14 Feb 2012 - On Friday 26 Jan 2012, adelphi’s exhibition on "Environment, Conflict and Cooperation" (ECC) has been launched at the World Social Forum with a focus on the civil societal preparation of the upcoming UN environmental conference “Rio+20”. The exhibition was jointly conceptualized by adelphi and the Brazilian environmental organization “Vitae Civilis”. It addresses the question, how climate change, environmental degradation and resource scarcity can be drivers of social and political conflict.

Over the past months, adelphi has developed a regional component for the exhibition together with the Brazilian environmental NGO “Vitae Civilis”. For the presentation in Brazil, the complete exhibition has also been translated into Portuguese. The regional component discusses the interlinkages between water scarcity, food and energy security. Moreover, it addresses the question how climate change could aggravate the existing problems or create new environmental challenges and what impact this will have on the living conditions of the Brazilian population.

The exhibition has been developed at the initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and will be shown in other Brazilian cities in the course of this year. In parallel, similar exhibitions with regional components have been launched in China, South Africa and India.

For more information on the exhibition on "Environment, Conflict and Cooperation", please visit:
http://www.ecc-exhibition.org/en/project.htm

Source:
Ryan McNamara, New Security Beat

Tensions in the South China Sea increased last April when a Chinese coast guard ship sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands—a fiercely disputed territory in the South China Sea. Disputes over island territories in the region have endured for decades, with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei all making overlapping territorial claims. The region is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, holding vast fish stocks and an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 cubic feet of natural gas.

Early Warning & Risk Analysis
Asia
Dhanasree Jayaram, MAHE

Without a coordinated strategy to tackle flooding disasters beyond the traditional infrastructural measures and river water sharing agreements, South Asia’s woes will continue in the future.

Biodiversity & Livelihoods
South America
Andrés Bermúdez Liévano, China Dialogue

With Argentina's ‘yes’, the Escazú Agreement is one step away from coming into force. What’s its status in each country?

Christian König and Adrian Foong, adelphi

As political and public narratives on COVID-19 shift towards the need to ‘build back better’, the pandemic continues to take a heavy toll for many. A new report by the Climate Security Expert Network (CSEN) shows how COVID-19 can exacerbate climate-related security risks.