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Call For Sustainability In Pacific Education Sector

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:41:28 +0000

In a Press Release the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has called for sustainabiilty and coordination of development resources in the education sector in the Pacific region as the 9th Forum Education Ministers' Meeting (FEdMM) gets underway in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Hon. Sato Kilman Livtuvanu, MP opened the Meeting today in a ceremony featuring performances by school children of Port Vila and a speech to the Ministers by a 14-year old school boy.

In his statement at the opening ceremony, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Mr Feleti Teo said, “the Forum Education Ministers meeting is now a permanent feature of the schedule of Forum ministerial meetings we convene, and does provide a regular opportunity for Education Ministers of the region to come together and share their experience; share their common concerns; share their respective difficulties and development challenges in the exercise of their responsibilities as Education Ministers.”

“As a result of the work of Forum Education Ministers, the region now has a regional development strategy for the education sector in the form of the Pacific Education Development Framework, a framework that was adopted by Education Ministers at their meeting in Tonga in 2009,” said Forum Deputy Secretary General, Mr Teo.

The Framework’s underpinning philosophy is to nurture, develop and prepare all children in the region so that they are able to live life to the full; to be able to participate effectively in national developments; and to be able to maintain their traditional and cultural identities and to sustain them in the face of globalization.

Speaking on the theme of the 9th FEdMM, “Sustainable quality education – 2012 and beyond”, the Forum Secretariat Deputy Secretary General Mr Teo said this is a notion or principle that runs through the regional Education Development Framework.

“The theme for the meeting brings to the fore the strong notion and aspiration for sustainable development in the education sector. Though countries may aspire for and achieve the delivery of quality education services to their population, the greatest challenge is sustaining the standard and quality of those services,” said Mr Teo.

“And it is through sustainable quality education, that the region will fulfill the vision of Pacific Leaders under the Pacific Plan for a region of peace, harmony, security and economic prosperity, so that all of its people can lead free and worthwhile lives.”
Forum Deputy Secretary General Mr Teo also highlighted the need for resources to implement the regional development frameworks Education Ministers have constructed to guide their work.

“Substantial resources of course will be required. And therefore the issue of resources constraint presents itself. And it is here where we seek to fully utilize all available development resources, whether they exist internally through national resources or externally through development assistance from development partners and donors.

“The key is coordination. There must be effective coordination of the development resources of national governments and those provided by development partners to minimize the risk of duplication of efforts and wastage of resources. This must be at the forefront of the implementation of the education development framework,” said Mr Teo

He explained that the work the Forum Secretariat has undertaken under the auspices of the Forum Compact on Strengthening Development Coordination have provided useful support to member countries in enhancing the coordination of their development resources. Work continues in this area, and the focus of the work of the Forum Compact is expected to be narrowed on sectoral areas like the Education sector.

Mr Teo added: “At regional gatherings of this kind, we must always not lose sight of the reality. Whatever regional framework or regional initiative in the education sector, the test of their successes can only be gauged if those regional initiatives can be translated into practical and tangible benefits at the national level. And that is the challenge ahead for the Education Ministers in their deliberations over the next two days.”

“In the education sector, children must be the ultimate and primary beneficiary of regional and national efforts to deliver quality education services. For they are the leaders of tomorrow; and investing in education is investing in the quality of the leadership of tomorrow,” Mr Teo said.

During the two-day meeting, the Education Ministers will among other agenda items, receive an update on the implementation of the Pacific Education Development Framework and discuss the priorities for the education sector in the Pacific Plan beyond 2013.

Water policy needs 'radical' change to protect people and environment

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:08:38 +0000

The international community needs to "radically transform" the way it manages water, energy and land to ensure the needs of the poorest people are met and the environment is protected, according to the European Report on Development, published on Wednesday.

The flagship report, Confronting scarcity: managing water, energy and land for inclusive and sustainable growth, calls on the EU to adopt an integrated approach to managing the three elements to achieve universal access to water and energy, and sustainable food security.

An estimated 1 billion people are still undernourished, around 0.9 billion have no access to safe water and 1.5 billion have no electricity. The demand for water and energy is expected to rise by 40% by 2030 and by 50% for food. Badly managed or scarce resources tend to hit the poorest people hardest.

"Co-ordination failures between policies on water, energy and land need to be addressed to avoid the negative impacts of these interlinkages," said the report, which aims to "shape global action" in the run-up to next month's Rio+20 UN conference on sustainable development.

"A drop of water, a piece of land, or a kilojoule of renewable energy cannot be seen through the single lens of one sectoral policy or management system. What might appear to be an efficient policy in one dimension can be harmful for others," it said.

Achieving this joined-up approach will involve the public and private sectors, and the EU. The public sector would provide the regulatory and legal frameworks for change, including those that make for a more conducive environment for private sector investment, as well as some of the money. The private sector should create more sustainable practices in accessing and consuming natural resources, while the EU will support poorer countries through aid and its wider development policy.

Launching the report in Brussels, the European commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, said: "This report is particularly relevant and timely ahead of the UN Rio+20 conference and the international year for sustainable energy for all. Water, energy and land are crucial resources for development and human wellbeing, and scarcity cannot be overcome by piecemeal actions."

The annual report, compiled by the Overseas Development Institute, the European Centre for Development Policy Management and the German Development Institute, sets out ideas for governments, business and the EU to consider. To strengthen water security for poor communities, for example, it suggests that national governments are supported to implement integrated water resources management programmes.

It calls for a significant reduction in the environmental footprint of consumption in developed countries – though not exclusively.

The report also urges governments to ensure land investments contribute to economic development and that deals are not at the expense of weakening ecosystems or people's livelihoods. It argues for strengthened land tenure to protect customary and collective rights.

Initiatives that protect the environment, such as halting deforestation, should be rewarded with payments, says the report, offering as an example a scheme operating around Lake Naivasha in Kenya under which companies pay local smallholders who put their land to good use.

The sentiments of the report chime with an increased focus on joined-up approaches to the challenges of water, land, energy and food security. In March, the ministerial declaration from the World Water Forum called for a greater recognition of the links between water, food and energy in decision-making to improve the "sustainable management of these scarce resources".

In November, a report by the International Institute for Environment and Development made an explicit link between water and land. It said African governments were signing away water rights to land investors, who want to profit from water fees and improved agricultural yields and revenues. These "water grabs" show little regard for their impact on people, said the report. "Water managers must seriously consider the extent to which water rights should be linked to land in this way before setting a long-term precedent that could compromise sustainable and equitable supply to all users in the future," it said.

Wednesday's report comes two days after foreign ministers endorsed the European Commission's Agenda for Change policy, under which more money will be targeted towards the world's least developed countries and budget support will be made dependent on governments' human rights and governance records. The new agenda makes clear the EU's desire to see sustainable, inclusive growth and development, and to increase the involvement of the private sector, which includes allowing them access to development aid.

Critics have argued that the private sector role lacks clarity. "Will it be local firms in developing countries or foreign multinationals who get access to funds? EU countries need to make sure they don't divert essential aid support away from those most in need," said Olivier Consolo, director of the European NGO confederation Concord.

Last month, the EU pledged €50bn to support clean energy projects in developing countries.

WWF: Two planets needed by 2030

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:20:43 +0000

The environment is only getting worse, says the WWF's latest report, Living Planet.

With Rio+20 coming closer, facts showing that global demand for natural resources has doubled since 1996, and that biodiversity continues to decline are of particular concern. Swelling population, mass migration to cities, increasing energy use and soaring carbon dioxide emissions mean humanity is putting agreater squeeze the planet's resources than ever before. Particularly hard hit, the report notes, is the diversity of animals and plants, upon which many natural resources such as clean water are based.

The eighth report of its kind, the new Living Planet document, comes five weeks before Rio+20, the latest United Nations conference on sustainable development.

Development cooperation will play key role in gaining sustainable development – UN

Tue, 15 May 2012 01:55:02 +0000

Partnerships and development cooperation among countries will play a key role in accelerating sustainable development, a top United Nations official said today, stressing that assistance will need to focus on helping developing countries find longer-term solutions to eradicate poverty and transition into a green economy.

“If ongoing preparations for Rio+20 have resulted in any insights, a basic one is that development cooperation will play a key role in expediting implementation in sustainable development,” the Secretary-General of the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), Sha Zukang, told a conference in Brisbane, Australia, on the implications for development cooperation of the transition towards sustainable development.

The two-day Australia High-Level Symposium, ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future – Partners in Development Cooperation,’ which began today, seeks to facilitate an informal dialogue on development cooperation among high-level policymakers, multilateral and civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations and the private sector.

In his remarks at the conference opening, Mr. Sha stressed that in developing countries facing growing challenges in hunger, poverty and access to basic social services, among others, development cooperation must increase to improve their living conditions and provide not just immediate assistance but also long-term enabling requirements.

“If rooted in sustainable development, development cooperation will empower recipients, enable women entrepreneurs, and inspire our youth to date to dream for a better future – a future they want,” Mr. Sha said.

In a recent report, the UN High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability noted that with the world needing at least 50 per cent more food by the year 2030, as well as 45 per cent more energy and 30 per cent more water, development cooperation can play a vital role in helping poor countries build policies that address economic, social and environmental issues.

During the conference, participants will discuss the role of innovative finance and effective partnerships, with a particular focus on leveraging the private sector and the future for South-South cooperation.

The conference will serve as a preparation for the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) at UN Headquarters in New York, on 5-6 July. The DCF brings various development cooperation actors together and promotes greater coherence among their activities. It is convened by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and its outcomes will also feed into the Rio+20 Conference next month in Brazil.

Deadlock over Rio+20 action plan fuels NGO scepticism about summit's payoff

Mon, 14 May 2012 22:26:48 +0000

After two weeks of closed-door negotiations, the UN preparatory committee PrepCom has failed to reach consensus on a global plan of action, entitled The Future We Want, to be adopted at the Rio+20 summit meeting of world leaders in Brazil next month.

The negotiators, comprising representatives of all 193 member states, had limited success beyond reducing the size of the action plan, or "outcome document", from nearly 200 to fewer than 100 pages. The document, called the "zero draft", originally ran to more than 6,000 pages of submissions by member states, international organisations and civil society groups.

Kim Sook, the South Korean ambassador to the UN and one of the co-chairs of the PrepCom, said delegates had expressed "disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress" on agreeing a plan aimed at a greener economy and a sustainable future.

In an effort to break the deadlock, the PrepCom will revisit the zero draft at an unscheduled five-day session beginning on 29 May. The draft action plan has to be ready for approval by the time world leaders arrive in Rio de Janeiro for the three-day UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), or Rio+20 summit, starting on 20 June.

If the PrepCom fails to reach consensus, negotiations will resume in Brazil on 13 June in a three-day, do-or-die attempt to finalise the document.

The summit will be a follow-up to the landmark 1992 Earth summit in Brazil, which adopted Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.

"Let us be frank," the UNCSD secretary general Sha Zukang said, "the negotiating text is a far cry from the focused political document called for by the general assembly." Zukang said the objective should be to arrive in Rio "with at least 90% of the text ready, and only the most difficult 10% left to be negotiated there at the highest political levels".

However, a statement released by a coalition of international NGOs warned that Rio+20 "looks set to add almost nothing to global efforts to deliver sustainable development". "Too many governments are using or allowing the talks to undermine established human rights and agreed principles such as equity, precaution and polluter pays," it said.

Antonio Hill of Oxfam said: "After four months of talks on the so-called zero draft outcome document, the Rio+20 talks are stuck at zero." He added that little or nothing has emerged that will deliver what governments agreed was needed 20 years ago at the Earth summit.

Besides Oxfam, the coalition includes Development Alternatives, Greenpeace, the Forum of Brazilian NGOs and Social Movements for Environment and Development (FBOMS), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Vitae Civilis.

Asked about the sticking points in the negotiating process, Zeenat Niazi, senior programme director at the India-based Development Alternatives Group, told IPS there was disagreement over the concept of green economy and "its relevance and meaning to the global south".

She pointed out other areas of disagreement, including: issues of equity; sustainable consumption and production in the global north; social justice, especially related to resource extraction from developing and least-developed countries; and technology transfer and trade.

Additionally, there were disputes relating to sustainable development goals (SDGs) and how they deal with "the integration across the three pillars of sustainability, and not becoming a long laundry list". "And what kind of commitments will nations need to make, and the readiness for them, and the building up of national capacities to facilitate the inclusion of SDGs in national development plans and priorities?" asked Niazi.

Asked whether an additional week of negotiations will make any significant difference to the outcome document, Niazi told IPS: "It could, if there are spaces created to include the voices of civil society, and integrate the same in the outcome document and outline an inclusive road map to design the post-Rio+20 action plans."

In a statement, the UN identified some of the contentious issues preventing agreement on the outcome document. Some developed countries, the statement said, have embraced the green economy as a new roadmap for sustainable development, while many developing countries are more cautious, asserting that each country should choose its own path to a sustainable future and that a green economy approach should not lead to green protectionism or limit growth and poverty eradication.

Other countries and stakeholders, it said, have voiced concerns about implementation and accountability, pointing out that some commitments made at previous global meetings, such as for official development assistance (ODA), have yet to be fully realised.

Nonetheless, said the statement, virtually all countries appear willing to agree on a number of issues, including the overall need to recognise and act to meet pressing global and national challenges.

"It has been widely acknowledged that action is needed to provide for the needs of a growing global population that continues to consume and produce unsustainably, resulting in rising carbon emissions, degraded natural ecosystems and growing income inequality."

The need to find a better measurement of progress than gross domestic product has also been widely acknowledged. The statement added that countries have also been examining the concept of new SDGs, a set of benchmarks to guide them in achieving targeted outcomes within a specific time period, such as access to sustainable energy and clean water for all.

But some countries have differing views on what should or should not be included in the goals, as well as the formal process for how and when the goals may be defined, finalised and agreed upon.

Cuts to foreign aid 'could cost 250, 000 lives'

Mon, 14 May 2012 03:18:45 +0000

BITTER disappointment at the budget decision to strip back promised foreign aid worth almost $3 billion over the next four years has quickly turned to cynicism within development circles, with experts questioning whether the government's long-promised target has been delayed or doomed.

The prospect of ever realising the bipartisan target to invest 0.5 per cent of gross national income in overseas aid - building on momentum which began under John Howard in 2005, and now pushed back to 2016-17 - ''beggars belief, because it essentially now covers two election cycles'', said Marc Purcell, director of the Australian Council for International Development, representing 76 aid agencies.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and Senator Simon Birmingham debate the issue

''You have to wonder if that is a credible claim. There's a slight dollar increase this financial year [up $300 million to $5.1 billion, about $400 million short of anticipated funding]. But the effect is it makes it a lot harder to scale up if the Coalition government were to win power next year. It's a much tighter timeframe.''
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''Are we serious about 0.5 per cent? Not if this or recent past budgets is a guide,'' said Professor Stephen Howes, director of the Australian National University's Development Policy Centre and a former AusAID chief economist. ''If we are serious about it, we have to shift from modest aid increases of half a billion or less to large, $1-billion increases. Whether a bipartisan consensus can be re-established [around that] … remains to be seen.''

Meanwhile agencies and commentators flagged concerns about the impact of the pause on vulnerable populations, fragile partner governments and planned field work, especially given the global downturn in aid pledges as many wealthy nations ride out their own fiscal emergencies. Figures released last month by the OECD reveal a 3 per cent fall in pledges from wealthy donor nations, with Britain the exception in sticking to aid increases despite a besieged economy.

Planned Australian investment in the African Development Bank and in the International Fund for Agricultural Development was now on hold, according to ACFID.

World Vision claimed that achieving a domestic saving of $2.9 billion on foreign aid over four years would cost - conservatively - 250,000 lives. Senior researcher Garth Luke said the figure draws on data from The Global Fund, an international health agency, which puts the average price of saving a life in the developing world at $2000.

The effects of the Australian decision would be keenly felt by partner governments, such as Papua New Guinea and other Pacific nations, which are the recipients of Australian money, and would now have to juggle plans and priorities, said Annmaree O'Keeffe, a development specialist at the Lowy Institute and former AusAID senior official. ''These are departments that already have pretty limited resources and capacity,'' Ms O'Keeffe said.

If momentum to get back on track toward the 0.5 per cent GNI target is recovered from next year, the same departments and agencies scaling back work this year would have to absorb - and effectively spend - huge increases in the next three years. ''It's not good news, this on-again, off-again approach,'' she said.

''The first casualties of the government's broken promise are some of the poorest people in the world,'' said Oxfam chief Andrew Hewett.

''The second casualty is Australia's international standing - most markedly and immediately in the UN Security Council bid.''

Small island nations commit to new steps at UN forum to reduce fossil fuel use

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:10:08 +0000

Twenty small island developing nations have announced new actions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and end poverty, as they wrapped up a sustainable energy conference organized by the United Nations and the Government of Barbados.

The “Barbados Declaration” calls for universal access to modern and affordable renewable energy services, while protecting the environment, ending poverty and creating new opportunities for economic growth, according to a news release issued by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The declaration – adopted ahead of next month’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) – includes an annex with voluntary commitments of 20 small island developing States (SIDS) to take actions toward providing universal access to energy, switching to renewable energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

It emphasizes that there are commercially feasible options in many SIDS for providing energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, and oceans energy.

“However, these technologies must be made accessible, affordable and adaptable to the needs and particular circumstances of SIDS communities,” stated the declaration. “In this regard, we strongly urge the international community, particularly developed countries, to ensure the provision of financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building to SIDS.”

The host country announced its plan to increase the share of renewable energy in Barbados to 29 per cent of all electricity consumption by 2029. Among other commitments, the Maldives plans to achieve carbon neutrality in the energy sector by year 2020, while Seychelles will seek to produce 15 per cent of its energy supply from renewable energy by 2030.

The declaration also recognized the importance of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, launched by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last September, which seeks to ensure universal access to modern energy services, double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, all by 2030.

The two-day conference, which ended yesterday, brought together more than 100 Heads of State, ministers, leading development experts, civil society activists, business executives and UN officials from 39 SIDS.

Johnson Sirleaf and Yudhoyono join Cameron on development goals panel

Wed, 09 May 2012 22:06:08 +0000

The UN has named the UK prime minister David Cameron, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, of Indonesia, as co-chairs of a panel responsible for creating a new set of development goals when the present ones expire in 2015.

Johnson Sirleaf, who took on a country ripped apart by 14 years of civil war, was the continent's first female president, while Yudhoyono, a retired general, became the first Indonesian president ever to be re-elected when he won a landslide victory in 2009.

The three leaders will represent the world's rich, middle- and low-income countries. Cameron's appointment – following heavy lobbying by the UK – is in recognition of Britain's strong development record dating back to Gordon Brown's premiership. Cameron has stuck to Brown's determination to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on development assistance, a pledge reiterated in Wednesday's Queen's speech, although aid groups were disappointed by the coalition government's failure to enshrine it in law.

Cameron has won kudos for pressing ahead with plans to measure general wellbeing amid a growing realisation that focusing on economic growth is not enough. The Arab spring delivered a shock to development economists who had sung the praises of Tunisia, where high youth unemployment – despite strong growth – provided the spark for unrest that spread to other Arab countries.

"The politics of agreement post-2015 are going to be very tricky," said Claire Melamed, head of the growth and equity programme at the Overseas Development Institute thinktank. "The panel can't be the be-all and end-all, but it is necessary for injecting a little political momentum and purpose into what until now has been a technical process."

The millennium development goals (MDGs), agreed by a UN conference in New York in 2000, helped galvanise anti-poverty efforts by setting out eight goals, including one to halve the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day and halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. But with less than three years to go, many of the goals will be missed.

Last year's MDG report (pdf) said the world was on track to reach the poverty reduction target, suggesting that, by 2015, the global poverty rate should fall below 15% – well under the 23% target – despite setbacks from recent economic, food and energy crises. It went on to say, however, that the world had a long way to go in empowering women and girls, promoting sustainable development, and protecting the most vulnerable from the devastating effects of multiple crises, be they conflicts, natural disasters or volatility in prices for food and energy.

Melamed said the panel can be expected to restate the existing agenda, considering the failure to reach many of the targets, and discuss growth and employment, areas on which it will be relatively easy to reach agreement.

"It will be trickier on more social and political issues such as governance and accountability," she said. "When you reach down into talking about the how rather than how much, I imagine that will be more difficult."

The UK is likely to want to reintroduce concepts such as conditionality on aid, as well as to emphasise the role of the private sector in helping development. US government sources say the focus on the right to education and levels of infant mortality are fine as they go, but suggest there should be more focus on the factors that drive development, such as giving people property rights and economic rights.

Save the Children welcomed Cameron's appointment to the UN panel. Brendan Cox said: "The top priorities for this panel should be achieving an outcome that tackles the growing inequalities in the world and a process that builds international consensus around an ambitious new framework."

International Development Advisory and Selection Panel

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:47:22 +0000

The International Development Advisory and Selection Panel (IDASP) is an independent group that provides advice on the New Zealand Aid Programme’s direction, priorities, and approaches to development and reviews applications to the Sustainable Development Fund.The five member panel is appointed by the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, John Allen and is chaired by Therese Walsh.The IDASP has replaced the Aid Advisory Board and Sustainable Development Fund External Selection Panel.

IDASP Panel Member Profiles

EU drives development in the Pacific

Wed, 09 May 2012 21:27:11 +0000

For the past decade, the European Union (EU) has been one of the main drivers of sustainable development in the Pacific, funding a number of critical projects implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and other organisations.

With EU funding totalling approximately 37 million Euros in 2012, SPC is implementing development projects in Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

These projects cover many sectors as follows:

Agriculture, trade

Through EU funding, SPC’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees has been working with international research partners to grow plants such as taro and cassava that are adapted to climate change, pests and diseases and market needs.

Two EU-funded trade projects implemented by SPC work directly with grassroots farmers, tree growers and export enterprises to strengthen the export capacity of Pacific countries.

Fisheries

It is well documented that rapid growth in fishing has led to a reduction of the region’s large tuna stocks, while coastal fisheries resources are also coming under increasing pressure to provide food security and income for growing populations.

Through an EU-funded fisheries project, SPC provides scientific support for fisheries management and decision-making, with the emphasis on building the skills and understanding of regional fisheries staff.

A second fisheries project addresses two of the key concerns of regional leaders about tuna fisheries: the need to secure more economic benefits from a resource which is mainly harvested by foreign vessels for processing in Asia, and the fear that a lot of fish is being caught illegally.

The project is helping develop local tuna industries, creating employment and export earnings, while improving the deterrence of illegal fishing.

It is implemented by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) as the lead agency working together with SPC.

Energy, ICT

To help the region reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, an EU-funded project is working on renewable energy and energy efficiency in Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau.

The project aims to reduce average monthly electricity consumption in urban households by at least 10%, provide over 12,000 people with first time access to electricity and assist 21 health centres and 32 schools to gain access to basic electricity.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been recognised as a key tool for development in the Pacific. Through an EU-funded project, SPC is working with 12 Pacific parliaments to improve ICT access for the poor.

Water

Two EU-funded projects are helping Pacific Island countries develop governance structures that ensure that water management is inclusive and takes into account the needs of all users.

The EU is also improving access to safe drinking water by funding the installation of water catchments in vulnerable countries like Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Tonga.

Disaster reduction

Three EU-funded disaster reduction projects aim to reduce the vulnerability of Pacific Island countries to natural disasters and increase regional capacity to deal with them.

Thanks to EU funding, SPC, in partnership with governments, is undertaking activities such as developing national action plans, increasing regional collaboration and installing early warning systems.

Deep sea minerals

The EU is also helping the Pacific expand its economic revenue base by facilitating the development of a viable and sustainable minerals industry.

SPC, with EU funding, is helping strengthen the system of governance and capacity of Pacific countries in the management of deep sea minerals.

Climate change

As part of the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance programme, SPC is supporting nine Pacific small Island states in their efforts to tackle the adverse effects of climate change.

In addition, the project helps countries access new sources of climate change finance.

Human rights

SPC is a key partner with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in implementing an EU-funded regional project on human rights that assists Pacific Island countries to comply with their international commitments.

In Solomon Islands, an EU-funded project works to improve the lives of women by addressing discrimination through training and research.

Culture

SPC is also helping several Pacific nations develop their cultural sectors through an EU-funded project that works on cultural policy, the preservation of national heritage sites and the promotion of creative industries.

The theme of this year’s Europe Day, ‘Growing Stronger Together’, aptly describes the principle underpinning the EU’s support to the Pacific Islands region as demonstrated in the range of initiatives it supports in the region.

Press Conference on Opening of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Tue, 08 May 2012 01:23:44 +0000

The enduring impact of historical wrongs must be a priority for States as they reviewed their relationships with indigenous groups, emphasized leaders and activists at a Headquarters press conference marking the opening today of the eleventh annual United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

This year, the Permanent Forum, which is slated to run until 18 May, has as its special theme the “Doctrine of Discovery” — a term used to describe the way in which courts historically justified the annexing of indigenous lands — as well as the subsequent right to redress. Speaking on those issues today were Bienvenu Okiemy, Minister of Communications and Relations with the Parliament of the Republic of the Congo; Grand Chief Ed John, a lawyer, Canadian indigenous activist and Chairperson of the Permanent Forum; Megan Davis, Rapporteur of the Permanent Forum and Director of the Indigenous Law Centre of Australia’s University of New South Wales; and Tonya Frichner, a lawyer and Native American activist from the Onondaga Nation and former member of the Permanent Forum. (See also Press Release HR/5086)

States around the world were currently revising their constitutional provisions with regard to indigenous groups, noted several speakers. Among them was the Congo, said Mr. Okiemy, noting that between 3 and 10 per cent of his country’s population had indigenous heritage. The country’s many development efforts would not succeed without considering that population, he stressed, adding, “the basis for the Congo is a unified country”. In that context, the country had adopted a 2010 law promoting the rights of indigenous people, as well as a law that guaranteed indigenous peoples the right to govern their own lands. It was also working to improve access to social services and education, which should be adapted to the ways of life of indigenous peoples.

With regard to health, the Congo was working with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to address issues such as HIV/AIDS, which affected indigenous people disproportionately. Campaigns had long been under way to raise awareness and educate indigenous populations about HIV prevention, as well as to make health care more accessible. Moreover, he said, development required a population that was educated, healthy and aware of its rights. The country’s new laws were extremely important, as they also went a step forward to counter discrimination; in addition, it was working to harmonize its national human rights laws with international norms. “We hope to be an example for other countries in Africa” in that respect, he said.

Mr. John agreed that the concept of human rights for indigenous peoples was especially important in Africa, where there had long been a myth that there were no indigenous peoples. The matter went to the heart of the session’s current theme, the “Doctrine of Discovery”. In that vein, it was critical to understand historical precedents and justifications, in order to better understand their implications for indigenous peoples. Through the Doctrine of Discovery, for example, indigenous people had been considered inferior; as a result, a process of “civilization” and “Christianization” had begun. “Our cultures were supposed to die, our languages were supposed to die,” he said.

“We hope the words we say here [at the Permanent Forum] will make a difference to our people,” he continued, noting that the Forum was an opportunity to tell the stories of indigenous peoples and discuss their collective future. The session’s agenda was very full, he added, and its planned discussions were extremely relevant to the 360 million indigenous people around the world.

Ms. Davis said that the Forum was expected to hear interventions from States relating to their reconciliation processes with indigenous people. Various studies would be presented, including one on constitutional revisions aimed at recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights. The study found that several States were undergoing such a process, including Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia.

Another study would be presented on violence against indigenous women, a topic on which an expert group meeting had been held earlier in the year at the United Nations, she noted. Meanwhile, related studies would reveal the extent to which violence against indigenous women and girls was present in various communities. “Often, there is an emphasis on the violence committed by the State against indigenous women and children,” she said in that regard; however, it should also be noted that a large share of violence was committed within indigenous communities themselves. The Forum would also consider innovative steps through which indigenous women and men were working to combat that.

Ms. Frichner said that the “Doctrine of Discovery” had really been a “doctrine of discrimination”. It was fundamentally incompatible with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it was manifested as violence against indigenous people. Moreover, she stressed, “these effects are not just historical, but they are ongoing” within many legal systems around the world. Indeed, there had been an 1823 United States Supreme Court decision — known as Johnson v McIntosh — in which the court had discussed in detail its decision that indigenous peoples did not have the right of land ownership. That decision had laid the groundwork for many United States laws, she said. More research was needed on how those historical precedents had affected indigenous lands, rights, health conditions and other outcomes.

The panellists also responded to a series of questions, which included one about whether revising historical land rights would, in effect, change the “entire map of the world”. In response, Ms. Frishner said that the idea was not to change existing countries — “we would never ask our neighbours to move” — but about garnering respect for laws protecting indigenous land rights, she said.

Responding to a question about the degradation of former indigenous lands, Mr. John described condominium sites and other construction projects in which indigenous remains had been found, saying that such practical considerations must be dealt with. Indigenous people were further concerned about major ecological disasters on their lands — land on which many still had no rights, including to protect them. . Land treaties must be respected, and new treaties negotiated, in order to “keep a balance” when it came to land development.

Another correspondent requested more information about countries that were currently readdressing the concept of the Doctrine of Discovery. That Doctrine had allowed for colonization, responded Mr. John, adding that other historical treaties — some of which respected the rights of indigenous peoples — had been ignored for generations. Those treaties should be recognized and enforced today, he said, and the matter of redress should continue to be explored.

German PPP's in Development

Mon, 07 May 2012 22:36:30 +0000

When Germany’s current development minister, Dirk Niebel, assumed leadership of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in late 2009, the development community in Germany and beyond braced for a shock.

After all, during the election campaign, Niebel, a member of the outspokenly pro-business Free Democrat Party, had said that the prestigious ministry with a €6 billion ($7.94 billion) budget should be abolished. Germany is Europe’s biggest aid donor, if you count debt relief, second worldwide only to the United States. His rationale reflected his party’s free-market philosophy in a nutshell: Handouts paid for by German taxpayers don’t help anyone, not the struggling poor in the developing world and certainly not Germany’s overtaxed citizenry.

But two-and-a-half years later, BMZ is still standing and Niebel has even won plaudits for streamlining the ministry’s implementation agencies. Yet, at the same time, his tenure has marked an emphatic shift in the ministry’s orientation, making its priority the engagement of German businesses in the developing and emerging world: as investors in the overseas private sector and as partners in BMZ co-financed development projects.

Germany’s sharpened focus on private sector engagement is in line with a broader trend among donors such as the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union. In a world where public-private partnerships are on the rise, the case of

Germany could be a cautionary tale: PPPs are no silver bullet, and traditional aid will likely remain the norm.

This is a case study in how times of fiscal austerity have led one aid agency to embrace more business-oriented, “sustainable” delivery models like PPPs. But the question remains: Is this reform more a sign of the political times than a fundamental shift in development thinking?

Economic cooperation, according to Niebel and many of his colleagues, is the key to sustainable development around the globe.

“Aid is a word I don’t like,” Niebel has said.

“We’re involving German businesses closely in our efforts because they have valuable know-how to offer,” he said last year, expressing BMZ’s mantra since he took it over. “Everyone benefits: People in our developing partner countries have the opportunity to improve their incomes and level of development, German businesses get access to commodities and new markets, and the burden on the German taxpayer is reduced. We want to realize such multiple-win situations on the broadest basis possible.”

The engagement of the private sector in development is not new to the ministry. But the intensity with which Niebel and his deputies push it, and the new structures and
policies that support it, definitely reflect his signature. Critics claim that Niebel has turned the office into a lobby for German traders and, perhaps even more indicting, that the policy shift has yet to yield the promised results, either in Germany or on-the-ground in developing nations.

This shift has had significant implications for the German – and the wider – development community. It began with the consolidation of three German aid institutions, including BMZ’s main implementing agency, GTZ, into one organization now called the German Society for International Cooperation, or GIZ. It was a feat many politicians before Niebel had tried and failed to accomplish.

Beyond that, new structures have been devised to facilitate private sector engagement, including special offices at BMZ, GIZ as well as in other agencies, such as the Cologne-based investment bank DEG. In addition, service centers, hotlines, road shows, investment “scouts” and new pots of financing have all been created to lure businessmen large and small to venture into emerging markets in Africa, Asia, South America and elsewhere.

And, at first glance, there appear to be some successes, even though there has been no internal or external evaluation of the new policies. One plaudit: The number of public-private partnerships, a ministry priority, doubled from 2008 to 2010, from 73 to 151. And BMZ regularly touts the success stories of recent German investments and partnerships as best practices for future work.

Niebel’s EZ-Scouts

BMZ’s outreach to the businesses community has a distinctly new tone.

“Before [2009], the ministry would say, please invest, as it’s a good thing for these countries. But now we say, invest because it’s a good thing for your business – and by the way, it will create jobs and tax revenue for those countries,” explains Hans-Peter Baur, BMZ’s chief private sector liaison. “Smaller firms in particular don’t have the means for philanthropy. They invest to make a profit and grow.”

The ministry is concentrating on small and medium-sized enterprises in a way previous administrations never dared. BMZ now regularly approaches German SMEs about investing in emerging private sectors and in PPPs. Part of the government’s new tool box is smaller-scale loans – 2 million to 5 million euros each – that modestly sized businesses can handle.

“This-size firm would never have gotten involved before because the loans were too big and the risk was just too high,” explains Baur before reiterating the new BMZ rallying cry: “What we’re doing is bringing international development to Germany’s Mittelstand” – a reference to the country’s middle class and mid-size businesses.

BMZ, for example, now funds up to 50 percent of feasibility studies, and it helps cover overhead costs, transaction costs, and on-the-ground assistance from BMZ development professionals. Never before has the helping hand of BMZ been so open and generous to medium-sized businesses, though not to the exclusion of larger companies.

BMZ’s outreach has two faces: “EZ-Scouts” in the field, and traveling BMZ road shows. There are currently 14 (and soon to be 20) investment scouts across Germany who work hand-in-hand with regional chambers of commerce and other government-sponsored industrial associations.

Since January this year, the 37-year-old Almuth Dörre, for example, has been working at the Foreign Trade Center Bavaria, an initiative of the chambers of crafts as well as commerce and industry. Dörre, based in Nuremberg, has experience in the private sector and in international development assistance, with GIZ’s private sector development program in Kosovo. She is the contact person for Bavaria’s entrepreneurs who might be interested in cooperating with BMZ.

Dörre hasn’t yet lured any Bavarian businesses into the development field, but she says she’s “impressed by the outpouring of interest.”

“We’re trying to dismantle the biases against investing in these kinds of countries,” she says. “Smaller businesses are interested but they’re wary, too.”

A good chunk of her work week, she says, is out in the field, visiting potential investors.

The road shows, like one in Munich in March, have attracted as many as 160 interested parties. These functions are essentially panel discussions introduced by a short speech by either Niebel or one of his deputies explaining BMZ’s new philosophy and its investment and PPP tools. Then follow shorter statements from a GIZ representative or DEG financing expert, and testimonials from German businessmen who have invested in developing and emerging markets.

In Munich, two businesses presented best practices: a mining and environmental technology firm investing in Jordan, and an electronics company involved in western Africa. The audience was encouraged to ask questions and engage the panelists in discussion. BMZ personnel stressed opportunities in Africa, especially in countries like Ghana, Rwanda and Botswana, where newly liberalized markets have become particularly investment-friendly.

In terms of PPPs, the ministry’s flagship program is called develoPPP, which is being energetically pushed at all levels of BMZ. Launched 13 years ago to promote cooperation between business and development agencies, its logic is right up the Niebel-led BMZ’s alley: Development partnerships combine the innovative power of business with the resources, knowledge and experience of development work. BMZ has implemented more than 3,000 such PPPs in 70 developing countries since 1999.

PPPs get off the ground through regular “ideas competitions.” German and European companies submit proposals for projects on energy and climate protection, raw materials and rural development, vocational training and education, and other challenges. The chosen company finances the project and ensures its sustainability: at least ten employees, three years on the market, minimum 1 million euros in turnover. BMZ’s implementing partners, like GIZ, advise the companies, provide support in process management, arrange contacts on the ground, and negotiate contracts. The company then assumes responsibility for realizing the project within three years; after that it is owned and run by the company alone as a private enterprise.

Projects completed in recent years range from solar energy farms in Madagascar to training centers for Serb auto mechanics. In 2010, the public sector, namely BMZ, contributed 42.5 million euros to develoPPP partnerships and the private sector invested 52.6 million euros. It was nearly double the total amount invested jointly in PPPs the previous year. In other words, there was more private sector money than ever before – but also more BMZ cash to attract it.

No silver bullet

So, have Germany’s pro-market, “anti-aid” minister and like-minded investors around the globe located the silver bullet to bringing sustainable prosperity and better life quality to the developing world?

From the German perspective, it’s still too early to tell, since no internal or external evaluations of private sector investments or PPPs have been conducted since late 2009. But interviews on and off the record with ministry officials, development experts, NGO representatives and aid workers in the field present a mixed scorecard.

In terms of German private sector investments, it is not the case that SME owners are flocking to the world’s most dire corners to set up businesses.

“There’s a lot going on in terms of raising awareness,” says Cornelius Thor, DEG’s director of the German businesses unit. As for concrete investments, for example in Africa, he’s optimistic that “it’s starting now.”

Bente Scheller, currently head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Middle East office in Beirut, recently returned from Afghanistan, where she had worked for the German foundation in the field for three years.

“This kind of policy doesn’t get you very far in Afghanistan,” she says, “because there is no private sector in large parts of the country.”

Also, in Afghanistan, BMZ implemented development projects mostly in the territories where the German military, the Bundeswehr, was stationed, not in the rest of the
country.

Moreover, a closer look at some of BMZ’s success stories reveal the difficulties that lurk beneath the enthusiastic rhetoric. One of the stories BMZ touts most highly – and regularly – is of a German cement maker’s investment in a factory in Namibia. The Ohorongo facility, Africa’s most modern cement plant, was built with 250 million euros in seed funding from the Bavarian firm Schwenk Group (40 percent of the project’s total capital), plus support from DEG and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The Ohorongo plant was supposed to provide more than 300 direct jobs and indirect employment for more than 2,000 people in the Tsumeb area, a rural district.

A third of the factory’s energy demand is fueled by local bush, giving it an environmental wrinkle, too.

But for all the hype, the Ohorongo plant has got off to a tough start. For one, imported Chinese cement has flooded the African market, causing the plant to reduce production.

Gerhard Hirth, Schwenk’s chief executive, says: “It is impossible to compensate for such a difference simply by selling more. We invested 250 million euros and were suddenly confronted with Chinese dumping prices.”

Moreover, the border to Angola has been sealed because of political turbulence there, thus shutting off exports to much of the African market. Obstacles like these are not mentioned in BMZ’s public presentations.

Another project, a biogas factory in India’s Punjab region, was showcased at the front of BMZ’s 2009 annual report. Yet, three years later, it is still not in operation, held up by issues surrounding the pricing of biogas in India.

In fact, unsurprisingly, it appears that the countries in which German businesses elect to invest are not necessarily those that are worst off. DEG figures show that the highest share of new investment in 2011 was in India, followed by Turkey and China. In 2010, the top three were Brazil, China and India. None of these countries are listed by the International Monetary Fund as developing nations, although they are the home of a large and growing number of poor people.

In both years, 19 percent of DEG financing went into projects in Africa.

“It’s true that the majority of German companies focus on the more secure markets,” explains the DEG’s Thor. “We can’t force anyone to invest in Ethiopia because politicians want it. But, just as certain is that if all we used was soft funding without a market mechanism, then the projects wouldn’t be sustainable. When the funds dry up, the project disappears. The best we can do is to optimize the financing structure to make it easier to invest in sustainable projects in problem countries.”

More broadly, there may be a limit to how much government can engage business in development cooperation through PPPs. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, whose Development Assistance Committee functions as an ODA scorekeeper of sorts, stipulates that financial cooperation projects require competitive international bidding; German companies already win a large share. Technical cooperation projects involve only in-kind contributions, such as the support of GIZ personnel. Only special PPP funds involve some financing for corporate partners.

Reform with staying power?

The ministry’s emphasis on the entrepreneurial sector has its roots in Niebel’s party’s free-market ideology, and has been deepened since 2009 by an extremely controversial personnel policy at BMZ. To the consternation of long-time BMZ professionals, external experts and even members of the Free Democrats’ senior coalition partner, the Christian Democrats, Niebel has promoted party members into senior positions, often bypassing established BMZ veterans. FDP staffers push the Niebel line with vigor, often riding roughshod over established aid and development practice.

This favoritism – and the pro-business stance – has only been accelerated as the Free Democrats’ political fortunes dimmed; the party has suffered badly in opinion polls and regional elections since coming to power. Development is one field where it has faithfully represented its constituency’s interests and turned classic liberalism into practice on the ground – and turned Germany into somewhat of a laboratory for other donors interested in pursuing similar policies.

“This FDP team has turned the BMZ into a vehicle to promote German business, to create German jobs,” says Ute Koczy, a parliamentarian of the Greens and development expert. “The private sector’s engagement is a tool that we can and should use, but it shouldn’t be the only one. We have to be realistic about what German business can and can’t do in the development field. Development isn’t just measured by GDP anymore.”

In the same vein, journalist Gordon Repinski, who writes about development for the daily Die Tageszeitung, says, “These policies are good for the economy, both ours and theirs, but is this really the job that the BMZ is supposed to do? We already have a very powerful ministry for economic issues and trade.”

In the field, practitioners like Peter Lanzet, the Protestant Development Agency’s senior policy adviser on development finance, says the extremely favorable conditions for German investment created by BMZ tends to skew the logic of the market in the field.

“Private sector actors in developing countries tend to get crowded out by publicly funded German firms,” he says. “Local companies aren’t subsidized in this way.”

If Niebel and his staff really wanted to help in Africa and elsewhere, he says, they should stop capital flight by doing away with banking secrecy. But this is taboo in the pro-business party.

How long-lasting Germany’s newfound focus of PPPs will be may be determined by the next general elections in 2013, when Niebel’s party is expected to lose votes and perhaps even drop out of the CDU/CSU-led governing coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Until then, the promotion of party loyalists continues. Earlier this year, a scandal-damaged FDP mayor of a small town in western Germany was named as head of Engagement Global, a BMZ partner in Bonn. German media report that Niebel plans to create an additional 182 posts this year alone in the very ministry he originally swore to abolish altogether. Germany’s official development assistance rose in 2012 by 164 million euros to total 6.4 billion euros.

“Dirk Niebel sees the writing on the wall,” wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau’s Timot Szent-Ivanyi in an analysis earlier this year.

“So now it’s all about stocking the ministry for the future: New departments are being created and party friends brought into office that his successor won’t be able to get rid of so easily.”

Julia Steets, a development analyst at the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute, says there is considerable resistance at BMZ to the Niebel policies, which she believes won’t stand the test of time.

“Everybody knows that the FDP will be out of power in 2013,” she says. “There will most likely be a return to a development policy where the promotion of German business interests are not quite that key.”

In the long run, Steets says, the biggest loss may be “Germany’s credibility in the broader aid and development community.”

That outlook may be a bit pessimistic. But as other donors continue to beef up their private sector engagement, Germany’s case may serve as a cautionary tale.

Sudan and South Sudan fighting risks children being sucked into conflict

Mon, 07 May 2012 21:57:47 +0000

Children face increasing risk of death, injury and recruitment by armed groups in an upsurge of fighting between Sudan and South Sudan that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, a charity said on Friday.

Save the Children said up to 60% of the displaced are children, who may again be sucked into the conflict as they were during the two decades of civil wars, when they were recruited as child soldiers. The dangers posed to children were highlighted last Saturday, when five children – all boys aged between nine and 14 – were injured by unexploded ordnance in the South Sudanese border town of Bentiu, which blew up as they were handling it.

One of the children died on arrival at the hospital in Bentiu, which has been bombed by Sudanese war planes. On the same day in the nearby town of Rubkona, a 16-year-old was hurt when a grenade he was playing with exploded.
Save the Children said schooling for thousands of children near the volatile border area of Unity state has been disrupted by the fighting.

"The threat of recruitment increases with the intensity of the conflict – just as our ability to protect children is being undermined," said Jon Cunliffe, Save the Children's country director in South Sudan. "Keeping children in school during conflict is one of the best ways to protect them, and reduces the fear and uncertainty they face. Education gives children the chance of a future beyond conflict."

The 1,800km border between Sudan and South Sudan had been largely quiet for the past 48 hours, raising hopes the two countries could begin talks to avert all-out war. But South Sudan on Friday accused Khartoum of again bombing and shelling Unity state.

The UN security council on Wednesday called on the countries to immediately end hostilities and resume negotiations within two weeks to resolve all outstanding issues, or face economic sanctions.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the security council said the situation along the border constitutes "a serious threat to international peace and security".

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in July last year, six years after a peace agreement that ended decades of warfare between the north and the south. However, relations have deteriorated sharply in a dispute over oil transit fees, with South Sudan shutting down oil production in January.

Tensions increased in recent weeks after South Sudanese forces moved into the oil-producing region of Heglig – in Sudan's Southern Kordofan state – before eventually leaving, and Sudanese forces bombed Bentiu.

In a toughly worded statement, the UN called on both countries to immediately cease all hostilities; unconditionally withdraw all of their armed forces to their side of the border; activate, within a week, the necessary border security mechanisms; and immediately cease hostile propaganda and inflammatory statements in the media.

The security council also said Sudan and South Sudan should unconditionally resume negotiations – to be concluded within three months – to reach agreement on arrangements concerning oil and associated payments, the status of nationals of one country resident in the other, resolving the status of disputed and claimed border areas and border demarcation, and the final status of the disputed area of Abyei.

The UN said either or both countries would face economic sanctions, such as complete or partial interruption of air and sea links, unless they complied with its resolution.

Aid to developing countries falls in 2011

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:46:34 +0000

Major donors’ aid to developing countries fell in 2011 by 2.7% in real terms. Disregarding years of exceptional debt relief, this was the first drop since 1997, reflecting fiscal constraints in several DAC countries.

In 2011, DAC members provided USD 133.5 billion in net official development assistance (ODA), representing 0.31% of their combined gross national income (GNI).

J. Brian Atwood, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), observed: “While I am disappointed that some countries have failed to maintain their commitments, the overall level reflects the growing awareness that global challenges – from disease to security threats to climate change – cannot be resolved without development progress.”

Within total ODA, bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa – at USD 28.0 billion – fell by 0.9% compared to 2010. By contrast, aid to the African continent increased by 0.9%, to USD 31.4 billion as donors boosted assistance to the North African region. The group of least developed countries (LDCs) saw a fall in net bilateral ODA flows of 8.9%, to USD 27.7 billion.

For a detailed analysis, including the World Bank's take on ODA outlook, read full article here.

Restrictions on NGOs worldwide undermining human rights, says UN senior official

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:33:09 +0000

Recent moves in a number of countries to limit the freedom of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seriously undermining human rights, a United Nations senior official said recently, urging governments to revise proposed laws that would restrict their capacity to operate independently and effectively.

“Civil society – including NGOs, trade unions, human rights defenders, academics, journalists, bloggers and others – plays an absolutely crucial role in ensuring that human rights are protected in individual states,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

Ms. Pillay spotlighted cases in several countries around the world such as Egypt, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Israel and Venezuela, among others, where recent regulations or attempts to pass regulations are curtailing NGOs’ abilities to operate in those countries.

She cited the case of Zimbabwe, where provincial authorities ordered the suspension of the activities of 29 NGOs in February. A further example includes a law passed in Venezuela in January by the country's congress places NGOs under permanent surveillance by a state organ and imposes restrictions on foreign funding.

Ms. Pillay noted that it is particularly important to protect freedom of association, which is under increasing pressure in many countries. The human rights chief also pointed to a proposed law in Cambodia, which would allow the Government to close down NGOs if their activities are deemed to harm national unity, culture and customs without giving them the right to appeal. A similar law was passed in Algeria.

“NGOs must be able to operate free from executive interference,” Ms. Pillay said. “Governments need to understand that collaboration with civil society is not a sign of weakness. It is the way to build a better, more inclusive, society – something all governments should be trying to do, and something they cannot manage on their own.”

Read the full article here.

Top Three Reasons Rio+20 will Change the World

Mon, 07 May 2012 03:36:41 +0000

The World Bank has recently suggested what the top three reasons that Rio+20 will change the world are. In increasing importance, they list:

3. Growing Green from the Ground Up

Rather than wait for a top-down climate regime, cities have emerged as the new leaders on climate change and sustainability. Local action is critical in our ability to meet global goals and cities have the authority to affect infrastructure, building and local development decisions in order to meet these goals.

The current Rio+20 zero draft includes one paragraph on the role of cities:

“We commit to promote an integrated and holistic approach to planning and building sustainable cities through support to local authorities, efficient transportation and communication networks, greener buildings and an efficient human settlements and service delivery system, improved air and water quality, reduced waste, improved disaster preparedness and response and increased climate resilience.”

2. Empowering All to Shape the Future We Want

The themes of Rio+20—the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development—have universal importance and deserves the attention of all populations. The scope of climate change is not discriminatory, though its most adverse effects tend to affect vulnerable populations and regions. Rio+20 offers the chance to address climate change, sustainable development, poverty, world hunger and more in order to realize a brighter and more prosperous tomorrow.

1. Unleashing a New Generation of Leadership

By leveraging the media tools of today, we all can engage in the 2012 Earth Summit. The profound equalizing effect of Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms has helped forge a next generation of leadership that will be on full display at Rio+20, inspiring engagement, amplifying the urgency for action and driving commitment. Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtags – #RioPlus20 and #FutureWeWant – and the handles – @UNEP and @UN_RioPlus20. Go even further and spread the word on Facebook. Don’t just write and call your leaders to act in Rio, organize and mobilize. Take the lead and unleash your own movement.

Read the full post here.

NZ business leader welcomes aid funding change

Mon, 07 May 2012 03:29:48 +0000

New Zealand businessman, Gilbert Ullrich, whose company Ullrich Aluminium has long links to the Pacific, says a new scheme allowing businesses to contest for aid funding is a positive move to encourage economic growth in the region.

The New Zealand government’s aid policy is to foster sustainable economic development and it is establishing the NZ Partnerships for International Development to replace earlier schemes. There has been criticism that the new fund is too business-oriented and will lead to New Zealand businesses doing well at the expense of the aid recipients, but Mr Ullrich sees no conflict.

“Big business must make a profit and re-invest and repay its loan money. Everything is not set up to be a foundation or something like that. I think the Pacific Islands people are pretty profit-conscious themselves and if it can make a not a large profit but a medium-sized profit it’s a good idea.”

Finding stories of hope

Mon, 07 May 2012 03:28:33 +0000

Hope for affecting change as an individual is often hard to come by. The nature of change seems impenetrable and intimidating as a lone actor, outside of any organisation. A new wiki, however, showcases stories of achievement by ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things to make their world a better place to live in.

Examples are heartwarming and uplifting, from a school principle finding a way to use spare land to grow crops for a school lunch programme, to a community of slumdwellers setting out to provide water and sewer services to their area.

With stories from both the "developing" and "developed" worlds, each story carries a message of why local knowledge, and local capacity, is such a vital foundation for development at every level.

Access the wiki page Hopebuilding here.

How Happy is Bhutan, Really?

Mon, 07 May 2012 03:05:22 +0000

During the run-up to Rio+20, a main focus that has been higlighted is the importance of moving beyond GDP as the end-all-be-all measurement of national progress. A popular example of an alternative is the Bhutanese measure of Gross National Happiness (GNH).

Although there is no single definition, the World Happiness Report states that the GNH measures "the quality of a country in a more holistic way and believes that the beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occurs side by side to complement and reinforce each other." All up, there are 33 different indicators that are measured at varied weights, including psychological wellbeing, living standards, education, health and community vitality.

For a closer, entertaining analysis by treehugger, read more here.

Why and how should we invest in children?

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:29:47 +0000

The moral and economic incentives for investing in children are both significant and compelling. A new report, commissioned by Save the Children UK and UNICEF, investigates the critical drivers of change for child-sensitive development.

This report examines several variables in development, from HIV/Aids,nutrition, water, sanitation and hygine to education. Further, it explores the critical economic, socio-cultural, political and technological drivers of progress identified through their analysis, with both a quantitative and qualitative approach. Through this analysis, factors such as resourcing, the role of growth and a supportive political and policy environment, in addition to well-planned and implemented programmes, are heavily emphasised in their importance.

Finally, the report concludes that there has been significant improvement in child well-being globally over the past 20 years. This progress, it is stated, has usually been driven by several factors simultaneously. All conclusions and analysis is supported by several case studies and proves an engaging read.

Read the full report here.