An assessment of sensitivity to land degradation has been carried out in the Extremadura region, SW Spain, by means of a modelling approach developed by the European Commission funded MEDALUS project (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use) which identifies such areas on the basis of an index (Environmentally Sensitive Area index, ESA index) that incorporates data on environmental quality (climate, vegetation, soil) as well as anthropogenic factors (management).

In response to a drying climate, an integrated property planning tool was developed over three years to help landowners make better use of available rainfall. A sequence was identified which indicated how parts of each property are affected by soil moisture limitations. The sequence was combined with soil properties to indicate targeted strategies for each location aimed to improve soil moisture availability, biomass utilisation, and long-term viability of the farm or ranching enterprise.

The economic value of the Upper Tuul ecosystem in Mongolia reports on a study carried out under the auspices of the World Bank and the Government of Mongolia. The goal of the study was to improve understanding about the economic value of the Upper Tuul ecosystem for Ulaanbaatar's water supplies and how this might be affected by different land and resource management options in the future.

This report on Sudan's Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) provides a baseline assessment of challenges to productivity, diversification and inclusion. Chapter 1 describes some of the questions underlying the three issues of competitiveness, diversification and broad-based growth. Chapter 2 analyzes firm performance and competitiveness. Chapter 3 discusses markets and trust. Chapter 4 describes the role of the financial sector. Chapter 5 analyses the informal sector. Chapter 6 discusses the conflict-affected private sector development.

This note discusses the development dimensions of forced displacement, and the potential role of the World Bank to address these dimensions and contribute to durable solutions for group's who have returned from or are in displacement situations. For the purposes of this note, forced displacement refers to the situation of persons who are forced to leave or flee their homes due to conflict, violence, and human rights violations.

The estimate of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is that more than 80 percent or close to 8 million tons in 2007, of world freight is transported by sea. Most, if not all, freight transport moves from the producer to the consumer through logistic processes thereby passing a number of nodal points. As for waterborne transport, sea and river ports and terminals form these nodal points where freight is transferred from one mode to another.

There is no longer any serious debate about whether greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are altering the earth's climate. There is also a broad consensus that efficient mitigation of emissions will require carbon pricing via market based instruments (charges or auctioned tradable permits). The remaining controversies stem mostly from economic and technological forecasting uncertainties, disputes about global and intergenerational equity, and political divisions over collective measures to combat climate change.

This report is concerned with the development of the infrastructure which is required in order to support proposed mines in Southern Mongolia. In order for the mines to be developed, it will be necessary to provide towns for the new inhabitants, road and rail links to provide supplies and to transport the mines' products to markets, and electricity for the mines' operations. Water resources need to be investigated and supplied to the mines and towns. And as all of the development advances, consideration needs to be given to mitigating any negative environmental and social impacts.

Las respuestas más importantes al cambio climático se enfocan en la mitigación (reducción de la acumulación de gases causantes del efecto invernadero) en vez de centrarse en la adaptación (reducción de la vulnerabilidad de la sociedad y los ecosistemas). No obstante, puesto que actualmente se reconoce que cierto grado de cambio climático es inevitable, la adaptación está adquiriendo importancia en el ámbito de políticas.