Is Climate Change Driving a New South Pacific Security Architecture?

Cross-posted by the Center for Climate and Security

Last week, an inaugural meeting of South Pacific defense ministers took place in Tonga--an initiative spearheaded by Australia. Present were Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, France, Chile, and (as an observer), the United States. Front and center on the agenda was collaboration on humanitarian and disaster relief operations, maritime surveillance, and plans to conduct joint exercises throughout the region. 

Recovery is Preparedeness - Haiti Readies for Hurricane Season

Hurricane Ike engulfs Hispaniola in 2008. This year, Haiti's preparation for Atlantic Hurricane Season is complicated by its ongoing recovery from the 2010 earthquake and 2012's Hurricane Sandy. 

Atlantic Hurricane Season is only six weeks away. In Haiti, hurricane preparation has always been of paramount importance. With catalysts such as deforestation and poverty factored in, a tropical system's copious rainfall and high winds can lead to flash flooding, landslides, and widespread devastation.

Atlantic SST's - What it Could Mean

Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature anomalies valid as of March 31, 2013 via NOAA.

With only two months until the start of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season, previews of this year's activity will be rolling in from weather outlets over the coming weeks. There is one important issue to keep an eye on--an El Nino never quite evolved this winter, nor did a La Nina. In fact, NASA has labeled this ENSO purgatory as "La Nada." 

Opportunity for Climate Visionaries: Climate CoLab

4,000 registered members are part of an innovative movement developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Collective Intelligence. Similar to a wiki or other online collaboration tool, the Climate CoLab has a powerful objective--to address global climate change by leveraging the collective participation, vision, and intelligence of anyone in the world.

Keep an Eye on the Arctic: Shrinking Degrees of Separation

In a New Normal world of sea ice shrinking enough to open large swaths of the Arctic Ocean, the degrees of separation to a variety of humanitarian issues may well be getting smaller. 

There is news this week about significant ice fractures near offshore Canada and Alaska, suggesting that this winter's polar maximum is weak and vulnerable. There are also new findings suggesting that melting sea ice may have led to a meandering jet stream, and helped to influence the development of Superstorm Sandy. 

The Syria Climate Mosaic

Full article on InterAction.org
Post about our article from the Center for Climate and Security

There are currently 1 million refugees in Syria, and this number may triple by year's end. In a recent piece authored on InterAction.org, we argue that a mosaic is a reasonable metaphor to explore the potential dynamics of climate change with various dimensions of the Syrian complex emergency. The January winter storm, the 2006-2011 drought, and the larger context of the Arab Spring movements, global food security, and climate change are explored.

Special thanks to the Center for Climate and Security, AccuWeather, and the Brookings Institute for the invaluable inputs into this article. InterAction.org  also hosted a special tweet-a-thon on March 15 under the Twitter hashtag #SyriaCrisis. [Image: UNHCR]

Humanitarian Begins and Ends with "Human"

Occasionally, the nexus between geopolitics and humanitarian operations can loose its human touch. We're extremely happy to have this post from the field. This anonymous field worker was on assignment to analyze internal displacement issues in the Middle East. The outcomes of his applied research are not available for publication, but perhaps more importantly, his experience of the conflict zone is. We appreciate the opportunity to publish this perspective on the Relief Analysis Wire. We offer some links to key analysis being undertaken on the issue of internal displacement at the end of this article. Please also comment and let us know what you think.

Locust Threat Returns to Parts of Africa

Cross-posted by AccuWeather.com

In parts of Africa, the weather over the next few weeks could have significant impacts with nations preparing to cope with two separate locust outbreaks.

A "potentially dangerous" situation is developing in Sudan and Egypt according to the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization. Within the last week, swarms of desert locusts have taken flight into the cropping areas of northern Sudan from the Red Sea, threatening food security and agricultural production. If weather conditions are particularly dry in southeast Egypt and northern Sudan over the coming weeks, more swarms could invade the interior areas of both nations and may even cross the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia.

Vintage Media for a New Normal

Fully embrace this, and your deepest humanitarian goals 

may have a voice you never dreamed possible.

Tiny Pacific Island Makes Massive Food Security Real Estate Investment

Mangroves planted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other officials during a 2012 visit to Kiribati to discuss the perils of climate change. [Image: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe]

The Pacific Island of Kiribati will be purchasing approximately 6,000 acres of land in Fiji to help bolster its food security future in the face of rising seas. Announced by Kiribati's president, Anote Tong at the 12th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, the land purchase is designed to offset significant crop imports exacerbated by the pressures and degradation caused by sea level rise.