The 2006 edition of the little green
data book coincides with a wave of renewed attention to the
energy sector coming out of the group of eight summit at
Gleneagles, Scotland. While energy demand is rising along
with gross domestic product (GDP) in the developing world,
many poor countries still lack the basic infrastructure that
sustains everyday needs. Electric power consumption per
capita is 25 times lower in low-income countries than in

The 2007 edition of the little green
data book includes a new focus section, four introductory
pages that focus on a specific issue related to development
and the environment in this edition, carbon dioxide
emissions. The reports deem human causation of climate
change to be very likely. Late 2006 saw the publication of
the Stern review on the economics of climate change, which
emphasizes the major economic costs of climate change under

This study looks at the experience of integrated urban upgrading in a low-income neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Infrastructure and social investments have been made in the community through a government program, with community participation playing a major role in the design and implementation. This approach is now perceived to be highly successful in terms of its implementation and positive impact on living conditions, and will provide the basis for a major state-wide program.

The authors describe and analyze river basin management in the Guadalquivir River Basin in Spain. The Guadalquivir river flows westerly across southern Spain, with nearly all of its 57,017 k

In line with one of the major themes in
the Bank's Environment Strategy, this 2005 annual
review is devoted to the theme of environmental health.
Viewpoint articles in this edition reflect several external
perspectives: the World Health Organization (WHO) lays out
the panorama of environmental risk factors; a successful
example of combating urban air pollution is provided by the
former mayor of Bogotá; successful strategies to enhance

Slum upgrading programs are being used by national and city governments in many countries to improve the welfare of households living in slum and squatter settlements. These programs typically include a combination of improvements in neighborhood infrastructure, land tenure, and building quality. In this paper, the authors develop a dynamic general equilibrium model to compare the effectiveness of alternative slum upgrading instruments in a second-best setting with distortions in the land and credit markets.

Urbanization, which is almost completed
now in developed countries and even in Latin America, is now
proceeding in much of Asia at an unprecedented rate. Many of
the countries in the region have up to half their population
now living urban lifestyles and increasingly also living in
urban regions. The forms that urbanization is taking in the
developing countries, however, are problematic. Towns and
cities that were never planned to have large populations are

How do differences in the local business environment influence location of industry within countries? How do the benefits of a good business environment compare with those from good market access and agglomeration economies from industry clustering? The authors examine these questions by analyzing location decisions of individual firms. Using data from a recently completed survey of manufacturing firms in India, they find that both the local business environment and agglomeration economies significantly influence business location choices across cities.

The authors describe and analyze the emergence of river basin management in the Warta River Basin of Poland. The Warta basin's 55,193 k

This Decree consisting of 14 articles aims at determining the mandatory assets to be followed in order to assess the potential environmental effects of any proposed policy, plan, program, study, investment or organization affecting a Lebanese area or sector of activity in order to ensure that these projects are suitable for public health and safety, environmental protection and sustainability of natural resources.

Energy for heating, cooling, lighting,
mechanical power, and various chemical processes is a
fundamental requirement for both daily life and economic
development. The negative impact on the environment of
current energy systems is increasingly alarming, especially
the global warming consequences of burning fossil fuels. The
future requires change through the development and adoption
of new supply technologies, through a successful search for

This paper reviews the contribution of
the World Bank's transport lending portfolio to health
outcomes, as background for the Independent Evaluation
Group's (IEG) evaluation of the Bank's support for
health, nutrition and population (HNP). Over the past decade
(FY97-06), the World Bank committed nearly $28 billion to
229 new transport projects managed by the Transport Sector
Board (TSB). Specifically, the paper reviews the extent to