Blogs & Opinions
Ukraine Minerals Deal: The Idea That Natural Resource Extraction Can Build Peace Has Been around for Decades
May 1, 2025
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Bridget Storrie
Ukraine has finally signed its minerals agreement with the US. The deal states that Washington will eventually receive a share of the profits from the…
What to Know about the Signed US-Ukraine Minerals Deal
May 1, 2025
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Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz
On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the United States and Ukraine signed a long-awaited deal to establish a joint investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine.…
The Rare-Earth Reckoning: What the US-Ukraine Mineral Deal Means for the World
Apr 30, 2025
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Ella Chepak
The US mineral deal with Ukraine was first mentioned earlier last year by the Ukrainian president Zelensky. The deal was a way for the US…
Water a Dimension of Threat to Wars
Apr 30, 2025
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Patial RC
Water conflicts may soon become the main source of discord between nations replacing the ongoing boundary disputes and discords. Brigadier Pervez Musharraf (former Pak Army Chief and President) while at…
Reflections from Recent Convenings
Apr 30, 2025
Energy Peace Partners
Across EPP’s areas of work, the current moment has been characterized by unprecedented levels of disruption. Geopolitical realignment, shifting international priorities, and shrinking public sector…
The Role of Gold in the Sudanese War
Apr 30, 2025
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Sara de Simone
When the civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, gold soon became pivotal in analyses of the conflict, both as a means of…
From Alexander using Jhelum River in 326 BC to Dams and Flooding in Modern World: How Rivers Have Been Weaponised to Win Wars and Gain Tactical Advantage
Apr 28, 2025
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Anurag
In April 2025, India announced that it would suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. It is a 63-year-old water-sharing pact which, interestingly, survived…
Illicit Mineral Supply Chains Fuel the DRC’s M23 Insurgency
Apr 23, 2025
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Clarkson Kamurai, Brad Handler, and Morgan Bazilian
The insurgency by M23 in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the latest example of the damage that can be wrought by…
The Cost of Conflict: Understanding the Health Consequences of War and Displacement
Apr 23, 2025
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Nour Suaaidi Amane
Peace and conflict, two words that are opposite, yet existing in the same world. For some people, life is marked by stability, access to healthcare…
A New Political and Funding Reality for Environmental Peacebuilding
Apr 22, 2025
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Conflict and Environment Observatory
The Trump administration’s January 2025 decision to freeze all foreign assistance funding has had massive and reverberating consequences for humanitarian, development and conservation programmes in…
Conflict-Monitoring Collective Wins European Space Agency Earth Observation Excellence Award
Apr 17, 2025
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Conflict and Environment Observatory
The Decentralized Damage Mapping Group — an international collective of academics and civil society organisations — has advanced the use of satellite analysis to document the…
Negotiations at Gunpoint: Does US Pressure on Ukraine for a Minerals Deal Amount to Unlawfully Procuring a Treaty by Use of Force?
Apr 17, 2025
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Jeremy Pizzi and Maksym Vishchyk
American attempts to coerce Ukraine into giving up its valuable mineral resources are unseemly, but they may also threaten the validity of such a deal…
From Risk to Resilience by Securing Wildlife Stockpiles in Liberia, Sierra Leone
Apr 16, 2025
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Charles Henson
The authors recently traveled to Sierra Leone and Liberia as part of an Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation (EPIF) project to help improve the security of wildlife…
BRICS: An Environmental Cooperation Opportunity for Half the World's Population
Apr 15, 2025
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Shina Ansari
The modern world is grappling with a series of profound environmental and social challenges. Although these issues are frequently mentioned in diplomatic meetings, negotiations, and…
Security Aspects of Climate Change
Apr 15, 2025
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Yasuko Kameyama
Climate change is unarguably the most urgent issue threatening human society. The global average temperature in 2024 was the highest in recorded history, reaching 1.55…
Bridging Policy and Practice: Key Insights from the Water, Peace and Climate Conference in Kenya
Apr 14, 2025
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Daisy Kosgei
Have you heard the tale of a hummingbird saving a huge forest from a fire? While all other animals fled in fear and panic, the…
Critical Minerals Were Once for Renewables. Now They’re for War
Apr 14, 2025
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Cat Rainsford
Critical minerals have in recent years been central to global visions of a greener future. Finding enough lithium for batteries in electric vehicles, or rare…
The Guardian View on Donald Trump’s Congo Deal: Mineral Riches for Protection
Apr 13, 2025
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Guardian
"The vilest scramble for loot that has ever disfigured the history of human conscience” is how Joseph Conrad described colonial-era concessions granted to private companies…
Climate, Conflict, and Extremism: Ghana’s Security Challenges in the Sahelian Spillover
Apr 8, 2025
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Chiara Avanzi
The central Sahel is one of the regions most affected by climate change. Temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, rainfall patterns are…
Minimising the Environmental Impact of Landmine Clearance While Maximising Its Benefits
Apr 4, 2025
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Linsey Cottrell
Globally, around 60 million people live in areas affected by landmines and other explosive ordnance. Clearing them is critical for safe access to land and…
Historic Border Agreements and Intergovernmental Cooperation in the Fergana Valley Give Hope for Long-Term Peace
Apr 4, 2025
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Ilya Jones
There has been a whirlwind of progress on building peace between the governments of Central Asia’s Fergana Valley region, where the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan…
Starving for Rain: How Drought and Conflict Are Fueling Ethiopia’s Food Emergency
Apr 3, 2025
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Centre of Excellence on Emerging Development Perspectives, VisionRI
Ethiopia is facing a severe food security crisis due to prolonged drought, with over 20 million people in need of assistance as crops fail and…
Left Behind: Why Afghanistan Cannot Tackle Climate Change Alone
Apr 3, 2025
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Assem Mayar
Afghanistan is among the ten countries that have historically received inadequate climate funding, alongside Chad, South Sudan, Somalia, Niger, Mali, Yemen, Ethiopia, Uganda and Iraq.…
From Conflict to Coexistence: Thriving Together with Wildlife
Mar 31, 2025
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Nilanga Jayasinghe
Around the world, people and wildlife are sharing space more than ever before. Since 2021, over half of Earth’s terrestrial surface has been shared by…
In War-Torn Sudan, a Gold Mining Boom Takes a Human Toll
Mar 26, 2025
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Omnia Saed and Fred Pearce
As civil war rages in Sudan, a surge in gold production is helping finance and arm the warring factions. Most of the mining is done…
Military Climate Action Has Never Been More Urgent, Here’s Why
Mar 25, 2025
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Ellie Kinney
Ellie Kinney explores why ramping up military spending while military decarbonisation is in its infancy risks locking in carbon-intensive military equipment for decades, why spiralling…
War and Resource Grabbing, Two Sides of the Same Violence
Mar 24, 2025
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Edward Mukiibi
The winds of war are blowing more violently and more widely across the planet. The battle for resources draws the lines of world geopolitics, revealing…
Why a US-DRC Minerals-for-Security Deal Could Backfire
Mar 24, 2025
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Cullen S. Hendrix
In March 2025, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) approached the Trump administration with a high-stakes proposal: a deal that would grant…
Harnessing the Benefits of Water Cooperation in an Increasingly Complex World
Mar 21, 2025
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Susanne Schmeier, Melissa McCracken, and Aaron Wolf
In an era of apparent decline in international cooperation and rising crises, freshwater offers an area in which joint approaches remain absolutely essential—especially since water…
Conflict Sensitive Engagement with Rangelands, Forests and Wetlands in South Sudan
Mar 21, 2025
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Martina Santschi and Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility
This blog by Martina Santschi and CSRF calls for a conflict-sensitive engagement on communal land tenure, especially the use of rangelands, forests, and wetlands in…