On the Ground
Interview
Primary forest loss remains stubbornly high across the tropics
Primary forest loss has remained persistently high for the last two decades. GIS Research Manager for Global Forest Watch, Elizabeth Dow Goldman offers her analysis of the primary forest situation worldwide.
Opinion
Cities: reappraising the value of transitional urban development projects
For Raphaël Besson of Villes Innovations, the value of transitional urban development projects lies not so much in their direct market impacts as in their externalities. The challenge is to increase the involvement of stakeholders and local residents.
Development news
Noise Pollution in Oceans:
Noise Pollution in Oceans:
A Resounding Threat
Little is known about noise pollution in oceans because it is impalpable and invisible. And yet, its effects are felt by marine animals. Noise is far louder underwater than in air; it is a threat to marine fauna and alters the balance of natural ecosystems
Press Review
Environment: What’s a post-COVID-19 World?
Despite notable environmental progress, climate change is still a reality. As the COVID-19 crisis is widening inequalities, global warming continues to threaten ecosystems and the survival of populations. A post-COVID-19 world must consider the danger of both crises.
Interview
Water Kiosks Used in Cambodia to Reach Isolated Communities
In 2017, only 17% of the rural population in Cambodia had access to safe drinking water. In 2005, NGO 1001fontaines developed a water kiosk model in the country that has been replicated all over the world. Interview with its Executive Director for Cambodia, Frédéric Dubois.
Interview
Pastoralism in the Sahel: “Sedentism cannot be imposed”
Faced with rising violence, global warming and land grabs, nomadic herders are witnessing multiple threats to their lands. Boureïma Dodo, head of an association in Niger, talks about how pastoralism has changed and what future it might have.
Opinion
COVID-19 in developing countries: multilateral cooperation is vital
Could the COVID-19 crisis erase years of progress within poverty reduction? While G20 members come together, one of the OECD directors, Mario Pezzini, underlines the importance of multilateral cooperation in these times of turmoil.
Opinion
City and climate, prospects for a new urban model
In the transition of our societies towards lifestyles that are more resilient to climate change, one essential factor will be the organization and management of cities and their capacity to access financial resources and invent new sustainable urban models.
Development news
The Financialization of Water: Pursuit of Profit Draining Human Rights
Fresh water, blue gold? As water resources become scarcer and demand continues to grow, financiers are turning water into an object of speculation and a commodity like any other. In the process, they are threatening human rights.
Is natural gas a solution to meet Paris Agreement goals in Latin America?
Are the electricity expansion plans in Latin America and the Caribbean consistent with Paris Agreement targets? A recent study suggests a massive transition to natural gas will only delay the problem.
Interview
Electrification in Niger: “We are lagging behind population growth”
Health, demographics, national security: Alhassane Halid, Director of the Nigerien electric company (Nigelec), the main electricity supplier in Niger, discusses the challenges and prospects for the country’s electrification.
“With rare metals, rich countries have outsourced pollution”
After six years of investigation, journalist Guillaume Pitron warns us of the environmental and social impacts of rare metals, a vital component of green technology. Is the energy transition really as virtuous as it seems?
Opinion
Renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa: supporting a fragile process
The roll-out of renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa is threatened by the default risk of State-owned electricity companies that are all too often strapped for cash. How to protect and reinforce renewably sourced electricity production?
Interview
When real estate financialization filters people out
According to social sciences researcher Julien Migozzi, the financialization of South Africa’s housing market is entrenching existing inequalities. The public sector and aid organizations have an important role to play in countering these dynamics.
Opinion
Financialization of Cities: A new challenge for cooperation and development stakeholders
Since the 1980s, the financialization of real estate has remodeled urban governance, placing it increasingly in the hands of investors. Cooperation and development stakeholders should take a look at this risky practice.
Interview
Sanitation: Why toilets need to be reinvented
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the USA. It develops a pragmatic approach to the fight against infectious diseases by advocating for the “reinvention” of toilets. In addition to its financial support for the search for innovative...
Opinion
Hybridize the Commons: The example of the Polynesian lagoons
Very popular in recent years, the concept of commons might yet be counterproductive if misinterpreted. Explanations with Thierry Paulais (AFD) based on an example of natural resources management from Polynesia.
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Development news
A plastic (waste) world
Cheap, solid, lightweight: plastic has changed how we consume and live. But, as practical as they may be, 50% of plastic objects are single-use and, in both the North and South, we are never truly rid of plastic waste.
Opinion
Innovate for sanitation! A pressing need, a complex process
Martin Leménager, Water and Sanitation task team leader at AFD, takes stock for ID4D of the interest of encouraging NGOs and actors in the field to innovate for sanitation.
Interview
When innovation and private enterprise facilitate access to drinking water
How to facilitate access to drinking water when public authorities are unable to provide it? Askwar Hilonga, a Tanzanian engineer, answered the question by developing a water filter able to filter 99.9% of micro-organisms and chemical products.
Opinion
Urban renewal: Let’s combine elephants and mice!
Large-scale urban projects have shown their limits and yet they continue to crystalize a vision of the ideal city. At a time when the challenges mainly lie in improving what already exists, new approaches make cities a Common by putting residents back at the center of their fabric....
Interview
The fight against pollution and “green” buildings: China’s great leap forward
China causes over a quarter of global CO2 emissions. Aymeric Novel from the French company Terao, which is specialized in energy efficiency, takes a look at China’s efforts for green buildings to combat pollution.
Development news
The environmental paradox of the digital transition
Digital technologies bring new opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint. But it turns out that they also pollute. Is the digital transition a new vicious circle or a wealth of solutions for the ecological transition?