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

Rising Food Insecurity is Driving Instability (Foreign Affairs)

Since 2020, the number of people facing acute hunger and chronic food insecurity has increased 130% above existing levels. And supply is not the issue. At present, the world produces enough food to feed nearly 10 billion people, yet there are 720 million people who are food insecure and a further 319 million face acute hunger. Today’s hunger is driven instead by barriers to access. Violent conflict affects 70% of acutely food insecure people, while increasing climate disasters, and economic marginalization force governments to prioritize loan repayments and recovery over securing food security.

Safety nets are also vanishing. International aid fell 9% in 2024, and it is estimated to decline another 9 to 17% in 2025. Global food aid budgets are estimated to decline 45% between 2024 and 2025, reducing the reach of these key programs. And each percentage point increase in food insecurity correlates with a 1.9% increase in refugee outflows, thus creating a circular relationship between hunger and cross-border conflict. Common sense solutions do exist, to meet the challenge, including a restoration of predictable multiyear financing and a recognition that food security is foundational to peace.

READ | Food and Water Security Solutions: Reflections on Mitigating Climate-induced Population Displacement in Africa

Repurposing War Waste to Reconstruct Ukraine (Yale Environment 360)

Russian bombardments across Ukraine have generate over 1.5 billion tons of debris since 2022. International partners and local organizations now are repurposing this waste into materials for reconstruction. A UN Development Programme initiative has cleared 800,000 tons of debris across the country, with 15,000 tons of it processed into gravel for road repairs. And when Russian forces destroyed two-thirds of all structures the frontline village of Ruska Lozova, volunteers at local organization Waste Kharkiv recovered 13,000 bricks, repurposed wood for construction and heating, sent metal to recyclers, and used concrete to fill bomb craters.

Ukrainian law currently prohibits using recycled concrete in construction because it is less dense than virgin aggregate. Thus, processed materials are forced into storage despite massive reconstruction needs. As the UNDP works with Ukrainian authorities to amend laws ensuring recycled concrete safety, some organizations  circumvent existing restrictions by advocating for the use of secondhand bricks in nonresidential structures such as garages.

READ | Clearing War Debris Can Help Ukraine Move Forward

Data Reveals Rampant Attacks by Israel on Palestinian Water Sources (The Guardian)

New research by the Pacific Institute reveals that Israeli armed forces and settlers attacked Palestinian water sources more than 250 times between 2020 and 2025, with at least 90 attacks occurring between January 2024 and mid-2025.  Bombs, dogs, poison, and heavy machinery were deployed with targets including drinking water, irrigation, and sanitation sites in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. An estimated 90% of water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged by direct military attacks, or rendered otherwise inaccessible due to Israeli army blockades. In addition, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access basic food and water.

As United Nations experts warn that Israel is using “thirst as a weapon to kill Palestinians,” such conflicts are a global threat. Such violence includes attacks on infrastructure, protests over water shortages, cross-border disputes, rising attacks on environmental activists, and cyber-attacks on water utilities. Water-related conflicts reached a record 420 incidents across the world in 2024, which represent a 20% increase from 2023, and 78% increase over 2022 totals. Israeli assaults in occupied Palestine and Russia’s attacks on Ukraine accounted for 12% and 16% respectively of all such incidents in 2024.

READ | The Global Challenge of Water’s Weaponization in War: Lessons from Yemen, Ukraine, and Libya