Environmental Change and Security Program - ECSP

💫 EVENT Highlights | Launch of USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Policy

Last week, The Wilson Center, in partnership with USAID, hosted Administrator Power, Assistant to the Administrator Shannon Green, Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, Mounir Ibrahim, and Tamara Cofman Wittes to celebrate and discuss the release of USAID’s new Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Policy.

The DRG Policy reaffirms and renews USAID’s steadfast commitment to democratic governance and human rights by outlining approaches for enhancing the effectiveness of the United States’ support for democratic development. It will serve as a foundation for Agency-wide efforts to continue USAID’s role as a global leader in promoting DRG.

Watch the full event through the link below ⬇️

Launch of USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Policy Join the Wilson Center and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) virtually to celebrate the release of USAID’s new Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Policy on Thursday, July 18, at 1 p.m. EDT.

📖 Out NOW | China, critical minerals, and strategic interdependence

In a new piece titled "Strategic Interdependence," Wilson Center Global Fellow JoJo Nem Singh discusses US efforts to maintain technological superiority over China through semiconductor export controls and why interdependence may be the path forward, despite moves toward decoupling by both countries.

Read the full article below ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3Y4qh4Q

📺 ICYMI | On-Demand Keynote Speaker & Panel Videos

The full suite of keynote addresses and panels, as well as access to pictures and presentations from the 2024 Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference hosted by Battelle, are now online! Check out some of the featured content below:

1️⃣ Scaling Climate Solutions: A Modern Industrial Strategy | Senior Director Sarah Ladislaw
https://buff.ly/3LpIfXZ

2️⃣ Navigating Climate Policy | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
https://buff.ly/3LpIfXZ

3️⃣ Climate Adaptation: The Urgency, Impact, and Solutions | Assistant to the Administrator Dina Esposito
https://buff.ly/3LpIfXZ

4️⃣ Addressing Climate Change: Brazil's Measures and Global Collaboration | Brazilian Ambassador Maria Viotti
https://buff.ly/3LpIfXZ

5️⃣ Navigating Climate Change: The Basics, Breakthroughs, and Building Resilience | Dr. Roger Pulwarty, Hon. Sharon Burke, Dr. Aaron Salzburg, and Dr. Annalise Blum.
https://buff.ly/3LpIfXZ

On-Demand 2024 Keynotes and Panels | Battelle Climate Resilience Conference Explore the curated technical program through video presentations and keynote sessions for the 2024 Innovations in Climate Resilience.

🎙️ | Environmental Cooperation in the Middle East: A Conversation with Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed

In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, Wilson Center Global Fellow and environmental journalist Anneliese Palmer speaks with longtime leader in environmental diplomacy and Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, about the opportunities and challenges of environmental peacebuilding efforts in Gaza and the Middle East, as well as his role in the Jumpstarting Hope project.

Read about a few highlights and listen to the conversation here ⬇️

🗓️ EVENT | Population and Development in the 21st Century
Thursday, July 11, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am ET

This week, ECSP, the Maternal Health Initiative, and the Population Institute will be exploring pathways to further population and environment goals, and ensuring no one is left behind.

Keynote remarks will be made by Dr. Priscilla Idele, Chief, Population and Development Branch, United Nations Population Fund, followed by an expert panel with Emily Dwyer, Dr. Apoorva Jadhav, Kathleen Mogelgaard, and Dr. Nkechi Owoo, moderated by ECSP Global Fellow Roger-Mark De Souza.

RSVP to watch the event online through the link below ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3RL86gz

🌈 PRIDE DAY | NSB Highlight

A world in which temperature records are set month after month is a world that desperately needs transformative ideas. As such, LGBTIQ+ organizations and activists increasingly speak of “queering” systems such as global climate action, global refugee systems, and humanitarian response. This involves a move away from hard ‘either/or’ choices and the embrace of ‘both/and’ continuums of tactics better suited to intervening in complex systems.

In her article, ‘Queering Climate Action: A Transformative Task,’ Emily Dwyer, Co-founder, Board Director and Head of Strategy at Edge Effect, discusses how we can transform existing systems that address climate change and security threats to ensure the inclusion of LGBTQI+ people

Read Emily's full article here ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3zgP23q

And check out some of our previous work on the intersection of gender, identity, and health on NSB:

1️⃣ Beyond Pride: Ensuring Affirming, Respectful Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare for LGBTQ+ Communities
https://buff.ly/3izTnod

2️⃣ Most LGBTQ+ Individuals Remain in the “Global Closet”–At Great Cost to Global Health
https://buff.ly/3xovtQA

The Wilson Center

📣 New Report | "Planet on the move: Reimagining conservation at the intersection of migration, environmental change, and conflict"

A new IUCN report analyzes how conflict, changes in our environment and climate, and other forces are shaping migration on our planet from a conservation perspective. The report was launched at the Third International Environmental Peacebuilding Conference in The Hague by two of the report's editors, Richard Matthew and Galeo Saintz, as well as ECSP's Lauren Risi, who was a contributing author, and Rania Ahmed, who facilitated the discussion.

"This report finds that there is an important role in the conservation community in thinking through how we approach the interlinked problems of global environmental change, displacement and migration of species, and the increasing intensity of conflict." - Richard Matthew

Read the full report here ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3xq6ths

Last week, featured articles on climate security and Europe's Greens, US-China cooperation on methane emissions, and women's active role in climate adaptation.

1️⃣ Climate Security and Europe’s Greens: A Match Made in Political Heaven?

ECSP Global Fellow Peter Schwartzstein observes Green parties across Europe, using recent political success to push climate security up the political agenda, even though recent geopolitical crises and a cost-of-living backlash threaten their electoral gains, as shown in this past weekend’s elections.

📖 https://buff.ly/3KDZ6Ge

2️⃣ Methane Emissions: Can the United States and China Find Common Ground?

Canada Institute Global Fellow Barry Rabe writes that "as relations between the United States and China become increasingly acrimonious, reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations remains an exceptional arena where respectful engagement between both countries endures."

Check it out below ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4cdDj3L

3️⃣ Climate Change and Gender Roles: Women’s Active Role in Adaptation

Sarah B. Barnes, Director of the Maternal Health Initiative, calls for more research to explore the ability of women to make meaningful and strategic decisions in addressing the impacts of climate change in their communities.

📖 https://buff.ly/3VIK08S

Meet our wonderful new intern! Neeraja is a recent graduate of the Fletcher School at Tufts, where she specialized in international development and environmental policy. We're excited for her work at the intersection of critical minerals, human security, and international development toward an equitable energy transition.

Neeraja has previously worked in India as a qualitative researcher on issues related to public health, gender, and renewable energy for both non-profit and private-sector clients. In the summer of 2023, she was awarded the Tufts Elephant Alliance Grant to research human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Eastern Ethiopia. Welcome, Neeraja!

🗓️ EVENT | Investing in Women as Agents of Environmental Peacebuilding

Attending the Third International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding in The Hague next week? Join ECSP on June 19 at 1:30pm for a panel discussion on the importance of investing in women as agents of !

From the Sahel to the South Caucasus, investing in women and girls has enabled them to lead resilience and peacebuilding efforts in areas strained by climate, environmental, and conflict risks—helping alleviate insecurity, strengthen governance, and benefit society more broadly.

ECSP’s 90-minute roundtable session, chaired by Claire Doyle, will explore the links between climate insecurity and gender, and how the principles of environmental peacebuilding, when applied through a gender lens, can facilitate responses that increase the resilience of communities around the world. Nisha Singh, Marisa Ensor, Lou Compernolle, and Roisin Burke will give their expert opinions on the topic.

Find out more about here ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4aZRjxl

Read the latest on 📖

1️⃣ On , ECSP’s Claire Doyle shared key takeaways from our recent event on Environmental Journalists on the Frontlines of Democracy, hosted in partnership with the Society for Environmental Journalists. The event served as a chance to celebrate the important role of environmental journalism and highlight the need to protect journalists around the world from surveillance, censorship, oppression, and violence.

Give the article a read below, and check out a new report from Earth Journalism Network and Deakin University on the topic ⬇️
Article: https://buff.ly/3Vvwy7S
Report: https://buff.ly/3RffKQj

2️⃣ Danning Lu, with the China Environment Forum, explores the promise of implementing reusable cups and containers on university campuses and event venues, as a first step towards larger-scale reuse systems.

Read more here ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3x3Ybf7

3️⃣ ECSP's Angus Soderberg digests three headlines from around the world in this week's ECSP Weekly Watch.

🔗 https://buff.ly/3Vc791L

Environmental Journalists on the Frontlines of Democracy From record-breaking heat in 2023 to alarming levels of biodiversity loss, our global climate and environmental crises pose a growing threat to human and planetary wellbeing. But even as these [...]

🌍 ECSP in the News | Last night, ECSP Director Lauren Risi featured as an expert on a CBS News segment looking at how recent flooding in Brazil is part of a larger trend in climate-induced migration.

"When you look back to ten years ago, there were a lot of warning signals, and now those signals are blaring. We need to think about how to change our migration pathways so that people have a viable, safe, and orderly way to escape climate's worst impacts," said Risi.

Watch the full interview here ⬇️

How climate change is creating refugees across the world Devastating flooding in Brazil has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes for good. Scientists say human-caused climate change will make ext...

📖 The latest on NSB | The future of Central Asian water diplomacy and the cybersecurity threats facing international development.

1️⃣ In her latest NSB post, Eleanor Greenbaum examines how next week's Dushanbe Water Process in Tajikistan is part of the growing openness to international cooperation in Central Asia, where water diplomacy has the potential to support broader regional stability.

Read the article here ⬇️
https://buff.ly/459tQZ2

2️⃣ Steven Gale discusses that while the promise to enhance developing countries’ well-being through global connectivity is becoming a reality, this shift comes with serious cybersecurity risks. Failing to recognize and act on these risks could lead to serious consequences for donors and their beneficiaries.

Check it out on ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4e9LfoO

"How should the US government integrate these climate change concerns into its defense and security planning? More specifically, what roles should the Department of Defense (DoD) play in this overall effort, and how should DoD integrate within the overall government effort?"

As the US government works to integrate climate change concerns into its defense and security planning, Sherri Goodman and Max Nathanson explore DoD's role and what a proactive, preventative approach to addressing climate security risks might look like for the nation’s largest energy user.

Read more on below ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3yOrnaf

"How are we building sustainable and resilient policies into our systems today that recognize the fragility of ecosystems and our planet, and the needs of people on the ground?" - ECSP Director Lauren Risi

Following the Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference, Doug Parsons of the America Adapts podcast sat down with ECSP Director Lauren Herzer Risi. In their conversation, Lauren discusses the importance of incorporating resilience into climate action and policy, her highlights from hashtag , and why merging Battelle's technical leadership and The Wilson Center's policy expertise was so important for producing a successful conference.

Listen to the podcast here:


And check out ECSP's key takeaways from hashtag :
https://buff.ly/3ypEHBN

‎America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast: ICR24: Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference hosted by Battelle on Apple Podcasts ‎Show America Adapts the Climate Change Podcast, Ep ICR24: Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference hosted by Battelle - May 17, 2024

Happy International !

Biodiversity is the foundation of our ecosystems, supporting everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat, and underpinning economic and food security which impact conflict and security dynamics around the world.

Yet, biodiversity is under threat. Habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and overexploitation are causing alarming rates of species extinction. According to the World Wildlife Fund's 2022 Living Planet Report, populations of wildlife have declined by an average 69% over the past 50 years.

In response to these alarming trends, ECSP echoes the call to "be part of the plan!"

Check out some of our work on biodiversity below ⬇️

1️⃣ The New Arctic: Amid Record Heat, Ecosystems Morph and Wildlife Struggle
https://buff.ly/42WJ0Ql

2️⃣ PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Harming Wildlife the World Over: Study
https://buff.ly/4c1rmir

3️⃣ High Stakes: China’s Leadership in Global Biodiversity Governance
https://buff.ly/3WQHMFa

🎉 Join us in celebrating Wilson Center Senior Fellow Sherri Goodman for receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award from the Environmental Peacebuilding Association.

This award is given to a recipient whose career has fundamentally shaped and advanced the field of environmental peacebuilding. Sherri's formative work in national security, energy, and environment, notably her coining of the term "threat multiplier," has shaped global understanding of the nexus between these topics.

Congratulations, Sherri!

(Graphic by EnPAx)

A new report by the US intelligence community highlights what the world stands to lose if it fails to cooperate on global health, outlining the dire effects of climate change, shifting demographics, conflict and growing public mistrust on global health security.

ECSP Director Lauren Herzer Risi discusses the scope and importance of a recent National Intelligence Estimate on global health security ahead of the World Health Assembly meeting at the end of May, where member states will convene to debate the proposed text of the first pandemic prevention agreement.

Check out her insights on ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3yxIDAo

"Thought-leaders and Frontline Workers in Environmental Peacebuilding: An Oral History | Dr. Dhanasree Jayaram"

The latest episode of ECSP and the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's series discovering the past, present, and future of the field, ECSP's Claire Doyle spoke with Dr. Dhanasree Jayaram, Program Manager at Climate Diplomacy and Assistant Professor at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India.

Dr. Jayaram spoke about what environmental peacebuilding looks like in South Asia, how climate diplomacy connects to environmental peacebuilding, how the field has evolved, and its future.

Listen on or where you get your podcasts ⬇️
https://buff.ly/4dO26NI

"It is increasingly clear that without far greater investments in resilience, efforts to address climate change could be outpaced by accelerating climate risks."

In reflection of and 's Innovations in Climate Resilience Conference 2024, ECSP's Angus Soderberg highlights some key takeaways from the conference. The eight core themes highlight how to shape investments in climate resilience in the face of mounting geopolitical and climatic challenges.

Check it out on ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3JZAes1

DOT-MOM | Midwives as a Vital Climate Solution

For International Day of the Midwife, the Maternal Health Initiative spoke with experts about how they view the role of midwives in climate resilience in their country offices.

"In short, Midwifery is rooted in low-risk care, prevention, public health, and empowerment for change which is the best climate solution," says Pandora Hardtman, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at Jhpiego

Check out the conversation on
https://buff.ly/3y7ps0s

🌎 ECSP Weekly Watch | April 29 — May 3 🌍

This week, ECSP read about...

1️⃣ The Goldman Environmental Prize winners and their advocacy
2️⃣ Progress made on a global plastics treaty at the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution
3️⃣ The potentially devastating impacts of the Indonesian election on deforestation and CO2 emissions

Read more on ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3QtQzsE

Can Kazakhstan Meet Its Climate Goals?

The Kazakh government is reluctant to move away from its dependence on coal in the short term, and is looking to nuclear energy to align with its climate targets. But Kazakhstan has a complicated history with anything nuclear, and without a true national referendum driving decisions on nuclear investments, the long-term security and viability of these projects are at risk.

Independent researcher Sacha Shaw analyzes these complex dynamics in the latest ⬇️

https://buff.ly/3wfVJ4F

Image credit: MaxZolotukhin/Shutterstock.com

🌎 ECSP Weekly Watch | April 15 — 19 🌍

This week, ECSP read about...

1️⃣ The inter-American human rights court hearing on climate
2️⃣ WMO reporting on climate change and extreme heat in Europe
3️⃣ WMO reporting on extreme weather and other climate impacts in Asia

Read more on
https://buff.ly/4dhRCFS

🎙️ In the latest episode of on the , ECSP sat down with Wilson Fellow Dr. Renata Giannini to discuss her work with women environmental defenders in the Amazon, their contributions to climate action, and their role at COP30 in Brazil.

"I think it’s very important in these conferences that it’s not only the states convening, deciding, and agreeing on several issues," noted Dr. Giannini, "It’s the fact that civil society is there, speaking, and is really trying to influence things, as it should."

Check out the conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3xRT7uo

NEW on NSB | "Climate Priorities in the Middle East and North Africa: Takeaways from a
New Occasional Paper "

In honor of , we're highlighting a new ECSP and Middle East Program publication by Middle East correspondent at The Christian Science Monitor Taylor Luck. Luck analyzes the policies adopted by MENA states, highlighting gaps and offering recommendations to strengthen climate action in a region strained by both instability and climate change.

Check out our main takeaways from the paper on NSB ⬇️
https://buff.ly/3we7p7X