Environmental and Social Safeguards

The Caribbean’s natural and infrastructural assets are vulnerable to natural hazards as well as the effects of global climate change, and all sectors –agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, housing – are at risk. The month of September 2017 turned out to be the most active month of any Atlantic hurricane season on record. We saw Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria batter … [Read more...] about After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Caribbean countries come together and discuss challenges in environmental governance

A few days ago I saw a drawing made by the son of a friend who lives in Mexico City after the second earthquake to hit the city this year. I was impressed for two reasons–first, how the child conveyed the closeness to his mother at the time of the tremor and how they were leaving their house with his belongings (toys); and second, how he managed to depict the shaking of the … [Read more...] about International Day for Disaster Reduction: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. - Nelson Henderson Involuntary resettlement is one of the highest social risks when it comes to project sustainability. Put yourselves in the shoes of a villager or an entire community that needs to move from their current homes because a road will be built right through their location. … [Read more...] about Involuntary resettlement basics: Listen to others before you act!

Heritage, tourism and safeguards for development in Argentina In the heart of the city of Salta, Argentina, the building that in the late 18th Century –in colonial times– housed the Royal Treasury of the Municipal Intendancy of Salta del Tucuman and that was home to independence hero Martín Miguel de Güemes and his family in 1971, was declared a National Historic Monument. … [Read more...] about Museo Güemes – A Museum for the People