From smoggy skies to rancid rivers and staggering slums, environmental challenges loom large for Asia. While much has been said about the role of government and NGOs in achieving a sustainable future, Mark Clifford, executive director of the Asia Business Council, believes companies are an indispensable but often overlooked part of the solution.

With the help of international aid, foreign land grabs in the Gambella region of Ethiopia have resulted in environmental degradation, more severe economic and social inequality, and human rights abuses, according to a new study by the Oakland Institute. We Say The Land Is Not Yours collects testimony from victims of “villagization,” a policy of forced displacement started under the military Derg dictatorship and, according to many, continued to this day under the guise of land investment.

Sub-Saharan Africa is often characterized as an outlier in terms of population dynamics and reproductive health. While women are having fewer children around the world, even prompting some places to begin worrying about aging populations, the demographic transition is proceeding more slowly in Africa. Fertility rates in North and Southern Africa have declined to around three children per woman, but the three other sub-regions of the continent – East, Central, and West Africa – retain much higher fertility, between five and six children per woman. Whether, and how quickly, fertility rates decline in these regions over the next few decades will in large part determine the peak of world population. These regions’ demographic trajectories also have important implications for health, governance, food security, economic development, land use, climate vulnerability, and even security.

India occupies a precarious position in the global climate change order. It trails only China, the United States, and the European Union in total emissions, but per capita emissions are far lower. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi won the 2014 elections on a strong pro-development platform and continues to wave this flag at all levels, making energy security a major priority and pledging to expand the country’s coal mining industry. But he also insists he will work with the international community on mitigating climate change. During a recent visit to France, Germany, and Canada, he declared, “India will set the agenda for the upcoming Conference of Parties” in Paris this fall.

May 5 was the International Day of the Midwife, an opportunity for the global community to come together to recognize the incredible impact midwives have on maternal and newborn health and decreasing mortality. Want to know more about what global leaders are doing to strengthen midwifery?

To ensure no one is left behind by the next generation of global development goals, a comprehensive mix of robust data is needed to measure progress and guide investments. A recent report coordinated by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network estimates the world will need to spend roughly $1 billion a year to sustain and enhance the statistical systems supporting and evaluating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the successors to the Millennium Development Goals expected to guide the development agenda for the next 15 years.