The detailed analysis of current
cropping areas in Africa presented here reveals significant
climate sensitivities of cropland density and distribution
across a variety of agro-ecosystems. Based on empirical
climate-cropland relationships, cropland density responds
positively to increases in precipitation in semi-arid and
arid zones of the sub-tropics and warmer temperatures in
higher elevations. As a result, marginal increases in

It is now widely recognized that
low-income countries in tropical and sub-tropical regions
will be disproportionally affected by the adverse impacts of
climate change. The combination of already fragile
environments, dominance of climate-sensitive sectors in
economic activity, and low autonomous adaptive capacity in
these regions implies a high vulnerability to the harmful
effects of global warming on agricultural production and

This Country Economic Memorandum (CEM),
prepared in collaboration with the Turkish authorities,
summarizes recent accomplishments in achieving high growth
and analyzes remaining public policy challenges and options
available to the authorities to meet these challenges. The
country seeks to double the nominal per capita income of its
population by 2013. It wants this rapid growth to be
inclusive of all segments of society, regions, and economic

Indigenous peoples make up less than 5
percent of the world's population, yet comprise 15
percent of the world's poor. The indigenous population
of Latin America is estimated at 28 million. Despite
significant changes in poverty overall, the proportion of
indigenous peoples in the region living in poverty - at
almost 80 percent - did not change much from the early 1990s
to the early 2000s. Economic Opportunities for Indigenous

This report on a key to poverty
reduction in Peru identifies a number of cost-effective
policy interventions that could be adopted in the short and
medium term to support sustainable development goals as the
Government of Peru attempts to combat the problems of
inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene; urban air
pollution; natural disasters; lead exposure; indoor air
pollution; land degradation; deforestation; and inadequate

In 2006 most of the people of Uganda,
with the notable exception of those in the conflict-blighted
Northern Region, enjoy a better quality of life and brighter
opportunities in a stable and growing economy. Uganda's
economy has bounced back beyond what could be regarded as
recovery, with real incomes per person now exceeding the
levels reached at Independence in 1962. The report structure
is as follows: volume one synthesizes the conclusions from

For decades, Gambia has served as a
regional entrepot, using the river as a transportation link
to the hinterland. Relatively low import taxes,
well-functioning port and customs services, and limited
administrative barriers reinforced Gambia's position as
a trading center. About 80 percent of Gambian merchandise
exports consist of re-exports to the sub-region goods
imported into Gambia are transported unofficially into

The overall objective of the
Comprehensive Assessment of the Agricultural Sector (CAAS)
is to provide an evidence base to enable appropriate
strategic policy responses by the Government of Liberia
(GoL) and its development partners in order to maximize the
contribution of the agriculture sector to the
Government's overarching policy objectives. Given the
strong relationship between growth in agricultural

The migration of labor from rural to urban areas is an important part of the urbanization process in developing countries. Even though it has been the focus of abundant research over the past five decades, some key policy questions have not found clear answers yet. To what extent is internal migration a desirable phenomenon and under what circumstances? Should governments intervene and, if so, with what types of interventions? What should be their policy objectives?

This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Guatemala, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Like
most countries in Latin America, Guatemala has submitted one
national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Land use change and
forestry are by far the largest contributors to greenhouse

Reversing Africa's decades-long
decline in soil productivity levels poses a major challenge,
and one that cannot be addressed without increased use of
appropriate fertilizer nutrients. The 2006 World Bank Africa
Fertilizer Strategy Assessment was undertaken to inform
policy makers, providing them with guidelines on measures to
effectively raise fertilizer use. This Note draws upon the
material prepared for the above fertilizer strategy

Traditionally both national and regional
development planning in Vietnam has been driven by
'top-down' Central Government social and economic
targets based on limited analytical investigation. However,
with the advent of the free market economy in Vietnam since
the late 1980s, vigorous global economic competitiveness and
Vietnam's membership to the World Trade Organization
(WTO), changes in national policy in Vietnam have now