Aid & Development

Welcome to the first Pacific Island links. Each Thursday, we will share with you the most interesting or thought provoking things the Lowy Institute's Pacific islands specialists have read from and about the region. In an election year for Solomon Islands, there are concerns that politics will

Bad news on global warming last week, with the latest IPCC report concluding that global warming is depleting fresh water and crops, destroying coral reefs and melting the Arctic.  See here eight stark graphs from the report . US Secretary of State John Kerry’s  response to the report was

The UN announced it will launch an inquiry into war crimes committed by Sri Lankan state forces and Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka. The move was not supported by Australia. The vote count for UN #HRC25 was 23 votes in favour; 12 against; 12 abstentions. The impact of climate change on development in

First, the Chronic Poverty Report 2014-15, produced by the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network and published by ODI. The report focuses on the policies needed to get to zero extreme poverty. It argues that this is a tripartite challenge: to get close to zero, 'countries need to tackle chronic

Tonight, Tony Abbott flies into Port Moresby on his first visit to Papua New Guinea as prime minister. So far his foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has done the heavy lifting in the relationship, building on several visits in opposition with a high profile visit in February. The Abbott Government

Why do we need an International Women's Day? As negotiations for the post-2015 development goals continue, a coalition of feminist organisations have released a Feminist Declaration for post-2015. Hopefully one day this will not be news: there is now a female CEO of an investment bank in Saudi

Is the Chinese government starting to crack down on illegal timber trade? Global Witness reports on a recent conference. Relatedly, Google has unveiled a new online tool, Global Forest Watch, enabling people to monitor deforestation around the world. Laurence Haddad demonstrates how to write about

Where's the Australian aid program heading? Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop offered the clearest articulation to date of her vision at the Australasian Aid and International Development Policy workshop in Canberra last week. Does foreign aid really work? Roger Riddell's updated paper

The UK's Department for International Development released a new strategic framework that focuses more directly on economic development. Owen Barder offers an excellent analysis of what's missing.  Another great piece on PNG from Jo Chandler. This one on logging, land grabs, and the demise of PNG'

Why Aid Fails, from the authors of the best selling book Why Nations Fail. Does India have more polluted air than China? And why is there not the uproar in Delhi like there is in Beijing? Interesting pieces in the NY Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. Relatedly, the 2014 Environmental Performance

China's humanitarian aid has recently been subject to much criticism – both international and domestically. But the signs are positive for some reforms. Last week I was in Beijing for a workshop on humanitarian aid (or 'foreign disaster assistance', as the Chinese prefer to call it) hosted by the

As noted in last Friday's India links, India is marking three years since its last reported polio case, a landmark in the global battle against the disease. This BBC story on India's success in combating polio also has an interesting pictorial history of the disease. The World Bank's Global

Remember the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, agreed at Busan in 2011?  Here’s how some African fragile states are putting it into practice. The World Giving Index of 2013, published by the Charities Aid Foundation, measures the scope and nature of personal giving around the world

Philippa Brant The world of foreign aid has changed dramatically over the past few years, with new actors, new forms of assistance, and new goals being negotiated. A great overview of the shifting geopolitical realities and implications for aid and development, Emma Mawdsley's From Recipients to

Dr Philippa Brant is a Lowy Institute Research Associate. China’s aid policy, like almost everything China does on the world stage, attracts close scrutiny and often criticism. The forthcoming release of China’s second White Paper on Foreign Aid (likely within the next month) will