Collapsing ice shelves raised concerns in 2020, but the immediate effects of climate change in the polar regions are merely the tip of the iceberg, write Olivia Popp and Michaela Stith in this month’s top post. What happens in the polar regions doesn’t always stay in the polar regions—it has profound effects on climate and communities around the world.

This month’s third top post continues the conversation around climate change and its impacts. Cullen Hendrix and Zachary Lien ask whether climate change and declining fisheries productivity are likely to lead to a future of fish wars, or can existing fisheries management institutions evolve to help prevent large-scale fisheries conflict?

As the world continues to face the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, environmental peacebuilding in Africa has taken on new forms. In this month’s second top post, Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao, Fakunle Aremu, and Ousseyni Kalilou discuss the environmental peacebuilding solutions that have emerged in Africa alongside the continent’s intersecting crises spurred by the pandemic. Speaking of solutions, in this month’s fifth top post Wim Zwijnenburg outlines the potential of nature-based solutions to address and prevent conflict-linked environmental damage.  

And finally, the last post in our top 5 line-up features a conversation with Steven Gale about USAID’s new foresight unit and what it signals for the international development community.

1. Tip of the Iceberg: Polar Ice Loss Effects the Planet by Olivia Popp & Michaela Stith
2. Pan-African Response to COVID-19: New Forms of Environmental Peacebuilding Emerge by Elaine (Lan Yin) Hsiao, Fakunle Aremu & Ousseyni Kalilou
3. Managing Fisheries Conflict in the 21st Century: A Role for Regional Management Organizations? by Cullen Hendrix & Zachary Lien
4. A Conversation with Steven Gale on USAID’s New Foresight Unit by Amanda King
5. Nature-based Solutions Vital to Mitigating Conflict-linked Environmental Damage by Wim Zwijnenburg