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Water, Corruption, and Security in Iran
›This past summer was the hottest on record, bringing devastating impacts to many global communities. Iran was one of many nations that faced both debilitating heat and the subsequent water stress.
While Iran’s problems received significant media attention this year, water scarcity in the country is not a new problem. For decades, corruption and poor planning have plagued Iranian water policy, with impacts falling upon its increasingly disadvantaged provinces and, ultimately, on its ethnic minorities. Poor water policy also has contributed to an increasing number of cross-border disputes.
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Environment and Security | Q&A with Editor in Chief, Ashok Swain
›From Afghanistan, Nepal, and Libya to the Arctic, the new issue of Environment and Security takes a fresh look at emerging issues at the intersection of environment and security. Ashok Swain, Editor in Chief of Environment and Security, spotlights some of the new research and insights in this Q&A with ECSP staff.
Q: The new issue of Environment and Security features an article on Arctic governance, including a close examination of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). How do the authors assess this regulatory instrument as it enters its 10th year since adoption?
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ECSP Weekly Watch | January 15 — 19
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
The Worsening Environmental Impact of the War in Gaza
The Gaza Strip has long been uniquely vulnerable to the climate crisis, with rapid temperature increase and decreasing rainfall plaguing this whole region. Even prior to the current conflict, NGOs in the region and the UN have warned that climate change would be devastating, particularly for food and water security in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
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A Commune in Rural Iowa Inspires Reform in China’s Countryside
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // January 18, 2024 // By Karen ManclA quiet agricultural community in east, central Iowa is a surprising place to learn about the evolution of communes in the United States. While a graduate student at Iowa State University, I first visited the Amana Colonies in 1979. The brick homes, the woolen mill, and the community kitchens were first built in 1855 by a group of German immigrants, forming the now oldest commune in the country.
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“Radioactive Fish” and Geopolitics: Economic Coercion and China-Japan Relations
›On the same day Japan began wastewater releases from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in late August 2023, the website of China’s customs agency announced the country would “completely suspend the import of aquatic products originating from Japan.”
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Bottom-Up Food Waste and Climate Solution in China
›China Environment Forum // Cool Agriculture // Guest Contributor // waste // December 21, 2023 // By Xuehua ZhangChina is the world’s largest emitter of methane, a short-lived climate pollutant that traps 80 times more heat than carbon. Coal mining, agriculture, and food waste are China’s three biggest methane emitters. Among them, food waste holds the most promise for near-term climate action.
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A New Tool to Assess Environmental Peacebuilding
›As climate-related disasters swell in scale and intensity, the countries and communities impacted by fragility or conflict are among the most vulnerable. The explicit focus on relief, recovery, and peace at COP28 offered the international community a clear acknowledgement that climate and conflict increasingly overlap.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | December 11 – 15
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
COP28 Extension Produces a New Agreement
In the closing moments of COP28, the almost 200 countries in attendance settled on a deal for a roadmap that would include a reference to “phasing out fossil fuels.” This language was a step toward highlighting the inevitability of this transition in order to address climate change.
Showing posts from category environment.