(Poul Engberg-Pedersen, Director, NORAD (left) greets President Jagdeo of Guyana (right))
Amila de Saram Larssen
President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana is currently in Norway promoting a national forest initiative to mitigate the ill effects of climate change.
President Jagdeo presented Guyana as a national-scale pilot and put forward a strong economic case for preserving the world’s forests.
President Jagdeo sees the preservation of the world’s forests as an opportunity for low-carbon sustainable development for his country, and countries like his. He intends to use money generated from a proposed carbon trading mechanism to finance hydro power initiatives, education, healthcare and income generating activities for the poor and in particular the indigenous, forest dwelling communities of Guyana.
In the mid-nineties, donors started to place more emphasis on anti-corruption efforts in aid. Norad’s Evaluation Department, in cooperation with five other evaluation offices, commissioned a literature review that looks at how effective this effort has been.
The review indicates limited success in aid funded anti-corruption efforts. Major findings include:
• There are few evident successes, and the results of specific anti-corruption efforts have been limited.
• Fight against corruption requires political support, good laws and a functioning court system - all of which are often lacking in poor countries.
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, was in Oslo for the 50th anniversary conference of NUPI (Norwegian Institute for International Affairs) and shared his thoughts on Barack Obama's leadership style and the ways in which the new administration is likely to engage with the world.
Sharon L. Camp, President and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, was in Oslo today and shared her thoughts on the upcoming Obama presidency and its implications for sexual and reproductive health in the developing world.
Founded 40 years ago, The Guttmacher Institute aims to advocate for sexual and reproductive health in the United States and worldwide though social science research , policy analysis and public education.
Per-Ivar Nikolaisen of Bistandsaktelt interviews Justin Lin on the the World Bank's response to the current financial crisis, the role of China in the mitigation of the crisis and Lin's personal experience as the first non-European chief economist of the World Bank. The interview took place at Litteraturhuset in Oslo on January 12, 2009.
Justin Lin, chief economist at the World Bank was recently in Oslo and spoke of the impact of the current financial and economic crisis on high-income countries like the US and Norway, emerging markets like China and on low-income countries.
In the clip below, Lin outlines strategies to cope with the crisis, including what he terms, "a Marshall Plan for Development."
Alex Kirby, of Panos London provides a good introduction to the issue of climate change. He looks at the causes of climate change, the likely effects, and various mitigation strategies.
According to Kirby, "a serious response to the threat of climate change will need policy choices by and between governments, on both mitigation and adaptation. Preventing climate change is impossible, because the amount of long-lasting greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere means it would continue warming for 30 years or more even if emissions stopped overnight."
Click below to view a short video about The Ban Bus, a campaign bus that has traveled 10,000 km across Europe to raise awareness about the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It arrived in Oslo yesterday.
(Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit (second from the left) and Minister Erik Solheim (second from the right))
Amila de Saram Larssen
Click below to hear what Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Special Representative for UNAIDS; Erik Solheim, Minister of Development and the Environment; and Dr. Sigrun Møgedal, Norway's HIV/AIDS Ambassador had to say about the significance of World Aids Day when I spoke to them at an HIV/AIDS awareness raising event at Youngstorget in Oslo.
SÃO PAULO – Brazil is poised to take its place among the world’s petro-powers. Estimates of its newfound oil reserves place it in eighth place among oil-producing nations, ahead of Nigeria as well as Brazil’s rival for influence in Latin America,Venezuela. Such newfound wealth is normally a source of celebration. But Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, perhaps fearing the infamous “resource curse” that has blighted the development of so many countries blessed with mineral wealth, is determined that the new oil wealth not be turned into “nonsense.”
In 2007, huge oil deposits were discovered off Brazil’s coast. Modest estimates put these reserves at around 30 billion barrels. Crédit Suisse and other investment banks say that 50 billion barrels are available.
