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The global economic crisis has left many countries struggling with slow growth, stretched public finances and high levels of unemployment. In this economic context, it is not easy to keep environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources at the top of government policy priorities. Yet, we know that we simply cannot afford to relegate these challenges to a level of secondary importance. The planet’s ability to support sustainable lives for a fast-growing population is decreasing, while our demands on the planet are increasing at a rapid pace. We are on a collision course with nature!
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J. Brian Atwood was unanimously elected Chair of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee in January 2011. From 1993 to 1999, during the administration of President William Clinton, Mr. Atwood served as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Prior to this, he led the Transition Team at the State Department and was Under-Secretary of State for Management. During the administration of President Jimmy Carter, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations. In 1981-82, he was Dean of Professional Studies and Academic Affairs at the Foreign Service Institute. From 2002 until 2010, Mr. Atwood was Dean of the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Other prior positions include President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens International (1999-2002) and founding President of the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs (1985-93). In 2001, he served on United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Panel on Peace Operations. Mr. Atwood joined the Foreign Service in 1966 and served in the American Embassies in Ivory Coast and Spain. He served as legislative advisor for foreign and defense policy to Senator Thomas F. Eagleton (Democrat, Missouri) from 1972 to 1977. Mr. Atwood received the United States Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999 and the President’s Award for Outstanding Service from the University of Minnesota in 2011.
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The Development Co-operation Report 2012 comes at a critical moment for the planet. 2012 was the year that world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, came together in Rio de Janeiro to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection. Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development renewed the urgency of addressing pressing economic and environmental challenges – moving towards greener growth, and helping advance countries’ common aspirations towards sustainable development and poverty reduction.
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The 20th century American environmentalist John Muir said, Everything is connected to everything else. Yet while this is true in the natural world, it is sadly still not true in the policy world, which is subject to a diversity of views, objectives and competing agendas – particularly when it comes to environmental issues. If we are to achieve the common goal of sustainable development, more policy convergence is essential. This year’s Development Co-operation Report (DCR) explores the ideas and orientations of leaders, thinkers and pioneers in diverse public policy areas and disciplines who are contributing to connecting everything to everything else in this sphere as well.
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