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38742. His Excellency Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program features an address by His Excellency Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, International Trade and Finance, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Japan and East Asia
38743. His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President of the Republic of Tunisia
- Publication Date:
- 09-2014
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program features an address by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President of the Republic of Tunisia, titled The Arab Spring and the Tunisia Initiative on Creating an International Constitutional Court, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- Governance, Law, and Political Activism
- Political Geography:
- Arabia, North Africa, and Tunisia
38744. The Value of Forest Ecosystem Services to Developing Economies
- Author:
- Katrina Mullan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper assesses the scale of the potential co-benefits for residents of developing countries of protecting forest ecosystems in order to mitigate climate change. The objective is to improve understanding among development practitioners of the ways in which services provided by forest ecosystems can also make important contributions to achieving development objectives such as improvements to health and safety, and maintenance of food and energy security. This is achieved by reviewing empirical studies that estimate the value of specific ecosystem services derived from forests in order to evaluate and describe the current state of knowledge on how the wellbeing of local people is likely to be affected by the introduction of global mechanisms for avoided deforestation in developing countries. There are four main ways in which wellbeing can be affected: 1) forests provide soil protection and water regulation services, which in turn reduce waterborne diseases, maintain irrigation water supply, and mitigate risks of natural disaster; 2) forests provide habitat for birds, fish, mammals and insects that affect human health and income generation opportunities; 3) clearing forest through use of fire can lead to respiratory illness and property damage, particularly if the fires spread accidentally; and 4) tropical forests are particularly high in biodiversity, making them important locally as well as globally as a potential source of genetic material for new crop varieties and pharmaceuticals. Evidence on the size of these benefits suggests that while they are highly variable, households in or near forests and poor households benefit most from forest ecosystem services.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, Water, and Food
38745. Ecosystem Services from Tropical Forests: Review of Current Science
- Author:
- Katrina Brandon
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Tropical forests exert a more profound influence on weather patterns, freshwater, natural disasters, biodiversity, food, and human health–both in the countries where forests are found and in distant countries–than any other terrestrial biome. This report explains the variety of environmental services tropical forests provide and the science underlying how forests provide these services. Tropical deforestation and degradation have reduced the area covered by tropical forests from 12 percent to less than 5 percent of Earth's land area. Forest loss and degradation has reduced or halted the flows of a wide range of ecosystem goods and services, increasing the vulnerability of potentially billions of people to a variety of damaging impacts. Established and emerging science findings suggest that we have substantially underestimated the global importance of tropical forests and the impacts of their loss on human well-being.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, Natural Disasters, and Natural Resources
38746. Who Pollutes? A Household-Level Database of America's Greenhouse Gas Footprint
- Author:
- Kevin Ummel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper describes the creation of a database providing estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints for 6 million US households over the period 2008-2012. The database allows analysis of footprints for 52 types of consumption (e.g. electricity, gasoline, apparel, beef, air travel, etc.) within and across geographic regions as small as individual census tracts. Potential research applications with respect to carbon pricing and tax policy are discussed. Preliminary analysis reveals:
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Environment, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
38747. How Much Will Health Coverage Cost? Future Health Spending Scenarios in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico
- Author:
- Amanda Glassman and Juan Ignacio Zoloa
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- As Latin American countries seek to expand the coverage and benefits provided by their health systems under a global drive for universal health coverage (UHC), decisions taken today–whether by government or individuals-will have an impact tomorrow on public spending requirements. To understand the implications of these decisions and define needed policy reforms, this paper calculates long-term projections for public spending on health in three countries, analyzing different scenarios related to population, risk factors, labor market participation, and technological growth. In addition, the paper simulates the effects of different policy options and their potential knock-on effects on health expenditure.
- Topic:
- Health, Governance, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, and Chile
38748. Costing a Data Revolution
- Author:
- Gabriel Demombynes and Justin Sandefur
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- The lack of reliable development statistics for many poor countries has led the U.N. to call for a “data revolution” (United Nations, 2013). One fairly narrow but widespread interpretation of this revolution is for international aid donors to fund a coordinated wave of household surveys across the developing world, tracking progress on a new round of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. We use data from the International Household Survey Network (IHSN) to show (i) the supply of household surveys has accelerated dramatically over the past 30 years and that (ii) demand for survey data appears to be higher in democracies and more aid-dependent countries. We also show that given existing international survey programs, the cost to international aid donors of filling remaining survey gaps is manageable--on the order of $300 million per year. We argue that any aid-financed expansion of household surveys should be complemented with (a) increased access to data through open data protocols, and (b) simultaneous support for the broader statistical system, including routine administrative data systems.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Welfare, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- Asia and United Nations
38749. Trading Forests: Quantifying the Contribution of Global Commodity Markets to Emissions from Tropical Deforestation
- Author:
- Martin Persson, Sabine Henders, and Thomas Kastner
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- This paper aims to improve our understanding of how and where global supply-chains link consumers of agricultural and forest commodities across the world to forest destruction in tropical countries. A better understanding of these linkages can help inform and support the design of demand-side interventions to reduce tropical deforestation. To that end, we map the link between deforestation for four commodities (beef, soybeans, palm oil, and wood products) in eight case countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea) to consumption, through international trade. Although few, the studied countries comprise a large share of the internationally traded volumes of the analyzed commodities: 83% of beef and 99% of soybean exports from Latin America, 97% of global palm oil exports, and roughly half of (official) tropical wood products trade. The analysis covers the period 2000-2009. We find that roughly a third of tropical deforestation and associated carbon emissions (3.9 Mha and 1.7 GtCO2) in 2009 can be attributed to our four case commodities in our eight case countries. On average a third of analyzed deforestation was embodied in agricultural exports, mainly to the EU and China. However, in all countries but Bolivia and Brazil, export markets are dominant drivers of forest clearing for our case commodities. If one excludes Brazilian beef on average 57% of deforestation attributed to our case commodities was embodied in exports. The share of emissions that was embodied in exported commodities increased between 2000 and 2009 for every country in our study except Bolivia and Malaysia.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Environment, and Natural Resources
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Latin America, and Bolivia
38750. Why Maintaining Tropical Forests Is Essential and Urgent for a Stable Climate
- Author:
- Rosa C. Goodman and Martin Herold
- Publication Date:
- 11-2014
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Development
- Abstract:
- Tropical forests have the highest carbon density and cover more land area than forests in any other biome. They also serve a vital role as a natural buffer to climate change ―capturing 2.2–2.7 Gt of carbon per year. Unfortunately, tropical forests, mangroves, and peatlands are also subjected to the highest levels of deforestation and account for nearly all net emissions from Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) (1.1–1.4 Gt C / year). Net emissions from FOLU accounted for only 11% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions or 14% of total carbon emissions in 2010, though these figures are somewhat misleading and do not reflect the full potential of tropical forests to mitigate climate change. First, net FOLU emissions have reduced only slightly while emissions from all other sectors have skyrocketed. Secondly, the FOLU net flux is made up of two larger fluxes —deforestation emissions (2.6–2.8 Gt C / year) minus sequestration from forest regrowth (1.2–1.7 Gt C / year). Additionally, intact tropical forests also appear to be capturing at least 1.0 Gt C/ year. Gross deforestation, therefore, accounts for over a quarter of all carbon emissions, and tropical forests have removed 22–26% of all anthropogenic carbon emissions in the 2000s. If deforestation were halted entirely, forests were allowed to regrow, and mature forests were left undisturbed, tropical forests alone could have captured 25–35% of all other anthropogenic carbon emissions. On the other hand, if climate change continues unabated, forests could turn from net sinks to net sources of carbon. Forestrelated activities are among the most economically feasible and cost-effective mitigation strategies, which are important for both short- and long-term mitigation strategies. Action is needed immediately to utilize these natural mitigation solutions, and we need coordinated and comprehensive forest-related policies for mitigation. An international mechanism such as REDD+ is essential to realize the great natural potential for tropical forests to stabilize the climate.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Africa, South Asia, and Latin America