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

The Success of Community-based Conservation in Africa (Yale 360)

Across Africa, herders once seen as threats to wildlife have now become vital conservationists. In a transformative shift from “fortress conservation” to community stewardship, they are protecting iconic species like elephants and lions as they coexist with their livestock.

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

Room for Justice in Vietnam’s Energy Transition? (The Diplomat)

Vietnam’s crackdown on environmental leaders such as Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng on disputed charges raises significant concerns about human rights, transparency, and civil society’s role in its energy transition. These arrests have garnered international attention, but Vietnam’s government argues that they had nothing to do with environmental work. And while Hoàng and other activists have been released, their work remains curtailed. The message is clear: you’re not welcome here.

At the recent G20 meeting in June 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres gave an ominous warning: “Unless we limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, spiraling disasters will devastate every economy.” Guterres implored governments to “speed-up the just transition from fossil fuels to renewables,” and declared that “the end of the fossil fuel age is inevitable.”

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

Humanitarians Highlight the Climate-Conflict Nexus  (The New Humanitarian) 

Climate change’s disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities and conflict, particularly during natural disasters. This vexed connection has led humanitarians and peacebuilders increasingly to address climate and conflict challenges together in order to provide integrated relief, recovery, and aid.

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

Mekong River Development Faces Public Outcry (Mongabay) 

The Mekong River flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam—and a new development on this waterway near the downstream Thailand-Laos border has triggered protests in Thailand. The Pak Beng hydropower development is a joint project of China Datang Overseas Investment and Thailand-based Gulf Energy Development which is estimated to generate 912 megawatts of power to be sold to Thailand’s state energy company. 

While traditional fuels likely will remain part of Africa’s energy portfolio for some time to come, the fossil fuel industry does face strong headwinds from a continuing global march towards alternative sources of clean energy. Indeed, the energy poverty experienced by nearly a billion Africans seems incomprehensible given the combination of massive untapped oil and gas resources, as well as available hydropower, solar and wind potential across the continent.