Environmental Peacebuilding Association

News

The Danger of False Narratives: Al-Shabaab’s Faux Ivory Trade

Jun 5, 2015 | John Campbell

Elephants are being slaughtered and their tusks sold, in order to finance deadly attacks by Somalia’s terrorist group al-Shabaab. This narrative linking poaching and al-Shabaab…

Conflict Minerals: Businesses Trying to Comply with 'Conflict Minerals' Law

Jun 5, 2015 | Carrie Wells, Baltimore Sun

The argument goes that using a smartphone made from materials mined in war-torn Africa is no better than buying so-called blood diamonds. Rebel groups in…

Cote d'Ivoire/Liberia: Land Conflict Still Brewing at Liberia/Ivorian Border: Fear Mounts

Jun 5, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, GNN Liberia

Continued land disputes between Liberia and Ivory Coast are still ongoing as Liberians in some towns in Grand Gedeh County say Ivorians are encroaching on…

Liberia: ‘FDA Management Ambushed’

Jun 5, 2015 | The New Dawn Liberia

The indicted former Managing Director of Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority or FDA, Mr. Moses Wogbeh, has told court proceeding that he and his co-indictees were…

Timor-Leste: Timor-Leste Presses Ahead with Challenge to Timor Sea Oil and Gas Treaty

Jun 5, 2015 | Daniel Hurst, The Guardian

Timor-Leste is set to resume a formal challenge against an oil and gas treaty that became mired in controversy following claims Australia bugged the cabinet…

Myanmar: CPI Pushes for Restart of Myitsone Dam

Jun 5, 2015 | Ye Mon and Clare Hammond, Myanmar Times

President U Thein Sein has suspended the Myitsone Dam project until the end of his current term. Once this is over, CPI Yunnan International Power…

Myanmar: Profits of Drug Trade Drive Economic Boom in Myanmar

Jun 5, 2015 | Thomas Fuller, New York Times

Visitors flying into this buzzing tropical metropolis step into a modern glass-and-steel airport that symbolizes both Myanmar’s aspirations to rejoin the wider world after years…

Liberia: Garbage Causes Flood in Monrovia

Jun 4, 2015 | Cholo Brooks, GNN Liberia

Improper garbage disposal by residents, meanly those engaged in swamp land development is said to have contributed to a wave of flooding in recent days…

Iraq: IS Reduces Water Supply to Government Areas in Iraq’s Anbar

Jun 4, 2015 | Sameer N. Yacoub, Associated Press

Islamic State militants have reduced the amount of water flowing to government-held areas in Iraq’s western Anbar province, officials said Thursday, a move that highlights…

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnam Opens Spratlys to Tourism Amid Sea Dispute with China

Jun 4, 2015 | John Boudreau and Diep Pham, Bloomberg

Vietnam is inviting tourists to the front lines in its tense dispute with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, organizing the country’s…

Myanmar: ‘Heated’ Debate Again Stymies New Mining Law

Jun 4, 2015 | Nyein Nyein, The Irrawaddy

Efforts to pass a controversial bill updating Burma’s 1994 Mining Law have been postponed once again, after debate on the legislation turned “heated” this week…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Oil Agreement Central to Iraq's Unity in ISIS Fight May Be Crumbling

Jun 3, 2015 | Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Ibrahim Balkhy, and Christine Conetta, Huffington Post

A December 2014 oil agreement struck between Iraq's central government and the country's autonomous Kurdish region is in jeopardy and could soon need to be…

Timor-Leste: East Timor Revives Attempt to Have Greater Sunrise Treaty Declared Invalid Amid Spying Allegations

Jun 3, 2015 | Sara Everingham, ABC News

East Timor is reviving its attempt to nullify a multi-billion-dollar oil and gas treaty with Australia on the grounds Australia spied on Timorese officials during…

China/Philippines/South China Sea: Philippine President Makes Veiled Comparison between Beijing and Nazi Germany

Jun 3, 2015 | ABC News

Philippine president Benigno Aquino has made a veiled comparison between China's activities in the South China Sea and Nazi Germany's expansionism before World War II.…

Ethiopia: Thematic Director, Crop Productivity and Enhancement

Jun 2, 2015 | Sasakawa Africa Association

The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) is seeking a Crop Productivity Enhancement Theme Director (TD-CPE). This position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The TD-CPE will work within…

Nepal: Country Representative

Jun 2, 2015 | International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN is seeking applications from qualified individuals to recruit a dynamic and self-motivated professional for a Country Representative post in IUCN Nepal Country Office. The Country…

Cambodia: Conservation Program Manager

Jun 2, 2015 | World Wildlife Fund

WWF-Cambodia is looking for a qualified and energetic Conservation Programme Manager who is responsible for the implementation of the Country Conservation Programme and contributing to the Greater Mekong Programme…

Africa/Asia: Researcher on Women and Land

Jun 2, 2015 | Human Rights Watch

The Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch (“HRW”) is seeking highly-qualified applicants for the position of Researcher on Women and Land. This position will…

Companies Mark Major Benchmark, Support a Conflict-Free Minerals Trade in Congo

Jun 1, 2015 | Annie Callaway

Today marks the deadline for publicly traded companies in the United States to disclose the potential presence of conflict minerals in their supply chains, and what they’re…

Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen Could Change OPEC's Entire Strategy

Jun 1, 2015 | Elena Holodny

OPEC's hands-off policy in the oil market is expected to continue after the cartel meets in Vienna on June 5. This policy includes an aggressive pace…

South Sudan: Meet the South Sudanese Farmers Who Want to Feed Their War-Torn Nation

Jun 1, 2015 | Charlotte Alfred, Huffington Post

Pineapple farmer Marko Bagayowya has big plans. He wants to build a juice factory and sell South Sudan-made drinks. He wants to leave his four…

Iraq: Iraq Begins Heavy Oil Exports after Complaints about Quality

Jun 1, 2015 | Khalid Al Ansary and Anthony Dipaola, Bloomberg

Iraq, OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer, is set to increase exports after starting a new grade of crude to quell customer complaints about the quality of…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict-Mineral Reporting Industry Thriving

Jun 1, 2015 | Katherine Conner, The Daily Transcript

With all publicly traded companies preparing for manda- tory conflict-mineral reporting requirements to take effect in 2016, one private San Diego County company is preparing…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Erbil Warns Baghdad It May Sell Oil 'On Its Own'

May 31, 2015 | Middle East Monitor

The regional government in Erbil has the right to sell its own oil if Baghdad does not uphold its part of an oil agreement, the…

South China Sea: China/South China Sea: Australia Raises Alarm over Possible Chinese Military Build-Up on Contested Spratly Islands

May 31, 2015 | ABC News

Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has joined the United States and other nations in opposing China's large-scale land reclamation in the South China Sea. Satellite imagery…

Using the Full Mandate: Strengthening the Role of Peace and Human Rights in the UN’s Approach to Global Environmental Governance

May 29, 2015

Ken Conca is professor of international relations in the School of International Service at American University. His teaching and research focus on global environmental governance,…