Does climate change drive conflict over land use in Mali?

This study investigates the alleged relationship between climate change and conflicts, using the Inland Delta of the Niger River in Mali as a case study, where this region is an African hotspot area in terms of land use conflicts.

The author emphasises that, despite the clear climate developments in the region throughout the last century, researchers are much less sure about future changes. Moreover, the paper finds that:

Vietnam, which has a long history of theft of timber from neighbouring Laos and Cambodia, recently initialled a timber trade agreement with the European Union. This will see Vietnam implement legislation to address imports of illegally harvested or traded timber, in return for timber exports to the EU being deemed to comply with the requirements of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR).

Whereas 2011 had seen a sharp increase in the number of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) granted by the Royal Government of Cambodia to private companies, in 2012 conflicts became more acute and protests multiplied. The government showed that it had understood the seriousness of the situation by taking initiatives aimed at resolving land disputes, addressing some of the issues related to ELCs and granting thousands of land titles to rural families.

This study by the World Bank indicates that forests offer vast potential for poverty reduction and rural economic growth in India while also supporting critical national conservation goals. An estimated 275 million people in rural areas depend on forests for at least part of their livelihoods. Forest dwellers, which include a high proportion of tribals, are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups in society. The government of India has adopted Joint Forest Management as a principal approach for community-based forestry.

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 World Bank's revised forest
policy came into being in 2002 and covers all types of
forests. It has the following key objectives: (i) harnessing
the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a sustainable
manner; (ii) integrating forests effectively into
sustainable development; and (iii) protecting vital local
and global environmental services and values. The policy
enables the bank to fully engage in forestry throughout the

The World Bank's revised forest
policy came into being in 2002 and covers all types of
forests. It has the following key objectives: (i) harnessing
the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a sustainable
manner; (ii) integrating forests effectively into
sustainable development; and (iii) protecting vital local
and global environmental services and values. The policy
enables the bank to fully engage in forestry throughout the

This study answers the key questions on marine protected areas (MPAs) by assessing country experience with these and other tools along the marine management area continuum that have been adopted to address loss of biodiversity and fisheries and other marine resource degradation, which have eroded traditional use rights and cultural identify.

This report is organized around three
thematic chapters. Chapter one looks at the contribution of
the environment and tourism sector to the Namibian economy
as well as at some key achievements and challenges. Chapter
two describes the policy and legislative framework, and the
institutional analysis of the environment and tourism
sector. Chapter three examines the financing of the sector
and some key budget management issues. And finally in

The Department of Animal Husbandry,
Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture of
Government of India, approached the World Bank to conduct a
Study on Indian marine fisheries. Accordingly, a team from
the World Bank was undertook the study with special emphasis
on marine fisheries in four coastal States viz. Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka, and Gujarat. A National Study
Report titled 'Indian marine fisheries sector

Miombo woodlands stretch across Southern
Africa in a belt from Angola and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) in the west to Mozambique in the east. The
miombo region covers an area of around 2.4 million km. In
some areas, miombo has been highly degraded as a result of
human use (southern Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe), while in
others, it remains relatively intact (such as in parts of
northern Mozambique, and in isolated areas of Angola and the

Globally, an estimated 24 percent of the
disease burden (healthy life years lost) and an estimated 23
percent of all deaths (premature mortality) are attributable
to environmental risks (World Health Organization, or WHO
2006). The burden of disease is unequally shared, with the
children and the poor being particularly affected. Among
children between the ages 0 and 14, the proportion of deaths
attributable to environmental risks, such as poor water and