The conflict situation in Central Mali is not uniform all over. There are (still) many places where potential for much more efficient use of natural resources is high, and where the local population has a will to realize that potential.

At the Planetary Security Conference 2019 BlackShore’s Cerberus crowd augmented mapping platform will be demonstrated live showing the importance of using satellite imagery to help us to deeper understand remote areas. Cerberus involves a gamified crowdsourcing solution in which we ask the general public to help generate knowledge in the form of maps. Using actual satellite imagery the public is asked to spot elements of interest such as the declination of land- use, drought, infrastructure and any other indicators teaching us something about how populations are using their environment.

More than thirty PSI Youth Fellows will participate in the upcoming Planetary Security Conference in The Hague on 19th and 20th February 2019.

New research from an international group of academics claims to have established a definitive causal path from climate change to violent conflict and in turn migration. Academics from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria and the University of East Anglia (UEA) found that climatic conditions, by affecting drought severity and the likelihood of armed conflict, played a significant role as an explanatory factor for asylum seeking in the period 2011–2015.

To coincide with the Planetary Security Conference (PSC) 2019, the worldwide interactive debate series HagueTalks will host and livestream a conversation on achieving national and international action on climate security on the evening of 20 February.

A new version of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace will be launched on 11 February on the SDG Academy Platform. The free 8-week course focuses on the role that natural resources, environmental degradation and climate change play in social conflict and peacebuilding dynamics. 

Climate change returned to the UN Security Council agenda on Friday 25th January, with over 80 member states – including a dozen Ministers – speaking at a full-day debate organised by the current Dominican Republic presidency.