ICRC | Natural environment: neglected victim of armed conflict
In late 2019, the ICRC will launch updated guidelines for militaries on environmental protection during armed conflicts, this blog and animation consider why they are needed.
PAX/Bellingcat | Torching and extortion: OSINT analysis of burning agriculture in Iraq
This article uses open source methods and remote sensing to explore the trail of agricultural destruction caused by fires in central Iraq in May 2019, and reviews the evidence of whether they have been deliberately started by Islamic State.
Justiceinfo.net | War, park rangers and the hopes of Colombia’s transitional justice
Colombian experts are working on a proposal for the new transitional justice to investigate the ways in which the environment and its caretakers have been affected by violence.
FAO | Afghanistan Emergency Livelihoods Response Plan 2019
Four decades of conflict and recurrent natural disasters have debilitated Afghanistan’s institutions and weakened the resilience of its people. In a country where more than 70 percent of the population is associated with crop production and livestock, the food security situation is expected to deteriorate further.
New UN legal report addresses the responsibility of states and corporations for environmental damage in conflict
Seven new draft principles on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts are being debated by the UN’s International Law Commission. Stavros Pantazopoulos examines the principles and finds that they are likely to be contested by governments.
The weaponisation of environmental information in the era of fake news
Environmental risks and damage in conflicts have long been used for propaganda purposes but the growth of social media has turbocharged this in recent years. In this blog Doug Weir and Dr Nickolai Denisov untangle cases from Gaza, Ukraine and Yemen to explore how information becomes a weapon.
OSCE | State of the Siverskyi Donets basin and related risks under military operations
A report assessing how the conflict in eastern Ukraine has impacted the quality of surface and groundwaters in the Siverskyi Donets basin, which is intersected by the Ukraine conflict’s frontline.
LAB | Colombia’s struggle for sustainable development
Blog analysing the challenges that post-conflict sustainable development will face in Colombia without efforts to strengthen governance at all levels.