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

Deforestation and Flooding Turns Fallen Timber into Projectiles in Indonesia (The New York Times) 

When Cyclone Senyar struck in late November, its death toll numbered 800 people across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The Indonesian island of Sumatra saw a particular sort of damage as the storm unleashed sixteen inches of rain in parts of the island, wiped out four villages, and triggered flash floods and landslides. Decades of razing and converting natural forests into palm oil plantations, pulpwood farms, and gold mines drastically increased the region’s vulnerability to floods and landslides to the point that timber was transformed into projectiles that destroyed residences and infrastructure.  

The recent conflict between Iran and Israel, as well as Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, have done more than starkly expose the risks of geopolitical instability in the Gulf.  It has also underscored the vulnerability of India’s energy security due to its heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports, and particularly crude oil transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape how data and knowledge are produced, shared, and used in transboundary water negotiations, but it also risks entrenching political imbalances, deepening mistrust, and displacing the need for genuine cooperation.

This article was adapted from Stephanie Speck’s remarks at the 2025 Berlin Climate Security Conference.

When I arrived in Mogadishu in 2013 to set up and lead the Office of the President’s communication and media department, I had the privilege of being invited to breakfast with the President. As I made my way through the layers of security leading to the presidential residence, I noticed an older woman walking behind me—cradling a chicken under each arm. She followed closely, undeterred by the checkpoints that stopped others.

A massive flood in Somalia killed hundreds of people, and displaced tens of thousands more. Yet the survivors faced a vexing prospect when they tried to return home: Al-Shabab had moved in.  

Stephanie Speck, Head of Special Initiatives at the Green Climate Fund, observed at a recent Stimson Center event that Shabab’s new levies meant that residents could not to move back to farm their land.  

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

Corruption Stymies Environmental Crime Fight in the Amazon (Mongabay) 

In the Andean Republics, rampant systemic judicial corruption has challenged the entire justice system, with judges implicated in both bribery and extortion. Because leadership from judges is essential for the success of reform efforts ranging from anti-corruption campaigns to environmental crime enforcement, the result has been damaging to the entire justice system in the region for more than a decade. 

US Resistance Delays Vote on Shipping Decarbonization Rules (Mongabay)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has voted 57-49 to postpone the adoption of the “net-zero framework” until October 2026.  As the shipping sector’s first binding deal on global greenhouse gas emissions, the agreement would have established progressively stricter intensity limits starting in 2028. The framework also imposed substantial fees for noncompliance, with high emitters facing up to $1.5 million in additional annual fees by 2035 that could raise fuel costs by roughly 20%. Low-emission vessels would be rewarded with tradable carbon allowances.

Launched in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has drawn wide global attention, with scholars and policymakers examining its geopolitical and economic implications. Much less explored, however, are the subnational impacts of BRI in participating countries. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adopted as Pakistan’s flagship BRI project in 2015, offers a case in point.