Month: August 2014

Weekly Round-up

/ ProsperCSIS / Leave a comment

This week in development…

  • Indian officials have expressed interest in joining the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, proposed by Beijing last year as an alternative to the Japan and U.S. controlled Asian Development Bank. Indian officials will submit a report with recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the next two months.
  • U.S. electric auto manufacturer Tesla Motors announced a new deal with state telecom giant China Unicom to install over 400 electric charging stations in 120 Chinese cities.  The deal comes against the backdrop of new government policy aimed at supporting the development of a domestic electric and hybrid car industry.  China is the world’s largest auto market, and there is pressing need to develop cleaner and more efficient vehicles to meet expanding demand.
Tesla Supercharger stations soon to come to China

Tesla plans to install hundreds of new charging stations around China

Continue reading →

Weekly Round-up

/ ProsperCSIS / Leave a comment

This week in development…

  • Tuesday was World Humanitarian Day, observed in remembrance of aid workers killed in the field.  New data released in this year’s Aid Worker Security Report shows that 2013 was the most dangerous year for aid workers on record. Many have made suggestions to make 2014 safer– Devex urged the international community to collect more data, address vulnerabilities, and work towards changing perceptions of aid workers abroad. Here is a great infographic breaking down this year’s statistics.
    Chart taken from Aid Worker Security Report 2014

    Chart taken from Aid Worker Security Report 2014

Continue reading →

Somalia in Crisis: The Risk and Opportunity for Pastoral Refugees

/ ProsperCSIS / 1 Comment

By Caitlin Allmaier

Last month, the United Nations warned that the food security situation in Somalia has worsened over the past year and that ongoing drought combined with conflict could lead to a repeat of the massive 2011 famine that shook the region. Between 2010 and 2011, over 260,000 people died as a direct result of the famine in Somalia, and over half of those deaths were children under the age of six.

Refugee camps work to mitigate this risk by meeting immediate, basic human needs – food, water, and shelter. However, building long-term capacity and resilience for displaced communities remains a challenge.  Pastoralists, nomadic people who raise livestock on natural pastures, are particularly vulnerable to this threat

Dadaab Refugee Camp

Dadaab Refugee Camp, the largest camp in the world, located at the Kenya-Somalia border

Continue reading →

Weekly Round-up

/ ProsperCSIS / Leave a comment

This week in development…

  • USAID has announced that they will tap into an emergency trust fund – one that has not been touched since the global food price spike and crisis in 2008 – to respond to the extreme food insecurity in South Sudan. “The scale of the suffering and humanitarian need there is shocking, and the threat of famine is real,” said National Security Advisor Susan Rice in a statement profiling the $180 million that will be drawn from the fund.  The account being drawn upon is specifically allocated to Food for Peace programming, and intended to meet emergency or unanticipated food aid needs.
  • August 18 is the 500 day milestone until the target date to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The questions of “were the MDGs successful?” and “where do we go from here?” have begun to dictate the discussions and work of the development community, as attention shifts towards the post-2015 development agenda. Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind the acclaimed street photography blog Humans of New York, has partnered with the UN to take a 50-day “World Tour” to raise awareness of the MDGs and informally track their progress.
Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, courtesy of Humans of New York http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/94726975821/the-zaatari-refugee-camp-is-twelve-kilometers

Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, courtesy of Humans of New York http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/94726975821/the-zaatari-refugee-camp-is-twelve-kilometers

Continue reading →

MCC’s Legacy in Burkina Faso: Secure Land Rights Support Burkinabè Agricultural Development

/ ProsperCSIS / Leave a comment

By Caitlin Allmaier

The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s 5-year compact with the Government of Burkina Faso concluded in July and has set the stage for the next chapter in Burkinabè agricultural development. The compact focused on the reduction of poverty and the stimulation of economic growth through strategic investment, with one of four projects focusing on improving rural productivity through land tenure security and environmentally-sound land management. However, some issues related to land rights and tenure remain.

Burkina Faso’s economy is mainly agrarian, with 85 percent of Burkinabè carving out livelihoods in agriculture, livestock rearing, or forestry. Traditional Burkinabè methods of land tenure place great authority in the hands of a chef de terre, who allocates community-accepted land and establishes a colloquial model of plot ownership. However, the efficacy of such a system has been challenged by Burkinabè officials, who have repeatedly facilitated international industrial agricultural investment to attempt to improve livelihoods and spur economic growth.   These actions have had the unforeseen consequence of further marginalizing smallholders as well as jeopardizing the long-term health of land, soil, and water resources.

Photo courtesy of CIDSE Flickr photostream

Photo courtesy of CIDSE Flickr photostream

Continue reading →