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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts from category livelihoods.
  • Many Companies Struggle to Comply with Conflict Mineral Reporting Rules

    ›
    Reading Radar  //  September 25, 2020  //  By Cindy Zhou
    Conflict Minerals

    “The exploitation of the mining and trade of conflict minerals in the eastern DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] has contributed to instability, violence, displacement of people, and severe human rights abuses,” says the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its annual report, Conflict Minerals: Actions Needed to Assess Progress Addressing Armed Groups’ Exploitation of Minerals. The report examines a sample of filings from 1,083 companies that submitted conflict mineral disclosures required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2019.

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  • Protecting Brazil’s Forests Could Boost Economic Development

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    From the Wilson Center  //  September 21, 2020  //  By Amy Erica Smith & Anya Prusa
    shutterstock_1486225025

    The dry season returned to Brazil’s Amazon region in late July—and with it, forest fires, largely human-made. After making substantial progress in reducing deforestation in the 2000s and early 2010s, Brazil has reversed course and deforestation is rising. In the Amazon, this season has been the worst in more than a decade in number of fires, and second worst in terms of total deforestation, according to satellite data from Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (INPE), which monitors the situation.

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  • President Bolsonaro Fiddles While the Brazilian Amazon Goes Up in Smoke

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    Guest Contributor  //  September 18, 2020  //  By Jackie Berkowitz
    shutterstock_1433151824

    On August 11, 2020, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed the raging fires in the Amazon, calling their existence a “lie.” However, his own government has reported more than 10,000 fires currently burning in the Amazon, a 17 percent increase from the same time last year, when the number of wildfires reached a nine-year high. The international community has condemned the Brazilian government’s response to the raging Amazon fires. Bolsonaro’s denial about these fires blocks effective domestic, international, government, and non-governmental responses. And it risks exacerbating the conditions contributing to global climate change.

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  • Where the Oil Runs Deep, Water Turns Foul

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    Guest Contributor  //  August 31, 2020  //  By Elena Bruess
    A farmer with his animals near the Gir Zero facility on Rmeilan oil fields

    This article originally appeared on Circle of Blue.

    When Farhad Ahma returned to his native country last year on a work trip, his first thought was of his small daughter back home. The air around him was so thick with pollution, he couldn’t imagine she would survive the climate in this region of northeastern Syria. Ahma himself struggled to breathe almost as soon as he arrived, nauseated by the heavy smell within a couple hours. He was born and raised nearby, in a city called Qamishli, but he had lived in Berlin for some time now. Returning was a shock to his system.

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  • COVID-19 Reignites Interest in Scenario Planning for Development … But Will It Last?

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    Covid-19  //  Guest Contributor  //  June 29, 2020  //  By Steven Gale

    Bayan Bayanihan will provide installments of food to support the most vulnerable households for a period of up to 8 weeks, with an estimated $20 million needed for essential food supplies in this period. ADB has already approved $5 million in grants for part of this need and created a team to rapidly lead implementation of the program. Additional funds and in-kind contributions will be needed for the program. Photo: Eric Sales/ Asian Development Bank

    Not since COVID-19 burst onto the scene a few months ago have so many individuals and institutions, outside the business, military, and intelligence communities, woken up to the need for a smart way to characterize and communicate uncertainty. The overwhelming choice for many is scenario planning. Today, scenario planning applies to a wide spectrum of issues, not just international development. It has been used to anticipate changes in higher education, rethink workforce composition, and explore options for individual financial planning.  

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  • Cobalt is Critical to the Renewable Energy Transition. How Can We Minimize its Social And Environmental Cost?

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    Guest Contributor  //  June 17, 2020  //  By Bianca Nogrady

    This is a Gecamines owned artisanal cobalt mining site

    This article was originally published on Ensia.

    Its name conjures an image of vivid deep blues. But when cobalt is dug out of the ground in ore form, there’s barely a hint of the rich hue it lends its name to. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which produces more than half of the world’s supply, it takes the form of heterogenite, a dull brownish mineral that could easily be mistaken for small clods of dirt.

    But people die for this mineral. Children suffer for it. Livelihoods, educations, neighborhoods, environments and personal safety are sacrificed for it.

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  • How to Think and Work Politically to Reach Biodiversity Conservation Goals

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    From the Wilson Center  //  May 28, 2020  //  By Wania Yad & Amanda King

    Women fishing in the Terai region of Nepal. The USAID Paani program will enhance Nepal’s ability to manage water resources for multiple uses and users through climate change adaptation and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. Photo by Olaf Zerbock, USAID.

    “You might know what to do,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a Senior Fellow for Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But if you don’t think about how to do it, your reform isn’t going to move forward.” She spoke at a recent Wilson Center virtual event on how to think and work politically while supporting biodiversity conservation goals. It may sound counterintuitive, she said, but undertaking what’s considered the best intervention may not be the best approach.

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  • The COVID-19 Pandemic and Vulnerable Populations: A Wilson Center NOW Interview with James Hollifield

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    Covid-19  //  From the Wilson Center  //  May 8, 2020  //  By Eliana Guterman
    49757481401_8a79e7ed44_o

    Refugees and migrants are the most vulnerable and will bear the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic, said James Hollifield, a Wilson Center Global Fellow, in a recent episode of Wilson NOW. These populations are often already at higher risk due to insufficient water and food supplies, and those confined in large camps are at greater risk of spreading the disease. According to Hollifield, although we have not yet seen the full extent of the damage, “we can see with both refugees and migrants in particular, especially seasonal migrants, that there’s a great danger here of the virus spreading like wildfire in the camps and in the dormitories.”

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