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.

In recent weeks, users of the social network Bluesky were able to watch a compelling video featuring Jessica Newberry Le Vey—a Climate Change and Health Policy Fellow at Imperial College’s Climate Cares Centre. The video begins with Le Vey’s direct-to-camera assertion that the climate crisis is a health crisis affecting people around the world. Then Le Vey’s image disappears—yet we hear her (or someone who sounds eerily like her) speak over a compendium of combat footage that includes video of ATACAM missiles being fired and larger strategic missiles on the move. Climate is important, declares the speaker, but there are more serious problems that threaten our security.

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.

It is widely recognized that oil states are rarely democratic, and often conflict-prone. As these governments wind down their dependence on this toxic resource as part of broader global efforts to decarbonize, one might imagine that the end of oil will spell a better future for the citizens of oil-producing countries. Sadly, a look at the cases of fragile fossil fuel producing states (FFFPs) suggests that this may not be the case.

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.