A growing number of organizations provide local policymakers with early warning information tools. The effectiveness depends on numerous factors. Read more about a successful case from Bangladesh that implements satellite information in refugee camp planning.

The impact of climate change on global security is acquiring more attention by the United Nation Security Council (UNSC). On 22 April, France is organising an Arria formula meeting on Climate and Security. Expected briefers are Robert Mally, Dan Smith and Rosemary Di Carlo. We will be live-tweeting. Stay tuned and follow us on twitter @PlanSec

Climate changes threaten human security of communities due to its impact on global-disease patterns. In turn, this has economic and political consequences. Improving the resilience of water resources to extreme weather events can mitigate these trends.

A new report by the United Nations University aims at supporting the UN, its partners and member states in developing climate-sensitive conflict prevention approaches. The report recommends to focus, for example, on indirect impacts, governance, inequality and maladaptation issues. The publication presents two case studies from Bangladesh and Nigeria.

A study by Social Inquiry, in partnership with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council, analyses how environmental degradation and governance challenges contribute to displacing farmers in Iraq. The analysis demonstrates that water scarcity in three southern Iraqi provinces is a major trigger of displacement and instability.

What is needed to fully tackle the complex challenges around environmental dimensions of armed conflicts? Civil society, affected states and experts have struggled with this essential question for decades. This briefing note elaborates on the latest insights on this issue as expressed during an informal (Arria formula) meeting on this topic in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).