By Sarah Lawson and Marina Tolchinsky The discovery of oil off Ghana’s coast in 2007 sparked both excitement and concern. While the actual finds were modest in comparison with regional oil powerhouses such as Nigeria and Angola, it was estimated that oil exports could bring $1 billion in gross annual revenues.[1] As the country began […]
Finland has a smaller profile in the Arctic than its neighbor to the west, Norway. Whereas Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg declared at last week’s Arctic Frontiers conference that the Arctic will continue to be “most important foreign policy area” for her country, Finland’s most important foreign policy area is arguably Russia, with which it […]
In a subtle swipe at the Arctic Council, Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson criticized, “The Arctic has suffered from a lack of global awareness and, as a result, a lack of effective governance.” Ostensibly believing that the Arctic Council is inadequate, Grímsson launched the possibly rival Arctic Circle in Washington, D.C earlier this month. ” The formation of this […]
“Resilience” has become something of a buzzword in development policy circles lately. U.N. agencies are holding consultations, white papers are being written and policies are being drafted. Resilience has taken on special importance as it relates to two recent food crises in Africa, one in the Horn and one in the Sahel. So, what is […]
Posted by contributor Andres Santamaria. It has been said by some that the recent Rio+20 Conference was needed but did not deliver. Some criticized the many meetings where no real concrete plans or timelines were adopted. Others claimed that there is no substantial international driving force behind several of the abstract goals. Many believe it […]
Global Food Security blog contributor Christiaan Perez interviewed Claudia Ringler, Deputy Division Director for Environment and Technology Production at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) about the food security issues under discussion at the Rio+20 Conference, which took place this week. Q1. The original mission of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) […]
Today the Foreign Policy Association hosted a conference on “The Future of Energy“. I had the pleasure of attending and, given that I am writing on energy, I also have some interesting insights to share. Especially interesting was the panel discussion “The Energy Picture, Redrawn.” The key insight is that energy is crucial for […]
Wangari Maathai, Nobel laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, passed away late Sunday night while undergoing cancer treatment in Nairobi. But she left the world having fully lived her 71 years, to the benefit of the rest of us. Like many prominent women her age, Maathai had to break through many […]
1) Although Nigeria reached a tentative peace agreement with the militants in the Niger delta region in October, the fledgling peace was threatened by attacks of a Chevron Nigeria pipeline last week. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), according to the Associated Press, claims they sanctioned the attack but did not […]