Perspectives in International Development Seminar Series
COVID-19 has challenged existing frameworks on economic development and the role of public policy in transforming societies. Few development experts imagined the depth and breadth of the crisis that the world is facing today. There is hardly any aspect of our social and economic system that has not been shackled or halted by the pandemic. For most development practitioners, the temptation has been to resolve the immediate health crisis, and the short-term problems of jobs creation and income generation. The objective of securing the long-term basis of wealth – environmental assets – is out the window. However, we can take inspiration from the stories of those in Africa, whose lives have been changed by COVID-19. To build better and stronger economies and societies, a new conversation is needed. This talk takes a wide-angle look at the COVID-19 economic recovery process by exploring the tension between economic development and environmental stewardship.
About the presenter
Maxwell Gomera is the Resident Representative for United Nations Development Program in Rwanda. Previously he was director of the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services Branch of the United Nations Environment Program. He has over two decades of experience in biodiversity, wildlife management, and socioeconomic development, having worked in various capacities with natural resource management institutions in Africa. Gomera has been deputy director of the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an executive assistant at the UN Environment Program in Nairobi, and project manager for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. He was on the UN Environment team that produced the report Global Green New Deal, elements of which influenced investments in sustainable industries such as renewable energy within the G20 and more broadly. He is a Natural Resource Economist with a Master’s degree from the University of Western Australia and a BSc Honours degree from University of Zimbabwe. Follow him on Twitter at @GomeraM
About the seminar series
The "Perspectives in International Development Seminar Series" is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science.
Date & Time
December 2, 2020
12:40 pm - 1:30 pm
More information about this event.
Contact Information
Sarah Day
- sd756 [at] cornell.edu
Speaker
Maxwell Gomera
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