The Stimson Center presents:
2013 Environment and Security Discussion
Series
The series brings together the Washington, D.C. area’s leading
thinkers for an open exchange of ideas and views on the deepening links between
environmental and security concerns, and a discussion of the growing relevance
of the environment-security nexus to national and international policy.
Event #3: Environmental Stress and Middle East
Instability
Speakers:
Joseph Hewitt, Technical Leadership Team Leader at USAID’s
Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation
Erika Weinthal, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy,
Duke University
Moderator:
Ellen Laipson, President and CEO, Stimson Center
The third installment of Stimson’s 2013 Environment and Security Discussion Series featured Joe Hewitt, Technical Leadership Team Leader at USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation, and Erika Weinthal, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University. Stimson President and CEO Ellen Laipson served as moderator. The discussion explored perspectives from U.S. development and research communities on the roles that climate change and rising pressures on natural resources can potentially play in contributing to political unrest and economic instability across the Middle East. Hewitt provided insights into how USAID’s Office of Conflict Management and Mitigation evaluates and addresses state fragility, while Weinthal discussed how climate change can contribute to social, economic, and environmental instability. Both speakers examined the interplay between state fragility and environmental issues in Syria and Yemen as case studies.
Here’s a clip from the event:
For more information about the event or the Stimson Environment and Security Discussion Series, contact Russell Sticklor at [email protected] or 202-464-2667.
