A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

A Water Security Crisis Grips Pakistan’s Indus Delta (Al-Jazeera)

The Indus delta in Pakistan is experiencing severe environmental collapse as seawater intrusion makes farming and fishing impossible. Salinity levels have risen 70% since 1990, forcing tens of thousands from coastal districts. Over 1.2 million people from the broader delta region have abandoned their homes in the past two decades. The construction of irrigation canals and hydropower dams, compounded by the impacts of climate change on glacial melt, has accelerated the crisis and reduced downstream flow by 80% since the 1950s. More than 16% of fertile Indus delta land has become unproductive, as salt crusts cover the ground and boats must transport drinking water to the region’s remaining villages.

The government and UN launched the “Living Indus Initiative” in 2021, and mangrove restoration projects are underway. But as the impact of this water crisis comes to full fruition, communities have lost not just their homes but their entire way of life, with women particularly struggling to find work after migrating from traditional fishing and net-making roles to urban areas.

READ | Suspending the Indus Water Treaty: What it Means and Why it Matters

Legal Loopholes Perpetuate Land Grabs in the Brazilian Amazon (Mongabay)

A new study by the Brazilian research institution Imazon has analyzed 78 criminal lawsuits and found that of 134 court decisions involving land grabbing accusations in the region, only two cases (or fewer than 2%) have resulted in convictions. The vast majority of cases failed due to statute of limitations expirations (33%), acquittals (28%), or dismissals (15%).  Most of these legal actions originated between 2010 and 2015 in the states of Pará, Amazonas, and Tocantins.

The study revealed that such cases take an average of six years to reach court, with some taking up to 18 years – a time frame that triggers the statute of limitations before any resolution. This lengthy process, in conjunction with minimal penalties that can be converted to community service, perpetuates a system of illegal land appropriation. Speculators who can afford skilled lawyers find that land grabbing becomes and economically worthwhile enterprise.

READ | Why Do Land Grabs Happen? Because They Can

New Research Quantifies the Impact of Plastics on Human Health (The Guardian)

A review published in The Lancet attributes more than $1.5 trillion dollars in health-related damages to the plastics crisis. Since 1950, plastic production has increased by more than 200 times, and this total is set to triple again to a billion tons annually by 2060. Single use plastic production has helped to drive this steep acceleration. On its own, plastic production contributes two billion tons of CO2 per year to the atmosphere, which makes the industry’s output equivalent to that of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter. In addition, more than 16,000 chemicals are used to make plastics including dyes, flame retardants, and stabilizers.

The Lancet analysis also found that fetuses, infants, and young children were the most susceptible to harms associated with plastics, which include increased risk of miscarriage, premature births and stillbirth, birth defects, impaired lung growth, childhood cancer, and fertility problems in adult life.

READ | The Climate Footprint of Plastics and the Need for a Global Solution