In March the the fourth UN Environment Assembly took place in Nairobi, Kenya. At the same time the sixth edition of UN Environment’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO6) was published under the theme “healthy planet, healthy people”. GEO6 assesses scientific research, analyses environmental policies, and aims to help policymakers and the public identify priority actions to achieve sustainable development. In a blog published by the Conflict and Environment Observatory, Doug Weir and Leonie Nimmo analyze the report specifically focusing on the nexus between conflict and the environment.

In recent years, the centre of Mali has been at the heart of a great deal of concern. The latest killings in Ogossagou, a Fulani village in the district of Bankass in the Mopti region, in which close to 160 people lost their lives on 23 March 2019, were condemned by the entire international community. The victims were not only Fulani families, but also Dogon civilians. In the aftermath of the violence, other attacks took place on a smaller scale, targeting several other civilians in the region.

Depuis quelques années maintenant, le centre du Mali est au cœur de toutes les attentions. Les dernières tueries d’Ogossagou, un village peulh du cercle de Bankass, dans la région de Mopti, où près de 160 personnes, ont perdu la vie, le 23 mars 2019, ont été condamnées par toute la communauté internationale. Ce ne sont pas seulement des familles peulhs, mais aussi des civils dogons, car il existe aussi un village dogon du même nom, qui ont été tués. Au lendemain des violences, d’autres attaques de moindre envergure ont eu lieu et ciblant plusieurs autres civils de la région.

On the 14th - 16th May, 2019, the 4th biannual European Conference of Defence and the Environment (ECDE) one of Europe's most relevant conferences on the environmental impacts of military operations, military training and management of environmentally hazardous substances, will take place in the Swedish Defence University at Försvarshögskolan, Stockholm

The 2019 Pacific Environmental Security Forum (PESF) is scheduled for 21-24 May 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will co-sponsor the event, supported by New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence. The forum brings government, military and civilian representatives together from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The International Military Council on Climate Change (IMCCS) is a group of senior military leaders, security experts, and security institutions across the globe dedicated to anticipating, analyzing, and addressing the security risks of a changing climate. It consists of a council and an expert group.

The paper "Double vulnerability: the humanitarian implications of intersecting climate and conflict risk" summarizes current knowledge and analysis of the interactions between climate and conflict to set the scene for discussions at a global series of round tables on ‘People’s experience of conflict, climate risk and resilience’ jointly convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and local partners. The round tables will focus on people’s lived experience of conflict and climate risk in different parts of the world, and explore how humanitarian organizations and their partners can best support people’s efforts to survive, adapt and thrive.

A devastating uptick in violence in Mopti has drawn fresh attention to ethnic divisions and radicalisation. However the role of natural resource pressures as a root cause of conflict and point of departure for solutions continues to be overlooked. Here we set out an ambitious case of interventions – based on extensive research from the PSI community of practice – which both development and security actors can utilise to stem the spread of violence and establish the foundations for peace.

After several years of low rainfall followed by a severe drought in 2017-2018, the City of Cape Town municipal government was forced to introduce dramatic measures in order to narrowly avoid the ‘Day Zero’ scenario - almost totally depleted reserves. A new briefing from the Grantham Institute looks at how events arose and how the city managed supply and demand during the crisis, with some important observations on the implications for societal tension and conflict risks of urban water security pressure.

Following the announcement of a ‘roadmap to the UN Climate Summit’ by General Assembly President Maria Espinosa, we present an outline of key dates and events for the climate-security nexus, in what has the potential to be a ‘tipping point’ year for the agenda.