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

Climate Change Disproportionately Impacts Rural Women (U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization) 

A recent report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization analyzed data from 24 low- and middle- income countries (LMICs) across five regions and over 100 thousand rural households to measure the impacts of climate change on rural women, youth, and people living in poverty. It found that climate change’s impacts disproportionately impact households headed by women, with income losses due to extreme heat (8% income loss) and flooding (3% income loss), relative to households led by men. The income gap between men and women was also widened as a result.

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day (IWD). It is an annual occasion to celebrate the incredible achievements of women and girls globally, while acknowledging the work still needed to push forward to make the critical human rights issue of gender equality a reality.

This article is adapted from “Population Trends and the Future of US Competitiveness”

Demographic issues intersect with a number of policy priorities on the congressional agenda, including the economy, immigration, health care and foreign policy, but how population trends influence policy outcomes is often overlooked or misunderstood. In a new report, we explore how population dynamics have changed dramatically over the last few decades, and what these changes mean for the economic and security interests of the United States.

The recent arrests of women in Dasht-e-Barchi of Kabul, Daikundi province, and Jaghori district of Ghazni in Afghanistan by the Taliban for inadequate adherence to Islamic dress codes highlights a critical and distressing situation. These events are not an isolated occurrence. Rather, they are a reflection of the intensifying oppression and systemic threats faced by women in the country, particularly those from ethnic and religious communities such as the Hazaras.

The last two decades saw significant gains in reducing the incidence of malaria, but can we be doing even more to eradicate this disease? In early January 2024, a New York Times op-ed argued that millions were dying needlessly as tools to defeat malaria were within reach.

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

World Groundwater Levels Face Accelerated Decline

Courtesy of Reuters, Reported by David Stanway and Edited by Tomasz Janowsk

Nature recently released a report revealing that global groundwater levels have undergone a widespread and accelerated decline over the past 40 years. Researchers concluded that this has likely occurred as a result of the impact of two factors: unsustainable irrigation practices in dry climates and drought driven by climate change.