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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…