Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, this What to Read digest reviews three articles that explore different, lesser-known territorial disputes - all of them in Asia.
Kazakhstan and China must reach mutually beneficial agreements on water issues.
by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez for Center for the National Interest
This article was originally published through CSDS (Center for Social Development Studies) at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. It can be found at: https://www.csds-chula.org/publications/2020/4/28/critical-nature-are-chinas-dams-on-the-mekong-causing-downstream-drought-the-importance-of-scientific-debate
Hundreds of land practitioners from around the globe gathered and came together at the 2019 LANDac Conference at the beginning of July with the purpose of looking at land governance from the lens of transformation and in particular, how to support transformation that works for people and nature. The conference delved into questions such as the long-term dynamics around land, water and food production and promising concepts and tools for building learning and knowledge building about these dynamics.
Humans are the most populous large mammal on Earth today, and probably in all of geological history. This World Population Day, humans number in the vicinity of 7.5 to 7.6 billion individuals.
WATER. The most basic necessity that most people take for granted because it is readily available by just a turn of the tap.
But for some groups in Malaysia, safe drinking water and sanitation is not accessible.
African governments should recognise customary rights to water for millions of small farmers who have been sidelined or "criminalised" by permit systems created during the colonial era, said a report published on Monday.
Restrictive permit systems in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe have left more than 100 million people without access to enough water, according to the report by the Sri Lanka-based International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
This July is the first time the United Nations will review the progress made towards meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15, which is about Life on Land. Each goal will be reviewed about every 4 years until 2030.
The reviews will be based on the 10 indicators countries agreed on, that assess change in each country over time. Two important developments relating to the indicator on land degradation neutrality (15.3.1) have occurred, since its adoption in 2015.
On World Water Day, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) launched the ‘International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development’ (2018-2028). Promoting the integrated management of water resources, the Decade aims to create a platform for sharing good practices, advocacy, networking and partnership-building at all levels. It will support achievement of the water-related aspects of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
