Blogs & Opinions
If UN PKO Are to Successfully Fulfill Their Mandates, Climate Change Needs to Be Taken into Account
Sep 9, 2024
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Mission Permanente de la France auprès des Nations Unies à New York
Today, the Security Council convenes for an Open Debate on UN Peacekeeping Operations. France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Switzerland,…
Regenerative Production as a Vehicle for Environmental Peacebuilding? An Exploratory Case from Uganda
Sep 5, 2024
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Richard Marcantonio
The number of active armed conflicts is growing around the globe. One key influencer, though importantly not determinant, in these events is environmental change—mostly caused…
DRC Is the World’s Largest Producer of Cobalt – How Control by Local Elites Can Shape the Global Battery Industry
Sep 4, 2024
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Raphael Deberdt and Jessica DiCarlo
The mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is often portrayed as a victim of exploitation by China, the US and Europe in their competition…
The US Military Leads Climate Change, the Rest of Society Should Follow
Sep 4, 2024
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Sherri Goodman
Accelerating climate risks are also accelerating our global security risks. From new sea lanes in the Arctic, to prolonged drought across parts of Africa and…
Women Hold the Solutions to Tackling Climate Change and Hunger. Just Ask Them
Sep 4, 2024
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Michelle Nunn
In Diffa, one of the poorest regions of Niger, climate change has led to more frequent droughts and floods that have created severe food insecurity and malnutrition.…
Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources: Opportunities and Challenges
Sep 2, 2024
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Naseeb Ullah Achakzai
Afghanistan being a landlocked country has huge strategic importance followed by immense mineral deposits. It is estimated that it has untapped resources worth of 1 to…
Kazakhstan and Tajikistan to Cooperate over Rare-Earth Metals
Aug 29, 2024
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Sergey Kwan
Kazakhstan’s national atomic company, Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of uranium, has announced a new strategic partnership with Tajikistan’s TajRedMet (Tajik Rare Metals) in the…
Building Climate Resilience: How a Flood Protection Wall Revived an Afghan Community
Aug 28, 2024
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Mohammad Osman Azizi
What was once a vibrant community has turned into a ghost town, with hundreds of families forced to leave behind their homes, land, crops, livestock…
The Price of Victory in the Gaza War: Women, Climate, and Peace
Aug 28, 2024
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Amira Saber
Amira Saber, member of the Egyptian Parliament, looks at the environmental damage caused by the war in Gaza. She underscores the compounding ill effects of…
Climate Change, Conflict Fuel Food Insecurity in Eastern Africa
Aug 27, 2024
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Leon Lidigu
The IGAD Regional Focus of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises has found that approximately 62.9 million people in Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan,…
A Rise in Water-Related Conflicts around the World
Aug 27, 2024
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Joshua Coe
Fresh water is one of the most basic human needs. But access to water has also long been a source of conflict. Last year saw…
Houthi Attack on Oil Tanker Sparks Red Sea Environmental Fears
Aug 27, 2024
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Steven Ganot
An Iranian-backed Houthi militia attack on the Greek oil tanker Sounion off the coast of Al Hudaydah in Yemen has sparked fears of an environmental…
Environmental NGOs as Tools of State Security Policy: A Growing Trend
Aug 26, 2024
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Peter Schwartzstein
For a group of self-described environmentalists, the roughly two dozen Azerbaijanis who suddenly assembled along the highway near the Armenian border in late 2022 looked…
Water Conflict: The Need for Water Diplomacy Has Never Been Greater
Aug 23, 2024
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Lennart Silvis
While the prospect of fully blown water wars between countries is unlikely any time soon, thousands of people are dying due to water-triggered conflicts. Yet…
War, Drought Cause Spike in Violent Water Conflicts
Aug 22, 2024
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Brett Walton
Wars against Ukraine and Gaza, and ongoing drought in farming-dependent regions contributed to a surge of violent water conflicts last year. Violent incidents associated with…
Signs of Progress on Peace-Positive Climate Adaptation
Aug 20, 2024
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Ann-Sophie Böhle
The consequences of climate change are disproportionately impacting fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCS). Climate shocks can exacerbate security risks in FCS, conflict and instability compromise…
NATO Wants to Be a Leader on Climate Security. Here Are the Next Steps to Get There.
Aug 19, 2024
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Heidi Hardt and Jacqueline Burns
At the NATO Summit in Washington summit last month, the United States and its allies reiterated the Alliance’s ambitious commitment: to become “the leading international…
Lifting DRC Mining Sanctions Would Be a Critical National Security Error
Aug 19, 2024
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Virginia Canter
At the beginning of his term, President Joe Biden named fighting corruption as a core U.S. national security interest, and his administration was quick to…
The Taliban’s Opium Ban Is Working. But It Could All Still Fall apart
Aug 15, 2024
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Ruchi Kumar
For nearly three decades, Afghanistan had been among the world’s leading producers of opium; at one point, it contributed nearly 90 per cent of the…
Environmental Violence and Enterprise: The Outsized Role of Business for Environmental Peacebuilding
Aug 13, 2024
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Josh Stowe
Toxic pollution is the single largest cause of death and poor health, killing up to 9 million people each year—about 100 times more than war…
Afghanistan’s Lithium: Sovereignty vs. Foreign Exploitation
Aug 12, 2024
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Hamayun Khan
Afghanistan sits atop vast lithium reserves and faces a pivotal decision: leverage this mineral wealth to assert national sovereignty and drive local development or risk…
Resource Wars: How Climate Change Is Fueling Militarization of the Arctic
Aug 7, 2024
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Joanna Rozpedowski
As the Russo-Ukrainian conflict continues to redefine the international security landscape, more sources of dispute among rivals are emerging. New outbreaks of mass violence in…
Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024: What Were the Key Environmental Takeaways?
Aug 5, 2024
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Viktoria Hubareva
On June 11-12, European and world leaders, international organizations and representatives of civil society converged on Berlin for the Ukraine Recovery Conference, devoted to discussing…
The Toll that Wars Take on Women
Jul 31, 2024
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Candice Helfand-Rogers
For women in war-torn regions, suffering, displacement, pain and death are daily prospects, for themselves and their children – whether they’re soldiers or not. And they’re usually…
Going beyond “Conflict-Free”: Transition Minerals Governance in DRC and Rwanda
Jul 31, 2024
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Neeraja Kulkarni
Resource-rich nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda—which produce minerals ranging from coltan, cobalt, gold, tungsten, and tantalum, to tin (3TG)—hold…
The Paradox of the DRC’s War: Mining for Climate Solutions Fuels Environmental Destruction
Jul 30, 2024
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Sibahle Zuma
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a crucial player in the global effort to combat climate change. Its rich deposits of cobalt and…
Will Critical Minerals Be Another Poisoned Chalice for Africa?
Jul 28, 2024
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James Boafo and Rochelle Spencer
The world's journey to a decarbonised energy future requires a shift towards the development of low-carbon technologies. The development of these low-carbon technologies in the…
Landmines, Climate Change and New Environmental Guidance
Jul 27, 2024
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Linsey Cottrell
Wars damage the environment in many ways. Landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) can remain in the ground for decades after conflicts end.…
How Will We Solve the World’s Water Wars? An Ancient Spanish Court Offers One Answer
Jul 26, 2024
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Roman Krznaric
Every Thursday at noon, outside the west door of Valencia’s cathedral, nine black-cloaked figures – one wearing a banded cap and with a ceremonial harpoon…
Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine: June 2024 Review
Jul 25, 2024
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Alexei Ovchinnikov
The main event in this past June was the anniversary of the explosion of the Kakhovka hydropower plant (HPP) dam, an event which led to…