Urbanization and climate change will define much of the 21st century. Urbanization leads to improvement in standards of living, and through the increased density and service delivery efficiency of cities, higher growth can be achieved with lower greenhouse gas emissions. Cities and urban agglomerations house more than 50 percent of the global population and contribute more than 70 percent of Global greenhouse (GHG) emissions. As the share of urban population grows, sustainable urban development emerges as an essential component in addressing climate change.

The tsunami that originated from the Indian Ocean in 2004 wreaked massive destruction, killing more than 130,000 people and displacing half a million individuals in Aceh, Indonesia. More than 800 kilometers of coastline was affected, and close to 53,795 land parcels were destroyed. The land administration system sustained significant damage because documentation of land ownership was washed away along with people's houses and other possessions in the affected communities. Physical boundary markers, including trees and fences, also disappeared.

The world development report 2010 estimates that an additional $200 billion per year of climate-related financing is needed in developing countries between now and 2030 to keep global average temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius. Developing countries face increased financing challenges over coming decades as they seek to pursue economic development along a lower emission trajectory.

This report synthesizes the findings for the energy sector of a broader study, the Brazil low carbon study, which was undertaken by the World Bank in its initiative to support Brazil's integrated effort towards reducing national and global emissions of greenhouse gases while promoting long term development. The main aim of the study is to examine the potential for abating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Brazil in the energy area and to assess the relative costs of doing so for the time frame 2010-2030.

Between 2005 and 2009, the EU-financed project ForLive set out to analyse promising local forest management initiatives in the Amazon Basin in four countries: Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru. Researchers aimed to identify locally viable practices that benefit livelihoods and ecological stabilisation of landscapes, as well as to define ways to promote these practices as a basis for sound rural development. This book presents lessons learnt from more than 100 studies by researchers from Latin America, from practitioners and from local families themselves.

Infobrief ini memberikan gambaran awal tentang 17 proyek percontohan REDD+ yang dikembangkan di Indonesia pada pertengahan tahun 2009. Terdapat variasi yang tinggi dalam pelaksanaan dan uji coba proyek percontohan REDD+ yang dilakukan oleh para pemrakarsa. Tiga dimensi utama yang bermanfaat untuk mengelompokkan proyek-proyek percontohan tersebut adalah: 1) tingkat perencanaan tata ruang dan heterogenitas dari klasifikasi hutan, 2) strategi untuk menyelesaikan klaim jangka panjang terhadap karbon, dan 3) faktor pendorong dan penyebab utama deforestasi dan degradasi.

The trade in illegally harvested timber provides a living for more than 45,000 people, a major source of income for corrupt officials and not a cent for the state.

This infobrief provides an early snapshot of 17 REDD+ pilots under development in Indonesia in mid 2009. There is great variety in and experimentation by the proponents of REDD+ pilots. Three key dimensions useful for categorising early pilots are: 1) degree of spatial planning and heterogeneity of forest classification, 2) strategy for establishing long-term claims to carbon, and 3) predominant driver and agent of deforestation and degradation.