International

Afghanistan: From Snow Leopards to Soldiers: Conservation in a War-torn Land

Feb 5, 2019 | Virginia Gewin, Revelator

In 2006 Alex Dehgan, then the newly hired Afghanistan country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, was given a daunting task: to strengthen biodiversity conservation…

Colombia: The Wetlands of Rio Magdalena under Threat [Video]

Feb 5, 2019 | Deutsche Welle

In the rainy season, the Rio Magdalena in Colombia creates a vast area of wetlands. But now its flood plains are threatened by climate change,…

Colombia: Colombia - The Wetlands of Rio Magdalena under Threat [Video]

Feb 4, 2019 | Deutsche Welle

In the rainy season, the Rio Magdalena in Colombia creates a vast area of wetlands. But now its flood plains are threatened by climate change,…

Myanmar: Myanmar's Opium Farmers Cling on to Lucrative Crop [Photos]

Feb 4, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Fields of purple opium poppy stretch across the pastures and peaks of mountainous eastern Myanmar, with many farmers reluctant to give up the profitable cash…

Myanmar: On Track to Meet Yangon’s Growing Water Needs

Feb 4, 2019 | Yee Ywal Myint, Myanmar Times

With the hot season not far away, water shortages are set to become a problem again in many parts of Yangon. Besides Yangon, many other…

South Sudan: South Sudan Gives China 10,000 Barrels of Crude per Day for Roads Construction

Feb 4, 2019 | Ojwe Lumara, Gurtong

The Government of South Sudan has approved allocation of 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day to China Exim Bank for the construction of roads.…

Liberia: NGO Coalition Calls on the Gov’t to Investigate ‘Illegal logging, Consistent Noncompliance by Delta Timber Company in Sinoe’

Feb 3, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

The NGO Coalition of Liberia (NCL) is calling on the Liberian government to investigate allegations of illegal logging and consistent non-compliance to the social agreement…

Afghanistan: BAZAR: Afghanistan’s EITI Membership Suspended [Video]

Feb 3, 2019 | TOLOnews

Integrity Watch Afghanistan raised concern over Afghanistan’s suspension as a member of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and said this move will have a negative…

Liberia: Government to Arm Rangers

Feb 1, 2019 | Emmanuel Mondaye and Jonathan Browne, New Dawn

The Management of the Forestry Development Authority is preparing to arm 45 forest rangers to protect the forest of Liberia from poachers and intruders. Deputy…

Liberia: Justice Seen as Solution for Post-War Land Conflict in Nimba

Feb 1, 2019 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Daily Observer

Conflicts over land have long plagued Nimba County but the 14-year-civil war made the problem much worse. Now, 15 years from the end of the…

Myanmar: Let the Sunshine in

Feb 1, 2019 | Alec Wilmot, Myanmar Times

The island Pataw Pahtet, just north west of Myeik City, is a bustling industrial shipyard surrounded by warehouses, cold storage facilities and crab farms. Go…

Climate Change: UNSC Debates Climate Change Impact on Peace, Security and Development

Jan 31, 2019 | Catherine Benson Wahlén, International Institute for Sustainable Development

Speakers warned the UN Security Council (UNSC) of increasing threats to peace, security and development as a result of climate change during a debate on…

Myanmar: Karen Minority Urges 'Respect' in Myanmar Peace Park Initiative

Jan 30, 2019 | Sally Kantar, Al Jazeera

With a Myanmar government-backed peace process in deadlock, ethnic Karen political leaders and activists have declared thousands of square kilometers of land a "peace park"…

Afghanistan: 2 in 3 Afghan Men Think Women Have Too Many Rights

Jan 30, 2019 | Thomson Reuters Foundation

Afghan men strongly oppose giving women more freedom — 2 in 3 think they have too much already — and young men are even more reluctant than…

Afghanistan: Peace in Afghanistan? Maybe—but a Minerals Rush Is Already Underway

Jan 30, 2019 | Antony Lowenstein, Nation

The Afghan war is the addiction that Washington can’t quit. The longest war in US history, it’s a conflict that has generally fallen out of…

Liberia: NGO Calls for Regulator of Agriculture Concessions

Jan 29, 2019 | FrontPage Africa

Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU), a local nongovernmental organization, is calling for a separate regulator for large-scale concessions in Liberia it says will guarantee the…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Threat of Renewed Conflict as Tensions Rise over Kirkuk

Jan 28, 2019 | Middle East Monitor

Tension between the Iraqi political circles including the central government in Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi Turkmen are threatening renewed conflict in…

Climate Change: Nations Recognize Warming as Threat to Peace and Security

Jan 28, 2019 | Jean Chemnick, E&E News

There's a growing global consensus that climate change is a threat to peace and security that deserves the same kind of attention afforded to terrorism…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Tensions Rekindle in Iraq’s Oil-Rich Kirkuk

Jan 27, 2019 | Azhar Al-Rubaie and Yousif Raheem, Arab Weekly

Tensions have resurfaced in the oil-rich, multi-ethnic Iraqi province of Kirkuk after a Kurdish party raised the flag of the country’s autonomous Kurdistan region over…

Climate Change: UN Security Council Divided on Climate-Security Link

Jan 26, 2019 | Agence France-Presse

Russia and the US resisted on Friday efforts by the UN Security Council to take a tougher stand on climate change -- a day after…

Conflict Minerals: Former Barrick CIO Michelle Ash to Join Blockchain Start-up

Jan 25, 2019 | Kaaria Quash, Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum

Former Barrick chief innovation officer Michelle Ash joined the advisory board of Berlin-based blockchain start-up Minespider. Minespider is aiming to create a public blockchain platform…

Myanmar: Displaced Villagers Urge Permanent Halt to Myitsone Hydropower Project

Jan 25, 2019 | John Grafilo, Myanmar Times

Villagers displaced by the start of construction on the Chinese-funded Myitsone dam in Kachin State yesterday urged the government to cancel the project, which was halted…

Climate Change: Climate Change Recognized as ‘Threat Multiplier’, UN Security Council Debates Its Impact on Peace

Jan 25, 2019 | UN

As climate change is increasingly recognized as a “threat multiplier” by scientists, political representatives, and civil society across the world, the United Nations Security Council…

India/Pakistan: Water Wars: Are India and Pakistan Heading for Climate Change-Induced Conflict?

Jan 25, 2019 | Melanie Hall, Deutsche Welle

Across the world, climate change is sparking conflict as people struggle over dwindling resources. The fight over water could quickly escalate between India and Pakistan…

Iraq: Iraq Federal Supreme Court Rules Portions of National Oil Company Law Unconstitutional

Jan 24, 2019 | Erik Slobe, Jurist

Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that several articles of the Iraq National Oil Company Law were unconstitutional. The law is meant to establish the Iraq…

South Sudan: South Sudan Resumes Oil Production in Former Unity State

Jan 24, 2019 | Winnie Cirino, Voice of America

Oil is again being pumped from fields in South Sudan’s former Unity state, five years after production was halted because of fighting between government soldiers…

Myanmar: Government Approves Seizure of over 950,000 Acres of Unused Land

Jan 24, 2019 | Htoo Thant, Myanmar Times

The government has approved the seizure of more than 950,000 acres of unused vacant, fallow and virgin land that had been leased to private entities for…

Liberia: Liberia’s Community Forestry becoming a Front for Deforestation: Report

Jan 23, 2019 | Ashoka Mukpo, Mongabay

A report released by Global Witness late last year alleges that Liberia’s forestry laws are being “hijacked” by logging companies. These logging companies can potentially…

Afghanistan: 'The Snow Leopard Project' Puts Spotlight on Afghanistan's Wildlife

Jan 23, 2019 | Barabara J. King, NPR

In the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, there is a "green, leafy oasis" called Shahr-e Naw Park — a place that briefly became a staging ground…

Afghanistan: 1,000 Tons of Fish Produced Every Year from Helmand River

Jan 23, 2019 | Afghanistan Times

As many as 1,000 tons of fish is produced every year from the Helmand River in southern Afghanistan, said officials on Wednesday. Agriculture Directorate of…