Having monitored global REDD initiatives since 2008, writer and environmental activist Chris Lang questions whether Norway’s aid-financed climate forest initiative - the largest in the world - has contributed to reducing rates of deforestation.

Donors back Denmark’s proposal to reduce Mekong commission funding

Donors that fund the Mekong River Commission (MRC) have toughened their rhetoric. They now agree with the Danish call to speed up the phasing out of aid.

Aid as a weapon against Uganda anti-gay bill

Responding to Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law, Norway and Denmark immediately cut state aid, while Sweden, in line with advice from Swedish gay rights activists, took a more cautious approach.

Lukewarm interest in expanded Finnish business aid subsidy

Last year Finnpartnership doubled the maximum aid grant for firms with projects in developing countries, but no companies applied for the new big prize.

A seat at the OECD table for private foundations

Foundations see themselves as being more flexible, free of political cycles and more willing to take risks than traditional ODA providers. The OECD is reaching out a tentative hand.

Making peace with Swedish NGOs

The Foreign Ministry in Stockholm wants to establish a “compact” with Swedish civil society working in the development field as a way of structuring future dialogue with NGOs.

All-time low for Danish aid-financed export scheme

Denmark only approvedone aid-funded export contract last year under its mixed credit scheme, which hit an all-time low.

Sida gives SEK 120m in ‘bridge financing’ to EcoEnergy in Tanzania

The Swedish aid agency Sida will provide a credit guarantee worth SEK 120 million to the Swedish-owned company EcoEnergy for a sugar and ethanol production facility in Tanzania.

Opinions

Saving tropical forests turns out to be neither cheap nor quick

Waiting for the world to join in. ‘Rainforest billions’ keep flowing

Per Fredrik Pharo who heads the Norwegian Climate Forest Initiative calls for “patience and perseverance” in the audacious project of making REDD work on a global scale.

Editorial

Time to be ‘hands-on’ in forest initiative

The Norwegian rainforest initiative has become a holy cow in domestic politics with the new government pledging to continue funding the seven-year-old programme more or less unchanged until 2020.

WFP aims for funds from Gulf states

The world’s largest humanitarian agency WFP is striving to broaden its funding base among new donors like India and the Arab Gulf states.

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Quote: OECD reaches out to private foundations

“We are not saying that private philanthropy is better. But [being part of this network] is about sharing approaches with traditional donors ... The project mentality can introduce perverse incentives because if your project succeeds your funding will end. Development is not an event. It doesn’t happen in three-year cycles.”

- Stephen Nairne, Managing Director of Lundin Foundation, member of OECD network of foundations (NetFWD)

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