Thematic brochures
The Environment and Development - A view of 30 development projects
Avoiding the effects of climatic disruptions normally comes down to promoting environmental “good practices”: managing natural resources in a sustainable and rational way, supporting technological innovations that create less pollution, integrating ecological aspects into the development approaches and strategies.
How far have we got after ten years ? What progress has been made ? What are the challenges ? What are the ways forward ?
The city, a development (f)actor
The increase in the world’s population over the next few decades will be mainly fuelled by the expansion of cities in developing countries. In 2007 - for the first time in human history - there were more people living in the world’s towns and cities than in the countryside . Today over three billion people live in cities or urban environments. The complex process that has led to this change is called urbanisation and has significant social, economic, environmental and cultural repercussions for society. As the fight against poverty is the main objective of development cooperation, it is only natural that development partners are paying special attention to support for sustainable urban development.
Democratic Governance - the key to development
Democratic governance is one of the keys to development. It is now acknowledged that political processes, regulations and institutions play a major role in economic growth and human development. The fight against poverty is not simply a social, economic and technical objective but also a political and institutional goal.
Belgian Development Cooperation takes up the challenge
At the dawn of the new millennium (2000), the international community firmly decided to take action to combat poverty. For the first time, the 191 member countries of the United Nations undertook, in the Millennium Declaration, to achieve eight objectives by 2015. These are known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
