Blog posts
3 November 2011
Millions of people around the world, including climate change negotiators, follow the domestic political scene in the US, and most of them have by now realized the current Administration’s predicament of facing an antagonistic Congress that will essentially block everything they try to do, domestically, and certainly internationally.
2 November 2011
The floods this year in Thailand have been unprecedented. Floods have now entered parts of Bangkok, the country’s capital city, and the fate of the rest of the city hangs in the balance. An extraordinary volume of water – more than 10,000 million cubic metres – somehow needs to get from Thailand’s central plains to the sea, with Bangkok standing in the way.
2 November 2011
Take a look at these two photographs and play spot the difference.
1 November 2011
The difficulty I experienced getting past the media security cordon and into the London Conference on Cyberspace today served to highlight one of the conference’s key themes: how do you manage the security of cyberspace while protecting freedom of expression? Prime Minister David Cameron likened it to “the balance…between freedom and a free-for-all” in his speech.
21 October 2011
An anniversary is an opportunity to both celebrate and reflect. For IIED, which marks its 40th birthday next week, it is a time to remember what we have achieved and invigorate ourselves for the challenges ahead.
20 October 2011
I have been attending a meeting of around forty Archbishops and Bishops from all over Asia for several days now at Assumption University on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand surrounded by flood waters approaching the country’s low-lying capital city.
20 October 2011
When a large disaster hits – like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami – it receives international media coverage, aid is mobilised and aid agencies rush to respond. While survivors of smaller disasters might wish for such attention, there are some serious negative side-effects to these responses. Survivors are often sidelined with little influence on the responses chosen and with little control over how the external funding is used or prioritised, as these decisions rest mostly with external funders. But responses that don’t consult with them risk not only failing, but potentially weakening the communities they’re working with. It doesn’t have to be this way.
17 October 2011
Communities often develop from a sense of place and a shared sense of belonging to that place. So, how do you bring a community together in a slum where people aren’t allowed to ‘belong’ because they don’t have anywhere to live, or they’re living illegally in a shack and know they might be evicted tomorrow?
16 October 2011
A gastronomic boom sweeping through Peru reflects the country’s economic growth and optimism.
13 October 2011
After recent announcements of winners for the Nobel prize, the World Food prize and the African leadership prize for good governance this blog asks, do prizes work?