Environmental Peacebuilding Association

News

Sudan/South Sudan: Security Council Extends Mandate of Interim Security Force for Abyei, Recognizing Situation as Serious Threat to International Peace

Nov 15, 2016 | United Nations

Recognizing that the situation along the Sudan-South Sudan border remained a serious threat to international peace and security, the Security Council decided this afternoon to…

Conflict Minerals: New Initiative Aims to Advance Responsible Sourcing of Raw Materials in Technology Supply Chains

Nov 15, 2016 | Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition

The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) and the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) today announced the launch of the Responsible Raw Materials Initiative (RRMI) to address…

Liberia: Wasted Wealth: Liberia and the Negative Impact of Logging

Nov 15, 2016 | Globe Afrique

Industrial or commercial logging poses the gravest threat to the Liberian rainforest; the largest remaining forest blocks in the Upper Guinea Forest region. Although other…

Myanmar: Sweden Sets Legal Precedent with Prosecution of Myanmar Teak Trader

Nov 15, 2016 | Mike Gaworecki, Mongabay

A Swedish court upheld a ruling today that finds an importer of teak from Myanmar to be in violation of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR)…

Satellite Images Map Deforestation

Nov 14, 2016 | Caitlin Bird, Boston University

Satellite images of forests in New England—and across the world—are allowing experts to observe how they are changing over time, and in doing so, to…

Myanmar: Crops, Homes, Roads Destroyed in Tatkon Flooding after Dam Overflows

Nov 14, 2016 | Pyae Thet Phyo, Myanmar Times

Thousands of acres of farmland in Nay Pyi Taw’s Tatkon township were destroyed after water flooded over the Nan Won dam on November 11, according…

Liberia: Ellen Approves Land and Authority Act

Nov 14, 2016 | Daily Observer

At long last, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has approved and signed into law, the much talked about Liberia Land Authority Act, which was submitted by…

Even With a New Colombian Peace Deal, What Happens in the Countryside?

Nov 13, 2016 | Michael Albertus

Will Saturday’s new peace accord with the FARC guerrilla group fare better than the June deal? The new accord follows an Oct. 2 referendum that narrowly rejected the Colombian…

120 minutes: A Story of a Water Master and Transformative Irrigation in Afghanistan

Nov 13, 2016 | Bashit Ahmad

As the local mirab - “water master” and I walked along the high-elevation canal, high winds blew sand in our mouths and eyes. The elevation…

Kuwait: Photos of the Gulf War Fires that Turned Kuwait's Oil Fields into Hell

Nov 13, 2016 | Sebastião Salgado, VICE

Oil was both the beginning and the end of the story of the Iraqi invasion. Baghdad insisted that it had an historical claim to the…

Rwanda: Government Approves Nearly 50 Mining, Exploration Licenses

Nov 12, 2016 | KT Press

Rwanda on Friday licensed up to 50 mining companies – as independent international studies show the country has more mineral wealth than previously known. A…

A Veteran’s Day Warning: Trump’s Climate Policies Will Create More War, More Refugees

Nov 11, 2016 | Joe Romm

Donald Trump’s climate policies would create dozens of failed states south of the U.S. border and around the world. They would lead to hundreds of…

Women's Leadership: Critical to Securing the Paris Agreement; Essential to Fulfilling It

Nov 11, 2016 | Courtney Durham, Natalie Elwell, and Cynthia Elliot

The Paris Agreement on climate change wouldn’t be what it is today without action from strong women from around the world. Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC…

Unfriendly Fire: Why Environmental Protection Must Be a Priority in Armed Conflict

Nov 11, 2016 | UNOCHA

Contamination of natural resources is devastating communities, leaving behind toxic ruins and detrimental environmental and humanitarian consequences, which can last for generations. But while these…

Liberia: Tension Brewing in Western Liberia, as Bomi and Gbarpolu Counties Tussle over Sawmill

Nov 11, 2016 | Eldred Wlemongar Thomas, Global News Network

Reports from Western Liberia say citizens of Bomi and Gbarpolu counties are engulfed in renewed crisis over ownership of Sawmill and Yomo town, a disputed…

Afgahnistan: Afghanistan’s Water-Sharing Puzzle

Nov 11, 2016 | Zabihullah Mudabber, Diplomat

Pakistan and Iran have always had historical claims over the water resources of Afghanistan. These claims have always been rejected by Afghanistan. The chaotic politics…

Conflict Minerals: EU Conflict Minerals Regulation: EU about to Weaken the Upcoming Regulation, Say NGOs

Nov 10, 2016 | European Network for Central Africa

The European Network for Central Africa (EurAc) calls on representatives of European Union (EU) Member States and of the European Parliament participating in the trilogue to…

States Back Further Progress on Conflict and Environment in UN Legal Debate

Nov 9, 2016 | Doug Weir

Before this May’s UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolution, the annual debates on the work of the International Law Commission (ILC), which take place in the…

Myanmar: Myanmar to Re-Assess 21-Year Old Forest Policy

Nov 9, 2016 | Xinhua

Myanmar will re-assess the country's forest policy which was drafted in 1995 in order to adapt to the current situation, local authorities said Wednesday. The…

Myanmar: KNU Signs Forestry Memorandum with WWF

Nov 9, 2016 | Saw Yan Naing, Irrawaddy

Burma’s oldest ethnic armed group, the Karen National Union (KNU), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Wide Fund for Nature Myanmar (WWF)…

As Demand Grows to Add Another Mineral to the List, Calls Continue to Reform Conflict Minerals Reporting Requirement. Today’s Election May Decide the Next Round for Dodd-Frank.

Nov 8, 2016 | Source Intelligence

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to receive comment letters from a variety of organizations and individuals about whether to refine conflict minerals…