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Israel/Palestine: Gaza Could Soon Become Uninhabitable, UN Report Predicts

September 2, 2015 | Peter Beaumont, Guardian

A hard-hitting new United Nations report says Gaza could become uninhabitable in less than five years if current economic and population trends continue.

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Liberia: Liberian Lawmaker Wants Audits - Falls Short in Equity

September 1, 2015 | Henry Karmo, FrontPageAfrica

Representative Bhofal Chambers (CDC-District #2 Maryland County) has written the House of Representatives requesting the august body to ensure the audit of several Ministries and agencies, but fell short to include the National…

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Iraq/Kurdistan: Controversy Continues over How to Cut up Kirkuk

August 31, 2015 | Saad Salloum, Al-Monitor

While the Kurds think of the oil-rich province of Kirkuk as the “Jerusalem of Kurdistan,” since the adoption of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution, the Turkmens have been calling for a special status that preserves the city’s ethnic…

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Middle East: Water Wars? Devastating Shortages Will Fuel MidEast Conflicts for 25 yrs – Report

August 28, 2015 | RT

In a worrying global trend, the Middle East is set for a record water shortage to strike over the next 25 years.

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Iraq: Oil Prices Compound Iraq’s Stability Concerns

August 27, 2015 | Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com

Iraq has managed to ratchet up oil production to record highs, against what would seem to be insurmountable obstacles.

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Sierra Leone: The Ebola Crisis Is Over, but Tiffany Is Still Paying for It

August 27, 2015 | Kyle Stock, Bloomberg

The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is hitting Tiffany & Co. 's bottom line.

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DRC: Portland Goes Conflict-Free

August 26, 2015 | Enough Project

Activists and policymakers are celebrating the Portland City Council’s vote today to enact a policy to ensure that cellular devices and other key communication equipment purchased by the city are not connected to killing, child abductions, or sexual violence in the…

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Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 5 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website.

Donald Trump’s First Campaign Ad Promises Blood for Oil

January 4, 2016 | Jeet Heer

The long-awaited ad contains a curious line: “He’ll quickly cut the head off of ISIS and take their oil.

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The Business of War

January 3, 2016 | Asad Zaman

As plans for war against Syria heat up, new myths are being manufactured to support it.

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U.S. Policy Shifts from Détente to Deterrence in the South China Sea

December 28, 2015 | Andrew Lam

In geopolitics, when détente fails, it's time for deterrence, and nowhere more so than in the South China Sea.

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Liberia’s Economic Diversification Bill: It’s Better, but Seems Too Late

December 27, 2015 | Samuel Goteh

In the past centuries, Liberia’s model for economic development has been predominantly natural resource-driven and revenues generation for government’s operations have mainly come from the sales or trading of rubber, iron ore, timber…

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The Rare Metal Age

December 23, 2015 | Greg Klein

Read this book and you might want to renounce technology to live in a cave—provided it’s equipped with battery rechargers. Author David S.

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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 Gretchen Ellison, Natalia Jiménez Galindo, Liz Hessami, Janina Laurent, Jeremy Walker, and Ben Zukowski
Edited by Joel Young
Coordinated by Michael Lerner
Design by Graham Campbell
Managed and edited by Carl Bruch and David Jensen

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