Advisory - Economist Paul Collier to Speak on the environment and the 'Bottom
Billion'

OTTAWA, May 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Restoring environmental order and eradicating global poverty have become the two defining challenges of our era. In his latest book, The Plundered Planet: Why We Must - and How We Can - Manage Nature for Global Prosperity, renowned British economist Paul Collier confronts the global mismanagement of nature and reveals how natural resource exploitation affects not only the bottom billion, but also the rest of the world. Collier will be in Ottawa May 27 to examine the tension between the restoration of the natural order and the fight against poverty, in particular, how the outcome may affect people in the developing world.

    
    When: Thursday, May 27, 2010, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
    Where: National Gallery of Canada, Auditorium, 380 Sussex Drive
    

Collier is Professor of Economics and director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford. From 1998 to 2003 he was director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He is the author of two other books, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, published in 2007, and Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, published in 2009. He has been writing a monthly column for the Independent, and also writes for the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His research covers the causes and consequences of civil war, the effects of aid, and the problems of democracy in low-income societies that are rich in natural resources.

Collier's lecture is the fourth in the Speakers of Renown series, which will be held throughout 2010 to mark IDRC's 40th anniversary. Journalists and the public can join in the conversation through Twitter (No.IDRC) and Facebook. Upcoming headliners include South Africa's Trevor Manuel, who went from anti-apartheid activist to one of the forces that made that country's economy one of the most robust in Africa; Chile's former President Ricardo Lagos, whose research was supported by IDRC at a time when intellectuals were being targeted by the Pinochet dictatorship; and Rima Khalaf Hunaidi, one of the leading voices on development in the Arab world.

The event is open to the media. French and English simultaneous interpretation is available. Spaces are limited and journalists are encouraged to register by calling Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé at 613-696-2343 or e-mailing at [email protected].

For more information and the live webcast, visit www.idrc.ca/events-collier.

About IDRC

Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is one of the world's leading institutions in the generation and application of new knowledge to meet the challenges of international development. For 40 years, IDRC has worked in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

For further information: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé, Senior Media Advisor, IDRC, [phone], [email protected]