Australian aid and Cambodia’s troubled rail project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a damning Compliance Panel Review (CPR) report of a controversial railway redevelopment project in Cambodia, which was supported by Australian aid.

Activists have long challenged the project’s forced resettlement of thousands of poor families who had made makeshift homes along disused railway tracks, alleging inadequate compensation, threats, harassment, inadequate facilities at resettlement sites and adverse impacts on livelihoods.

The CPR report [pdf], released on Friday, agreed with many of these concerns and found that the project was non-compliant with a number of ADB safeguards.

Read the full story on the Devpolicy Blog.

Policy brief: A parliamentary committee on aid? Issues and options

Screen shot 2013-11-24 at 12.19.28 AMParliamentary committee inquiries into the Australian aid program over the last decade have been few and far between, even as the aid program has grown massively. A parliamentary committee or subcommittee could improve parliamentary oversight of the Australian aid program and deliver a number of benefits.

I co-authored a policy brief with Stephen Howes on this topic for the Development Policy Centre in November 2013.

Download policy brief [pdf].

Read blog post.

Why we need to talk about periods: menstrual hygiene management in development practice

Women and girls have obviously been coping with menstruation for a long time without the aid of fantastic plastic convenience. They make do, using cloth rags or other methods like straw, leaves, newspapers, mud or ash, slipping out of the home at night time to bury used rags in the dirt or finding private places to wash and hang them out to dry.

Read the full post on the Devpolicy Blog.

This post was also republished by Magdalene Indonesia.

(Photo credit: Echawalu Photography)

CIFOR annual report 2012: The changing face of forestry

From September 2012-March 2013 I compiled, set the direction for and wrote the majority of the text for the 2012 CIFOR Annual Report, titled ‘The Changing Face of Forestry”.

Download PDF here.

View HTML version here.

Examples of my stories in the Annual Report:

Scoping out solutions for Zambia’s charcoal trade

Increasing women’s participation in community forest management in Nicaragua

Emerging trade, emerging trends: Examining China’s engagement with Africa

New research agenda for West Africa’s forests

SWEDOW cows and rotting apricots: bad food aid proposals gaining support of MPs

Just as the US is pushing to reform its long criticised food aid program, Queensland graziers and Victorian stonefruit growers are calling on the Australian government to purchase and send surplus livestock and agricultural products to developing countries in the name of ‘helping’ – and their idea is being backed by some federal MPs.

Ashlee Betteridge writes on why these suggestions are such a bad idea for aid effectiveness.

Read blog.

Asian Development Bank defies G20 — China Daily, AsiaOne, East Asia Forum, AFR

There’s a strong and welcome trend toward appointing the leaders of major international organisations through competitive processes-except in Asia.

The Asian Development Bank, whose president has just stepped down to head Japan’s central bank, looks set to appoint its new president just as it has always done: in a hurry, behind closed doors, without competition, and from Japan.

Opinion piece by Stephen Howes, Robin Davies and Ashlee Betteridge from the Development Policy Centre on a lack of transparency in the leadership selection process at the Asian Development Bank.

Full piece published in AsiaOne Business, China Daily, East Asia Forum and the Australian Financial Review.