Environmental Degradation
Resources
DRC: Blockchain-based Traceability Firm by an African NBA Legend to Help Track Ethical Cobalt Mining Projects in The Congo
International
Bluetech, an investment firm owned by NBA legend, Dikembe Mutombo, says it has invested about $1 billion in ethical cobalt mining projects, a part of…
Cameroon: Sexual Violence Pervasive in Cameroon’s Anglophone Regions
International
Every day, Gladys, a 33-year-old vendor in Buea, the capital of Cameroon’s Southwest region, heads to Muea market to sell vegetables, sweets and other food…
Conflict Minerals: Glencore, Umicore to Trace Battery Cobalt with Blockchain Technology
International
Mining and trading company Glencore and other miners are joining forces with battery material supplier Umicore to make the cobalt used in electric cars traceable…
Myanmar: Kachin Farmers Occupy Land Seized by Myanmar Military-Linked Company
International
Kachin State farmers are recapturing their land, confiscated under the previous military regime by the Yuzana Company in 2006, after the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)…
DRC: NBA Hall of Famer and Global Philanthropist, Dikembe Mutombo and Partners, to Invest US$1 Billion in Ethical Mining Projects in Democratic Republic of the Congo to Support Electric Vehicles and Other Technologies
International
Dikembe Mutombo, Chairman of Bluetech Investments, and international groups of investors from the United States, Hong Kong, and Germany, have announced over a US$1 Billion…
Mozambique: Gas Fields and Jihad: Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Becomes a Resource-Rich War Zone
International
On Monday, French energy giant Total declared force majeure on its multibillion-dollar light natural gas (LNG) project in northern Mozambique, formally withdrawing all of its…
DRC: Gécamines Takes over the Artisanal Cobalt Mining Sector
International
Officially launched on 31 March, EGC - a new subsidiary of Gécamines - is intended to formalise and clean up a previously opaque artisanal mining…
Myanmar: US Hits State-Owned Myanmar Gem Firm with Coup Sanctions
International
The Biden administration on Thursday hit Myanmar’s junta with new sanctions in response to February’s coup in the Southeast Asian nation. The State and Treasury…
DRC: First Minerals Exported from DRC with Blockchain
International
Minexx has exported minerals with full financial transparency from the Democratic Republic of Congo, by processing $250k of blockchain certified payments – a first for…
South Sudan: South Sudan Integrates Environmental Protection with Hydrocarbon Exploration
International
Despite holding the third-largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa – estimated at 3.5 billion barrels – only 30% of South Sudan has been explored to…
Understanding the Nexus of Energy, Environment and Conflict: An Overview
Briefs & Development
Energy, environment, and conflict are each the subject of significant research efforts. However, their nexus has received relatively little attention, and even less when climatic…
GIS in Colombian Post-Conflict Land Use Planning
Briefs & Development
This research collected and interpreted geographic and temporal data on changes in land use coverage in order to improve sustainable development and land use planning in…
Food and Water Insecurity as Causes of Social Unrest: Evidence from Geolocated Twitter Data
Briefs & Development
Research often fails to account for the specific pathways by which climatic factors can cause social unrest. One challenge lies in understanding the distinct effects…
Liberia: Communities Use New App to Track Illegal Logging
International
Rural towns and villages are now using ForestLink, a new app, to track illicit forest operations and deforestation across Liberia, including illegal logging and mining,…
Conflict Minerals: Minespider Partners with Google for Tin Blockchain Traceability
International
Minspider has partnered with Rwandan tin producer LuNa Smelter and Google to develop a blockchain-based tool, OreSource, to help miners and smelters track data about the mineral’s production process. The platform…
Sierra Leone: ‘We See the Sparks Before They Turn into Fires’: Training Women to Avoid Conflict in Sierra Leone
International
In the West African country of Sierra Leone, the UN is supporting a government programme, training women and men to take on leadership roles in…
From ENMOD to Geoengineering: The Environment as a Weapon of War
Blog
Collateral environmental damage has long been regarded as an inevitable consequence of armed conflicts. But there have also been many examples of the intentional manipulation of…
Upcoming Conflict Minerals Regulation Does Not Cover Major Technology Companies
Blog
Technology companies are unlikely to tackle the controversial use of so-called conflict minerals in their products because of weaknesses in a forthcoming EU regulation.
The European…
Can Artificial Intelligence Predict the Middle East's Next Conflict?
Blog
In January 2014, most Iraq analysts knew security in the country was rapidly deteriorating. Beyond general warnings, however, few predicted exactly how bad the situation…
Violent Natural Resource Conflicts: From Definitions to Prevention
Briefs & Development
General scientific consensus is growing that natural resources play an important role in violent conflicts. Both scarcity and abundance contribute to violent conflict, depending on…
Revisiting the Contested Role of Natural Resources in Violent Conflict Risk through Machine Learning
Briefs & Development
The integrated character of the sustainable development goals in Agenda 2030, as well as research in environmental security, flag that sustainable peace requires sustainable and…
Satellite Imagery in Conflict-Affected Areas: How Technology Can Support WFP Emergency Response
Briefs & Development
The past decade has witnessed a boom in the availability of satellite data whether from established space agencies or from the private sector. Unique in…
Eyes in the Sky (Chapter in "Talking Tactics: Environmental Protection and Armed Conflicts")
Briefs & Development
Regions of active conflict are typically data poor, access for environmental measurements is limited and many contemporary conflicts show no sign of conclusion. Earth observation…
Experiential Education in the Context of Environmental Peacebuilding: A Case Study of Tejedores de Vida in Colombia
Briefs & Development
An innovative approach has emerged to consolidate peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affected context using experiential education with an environmental perspective. Yet, little research has explored the…
Climate Security: The Role of Data and Disruptive Technologies for Climate Security
Briefs & Development
A systemic analysis of the role that climate, natural resource and food systems play in conflict and peace is key to design and implement interventions…
Colombia's Cyberinfrastructure for Biodiversity: Building Data Infrastructure in Emerging Countries to Foster Socioeconomic Growth
Briefs & Development
Colombia is a “megadiverse” country with vast natural resources. A history of recent conflict means that information is only now being collected on the natural…
Yemen’s Disappearing Date Palms: Applied Environmental OSINT
Briefs & Development
The lush, idyllic region in Hudaydah, on the west coast of Yemen, featuring wadis and fertile valleys, was a place known for its date palm…
How Big Data and New Technologies Can Advance Climate Security [Audio]
Library
How can data and novel technologies be put to better use in the service of peace building, resilience, and other aspects of climate security? In…
Soils of the Southern Syria – A Big Database for the Future Land Management Planning
Briefs & Development
As non-renewable natural resources, restoring Syrian soil quality is a vital issue for sustainable future planning after conflict ends. The data provided in this research…
Assembling Drones, Activists and Oil Palms: Implications of a Multi-stakeholder Land Platform for State Formation in Myanmar
Briefs & Development
Amid Myanmar’s political transition and despite its new government’s discourse of inclusion and dialogue, land conflicts have increased across the country’s ethnic-minority areas. We argue…