A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

What’s Next for the Teesta Water Disputes? (The Hindu) 

The recent political upheaval in Bangladesh which led to the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the return of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammed Yunus as leader of an interim government is not the only tumult in this nation. A worsening trend in weather events there has heightened Bangladesh’s exposure to climate shocks and allowed a dispute over the Teesta River to reemerge.

Earlier this year the media made much ado about drought conditions constraining traffic through the Panama Canal. But is it really all they’re making it out to be?

The most recent drought conditions started with below-average rainfall in late 2022, and by January 2024 were being described as the worst drought in Canal history. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) ranked 2023 as the second driest year since 1950. News articles reported cargo traffic was reduced by nearly 40% and that the world faced a $270 billion traffic jam in Panama.

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Climate Security and Canada’s Promises to NATO  (Global News) 

As a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Canada has been influential in the integration of climate change policy with the alliance’s mission. It supported the development of NATO’s Climate Change and Security Action Plan aligning with the alliance’s core tasks of deterrence and defense, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security. Following the Canadian proposal 2021, Global Affairs Canada and the Department of National Defense jointly lead NATO’s Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) to research and identify best practices to address climate change and security-related challenges.  

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Renewable Energy Needs a Social Vision (Mongabay)

The Zapotec of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec have accused energy giant EDF (Électricité de France) of causing human rights abuses while building wind farms in Oaxaca state. They also claim the company intimidated and harassed social movements who opposed this construction on their ancestral lands. The Zapotec are indigenous peoples of Mexico who call themselves Bën Za or “The People”—and after three years of struggle and stalling tactics by EDF’s legal representatives, French courts have authorized their civil case filing at last. 

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Brazil Joins the Rare Earth Minerals Race to Curb Chinese Dominance (Reuters) 

Brazil has the world’s third-largest reserves of rare earth minerals. Yet China dominates that market, accounting for 95% of global production. The mining giant is taking steps aims to break this supply chain dominance by creating a robust rare earth industry of its own. The country’s first rare earths mine, Serra Verde, began commercial production in 2024. 

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, recently released a report outlining the plight of Latin American Indigenous communities battling against international mining corporations. The study details several examples of transgressions, including an episode from the early 2000s involving Bear Creek, a Canadian mining company awarded a license to explore Indigenous Aymara territories. Their activities sparked organized protests, road blockades, and even violent clashes with police that resulted in deaths and injuries—and forced Peru’s government to revoke Bear Creek’s license.