Environmental Peacebuilding Update Issue 27: 20 Jan 2015

Announcements

Green Star Awards: Nominations Extended to Feb. 159 January 2015 | Green Cross, UNEP, and OCHAThe biennial Green Star Awards recognize individuals, organizations, governments andcompanies who have demonstrated achievements in prevention, preparedness andresponse to environmental emergencies. Read More

Events

51st Munich Security Conference6 February 2015 – 8 February 2015 | Munich Security Conference, GermanyKey topics at the 51st Munich Security Conference (MSC) will include the crisis inUkraine and the deteriorating situation in the Middle East. Side events will cover topicsincluding climate security, disarmament, the Ebola virus, corruption, refugees, andenergy security. Read More

Investing in African Mining Indaba9 February 2015 – 12 February 2015 | Mining Indaba, Cape Town, South AfricaAfrican Mining Indaba brings together top leaders from the private sector, theinternational investment community and African governments to discuss challengesand opportunities of the African mining industry. The World Bank Group will host aseries of sessions to highlight the importance of sustainable development issues suchas governance, infrastructure... Read More

Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS): Launch of the 2nd EditionHandbook9 February 2015 | Overseas Development Institute, London and onlineMillions of people worldwide depend on livestock for their livelihoods and many ofthem – and their animals – are affected by disasters, both natural and man-made.The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) are the internationalguidelines and standards for the design, implementation and assessment of livestockinterventions to assist people... Read More

2015 Congress: Dangerous Dialogues and Courageous Conversations23 April 2015 – 26 April 2015 | Mediators Beyond Borders, Bucharest, RomaniaThe Conference presentations and workshops will focus on the themes of climatechange related conflicts, peacebuilding processes and women, historical conflicts anddivisions, emerging conflicts and tensions, and opportunities and challenges forconflict transformation through trauma informed peacebuilding and restorative justicepractices. Read More

2015 Environmental Emergencies Forum1 June 2015 – 3 June 2015 | Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit, Oslo, NorwayGlobal risks are intensifying. The number of people affected by humanitarian crises hasalmost doubled in the past decade, while more and more people are living in thecountries most exposed to the full range of natural and technological hazards. ReadMore

New Library Resources

In the last two weeks, 18 new publications were added to our online library of materialson environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Benchmarks for Land Governance in AfricaTim Bending (International Land Coalition Africa, 2014)As we plunge into land reforms on the African continent with diverse interests andplayers raising varied propositions, the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy inAfrica (F&G) and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure ofLand, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security... Read More

Extracting Peace: The Management of Natural Resources as a Platform for PromotingPeace and Stability in LiberiaZahed Yousuf (International Alert, 2014)This paper argues that the government of Liberia’s current approach to managinginvestment in natural resources is having an adverse effect on the country’s social,political and economic dynamics, which is increasing the risk of conflict. In order toavoid a return to conflict and move towards more stability, a new approach... ReadMore

Drought, Dams, and Survival: Linking Water to Conflict and Cooperation in Syria’sCivil WarAndrea Beck (International Affairs Forum, 2014)In an attempt to contribute to the literature on natural resources and civil war, thispaper addresses the role of water in the ongoing armed struggle in Syria. It examines

the question “To what extent is water linked to conflict and cooperation in Syria’s civilwar?” Based on an analysis... Read More

Water, Drought, Climate Change and Conflict in SyriaPeter H. Gleick (Weather, Climate and Society, 2014)The devastating civil war that began in Syria in March 2011 is the result of complexinterrelated factors. The focus of the conflict is regime change, but the triggers includea broad set of religious and sociopolitical factors, the erosion of the economic health ofthe country, a wave of... Read More

International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Jordan ValleyConference ProceedingsEcoPeace, WEDO, SIWI, Global Nature Fund (EcoPeace, 2014)The SIWI / EcoPeace / GNF November 10-12, 2014 "International Conference onSustainable Development in the Jordan Valley" brought together over one hundred andfifty government officials from Jordan, Palestine and Israel, international diplomaticrepresentatives, international development agency representatives, and basin experts.Read More

Afghanistan: Sustainable Development of Natural Resources Project II Michael Stanley (The World Bank, 2014)The development objective of the Second Sustainable Development of NaturalResources Project for Afghanistan is to assist the ministry of mines and petroleum(MoMP) and the national environmental protection agency (NEPA) in further improvingtheir capacities to effectively regulate Afghanistan's mineral resource development in atransparent and efficient manner, and... Read More

Geologic Map of Metallic and Nonmetallic Mineral Deposits, Badakhshan Province,Afghanistan Stephen G. Peters, Will R. Stettner, Donald P. Mathieux, Linda M. Masonic, and ThomasW. Moran (U.S. Geological Survey, 2014)This geologic map of central Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, is a combined,redrafted, and modified version of a geological map of central Badakhshan and map ofminerals of central Badakhshan from Semenov and others (1967) (Soviet report no.R0815). Read More

Exploitation of Mineral Resources in Afghanistan without Government Revenues orDevelopment BenefitsWilliam Byrd and Javed Noorani (United States Institute of Peace, 2014)Afghanistan has plentiful underground mineral resources—hydrocarbons, solidminerals, dimension stones, and gemstones. Gold, platinum, silver, copper, iron,chromite, tantalum, uranium, and aluminum, among others, have potential foreconomic exploitation. The total value of these resources has been variously estimated

at US$1 trillion to US$3 trillion. Read More

Jobs

In the last two weeks, 8 new jobs were added to our online listing of job postings.Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

Jordan: Renewable Energy Project Coordinator (Deadline: 2015-01-25) 7 January 2015 | Norwegian Refugee CouncilNRC is planning to implement a project on replicable renewable energy to contributetowards meeting the renewable energy goals set by the Government of Jordan’sstrategic guidelines for 2020. The project has two specific objectives: Specificobjectives: to demonstrate the economic feasibility, technical efficiency and replicabilityof renewable energy at... Read More

South Sudan: Food Security Livelihoods Coordinator (Deadline: 2015-01-27) 11 January 2015 | Danish Refugee CouncilThe Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organizationworking on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than twenty five countriesthroughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displacedpersons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the... ReadMore

Myanmar: Land Program Officer (Deadline: 2015-01-30) 11 January 2015 | NamatiIn a world where billions of people live outside the protection of the law, Namati isdedicated to putting the law in peoples' hands. We are building a global movement ofgrassroots legal advocates who work with communities to advance justice. Read More

South Sudan: Deputy Project Director (Deadline: 2015-02-01) 11 January 2015 | Catholic Relief ServicesCatholic Relief Services (CRS) carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the UnitedStates to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at the heart ofour mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and as partners peopleof all faiths and... Read More

Liberia: Emergency WASH/Environmental Health Manager (Deadline: 2015-02-11) 11 January 2015 | International Medical CorpsInternational Medical Corps is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization dedicatedto saving lives and relieving suffering through health care training and relief anddevelopment programs. Established in 1984 by volunteer doctors and nurses,International Medical Corps is a private, voluntary, nonpolitical, nonsectarian

organization. Read More

Afghanistan: WASH Adviser (Deadline: 2015-02-17) 11 January 2015 | Mission EastLocation / department: Mission East (ME) Faizabad City, Badakhshan Province,Afghanistan, with frequent travels to provinces in Afghanistan with ME operations(Takhar, Badakhshan and Baghlan) and travel to Kabul. Read More

Jordan: WASH Program Manager (Deadline: 2015-02-28) 11 January 2015 | Agency for Technical Development and CooperationAgency for Technical Development and Cooperation (ACTED) is an independentinternational, private, non-partisan and non-profit organization that operatesaccording to principles of strict neutrality, political and religious impartiality, and nondiscrimination. ACTED was created in 1993 to support populations affected by theconflict in Afghanistan. Read More

International News

Sri Lanka: Probe Land Grabbing from 2005-2014 - ECT Chief19 January 2015 | Disna Mudalige, Daily NewsIncidents of land grabbing from 2005-2014 should be investigated, EnvironmentConservation Trust (ECT) Director Sajeewa Chamikara said. Read More

Rwanda: Kagame Says Rwanda Not Plundering DRC Coltan16 January 2015 | News of RwandaPresident Paul Kagame has offered free visa and air ticket to anyone disputing Rwanda'sColtan (tantalum) production capability to visit the country's active mining sites. ReadMore

Colombia: Understanding Colombia’s Armed Conflict: International Actors15 January 2015 | Colombia ReportsCompared with much of the world, Latin America was relatively free inter-state warsduring the 20th century, and Colombia is no exception. While tension with neighboringcountries, particularly Ecuador and Venezuela, increased during the hardlineadministration of Alvaro Uribe, much of the violence experienced in Colombian societycomes from domestic actors. Read More

Guinea: Did Palm Oil Expansion Play a Role in the Ebola Crisis?14 January 2015 | Emmanuel K. Urey, Mongabay.comThe Ebola outbreak in West Africa may have been the result of complex economic andagricultural policies developed by authorities in Guinea and Liberia, according to a newcommentary in Environment and Planning A. Looking at the economic activities around

villages where Ebola first emerged, the investigators analyzed a shift... Read More

China/Vietnam/South China Sea: Vietnamese Fishermen Suffer More Chinese Attacks14 January 2015 | Quang Ngai, Thanh Nien NewsAt least three fishing boats from Ly Son Island were attacked this month by Chinesecrews that have moved into their traditional fishing grounds around the Hoang Sa(Paracel) islands. Read More

Iraq/Kurdistan: Baghdad Bid to Raise Oil Exports from Kurdistan; British toReconsider 12 January 2015 | World BulletinThe central government in Iraq began constructing a new oil pipeline from Kirkuk toErbil to increase oil exports from region, an official from the Kurdish regionalgovernment in the north said on Sunday. Read More

Somalia/Somaliland: Berbera Residents against Habarjeclo's Land-Grabbing10 January 2015 | Waagacusub MediaHundreds of families from President Siilaanyo's tribe of Habarjeclo take advantage ofthe sea-port of Berbera Somaliland, which have resulted anti-Habarjeclo sentiment,reliable sources told Waagacusub Media. Read More

Palestine: Storm Adds to Misery of Gaza’s Most Vulnerable9 January 2015 | Majd al Waheidi and Jode Rudoren, New York TimesAs a winter storm continued to pound the Middle East, thousands of Gaza residentswhose homes were destroyed or damaged in last summer’s war with Israel struggledwith the harsh weather for a third day, and a 4-month-old baby from the southern partof the territory died on Friday from... Read More

Syria: Yarmouk Camp Victim of Water Wars in Syria7 January 2015 | Aya Chebbi, Al JazeeraThe Syrian regime is using water as a tool of war in the Yarmouk camp, according to arecent report issued by the Palestinian League for Human Rights (PLHR). Read More

Nigeria: Shell Agrees to Pay $83.5 Million for Oil Spills7 January 2015 | New York TimesThe oil giant Shell agreed early Wednesday to pay a Nigerian fishing community 55million pounds, or about $83.5 million, ending a three-year legal battle in Britain overtwo spills in 2008 that destroyed thousands of acres of mangroves and the seafoodthat had sustained Bodo villagers in the Niger... Read More

Blogs & Opinion

What Haiti Needs to Do Next13 January 2015 | Alex Fischer and Marc A. LevyWithin three months of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the initial shock and sadness ofthe tragedy had been replaced by an enormous ambition: Haiti would build back better.Sadly, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, the political crisisembroiling the country threatens what progress has... Read More

The Civil War’s Environmental Impact12 January 2015 | Ted WidmerThe Civil War was the most lethal conflict in American history, by a wide margin. But theconventional metric we use to measure a war’s impact – the number of human lives ittook – does not fully convey the damage it caused. Read More

A Tale of Two Shocks in Iraq12 January 2015 | Masood AhmedIraq is facing a “double shock” from the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(ISIS) insurgency and the global plunge in oil prices. While the new government led byPrime Minister Haidar al-Abadi was formed with the express objective of dealing withthe insurgency and addressing the humanitarian disaster... Read More

Future Wars on Water9 January 2015 | Dr. Muhammad Yaqoob BhattiIt has been said that all future wars would be on water disputes. Egypt has alreadyissued an ultimatum of war to Ethiopia in the event of their building a dam on the BlueNile, a tributary of Nile River that could curtail its historic rights on water. Read More

Rebuilding Gaza and the Need to Assess TRW Risks9 January 2015 | Andrew GarrityThe people of Gaza are facing the colossal task of rebuilding homes, roads and schoolsfollowing the hostilities between Hamas and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) lastsummer. Disagreements over border access and the importation of constructionequipment and materials have delayed the removal of rubble and rebuilding. Read More

Will China Change its South China Sea Approach in 2015?8 January 2015 | Prashanth ParameswaranGiven the litany of surprises we have witnessed in the South China Sea over the past fewyears, it would be a fool’s errand to make grand predictions about what we might see in2015. Nonetheless, there has been a flurry of discussions over the past few monthsamong the... Read More

Sanctions for Peace in South Sudan7 January 2015 | Peter Biar AjakAfter about a year of on-off negotiations between the government of South Sudan and

rebels led by its former vice president, Riek Machar, the two sides have yet to make anymeaningful progress. Read More

About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practiceon natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Law Institute(ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), McGill University, and theUniversity of Tokyo. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners,and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing naturalresources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helpspeople to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participatein events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, webring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our programas well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and jobopenings.

Please visit us at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org for more information. Financialsupport for the platform has been provided by the Government of Finland, USAID, andthe European Commission.

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The strength of the knowledge platform depends on submissions and suggestions oncontents from users. To share publications and information on events, jobopportunities, and other announcements, pleasecontact share@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. Please also feel free to share ideas onhow the platform can be further improved to meet your needs.

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Copyright ELI and UNEP 2015www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org