National Geographic | Climate Change and Water Woes Drove ISIS Recruiting in Iraq
Battered by shifting resources, desperate farmers were driven into terror recruiters’ clutches. Can it happen again?
Middle East Eye | Gaddafi’s toxic legacy: The abandoned chemical plant poisoning Libyans
How a former chemical plant has been abandoned due to the conflict and now poses risks to the environment and local communities.
Momentum continues to grow in UN study on laws protecting environment in conflict
Governments at the UN General Assembly’s Sixth Committee have welcomed the continuation of the International Law Commission’s study into the legal framework protecting the environment in relation to armed conflicts. However, while there was near universal support for the study, its scope, priorities and eventual outcome are all still subject to debate.
OHCHR | UN experts warn of chemical disaster and water safety risk as conflict escalates in East
UN experts on human rights and hazardous substances, and safe drinking water and sanitation, raise concerns over the potential risks from damage to water infrastructure in the Donbas region.
International community urged to address the environment in war to protect civilians
33 NGOs and 12 experts mark the UN’s 6th November #EnvConflictDay 2017 by releasing a joint statement calling for progress on conflict and the environment.
Björnham et al | The 2016 Al-Mishraq sulphur plant fire: Source and health risk area estimation
This study used remote observations to model the atmospheric dispersion of sulphur dioxide from a fire at the Al Mishraq sulphur plant near Mosul, estimated casualties corresponded well with those reported.
Yale Environment 360 | With New Peace, Colombia Finds Hope for Saving Its Wild Lands
After a half-century of conflict, Colombia is regaining control of vast biologically rich areas that had been havens for rebel groups. Now, scientists are racing to create plans for conservation and sustainable development to head off an influx of illegal loggers and miners.
The environmental consequences of the use of armed drones
To date, debate over the implications of the growing use of armed drones has focused on human rights, on the expansion of the use of force into new contexts, and on the imbalances created by the newfound ability to project violence at a distance. Doug Weir and Elizabeth Minor consider the environmental dimensions of the use of drone warfare. They find the literature to be largely absent of considerations over the environmental and derived humanitarian impacts of drone operations, and so this blog, should be viewed as a starting point for efforts to assess the environmental consequences of the use of armed drones.