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Mesoamerica renews push towards integration

October 25, 2010
The presidents of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic will meet tomorrow, Oct. 26, in Cartagena, Colombia at the XII Summit of the Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialogue and Coordination. The heads of state will be informed of the progress made by the Mesoamerica Project in terms of regional integration and will decide further courses of action.

Central America's integration is in full swing

July 21, 2010
In late July, the first substation of the Central American Electrical Interconnection System (SIEPAC) is opening in Costa Rica. A week later, the substation in Panama will be ready to operate. Towers, lines and cables are already in place, so the southern section of the nascent Central American electricity market will soon be a reality. PAC53 - Road from La Chorrera to Arraijan, in Panama.

From visitors to tourists

March 14, 2010
With the booming Cali as its business center, amazing natural beauty at short distances, a rich historic heritage and a variety of cultural attractions, the Cauca Valley attracts millions of Colombians from other regions every year. The problem is that almost all of them are visitors, not tourists.

Mesoamerica Advances

July 29, 2009
The regional integration initiative known as Proyecto Mesoamérica is gaining momentum. It was a central item on the agenda of the XI Cumbre de Tuxla (an annual summit of regional heads of state), which concluded in Costa Rica today. Last week news reports focused on a proposed multimodal transportation strategy to improve the region’s competitiveness. And last June, the IDB announced the second phase of a project known as Tránsito Internacional de Mercancía, which will introduce a unified customs system for use on the borders of all Mesoamerican countries.

The IDB, a partner of Colombia in development

March 17, 2009
Since the mid-1990s the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been the leading source of multilateral financing for Colombia. Over the last 50 years, the IDB has approved more than US$14.8 billion in loans and non-refundable technical cooperation projects for Colombia. Throughout its history, the IDB has supported the Colombian government and private sector in key development areas such as infrastructure, state modernization and reform, small and medium enterprise, agriculture, energy, climate change and environmental protection.

Clean, Green & Safe

October 08, 2008
BY LUCY CONGER Microenterprise and the informal economy often go hand-in-hand. When people consider icroenterprise, they tend not to focus on issues that concern larger businesses such as corporate governance, environmental impact, and fair treatment of labor.

Fueling the tank with grease

March 30, 2007
From the corridors of prestigious universities, government bureaus and her hard-working desk at the Worldwatch Institute, bioenergy researcher Suzanne Hunt is having a break from the hectic institutional setting to hit the road and drive 4,500 miles on grease power from the USA to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Tourism as an ally in the fight to save Peten

February 16, 2007
Eduardo Cofiño, an enterprising businessman and admirer of the tropical forest, is the government’s adviser for the sustainable development program of Guatemala’s Peten region. For more than 10 years, Cofiño has carried on the struggle to protect the Mayan forest from the dangers of land misuse arising from drug trafficking and poverty, among other sources. During his presentation at IDB headquarters in Washington, DC, Cofiño laid out a plan for developing the area, which faces serious conservation problems despite its natural and cultural richness.

Indigenous leaders ask for help to save the “Heart of the World”

September 06, 2006
Leaders of the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kankuamo indigenous communities from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of northern Colombia today visited the IDB to disseminate their message to save the global environment. They also asked for support to create a fund to recover their traditional territory, which they believe to be the “Heart of the World.”

Without accessibility many opportunities get lost

October 21, 2005
More than 10% of the Latin American population suffers some type of disability. This situation requires the creation of public and private spaces and facilities that are accessible to all. A group of IDB experts in public transportation, urban development and social development recently devised operational guidelines on accessibility in urban development projects with universal design principles. They focus on creating access to public environments for all persons, independent of their physical and sensory characteristics.