Development and Cooperation


	Contributions from the Column Monitor Multistakeholder initiatives: No substitute for multilateral policy-marking Good evaluation grades for KfW Climate change: Germany supports poor countries Fighting corruption in the pharma trade In dealing with Iran old and new lines of conflict loom "Human Development Report 2006: Water crisis worse than war Corruption: The World Bank suspends Lahmeyer Asia on track for Millennium Goals 12/2006		Climate change: Germany supports poor countries At the conclusion of the Nairobi Conference on Climate Change in November the German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul stated that conference “has highlighted the degree to which many developing countries are already suffering today from the impact of the climate change. These issues must therefore remain at the top of the international community’s agenda and must not be lost in post-conference routine work.” Unless rich nations helped developing countries immedeately, future costs and economic damage would be all the more substantial in the future. “And this we must avoid, especially in view of the fact that the climate change has been triggered off not by the developing, but the industrial countries,” the minister said. Wieczorek-Zeul underlined that the preservation of forests is of crucial importance for climate protection. Germany would further expand cooperation with many developing countries in this field. “Preventing deforestation is active climate protection,” the minister said. Furthermore, Germany intends to use its development policy instruments to make it easier for developing countries to obtain access to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). According to the ministry, the Nairobi conference made it clear that many poor countries continue to lack the necessities for making use of this instrument to reduce CO2. In particular, there is little or no relevant legislation and sound project preparation. Africa, especially, is in urgent need of catching up. Of the 500 CDM projects registered so far, only three are located in Africa. (BMZ/ell)