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Lukas Rüttinger, Adelphi
Thailand and Sri Lanka Show How Disasters Can be Catalysts of Fragility or Opportunities for Peace
›June 26, 2015 // By Wilson Center Staff
In 2011 Thailand was hit by unprecedented monsoon rains far above the average rainfall of the previous 30 years. Two million people across 26 provinces were affected. During the crisis, hundreds of civilians took it to the streets to protest discrimination by the Flood Response Operation Center and the unfair distribution of water, electricity supply, shelter, and food. Civilians were so angry that they broke a sandbag wall in Bangkok which was protecting a wealthy district from water surges. Public unrest and discontent with the government continued until a military coup in 2013.
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How to Create a New Climate for Peace: Preventing Climate Change From Exacerbating Conflict and Fragility
›June 19, 2015 // By Lauren Herzer Risi
When the leaders of the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – met earlier this month, they agreed to make fossil fuels a thing of the past by 2100. At the same time the G7 is also taking steps to make climate change’s connection to conflict a priority in the present.
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Adapting to Global Change: Climate Displacement, Mega-Disasters, and the Next Generation of Leaders
›The world is more connected than ever before, but also more complex. Big, transnational trends like climate change, urbanization, and migration are changing the calculus of geopolitics, while local-level inequalities persist. “[Change] seems to be spinning around us so fast,” said John Hempelmann, president of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, which honors the legacy of the late senator from Washington State. How can today’s and tomorrow’s leaders adjust to global trends? [Video Below]
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Alice Thomas: Climate Change Effects and Responses Profoundly Undermine Human Rights
›After Typhoon Haiyan ripped across the Philippines in 2014 leveling nearly every building in sight, 4 million people – mostly poor and from coastal regions – were displaced. In response, the government set up “no build” zones in vulnerable areas and worked to move people to new land. But many of the newly relocated people discovered this land came with no access to water, electricity, or other services.
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For Next Edition of Influential Global Trends Report, National Intelligence Council Looks to Expand Its Audience
›Between sessions on the value of creating a physical expression of digital brands (Evernote socks) and Bitcoin, this year’s South by South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, featured newcomers from a different background: the U.S. National Intelligence Council.
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3 Facets to Relief and Recovery After Nepal’s Earthquake
›Nepal’s devastating earthquake last Saturday was both tragic and expected. On September 18, 2011, as colleagues and I were driving through Kathmandu, our car started to shake, buildings began to sway, store fronts cracked, hundreds of people jumped out of windows and streamed into already crowded streets. It was the so-called Sikkim earthquake. There were only a few fatalities and injuries – it was a very minor event compared to last weekend’s disaster. But it validated the rationale for our visit: to help launch a disaster relief dialogue involving U.S. government experts, Nepalese security forces, and their country’s emergency responders.
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Small-Island States Continue Long Crusade for Recognition of Climate Damages
›“Even though small-island nation states generally are responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, small islands are already expending scare resources on strategies to adapt to growing climate threats and to also repair themselves after they have hit,” says Maxine Burkett, associate professor of law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, in this week’s podcast.
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Wilson Center and USAID Launch “Resilience for Peace Project”
›As “resilience” builds as a theme for the development community, a few key concepts are rising to the top of the conversation. [Video Below]
Showing posts from category disaster relief.
