This month’s top post highlighted a new animated short from the Wilson Center and USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation.  “Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding” illustrates how building peace can bolster water security and—at the same time—how improving water security can increase the peace within and across borders.

Our second most popular post offers a glimpse into China’s competitive solar industry. Margaret Jackson gives an overview of the impact China’s infamous “531” policy has had on the country’s international and domestic solar market. China is poised to lead the global energy transition to solar but must work diligently to maintain a global competitive edge while managing stable growth at home.

March’s third most popular post recounts the catastrophic iron ore mining dam collapse in Brumadinho, Brazil. Raimund Bleischwitz, Priscila Carvalho and Lilia Couto point how Vale, the company that built the dam, engaged in poor risk management practices and violated laws, which led to the dam’s failure. Brazil recently took a first step toward tightening dam safety, but strong constitutional principles and international pressure and downstream should make dams safer in the longer term.

In our fourth most popular post, Elizabeth Wang takes us to the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world, sharing her experience interning with the Women and Girls Comprehensive Center at Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp. Wang describes the common risks pregnant women face living in a post-conflict setting and the specific challenges of caring for pregnant adolescent girls and young women under 20 years old in the camp. Life for newborns in Zaatari begins in subpar delivery conditions surrounded by Jordanians and Syrians working together to protect women and children.

This month, President Trump is taking steps to cut off aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, often referred to as Central America’s “Northern Triangle.” In March’s fifth most popular post, Carrie Seay-Fleming discusses the repression of eco-populists in Guatemala under President Jimmy Morales’ authoritarian regime and what steps the U.S. can take to align itself with those who are fighting to advance democracy, protect the environment, and stand for human rights.

1. Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding: A New Animated Short from the Wilson Center and USAID by Wilson Center Staff
2. Chinese Solar Shines at Home and on the Road by Margaret Jackson
3. Mining Giant Behind Deadly Dam Collapse Took Lax Approach to Corporate Responsibility by Raimund Bleischwitz, Priscila Carvalho, and Lilia Couto
4. Where Life Begins: Reducing Risky Births in a Refugee Camp by Elizabeth Wang
5. Democracy Under Assault: Guatemala Attempts to Silence Eco-populists by Carrie Seay-Fleming