Event Type: Online

Join USAID’s Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention or CVP and ConnexUs for the first webinar of a knowledge-sharing campaign on climate change and conflict. CVP and knowledge-sharing platform ConnexUs are holding a roundtable discussion highlighting toolkits that provide peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian practitioners with guidance on anticipating and reducing conflict and fragility related to water and land.

Moderator

• Daniel Abrahams, Senior Climate Security Advisor, Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention, CPS

Speakers

• Karol Boudreaux – Senior Land and Resource Governance Advisor, Land and Resource Governance Division, DDI
• Nikki Behnke – Program Specialist, Center for Water Security, Sanitation, and Hygiene, RFS
• Jessie Anderson – Senior Conflict Advisor, Center for Resilience, RFS

Register to attend: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2182104399801169503

For more information about the campaign, visit https://cnxus.org/connexus-usaid-climate-security/

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes important goals related to ending poverty and promoting gender equality. The Agenda recognizes that the pathways to achieve these goals involve securing the rights of women and men to land (SDG Indicator 1.4.2) and improving the legal frameworks to promote women’s equal rights to land ownership or control of land (Indicator 5.a.2). With seven years left in the Agenda, much remains to be done to promote gender-responsive land tenure security and women’s equal land ownership.

One strategy to help close this implementation gap is to leverage participatory approaches and cost-effective digital technologies to expand land documentation for women. Over the past eight years, USAID has partnered with civil society, traditional authorities, and local governments to create innovative approaches that deliver land documentation to women in customary land areas. This work is known as “Mapping Approaches to Secure Tenure,” or MAST.

To celebrate and recognize the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women, USAID and New America joined for the second event of the year-long Frontiers series on Wednesday, March 15th. The discussion explored the gender-related outcomes and lessons learned from the Agency’s land documentation work in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Opening Remarks:

• Jamille Bigio, Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, USAID

Panel Discussion:

• Her Royal Highness Chieftainess Muwezwa, Muwezwa Chiefdom, Zambia
• Dr. Thais Bessa, Gender Advisor, TetraTech/ILRG Global
• Ms. Patricia Malasha, Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist, TetraTech/ILRG Zambia
• Ms. Gavelet Mzembe, Country Coordinator, TetraTech/ILRG Malawi
• Mr. Masida Mbano, Acting Team Leader, Land Reform Implementation Unit, Ministry of Lands, Government of Malawi
• Karol Boudreaux, Senior Land and Resource Governance Advisor, USAID
• Yuliya Panfil, Director, Future of Land and Housing at New America (Moderator)

Other panelists to be confirmed.

This event is part of the year-long Frontiers event series, which explores the interface of conflict, climate change, and governance of land and natural resources. The Frontiers series is hosted by USAID’s Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention and USAID’s Land and Resource Governance Division and is made possible by USAID’s Integrated Natural Resources Management Project in partnership with New America.

The Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program held a discussion on how the projected increase in mineral demand could influence markets, supply chains, and geopolitical competition, shaping the future of global peace and security.

Wednesday June 1, 2022

3:30 PM – 5:00 PM ET

For more details, visit the Wilson Center event page.

The latest IPCC report underscored the urgency of an aggressive energy transformation if the world is to stave off climate disaster. With current technologies, that transformation means a steep rise in the use of critical minerals, already essential for the digital age global economy. The shift from fossil fuels to other minerals comes with environmental, social, and governance tradeoffs. For developing countries, in particular, there is both opportunity and risk, according to a recent report from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Join the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program for a discussion of how the projected increase in mineral demand could influence markets, supply chains, and geopolitical competition, shaping the future of global peace and security.

Follow the conversation on Twitter @NewSecurityBeat.

Agenda

Introduction: Lauren Herzer Risi, Program Director, Environmental Change and Security Program, Wilson Center

Keynote Speakers:

• Kathy Castor (D-FL 14th District), Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, U.S. House of Representatives
• Gillian Caldwell, Chief Climate Officer and Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure, U.S. Agency for International Development

Moderator: Sharon Burke, Global Fellow, Environmental Change and Security Program; Founder and President, Ecospherics

Panelists:

• Jewellord (Jojo) Nem Sing, Assistant Professor in International Development, International Institute of Social Studies
• Alyssa Newman, Program Manager, Responsible Materials & Inclusive Sourcing, Google
• Josee-Blandine Ongotto, Project Manager, Combatting Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cobalt Industry (COTECCO, funded by DOL Kolwezi, DRC), International Labor Organization ​
• Kimberly Thompson, Senior Advisor, Natural Resource Governance & Conflict and Industry Lead for Mining, Center for Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure, U.S. Agency for International Development

Virtual Event

Tuesday, June 7, 2022 | 9:00AM – 10:00AM EDT

Watch the event recording here

Ten years ago, donors from around the world came together to negotiate a first-of-its-kind international agreement to strengthen and secure land rights in the context of food security. This agreement—the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT)—was negotiated in a unique, inclusive process by the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) that included more than 100 UN member states, 30 civil society organizations, a private sector network, and numerous observers. After two years of intense negotiations, the VGGT was unanimously adopted in 2012.

The arrival of the VGGT was hailed as a watershed moment for the land rights community, and prompted a flurry of activity and funding. Donors allocated billions of dollars to implement the principles enshrined in the VGGTs, across dozens of countries.

Ten years later, we can look back and ask: what have we accomplished; what have we learned; and, where do we go from here?

Please join the U.S. Agency for International Development and New America on June 7 at 9 a.m. Eastern for a panel discussion to take stock of a decade of implementing the VGGT, and discuss the future of this landmark agreement. This event is supported by the USAID Integrated Natural Resource Management project.

This event on March 22, 2022 examined the intersection of women’s land rights, sustainable land use, and the climate crisis by: highlighting the connection between gender-sensitive land rights reforms and climate change mitigation and adaptation, and discussing sustainable land use strategies related to women’s skills and knowledge, such as in water and agriculture.

Listen to the podcast to hear from Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, USAID Chief Climate Officer Gillian Caldwell and others on their efforts related to this nexus. This side event to the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was convened by U.S. Department of State, USAID, and Landesa, a U.S. Department of State and USAID foreign assistance implementer.

The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor.

Virtual Event

Monday March 21, 2022 | 9:00AM – 10:30AM EDT

Watch the event recording here.

Climate change poses incredible challenges for women and girls in the developing world and threatens global progress on gender equality.

We know that the growing scarcity of natural resources and the increase in extreme weather events due to climate change disproportionately impacts women and girls, especially those in marginalized and underrepresented groups. Climate change limits their opportunities for education and income-generating activities, harms their overall health and wellbeing, and increases their risk of violence and exploitation.

At the same time, women around the world are leading the efforts within their households and communities to prepare for and adapt to climate shocks and stresses. And women leaders are stepping up to design solutions that mitigate climate change at the local, national, and international levels. Studies show that when women are engaged as decision-makers in resilience and disaster plans, their communities are better able to adapt and manage climate impacts.

To celebrate and recognize the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), please join the U.S. Agency for International Development and New America on March 21st at 9 a.m. Eastern for a virtual fireside chat between New America and USAID leadership, followed by a panel discussion that explores the many ways women are leading solutions to critical land and natural resource management and climate change challenges. This event is supported by the USAID Integrated Natural Resource Management project.

Agenda:

Fireside Chat: Women Leading on Climate Change

• Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America
• Gillian Caldwell, Chief Climate Officer, USAID
• Jamille Bigio, Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, USAID

Panel Discussion: Approaches from Around the World

• Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Coordinator, Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and President, the Rights and Resources Group (RRG)
• Rili Djohani, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Coral Triangle Center (CTC)
• Tracy Farrell, Director, North American Region, International Union for Conservation of Nature
• Moderator: Karol Boudreaux, Senior Land and Resource Governance Advisor, USAID