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.
"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