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Common Ground: International Expert on Population and Environment
During the week of the 18 -22 September 2007, Heather D’Agnes, an international expert on population and the environment, visited Canberra and Melbourne under the Common Ground Project to help raise awareness about the links between population, environment and development. Population-health-environment is an integrated approach to development that recognises that dealing with complex development priorities - such as poverty alleviation, environmental protection or food security - requires approaches that simultaneously link humans, their health, and their environments.
Heather, a Global Health Fellow with the Public Health Institute, serves as a Technical Adviser to the Population-Health-Environment (PHE) program at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the federal agency that provides U.S. foreign assistance to developing countries. In her position, Heather is primarily responsible for setting the program’s vision and direction, managing on-the-ground programs implemented by five partner organisations in nine countries, and providing technical guidance to organisations and other USAID offices on how to integrate population and environment in their ongoing activities. These projects are mainly implemented in countries with biodiversity hotspots, defined as the most species rich and endangered eco regions on Earth. They include Madagascar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Tanzania, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo among others.
Prior to her work at USAID, Heather developed civil society and local philanthropic capacity in Southeast Asia at The Asia Foundation and facilitated the development of the world’s future health leaders at the Population Leadership Program. Heather completed her Masters degrees in Marine Policy and Public Administration at the University of Washington. She gained in-depth experience in the population-health-environment field working with PATH Foundation Philippines on the Integrated Population and Coastal Resource Management Project (IPOPCORM). This project delivers family planning, reproductive health and coastal management and conservation services in an integrated fashion in 18 coastal municipalities throughout the Philippines. As an avid diver, Heather was drawn to this field by her love of tropical coral reefs and her realisation of the many different factors that must play into the conservation and protection of these natural treasures.
Heather made a great impression during her short visit to Australia.
Her vibrant personality and in-depth understanding of the population-environment-development
nexus won over even the greatest sceptics. In Canberra she spoke at the Australian
National University, to the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development
(PGPD), AusAID, the National Women’s Health Summit, the Australian Council
for International Development (ACFID) and to an NGO Forum in Melbourne. She
met with the Secretary for International Development Assistance, Mr Bob McMullan,
and Ms Kerrie Tucker from the Greens.
Heather’s presentations focussed on her work in the Philippines where
she assisted in integrating family planning with coastal management programs.
By integrating the two programs, better results were achieved in each case.
Men became more involved in family planning and women more so in management
of the local reef and fish stocks. The positive impact of integrating population
and environment activities was clearly demonstrated, and will contribute
to climate change efforts.
Links
Family planning to reduce emissions - article in The Australian Newspaper
Population and fishing problems 'tied together' - Interview on Connect
Asia (Radio Australia)
Transcript on Connect Asia
Family planning and global warming - Interview on Life Matters
Common Ground: Postcard Campaign
On the 18 July 2007 Common Ground launched its postcard campaign. We hope that
the postcard will help raise public awareness of the links between population,
environment and development as well as generate discussions on these issues.
Thanks to Avant Card’s part sponsorship the postcard will be free to the
public and displayed at a variety of prominent public venues in major cities
around the country. The postcard is also available as an e-card on the Avant
Card website under the month of July. Find out how you can help to support
holistic solutions to climate change that advance sustainable development
and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning initiatives
globally.
Take action
Help combat climate change
Support sexual and reproductive health initiatives internationally and locally
Apply an integrated approach to environment, population, voluntary
reproductive health, including family planning and development programs
You can also help by writing to the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith and the Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan demanding that Australia meets its commitment to increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of GDP by 2015, with a greater proportion of this assistance to be allocated to reproductive health, including voluntary family planning.
Stephen Smith: House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600 S.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au
Wayne Swan: House of Representatives, Parliament House Canberra, ACT 2600
W.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au
Common Ground: Visions Shared
This exhibition was organised by Common Ground and was launch
in Canberra by Senator Lyn Allison in August 2006.
Common Ground: visions shared is a thought provoking photographic exhibition
featuring photos from Timor-Leste & Papua
New Guinea focusing on the Millennium Development Goals.
The opening was very successful and proceeds from the raffle and sale
of the photos went to the Alola Foundation in Timor-Leste and the Eda
Mauri Charity in PNG.
To see the photographic exhibition online please click here.
Common Ground E-Newsletter
If you are interested in subscribing to the Common Ground e-newsletter
which contains all the latest news on population, environment and development
trends as well as useful links to articles, opinion pieces and reports
please go to our Contact Us page or email your details to info@commonground.org.au
Common Ground E-newsletter No. 6 December 2007
Women Deliver: A Global Movement
Women Deliver generated the resources and commitment to shift the global
agenda to support women’s health.
World Population Day 2007 – Men At Work
Men's involvement and participation can make all the difference in
women's lives
UNFPA State of World Population Report 2007
Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth
White Paper on Australia's Overseas Aid Program
" Australian
Aid: Promoting Growth and Stability"
-World in Transition: Fighting Poverty Through Environmental Policy
German Advisory Council on Global Change
Read more
UNFPA, New York 5 October 2005
Global efforts to "make poverty history" are
bound to fail if world leaders do not act now to end gender discrimination,
according to the State of World Population 2005 report by UNFPA, the United
Nations Population Fund. Unless they live up to promises made to the world’s
women and young people, these leaders will not be able to meet poverty reduction
goals agreed to at the 2000 Millennium Summit and reaffirmed at last month's
World Summit in New York. This year's report, The Promise of Equality: Gender
Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals, makes the
case for investing in women and young people, who are now the majority of
the world’s population.
Read more
UN World Summit, 14-16 September 2005
Outcome Document of UN World Summit 2005
UN Fact Sheet of outcomes of UN World Summit 2005
Australia's Statement at UN World Summit 2005
Asia Pacific Alliance Statement on UN World Summit
Despite a lack of reference to sexual and reproductive health “rights” or “services”, the outcome document adopted during the World Summit (New York, 14th-16th September) makes a clear link between reproductive health, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It also includes linkages to the Beijing Platform for Action for women.
Read more
World Summit Commits to Universal Access to Reproductive Health by
2015
Largest-Ever Gathering of Leaders Resolves to End Gender Discrimination;
Declares "Progress
for Women is Progress for All"
UNFPA Press Release, 19 September 2005
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Campaign 2008
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY is a massive public mobilisation across the world
to demand an end to poverty. The purpose of the campaign is to pressure
world leaders
to maintain commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, and other poverty
alleviation measures related to aid, trade and debt.
More information on MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Campaign Australia