News

Colombia: A Lesson in Booms and Busts for Latin America’s Newest Oil Power

Apr 28, 2015 | Andrea Jaramillo and Andrew Willis, Bloomberg

In a remote corner of Bogota’s sprawling airport complex, just a few miles before the city gives way to wind-swept savanna, a gleaming-white hangar stands…

Colombia: Officials Urge End to Herbicide’s Use on Coca

Apr 28, 2015 | William Neuman, New York Times

Colombia’s Health Ministry has recommended halting the spraying of an herbicide widely used in an American-funded campaign to eradicate crops of coca, the plant used…

War, Famine, and Drought – the Unholy Trinity Changing Our World

Apr 27, 2015 | Boyd Tonkin

Earlier this week, the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister at last backtracked on his government’s part in the withdrawal last year of EU search-and-rescue operations for…

Building Climate Resilience in Conflict-Affected States: A Neglected Agenda

Apr 27, 2015 | Grace Keyes

Climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts face many obstacles in fragile and conflict-affected societies. Instead of writing off these situations, however, International Alert’s Janani Vivekananda,…

Africa: African Diamond Producers Refuse to Support Beneficiation With Mining Revenue

Apr 27, 2015 | Ronen Shnidman, Rapaport

Africa’s major diamond producing nations expressed unwillingness to compromise government revenue from rough diamond sales to support local manufacturers in the current weak market. "We…

Mali: Drought, Expanding Deserts and 'Food for Jihad' Drive Mali's Conflict

Apr 27, 2015 | Chris Arsenault, Reuters

Life has never been easy in Moussa Majga's corner of northern Mali, a desert region of leafless trees, mud huts and roaming gunmen. For years,…

Liberia: 'Pay Our Land Rental Fees'

Apr 27, 2015 | The NEWS

The National Union of Community Forest Development Committees (NUCFDC) is calling on the Liberian Government to disburse its share of the Land Rental Fees. The…

Nepal: Nepal Villages Cut Off by Earthquake Wait for Aid as Death Toll Passes 4,000

Apr 27, 2015 | Thomas Fuller and Ellen Barry, New York Times

Five hours by car from Katmandu, then by foot for several miles past the spot where the road is blocked by boulders and mud, people…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Falling Prices, Rising Threats Cool Interest in Kurdish Oil

Apr 26, 2015 | Bram Janssen and Paul Schemm, Associated Press

The hall for the Irbil Oil and Gas Exhibition this week was crowded with company displays, executives and investors. But conspicuously absent were international oil…

South Sudan: Sudd Institute Reports Cover-Up of South Sudan Oil Spills

Apr 26, 2015 | Radio Tamazuj

An independent South Sudanese research organization has found that none of the environmental transparency provisions of the Petroleum Act 2012 are being enforced, in particular…

South Sudan: South Sudan Capital Hit by Drinking Water Shortages

Apr 26, 2015 | Sudan Tribune

Residents in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, say there is no clean drinking water in the city which serves as the seat of the government,…

Palestine: How Israel’s War Has Left Gaza Dry

Apr 25, 2015 | Kate Shuttleworth, The National

A tanker pulls up on a dirt road outside a two-level house where five families live. Three men jump out and unwind a plastic hose…

Violence and Conflict over Minerals Still Plague Eastern Congo

Apr 23, 2015 | Sarah Morrison

For Darlène Ndango, fear builds at night. Just over two weeks ago, she was woken up in her bed by the sound of gunshots ripping…

Iraq: Low Oil Prices Limit Iraq’s Output Growth

Apr 23, 2015 | Andy Tully, OilPrice.com

Iraq, still reeling from the US invasion and now fighting ISIS, has been trying to increase its oil output, but two energy giants, Britain’s BP…

Liberia: A Closer Look at Alternative Land Dispute Resolution (ALDR) Systems

Apr 23, 2015 | Liberian Observer

As inscribed in the Act establishing the Land Commission, one of the duties and functions is to promote "prompt and fair resolution of conflicts over…

Call for Abstracts: Rethinking Peace, Security and Development in Contemporary Africa

Apr 22, 2015 | University of Bradford

Dubbed as the year of Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance, 2013 saw many African countries celebrate their 50th anniversary of independence. Looking at its past, present…

The Ukraine Conflict’s Legacy of Environmental Damage and Pollutants

Apr 22, 2015 | Nickolai Denisov, Otto Simonett, Doug Weir and Dmytro Averin

One year after violent conflict began, information is now emerging on the specific environmental impact of war in Ukraine’s highly industrialised Donbas region. Although obtaining…

Central African Republic: Consultant

Apr 22, 2015 | Welthungerhilife

Welthungerhilfe (www.welthungerhilfe.de) is one of the largest and most respected private organisations in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid in Germany. It carries…

Central African Republic: Program Food Security

Apr 22, 2015 | ACTED

ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities…

Afghanistan: Participatory Watershed Management Project Consultant

Apr 22, 2015 | Afghanaid

Afghanaid (leader of the Afghanistan Resilience Consortium – ARC) is a British-registered international NGO, which has worked in Afghanistan for over 30 years. We assist…

Haiti: Haiti Earthquake Programme Consultants (3)

Apr 22, 2015 | British Red Cross

Following the Haiti earthquake of January 2010, the British Red Cross, within the framework of the International Red Cross Red Crescent, supported the affected population…

Tracing the Source of ‘Conflict Minerals’

Apr 22, 2015 | Denis Mukwege

BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — From 1998 through 2002, my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, endured a devastating civil war. The cease-fire that…

Conflict Minerals: Conflict Minerals Remain Unchecked by Most U.S. Manufacturers

Apr 22, 2015 | Stephen E. Stapczynski, Bloomberg

Metals that are sold to help fund armed groups in Africa could be making their way into the U.S manufacturing industry unchecked, a Global Witness…

DRC: Responsible Gold Also Means Supporting Livelihoods of Artisanal Miners

Apr 22, 2015 | Tyler Gillard and Roel Nieuwenkamp, The Huffington Post

Last year, Congolese civil society leader Eric Kajemba helped broker a deal between the army, local authorities, three powerful Congolese families and a Canadian mining…

Water: OSU Geoscientist Wins $250,000 Award for Global Water Negotiations

Apr 22, 2015 | The Oregonian

An Oregon State University geoscientist who specializes in resolving complex international water conflicts will receive a $250,000 Heinz Award for Public Policy. Professor Aaron Wolf…

Call for Abstracts: Peace Conference at Wageningen University

Apr 21, 2015 | Wageningen University

Natural resources often lie at the heart of wars and civil strife. At least forty percent of all intrastate conflicts over the past sixty years…

Liberia: Logging Company Dumps Defendants in PUP Six Million Case

Apr 21, 2015 | Abednego Davis, Liberian Observer

Drama unfolded yesterday in the ongoing trial of four dismissed managers of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and a senior surveyor of the Ministry of…

Sudan: Sudan Gold-Mine Collapse Leaves Six People Dead, Dozens Missing

Apr 21, 2015 | Bassem Abo Alabass Mohammed, Bloomberg

A gold-mine collapse in Sudan’s western region of Darfur killed six people and may have left more than 30 others trapped underground, a community leader…

The Coming Water Wars

Apr 20, 2015 | Jo Ankier and John Fengolio

“Around 60% more food will be needed to feed the world’s growing population by 2050 and with the demand for water set to increase by…

China: Pressure Mounts on China for Water Security

Apr 20, 2015 | The Asian Age

Way back in 1999, before he became China’s Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao warned that water scarcity posed one of the greatest threats to the “survival…