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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts by Erika Weinthal.
  • USAID’s Revised Water and Conflict Toolkit

    ›
    Guest Contributor  //  March 22, 2023  //  By Ekta Patel & Erika Weinthal
    Screen Shot 2023-03-21 at 5.24.14 PM

    Links between water and conflict seem to crop up everywhere one looks these days. The Horn of Africa will soon face a sixth consecutive failed rainy season in 2023—its worst drought on record. Not only is this drought a consequence of global climate change, but it has also led to widespread food shortages and local civil conflicts. And over the past year in Ukraine, Russian troops have directly damaged that nation’s already vulnerable water systems, including pipelines, pumping stations, and treatment facilities. These repeated attacks on water infrastructure have not only undermined local livelihoods in Ukraine, but they have also polluted surface waters and threatened biodiversity.

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  • Bolivia and Lithium: Can slow and steady win the race?

    ›
    Guest Contributor  //  September 2, 2022  //  By Kathryn Ledebur & Erika Weinthal
    Screen Shot 2022-09-02 at 12.16.38 PM

    Este ensayo ha sido actualizado con una traducción al español, disponible después de la versión en inglés, a continuación.

    The looming 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC in Egypt in November 2022 brings with it a moment of truth for many nations. They must intensify decarbonization efforts to meet their share of global commitments agreed upon at the Paris COP. Yet, the already significant challenges also have intensified. Disruptions of oil and gas flows caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are slowing a global green energy transition—at least in the short-term. The depth of the crisis means countries are even scrambling to keep coal-powered plants working.

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  • Protecting the Protectors: Environmental Defenders and the Future of Environmental Peacebuilding

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    Guest Contributor  //  Uncharted Territory  //  December 16, 2019  //  By Erika Weinthal

    Weinthal-645x430Early scholarship on environmental peacemaking recognized the important role that local civil-society can play in promoting regional cooperation while, at the same time, pressuring governments to protect the environment. For example, in the late 1980s/early 1990s, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as the Union for Defense of the Aral Sea and Amu Darya in Uzbekistan and the Dashowuz Ecological Club in Turkmenistan, were at the forefront of the fight to restore the Aral Sea and protect the region’s biodiversity.

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  • Targeting Infrastructure Undermines Livelihoods in the West Bank

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    Guest Contributor  //  March 12, 2019  //  By Jeannie Sowers & Erika Weinthal
    Barrier on the West Bank

    This article by Erika Weinthal and Jeannie Sowers is adapted from “Targeting Infrastructure and Livelihoods in the West Bank and Gaza,” an article in International Affairs.

    In many Middle Eastern wars, targeting civilian infrastructure has become all too common. As we documented in a previous article,  both state and non-state actors in wars since 2011 in Libya, Syria, and Yemen have targeted water, sanitation, and energy facilities to displace urban populations, punish civilians, and render local attempts to provide public services untenable.  Destroying environmental and civilian infrastructure directly undermines livelihoods and human security. 

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  • The New Middle Eastern Wars: To Protect Civilians, Protect Environmental Infrastructure

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    Guest Contributor  //  October 24, 2017  //  By Jeannie Sowers, Erika Weinthal & Neda Zawahri
    Yemen-Clinic

    Six years of brutal warfare have destroyed basic infrastructure in Yemen, Libya, and Syria.  While U.S. and European governments have been largely preoccupied with providing immediate assistance and dealing with refugees, international humanitarian organizations—such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders—are focusing on how to repair, maintain, and safeguard the facilities that provide essential services like clean water, sanitation, and electricity.  Yet these efforts are hindered by lack of resources, protracted violence, and—most insidiously—by the warring parties’ intentional targeting of humanitarian actors and environmental infrastructure. Just as the extensive damage from hurricanes in the Caribbean and southeastern United States has underscored the need for more resilient infrastructure, the wars of the Middle East show that protecting infrastructure is key to protecting civilians caught up in conflict.

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