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

Green Corridor Addresses Conflict Economies in Virunga National Park (Mongabay)

In the Eastern Congo, Virunga National Park faces an intertwined crisis of conflict and environmental destruction rooted in economic desperation. Communities residing within the park rely on charcoal production and forest clearing for survival. Simultaneously, armed militias exploit these same resources to finance ongoing violence. In response, Virunga administrators have developed an integrated model using renewable energy as the foundation for an alternative economy.

Building small-scale hydroelectric plants mean that electricity is now cheaper than charcoal, which reduces pressure on the forest and enables the success of small businesses. Smart meters now double as a financial platform, allowing people without collateral to access credit tied to their electricity usage. Security in the park also was restructured around rapid-response systems and fortified Forward Operating Bases, which created zones of stability where livelihoods could replace militia recruitment. For every megawatt delivered into the local economy, roughly 800–1,000 jobs have been created, with around one in ten workers transitioning from membership in  armed groups. The Congo Basin remains the world’s only net carbon-absorbing tropical forest, and the initiative aims to build an economy that depends on maintaining that forest rather than clearing it.

READ | Social Justice or Forest Conservation? Cross-Regional Comparisons Reveal a False Trade-Off

Big Oil Reaps Windfall as Conflict with Iran Drags On (The Guardian)

Since the start of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, the world’s top 100 oil and gas companies have banked more than $30 million dollars every hour. Net total windfall profits of $23 billion have accrued to these companies as oil prices soar due to the ongoing conflict, with the average cost of a singular barrel rising to $100. Consumers are fueling these excess profits by paying high prices to power their vehicles, homes, and businesses.

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco is by far the largest beneficiary—and is estimated to make a profit of $25.5 billion in 2026 at current rates. Three Russian companies, including Gazprom, will make an estimated $23.9 billion. Oil export revenues for that country jumped 50% between February and March as companies sought out alternative oil sources. Environmental advocacy groups are calling increasingly upon their governments to tax windfall profits from the conflict in order to re-invest into renewable energy, rather than deepen global dependence on fossil fuels.

READ | Oil, Greed, and Grievances in the Middle East and North Africa

New Data Accelerates Sea-Level Rise Risk for Coastal Communities (Yale E360)

In conjunction with accelerating land subsidence, sea level rise is raising the stakes on the urgency of coastal protection policies. Analysis from two new major studies using real-world tidal gauge data and satellite data demonstrate the challenge. Tidal data has found that actual sea levels are nearly a foot higher on average than standard model-based estimates. These findings estimate that 80 million people are already living below sea level in coastal areas, which is nearly double the number previously estimated.

Satellite radar mapping of 40 major river deltas also found that more than half are subsiding, and in 18 cases the rate of sinking exceeds the rate of sea level rise. In some places, subsidence is occurring ten times faster than sea level rise. Groundwater pumping and river dams that starve deltas of sediment are the primary culprits, threatening densely populated areas on the Nile, Mekong, Yellow River, and other deltas, as well as megacities like Jakarta, Shanghai, and Bangkok.

READ | Climate and Coastal Adaptation: The Need for Urgent Planning