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ECSP Weekly Watch | June 3 – 7
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
The Perils of Climate Reporting: Global Threats to Journalists Surge
Environmental journalists are under attack. That is the conclusion of a new global survey conducted by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and Deakin University. These researchers found that nearly 40% of climate and environment journalists have been threatened with harm, with 11% experiencing actual physical violence—often from individuals involved in illegal logging, mining, and other activities. Testimony from journalists at a recent ECSP event titled Environmental Journalists on the Frontlines of Democracy also made it clear that covering such illegal activities is increasingly perilous.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | May 27 – 31
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Panama’s First Climate-Related Relocation
The Guna Indigenous people of Gardi Sugdub—an island in Panama’s San Blas Archipelago—are moving to new mainland homes in Carti Port’s Isber Yala neighborhood. This move is part of a larger relocation effort supported by the country’s government since 2010 to address the impacts of climate change on its indigenous peoples.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | May 20 – 24
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Southern Africa’s Drought Offers a Window into the Region’s Climate Future
Southern Africa has been hit by one of its worst droughts in decades, and this calamity highlights the vulnerability of smallholder farmers who rely on rainfed agriculture. For the first time, farmers like Esnart Chogani, who works on a farm just outside Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, were unable to bring in a harvest. The region is normally a major exporter of maize, yet it now has begun importing the grain to meet demand.
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Building a Response to Environmental Violence
›Human-produced pollution is the single leading cause of mortality today, yet it is not widely considered a form of violence. On July 28, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted—with 161 in favor and eight abstentions—that living in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. Building on a similar declaration by the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2021, the UNGA has now reinforced the notion that the growing assaults on human health through environmental hazards are transgressions against the basic rights and freedoms of people. Efforts to create a human right to a healthy planet, and even a planetary right to health that would signifying potential rights of nature, are growing both in real activity and demand.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | May 13 – 17
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security ProgramUN World Wildlife Crime Report Reveals Harm of Wildlife Trafficking (UN Office on Drugs and Crime)
In the third World Wildlife Crime Report, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) discussed trends in illicit trafficking of protected species, analyzed wildlife crime harms and impacts, and took stock of all current knowledge on intervention effectiveness. This report is more comprehensive than its predecessors in 2016 and 2020 due to increased reporting. Despite 20 years of effort, wildlife trafficking persists and is connected with powerful organized crime groups operating in fragile ecosystems. This has implications not only for the spread of organized crime, but also for biodiversity loss and subsequent impacts on climatic fragility.
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Climate, Conflict, and Changing Demographics Command Attention in New Global Health Security Report
›A new report by the US Intelligence Community highlights what the world stands to lose if it fails to cooperate on global health. The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) “Dynamics Shaping Global Health Security In the Next Decade” outlines the dire effects of climate change, changing demographics, and the erosion of trust in institutions on global health security. The NIE on Global Health Security was made publicly available in April 2024, on the heels of the Biden-Harris Administration’s launch of a new Global Health Security Strategy.
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Key Takeaways from the Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference
›Historically, efforts to mitigate climate change have taken precedence over building resilience to its impacts. But from Pakistan to the Amazon, communities on the front lines are already experiencing the devastating effects of a warming world.
In recent weeks, devastating floods have claimed the lives of over 450 people in East Africa, as heavy rains linked to El Niño and changing climate patterns overwhelmed communities and infrastructure. Similar tragedies unfolding in Brazil, Pakistan, and Afghanistan underscore the human cost of being unequipped to protect against the worst impacts of climate change.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | May 6 – 10
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
2024 World Migration Report Highlights Climate-Food-Mobility Nexus (International Organization for Migration)
The International Organization for Migration’s flagship World Migration Report 2024 highlights a wide variety of factors contributing to global migration, including conflict, economic or political insecurity, and climate change. Between 2020 and 2022 the number of asylum seekers increased more than 30% to 5.4 million people. The report centers climate change’s impact on food security as a core driver of migration. In 2022, 275 million people faced acute food insecurity, which represents a 146% increase since 2016.
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