This paper analyzes the available
literature about the effects of structural adjustment
programs (SAPs) on the environment and the convincing
evidence for their success or failure. The studies covered
refer to the SAPs by the World Bank as well as to general
government programs that have similar policy implications.
SAPs are designed to reform economies to become more
liberalized and export-oriented while reducing the role of

This Policy and Strategy Paper
contributes to an ongoing policy debate-within the Bank but
also with its client governments-about the role of tree
crops in various production systems, and as key commodities
in the trade portfolio of various African nations. It
attempts to answer the following questions: a) What is the
role of tree crops in a rural development strategy focused
on smallholders? B) Under what conditions can small-holder

This sector report on Challenges and
Priorities for Rural Development analyzes why Upper Egypt
has lagged behind the rest of the country and to help the
Government of Egypt and stakeholders to define a framework
for interventions to promote broad-based economic growth and
human development that will reach the poor and improve
welfare in rural Upper Egypt. To achieve this objective, the
strategic framework for intervention proposed here has two

The trends toward ecosystem degradation
and social change are affecting coastal areas around the
world, not least in Sub-Saharan Africa. The crisis affecting
this region's coastal and marine areas requires an
urgent and resolute response from the global community. This
report details the challenges facing coastal and marine
environments in Sub-Saharan Africa. It describes the World
Bank's strategy for supporting sustainable development

The authors use China's national
household surveys for rural and urban areas to measure and
explain the welfare impacts of the changes in goods and
factor prices attributed to WTO accession. Price changes are
estimated separately using a general equilibrium model to
capture both direct and indirect effects of the initial
tariff changes. The welfare impacts are first-order
approximations based on a household model incorporating

This paper provides evidence consistent with elite capture of Social Fund investment projects in Ecuador. Exploiting a unique combination of data-sets on village-level income distributions, Social Fund project administration, and province level electoral results, the authors test a simple model of project choice when local political power is unequally distributed. In accordance with the predictions of the model, poorer villages are more likely to receive projects that provide excludable (private) goods to the poor, such as latrines.

Regulatory reform in all its
aspects--deregulation, re-regulation, simplification, and
building new institutional capacities for developing and
applying high quality market rules--should be integrated
throughout Mauritania's efforts to generate the growth
and market development needed to combat poverty, improve
standards of living, and lay the foundation for a
sustainable development. This report identifies practical

This case study, one of six evaluations
in a series of country case studies, aims to understand the
implementation of the 1991 Forest Strategy in World Bank
operations and to obtain the views of the various
stakeholders in the country about the involvement of the
Bank. Each country study examines the overall development of
the country's forest sector. This naturally includes
the environmental impacts on forests, such as degradation,

The report reviews basic growth, as
being one of four pillars for Nicaragua's poverty
reduction strategy. The well-being of the rural poor will
continue its dependence on - to a great extent -
agriculture. The study analyzes main agricultural
development aspects, and stipulates the broad basic growth
may be enhanced by strengthening agricultural
competitiveness. Yet, export growth is key to economic

The aim of this study is to improve
understanding of how biological resource conservation
concerns can be better incorporated into projects and
programs that primarily address the objective of rural
development rather than environmental conservation. A
multi-disciplinary study team was assembled and six
background papers produced, along with the main overview
paper. The six papers were on: 1) measuring biodiversity,

Participatory community-based Natural
Resources Management (NRM) Projects have been implemented
over the last 5-6 years in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and
Niger with the support of France, Germany, Norway, the
United States, and the World Bank's International
Development Association facility. Furthermore, pilot
operation concentrating on specific NRM issues are underway
in Chad (pastoral perimeters) and Guinea (land tenure

The focus of this report is crop
biotechnology, as developing countries are faced with
evaluating genetically engineered plants for human,
livestock, and environmental safety. These genetically
engineered plants can potentially contribute to agricultural
productivity in developing regions when appropriately
deployed, but there is uncertainty about the potential for
adverse consequences to environmental and human health. The