New White House Action Plan Underscores Water Security as National Security

By Rod Schoonover On June 1, Vice-President Kamala Harris announced the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security. Pictured in yellow is the Hon. Sherri Goodman, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council on Strategic Risks and,…

A Case Study in the Environmental Risks of War: Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant

Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant in Vyshgorod, Ukraine. Source: Kiyanka By Richard Marcantonio The risks of warfare are complex. Beyond the often-devastating immediate humanitarian implications of large-scale violence, warfare’s impact on the broader environment is multifaceted, posing environmental, social, political, economic,…

Drought is Leading to Instability and Water Weaponization in the Middle East and North Africa

An Iraqi woman walks between Soldiers of A Company, 2-162 Infantry, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard as they pull security for a mission outside Scania Base. The mission was to check on the condition of a…

Why the Nile Constitutes a New Kind of Water Dispute – and Why That’s Dangerous

By Peter Schwartzstein Ever since workers first broke ground on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011, international commenters have fixated on the Nile as a possible harbinger of future ‘water wars’ to come. And almost since then, water…

The New Water Development Report and Implications for Security

By Dr. Marc Kodack Climate change has and will continue to have both direct and indirect effects around the world. Changes in water will be one of the most visible direct effects, whether it is too little water, such as during…