The original version of this article appeared on the Environment, Conflict, and Cooperation (ECC) Platform.

At the end of June, the European Union Foreign Affairs Council adopted a set of conclusions on EU climate diplomacy that left us with mixed feelings. Acknowledging and recalling that climate change is of paramount importance is commonplace – too often quoted and very seldom followed by decisive action. Explicit reference to the positive results of the Durban and Doha climate conferences is even a reason to get nervous. Many negotiators and observers will doubt a similarly enthusiastic framing for the most recent results.

Since 2008 – a year in which rapid increases in the global prices for major grains helped to trigger outbreaks of civil unrest in more than 40 countries – scholars and policymakers have paid increased attention to the potential influence of global food prices on social and political instability. Since that time, spiking prices have periodically sparked public protests and governments have struggled to respond.

Growing awareness of the connected challenges of natural resource management, economic growth, and human health has encouraged more integrated models of international development. The experience of two organizations – TRY Oyster Women’s Association, based in The Gambia, and Blue Ventures, based in Madagascar – demonstrates the success of a community-based approach to building resilience, enabling communities to bounce back from adversity and establish a long-term basis for development. [Video Below]

The original version of this article, by Codi Yeager-Kozacek, appeared on Circle of Blue.

Developing countries will account for much of the world’s growth in agricultural production, demand, and trade during the next decade, as production growth in developed countries slows, according to reports from leading food policy organizations. The shift will pose challenges for the quality and abundance of water supplies in regions like South America, Asia, and Africa.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that we are facing in today’s world; it is particularly important for us in the Caribbean and for a country like Trinidad and Tobago,” says ECSP Director and Trinidad-native Roger-Mark De Souza in an upcoming documentary by Sustain T&T, a non-profit based in the islands.

The disastrous flooding in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand this summer, which claimed more than 6,000 lives, was the outcome of a changing climate and poorly planned development. It was also another case in point of the increasing importance of environmental security in India – especially for the military.