Blogs & Opinions

South Sudan: Fifteen Years of Independence, US$70 Billion in Oil Wealth – and GDP Per Capita Cut by Two-Thirds

Jun 25, 2026 | Liam Brown

For years, warning signs have accumulated over the management of South Sudan’s oil revenues. Resources that should have sustained a population enduring one of the…

Between Dependency and Diversification: Agrarian Reform in Colombia and the Shift in International Cooperation

Jun 25, 2026 | Carlos Quesada and José Ignacio de la Torre

As US cooperation is drastically reduced, Colombia is opening its doors to China’s market and investment to support agrarian reform. However, the Asian model—focused on…

Q&A: Penny Beames on the Global Water Security Center’s Analysis of the ‘Super’ El Niño

Jun 24, 2026 | Anwen Williams

The Global Water Security Center (GWSC) works at the intersection of cutting-edge research, critical data, and global climate security policy. A public service center located at The University of Alabama, they work to…

Behind the Extraction: Why a Just Energy Transition Must Include Kachin State, Myanmar

Jun 24, 2026 | Zung Ting

Rare earth elements and other critical minerals have become indispensable to modern life. They power electric vehicles, wind turbines, advanced electronics, robotics, medical devices, semiconductors,…

Conflict in the Middle East Has ‘Profound Implications’ for Global Food Security

Jun 23, 2026 | Ruth Green

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran has had ‘profound implications’ for food security, particularly…

Water Compliance Is Regional Security

Jun 23, 2026 | Amina Jabbar

The debate around the Indus Waters Treaty is often made to look like a straight legal argument between India and Pakistan. But that feels too…

Environmental Conditions in South Sudan’s Oil-Producing Areas after the 2028 Expiry of Production-Sharing Agreements

Jun 22, 2026 | Giel Thuok Yoach Thidor

Following independence in 2011, the Government of South Sudan assumed the existing Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) originally established by the Sudanese government with…

Nationwide Reforestation Movement in Afghanistan [Video]

Jun 19, 2026 | WION

Decades of war, timber smuggling, and large-scale deforestation have stripped Afghanistan of much of its once extensive forest cover. Now, a burgeoning reforestation movement is…

What’s at Stake for the Environment in Colombia’s Upcoming Election?

Jun 19, 2026 | Aimee Gabay

Colombia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and has a legally binding net-zero target for 2050. Analysts at the Organization…

Sovereignty without Control: Sudan, Gold and the Limits of International Law

Jun 19, 2026 | Maria Pietroluongo

Sudan’s contemporary gold economy has become one of the most significant sites of violence, coercion, and resource extraction in the region. Since the early 2010s,…

South Sudan’s Oil Lifeline is Back, but the Bigger Questions Remain

Jun 19, 2026 | Eye Radio

As exports resume after months of disruption, concerns persist over economic diversification, transparency, and the country’s continued dependence on a single oil route.

Quantifying Climate Risk and Ocean Vulnerability

Jun 17, 2026 | 11th Our Ocean Conference Secretariat

Coastal cities dependent on both inland resources and marine environments face a uniquely complex vulnerability to climate change. Rising seas, intensifying storms, and shifting ecosystems…

How War in the Gulf Is Fueling Hunger Worldwide

Jun 17, 2026 | Sachin Yadav

Energy and food systems are not separate pipelines, they are one. Fuel powers tractors, irrigation pumps, and cold-storage facilities. Natural gas is the primary feedstock…

Liberia: Liberia’s Untapped Potential: What the New Agriculture Census and Survey Reveal

Jun 16, 2026 | Mohammad Abul Azad, Rose Mungai, and Masako Hiraga

Liberia’s new Agriculture Census 2022/23 and the 2024 Annual Agriculture Survey provide the most comprehensive picture of country’s agricultural sector in more than fifty years.…

Colombia’s Land Reform Is at Stake

Jun 16, 2026 | Piotr Wojciak Pleyn

A far-right victory in upcoming elections could reverse hard-fought gains for victims of the armed conflict, including survivors of one of Colombia’s most notorious paramilitary…

Breaking Afghanistan’s Hydro-Political Trap

Jun 15, 2026 | Assem Mayar

Situated at the headwaters of major river systems feeding Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan is the mountainous hydro-hub of Central and South Asia. Yet…

Meet the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners

Jun 15, 2026 | Goldman Prize

Each year, the Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded to grassroots environmental champions from around the world.

Geography of Wealth Ties Sudan’s Feuding Factions Together

Jun 13, 2026 | Hafed Al-Ghwell

Decades after South Sudan voted overwhelmingly to break Africa’s largest country in two, a new seam is being stitched into Sudan’s political fabric. In diplomatic…

South Asia and the Future of Water Security

Jun 7, 2026 | Asad Ali

Water has long been the lifeline of South Asia, sustaining agriculture, energy production, and the livelihoods of millions. In a region where shared rivers cross…

South Asia's New Water Conflict Is over Data, Not Dams

Jun 6, 2026 | Saima Afzal

Today the challenge facing the treaty extends beyond water allocation itself. It concerns transparency, compliance and the growing strategic value of information in shared river…

UNCLOS Conciliation: Cambodia’s Path to Peace, Not Conflict

Jun 6, 2026 | Roth Santepheap

Cambodia’s decision to pursue compulsory conciliation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is not a move toward confrontation. It is a…

Water Wars Washing away South Asia’s Fragile Peace

Jun 5, 2026 | Jannatul Naym Pieal

Six decades of water cooperation are giving way to surging water nationalism — a shift that is fast weaponizing the region’s rivers.

Environmental Security Means National Security. It Cannot Be Secured through Treaties Alone

Jun 4, 2026 | Aisha Khan

On every World Environment Day (June 5), nations pause to acknowledge a crisis that has been in the making for over half a century. For…

Disaster Risk Reduction during Armed Conflicts

Jun 4, 2026 | Rebekah Harries

Countries enduring conflict are hit harder and suffer more deaths when disasters such as storms and earthquakes strike. Rebekah Harries asks whether disaster risk reduction…

The Geopolitics of Geo-Engineering: Weather Warfare vs. Climate Security

Jun 3, 2026 | Nayef Al-Rodhan

What happens when the climate itself becomes a theatre of geopolitical competition? As climate instability deepens and rivalry between major powers intensifies, environmental systems are…

Do Minefields Protect Wildlife? It’s Complicated.

Jun 3, 2026 | Franciany Braga-Pereira

By excluding people minefields can reduce pressure from human activities like hunting or development. With governments obliged to clear mines and explosive remnants of war,…

Geopark and Biosphere Programs Provide a Path for Peace in Hormuz

Jun 3, 2026 | Saleem H. Ali

The current conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States has unexpectedly become anchored in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, and most notably around the Straits of…

From Conflict to Coexistence: Climate, Peace, and Pakistan’s Diplomatic Role

Jun 1, 2026 | Shuja Ahmad

By integrating climate responsibility into its diplomacy, Pakistan can promote peace, strengthen its global standing, and advocate for environmental justice in an increasingly conflict-ridden world.

Syria: The Ancient Flower That Survived Syria’s Wars Faces a New Threat

May 31, 2026 | Emily Garthwaite
Atmos

The Damascus rose has survived empire, crusade, and civil war. Now it faces a heating planet, and the question of who gets to claim it.

Failed Governance: The Social And Environmental Costs of Mining in Myanmar

May 29, 2026 | Hsu Latt Phyu

Mining activities often fail to comply with laws and Environmental Impact Assessment procedures, leading to land loss, water scarcity, and severe pollution that directly affect local communities.…