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Blood Diamonds to Blockchain Diamonds?

Sep 3, 2018 | Forbes Africa

Do you know where your diamonds come from? Ethically-sourced minerals and gems have gained a lot of traction of late. And increasingly, globally, consumers want…


Artificial Intelligence: Our Next Ally against Environmental Risks

Aug 21, 2018 | Lou del Bello

A glance at one satellite map of the Peruvian Amazon is enough to grasp the scale of devastation humans are causing to one of Earth's…


Open Mineral and ConsenSys Seek to Put the Blockchain in the Mineral Supply Chain

Jul 9, 2018 | Kyt Dotson

Open Mineral, an online metal and mineral exchange based in Switzerland, announced today the company’s upcoming launch of a distributed ledger blockchain platform to serve…


Why Blockchain Can Be an Effective Tool for Fighting Environmental Crime

May 10, 2018 | Samantha Radocchia

The effects of environmental crime and illicit trade are vast and often irreversible. For illustration, look no further than the recent death of the last…


Blockchain & the Gold Standard for a Conflict-Free Supply Chain

Apr 27, 2018 | Ariella Brown

Conflict minerals making their way into the electronic supply chain presents a challenge to companies that want to act both legally and ethically. Tracing such…


This Website Can Tell You Who Owns Land in 60 Countries

Feb 20, 2018 | CRL

Helping cultures and nations communicate with one another has traditionally been the responsibility of diplomats, but the Land Portal Foundation takes the position that strengthening…


New Data Highlight Afro-Descendant Territories without Legal Recognition, and the Threats They Face

Jan 9, 2018 | Mary Alice Jackson

New data gathered from Afro-descendant community councils and state records reveal that the Colombian government has failed to address 271 claims for collective Afro-descendant land…


The Environmental Consequences of the Use of Armed Drones

Oct 20, 2017 | Doug Weir

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…


Hazardous Legacies: An Open-Source Overview of the Destruction of Deir ez-Zor’s Oil Industry

Oct 20, 2017 | Wim Zwijnenburg

Now that the so-called Islamic State (IS) is rapidly losing terrain in eastern Syria, a race is underway to capture the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor governorate.…


Jordan: Programme Associate (Geographic Information System & Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping) G6

Oct 20, 2017 | World Food Programme

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero…


Big Data’s Big Role in Reducing Water Stress

Sep 6, 2017 | Nitin Donde

Water stress is not an arcane term just used by hydrologists. It is defined as the inability to meet the ‘human and ecological demand for…


High-Tech Agriculture Can Prevent Oncoming Global Water Wars

Dec 23, 2016 | Rupesh Paudyal

Forget about oil or gas – you should be worrying about the less discussed but far more concerning fact that the world is running out…


Environmental Damage as a Weapon of War? Open Source Industrial Risk Analysis of the Mosul Battle

Oct 25, 2016 | Wim Zwijnenburg

The start of the operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (IS)  has seen unprecedented use of environmental pollution as a means to hinder…


Afghanistan: Mineral-Rich, Conflict Torn Electronics Treasure Trove

Sep 6, 2016 | Jennifer Baljko

Besides oil, gas, and minerals such as as gold, copper and tantalum, a 2010, New York Times article cited an internal Pentagon memo stating that Afghanistan was…


Online Identification of Conflict Related Environmental Damage

Dec 18, 2015 | Wim Zwinenburg and Eliot Higgins

In this blog, Wim Zwinenburg (PAX) and Eliot Higgins (Bellingcat) discuss the open source intelligence tools that they used to recover data on environmental damage…


Climate Data Can Be Critical in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States – Here’s How to Get It

Oct 5, 2015 | Schuyler Null

When war breaks out, what happens to the weather forecast? Violent conflict disrupts many essential services in developing countries and one of the most overlooked…


Judging the Civilian and Environmental Risks of Cyber Warfare

Jun 12, 2015 | Doug Weir

How much of a threat do cyber attacks on industrial infrastructure pose to civilians and the environment? More to the point, how do we judge…


Conflict, Forced Migration and Property Claims

Jun 10, 2015 | Sandra Joireman and Jon Unruh

Amidst widespread fighting in Iraq and Syria, millions of distressed civilians have fled their homes. In Yemen as well, war has led to mass displacement…


Fragile States Use Geospatial Data and Maps to Better Manage Natural Resources

May 6, 2015 | Alex Fischer

The g7+ countries (a voluntary grouping of 20 states affected by fragility) have recognized that one of the first step towards addressing the challenges identified in natural…


Remote Data Team Helped Put Haiti back on the Map

Mar 18, 2015 | Alex Fischer

A piece from the Earth Institute Haiti Dialogue Series: Now in its third year, having hosted more than 20 sessions, the Haiti Dialogue Series hosts forums that…