Environmental risks contribute to 28 percent of Africa’s diseases

Unless Africa’s leaders prioritize environmental and health issues, and prevent the degradation of health-promoting food and medicinal plants, people’s health and productivity will continue to suffer, warns a new report released this week by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

 

“Africa’s population is growing at the fastest rate in the world and its economy is expanding at a commensurate rate, yet not enough focus has been placed on the role environmental concerns play in ensuring the well-being of this expanding, dynamic continent’s citizens,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

Environmental risks contribute to 28 percent of Africa’s diseases, according to the African Environment Outlook-3 (AEO-3). Diarrhoea, respiratory infections and malaria account for 60 per cent of known environmental health impacts in Africa.

Commissioned by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), a permanent forum that meets every two years, the report highlights emerging issues and trends related to the environment, and proposes policy changes at the national, regional and global levels.

Among its finding, the air pollutant ‘particulate matter’ is a threat in poor rural areas, where little access to cleaner stoves and fuels causes significant health impacts through indoor pollution. Air pollution throughout the continent can be up to 30 times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) limits.

Health-related risks in Africa come from agrochemicals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), chemical stockpiles, e-waste and petroleum waste, according to the report.

In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, the National Centre for Agronomical Research in Abidjan estimates that 65 per cent of the illnesses suffered by market gardeners, cotton growers, mango producers and consumers are due to pesticides.

The report also spotlights a lack of capacity to deal with the growing effects of climate change; inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene – in 2010, only 60 per cent of the sub-Saharan Africa population had access to safe water; and poor waste disposal practices.

Other issues highlighted include the negative impact of degradation of health-promoting goods and services such as food and medicinal plants made possible by land and marine biodiversity. For example, 80 per cent of Africa’s rural population depends on traditional medicines harvested from nature.

Climate change and variability impact human health because of Africa’s underdeveloped capacity to cope with the negative impacts. The report issued today provides policy changes that include incorporating climate-related scientific findings into decision making; building adaptive capacity; and strengthening early warning systems, preparedness and response.

The report “gives policy-makers a clear pathway to a sustainable and healthy future,” Mr. Steiner said.

“Africa is moving into a new phase that could see the continent become a major player in the transition to a global inclusive Green Economy, but to do that it needs a healthy population with guaranteed access to well-managed natural resources,” he added.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently signed an agreement with the East African Development Bank to increase participation in clean development projects. The agreement establishes a regional collaboration centre in Kampala, Uganda, that will support the identification of projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), provide assistance for their design, and offer opportunities to reduce transaction costs.

According to UNFCCC, there are more than 6,000 projects already registered in 83 developing countries.

However, today’s report cautions that in addition to new projects, there are already many good policies to address environmental change on the books; the challenge lies in their implementation.

“These policies must be strongly implemented to have an impact, and enforcement mechanisms should be put in place and strengthened to reduce the negative consequences,” said Terezya Huvisa, Minister of State – Environment of Tanzania and President of AMCEN.

“If the recommendations in AEO-3 are followed, our citizens can look forward to healthier, and ultimately more productive, lives.”

Environmental risks contribute to 28 percent of Africa’s diseases

Analysis: CITES four decades on

By  Kate Mayberry, Aljazeera.com

The convention has been combating wildlife crime for forty years, but critics say it still has much work to do.

Four decades ago, the world adopted a new trading regime. It didn't cover agriculture, manufacturing or finance, but one of the world's most finite riches: its biodiversity. The officials meeting that day in 1973 hoped that by regulating the commercial trade in animals and plants, they could help secure the survival of some of the world's most iconic species.

As the meeting of the 177 members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday approaches, the successes and failures of that approach are becoming clear.

"CITES was set up 40 years ago with the best of intentions," said Mary Rice, Executive Director of the Environmental Investigation Agency in London. "But the landscape of everybody's world is now so different from what it was back then. I don't think that anyone 40 years ago had any idea that we would be dealing with anything like this scale of wildlife crime."

In a landmark report in December, the World Wide Fund for Nature estimated the illegal trade in wildlife to be worth as much as $26.bn a year - a figure lower than that associated with drugs, people trafficking and counterfeiting, but with a reputation as a "low risk, high reward" venture.

"2013 is the 40th anniversary of CITES and it will be a critical year for the world's wildlife," Secretary General John Scanlon wrote in a statement ahead of the meeting. "CITES is where the 'rubber hits the road'."

Some 35,000 species are now listed under the CITES trading regime. Appendix I is the strictest, preventing the trade of some of the world's most endangered species, while Appendix II and III are more flexible. 

Delegates in Bangkok will consider 70 proposals by 55 countries on species including sharks, timber, African elephants and rhinos.

Dr Colman O'Criodain is the WWF's policy analyst on the international wildlife trade and has followed CITES closely. "The convention's had a mixed record," he told Al Jazeera by phone from Geneva. "Things are immeasurably better than they would have been without it, but where it hasn't always worked it comes down to the governments. We talk about CITES as a cohesive organisation, but it's made up of 177 countries and it's as good or bad as they want to be collectively."

Fraught procedure

The Convention's Conference of Parties is held every three years - the last was in Doha - and is attended by senior government officials, more than 50 conservation groups, trading associations and others with a stake in the industry. Discussions and voting are often fraught, with allegations of vested interests and politicking.

A proposal on the table in Bangkok, which is backed by the European Union, aims to make the process more accountable and transparent by tightening rules on the use of secret ballots. Another proposal aims to ensure all nominees to CITES influential plant and animals committees, which are supposed to provide convention members with independent and sound scientific advice in order to make a "declaration of interests".

Although CITES itself now employs three law enforcement experts, officers from the member countries who are critical to the Convention's success in fighting environmental crime, are absent.

The laws related to CITES are notoriously complicated. The three appendices afford different levels of protection and are designed to mirror the threats posed by trade to a species' existence. In Appendix II, for instance, species bred in captivity may be traded even though ones caught in the wild cannot be. Then there are the national laws of Appendix III that can create loopholes that criminals are only too willing to exploit.

African elephants and rhinos, once touted as the world's, and CITES, biggest success stories after the imposition of strict regulations on their trade, are again in crisis.

Under Thai law, the sale of ivory from domestic elephants is legal. The WWF says that's helped make the country into one of the world's biggest hubs for black market ivory with a "massive amount" of illegal African ivory laundered through local shops where tourists are among the most enthusiastic buyers. Some 30,000 elephants are now being killed for their tusks each year.

A record 668 South African rhinos were killed for their horn last year amid rampant demand for their horn in Vietnam where it has been touted as a cure for cancer. Traffickers have also exploited laws that allow some animals to be hunted. The horn now sells on the black market for about $60,000 a kilo.

John Sellar headed the enforcement unit at CITES for 14 years. He says part of the problem is that wildlife crime has been near the bottom of countries' list of security problems for too many years. Billions of dollars have been pumped into the "war on drugs" and the "war on terror", leaving wildlife traffickers free to grow and expand their businesses, sometimes with the collusion of corrupt officers in the police, customs or other areas of enforcement.

The multitude of CITES laws and regulations that now govern the environmental trade is supposed to ensure, in CITES own words, that any trade is "sustainable, legal and traceable". But Sellar says valuable leads and intelligence are too often lost through sloppy policing while the lack of co-operation at both the national and international level makes it hard for the Convention to fulfil that ambition.

"Al Capone didn't go to jail because he was found guilty of being a gangster," Sellar said. "He went to jail for not paying his taxes. We have got to be more imaginative. We are picking off the small fry, but that's not good enough."

Addressing the problems
The Partnership against Transnational Crime through Regional Organised Law Enforcement (PATROL) hopes to address some of the problems. Co-ordinated by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime and funded partly by CITES, the course aims to educate police, border officials and others about the dangers of transnational crime and the best ways to combat smuggling.

In Trat, four hours to the east of Bangkok and close to the Cambodian border, Thai enforcement officers learn not only how to track and investigate drug smugglers and human traffickers but also those trying to make a fortune from the illegal wildlife trade. The training includes classroom sessions on identifying wildlife as well as simulated exercises on crucial skills such as tailing suspects, securing a crime scene and handling informants.

But it's not just a question of enforcement; demand has to be addressed too. Acknowledging the United States position as the world's second biggest destination for illegal wildlife, and the role that demand plays in fuelling the illegal trade, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed in December that the US government would make the purchase of endangered species or their products unacceptable. "We want friends to tell friends they don't want friends who ingest, display or otherwise use products that come from endangered species anywhere in the world," she said at the time.

NGOs say CITES should take a similar stance with its members and be prepared to use the sanctions or trade penalties at its disposal against those who do not comply.

"It's trade at any costs," said EIA's Rice. "There needs to be a step back and an assessment of what's in front of us. If CITES doesn't act responsibly, we are going to see the demise of some of our most iconic species."

As well as Thailand, WWF is calling on Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo to ban the ivory trade, while EIA estimates as much as 90 percent of the ivory sold in China is illegal.

Conservation groups are also looking for more pressure on Vietnam to curb demand for rhino horns.

"Now, after four decades of existence, it is time for the CITES Parties to reaffirm in an open forum that CITES is a conservation treaty and that its fundamental aim remains 'to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival'," wrote Azzedine Downes, the President and CEO of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, in an opinion piece for Al Jazeera. "Without such a reaffirmation of its purpose and aim, CITES could lose its true course and, along with it, its ability to meet effectively the very purpose it was established to achieve."

Analysis: CITES four decades on

Growing Demand for Medicinal Plants Can Create Green Jobs for Nepal's Poor - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP News Centre, February 28, 2013

The growing global demand for medicinal and aromatic plants could help drive Nepal's green economy, while improving livelihoods in its poorest communities, according to a new study released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the Government of Nepal. 

The report, BioTrade: Harnessing the potential for transitioning to a green economy - The Case of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Nepal, analyzes the country's BioTrade sector and, specifically, its trade in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs), which are often grown in the country's poorest regions. 

Nepal is home to about 700 species of medicinal plants, about 250 of which are endemic to the country. This vast haven of biodiversity presents opportunities in commodity BioTrade (essential oils and plants extracts, natural ingredients for cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, native fruits for juice, wine and jam), trade in goods (bamboo products, gums and resins, spices and flavours, dyes and tans, natural pesticides, wild mushrooms and health foods), and services (ecotourism). 

Today, more than 100 types of MAPs are harvested in Nepal and traded in international markets. In 2008, the recorded value of the exported MAPs was around USD 3 million, and by 2009, it had increased to USD 9.8 million. 

"The growing global demand for natural and environmentally-friendly products today, speaks of the vast potential of BioTrade to contribute to the strengthening of the country's economy and rural livelihoods," said Lal Mani Joshi, Secretary of Nepal's Ministry of Commerce and Supplies. 

Given Nepal's high degree of biodiversity, the study confirmed the country's significant potential to develop its BioTrade sector. The study focuses on the cultivation, processing and trade of high-value MAPs, which are found in the forests and grasslands of the mountains in the northern part of the country. 

"By harvesting these plants sustainably, and improving their value-added activity so collectors receive a fair share of the profits, the trade could contribute to social equity, environmental conservation and economic prosperity," said UNEP Programme Officer Asad Naqvi, who oversaw the study. 

However, the report also cites the challenges of developing a sustainable trade in MAPs, including the lack of value-added activity and quality control mechanisms. MAPs are currently sold through long marketing channels with high transaction costs and most of the value-added processes in the production chain occur outside of Nepal. 

In addition, inadequate infrastructure, such as limited access to electricity, transportation facilities, water and technology, results in a lack of productive capacity and hampers developing the trade in MAPs.

The report makes several recommendations to assist policymakers, development agencies and entrepreneurs in developing the country's BioTrade in MAPs in a responsible and sustainable manner.

For example, the report cites a need for: 

- An inventory system, with regular updating, to provide much needed information on the stock of available resources and how much can be sustainably harvested.

- Appropriate technologies for transforming Nepali raw materials into value-added products.

- Well-equipped laboratories to test plants and products in order to meet sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) requirements and provide easy access to lucrative international markets.

- Implementation of appropriate policies that facilitate adequate incentives for entrepreneurs to promote and encourage formal trade in MAPs. 

The study is part of Capacity Building for BioTrade (CBBT) project, which is implemented by UNEP with financial support from GIZ, and has conducted similar studies in Namibia and Peru. 

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Forestry and Soil Conservation, and National Planning Commission of Nepal also contributed to this study.

Press Releases February 2013 - Growing Demand for Medicinal Plants Can Create Green Jobs for Nepal's Poor - United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Nepal Micro-Hydro

UNEP’s Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum highlights a way forward after Rio

By Kimbowa Richard, Regional Coordinator (LVEMPII CS Watch Project c/o Uganda Coalition for Sustainable Development)

The United Nations Environment Programme’s fourteenth Global Major Groups and Stakeholders Forum (GMGSF.14) was held from 16^th to 17^th February 2012 in Nairobi. The GMGSF.14 was in preparation for the twenty seventh session of the Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF) of the UNEP to be from 18^th to 22^nd February 2013.

The GMGSF.14 aimed to create a platform for Major Groups and Stakeholders and Governments to exchange views on their respective positions and perspectives regarding implementing Rio+20 especially on  commitment to have a strengthened environmental pillar of sustainable development; and implementing a green economy as an important tool for achieving sustainable development.

With the dust from Rio+20 now settled, the time for implementation had now begun. While not everyone was pleased with the results in Rio in June 2012, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development did agree to potentially far-reaching actions to strengthen the environmental agenda, among them a commitment to strengthen UNEP as the leading global environmental authority.

This year’s GMGSF.14 and the Governing Council meeting marked the first test of the international community’s resolve to follow through on this commitment. Appropriately, the meeting was organized around the theme: “Rio+20: From Outcome to Implementation.”

The meeting highlighted opportunities for civil society to engage in implementation of the Rio + 20 Outcome Document: The Future We Want, as well as linking sustainable development to the ongoing Post 2015 development planning.

Opportunity: Para 88 of the Rio + 20 outcome document

Tomoko Nishimoto (UNEP Director, Division of Regional Cooperation) in her opening remarks noted that para 88 of the Rio + 20 outcome document (The Future We Want) that commits Partners to ‘...strengthen the role of UNEP as the leading global environmental authority that sets the global agenda and promoting coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the UN….’, was a historical moment. She added that the expeditious resolution by the Un General Assembly (New York, December 2012) to implement this shows the level of commitment by the international community towards global environmental management.

She noted that this commitment implies universal membership of the Governing Council of Governing Council/ Global Ministerial Environment Forum. Hence the GMGSF.14 was the last one in its present form, as future ones will have universal membership (no limit to geographical boundaries).

From Governing Council to Environmental Assembly

Jürgen Friedrich from UNEP’s Division for Environmental Law and Conventions presented options associated with strengthening of UNEP, including: renaming its Governing Council as an “Environment Assembly” to reflect its universal membership; integrating high-level sessions into the Governing Council; expanding the Bureau; organizing a “Global Conference on the State of the Planet; and the strengthening of intersessional work. Civil Society has the opportunity to participate in agenda setting; policy shaping; and implementation. In this regard the GMGSF.14 put forward a draft set of Principles of Civil Society Participation in UNEP. 

The GC/GMEF  took a decision to change turn itself from a Governing Council to the “UN Environment Assembly of UNEP,”  that in effect reflects the intent of delegates to enhance UNEP’s status. A similar decision was taken to discontinue the GMEF and, instead, convene a high-level segment at the end of each assembly that reflects a desire to confer higher status upon GC decisions. “What we have now is simply a ministerial talk-shop in parallel to where the substantial decisions are taken,” said one delegate as quoted by IISD Reporting Services.

Post 2015 Development planning: How far is the process being owned?

Amina J. Mohammed, Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning, briefed the GMGSF.14 participants on the UN work streams towards post-2015. She emphasized the importance of civil society engagement in the post-2015 processes under eleven consultations around themes ranging from health and education to equality, governance, energy, environment, and conflict and security as well as ongoing conferences on inequalities, migration, biodiversity, trade and other issues. 

In the ensuing discussion, participants raised: the possibility of a treaty on human rights and the environment; complementarity of post-2015 processes with national sustainable development strategies; and translating the multilateral process to be relevant for grassroots communities. 

Despite the national level dialogues already scheduled or held in 74 countries, the thematic consultations and an online global conversation through social media, that is supposed to reach very large audiences, the post 2015 Development planning process has not been felt at the sub national levels (for example local authorities) where its ownership is paramount ahead of implementation of the final outcome. 

The relevance of this is the lesson learnt in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where a lot of time was spent in the initial years after adoption to raise awareness (in East Africa) instead of right away getting to implementation.

Annual dialogue with UNEP Executive Director

During this session, the UNEP Executive Director - Achim Steiner highlighted that citizens and Governments need one another in addressing the current sustainable development challenges (food, fuel, climate, economic, political, and security crises).

‘Lack of progress, irreconcilable positions should be seen as strength rather than a constraint’, the UNEP Executive Director emphasized in relation to the need for working together at all levels.

Noting rapid progress in implementation of the decision to strengthen UNEP, Steiner encouraged civil society to take advantage of new opportunities for agenda setting, including consideration of how UNEP’s rules of procedure should be rewritten.

Achim Steiner also reiterated that UNEP has the mandate to implement Para 88 (h) of the Rio + 20 Outcome document on ‘..ensuring the active participation of all relevant stakeholders drawing on best practices and models from relevant multilateral institutions and exploring new mechanisms to promote transparency and effective engagement of civil society..’

Among many issues, participants discussed with Steiner the role of UNEP in behavior change; the lack of coherence between international and national levels in seeking access to environmental justice; and concerns over biofuels and forest policy.

Five ongoing processes after the Rio + 20 Conference

A number of processes have been launched after Rio that should be of interest to civil society members and partners, depending on their expertise and interest. These include:

- The 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) as contained in the A/CONF.216/5 document… (paragraph 226, “The Future we Want”; Rio+20 Outcome Document)  The 10YFP is a very concrete and operational outcome of Rio+20: http://bit.ly/YkxKFM

-   Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication (para 56 - 74, The Future we Want”; Rio+20 Outcome Document). A new partnership on this has been launched: Partnership for Action on Green Economy, or PAGE, is a response to the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) PAGE will support 30 countries over the next seven years in building national green economy strategies that will generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental risks and poverty.   

-    Sustainable Development Goals and linkage to the post 2015 development framework with the Open Working Group on the UN general Assembly now constituted and has started work

-    Campaign for People's Goals for Sustainable Development Statement  that is seeking sign ups from more CSOs across the world

-    The People’s Summit outcomes: implementation
 

Green growth for sustainable development in Africa

Source: DACnews February 2013

Green growth represents a necessity and an opportunity for advancing Africa’s development in a manner that is not only sustainable, but also more equitable than today’s approaches. Green growth can support inclusive economic growth that improves the environment as well as the health and wealth of the population. Based on country priorities and experiences, policymakers have identified key actions to promote green growth:

• Advance a long-term vision for national development: In Africa, green growth needs to meet priority short-term needs, including unemployment – particularly among the young – and poverty and inequality across class and gender. In the long-term, green growth should help to meet Africa’s infrastructure deficit, connect it to markets worldwide and regionally, and support the greening of growing cities.
• Secure high-level political will and stakeholder engagement: High-level political buy-in is essential for promoting green growth and enabling sustainable development, but this should be anchored in increased citizen engagement – building ownership, trust and confidence across stakeholder groups – and with the involvement of the private sector.
• Review development options in the light of environmental and socio-economic changes: Green growth policies need to build on environmental indicators and information that reflects the environmental costs of economic growth and the value of natural resources. Trends and policy options should be carefully assessed to inform policy choices. For example, South Africa uses environmental indicators as criteria for infrastructure investments; Mauritius has introduced a tax on plastic and fuel products; Rwanda has banned plastic bags.
• Broaden international financing avenues while supporting local financing mechanisms: External and domestic financing are both needed to support green growth. While ODA flows for environmental protection have increased, climate change ODA to date has predominantly supported mitigation, whereas there is a chronic need in African countries for adaption. This suggests a need to better target green ODA to the needs of countries. To help finance green growth, Rwanda, Mauritius and South Africa have established innovative green funds financed from tax revenue and drawing on private-sector resources.
• Focus on programmatic rather than project-based solutions: This implies an emphasis on enhanced cross-sector collaboration, with a systemic approach to integrating environmental concerns into sector and structural policies (e.g. skills development and training programmes).

These conclusions emerged from a joint OECD/AFDB Workshop – “Green Growth in Africa: Concepts, Tools and Strategies for Building Greener Economies and a Sustainable Future” – held in Lusaka, Zambia 15-18 January. Organised in partnership with the Government of Zambia and the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the workshop brought together numerous African policymakers to examine the green growth opportunities and challenges for the continent.

Development Co-operation Directorate (DCD-DAC) - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Forget post-2015 development goals – a global new deal is what's needed

By Richard Kozul-Wright and Jayati Ghosh, The Guardian (UK)

 
Finance-led globalization has failed – which is our cue to forget about setting targets and adopt a development-led approach

Many familiar problems were raised at the Liberia meeting of the UN high-level panel tasked with drafting global post-2015 development goals: extreme poverty, lack of productive employment, environmental degradation and growing inequality. But these big questions are still being met with small answers, suggesting that the international community remains in the wrong frame of mind to meet such major challenges.

A recent Guardian editorial noted how "small", "technocratic" and "fragmented" the discussion within the international development community has become. But it missed a major reason for this: the continued but misplaced faith in "market fundamentalism". This adds to the perception that globalisation is an irresistible force beyond the control of governments, a process driven by countless invisible hands, infallible business acumen and continuous technological revolution, and reaching its zenith with the unleashing of finance.

Over the past three decades, open markets and global capital were supposed to raise savings, bolster investment, create jobs and spread new technologies; this would release a tidal wave of economic prosperity, above all in the poorest countries. But finance-led globalisation has not lived up to its billing: debt-riven global growth has trended downward, capital formation has been sluggish, and recurrent crises have destroyed jobs and threatened livelihoods, even as those at the very top enjoyed soaring incomes. Some big emerging economies have enjoyed sustained and even rapid growth, but it is no longer credible to think deregulated markets, financial engineering or shareholder value will deliver inclusive economic growth.

Business as usual simply will not work any more. The UN has recognised this in its call for a new post-2015 development agenda. But to move the agenda forward, some hard truths will need to be recognised. There is a good deal more to development than poverty reduction. Simply adding human rights, peace and security – however important these challenges are – will not necessarily point things in the right direction. However understandable, devoting attention to those at the bottom has resulted in insufficient attention being paid to those at the top with access to the resources needed to drive investment and create jobs.

Development is less about deprivation and more about transformation – structural, institutional and normative – in ways that add to a country's wealth-creating potential, ensuring the gains are widely shared and extending the possibilities of future generations. For most developing countries, that still means building industrial capacity, providing secure livelihoods for rapidly growing urban populations, and guaranteeing food security.

David Cameron's calls for eradicating extreme poverty and more responsible capitalism are well-intentioned. But his call to use aid to strengthen the "golden thread" of open markets misses the point, ignoring the strategies that have actually worked in successful developing countries over the past half century, where the state plays an active role in mobilising resources and disciplining their use.

President Obama's inaugural address, which recognised that a successful economy mixes dynamic entrepreneurial effort with effective collective action and a strong social contract, provides a more reliable compass. Success, he insisted, does not follow "when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it".

Making inequality part of the development policy agenda has already gained traction. But to make lasting progress, it will be necessary to move beyond MDG-style targets and instead consider a global new deal allowing different economic strategies providing benefits for all.

To start with, rebalancing the global economy should follow an expansionary macroeconomic path based on productive employment generation and shifting labour to higher value-added activities in developing countries. The rising threats posed by food and energy insecurity and environmental degradation require a strong investment response, which must necessarily be led by public action. International institutions should support countercyclical fiscal policy and public investment by making adequate funding available and attaching fewer conditions to their lending.

Second, unruly markets, especially financial markets, must be tamed. Even before the crisis, it was clear that stable and inclusive development is incompatible with speculative market behaviour and boom-and-bust cycles. Finance everywhere needs to get back to the business of providing security for people's savings and mobilising resources for productive investment. At the international level, that means promoting capital controls (something the IMF now seems ready to do), implementing a financial transaction tax (something the EU is now actively pursuing), and designing a sovereign debt workout mechanism that deals fairly with lenders and borrowers alike (a long-standing Unctad proposal).

Finally, growth is unlikely to be inclusive without effective measures for redistribution. Strengthening the position of labour to ensure wages match productivity growth is central, along with asset redistribution to prevent excessive concentration. Policies of universal social protection (including basic income policies) can help repair the social contract. Along with humanitarian aid for the poorest and most vulnerable, the international community needs to guarantee adequate policy space for countries to develop measures relevant to their own contexts.

The challenge in building such development-led globalisation is not so much the shortage of big ideas but their scaling up through international collective action. Current arrangements cannot serve this purpose, and have already lost legitimacy. A small number of economic powers, home to the world's largest corporations and financial institutions, continue to exercise a controlling influence at the IMF and the World Bank, driving negotiations at the World Trade Organisation and on the climate challenge. This dominance is no longer assured, but conditions for stable international economic co-operation remain elusive. Only a global new deal can help build the levels of trust needed to tackle shared problems and broaden the scope for effective development partnerships

Forget post-2015 development goals – a global new deal is what's needed