AREU | Still water runs deep: Illicit poppy and the transformation of the deserts of southwest Afghanistan
A call to rethink how agricultural areas converted from desert to poppy production in Afghanistan are viewed.
Sudd Institute | Climate change and conflict in South Sudan
A paper examining the relationship between climate change and conflict in South Sudan. Some of the important factors the paper highlights include the competition for territory usually based on the land’s fertility.
New Security Beat | A Ukrainian Stand-Off: The Toxic Consequences of Armed Conflict in Donbass
Conflicts like the ones in the Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria show how wartime damage to the environment can have long-term consequences for countries as they seek to recover.
Mongabay | Open destruction in the Colombian Amazon after FARC’s exit
In 2015, 24,142 hectares of forest were lost, which is almost 20% of Colombia’s total forested area in that year. The main driving forces of the deforestation are the expansion of the agricultural industry to make room for cattle, along with the commercialization of wood, illicit crops, and illegal mining.
PAX/Bellingcat | Nefarious Negligence: Post-Conflict Oil Pollution in Eastern Syria
Years of bombing by the US-led Coalition and Russian Air Force, combined with fighting around and attacks on oil refineries, have resulted in a severely damaged oil industry in Syria.
UN Environment | Rising from the rubble: Iraq’s Mosul takes steps to deal with war debris
The end of hostilities left Mosul, already devastated by ISIL’s wanton killings, grappling with debris from widespread destruction of infrastructure by rival forces.
IRC | They die of bombs, we die of need: impact of collapsing public health systems in Yemen
Parties to the conflict must be encouraged to agree to a cessation of hostilities which must include safeguards for health, water and sanitation facilities.
IOM Libya | Accessing Water in One of the World’s Driest Countries
How the needs of conflict-affected communities in Southern Libya are being addressed. Communities in southern Libya crucially rely on water wells to extract water, which through the connection to the water well network, reaches peoples’ individual homes. Over the past few years, many wells have fallen into disrepair or were not connected to the electricity…