Blogs & Opinions
Six Years After Cyclone Nargis
Apr 28, 2014
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Robin Lustig, The Huffington Post
Next week will mark the sixth anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which swept through the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma and killed at least 140,000 people. I've…
DRC: New Troubles at the Gates of Virunga
Apr 27, 2014
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Richard Branson, Desmond Tutu, and Howard G. Buffett, The Huffington Post
The British company SOCO International has recently begun surveying for oil in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Africa's eastern Democratic…
Turkey: Whose Side Will Turkey Take in an Arab-Israeli Face Off?
Apr 26, 2014
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Ceylan Ozbudak, Al Arabiya Network
This week, as the Arab-Israeli peace talks continue, Hamas and Fatah agreed to a unity government and announced that it will take form in five…
Underground Water Storage Can Mitigate Cross-Basin Tensions
Apr 25, 2014
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Russel Sticklor
As the earth’s surface grows hotter and precipitation becomes more variable due to the impacts of climate change, the world is in need of solutions…
South Sudan: Why Newest Nation Could Become the Bloodiest
Apr 23, 2014
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Mick Krever, CNN
Fears of all-out civil war in the world’s newest country, South Sudan, are at an all-time high a week after rebels slaughtered at least 400…
Water Wars? Think Again: Conflict Over Freshwater Structural Rather Than Strategic
Apr 22, 2014
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Cameron Harrington
The global water wars are almost upon us!
At least that’s how it seems to many. The signs are troubling: Egypt and Ethiopia have recently increased…
Beyond Greed or Grievance: Understanding Conflict in Resource-rich States
Apr 22, 2014
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Christoph Vogel and Joschka Havenith
Diamonds and Rubber in Sierra Leone, oil in Angola and Sudan, tantalum and gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, copper in Zambia –…
Not There Yet: Burma’s Fragile Ecosystems Show Challenges for Continued Progress
Apr 21, 2014
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Tim Kovach
Political and economic changes in Burma have been as rapid as they are surprising. In just three years, the country has gone from an isolated…
Ukraine: Crisis in Ukraine Has Far-Reaching Implications
Apr 17, 2014
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James A. Baker III, Houston Chronicle
Though headlines focus on the latest developments in Ukraine, the crisis has created a ripple effect around the world. The escalating conflict has even impacted…
The Complex World of Big Land Deals
Apr 14, 2014
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Fiona Harvey, Ensia Magazine
“When [the trucks] came through they could not get access to their objective. They really had to push their way through here. The people did…
Climate Change Mitigation, Peacebuilding, and Resilience
Apr 11, 2014
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Florian Krampe, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
How are our efforts to reduce the impact of climate change affecting post-conflict societies? Thinking and research about the possible impacts of climate change adaptation…
Land and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: The Peace Deal for Mindanao and its lessons for practitioners of environmental peacebuilding
Apr 10, 2014
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Paula Defensor Knack, Terra Nullius
This blog provides a guide to peace-builders in analyzing developments in the Mindanao peace process that occurred since the publication of Knack's chapter on “Legal…
The Problems with Burma’s Logging Ban
Apr 4, 2014
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Casey Hynes, asiancorrespondent.com
Burma’s recent announcement of a ban on exporting unprocessed timber logs seems like good news for the country’s environment and economy. The proposed ban is…
Japanese Investments are Driving Human Rights Abuses in Myanmar
Apr 3, 2014
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Rachel Wagley, Global Post
WASHINGTON — Japan’s development aid is driving Myanmar families into deeper poverty.
The Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) outside Rangoon, funded by the Japanese government through…
Ukraine and the Crisis of International Law
Mar 24, 2014
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Jeffery Sachs, Project Syndicate
NEW YORK – Russia's actions in Ukraine constitute a serious and dangerous violation of international law. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear…
The European Citizen and Conflict Resources
Jan 9, 2014
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Ries Kamphof
European consumers can contribute to more sustainable supply chains and less social, economic and ecological deprivation.
According to an annual report published by the International Telecommunications…
Global Warming and Global Security
Oct 17, 2013
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Project Syndicate
On September 27, the 195 member countries of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), supported by the work of thousands of scientists…
In a Polluted Stream, a Pathway to Peace
Oct 9, 2013
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New York Times
Peace talks are under way again in Jerusalem. If the past is any guide, the two sides are stymied over difficult issues like settlements and…
200 Years Of Landlessness? Land Inequality And The Search For Peace In Colombia
Aug 28, 2013
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Thomas Edward Flores
Representatives of the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continue to negotiate in the sweltering Havana summer to end a civil…
The Battle for Water
Aug 7, 2013
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Project Syndicate
The sharpening international geopolitical competition over natural resources has turned some strategic resources into engines of power struggle. Transnational water resources have become an especially…
Blood Money and Diamonds
Jun 13, 2013
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Farakh A. Khan
Slavery was banned in early 19th century but different forms of slavery continued. Globalisation made slavery a commonplace practice where people in the developed and…
Nurturing Wildlife in War-Torn Afghanistan
Dec 2, 2011
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Rachael Nuwer
When Wildlife Conservation Society scientists talk about their work in Afghanistan, they typically draw puzzled reactions. “Wildlife conservation in Afghanistan?”
Given the enormity of the country’s…
The American Military is Creating an Environmental Disaster in Afghanistan
Apr 25, 2010
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Matthew Nasuti
The American military presence in Afghanistan consists of fleets of aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, troops and facilities. Since 2001, they have generated millions…
The American Military is Creating an Environmental Disaster in Afghanistan
Apr 25, 2010
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Matthew Nasuti
The American military presence in Afghanistan consists of fleets of aircraft, helicopters, armored vehicles, weapons, equipment, troops and facilities. Since 2001, they have generated millions…
Sachs: Poverty Alleviation Route to Security
Jan 19, 2007
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Wilson Center
Urging a better understanding of the roots of instability, Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs on Wednesday said that fighting poverty will provide security benefits to…
Fiji: Indigenous Women Defend Community and Environment
Feb 20, 2006
In September of 2005, women from rural and urban areas throughout the Macuata Province, Fiji, met to create a strategic, ten-year sustainable development plan. The…
War Relief for the Environment
Jul 31, 1991
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Paul Shrivastava
Human suffering and political confusion have dominated postwar news in the persian gulf. But now, a year after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the war's most enduring…
Afghanistan: Investment in Solar Energy Production in Afghanistan
Bakhatar News Agency
Three companies, two from Iran and one from Afghanistan, have expressed their keen interest in investing in solar energy production within the country. Officials from…
Why Gender Matters in Climate Security - And What Policy Makers Can Do About It
Emma Hakala and Esther Hodges
In October 2025, United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 - the foundational resolution for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda - turns 25.…
Close the Gender Gap in Climate Change. Five Ways To Do It
Vilas Dhar, Tara Chklovski, and Yolanda Botti-Lodovico
With each breath they take, residents of Delhi endure the dark and dense smog resulting from crop burning. Even though these practices pollute the air and…