The Sustainability Learning Forum

UNEP Studies Show Rising Mercury Emissions in Developing Countries

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Communities in developing countries are facing increasing health and environmental risks linked to exposure to mercury, according to new studies by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Parts of Africa, Asia and South America could see increasing emissions of mercury into the environment, due mainly to the use of the toxic element in small-scale gold mining, and through the burning of coal for electricity generation. more[...]

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Mercury: Time to Act

Editorial Team

This report speaks directly to governments involved in the development of the global treaty on mercury. It presents updates from the UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 in short and punchy facts and figures backed by compelling graphics, that provide governments and civil society with the rationale and the imperative to act on this notorious pollutant. more[...]

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$37.7 Million in Contributions to Strengthen Governance and Economic Growth

World Bank

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Transition Fund recently received $37.7 million from Canada, the United Kingdom, and France to support good governance, sustainable growth, and greater employment opportunities for youth. more[...]

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The Trouble with the Congo

The Trouble with the Congo suggests a new explanation for international peacebuilding failures in civil wars. Drawing from more than 330 interviews and a year and a half of field research, it develops a case study of the international intervention during the Democratic Republic of the Congo's unsuccessful transition from war to peace and democracy (2003–2006). Grassroots rivalries over land, resources, and political power motivated widespread violence. However, a dominant peacebuilding culture shaped the intervention strategy in a way that precluded action on local conflicts, ultimately dooming the international efforts to end the deadliest conflict since World War II. Most international actors interpreted continued fighting as the consequence of national and regional tensions alone. UN staff and diplomats viewed intervention at the macro levels as their only legitimate responsibility. The dominant culture constructed local peacebuilding as such an unimportant, unfamiliar, and unmanageable task that neither shocking events nor resistance from select individuals could convince international actors to reevaluate their understanding of violence and intervention. more[...]

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Conflict Minerals

Resource conflict is one of several destabilizing phenomena commonly cited as defining many of the extractive economies of the global south. Our Tutorial discusses all aspects of the issue with a special focus on US laws, SEC and Dodd-Frank Act regulations. more[...]

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Liberty Global: A Taste of Freedom

Elaine Cohen, Beyond Business Ltd

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The World in 2052 – The New Club of Rome-Forecast

In the Report author Jorgen Randers raises essential questions: How many people will the planet be able to support? Will the belief in endless growth crumble? Will runaway climate change take hold? Where will quality of life improve, and where will it decline? more[...]

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It Is Time For A Social Stock Exchange

Prof Muhammad Yunus, Yunus Centre

Many of the problems in the world today persist because of a too-narrow interpretation of capitalism. Most businesses today are run based on the assumption that people are selfish and interested solely in maximizing their own profit. This is a very one-dimensional view of humans who in reality are very multidimensional. As much as selfishness is part of us, so is selflessness, but the selfless dimension is not taken into account in economic theory. more[...]

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In India, a community works to change sanitation and hygiene practices

Eleven-year-old Sharda and half a dozen friends beat drums and chant slogans as they walk through the narrow lanes of Lalapur. Their message is: make the remote village in Uttar Pradesh free from open defecation. more[...]

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African leaders urged to invest in jobs, infrastructure and protecting development gains

African Development Bank (AfDB)

n unprecedented gathering of experts in Kigali, present and former African Heads of State urged business, community and political leaders to help turn the continent’s impressive growth into economic opportunities for ordinary citizens. more[...]

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Africa’s social diversity: an asset for democracy

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

African leaders, international organizations and civil society representatives will meet in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, for the next three days to discuss Africa’s diverse social fabric and how it can serve as an asset for democracy and development. more[...] login_required

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Nathan, Dev

Editorial Team

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UNDP-led partnership unveils key to successful community-driven sustainable development projects

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The Equator Initiative - a United Nations-led partnership which recognizes the success of local sustainable development projects with the biennial Equator Prize - has launched a series of 127 case studies and a volume of “lessons-learned” outlining the key components of successful, community-based development initiatives. more[...] login_required

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The Times they are A-Changing

Anders Dahlbeck, ActionAid

In 2008, ActionAid started campaigning to remove biofuels targets that are having a detrimental effect on poor and marginalised communities around the world. We did so in response to calls from communities and partners we work with in the global south, for whom the impact of biofuels production was becoming untenable. Countless cases of land grabs by multinationals to produce industrial biofuels for export to rich countries were the main issue. more[...] login_required

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World Bank President Calls for “Solutions Bank” to Meet Global Challenges

World Bank

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today told the Bank’s shareholders he wants the institution to become a solutions Bank that can work with partners and help “bend the arc of history” to eliminate extreme poverty. more[...] login_required

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