News
Colombia's Fracking Boom Risks Deepening Environmental Conflicts
Apr 7, 2017
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Sebastian Ordoñez Muñoz
A multinational fracking boom has begun in Colombia. New concessions threaten the water supply to the capital city of Bogota.
Information from Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons Agency shows…
Why IR Needs the Environment and the Environment Needs IR
Apr 7, 2017
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Jessica F. Green and Thomas N. Hale
The state of the global environment is terrible—and deteriorating. The globalization of industrial production and the consumptive habits of 7 billion people have created the…
Myanmar: Yangon Pilot Project Slashes Water Losses, Says Manila Company
Apr 7, 2017
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Frontier Myanmar
A Philippine company says it has slashed water system losses in two Yangon townships under a pilot project conducted in partnership with the Yangon City…
Successful Colombian Rainforest Project Exposes Problems with Carbon Emissions Trading
Apr 6, 2017
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Bart Crezee
The Chocó-Darién Conservation Corridor, as the community’s REDD+ project is called, is the first REDD+ project to be certified in Colombia. In 2012 it was…
"Disaster Foretold" Leaves Hundreds Dead in Colombia, Many of Them Kids
Apr 6, 2017
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Associated Press
People were caught off guard when a devastating flash flood surged through a small city in southern Colombia, but not everyone was surprised. Government agencies, land use…
How Advocacy Gave Trump Ammunition on Conflict-Free Minerals
Apr 6, 2017
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Emmanuel Freudenthal
US President Donald Trump has signalled his intention to suspend the world’s first conflict-free minerals law, much to the consternation of advocacy groups and others…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan Tries to Win Trump Support with Lithium
Apr 6, 2017
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Associated Press
The Afghan government is trying to grab the attention of President Donald Trump and gain greater U.S. support by dangling its massive and untouched wealth…
Afghanistan: China's Plan to Mine for Copper Beneath an Ancient City Gets Thrown off by Corruption Charges
Apr 6, 2017
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Mariam Amini, CNBC
A controversial Chinese copper mine in Afghanistan has run into complications after the executive leading the $3 billion project was expelled from the Chinese Communist…
Myanmar: A Group of Divers is Saving Myanmar’s Marine Wildlife from Deadly Ghost Nets
Apr 5, 2017
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Jacob Goldberg, Coconuts
Myanmar’s underwater earthscape may be relatively untouched by tourism, but it is steadily becoming a trash receptacle for local fishers. In fact, these two circumstances…
Myanmar: China May Scrap Divisive Dam in Myanmar to Advance Other Interests: Sources
Apr 5, 2017
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Yimou Lee and Shwe Yee Saw Myint, Reuters
China has shifted its position in a lengthy dispute with Myanmar over the building of a $3.6 billion dam, seven sources said, signaling its willingness…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Obliterating ISIS May Hamper Iraqi Oil Production
Apr 5, 2017
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Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com
Iraq’s oil production could fall involuntarily if a dispute between the central government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) continues to escalate. Some of the…
Iraq: Desert on Fire [Photos]
Apr 5, 2017
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Namak Khoshnaw and Daniel Silas Adamson, BBC
Early in summer 2016, the so-called Islamic State set fire to one of Iraq’s largest oil fields. It has taken Iraqi firefighters 10 months to…
Iraq: Clean Water for Conflict-Affected Iraqis near Mosul
Apr 5, 2017
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Danish Refugee Council
In March 2017, as Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) advanced west from the outskirts of Mosul towards the Quba Pump Station on the bank of the…
Repeal and Replacement of Conflict Minerals Rule 1502 Undermines Peace and Stability in the Congo
Apr 4, 2017
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Lauren Compere
The cell phone in your pocket or laptop you may be reading this on could contain minerals used to fund militia groups and war in…
Afghanistan: Canal Project Turns Wastelands into Farmlands in Northern Afghanistan
Apr 4, 2017
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Military Technologies
The rehabilitation of Sharqi canal has revived many areas of wasteland and turned them into productive farmland, irrigating over 13,000 hectares. Besides the new canal…
Iraq: The Oil Fires in Qayyarah Are Out
Apr 4, 2017
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Earth Observatory
Several oil fires that have burned in northern Iraq for months have been extinguished. NASA satellites first detected fires at one or two wells near…
Colombia: Warnings but No Action Preceded Deadly Flood in Colombia
Apr 4, 2017
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Ben Fox and Alba Tobella, Associated Press
People were caught off guard when a devastating flash flood surged through a small city in southern Colombia, but not everyone was surprised. Government agencies,…
Colombia: 500 Colombian Towns Face Landslide Risk
Apr 4, 2017
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Brigitte Leoni, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
More than 500 municipalities are currently at risk of landslides, according to Mr. Omar Franco, Director of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies…
A Survey of the “War on Wildlife”: How Conflict Affects Conservation
Apr 3, 2017
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Bethany N. Bella
Over the last 60 years, more than two-thirds of the world’s remaining biodiversity hotspots have experienced armed conflict. The effects have been myriad, from destruction as a…
Colombia: More Than 200 Dead, Many Missing in Colombia Mudslides
Apr 3, 2017
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Angela Dewan, Jennifer Deaton, and Mariano Castillo, CNN
Rescuers in southern Colombia were scrambling Sunday to reach more than 100 people who are missing after devastating mudslides tore through entire communities. Hundreds are…
Myanmar: Security Concerns Prevent Banana-Plantation Probe
Apr 3, 2017
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Eleven
The government’s attempts to investigate a banana planters’ alleged trespass on protected forests in Kachin State have failed due to security concerns, sources say. The…
Conflict Minerals: Council Adopts New Rules to Reduce Financing of Armed Groups
Apr 3, 2017
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European Council
On 3 April 2017, the Council adopted a regulation aimed at stopping the financing of armed groups through trade in conflict minerals. The regulation obliges…
Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Oil Dispute Could Impact Supply [Video]
Apr 3, 2017
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Bloomberg
A territorial dispute in northern Iraq threatens to disrupt oil output at a field containing as much crude as Norway.
Syria: Survey of Syrian Farmers Reveals Agriculture Should Be Kick-Started Now Despite Huge Destruction
Apr 3, 2017
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
Fighting in Syria has caused huge damage and losses to agricultural production, but the sector can and should be kick-started now, dramatically reducing the need…
Afghanistan: Afghanistan to Amend Mining Law: VP Danish
Apr 3, 2017
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1TVNews
Afghan government will amend mining law as it seeks to prevent illegal mining in the country, according to second vice-president on Saturday. According to experts,…
Iraq: At Last, Burning Qayyarah Oil Wells Brought under Control
Apr 2, 2017
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Rudaw
After months of battling a number of burning oil wells set ablaze by ISIS in the outskirts of the town of Qayyarah last year the…
Iraq/Kurdistan: A Squabble at Iraq's Oldest Oil Field Could Rock Global Supplies
Apr 2, 2017
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Sam Wilkin, Bloomberg
A territorial dispute in northern Iraq threatens to disrupt oil output at a field containing as much crude as Norway, even as U.S.-backed forces prepare what…
Afghanistan: Kunduz Defaulters Warned of Water Supply Cut
Apr 2, 2017
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Ajmal Kakar, Pajhwok Afghan News
A number of government departments and powerful individuals owe millions of afghanis to the water supply department in northern Kunduz province, an official said Sunday.…
Afghanistan: Fallout from Fall of Chinese Executive Who Sealed Copper Mine Deal in Afghanistan
Apr 1, 2017
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Kinling Lo, South China Morning Post
The disgrace last week of the businessman who won a deal in 2007 for China to develop a copper mine in Afghanistan, which was the…
South Sudan: SPLA-IO Vows to Stop Oil Production, Warns of “Serious Consequences”
Apr 1, 2017
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South Sudan News Agency
The military command of South Sudanese rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO), on Saturday, warned against any oil exploration in areas under its…