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

Nickel Mining Threat to New Raja Ampat UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Mongabay) 

When Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago received a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation on September 27, 2025, the new designation adding to the status it won as a Global Geopark in 2023. Yet this dual honor highlighting the archipelago’s exceptional biodiversity is now under threat from intense pressure from global demand for nickel for electric vehicle batteries that is challenging the reserve’s conservation goals.  

The Raja Ampat reserve is known as the “Amazon of the Seas,” and it hosts 75% of the world’s coral species and 1,300 fish species. Yet a new report by Indonesian NGO Auriga Nusantara and U.S.-based Earth Insight reveals that 22,000 hectares of nickel mining concessions overlap with the reserve, threatening 2,470 hectares of coral reefs and 7,200 hectares of forests. Environmentalists hope the UNESCO status will pressure the government to revoke mining permits, but operations are already causing damage in parts of the reserve and only 15% of global biosphere reserves show measurable ecological benefits. 

READ | Indonesia’s Just Energy Transition Must Not Just Be More of the Same 

Solar-Powered Farming Fueling Water Crisis in Pakistan (Reuters) 

Part of Pakistan’s growing solar revolution is that its farmers have adopted 650,000 solar-powered tube wells to pump water, adding a total of  250,000 since 2023 alone. Freed from the cost of grid electricity and diesel, these farmers irrigate more frequently and thus expand their water-intensive rice cultivation. Between 2023 and 2025, land dedicated to rice grew 30%, while land dedicated to growing a less thirsty crop—maize—declined by 10%. 

Water extraction for agriculture since 2020 has contributed to a 25% increase in areas of Punjab where the water table has fallen below critical levels. And while federal authorities dismiss the threat to water security, provincial authorities have only been able to provide limited resources to curtail the growing unmonitored groundwater extraction. 

READ | Taking the Slow Lane to Green Transition in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 

Namibia Deploys Army to Combat Wildfire in Etosha National Park (Al-Jazeera) 

Since September 22, a wildfire has burned approximately 34% of Namibia’s Etosha National Park (1.9 million acres), which is one of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves. Strong winds and dry vegetation caused the fire to spread rapidly and destroy roughly 30% of the park’s grazing areas. The blaze is believed to have originated from charcoal production activities on commercial farms which border the 22,270-square-kilometer park. 

Following an emergency cabinet meeting, the government mobilized more than 500 troops from various regions to join 40 soldiers already on site to fight the massive blaze. Two helicopters also have been provided to assist firefighters, police, and volunteers. President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told the UN General Assembly that “climate change is scorching our lands and drying up our rivers,” and he called for stronger UN conventions to combat desertification.  

READ | A Conflict Prevention Agenda Should Inform Climate Change Actions in Africa