Group items tagged

tongue in cheek article about the World Vision Super Bowl t-shirt "development" strategy.

The aim of this lesson: To be able to explain the causes of soil degradation To be able to discuss the environmental and socio-economic consequences of soil degradation To be able to discuss soil degradation management strategies Updated Dec 2011

I wanted to alert you to an excellent source that would fall directly under the new IB syllabus for Patterns in Env Quality and Sustainability.  When asking for a case study on sustainable management strategies, I'm using China's Loess Plateau.  There is an excellent film (on youtube and on the website) of a watershed rehabilitation project that has been incredibly successful.  This case study connects concepts of soil erosion, watersheds, climate change, and the social/econ and environmental consequences of this World Bank/Chinese gov't project.

Global Biodiversity Outlook is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Drawing on a range of information sources, including National Reports, biodiversity indicators information, scientific literature, and a study assessing biodiversity scenarios for the future [4MB], the third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) summarizes the latest data on status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions for the future strategy of the Convention.

Submitted by Phil Randay

Loess Plateau in Northern China - excellent of soil degradation and successful management strategy

"Factsheet Debt Relief Under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative September 22, 2009 The Joint IMF-World Bank's comprehensive approach to debt reduction is designed to ensure that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. To date, debt reduction packages under the HIPC Initiative have been approved for 35 countries, 29 of them in Africa, providing US$51 billion in debt-service relief over time. Five additional countries are potentially eligible for HIPC Initiative assistance. Debt relief key to poverty reduction The HIPC Initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank, with the aim of ensuring that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. Since then, the international financial community, including multilateral organizations and governments have worked together to reduce to sustainable levels the external debt burdens of the most heavily indebted poor countries. In 1999, a comprehensive review of the Initiative allowed the Fund to provide faster, deeper, and broader debt relief and strengthened the links between debt relief, poverty reduction, and social policies. In 2005, to help accelerate progress toward the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) , the HIPC Initiative was supplemented by the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) . The MDRI allows for 100 percent relief on eligible debts by three multilateral institutions-the IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development Fund (AfDF)-for countries completing the HIPC Initiative process. In 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) also decided to provide additional ("beyond HIPC") debt relief to the five HIPCs in the Western Hemisphere. Two step process Countries must meet certain criteria, commit to poverty reduction through policy changes and demonstrate a good track-record over time. The Fund and Bank provide interim debt relief in the initial st

"All dried up Northern China is running out of water, but the government's remedies are potentially disastrous"

"Desperate measures Rivers are disappearing in China. Building canals is not the solution"

Climate change response strategies contrasted for two cities