Working paper
Almost a century ago, fears began to be expressed about the possible impact of the rise in atmospheric temperature on mountain glaciers. The fears led to the initiation of concerted scientific efforts to identify and examine the fluctuations along the front-snout of glaciers. It was believed that such studies, over the next century or so, would enable scientists to establish the relationship...
Climate change is the number one threat to human development. Yet progress towards limiting global warming to below 2°C has not been sufficient.
The global effort required to reduce emissions and support the poorest and most vulnerable people to adapt to unavoidable changes must be based on objective indicators of countries' historic responsibilities for causing the crisis, and...
Irresponsible arms transfers are undermining many developing countries’ chances of achieving their Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. This paper shows new evidence of how this is happening in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa – either by draining governments’ resources or by fuelling armed violence or conflict.
Either way, irresponsible arms transfers...
In sub-Saharan Africa mobile pastoralism is predominantly practised in arid and semi-arid lands. These lands are hot and dry, with low and erratic rainfall. There are not many livelihoods suited to this unpredictable environment, but pastoralism is particularly appropriate, because it enables people to adapt by moving livestock according to the shifting availability of water and pasture.
...Biofuels are presented in rich countries as a solution to two crises: the climate crisis and the oil crisis. But they may not be a solution to either, and instead are contributing to a third: the current food crisis.
Meanwhile, the danger is that they allow rich-country governments to avoid difficult but urgent decisions about how to reduce consumption of oil, while offering new avenues...
No one has to be poor in 2008. No woman need die giving birth for want of simple medical care. No child should die of pneumonia because of a lack of medicine. No girl should have to watch her brothers leave to go to school while she stays at home. No family should see floods wash away its food. No woman should have to watch her children risk their lives drinking dirty water, or go to sleep...
The Mekong plays an important role in ensuring the well-being of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam, as the major river supporting agriculture and many other economic activities in the region. It also brings regular floods to the region which, although sometimes damaging, are an integral part of the lives of many communities in the Mekong River basin. However, in recent...
Il cambiamento climatico provocato dall'uomo è già una realtà, e i poveri ne sono i più colpiti. È urgente giungere a un accordo sul livello di cambiamento che dobbiamo evitare, in modo da prevenire le conseguenze peggiori di questo fenomeno. Questo documento spiega perché l'incremento medio della temperatura globale deve mantenersi il più...
As the 2007 German G8 summit approaches, the demands of the millions of anti-poverty campaigners worldwide are clear. G8 leaders must increase and improve aid to provide health, education, water and sanitation for all. They must cancel more debt and deliver trade justice. They must take urgent action to bring peace to the world's most troubled countries and to halt the devastating impact of...
There has been a growing awareness during recent years that projects and policy interventions that are designed without an appreciation of gender-specific constraints and potentials among intended beneficiaries can yield outcomes that run counter to original goals. Contrary to the assumption that project benefits are evenly shared within beneficiary households, women do not automatically gain...
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