"Conflict and Climate Change Ravage Syria’s Agricultural Heartland"
"Drought and a decade of war have brought failing crops and poverty to a region once known as Syria’s breadbasket. Even the bread has changed."
"Drought and a decade of war have brought failing crops and poverty to a region once known as Syria’s breadbasket. Even the bread has changed."
The climate-security nexus has drawn attention from the Biden administration, but less so elsewhere, even as security experts worry about climate change as a threat multiplier that can exacerbate other causes of conflict. Our new Backgrounder explores these concerns, with a look at how the issue has played out in recent U.S. politics. Plus, seven global regions where climate change may worsen ongoing conflict.
"In Jordan, researchers, activists and fishers are hopeful that their coral reefs — and the life they support — can survive climate change."
Environmental journalist Khalid Bencherif struggled to bring the emergent effects of climate change to the attention of local audiences facing many other pressing problems. So he told a powerful story grounded in personal experience, traveling to his childhood home in Morocco’s Tafilalet region, where deepening drought is hitting the oases hard and driving many villagers from their homes.
"A military report warned that striking the giant structure could cause tens of thousands of deaths."
"The crackdown came after the protests spilled over to at least one other city and a major protest on Friday loomed. Weather experts say 97 percent of the country is dealing with water scarcity issues."
"A water buffalo, her stomach bloated and haunches sunken, lies dying on a dry expanse of cracked earth. Her calf nuzzles her but she doesn't respond. A few yards away, another water buffalo, all skin and bone, wallows in the mud at the edge of the drying marsh waters. The people who herd these animals in Iraq's southern marshlands are unable to save them."
After an 18-month buildup, a one-day U.N. Food Systems Summit earlier this fall generated hundreds of commitments to end global hunger and a dizzying array of alliances dedicated to the cause. Despite controversies surrounding the summit, this groundbreaking event highlighted opportunities for reporting on food and food systems. Award-winning agriculture journalist Chris Clayton shares his insights.
"Saudi Arabia says it wants to join the global fight against climate change — by drilling for more oil."
"With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world but oil spoils keeping regimes in power, leaders are in a bind".