Blogs & Opinions

This Year’s Extreme Weather Showed That the Pentagon Is Not Ready for Climate Change

Dec 20, 2018 | Dan Spinelli

One year after President Donald Trump took office, his Defense Department released a survey cataloging the ways climate change has affected thousands of military installations across…

Tackling Water Shortage in Kabul

Dec 19, 2018 | Saboor Stanikzai

With rising security threats, violent crime rates, pollution, traffic congestion and so forth; the rapid population growth and the rising temperatures have left the residents…

50 Years of Water at Wilson: Water, Conflict and Cooperation (Part 1 of 2)

Dec 19, 2018 | Elizabeth Wang and Truett Sparkman

A number of countries across North Africa, the Middle East, into Central and South Asia are “at risk of failure if they can’t get the…

How Gender and Climate Change Can Be Integrated into Military Operations (Book Preview)

Dec 18, 2018 | Jody Prescott

As the United States develops a strategy to guide all military services on how to promote the participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and…

Refugees Returning To Syria Face Devastated Water, Sewage Infrastructure

Dec 17, 2018 | Kayla Ritter

Islamic State (IS) militants were ousted from key Syrian cities in 2018, and the country’s civil war, approaching its eighth year, is winding down. Despite…

Southeast Asia Must Integrate Gender Considerations in Coastal Resource Management - Regional Gender Study

Dec 14, 2018

A Regional Gender Study completed in 2018 has shown that many countries in Southeast Asia are not adequately integrating gender considerations into their national policies…

The Islamic State's Toxic Legacy Is an Environmental Catastrophe, Too

Dec 14, 2018 | Richard Pearshouse

When ISIS was forced to retreat from Iraq, its fighters took to eviscerating the landscape in ways that gave no immediate military advantage. According to…

Lapis Lazuli Project to Create Vibrant Transit Route for Afghanistan

Dec 13, 2018 | Neelapu Shanti

Lapis Lazuli transit route is set to emerge as an economic corridor for an inclusive development by which Afghanistan could connect to Europe via Turkmenistan,…

Opinion: Connecting The Dots- Land Rights And Inclusive Economic Growth in Colombia

Dec 8, 2018 | Jolene Sanjak

With no shortage of development dollars flowing to Colombia, how can that investment translate into an inclusive model of private sector-led economic growth? And how…

At What Cost to Develop Timor-Leste’s Oil Resources?

Dec 6, 2018 | Vijayalakshmi Menon

In March, Timor-Leste and Australia signed a treaty resolving the issue of the long-disputed maritime boundaries between the two countries. This treaty recognised Australia’s and…

The New Rebels of Colombia's Forests

Dec 5, 2018 | Lucy Sherriff

Colombian forests had protected Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) fighters from attacks and surveillance. In turn, FARC’s presence in the Magdalena River Valley, nestled…

Power Play: Can Micro-Hydropower Electrify Remote Afghanistan and Promote Peace?

Dec 4, 2018 | Elizabeth B. Hessami

After close to 40 years of armed conflict, Afghanistan may be poised to begin a period of economic recovery. Electrifying remote areas and establishing pervasive…

Refining the UN's Approach to the Water-Security Nexus

Dec 3, 2018 | Danilo Turk

Today, the world is increasingly aware of the dramatic meaning of water. Water stress and water-related disasters are among the main consequences of global warming…

Water Wars Won’t Be Won on a Battlefield

Dec 2, 2018 | Bill Frist

It’s an astonishing finding: “Two countries engaged in active water cooperation” will “not go to war, for any reason." According to an extensive analysis by…

Opinion: Malnutrition In Conflict Zones is Rife- Here's How To Save Lives And Build Peace

Nov 30, 2018 | Michael Klosson

Conflict has been repeatedly cited by the United Nations as a major driver of hunger in 2018. Failure to get nutritious food to children trapped…

Aaron Wolf on Transboundary Water Conflict and Cooperation [Podcast]

Nov 30, 2018 | Wilson Center

“Countries—even countries that don’t like each other much—have, and continue to have, conversations over water resources, even when they won’t about other issues,” says Aaron…

Back to Business as Usual in Myanmar’s Jade Mines?

Nov 28, 2018 | Hanna Hindstrom

For over two decades, the world-famous jade mines in Hpakant in Kachin State have been associated with the horrors of Tatmadaw rule and civil war:…

International Water Cooperation Opens the Doors to Peacemaking

Nov 27, 2018 | Adrien Detges and Tobias Ide

Although water is an essential input for agriculture and industrial production, it is also scarce in many regions. When it crosses international borders via shared…

Lessons from Post-Conflict States: Peacebuilding Must Factor in Environment and Climate Change

Nov 22, 2018 | Karolina Eklöw and Florian Krampe

In the short run, it might be tempting to dismiss environmental issues when considering the insurmountable task of building peace after armed conflict. Yet, it…

Oil Deals May Be Key to Peace in South China Sea

Nov 21, 2018 | Kenneth Rapoza

A new oil deal between the Philippines and China is sure to set the table for better relations going forward. Oil may be to blame…

Gender Differences in Public Understanding of Climate Change

Nov 20, 2018 | Matthew Ballew, Jennifer Marlon, Anthony Leiserowitz and Edward Maibach

While political views play a strong role in Americans’ opinions on climate change, there are many other individual, social, and cultural factors that influence public…

Stretched Thin: When Fragile States Face Climate Hazards

Nov 20, 2018 | Ashley Moran, Joshua Busby, and Clionadh Raleigh

Many states are facing the double burden of state fragility and climate exposure, which is the subject of our new report for the U.S. Agency…

Water Geopolitics In the Middle East

Nov 19, 2018 | Shehab Al-Makahleh

In the 21st century, the Middle East will witness a new and unalike kind of war. Despite economic pressures, ethnic and sectarian dissections, terrorism activities,…

WWI Shadow Haunts The Energy Industry In The Middle East

Nov 19, 2018 | Robin Mills

The century’s anniversary of the end of the First World War, commemorated last Sunday, also marks the decisive entry of oil into global technology and…

Oil Export Resumption from Iraq's Kirkuk Field Comes at the Worst Possible Time

Nov 19, 2018 | OILytics

The Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad today announced that a preliminary agreement had been reached with the Kurdistan Regional Government. This preliminary agreement will ensure…

Why Access to Improved Sanitation Is So Important for Afghanistan

Nov 18, 2018 | Fahim Malekzai

Afghanistan is experiencing a crisis in sanitation both in cities and rural areas, the consequences of which extend to the most serious of health problems.

What Does the Extension of the UNISFA Mandate Mean for Abyei's Future?

Nov 17, 2018 | Jok WaMonychok Juba

As written by the Secretary General in the letter of 20 August 2018(S/ 2018/778) taking note of security situation in the area as criminal in…

Afghan Mineral Wealth: A Double-Edged Sword

Nov 16, 2018 | Wahidullah Azizi

As the country slides deeper into trouble, many view Afghanistan’s enormous natural wealth as the way out of the somber economic and security situation. While…

Basra's Poisonous Water Demands International Action

Nov 14, 2018 | Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs)

Violent protests erupted in Basra this summer in response to the deterioration of public services. At the centre of the unrest is a water supply…

States Welcome Principles on Environmental Protection in Occupation during UN Debate

Nov 14, 2018 | Conflict and Environment Observatory

The recent debate in the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee on the International Law Commission’s (ILC) ongoing study into the Protection of the environment in…