Displacement

Money is pouring into Africa, but where is it landing? Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/5094797180/lightbox/"> World Bank (Flickr)</a>

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Does African investment only help the investors?

Some African communities are realizing the recent surge in international investment isn't all good news.

With just a few simple materials, a community can map boundaries and see how they fit within the larger city. Photo courtesy "Design With the Other 90%: CITIES"

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Portland hosts the West Coast Premier of "Design With the Other 90%: CITIES"

Of the world’s 7 billion people, 1 billion now live in urban slums.

NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof faces criticism that his coverage of war, poverty and violence is detrimental for Africa. Photo:Henry McInnes/Sunday Mail for Mercy Corps

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Twitter debate questions media’s impact on Africa’s prosperity

Social services provided by aid agencies at refugee camps just outside the Myanmar border should not be ended too swiftly, or returning populations won't be ready to access new opportunities that may await them. Photo: Jacqueline M. Koch for Mercy Corps

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Reform in Myanmar brings growth but needs caution

Reforms and investment are opening new doors and promising growth for Myanmar. But what’s exciting for some Burmese and the West brings a downside for many refugees.

The World Bank is accused of helping foreign companies to purchase productive land in Africa and Asia. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/planeteavendre/5505956967/in/photostream/">Planète à Vendre (Flickr)</a>

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Groups claim World Bank aids land grabs

Development aid is meant to support marginalized populations. But sometimes that aid can hurt the very people it was intended to help.

Failure to adapt to global climate change led to unrest across the Arab World. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/6argoo3a/6253592631/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Saleem-Homsi (Flickr)</a>

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How climate change puts the heat on governments

Incompetent, unjust governance by some of the Middle East’s worst despots brewed a recipe for disaster before the Arab Spring, but it took climate change to turn up the heat.

<a href="http://www.mercycorps.org/photoessay/landownershipyieldsstrongerhealthiercommunities">View the full Guatemala photo essay. By Jamie Grant for Mercy Corps.</a>

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More than an argument, land conflicts stall economic growth

As battles over land rights increase and intensify, development stalls.

Deals between African governments and foriegn companies are pushing small farmers off their land. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gatesfoundation/5791348682/in/photostream">The Gates Foundation (Flickr)</a>

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Invest in farmers - not land grabs

In the race to buy up African land, small farmers may be the biggest losers.

Former President Mohammed Nasheed of the Maldives has been a vocal advocate for action against climate change. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/presidencymaldives/5163835114/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Presidency Maldives (flickr)</a>

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A climate warrior deposed: Maldives coup could sink more than a presidency

Last month’s coup in the Maldives cost the country more than just its president. It may also have lost one of the world’s most outspoken advocates for climate change adaptation.

Finding prime locations to generate solar energy in India is one application of innovative mapping technology. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hjl/54928934/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Photo: hjl (flickr)</a>

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Seeking prosperity? More often than ever, there's a map for that

New mapping innovations are helping communities around the world make their way toward relief and opportunity.

An oil pipeline to Canada's untapped Tar Sands deposits would create short-term construction jobs, but its effects on the climate could permanently destroy jobs elsewhere. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickz/2113212191/">rickz (Flickr)</a>

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Diffusing a carbon bomb: tapping Canadian tar sands would hit Africa’s poor hardest

Earth to Big Oil: On a global scale, The Keystone XL pipeline would probably kill more jobs than it creates.

Women in Kenya drag jerry cans of water 4 kilometers through a parched landscape. Photo by Erin Gray/Mercy Corps.

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The East Africa drought: forecasting for humanitarian aid

How bad is the drought and famine in East Africa? Climate scientist Simon Mason elaborates in this video interview.

Informal trash collectors may gain "green" jobs in the formal sector with the closure of the world's largest trash dump. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/associationbasmati/2885924570/"> basmati - authentic help (flickr)</a>

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Diverting garbage to a recycling plant leaves out a key player: dump dwellers

Does your old lunch bag go in the garbage or the recycle bin? For hundreds of thousands of garbage scavengers worldwide who make a meager living by collecting, recycling and reselling trash, that decision is worth its weight in cash.