Panama Canal’s Water Woes Threaten International Trade Flow

The Panama Canal has operated as a gateway between the Atlantic to the Pacific for more than a century, relying on water to raise and lower the ships that help fuel international trade. But a recent drought has disrupted the normal functioning of the Canal’s locks, cutting into Panama’s revenue and also causing problems for global supply chains.

Water Security Concerns in Gaza

Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7^th led the Israeli government to cut off water supplies to the Gaza Strip with immediate effect. This has resulted in a clean water crisis that the UN warns is now a matter of life and death.

Groundwater is relied upon for roughly half of global drinking water. And as climate change alters precipitation patterns and pollution of surface water continues to increase, our collective dependence on groundwater is likely to increase.

Getting ahead of the potential conflicts, or in some cases, catching up with them, requires an increase in effective groundwater cooperation and diplomacy. Yet the vast majority of transboundary aquifers exist without any form of agreement among the states that share them. This state of affairs leaves the aquifers—and the people who rely upon them—vulnerable to overexploitation, environmental degradation, and the risk of interstate conflict.

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

Organizing Regional Action on Climate Change, Health, and Environment

As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals looms, the World Health Organization has proposed a new regional framework that aims to build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems, improve the health sector’s access to climate funding, and build an evidence base for policymaking.

More than 11,300 people are confirmed to have died in the floods that struck eastern Libya on September 11, 2023, far surpassing many estimates of the death toll in the country’s 2011 civil war. Thousands are still missing. Flooding has washed away approximately 25% of the city of Derna, and damage to roads and bridges is curtailing emergency service access. A rapid attribution study estimated that the extreme rain was at least a “1-in-300 year event.” This is far beyond previously recorded incidents, yet such incidents are now up to 50 times more likely—and up to 50% more intense—when compared to a 1.2°C cooler climate. 

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

A Warming World is Accelerating the Spread of Dengue

Dengue is now endemic in most Latin American countries. But scientists warn that a warming climate is increasing the pace of breeding and transmission of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, and bring them into new countries.

The UN Environment Programme has described Africa as the most vulnerable region in the world to climate change. Despite only being responsible for 3% of global emissions, the continent has been battered by extreme weather events, including droughts, cyclones, wildfires, and sandstorms. One in three people across Africa faces water scarcity. The continent’s agricultural sector, which represents a significant share of African countries’ GDP and employment, is highly exposed to climate change.