International Institute for Environment and Development
Encyclopedia
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is a London-based policy research centre and think tank.
in 1971. From small beginnings, when it was first backed by the industrialist Robert Anderson, Ward and her IIED team carried out research and lobbying work on a range of contemporary environment and development topics, using funds obtained from key donor organisations and occasionally from corporations and foundations. IIED continues to maintain a research and publication programme, and until 1986 it also ran Earthscan Publications, through which many of its books are still published.
Ward died from cancer in 1981, leaving the Institute to continue its mission. Other IIED Directors have been William Clark, Brian Walker, Richard Sandbrook (who also died of cancer in 2005), Nigel Cross, and currently Dr Camilla Toulmin, an economist and expert on development problems in African drylands
. In October 2008, The Independent cited Dr Toulmin as one of Britain's top 100 environmentalists.
IIED currently has 80 staff from 16 countries and an annual budget of £9 million. It maintains a smaller office in Edinburgh and formerly had outposts in Dakar (Senegal), Buenos Aires (Argentina)- from which developed an independent sister institution, IIED-America Latina - and also Washington DC (USA, until IIED North America merged with World Resources Institute
in 1988).
and social change. It is entirely independent, aiming to "...help shape a future that ends global poverty and delivers and sustains efficient and equitable management of the world's natural resources" (website, 2006).
IIED is generally acknowledged to be a successful organisation - its ideas are pragmatic and pro-poor, and it has reached the ears of major organisations including the World Bank
, the Department for International Development
of the UK government, and Scandinavian aid agencies like SIDA and DANIDA. For example a former staff member, Gordon Conway, was partly responsible with Robert Chambers for developing participatory rural appraisal, a suite of largely visual techniques widely used in international and community development to elicit public views and ideas. IIED's Environmental Economics programme helped to develop some of the first 'green accounting' and eco-taxation techniques now used in government and industry, while Richard Sandbrook lobbied some of the world's largest corporations to improve their environmental performance - notably in the mining sector.
These groupings have changed somewhat over the last thirty years, reflecting staff changes and the emergence of new environmental and development concerns.
History
IIED was established by the economist Barbara WardBarbara Ward
Barbara Mary Ward , in later life Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of the world and in the 1960s turned her attention to environmental...
in 1971. From small beginnings, when it was first backed by the industrialist Robert Anderson, Ward and her IIED team carried out research and lobbying work on a range of contemporary environment and development topics, using funds obtained from key donor organisations and occasionally from corporations and foundations. IIED continues to maintain a research and publication programme, and until 1986 it also ran Earthscan Publications, through which many of its books are still published.
Ward died from cancer in 1981, leaving the Institute to continue its mission. Other IIED Directors have been William Clark, Brian Walker, Richard Sandbrook (who also died of cancer in 2005), Nigel Cross, and currently Dr Camilla Toulmin, an economist and expert on development problems in African drylands
Drylands
Drylands is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Thea Astley. This novel shared the award with Benang by Kim Scott.-Awards:...
. In October 2008, The Independent cited Dr Toulmin as one of Britain's top 100 environmentalists.
IIED currently has 80 staff from 16 countries and an annual budget of £9 million. It maintains a smaller office in Edinburgh and formerly had outposts in Dakar (Senegal), Buenos Aires (Argentina)- from which developed an independent sister institution, IIED-America Latina - and also Washington DC (USA, until IIED North America merged with World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute is an environmental think tank founded in 1982 based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts,...
in 1988).
Vision
IIED is one of a small group of not-for-profit organisations which has provided core concepts and methods for thinking about sustainabilitySustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
and social change. It is entirely independent, aiming to "...help shape a future that ends global poverty and delivers and sustains efficient and equitable management of the world's natural resources" (website, 2006).
IIED is generally acknowledged to be a successful organisation - its ideas are pragmatic and pro-poor, and it has reached the ears of major organisations including the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
of the UK government, and Scandinavian aid agencies like SIDA and DANIDA. For example a former staff member, Gordon Conway, was partly responsible with Robert Chambers for developing participatory rural appraisal, a suite of largely visual techniques widely used in international and community development to elicit public views and ideas. IIED's Environmental Economics programme helped to develop some of the first 'green accounting' and eco-taxation techniques now used in government and industry, while Richard Sandbrook lobbied some of the world's largest corporations to improve their environmental performance - notably in the mining sector.
Research
Research and advocacy work at IIED is divided between Groups, each with their own individual and shared research portfolios. In 2008, these included:- Natural Resources – agriculture, biodiversity, drylands, forestry and water
- Climate Change - mitigation, adaptation and vulnerability (headed by Saleemul HuqSaleemul HuqSaleemul Huq is a Bangladeshi scientist based in London. He is a Senior Fellow in the Climate Change Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development. Huq was awarded the Burtoni Award in 2007 for his work on climate change adaptation....
) - Human Settlements – urban poverty, urban environment, rural-urban links
- Sustainable Markets – environment economics, corporate responsibility, regoverning markets, trade
- Governance – law, planning, global governance.
These groupings have changed somewhat over the last thirty years, reflecting staff changes and the emergence of new environmental and development concerns.