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This is the World Bank's blog on governance and anti-corruption. It aims at providing a space for debate and knowledge sharing on this critical field of development. | Learn more...

July 2009

Tackling deforestation and climate change, not without good governance

Good governance has received little attention in the global agenda for climate change.  Yet, it seems that it is making its way, at least on climate change issues related to deforestation and forest degradation -which account for about 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A study recently published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IEED) states that "in many areas where deforestation and degradation are at their highest, governance is weak and is an underlying cause of deforestation and degradation."

"140 chars is a novel when you're being shot at"

-courtesy: @chadelund Quote of the day- #iranelection

In a previous blog entry, I wrote about how Web 2.0 is improving governance, with or without the help of the government in question, and irrespective of whether the country is developed or not.

Throwing traditional wisdom to the winds, the Web 2.0 story is continuing to unfold in a way that was not predicted by researchers and experts of the development community and outside.   When I last wrote my blog entry on this issue, it was specifically to explore how Bangladeshi citizens, independently of the government, NGOs, or media were sharing their experience of the BDR mutiny and its results.  This shone a light into the situation in Bangladesh to many who would have been otherwise left in the dark about the BDR revolt.

Then Iran happened.  The situation in Iran has many interesting parallels with Bangladesh and the BDR revolt – both related to the citizen-fuelled proliferation of news, occurring independently of the Government, and in Iran, even inspite of the opposition of the Government.