A recent report by the international agency Oxfam projects that in six years the number of people affected by climatic crises will increase by 54 per cent to 375 million people. This threatens to drastically overwhelm the humanitarian aid system. The expected rise is due to a combination of entrenched poverty and people migrating to densely populated slums, which are prone to the increasing number of climatic events. This is compounded by the political failure to address these risks and a humanitarian aid system that is unprepared.

Further information about the report, please click here:

http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-04-21/increase-number-people-affected-climate-disasters

The first phase of the EU-financed Initiative for Peacebuilding was completed in April. Consisting of ten partners, led by British NGO International Alert, one main topic of the consortium is the role of regional cooperation on environment, economy and natural resources for peacebuilding. The four case studies cover the African Great Lakes, Andes, Middle East and South Caucasus. A Synthesis Report summarizes the main conclusions.

The material can be found here: http://www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu/Environment_Natural_Resources_Economy.php

In the recently published book, "Transboundary Water Governance in Southern Africa", edited by Larry A. Swatuk and Lars Wirkus, authors analyze how a framework of rules, norms and procedures for the management of all 'international rivers' emerged and discuss the issue in the context of a number of case studies. They conclude that while the world’s states seem to be moving steadily toward an accepted framework, the de facto use of much of the world’s shared freshwater resources remains outside this mostly ideal-typical framework.

Further information on the book and an order form are available here: http://www.nomos-shop.de/productview.aspx?product=10923

Published in:ECC-Newsletter, April 2009