In this episode of H2O and Beyond, I’m joined by Morgan Shimabuku from the Pacific Institute to break down how water becomes a trigger, casualty, and weapon in conflict. We explore what actually qualifies as a water conflict, why the term “water wars” can be misleading, and what global data reveals about where and how these conflicts are increasing.

We discuss real-world examples from around the globe, including the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Ukraine, and Gaza—examining how water infrastructure is destroyed, shut off, or weaponized, and what that means for civilian populations.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

7:39 What are water conflicts?

11:12 Trends in water conflicts

17:30 Are water conflicts an issue in the developed world?

22:04 How are water conflicts resolved?

29:09 Conflicts in Gaza

34:09 Other work at the Pacific Institute

36:28 Closing

🎧 Listen to more episodes & follow us here: https://linktr.ee/h2oandbeyond

Feedback Form: https://forms.gle/RNjdFLY2wSrk7PW2A

Pacific Institute Resources: https://www.worldwater.org/water-conflict/https://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/www.pacinst.org

In this Episode of H2O and Beyond, I'm joined by Mr. Regan Kwan, a research analyst from the Stimson Center as we talk about the unregulated rare earth mines of Southeast Asia. Rare earth elements are crucial to modern life. They’re in our phones, computers, electric vehicles, and renewable energy technologies. But the environmental cost of extracting them is often paid far from where these technologies are used.

We examine how a technique known as in-situ leaching is devastating river systems, groundwater, ecosystems, and human health. While these mines may appear less destructive on the surface, the water impacts are severe: acidic wastewater pumped directly back into rivers, abandoned waste pools that overflow during monsoon seasons, and pollutants that infiltrate soil, crops, and drinking water. In Myanmar, there are over 800 unregulated rare earth mines!

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

7:07 What are rare earth minerals?

12:57 Why the sudden spike in interest?

18:57 How are rare earth minerals mined?

23:45 Myanmar's 800 unregulated mines

33:07 Ecological impacts

38:22 Should outsiders care about this issue?

43:50 Just how big is the rare earth industry?

45:39 How are these mines detected?

47:14 New trends in the industry

51:59 Role of the Stimson Center

58:42 Closing🎧 Listen to more episodes & follow us here: https://linktr.ee/h2oandbeyondFeedback Form: https://forms.gle/RNjdFLY2wSrk7PW2AStimson Center Links:

https://www.stimson.org/2025/unregulated-mining-along-rivers-in-mainland-southeast-asia/https://www.stimson.org/2025/mining-in-mainland-southeast-asia-river-basins-dashboard/https://www.stimson.org/event/testing-the-waters-unregulated-mining-in-the-mekong-region/

Some major media hits from the data release:

Reuters: https://youtu.be/AezIFldj5uA?si=W3FNcClmCpdeFEaJ

Mongabay: https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/toxic-runoff-from-politically-linked-gold-mine-poisons-cambodian-rivers-communities/

CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/25/asia/rare-earth-river-pollution-myanmar-china-intl-hnkT

PBS: https://youtu.be/lV7NkSebOMU?si=hyDB0lTYMJgWyGhj

CNA (with Regan): https://youtu.be/XPX9hqZOlXc?si=cDPK8i68kQ7ZecNn

Korean OBS: https://youtube.com/shorts/2-XVqWNq0SA?si=ybmyTtT3hNMP9aB1If you liked this episode, please Like and Subscribe!

For thousands of years, Pacific Island communities survived rising seas, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and storms—without satellites, sensors, or climate models.

In this episode of H2O and Beyond, I speak with Patrick Nunn, a geologist who has spent more than three decades working with Pacific Island communities, learning how traditional knowledge preserved real environmental history—and how colonization disrupted it.

We explore how myths and legends are actually encoded memories of past disasters, why many Pacific Islanders historically avoided coastlines, and how modern climate adaptation efforts often fail when they ignore local knowledge. We also discuss why money alone won’t solve climate change, and why the future depends on combining Indigenous knowledge with Western science. This episode challenges the idea that vulnerable communities are helpless—and asks what we’ve lost by failing to listen.

00:00 Intro

06:10 Who are the Pacific Islanders?

10:28 What is traditional knowledge?

16:39 Current sea level rise in the Pacific Islands

21:24 The problem with money-first climate aid

24:12 When scientists ignore traditional knowledge

29:00 Why money won’t solve climate change

30:38 How have communities lost their traditional knowledge?

33:00 Place-based knowledge vs global science

35:51 Why has traditional knowledge been ignored in the past?

43:04 How should aid communities go about helping?

46:17 What role does religion play in educating pacific islanders?

49:07 Closing

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https://linktr.ee/h2oandbeyond

Learn more about Dr. Nunn's work! https://patricknunn.org/