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Tag Archives: South Asia
Takeaways from Sri Lanka Event: Climate Security in South Asia
Colombo Daily News, December 2
By Rachel Fleishman, Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific, The Center for Climate and Security
On November 30 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, I participated in an event titled “Climate Change and Resources Security: Challenges for Security and the Security Sector in South Asia” – convened just as Cyclone Ockhi hit Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast.* The storm provided a somber backdrop for the discussions. In his opening remarks, Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Defense Kapila Waidyaratne reported 7 killed and hundreds displaced. By the end of the session the confirmed death toll was 11, with more than 3000 having been evacuated. (more…)
Military Leaders Issue Recommendations for Climate & Security In South Asia
Floods in South Asia Bagalkot, Karnataka India Photo by Miramurphy
In an important new report, “Climate Change and Security in South Asia: Cooperating for Peace,” Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) authors Lt. General Tariq Waseem Ghazi (Ret.) of Pakistan, Maj. General A.N.M. Muniruzzaman (Ret.) of Bangladesh, and Air Marshall A.K. Singh (Ret.) of India recommend that the region’s leaders strengthen cooperation to reduce the potential for widespread human suffering, and further instability, in the wake of a changing climate. (more…)
World Humanitarian Summit Wraps Up as Heat, Drought and State Fragility Plague South Asia
Hottest daytime high temperature May 24-30, 2015. NOAA map by Fiona Martin, based data provided by the India Meterological Department.
By Neil Bhatiya, Climate and Diplomacy Fellow
For the past two days, United Nations member-states have been meeting in Turkey at the inaugural World Humanitarian Summit. As the pre-Summit communiqué makes clear, participants will face a daunting challenge: tens of million people forcibly displaced due to conflict or natural disasters, a situation which has Europe (as well as host country Turkey) facing a refugee crisis. Even larger numbers are in need of international financial assistance, a fact which has taxed the global relief community (according to the UN, the annual funding shortfall for humanitarian relief is $15 billion). (more…)
Thomas Friedman Cites the Center for Climate and Security on Extreme Weather in the Middle East and South Asia
Iraqis displaced by conflict collect water at al-Takia refugee camp in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 30, 2015. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)
New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Friedman published an Op-ed today, “The World’s Hot Spot,” about the extreme heat waves plaguing the Middle East and South Asia, including Iran (citing AccuWeather’s Anthony Sagliani who stated that a July 31 reading in the Iranian city of Bandar Mahshahr was ‘…one of the most incredible temperature observations I have ever seen, and it is one of the most extreme readings ever in the world.’) The column explores political protests and sweeping changes in government, particularly in Iraq, which followed from the perceived inadequate response to the heat wave, and asks questions about whether or not enough attention is being paid to climatic events by the region’s political leaders.
Friedman cited the Center for Climate and Security’s Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell, regarding how climate stresses are measured against other security risks, as well as how such extreme events can place significant strains on the social contract between governments and their respective publics. The full citation: (more…)