· September, 2007

Stories about Development from September, 2007

Japan: Protecting the Kyoto Cityscape

  12 September 2007

While many countries around the world are struggling to tackle Kyoto at home, the city the environmental accord was named after is caught up in its own struggle. The capital of Japan for over 1,000 years (794-1868), Kyoto was once a picturesque ancient city surrounded by mountains. Today it is...

Barbados: Bajans Being Sidelined?

  11 September 2007

The Chinese Ambassador to Barbados, in an address to the Barbados South Rotary Club, explained that all Chinese workers on the island have work permits. Notes from the Margin thinks that he is missing the point.

Bahamas: Best Little Country?

  11 September 2007

Craig Butler, blogging at Bahama Pundit, would like to think that the Bahamas is “the best little country in the world…but then the reality sets in and I have to check myself.”

Anguilla: Development Benefitting Locals?

  11 September 2007

“I had always understood that one of the excuses for permitting hotel development on our island was the consequential improvements that would come to the lives of Anguillians”: Corruption-free Anguilla has a few concerns.

Africa: Africans need to “villagize” the Internet

  11 September 2007

Despite advances in information and communication technologies, rural stories in Africa remain untold: “Ngurumo told the Indaba that Africa has to “villagize” the internet and make sure that people in the rural areas blog, podcast and tell their stories to the world.”

Liberia: Millenium Villages Project in Liberia

  10 September 2007

“I have it from an unimpeachable source that the controversial Millennium Villages project is coming soon to Liberia, probably first to Kokoya District, Bong County, and later to somewhere in the Southeast, per the president's request. The proposal is still in draft form,” writes Liberia Ledger.

Bahamas: A Lesson from Africa?

  10 September 2007

Rick Lowe, writing at WeblogBahamas.com, reads and article on how to help Africa out of its impoverishment and wonders: “Is there a lesson in this for The Bahamas?”

Taiwan: Pacific Humpback Dolphin Workshop

  7 September 2007

Michael Turton wrote an elaborative report on the “Second International Workshop on the Conservation and Research Needs of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins, Sousa chinensis, in the waters of western Taiwan”. The workshop had some detailed discussion about politics in environmental impact assessment.

China: Democratic House Demolition

  6 September 2007

Minjian has a great report on the experience of democratic urban renewal in Zheguo town from Zhejiang province: every year, the town selected 270 people from 120,000 population and let them decide how to use the 50 millions public fund for development. In their urban renewal project, they managed to...

Bloggers Discuss Africa's Informal Economies

  5 September 2007

Africa’s informal economies have for long generated intense research and debates, primarily within academic and professional circles, i.e., university professors, students, economists, and economic development professionals. The most recent development is the foray of Africa’s blogosphere into this discussion.

Armenia: World Bank corruption update

  4 September 2007

Onnik Krikorian finds it scandalous that the World Bank's own watchdog “Department of Institutional Integrity” has not yet sent an investigation commission to Armenia following serious allegations of corruption in the Bank's public utility lending.

Macau: Gone with Development

  4 September 2007

The world's largest casino, $2.4 billion Venetian Macau Resort, opened on August 28th. Along with numerous development projects, Macao is just like a huge construction site now. Some people are worried that natural and cultural beauty will be sacrificed for the sake of urban development. Manfaiw laments(zh): “In the future,...

Zimbabwe: Dusty empty shelves

  4 September 2007

Dennis wanted to buy only a few bottles of water: “However following the recent price controls basic commodities have disappeared from supermarkets leaving the staff with nothing to do except dust and clean the shelves.”

Bolivia: Government Minister Questions US Aid

  4 September 2007

The Minister of the Presidency, Juan Ramón Quintana publicly questioned the nature of aid provided by the United States. In addition, the accusations portray some of the non-governmental organizations and their staff, which receives funds from USAID, as destabilizers of the government and others as traitors to the country. Quintana went as far as providing names of those accused of receiving these funds for ulterior purposes. This caused some bloggers to come to the defense of those singled out by the minister, while others investigated the background of the minister, who made these public accusations.

Japan and China: Smog

  4 September 2007

JP from Japundit discusses the problem of smog in Japan in relation to China: Though China is suspected as the source of the smog, there is no accurate measurement of what percent of Japanese air pollution comes from the continent and how much is home-generated.