With International Migratory Fish Day (yes, there is such a day, in case you don’t know) just around the corner, I’d like to share the experience of how Costa Rica, with the IDB’s help, has successfully implemented its first river offset in Central America’s largest hydroelectric project. The Reventazón Hydroelectric Project (PHR) built by the state-run Instituto de … [Read more...] about Costa Rica has implemented a river offset. How does it work?
Environmental and Social Safeguards
The Fight of the Butterfly – Restoring Haiti’s Native Species
“We used to see so many more butterflies around Port au Prince” said Adolphe—our dispatch manager— one day last year when he saw me crouching over a plant in IDB’s new Port au Prince office garden, admiring a Monarch butterfly that had recently arrived in Haiti from North America on its remarkable annual migration. It was a casual observation but it got me thinking about … [Read more...] about The Fight of the Butterfly – Restoring Haiti’s Native Species
In a violent city, a successful resettlement through community engagement
San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second largest city, is a key point of a future north-south logistics corridor, the CA-5 highway, which will connect Tegucigalpa, the capital, with Puerto Cortes on the Atlantic Coast. This 294km stretch of road will reduce operating costs, travel times, and accident rates. IDB has invested US$112 million since 2004 to rehabilitate this road, which is … [Read more...] about In a violent city, a successful resettlement through community engagement
Sustainable Infrastructure: Lessons Learned, but what Next? (Hint: It has to do with Planning)
At the IDB we set ourselves the complex task of not only achieving a common agreement on what sustainable infrastructure entails, but making it a top development priority in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB’s Sustainable Infrastructure Strategy states that our efforts must be focused on providing inclusive public services through infrastructure that is socially, … [Read more...] about Sustainable Infrastructure: Lessons Learned, but what Next? (Hint: It has to do with Planning)
Earth Day Reflections: “Getting Big Stuff Done” on our CSR Journey
This year’s Earth Day tagline grabbed my attention: “Let’s get really big stuff done for our planet.” It got me thinking how much the movement has grown over the last decade and how every person and every institution, however small, can play its role in something so big as saving the world! Over the past decade we have witnessed a strong tendency in developed countries, and … [Read more...] about Earth Day Reflections: “Getting Big Stuff Done” on our CSR Journey