News


Climate Change: Land Grabs Soar, Worsen Land Conflicts and Climate Change: Report

Jun 14, 2016 | teleSUR

Industrial agriculture and financial sectors are hand-in-hand worsening climate change and then profiting from it, with an unprecedented number of land grabs over the last…


DRC: China Firms to Fund Congo Hydro Power Plant to Lift Mining Output

Jun 14, 2016 | Reuters

China's Sinohydro and China Railway Group will finance a $660 million hydroelectric plant in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo which is being built to reduce…


Colombia: Two Hundred Indigenous U'wa Occupy Gas Plant in Colombia

Jun 14, 2016 | Charlie Satow, Intercontinental Cry

Two hundred Indigenous U'wa men, women, and children have occupied Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol's Gibraltar I gas plant south of the Colombia-Venezuela border in…


Afghanistan: International Environmental Safeguards Specialist

Jun 13, 2016 | Adam Smith International

Adam Smith International is an award-winning international development consultancy that delivers projects supporting economic growth and government reform internationally. Our reputation as a global leader…


That Chinese Frigate in the Senkakus Was a Bad Move for China

Jun 13, 2016 | Steven Stashwick

Early last Thursday morning, a Chinese Jiangkai I frigate entered waters near the disputed Japanese Senkaku islands, called the Diaoyu by China. The move sparked…


Iraq: Iraq Says IMF Deal "on Track" as Cabinet Approves Reform Package

Jun 13, 2016 | Maher Chmaytelli and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

Iraq has approved measures requested by the International Monetary Fund to unlock loans that should help the country overcome a cash crunch caused by declining…


Myanmar: Over-Extraction, Chinese Slowdown Blamed for Jade Price Slump

Jun 13, 2016 | Kyaw Hsu Mon, The Irrawaddy

With the government’s biannual gem emporium looming at the end of this month, prices for Burmese jade have continued to slide against weakening demand. Industry…


Conflict Minerals: Over 125 Civil Society Actors Call the EU to Tackle Conflict Minerals

Jun 13, 2016 | Amnesty International, Global Witness, and others

"Open letter to the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Member States of the European Union": Minerals are key components…


Côte d’Ivoire: Arbitrary Evictions in Protected Forests

Jun 13, 2016 | Human Rights Watch

Residents of Côte d’Ivoire’s protected forests live in fear of arbitrary evictions and have suffered extortion and physical abuse by forest conservation authorities, Human Rights…


Colombia: The Evolution of Coffee Culture in Colombia’s Coffee Region

Jun 12, 2016 | Erin Donaldson, Colombia Reports

While growing coffee has been a major part of the economy of Pereira and the surrounding coffee region, drinking one of Colombia’s most iconic export…


Global Witness Must Come Forward and Testify in Court

Jun 10, 2016 | T. Johnson

The UK-based environmental and transparency watchdog, Global Witness (GW), has caused quite a stir (commotion, uproar) in Liberia with its sweeping allegations of corruption and…


Parsing Myanmar’s First EITI Report

Jun 10, 2016 | Paul Shortell

Myanmar’s recently released first EITI report, covering the 2013-14 fiscal year, includes previously undisclosed data on resource production, revenue flows, licences and company ownership.

The information…


Colombia: Chief of Party

Jun 10, 2016 | Chemonics

Chemonics seeks a chief of party for the anticipated Colombia Carbono Activity. This USAID-funded activity will support Colombia in the implementation of its agriculture, forestry,…


Colombia: Colombian Government Gives in to Agriculture Subsidies

Jun 10, 2016 | Julian Villabona, PanAm Post

Since May 29, agrarian unemployment in Colombia has become a problem again similar to the spike of 2013. Rural and indigenous community members took to the…


Chad: Refugees in Chad Must Adapt or Starve

Jun 9, 2016 | Mahamat Adamou

The Darfur conflict fell out of the headlines years ago, but more than 300,000 Sudanese are still living as refugees in neighbouring Chad, a country…


Mali: Environmental Health Advisor

Jun 9, 2016 | International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at…


When the State Wilts Away

Jun 9, 2016 | Lois Parshley, Bloomberg Businessweek

In weak nations, environmental stress can tip society into catastrophe. Venezuela was unraveling even before Hugo Chávez died in 2013. The situation has only gotten worse…


Myanmar: New Commission Formed to Investigate Alleged Gems Association Embezzlement

Jun 9, 2016 | Htet Nain Zaw, The Irrawaddy

A new investigation commission will be formed to look into the Myanmar Gems Traders Association’s financial scandal, involving allegations of more than US$100 million that…


Myanmar: Hunting Endangered Animals in the Jungles of Myanmar

Jun 9, 2016 | Katie Arnold, Al Jazeera

The Asiatic black bear, characterised by the white crescent that adorns its chest, is a globally threatened species that roams a vast territory stretching from…


Climate Change: NATO Secretary General: “Climate Change is Also a Security Threat”

Jun 9, 2016 | Shiloh Fetzek, The Center for Climate & Security

In advance of the NATO Summit Warsaw in July, the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg sat down for an interview with POLITICO Europe. When…


Myanmar: Team Investigating Missing Gem Funds Submits Report to Myanmar Government

Jun 9, 2016 | Radio Free Asia

A team investigating the disappearance of nearly U.S. $100 million in funds belonging to a gem association submitted its findings on Wednesday to Myanmar's minister…


Colombia: Colombia Rural Strike Stands Strong as Police Repression Mounts [Photos]

Jun 9, 2016 | teleSUR

Tens of thousands of peasants, rural workers, and Indigenous people in Colombia have been fighting against massive land inequality and privatization decrees, as well as…


Côte d’Ivoire: Ivory Coast Land Disputes Threaten New Violence as War Refugees Return

Jun 9, 2016 | Joe Bavier, Reuters

A post-war economic recovery has made Ivory Coast the darling of investors in Africa. But as refugees from the war trickle back - around 16,000…


India/Pakistan/Kashmir: Kashmir: A Water War in the Making?

Jun 9, 2016 | Baba Umar, The Diplomat

Today Pakistan and India are locked in a bitter water conflict. Though diplomatic exertions have prevented a major escalation, both countries are entangled in legal…


Nigeria: Nigeria Delta Avengers Say Oil Rich Region Could Break Away

Jun 9, 2016 | TV360Nigeria

A Nigerian militant group, which has claimed a string of attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta, said on Thursday the region might break…


China/Japan/East China Sea: A First: Chinese Naval Vessel Enters Senkaku Contiguous Zone in East China Sea

Jun 9, 2016 | Ankit Panda, Diplomat

Early on Thursday, a Chinese Navy frigate entered the contiguous zone adjacent to the 12 nautical mile Japanese territorial sea around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands…


Global Witness' Mistake on the Afghanistan Mining and Gem Trade: There's No $1 Trillion There

Jun 8, 2016 | Tim Worstall

There’s much to admire in the latest report from Global Witness into the mining of lapis lazuli and other semi-precious stones in Afghanistan. The level…


Can Securities Regulation Stymie Conflict in Africa?

Jun 8, 2016 | Katie Cramer

The “conflict minerals provision” contained in Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act instructed the SEC to develop reporting requirements for companies producing goods…


Nigeria: Using Non-Violence to Achieve Clean Up of Ogoniland

Jun 8, 2016 | Cornelius Essen

The recent flag-off ceremony of cleanup of Ogoniland has reawakened the hope of the people of the community that their environment could be liveable again.…


Fostering Sustainable, Resilient Food Security in Nigeria

Jun 8, 2016 | Nkechi Isaac

Speaking during a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility (GEF) program development workshop with the theme “Fostering sustainability and resilience for food security…