International


Ukraine: A ‘Silent Victim’: How Nature Becomes a Casualty of War

Apr 13, 2022 | Emily Anthes, New York Times

Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, the world’s attention has been focused on the nation’s heavily shelled cities. But Ukraine, in an ecological transition…


Colombia: In Landslide-Prone Colombia, Forests Can Serve as an Inexpensive Shield

Apr 13, 2022 | Gianluca Cerullo, Mongabay

Colombia’s undulating, rain-soaked topography makes it a landslide hotspot. Each year, hundreds of landslides wrack the nation; some 30,730 hit between 1900 and 2018. Not…


Ukraine: ‘They Were Hooligans’: Chernobyl Locals Reeling after Russian Invasion

Apr 13, 2022 | Luke Harding, Guardian

Russian forces trundled into the Chernobyl exclusion zone on 24 February in the early hours of the invasion. According to Davidenko, they crossed over the…


Somalia: UN Women Somalia, in Partnership with the Federal Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and Ministries of Women Launch Two Research Studies

Apr 12, 2022

UN Women Somalia, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry for Women and Human Rights Development (MoWHRD) and the Ministries of Women, Jubaland and the South West State, launched two research studies focusing on gender, climate and conflict, and market assessments of micro-enterprise opportunities at…


Colombia: A Seed Bank in Colombia Is Helping to Climate-Proof Food Systems

Apr 12, 2022 | Clarisa Diaz, Quartz

As extreme weather and drought affect agriculture all over the world, securing both food systems and farmers’ livelihoods is becoming increasingly vital. The Future Seeds…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Ministry to Oversee Kurdistan Oil and Gas Field Management, Says SOMO

Apr 11, 2022 | Reuters

Iraq's oil ministry has taken all necessary measures required to implement a federal court's ruling that gives it the authority to manage oil and gas…


Afghanistan: Iron, Lead Mines on Bidding, Salt to Be Extracted by Afghan Companies

Apr 10, 2022 | Xinhua

The Taliban-run caretaker cabinet has tasked the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to bid on the exploration and extraction of iron and lead mines, the…


Iraq: Iraq's Farmers Pushed off Land as Drought and Heat Cripple Crops

Apr 10, 2022 | Tessa Fox, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to extreme temperatures and water shortages, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. As harsher drought…


Afghanistan: Beekeeping -- Livelihood to Replace Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan

Apr 9, 2022 | Xinhua

The beekeeping and honey production industry in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar has been expanding after long years of insecurity and heavy fighting.


Climate Change: An Interview with CS2P Co-Founder Sofia Kabbej on “Questions of Climate Security & Peace”

Apr 8, 2022 | Elsa Barron, Center for Climate and Security

The Climate Security & Peace Project (CS2P) is a team of “young researchers, professionals and students from diverse fields and backgrounds,” and aims to build…


Afghanistan: Crops Not Watered, Fruit Rotting: Kandahar’s Agriculture Hit by War, Drought and Closed Customs Gates

Apr 7, 2022 | Ali Mohammad Sabawoon, Afghan Analysts Network

Farmers across Afghanistan have been hit hard by drought and fighting in recent years. In this report, we look at how this has affected agriculture…


Myanmar: Countries That Sanctioned Myanmar’s Junta Are Still Buying Their Timber: Report

Apr 7, 2022 | Carolyn Cowan, Mongabay

Myanmar’s military-led regime exported more than $190 million worth of timber in 2021, including to countries with active sanctions on the country’s state-controlled timber monopoly,…


Afghanistan: A Third of Money from Precious Stone Mining Goes to State

Apr 7, 2022 | Qazafi Mal, Pajhwok Afghan News

Residents involved in the excavation of precious stones in eastern Kunar province pay the state one-third of the revenue, an official said.


Ukraine: OSCE Secretary General Calls for Vigilance as Fighting Increases Long-Term Environmental Risks in Ukraine

Apr 7, 2022 | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid has warned of the serious environmental damages caused by continued fighting in Ukraine, and their long-term effects across the…


Afghanistan: Poppy Price Doubles after Ban Announced: Farmers

Apr 6, 2022 | TOLOnews

Days after the announcement of an overall ban on the cultivation of poppy by the Islamic Emirate, the farmers in the southern provinces -- a…


Afghanistan: Climate Change Is Making Afghanistan's Hunger Crisis Worse

Apr 6, 2022 | Eltaf Najafizada and Golnar Motevalli, Bloomberg

As the planet warms, the worst dry spell in two decades has coincided with Afghanistan's political and economic upheaval. Climate change is expected to have…


Afghanistan: 100s Killed, Injured by Landmines in Past Year: Officials

Apr 6, 2022 | TOLOnews

Statistics from the Afghan Directorate for Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) show that "120 civilians are killed and injured each month" as a result of landmine…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Three Missiles Fall Near Refinery in Iraq's Erbil, No Casualties - State Media

Apr 6, 2022 | Reuters

Three missiles fell near an oil refinery in Iraq's northern city of Erbil on Wednesday without causing any casualties or damage, Kurdistan anti-terrorism authorities said…


Afghanistan: Landmines Continue to Pose Threat to Afghans' Lives: Official

Apr 6, 2022 | Xinhua

Landmines have continued to kill or maim more than 120 people every month in Afghanistan, one of the most landmine contaminated countries, authorities said on…


Ukraine/Russia: The Environmental Toll of Russia’s War on Ukraine

Apr 6, 2022 | Amy Ryan, Environmental Magazine

Russia’s war on Ukraine is one of the worst humanitarian crises facing Europe since World War II. As Russian military forces continue their violent, murderous…


Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq to Use New Criteria for Kurdistan Share of Oil Exports

Apr 5, 2022 | Reuters

Iraqi oil minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar said on Tuesday that new criteria will be used to calculate Kurdistan's share of oil exports delivered to the federal…


Ukraine: Chernobyl Was a Wildlife Haven. Then Russian Troops Arrived

Apr 5, 2022 | Matt Reynolds, WIRED

The area around the defunct power plant has been an unexpected rewilding success story. Now attempts to monitor progress are hampered by the war.


Myanmar: Myanmar Junta’s Jade Mining Ban Targets Resistance Funding, KIA Says

Apr 5, 2022 | Irrawaddy

The Myanmar military regime’s recent order halting all jade mining in Kachin State was issued with the aim of putting pressure on the Kachin Independence…


Ukraine/Russia: Russia Urged to Stop Using Land Mines in Its War in Ukraine

Apr 4, 2022 | Associated Press

A top official in the global campaign against the use of land mines urged Russia on Monday to stop its troops in Ukraine from laying…


Ukraine: All Creatures Great and Small

Apr 3, 2022 | George Packer, Atlantic

It’s striking how many stories and pictures from the war in Ukraine involve animals. One of the first Ukrainian civilian victims was a woman killed…


Afghanistan: Mining at Mes Aynak Ready to Resume: Ministry

Apr 3, 2022 | Amina Hakimi, TOLOnews

All conditions have been facilitated for the resumption of extraction at the Mes-Aynak copper mine, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) said on Sunday.…


Afghanistan: Taliban Bans Drug Cultivation, Including Lucrative Opium

Apr 3, 2022 | Reuters

The Taliban announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer. The order said the production, use…


Afghanistan/Iran: Taliban Agree to Supply Iran's Water Share: Envoy

Apr 3, 2022 | Tasnim

The Taliban delegation attending a meeting in China has pledged that Kabul will allow Iran to have its share of water from the joint resources…


Water: How Water Cooperation Can Provide Geopolitical Stability in MENA

Apr 2, 2022 | Maghie Ghali, Al Jazeera

In the coming years, it is thought that water will become a more important geopolitical resource than crude oil with demand set to rise more…


West Philippine Sea: Group: Transform WPS into a ‘Marine Peace Park’

Mar 31, 2022 | Jonathan L. Mayuga, Business Mirror

Amid the growing tension and threat of maritime conflict over the West Philippine Sea (WPS), environmental activist group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) renewed…