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.
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.
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.
PAX/Bellingcat | Hazardous Legacies: An Open-Source Overview of the Destruction of Deir ez-Zor’s Oil Industry
Russian Air Force and CJTF-OIR bombing has heavily targeted oil infrastructure. At the same time, scorched-earth tactics by the Islamic State also caused pollution. These actions have left an environmental toxic footprint that is already posing health risks to local communities.
Syria Untold | Drought Not the Only Environmental Problem in Syria Before 2011
Water stress, climatic factors and poor governance all had a part to play in undermining Syrian society. Syria became water-stressed due to both external and internal factors. Reduced rainfall levels and an unfavorable position in the Euphrates-Tigris river basin contributed to Syria’s socio-economic vulnerability to drought. These are factors that are difficult to control nationally.…
CHD | Ecological threats in Donbas, Ukraine
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue’s assessment has a particular focus on the threats posed by industrial facilities and coal mines in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.