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NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts from category poverty.
  • Can Caribbean Islands Really Adapt to Extreme Hurricanes?

    ›
    Guest Contributor  //  September 22, 2017  //  By Judi Clarke
    Hurricane-Irma-Damage

    “A monster”… “wreaking havoc”… “ripped through” the Caribbean and part of Florida: I heard these words as Hurricane Irma, the strongest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, decimated the entire island of Barbuda and destroyed the four “most solid” buildings on St. Martin. And as I write this from the relative safety of Barbados, Hurricane Maria is on a similar path, leaving similar destruction in its wake. With winds of more than 160 miles per hour, Maria was the strongest storm to make landfall in Dominica. In a matter of hours, it devastated the country, regained its strength, and continued its onslaught on Puerto Rico and beyond.

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  • Climate Variability, Water, and Security in El Salvador

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    August 29, 2017  //  By Herman Rosa & Chelsea Spangler
    El-Salvador

    This article is a summary of the chapter by Herman Rosa, former minister of environment for El Salvador, in the new book, Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy. The book was produced by the World Wildlife Fund-US and edited by David Reed. The summary was prepared by Chelsea Spangler. 

    Water-related challenges in El Salvador have acquired far greater significance over the past decade as they have intersected with other social problems including migration, criminal violence, and drug trafficking. When combined, these factors pose threats to domestic and regional stability. Damaging heavy rains, droughts, and rising temperatures are exacerbated by steadily intensifying El Niño oscillations and threaten the production of staple and export crops.  The declining viability of rural livelihoods is driving many farming families to migrate to urban centers or across borders. Food security is a constant concern across the region, and millions already rely on humanitarian assistance. Infrastructure has been damaged repeatedly by floods and raging rivers. El Salvador can mitigate many of these risks by employing ecological landscape restoration.  Improving the soil’s capacity to retain and regulate water will help maintain both agricultural and ecological viability.

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  • Water Stress, Instability and Violent Extremism in Nigeria

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    August 22, 2017  //  By Marcus King & Chelsea Spangler
    Nigeria-Water

    This article is a summary of the chapter by Marcus King, John O. Rankin Associate Professor of International Affairs at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, in the new book, Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy. The book was produced by the World Wildlife Fund-US and edited by David Reed. The summary was prepared by Chelsea Spangler. 

    Nigeria is ranked among the most fragile states in the world. The country faces significant water challenges, which vary greatly from one region to another. Weak governance exacerbates these water challenges, while conflicts over water resources make governance more difficult. There are three main geographical flashpoints where conflict over water is likely to break out. In the north and northeast, Boko Haram has waged a violent insurgent campaign since 2010; among their demands is government provision of clean water. In Nigeria’s Middle Belt, changing rainfall patterns are limiting the grazing area of Muslim Fulani herders, who then encroach on the land of predominantly Christian farmers. Conflict over these lands killed more Nigerians than Boko Haram in 2016. Finally, in the Niger Delta, militant groups are attacking oil infrastructure, partially motivated by conflict over rights to land and waterways. Oil spills also contribute to food insecurity and malnutrition in this region.

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  • Saving for a Rainless Day: Microfinancing for Resilience

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    From the Wilson Center  //  August 16, 2017  //  By Yuval Cohen
    Savings_Loan_Malawi

    “The sooner you save, the better off you’ll be in life, wherever you live, at whatever age you start,” said Sophie Romana, director of community finance at Oxfam America: “Saving is the key.” Microsavings groups—informal community-based financial pools–can help vulnerable communities build resilience, said representatives from support organizations CARE International, Oxfam America, and the Grameen Foundation  at a Wilson Center event on June 29, 2017.

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  • The Perils of Denial: Challenges for a Water-Secure Pakistan

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    August 15, 2017  //  By Ali Hasnain Sayed, Chelsea Spangler & Muhammad Faizan Usman
    Rice-Farming-Pakistan

    This article is a summary of the chapter by Ali Hasnain Sayed and Muhammad Faizan Usman of World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan and Chelsea Spangler of World Wildlife Fund-US, in the new book, Water, Security and U.S. Foreign Policy. The book was produced by the World Wildlife Fund-US and edited by David Reed. The summary was prepared by Chelsea Spangler. 

    Pakistan is South Asia’s fifth most vulnerable country in terms of water availability, and Karachi is the sixth most water-stressed city in the world. Predictions indicate that the country will face absolute water scarcity (insufficient water supply to meet demand) as soon as 2025. While population and demand for water steadily increase, freshwater quantity and quality are decreasing.

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  • MCC Mobilizes Private-Sector Investment to Expand Access to Water in Jordan

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    Guest Contributor  //  August 14, 2017  //  By Alex Russin
    AsSamra_photo

    In Jordan—one of the driest, most water poor countries in the world—population growth is straining the country’s aging infrastructure and limited water resources. As the Jordan country director for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), I’ve met urban residents and business owners who have only received water from the city utility once every two weeks, relying on storage tanks to fill the gaps. I’ve spoken with water utility managers who could no longer keep up with urgent repairs, leading to bursting water pipes and sewage overflowing into streets. And farmers in the Jordan Valley have told me that each year their wells have grown drier, and they feared the next generation would be forced to give up farming olives, tomatoes, grapes, and strawberries.

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  • Feeding the Future? One Year After the Global Food Security Act

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    On the Beat  //  August 10, 2017  //  By Anuj Krishnamurthy
    Balkh-Wheat-Harvest

    “The United States should maintain a unique leadership role in global food security,” said former Senator Richard Lugar at a recent Center for International & Strategic Studies event, “The U.S. Global Food Security Strategy: Progress, Setbacks, and Forward Momentum,” which marked the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Global Food Security Act. Signed into law on July 20, 2016, the act required the interagency Feed the Future initiative to develop the first-ever U.S. Global Food Security Strategy.

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  • The Economic Costs of Child Marriage

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    On the Beat  //  August 7, 2017  //  By Yuval Cohen
    Pakistani-School-Girl

    “It’s essentially an issue of a lack of viable alternatives,” said Quentin Wodon, lead economist for the World Bank’s Education Global Practice at a recent event on child marriage at the World Bank. “We have to create those alternatives.” Wodon co-presented the results of a new research study, “At What Cost? The Economic Impacts of Child Marriage,” by the World Bank Group and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW).

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