Back at the first RioEarth Summitin 1992, the civil society organisations in attendance counted an unusual group among their number. Amid the assorted staffers and activists from environmental and development NGOs, there was a handful of campaigners who had a very different relationship with the Earth: representatives of an astronauts' organisation. Their reason for being there? Having seen the planet from space, they'd learned to view it from a different angle.
License: World Bank
Credit: Arne Hoel/World Bank
Source: Flickr
Uncertainty rules as we head into 2012
If you go in for such things, there’s a Chinese proverb that says ‘To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous’.
I’m not sure I agree with the ridiculous part, but there’s no question that dealing with the discomfort of uncertainty will be a key feature of life in 2012, and possibly a defining feature of the way we think about development in the coming years.
I recently asked whether the G20 could come to the rescue to solve yet another crisis. The general assessment now is that it kicked Cannes down the road instead.
With global risks on the increase, effective development policy depends on a good understanding of the impact of global shocks on low income countries and the most effective policy responses. At this roundtable event, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presented findings of their first comprehensive 'Vulnerability Exercise' for Low-Income Countries (VE-LIC). This was followed by a discussion involving ODI researchers, academics and development practitioners.
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, capital flows into emerging and developing economies have bounced back quickly from their slump in 2008. This has been triggered by prospects of strong output growth, investors regaining their appetite for risk, and, in particular, by ‘carry trade’ practices favoured by the exceptionally low interest rates in developed countries.