Poverty Environment Net | povertyenvironment.net

Poverty Environment Net is the leading index of poverty-environment knowledge and resources. This site is dedicated to sharing information and lessons gained from the beneficial relationship between environmental management and poverty reduction.

13th PEP Meeting - Manila, Philippines

Start: 09/06/2008 - 12:00am

End: 11/06/2008 - 12:00am

Timezone: Etc/GMT-8

The Asian Development Bank is hosting the 13th PEP Meeting on 9-11 June 2008 in Manila, Philippines.

A number of timely topics will be of interest to the participants, including: (i) follow-on discussions regarding climate change adaptation, (ii) payment for ecological services, including pro-poor REDD models, and (iii) other ongoing debates relating to climate change, biodiversity conservation or other topics.

Please send any views regarding topics for discussion to Lorie Rufo (lrufo[at]adb[dot]org).

ADB also will host at its Manila headquarters the Asia-Pacific Clean Energy Forum, from 2-6 June 2008, the week before the PEP meeting. For further information see the event's website.

Updates:

Agenda (draft, 16 April 2008, DOC)

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Feature: Multimedia Resources on PE Net

Apart from documents and websites, Poverty Environment Net is also compiling links to online videos featuring poverty-environment issues. This medium has been important in showing how environmental sustainability is connected to poverty alleviation, and in giving faces and names to the communities that the papers refer to.

Videos added recently:

	Drought: This short UNICEF video shows scenes from the worst drought Somalia has experienced in a decade.
	Rainforest conservation: Global Vision International's video covers an Amazon expedition with students, teachers and volunteers, raising awareness about the environment for poverty alleviation.
	Marine Protected Areas: The video from Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management (PREM) introduces us to the impact that tourists and fishermen have on marine life in Vietnam.
	Air and Noise Pollution: This video from the ADB Poverty and Environment Program shows how a fund has helped reduce pollution in a Philippine city by providing livelihood support for tricycle drivers.
	Recycling: World Resources Institute's video features non-profit group Conserve, which recycles plastic bags into consumer goods, providing a livelihood alternative for the community.

More videos are being indexed, but in the meantime you can click on the Multimedia Resources section to see what's been added to the site so far.

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The World Bank - Climate Change - Niger

Posted on 24 April, 2008 - 5:08pm.

Rakia gazes at the seemingly healthy millet stalks she planted during this year's short rainy season. A closer look at the millet heads reveals the crop did not mature, and the shells are empty of grain.

"The rains betrayed us. They came and then they stopped," says Rakia, 35, a mother and millet farmer in a semi-arid Sahel region of Niger.

The desert has been creeping into West Africa's Sahel for the last 30 years. Declining rainfall and overuse has taxed the land and brought drought and famine.

Watch the video
http://www.youtube.com

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Government institutions, public expenditure and the role of development partners

Posted on 18 April, 2008 - 2:33pm.

Government institutions, public expenditure and the role of development partners: meeting the new environmental challenges of the developing world

“Focus on ways of improving levels of recurrent funding (through the budget process) and use all avenues of dialogue within General Budget Support arrangements ...”

These are among several key messages aimed at governments and development agencies, emanating from a recent joint funded study carried out by the UK based Overseas Development Institute (ODI). The report summarises the conclusions of four country case studies completed during 2007 which examined linkages between environmental policy, public expenditure and different development cooperation modalities in Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania.

The good news is that, in all four study countries, budgetary positions have improved significantly in the last three years as a result of increased domestic revenues, increased flows in the form of General Budget Support and debt restructuring. Yet despite this budgetary context, environmental agencies still have strong incentives to pursue financing from projects or user fees and charges, all of which carry significant negative side effects.