In conformity with its objective of
functioning as a local Government, Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC) sought the assistance of the World Bank for the
preparation of a City Development Strategy (CDS). The
various sectoral as well as integrated strategies presented
in this document seem to be an overwhelming demand on KMC
with its limited manpower and money. A CDS is essential if
KMC is to focus its development potential. The optimism lies

This report is part of a strategy to
promotes trade competitiveness within the East Asia and
Pacific Region. It presents an overview of the logistics
issues facing East Asia countries and proposes a development
agenda for them. Based on the recognition that the
countries have basic differences in their level of
development, extent of openness, and composition of trade,
it begins by discussing the benefits of improved logistics.

This report analyzes the
government's decision on the outcome of a series of
small power shifts triggered by pro-reform players. Reform
advocates devised them whenever opportunities arose and used
whatever maneuvering room there was to tilt the power
balance between agency and farmers to further the goals of
sustainability and partnership. The shifts were thought out
for their strategic value, but most came without a timeline

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

The prototype carbon fund (PCF) is a
public-private partnership whose mission is to pioneer a
market for project-based greenhouse gas emission reductions
within the framework of the Kyoto protocol to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). PCF
seeks to show how project-based greenhouse gas emission
reduction transactions can lower the cost of compliance with
Kyoto, promote sustainable development, and mobilize new

This paper looks at the evidence on the
magnitude and impacts of forest illegal acts, examines the
vulnerabilities of the forest sector, and proposes a
strategy for combating forest crime. Forest crime
prominently includes illegal logging but acts against the
law also affect other sector operations such as forest
products transport, industrial processing, and trade. Almost
universally, criminal exploitation of forest products and

There is still a long road ahead before all Indonesian's can benefit from the full potential of ICT. That road seems even longer to rural women. Despite some improvements in access and the rapid deployment of lower cost wireless technologies, not much has changed in rural areas of Indonesia. Infrastructure in rural areas is limited and existing services are expensive and practically outside of rural women's reach. Women still face enormous barriers and access to communications and information relevant to their realities is very limited.

Fueled by fast-expanding demand, the production of meat and milk in the developing world has doubled in recent decades, and this trend is expected to continue. This expanding sector can provide income, employment, and high quality nutrition for vulnerable groups, and in many areas of the world, essential soil fertility inputs.

The authors describe and analyze management in the Murray-Darling basin of Australia, long regarded as a model for integrated river basin management. This interior basin of over 1 million k

Malawi, a landlocked country in
southern, central Africa, depends on its natural resources,
especially the agriculture sector, to meet the demands of a
population of about 11 million people. The country has
developed a remarkable fishing industry, keeping in mind
that about 20 percent of the area is covered by water,
including the famous Lake Malawi (called Lake Nyasa by the
riparian states, Mozambique and Tanzania). Lake Malawi/Nyasa

Bangladesh has marked considerable
progress since independence in 1971 despite its dire initial
conditions. Real per capita income is about 60percent higher
now than in 1971. The share of population in poverty
currently stands at about 50 percent, compared with over 70
percent in the early 1970s. Even more impressive has been
the progress in improving the social and human dimensions of
poverty. Bangladesh's faster gains in human development

This paper examines the channels through
which alternative property rights institutions affect
investment. These institutions are defined by a
society's enforced laws, regulations, governance
mechanisms and norms concerning the use of resources. A
transaction cost framework is used to analyze the incentive
impact of various types of property rights, liability rules,
and rules regarding contracts. This framework is used to