A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Revisions to Indonesian Law Promote Unregulated Mining (The Diplomat)

Since gold was discovered in 2011 on Mount Botak in Indonesia, thousands of miners have flocked to the area without official permits. It is an influx which has transformed this northeastern region from an agricultural center into a hub of small-scale, unregulated mining. Uncontrolled use of mercury and cyanide has severely polluted local rivers, with mercury levels in the Waekase River reaching 0.05 mg/L—or 50 times the WHO’s safety threshold. Yet despite the government’s move to close the mine in 2015, illegal activity continues.  Ineffective law enforcement has caused ecosystem destruction, public health threats (including neurological disorders and kidney damage) and deadly conflicts between residents.

From Kenya to Morocco to Madagascar, waves of protest have erupted across Africa. Africans—and especially young Africans—have grown increasingly frustrated with a lack of economic opportunities.

So, it is no surprise that when Afrobarometer, a pan-African, non-partisan survey research organization, asked people across 39 African countries which issues they think their governments should prioritize, people ranked unemployment as the top policy priority.

US Resistance Delays Vote on Shipping Decarbonization Rules (Mongabay)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has voted 57-49 to postpone the adoption of the “net-zero framework” until October 2026.  As the shipping sector’s first binding deal on global greenhouse gas emissions, the agreement would have established progressively stricter intensity limits starting in 2028. The framework also imposed substantial fees for noncompliance, with high emitters facing up to $1.5 million in additional annual fees by 2035 that could raise fuel costs by roughly 20%. Low-emission vessels would be rewarded with tradable carbon allowances.

Launched in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has drawn wide global attention, with scholars and policymakers examining its geopolitical and economic implications. Much less explored, however, are the subnational impacts of BRI in participating countries. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), adopted as Pakistan’s flagship BRI project in 2015, offers a case in point.

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program 

Nickel Mining Threat to New Raja Ampat UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Mongabay) 

When Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago received a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation on September 27, 2025, the new designation adding to the status it won as a Global Geopark in 2023. Yet this dual honor highlighting the archipelago’s exceptional biodiversity is now under threat from intense pressure from global demand for nickel for electric vehicle batteries that is challenging the reserve’s conservation goals.  

Environmental crime has long been underreported, but globalization and the increased involvement of organized crime involvement is now contributing to a rise in such crime, especially when compared to other types of crime. The financial toll of environmental crimes has been estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars while the damage they cause to ecosystems compounds the effects of climate change and inflicts a heavy toll on vulnerable communities.

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program 

High Seas Treaty Passes UN Ratification Threshold for Implementation (New York Times) 

Last week, the High Seas Treaty reached 60 ratifications in the United Nations, crossing the threshold to take effect and triggering a four-month countdown to full implementation. The agreement creates a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect all international waters beyond any single country’s jurisdiction.  

A window into what we’re reading in the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Mexico’s Mercury Boom is Poisoning People and the Environment (Associated Press)

In Mexico’s Sierra Gorda mountains, soaring international gold prices also have created a mercury boom. Since 2011, mercury prices have skyrocketed from $20 per kilogram to between $240 and $350 per kilogram today. Most of Mexico’s mercury is trafficked to Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru for use in illegal Amazon gold mining operations that contaminate rivers and ecosystems. Yet the country’s adoption of a 2017 UN convention banning mercury mining and exports also allows artisanal mines to operate until 2032.