Roughly 20 organizations wield some management authority in the high seas, but none of them have conservation as their core mandate, said Liz Karan, Senior Manager of the Protecting Ocean Life on the High Sea Campaign at the Pew Charitable Trusts. She spoke at a recent Wilson Center event hosted by the Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program. The discussion revolved around aspects of a proposed global treaty on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond the jurisdiction of any country. “The high seas treaty comes in as an opportunity to put conservation at the focus of the discussion of how we manage the high seas,” said Karan.

“We are stripping the life away from the blue planet,” said oceanographer, explorer, and author, Sylvia A. Earle. She keynoted a recent event on marine protected areas in Antarctica and the high seas co-hosted by the Wilson Center and The Pew Charitable Trusts with support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. “Do we want a planet like Mars?” she said. “Most people would say, ‘I don’t think so. I like to breathe. I like water that falls magically out of the sky. I like having a living planet.’”

Oil has played a pivotal role in shaping geopolitics for more than a century. But the rise of electric vehicles and shift toward cleaner fuels means that the world’s dependence on oil could begin to shrink, with both expected and unexpected consequences.

World population continues to grow. The latest UN projections, released this week, indicate that we will add another 2 billion people to the planet by 2050 and 3 billion by the end of the century.  While population growth is ebbing in many countries—and even starting to contract in a few—population growth in some countries remains brisk, if not breakneck. 

Residents of Chennai, by all accounts, are miserable and anxious. The city’s main reservoirs are dry, depleted by the failure of successive monsoons to provide replenishing rains. The shortfall has crippled the piped distribution network, which is now meeting just half of typical demand through a mix of secondary sources: desalinated water, groundwater, and the impoundments from nearby stone quarries. Even that supply is far from adequate. Piped water reaches households once a week or less. Tanker trucks, an expensive alternative, dole out water by the bucketful to desperate crowds.

“Too often in the United States, the narrative that we hear about Africa is one of poverty, war, and ineffective or failed states. It is a crisis, a place best engaged through aid packages and humanitarian assistance,” said Keith Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Brown Capital Management at a recent Wilson Center event hosted by the Africa Program. “This has never been the entire story, and today more than ever, Africa is undergoing enormous transformations that challenge this narrative,” Lee said.