In the hills near Addis Ababa, the protected eucalyptus forest presents a lucrative but risky enterprise, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The forest wood, often collected by women and young girls, can sell at market and greatly subsidize meager Ethiopian incomes. But if caught, the women are beat or raped by forest guards. No one, it seems, looks out for them:

“When the guards find us with wood, they beat us hard,” says Maselech [Mercho], who is now 10. “If we give them money, they leave us alone. If they get drunk, they try to rape us. We will scream for help, but when we scream in these forests, there is nobody to lend us a hand.”

But the organization Former Women Fuel Wood Carriers Association is expanding its operations in Ethiopia to teach girls and women new skills and livelihoods that will keep them out of the forests, away from danger, and also protect the environment.

Need to know what the Department of Defense is doing on the environment? The official version is readily accessible at the Defense Environmental Network & Information eXchange (DENIX). Lots on the mess DOD makes, the rules and regs for making less of a mess, and their steps to lower their ecological footprint.

Give us your comments on DENIX and tell us your favorite sites inside or outside the government.

Violence against women was highlighted as a contributing factor to the spread of HIV/AIDS at the World Social Forum, taking place this week in Nairobi. Ludfine Anyango of Action Kenya-International argued that women still have little say in negotiating their sexual relationships, which increases their susceptibility to infection:

“Many women cannot even choose when to have sex or not. Many cannot ask their husbands to use a condom because in addition to being thought as unfaithful, they fear being beaten. The woman then has no choice but to continue having unprotected sex with her spouse.”

AIDS activists are calling for new and strictly enforced laws aimed at protecting women from all forms of violence, particularly sexual violence.

In the wake of the 34-day conflict that began in July 2006, Lebanon faces widespread environmental challenges, says a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme. The post-conflict assessment cites an urgent need to remove toxic waste and other hazardous materials from bombed areas—particularly industrial complexes—before they affect the country’s waterways and supply. Additionally, agricultural land in the southern region, where the population greatly depends on crop revenues, needs to be cleared of unexploded cluster bombs.

Population Reference Bureau (PRB) will host an online discussion of environment, poverty, and security trends and the ways in which they are affected by population dynamics on Thursday, January 25, from 1 – 2 p.m. (EST).

The discussion will be moderated by PRB Technical Director Roger-Mark De Souza. Questions can be submitted in advance.

Trade, Aid and Security: An Agenda for Peace and Development, a new edited volume arriving in bookstores next week, looks at the ways in which conflict and state failure can arise from inappropriate or misused aid and trade policies, particularly when natural resources are at stake. Richard Auty and Philippe Le Billon contribute a chapter on managing revenues from natural resources, and Ian Smillie discusses the relationship between aid and conflict.

Forward and introduction available from the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Over the next decade China expects to have 30 million more men of marriageable age than women, said a report released last week by China’s State Population and Family Planning Commission. In esponse, Chinese authorities have made new commitments to slow the imbalance by curtailing fetus gender testing and sex-selective abortions. Efforts to promote equality between men and women are also being scaled up in hopes of staving off potential problems noted in the initial report:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are two of several countries in the Persian Gulf beginning to invest in the water sector. In anticipation of growing demand for water due to population growth, UAE plans to spend $7 billion over the next seven years, while Saudi Arabia plans to spend $28 billion over the next decade, reports Gulf News. The article does not provide a breakdown of sector spending, but notes that $6 billion of Saudi Arabia’s investment will go toward desalination plants.