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KEY PUBLICATIONS AND ONLINE
RESOURCES
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
This page was updated
on: 01/12/10
7
COMMUNITY BASED ADAPTATION: A VITAL APPROACH TO THE THREAT CLIMATE
CHANGE POSES TO THE POOR
(IIED, December 2007)
This briefing, written by Saleemul Huq and Hannah Reid, focuses on how
community-based adaptation (CBA) can help millions of poor, who are at
the greatest risk from climate change, to adapt. The authors outline the
concepts behind CBA, share lessons learned, and call for greater
networking, information sharing and support for CBA activities. The
briefing.
MIGRATION AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
(IIED, December 2007)
This briefing, written by Cecilia Tacoli, is part of the Sustainable
Development Opinion series published by IIED. The author focuses on how
climate change impacts human systems and behaviors, particularly
mobility. The author details how migration is increasingly becoming an
adaptive response to changes influenced by climate change. The author
notes direct changes such as growing environmental stress and indirect
changes such as socio-economic, political and cultural factors that are
also vulnerable to climate change. The
briefing.
EDUCATION FOR ALL GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2008
(UNESCO, November 2007)
The
Education for All Global Monitoring
Report 2008, published by UNESCO, has been released. The
report notes that although the number of children enrolled in primary
school and the percentage of girls attending classes have increased in
the past decade, adult illiteracy levels remain high. The report adds
that the cost of schooling still continues to restrict access to
education for millions of children. The
report.
FAST FACTS: UNDP AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(UNDP, November 2007)
This fact sheet summarizes the four main areas of UNDP's work on climate
change, lists the recommendations of the Human Development Report, and
briefly describes UNDP's role in the context of the Bali conference. The
fact sheet.
VOICES OF
THE POOR: SYNTHESIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
(Southern African Regional Poverty Network, June 2007)
This
report, written by W. Smit, focuses on why poor South Africans have
difficulties accessing urban land. Through the analysis of CSOs
experiences in the field, the report identifies several obstacles
including poverty and high prices; unequal land distribution during the
colonial and apartheid periods; private land markets that exclude the
poor; government policies are not pro-poor; and self-interested party
politics. The
report.
TOWARDS WELLBEING IN FOREST COMMUNITIES – A SOURCEBOOK FOR LOCAL
GOVERNANCE
(Center for International Forestry Research, 2007)
This sourcebook defines concepts of wellbeing and poverty and provides
four tools (interactive mapping, a local wellbeing monitoring system,
evaluating local government programs through community focus groups, and
scenario-based planning) that will help local governments identify and
collect relevant data, address challenges, and implement policies that
will have positive impacts on poverty and wellbeing. The
sourcebook.
THE
TRANSITION TO A PREDOMINANTLY URBAN WORLD AND ITS UNDERPINNINGS
(IIED, 2007)
This paper, authored by David Satterthwaite, describes the dramatic
changes in the size of the world's urban population and of its largest
cities over the last 100 years. The paper also explains how and why the
world is actually less urbanised and less dominated by large cities than
expected and questions whether rapid urbanisation will continue in
Africa. The
paper.
ENVIRONMENT AND URBANISATION: FINANCE FOR
LOW-INCOME HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
(IIED, 2007)
Ideas and experience in housing finance have increased significantly
since the last issue of the journal focusing on this topic back in 1993.
These nine papers highlight some of the diverse activities taking place
involving savings, loans and subsidies. The
papers.
does aid work? - for the mdgs
(UNDP IPC, 2007)
This issue of Poverty in Focus, published by the UNDP International
Poverty Centre, questions whether aid increases as pledged by the G8
leaders are really necessary in order to achieve the MDGs. The issue
compiles 12 essays providing different perspectives on the current
international aid system, aid effectiveness and policy relevant results.
The
paper.
BUDGET SUPPORT: AS GOOD AS the STRATEGY IT FINANCES
(Social Watch, 2007)
This paper, authored by R. Carter and S. Lister, questions whether
direct budget support is an effective means of financing the MDGs, how
it should be designed and what attitude civil society organizations
should adopt towards it. The authors indicate that international aid
donors have increasingly moved toward direct budget support as a means
of reducing poverty and meeting the MDGs, based on the claim that it is
an efficient mechanism for delivering scaled-up aid effectively. The
paper.
Asian models for aid:
is there a non-western approach to development assistance?
(Chr. Michelsen Institute, 2007)
This paper, written by Alf Morten Jerve, is a summary record of a
seminar held in Oslo, Norway, in December 2006, that focused on the
models for aid of Japan, China, India and South Korea. The paper notes
that while the Japanese aid model is harmonized with the Western donors,
China's expanded aid and trade relations with Africa have brought
concerns to traditional Western donors. The author argues that the
emergence of new donors challenges the current consensus of a harmonized
aid architecture. The
paper.
Manual for the Production of Statistics on the
Information Economy
(UNCTAD, November 2007)
This Manual, published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
aims to serve as a reference for national statistical offices and other
producers of official statistics on business use of information and
communication technology (ICT). The manual provides a guide to data
collection and analysis, international standards and definitions, and a
survey template on ICT use, and reviews issues related to compiling ICT
statistics. The
manual.
UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board decisions
2007
(UN, November 2007)
This document (DP/2008/2) contains the decisions on the strategic plans
for the 2008-2011 period that were adopted by the Executive Board for
both UNDP and UNFPA . The
report.
developing countries
international trade 2007: Trade and Development Index
(UNCTAD, November 2007)
The United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development has launched the Trade and Development Index (TDI) 2007.
The TDI is a tool that aims at assisting governments in selecting
strategies to participate more effectively in the global economy and to
benefit from trade that can contribute towards sustainable development
and national economic growth. The TDI 2007 presents country profiles for
each of the 123 countries represented in the analysis. The
Index.
CLIMATE CHANGE, AGRICULTURAL POLICY AND
POVERTY REDUCTION – HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW?
(Overseas Development Institute, 2007)
This paper seeks to trace the likely impacts of climate change on
agriculture through changes in the quality of the physical asset base,
access to assets, and impacts on grain production and on agricultural
growth more generally. Its conclusions include suggestions to focus on getting
an enabling environment in place and markets working, putting social
protection in place, and strengthening R&D. It also suggests a need for
improved coordination between climate change modelers, agricultural
economists and agricultural policy-makers, and incorporating
agricultural practices into mitigation policies and programmes such as
the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The
paper.
MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENT NEGOTIATOR'S HANDBOOK
(University of Joensuu, 2007)
Environment Canada, the UN Environment Programme and Joensuu University
(Finland) produced the second edition of this Handbook. Is contains key
technical information and common sense advice for negotiators. The
Handbook.
REDHUM - HUMANITARIAN INFORMATION IN SPANISH
(The
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, November 2007)
La Red de Información
Humanitaria (Redhum) is a
website to provide Spanish-speakers with information on natural
disasters and complex emergencies in the Latin American and Caribbean
region. The site will provide up-to-date situation reports, maps and
contact information to promote better preparation and response in the
event of a disaster. A similar service, ReliefWeb, has been available in
English since 1996. The
site.
THE
MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: PROGRESS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 2007
(UNDP, UNESCAP, ADB, October 2007)
This resource provides a status report on the MDGs in Asia and the
Pacific and highlights the challenges that remain. The report indicates
overall progress in the region, but notes intra-country disparities.
It argues that although Asia and the Pacific has been setting the pace
for the developed world on economic growth, it is now time to focus on
equity to ensure that the benefits of economic development are shared
with all people. The
report.
SUMMARY REPORT OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
(UN,
October 2007)
The summary report of the First
Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, held in July
2007 and sponsored by the Government of Belgium, is now available.
According to the report, the Forum has established a new approach to
migration by bringing the debate closer to development issues; paved the
way to a long-term vision recognizing the benefits to origin and
destination countries and their shared responsibilities; provided a
platform for the exchange of experiences, innovations and good
practices; and consolidated a system of focal points across countries to
strengthen coherence and better communication. The
report (A/C.2/62/2).
CHRONIC
POVERTY AND THE MDGs
(Chronic Poverty Research Centre, October 2007)
This brief, written by Tim Braunholtz-Speight, discusses how the MDGs
relate to the problem of chronic poverty; how strategies to hit MDG
targets help or hinder action on chronic poverty; and how the MDGs can
be used to prepare for the longer-term task of eradicating poverty
beyond 2015. The
brief.
CHINA AND
THE END OF POVERTY IN AFRICA: TOWARDS MUTUAL BENEFIT?
(European Network on Debt and Development, October 2007)
This report, written by Penny Davies, examines China's increasing role
as a donor in Africa. The author argues that China's assistance to and
cooperation with Africa is changing the rules of lending and aid giving
practiced by Western governments. The
report.
THE
POLITICS OF WHAT WORKS IN TACKLING CHRONIC POVERTY
(Chronic Poverty Research Centre, August 2007)
This brief, written by S. Hickey and T. Braunholtz-Speight, focuses on
how politics can shape poverty reduction efforts and policies and
programmes that have been successful in terms of reducing extreme forms
of poverty. It summarizes a research programme that looked at the
politics behind anti-poverty interventions in Bangladesh, India,
Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. The study
notes that better data on the persistence of poverty is needed, but the
broader society must engage with the ideas and concepts on the causes of
poverty. The
brief.
WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2007
(UNCTAD, October 2007)
The World Investment Report 2007, launched by the UN Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), examines activities of transnational
corporations in extractive industries and their development
implications. The report also explores policy options aimed at ensuring
tangible and long-term gains for growth and development in developing
countries. The
report.
CEDAW REPORT
(CEDAW,
October 2007)
The
Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women for 2007 has been issued. The report covers the 37th, 38th and
39th sessions of the Committee. The report (A/62/38).
(UNDP International Poverty Centre, October 2007)
This research brief, authored by John Weeks and Terry
McKinley, focuses on the implications for fiscal, monetary and
exchange-rate policies from the scaling-up of Official Development
Asssistance (ODA), as pledged at the G-8 Summit in 2005, when leaders
agreed to to double their ODA to Africa by 2010 to achieve the MDGs. The
research brief.
GLOBAL SURVEY OF EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
(UN,
September 2007)
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