Can militant groups be environmentalists?
The case for engaging with militant groups to protect the environment Competition over scarce natural resources is often a key driver of the tensions that fuel armed conflict in different corners of the world. Yet in the heat of battle, environmental considerations are often relegated to afterthoughts, as smoke from burning buildings clouds the skies [...]
On the frontline of war, Yemeni women are building peace
The lived experience of those most affected by war, and those working hardest to end it, has led to a tangible understanding that without women, there can be no just peace in Yemen. It was the third year of the war when Muna Luqman heard of a conflict over water in Al-Haymatain, a remote area [...]
An environmental movement for times of war, too
While current global action focuses on the impact of humans and industry on the environment during peacetime, what about during conflict? Oil wells set ablaze in Iraq. Forests pillaged in Colombia. Wildlife populations decimated across the Sahara-Sahel. Around the world, armed conflicts continue to cause significant damage to the environment. In turn, this damage often [...]
Hitting nature where it hurts: Iran feels the pernicious effects of U.S. sanctions on biodiversity conservation
Iran feels the pernicious effects of US sanctions on biodiversity conservation Situated at the confluence of the Mediterranean, arid west Asian and temperate semi-humid Caspian climatic zones, Iran is home to a rich and complex array of biodiversity, including the world’s few remaining Asiatic cheetahs. Efforts to protect its biodiversity, however, have been challenged by [...]
Can rewilding restore Europe’s biodiversity and help change the way we think about nature?
A griffon vulture soars above the Rhodope Mountains that cut across the Bulgaria-Greece border. The colony it belongs to makes its home on the Greek side of the Rhodopes, but often goes in search of food on the Bulgarian side. Nature has little regard for borders, and here there are deer and wolves and vultures [...]
Wildlife declines in conflict hotspots
The escalation of armed conflicts has caused dramatic population declines of endangered local species, ultimately putting humans at risk. The escalation of armed conflicts in the Sahara and Sahel – up 565% since 2011 – is accelerating population declines of endangered local species, such as African Savannah elephants and Saharan cheetahs, in areas that once [...]
Environmental infrastructure a potent weapon in warfare
The targeting of environmental infrastructure in war has become an end in itself, with long-term implications for human welfare and ecosystems. Warring parties in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have increasingly targeted water and energy infrastructure as tactical weapons, and as forms of collateral damage, with long-term implications for human welfare, ecosystems, and [...]
The olive oil industry is confronting death by spittlebug in Europe
Xylella is one of the 'most dangerous plant bacteria worldwide' and has been confirmed in Corsica, the Balearic Islands, southern France, Spain, Portugal and Germany It was in the winter of 2018 when Juan Escandell first noticed something was wrong. Leaves on some of his olive trees were withering and turning brown, while the fruits [...]
Avocados – farmers’ green gold – push southern Spain toward water collapse
Europe’s largest avocado producer is facing ecological costs that are bearing down on the world's trendiest crop Hundreds of small trees dot the terraced hillside, brown and parched under the early summer sun. They may not look like much now, but by next year they’ll bear the fruit of one of Spain’s most profitable export [...]