Issue #328 – Aug 4, 2026

Announcements

Call for Proposals: REsearch and ACTion for Women’s Participation in Environmental Peacebuilding and Climate Change Prevention (REACT)

August 3, 2026 | Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

REACT is a three-year programme (2026–2028) led by The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation with support from the Austrian Development Agency.

Events

For more upcoming events on environmental peacebuilding, please visit our online calendar of events.

Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2026

October 6, 2026 German Federal Foreign Office, adelphi global, and Climate Diplomacy
online

Since its inaugural edition in 2019, the annual Berlin Climate and Security Conference (BCSC) has established itself as the leading global forum connecting governments, international organisations, researchers, civil society, and practitioners working at…

Library

In the last two weeks, 10 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Peace & Security Aid in Crisis

August 4, 2026 | Melissa Li, Maximilian Biller, and Philipp Rotmann
Global Public Policy Institute

While global political violence has almost doubled since 2020, President Trump’s destruction of USAID, the United States’ aid agency, accelerates and drastically worsens a sharp downward trend in non-military peace and security assistance…

Sustainable Peace from the Ground up: Natural Resource Peace Agreements in Nigeria [Audio]

August 4, 2026
Climate Diplomacy Podcast

In Nigeria's Middle Belt, farmer-herder conflicts over land and natural resources have claimed thousands of lives in recent years.

ConnexUs Thursday Talk: Exploring the Future of Environmental Peacebuilding [Video]

August 4, 2026
ConnexUs

Environmental peacebuilding offers a systems-informed framework to address the complex linkages among the environment, conflict, and fragility. While natural resources can fuel conflict, they also present powerful entry points for peacebuilding.

West Africa - Food Security Outlook: Conflicts Are Driving Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and Crisis (IPC Phase 3) Outcomes, June 2026 - January 2027

August 4, 2026
Famine Early Warning Systems Network

Conflict is the main driver of acute food insecurity in the region, particularly in the Sahel.

Water and Habitat in Conflict - 2026 Briefer

August 4, 2026
International Committee of the Red Cross

Armed conflicts continue to have devastating consequences on access to water and other essential services.

Conflict Minerals in DR Congo: Why the Rules Aren't Working [Video]

August 3, 2026
United Nations

Minerals mined in conflict zones enter the global supply chain quietly - mixed in with legal shipments, sold by traders who may never know their origin.

Environmental Peacebuilding in Urban and Community Settings [Video]

August 3, 2026
Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Climate Dialogue as Functional Peacebuilding in South Asia: Environmental Cooperation as a Contributor to Regional Peace

August 3, 2026 | Dmitry Erokhin
IPRI Journal

This article examines the potential of climate dialogue and practical environmental cooperation to serve as a form of functional peacebuilding in South Asia.

Jobs

Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

Ukraine: Water System Infrastructure (WASH) Advisor

August 4, 2026 | Medair

Due to the war in Ukraine, Medair responds to vast WASH needs particularly in eastern Ukraine.

Somalia: Learning and Adaptive Management Consultancy for Advancing Adaptation through Resilient Mobility and Natural Capital (AARAN) Project

August 4, 2026 | Norwegian Refugee Council

Building Resilient Communities in Somalia (BRCiS) is a Consortium of national and international organizations – Action Against Hunger (ACF), Concern Worldwide (Concern), GREDO, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), KAALO, Save the Children, and…

Libya: WASH Programme Coordinator

August 3, 2026 | COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale is an Italian secular and independent humanitarian organisation fighting against all forms of poverty to improve the world.

Syria: WASH and Shelter Program Coordinator

August 3, 2026 | International Association for Relief and Development

The International Association for Relief and Development (ONSUR) is a non-governmental organization established in early 2012 and registered in Syria.

International News

In the last two weeks, 31 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Somalia: In Somalia, AI Is Helping Deliver Food to Hungry Families

August 3, 2026 | Isaiah Steinberg
United Nations

Although the UN’s World Food Programme cannot reach all 6 million Somalis facing hunger, data collected by its partners and analysed through AI tools in its hunger-tracking platform HungerMap Live help the agency position…

South Sudan: How South Sudan's Local Seed System Is Reshaping Food Security, Farming and Rural Prosperity

August 1, 2026
Devdiscourse

South Sudan's shift to locally produced seeds is strengthening food security, reducing dependence on imports, and creating new income opportunities through community-led agriculture and private-sector participation.

Water: Water Cooperation Can Greatly Defuse Conflicts

July 31, 2026 | Friederike Bauer
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

Susanne Schmeier is Professor of Water Cooperation, Law and Diplomacy in the Netherlands. Her research shows that conflicts over water can be managed proactively – ideally with international support.

Afghanistan: Excessive Groundwater Extraction Threatens Herat's Water Resources

July 30, 2026 | Nasir Ahmad Salehi
TOLOnews

The drilling of deep wells and the extraction of groundwater using solar-powered pumps have placed groundwater resources in Herat Province under serious threat.

Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan and South Sudan Discuss Oil Transit and Regional Stability in Khartoum

July 30, 2026
Sudan Tribune

Sovereign Council head and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held talks on Wednesday with Tut Gatluak, security advisor to the president of South Sudan, to discuss oil transit and bilateral ties.

Afghanistan/Uzbekistan: Implementation of "Friendship Orchards" Project Begins in Afghanistan

July 29, 2026
UzDaily

The practical implementation of the "Friendship Orchards" project, aimed at developing agricultural cooperation between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, has commenced in Afghanistan's Faryab Province.

Conflict Minerals: Accra Hosts High-Level Conference on Governance, Critical Minerals, and Conflicts in Africa

July 28, 2026
Financial Afrik

A high-level conference on governance, critical minerals, and conflicts in Africa opens this Monday, July 27 in Accra, Ghana.

Critical Minerals: Open Society Foundations Convenes African Experts for High-Level Conference on Critical Minerals, Governance and Conflicts

July 27, 2026 | Isaac Donkor
Modern Ghana

The conference examines how the governance of critical minerals can advance economic justice, conflict prevention and the protection of communities in resource-rich areas through transparency, accountability, inclusion and respect for human rights.

DRC/Rwanda: The War That Was Avoidable: How Rwanda–DRC Cooperation Threatened Old Interests

July 27, 2026 | Bojana Coulibaly
Pan African Review

Between February and June 2021, the DRC and Rwanda signed a series of bilateral security and economic agreements that broke with decades of practice.

Critical Minerals: UN Debate Puts Spotlight on Critical Minerals Governance

July 25, 2026 | Lesego Lebuso
Channel Africa

Critical minerals must support clean energy, development and peace rather than fuel conflict, corruption and unequal extraction, United Nations Security Council members have warned.

Egypt/Sudan: Falling Nile River Levels Spark Growing Fears among Sudanese Farmers amid Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Concerns

July 24, 2026 | Ahmad Elassasy
Sada Elbalad English

Declining water levels along the Nile River during July have sparked widespread concern among Sudanese farmers, raising renewed questions across Sudan and neighboring Egypt regarding the operational impacts of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance…

Myanmar: How War in Myanmar Is Driving a Deadly Rare Earth Mining Boom

July 23, 2026 | Emily Fishbein and Jauman Naw
Grist

Decades of conflict have left Myanmar vulnerable to a secretive industry that is polluting communities and endangering workers.

Colombia: Papaya Helps Rebuild Livelihoods and Trust in Rural Colombia

July 22, 2026
Fruit Today

In Los Montes de María, a region deeply affected by armed conflict, the ASOAGROPAT association has turned papaya growing into a source of income, community cohesion and hope for 45 farming families.

DRC: Critical Minerals Must Be Treated as a Peace, Security Issue

July 22, 2026 | Lesego Lebuso
Channel Africa

The United Nations (UN) Security Council has debated whether rising demand for critical minerals will support development or deepen conflict, corruption and inequality.

Palestine: In Gaza, a Mother's Hunt for Water Lays Bare a Worsening Health Crisis

July 21, 2026 | Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Dawoud Abu Alkas
Reuters

Aid agencies, UN officials and Palestinian health authorities warn that Gaza is facing an unprecedented collapse of its water and sanitation systems, leaving much of the population trapped between immediate thirst and a…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 11 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. Here is a sampling:

The Great “Green” Heist: When Artificial Intelligence and Arms Dealers Seize the Minerals of the South

July 31, 2026 | Franck Zongwe Lukama

We were sold a simple equation: to save the planet, we must dig. Dig faster, deeper, extracting from the earth the cobalt, lithium, or copper needed for solar panels and electric vehicles.

Positioning Humanitarians at the Intersection of Environment, Climate, Conflict and Peace

July 31, 2026 | Juliane Schillinger

What role can humanitarian organizations play at the intersection of conflict, climate change and environmental degradation?

The Environmental Peacebuilding Agenda: What’s Essential and Where Do We Go Next?

July 30, 2026 | Mara Pusic and Karishma Goswami

Environmental peacebuilding is at a pivotal moment.

The Indus Water Treaty Suspension: A Growing Threat to Regional Security

July 30, 2026 | Mohammad Ishaq Rahman

The recent suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India following the Pahagram incident in April 2025 marks a dangerous turning point in South Asian water governance.

Climate Risk Is Forcing Multilateralism to Evolve

July 30, 2026 | Janani Vivekananda

A new trend is emerging in climate diplomacy: some of the most consequential conversations are happening in new, multi actor dialogues that sit alongside the formal calendar, and increasingly shape what formal institutions…

World Conservation Day: Restoring Nature to Build Resilience, Cooperation and Lasting Peace

July 28, 2026 | Kathryn Goodwin

As climate change intensifies pressures on people and ecosystems, IUCN’s Global EbA Fund projects demonstrate how Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) can advance climate resilience while fostering social cohesion, strengthening inclusive governance, and contributing to…

Starvation as a Weapon: The ICJ Myanmar Case Could Redefine Genocide

July 28, 2026 | Yuyun Wahyuningrum

As the International Court of Justice deliberates its judgment in the case of The Gambia v.

Climate Security: Entering a New Era?

July 21, 2026 | Kaysie Brown and Travis Brubaker

Twenty years after the UK first brought climate to the UN Security Council, the topic is re-emerging as a strategic priority.

Join the Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) is the leading global network that brings together practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working on environment, conflict, and peace. EnPAx includes both individual and institutional members. If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us at membership@environmentalpeacebuilding.org.

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About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practice on natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing natural resources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helps people to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participate in events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, we bring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our program as well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings.

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