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Lukas Rüttinger, Adelphi
Thailand and Sri Lanka Show How Disasters Can be Catalysts of Fragility or Opportunities for Peace
›June 26, 2015 // By Wilson Center StaffIn 2011 Thailand was hit by unprecedented monsoon rains far above the average rainfall of the previous 30 years. Two million people across 26 provinces were affected. During the crisis, hundreds of civilians took it to the streets to protest discrimination by the Flood Response Operation Center and the unfair distribution of water, electricity supply, shelter, and food. Civilians were so angry that they broke a sandbag wall in Bangkok which was protecting a wealthy district from water surges. Public unrest and discontent with the government continued until a military coup in 2013.
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Alexander Carius: To Promote Cross-Sectoral Collaboration, Put Resilience at the Forefront
›With dangerous levels of climate change already in the pipeline, countries across the world are tasked with adapting to a drastically changing Earth. The Wilson Center and a consortium of international partners recently released an independent report commissioned by the G7 that examines the risks to stability from climate change.
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Integrated Development Project Adjusts to Burundi’s Presidential Crisis
›President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in April plunged Burundi into a state of unrest not seen since the end of the country’s civil war in 2005. Refugees are arriving in neighboring Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the tens of thousands, raising the possibility that the deteriorating security situation could spill over borders.
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How to Create a New Climate for Peace: Preventing Climate Change From Exacerbating Conflict and Fragility
›June 19, 2015 // By Lauren Herzer RisiWhen the leaders of the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States – met earlier this month, they agreed to make fossil fuels a thing of the past by 2100. At the same time the G7 is also taking steps to make climate change’s connection to conflict a priority in the present.
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Adapting to Global Change: Climate Displacement, Mega-Disasters, and the Next Generation of Leaders
›The world is more connected than ever before, but also more complex. Big, transnational trends like climate change, urbanization, and migration are changing the calculus of geopolitics, while local-level inequalities persist. “[Change] seems to be spinning around us so fast,” said John Hempelmann, president of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, which honors the legacy of the late senator from Washington State. How can today’s and tomorrow’s leaders adjust to global trends? [Video Below]
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Codi Yeager-Kozacek, Circle of Blue
Middle East Conflicts Jeopardize Water for Millions
›June 15, 2015 // By Wilson Center StaffMillions of people across the Middle East face drought, scarce drinking water supplies, and poor sanitation due to civil wars and conflict. Meanwhile, resource constraints and foreign military interventions risk more severe humanitarian disasters.
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Alice Thomas: Climate Change Effects and Responses Profoundly Undermine Human Rights
›After Typhoon Haiyan ripped across the Philippines in 2014 leveling nearly every building in sight, 4 million people – mostly poor and from coastal regions – were displaced. In response, the government set up “no build” zones in vulnerable areas and worked to move people to new land. But many of the newly relocated people discovered this land came with no access to water, electricity, or other services.
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The Sahel Beyond the Headlines: Underlying Demographic, Environmental Trends Erode Resilience
›Between the Sahara to the north and savanna to the south lies the semi-arid Sahel, a region stretching from Senegal to Sudan that has experienced desperate poverty, climate change, malnutrition, and violence. While every context is different, the Sahelian countries share some common challenges, including a pattern of recurring crises and fluid borders. Boko Haram’s reign of terror in northern Nigeria and Mali’s coup have both had cross-border components. [Video Below]
Showing posts from category humanitarian.