Large-scale land deals are not a 'bubble' | New online interface Land Matrix

Today a new report and website provide important insight into the complex, global phenomenon of large-scale acquisition of land. They confirm this is a lasting trend and not a mere “bubble”. While the rush for land may have peaked in 2009, it continues. Analysis of international land investments for agriculture through over one thousand deals…

Development that Works | Inter-American Development Bank

This IDB blog highlights effective ideas in the fight against poverty and exclusion, and analyzes the impact of development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. http://blogs.iadb.org/desarrolloefectivo_en/

EU renewable energy targets may boost land grabbing in developing countries

The EU’s renewable energy target of 20% of its energy supply from renewable energies by 2020 will cause widespread ‘land-grabbing’ in developing countries, according to a new Action Aid report. The EU adopted the target in the ‘Renewable Energy Roadmap’ in January 2007, and has come under increasing scrutiny from civil society. http://tinyurl.com/5ucwlbv

Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev) | Inspiring Change

Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev) | Inspiring Change. APDEv is an African-led and owned physical and virtual multi-stakeholder platform and organizing mechanism for mobilizing African policy makers and practitioners towards achieving sustainable development results. The Platform focuses on 3 inter-related themes of Aid Effectiveness and South-South Cooperation with Capacity Development as a core driver…

Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev) | Inspiring Change

Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev) | Inspiring Change. APDEv is an African-led and owned physical and virtual multi-stakeholder platform and organizing mechanism for mobilizing African policy makers and practitioners towards achieving sustainable development results. The Platform focuses on 3 inter-related themes of Aid Effectiveness and South-South Cooperation with Capacity Development as a core driver…

Development ministers discuss future development policy, Sahel strategy

CTA – Brussels Office Weblog – Development ministers discuss future development policy, Sahel strategy. At the informal meeting member states discussed the European Commission’s green paper outlining the future trends of European development policy. The main idea is to coordinate the European Union’s support policies with the goals of sustainable growth by putting economic growth…

European Report on Development: Social protection is key to poverty eradication

The second European Report on Development (ERD) was launched at the European Development Days in Brussels with the message that social protection needs to be placed at the heart of EU development policy. ‘‘A number of African countries already have social protection programmes in place. It is increasingly on the policy agenda of African leaders…

Time to deliver: Challenges of the new EU Commissioner for Development

In a challenge ahead, Europe has two main contributions to make: development policy thinking and development aid delivery. Development policy is a key part of the ”Europe 2020” vision presented by president Barroso. In particular, as we look ahead to a ”global Europe”, it is in times of development challenges that the EU can become…

ADB Strengthens Business Processes to Boost Quality, Responsiveness of Work

ADB has begun implementing sweeping new changes to the way it does business to improve the quality and responsiveness of its work. Starting this January, business processes are being streamlined to make them more efficient, to lower transaction costs, and to enable ADB to respond swiftly to client needs. The improvements will help ADB realize…

WDR 2010: Development and climate protection can go together

Developing countries can shift to lower-carbon paths while promoting development and reducing poverty – if they receive financial and technical assistance from high-income countries. This is among the findings of the World Development Report (WDR) 2010, published by the World Bank. It is key, thus the report, that industrialised countries curb their carbon dioxide emissions…

New reports assess EU policy coherence for development

The European Commission published a progress report of the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) approach launched in 2005 as part of the European Consensus on Development. The PCD review published in late September says that its framework ”allows for a systematic exploration of the effects that EU policies other than aid might have on development…

Call for Contributions – Migration and Development, CEFE

GTZ has contracted CEFE International to develop a Tool Box for the Promotion of Private Sector Development Commitment of Migrants. 15 innovative and well described ideas are needed. Approved contributions (4 pages) will be honoured with up to 375,00 USD. But you can gain even more. http://www.cefe.net/en/makemoney/call-contributions-migration-and-development

UN Conference on Financing for Development calls for reform of the financial architecture

The Doha Conference of the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development adopted, by consensus, a draft outcome document (http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/CONF.212/L.1/REV.1). It calls for a reform of international financial institutions and for including leading emerging countries in decision-making. In a final statement, delegates noted that the financial crisis plaguing the world ”makes imperative a more fundamental…

Publication Review January 2008

Aid for Trade: New OECD Report http://topics.developmentgateway.org/trade/highlights/viewHighlight.do~activeHighlightId=114720?intcmp=925 The WTO Aid for Trade Task Force argued that a global picture of aid-for-trade flows is important to assess whether additional resources are being delivered, to identify where gaps exists, to highlight where improvements should be made, and to increase transparency on pledges and disbursements. For that purpose…

Websites of the Month: January 2008

North-South Training, Research and Policy Network on Trade and Development http://www.acp-eu-trade.org/index.php?loc=nsn/ The NSN comprises universities and policy-oriented institutions from European and ACP countries. Its overall aim is to contribute to creating in ACP countries a cadre of professionals able to provide sound policy advice on trade and development matters, through the strengthening of linkages and…

Check out our daily Newsbox zine and RSS feed

Check out our daily Newsbox zine and RSS feed It has been kept as a secret, but most of the input we compile for our newsletters is now open for our readers. Visit our Newsbox at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/newsbox/ It has a fast search facility, that leads you to latest partner newsletters. With the full version with…

Northern Belize Economic Diversification Study

Northern Belize Economic Diversification Study We are currently in Belize to identify priority sectors offering economic diversification opportunities in the Districts of Corozal and Orange Walk as their economies adapt to change. We will recommend areas for required social and economic services/infrastructure and capacity building, and develop proposals for investments in the recommended areas. The…

World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development

The WDR 2008 calls for placing the sector at the center of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized. The last time a WDR on agriculture was published was in 1982, making this a landmark report that comes when many are calling for an…

Migration can help fight global poverty, according to new OECD report

Better and more coherent migration policies can contribute to the fight against global poverty. This is the main conclusion of “Migration and Developing Countries”, a new report by the OECD Development Centre that was presented at the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. People, goods and capital move across international borders: this is what…

Sending Money Home: Worldwide Remittance Flows to Developing Countries

Sending Money Home: Worldwide Remittance Flows to Developing Countries Remittances, the portion of migrant workers’ earnings sent back ome to their families, have been a critical means of financial support for generations. But, for the most part, these flows have historically been “hidden in plain view”, often uncounted and even ignored. All that is now…

EC proposes new options to reinforce development of micro-credit in Europe

Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner presented an initiative which seeks to improve access to finance for small businesses and for socially excluded people, also ethnic minorities, who want to become self-employed. This initiative, in line with the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs, aims to make small loans, or micro-credit, more widely available in Europe…

Microfinance Profits: Muhammad Yunus challenges Compartamos bank

Is it ok to make a big profit from lending to the poor? Where does microcredit end and loan sharking begin? Carlos Danel and Carlos Labarthe, the CEOs of Compartamos, a nonprofit-cum-commercial bank which charges an annual interest rate of nearly 100 percent, believe that only the lure of profits will motivate people to lend…

World Bank calls for broader access to finance

Between 50 and 80 percent of adults in many developing countries have inadequate access to financial services, finds a new World Bank policy research report entitled “Finance for All? Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding Access”. According to the report, failure to provide more households and small and medium enterprises with the financial services they need…

The EC allocates Euro 97.4 million for its neighbours from the Mediterranean area

€ 97.4 million have been allocated to the Mediterranean region under the 2007 ENPI Regional Action Programme for the South adopted by the European Commission (EC) on 24 October. Eight regional projects and programmes will be financed in a wide range of domains such as peace, disaster prevention, investment promotion, support to the private sector,…

Accra Conference: Business environment reform: Syntheses, Conferences papers

Most of the Papers and Presentations from the Conference have now been posted to the Business Environment Working Group of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development. Of particular importance is the draft BE Donor Guidance, under b); your comments are invited at the dedicated blog at http://donorguidance.blogspot.com. In due course, the remaining Papers and presentations…