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Myanmar: Myanmar Makes Record Seizures of Illegal Timber

Feb 22, 2017 | Malay Mail

Myanmar seized a record amount of illegal timber this financial year as part of a government clampdown to protect the country’s rapidly disappearing forests, a…

The Mosul Operation: An Interim Open-Source Assessment of Conflict-Related Environmental Damage

Feb 21, 2017 | Wim Zwijnenburg

As the Mosul Operations slowly progress, a myriad of open-source information is emerging from both Ninawa province and other areas where intense fighting took place…

Myanmar: Myanmar Villagers Demand Land Compensation from Copper Mine Operator

Feb 21, 2017 | Radio Free Asia

About 100 residents from the town of Letpadaung protested on Tuesday against the Chinese company that operates a controversial copper mine in northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing…

South Sudan: Famine in South Sudan as Oil Revenues Remain Elusive

Feb 21, 2017 | Damir Kaletovic, Oil Price

The South Sudanese government and three humanitarian agencies have declared a famine in some parts of the country as the newly independent nation struggle to…

Sudan/South Sudan: South Sudan Risks Losing Oil-Rich Abyei

Feb 21, 2017 | Fred Oluoch, East African

South Sudan risks losing the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei with internal strife taking most of its attention as Khartoum moves to entrench its administration…

A Long and Winding Road Ends for Resource Extraction Disclosure

Feb 20, 2017 | Kimberley Anderson

On February 14, 2017, President Trump approved a joint resolution of Congress that disapproves the SEC’s rule requiring specific disclosures by resource extraction issuers, effectively…

Myanmar: EU-Standard Forestry Agreement to Be Set up

Feb 20, 2017 | Si Thu Lwin, Myanmar Times

Forestry staff, relevant government personnel, environmental conservation groups and timber entrepreneurs met in Mandalay on February 15 for a workshop to discuss the processes involved…

Uganda: Uganda Launches Gold Refinery, amid Fears of Dirty Minerals

Feb 20, 2017 | Associated Press

A gold refinery primarily owned by a Belgian investor was launched in Uganda Monday amid concerns about the source of its minerals. The African Gold…

Climate Change: Patricia Espinosa: “The Climate Change Story Is a Security Story” - Address at Munich Security Conference

Feb 18, 2017 | UN

At the annual Munich Security Conference, the UN’s top climate change official UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa gave an opening address at a discussion on…

Water Wars: Rediscovering the Status Quo in the South China Sea

Feb 17, 2017 | Jared Dummitt and Eliot Kim

China continued to react critically to the Trump administration’s emerging position on the South China Sea. Responding to a joint statement by President Trump and…

South Sudan: South Sudan Deploys More Troops in Oil Fields to Boost Production

Feb 17, 2017 | Sudan Tribune

South Sudan has deployed more troops in preparation for the resumption oil production in areas where activities were halted as a result of the December…

Iraq: Iraq Plans to Acquire 'Large Fleet' of Oil Tankers

Feb 17, 2017 | Maher Chmaytelli and Adrian Croft, Reuters

Iraq plans to acquire a "large fleet" of oil tankers to transport the OPEC nation's crude to global markets, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said in…

Conflict Minerals: Church Leaders Hope Trump Does Not Repeal Conflict-Minerals Provisions

Feb 17, 2017 | Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service

Church leaders and organizations in Africa, Europe and the United States said it would be disastrous if U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order…

Afghanistan: Scientists in Afghanistan Set New Program to Raise Wheat Harvests

Feb 17, 2017 | Rajiv Sharma and Zaki Afshar, CIMMYT

Inadequate access to new disease-resistant varieties and short supplies of certified seed are holding back wheat output and contributing to rising food insecurity in Afghanistan, according…

The De Facto Embargo is Over: Record-High Conflict-Free Minerals Exports from Eastern Congo

Feb 16, 2017 | Annie Callaway and Sasha Lezhnev

The conflict-free minerals trade has been slowly but steadily increasing in recent years, and 2016 resulted in record-high exports from the eastern Democratic Republic of…

China/India/Nepal: Water Diplomacy

Feb 16, 2017 | Pramod Arayol, Kathmandu Post

Nepal, China, and India have witnessed civilisations with diverse religions, cultures and heritages growing in harmony but with a brutal history of colonisation followed by…

South Sudan: South Sudan Seeks Unlikely Economic Salvation with Farming

Feb 16, 2017 | Okech Francis, Bloomberg

South Sudan, ravaged by three years of conflict and impending famine, said it’s seeking investors for agricultural land in a bid to offset a fall…

Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan: When Climate Change Starts Wars

Feb 16, 2017 | John Wendle, Nautilus

Throughout the spring and summer in 2016, tensions flared after ethnic Uzbek villagers and police blocked access to the reservoir and its water, which lies…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Stuck without Water in Mosul, Neighbors Find a Way

Feb 16, 2017 | David Zucchino and Ben C. Solomond, New York Times

The water taps are dry in Rashidiya. The water and sewage system collapsed in this eastern Mosul neighborhood after 100 days of street combat. On…

Myanmar: Chinese Farmers Trespass on Burmese Soil, Lawmaker Claims

Feb 16, 2017 | Htet Naing Zaw, Irrawaddy

Chinese farmers have been illegally planting crops in Man Waing Gyi, near the Burma-China border of Kachin State, according to Lower House lawmaker U Chin…

Land at the Heart of Myanmar’s Transition: Part 2

Feb 15, 2017 | Anna Wellenstein

In part 1, we discussed some of the major land-related challenges facing Myanmar’s transition and development. In fact, resolving outstanding land issues will help the…

Conflict Minerals: African States Wary of Potential Repeal of 'Conflict Minerals' Rule

Feb 15, 2017 | Reuters

A possible plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend a rule on "conflict minerals" could help fund armed groups and contribute to a surge…

Liberia: Holding the Line – Global Witness Reveals How All of Liberia’s Large Logging Contracts Are Illegal on Multiple Counts

Feb 15, 2017 | Global News Network

Liberia’s forestry sector has a long history of corruption, crime and conflict. During the country’s 14-year war, logging contracts were handed out to cronies of…