Cambodia’s Prey Lang rainforest is climate-critical and supports the livelihood of its Indigenous Kuy population. Recently, U.S.-led efforts to protect the forest have withdrawn as the Cambodian government has come under criticism for continued failure to protect against illegal logging. In this month’s top post, Richard Pearshouse explores opportunities to address the issue of illegal deforestation of Cambodian timber and protecting Indigenous peoples’ rights. 

Meanwhile, China faces serious water shortages, which are compounded by the uneven spatial distribution of its freshwater. In August’s second top post, Hangzhou Zhang and Genevieve Donnellon-May write on China’s ambitious plan to undertake a mega engineering project, the South North Water Diversion project, to optimize the allocation of its water resources. However, the plans for the project have prompted concerns and have international strategic implications, suggesting the need for alternative routes to addressing China’s national water challenges. 

Similarly, in this month’s fifth top post, Michele Thieme writes about navigating the trade-offs between dams and river conservation. Connected and healthy rivers deliver various benefits, and a new report in Global Sustainability finds that if all proposed hydropower dams are built, more than 160,000 miles of rivers will lose free-flowing status. In contrast, the estimated hydropower generated from the dams represents less than 2 percent of the renewable power needed by 2050 to keep global temperate increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

August’s fourth top post, by Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan, calls attention to the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence, which has intensified in COVID-19’s wake. The shadow pandemic will have lasting impacts on women and girls, who face a higher risk of child marriage, increased prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting, and a slowdown in educational attainment. Despite these impacts, only 1 in 8 countries has taken action to mitigate the social and economic effects of COVID-19 on women and girls. 

This month’s third top post, by Kate Schecter, highlights the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on low-income countries. The World Bank estimates that the pandemic will drive 150 million people globally into extreme poverty, leading to long-term effects even after the pandemic. However, governments and international development organizations have significant knowledge about poverty reduction. U.S. leadership will be essential, as will the greater integration of the positive effects of globalization, investments on the community level, and applying a gender lens in post-pandemic efforts.

1. What Next for U.S. Engagement on Cambodia’s Protected Forests? by Richard Pearshouse
2. To Build or Not to Build: Western Route of China’s South-North Water Diversion Project by Hangzhou Zhang and Genevieve Donnellon-May
3. Getting Back on Track with Global Poverty Reduction by Kate Schecter
4. No Vaccine to End the Shadow Pandemic of Gender-Based Violence by Vina Smith-Ramakrishna
5. Navigating Trade-Offs Between Dams and River Conservation by Michele Thieme