3 Questions with Christelle Beyers: Bringing Low Emissions and High Rewards to South Africa

SA-LED supports the design and implementation of municipal low-emissions development (LED) projects. What does a successful project life cycle look like and what obstacles do municipalities face during implementation? During the project life cycle, we look at two main dividends: greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and development impact. That’s what separates SA-LED’s work from other approaches…

Refugees Are Straining Urban Infrastructure and Services — Now What?

More people live in cities now than at any point in history. As identified in Sustainable Development Goal 11 and highlighted in the New Urban Agenda formulated out of the Habitat III Conference last year, our challenge is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Goal 11 and the New Urban…

Developing Countries Can Leapfrog Today’s Urban Infrastructure

At the foundation of every city are the physical systems that deliver water and power, dispose of solid waste and sewage, transport people and commodities, and transmit communications. Delivery of these basic infrastructure services to exponentially growing populations is a massive technological, financial, and governance challenge in cities of the developing world. However, the lack…

News: Haitian President Sees Agricultural Improvements in Action

Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly and members of his cabinet recently visited farmer groups to see how members have improved irrigation systems, implemented new techniques, and reclaimed 10,000 hectares of previously unusable land. In the rehabilitated section of the Riviere Grise, one local confederation of farmer associations has worked with the USAID Water Initiative for National…