The Sahel region has seen the forcible
displacement of more than million persons as a result of
conflict. Tackling displacement in the Sahel is critical for
both poverty alleviation and stabilization, and only a
development response will be adequate to the task. A
development response to forced displacement in the Sahel
requires a regional approach. Such an approach would have
the benefits of being able to overcome challenges relating

Development and humanitarian actors
currently engaged in Somalia face the challenge of
delivering assistance in such a way that it is supportive of
peace and state building, addresses the acute vulnerability,
and dependence of large shares of the population while
operating in a still insecure and changing environment.
Forced displacement is a key feature of the current
political economy context of Somalia. The necessity of

The forestry sector in Moldova faces
significant governance and sustainability challenges. The
insufficient level of forest coverage in Moldova has a
serious impact on environment and overall economic growth in
the country. The situation is exacerbated by the reportedly
intense pressure on forest resources exerted by the human
factor. Illegal logging and grazing are considered as
significant factors that contribute to forest loss. There is

Group s gender action plan (GAP) trust
fund has financed a series of programs to promote gender
equality by empowering women to compete in key markets:
land, labor, agriculture, finance and the private sector.
Work and family: Latin American and the Caribbean women in
search of a new balance offer new analysis of how household
decision-making and allocation of resources affects female
labor market outcomes in the region. This project summarizes

Indonesia's Program Nasional
Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (PNPM) is the largest Community
Driven Development (CDD) program in the world covering all
urban wards (PNPM-Urban) and rural villages (PNPM-Rural) in
Indonesia. This policy note summarizes a comprehensive
process evaluation of the PNPM-Urban program which has been
carried by the Research and Development (RAND) corporation
in collaboration with survey meter, as well as a rapid

This paper describes the key challenges
to job creation in conflict-affected environments in South
Asia. It uses household survey data since the early 2000s
for Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to document the
characteristics of labor markets in conflict-affected areas,
exploiting the spatial and time variation in armed conflict
within countries. The analysis finds that, across countries,
labor markets look very different in conflict-affected areas

Against the backdrop of rapidly rising
urbanization in the developing world and the growing demand
for basic services such as water and power, there is an
increasing need to improve service delivery, particularly in
low-income urban settlements. Output-based aid (OBA)
approaches, with their pro-poor targeting, have been piloted
in cities around the world. This note discusses the benefits
and challenges of using an OBA approach in urban projects

The diaspora of developing countries can
be a potent force for development for their countries of
origin, through remittances, but also, importantly, through
promotion of trade, investments, research, innovation, and
knowledge and technology transfers. This book brings
relevant experience from both developed and developing
countries to bear on issues confronting today's
governments in linking with their diaspora. The chapters

International migration has increased
rapidly in recent decades and this has been accompanied by a
remarkable increase in transfers made by migrants to their
home countries. This paper investigates the effect of the
rural economic growth brought about by migration and
remittances on Nepal's Himalayan forests. The authors
assemble a unique village-panel dataset combining remote
sensing data on land use and forest cover change with data

For more than four centuries Japan has
been developing forested green belts to mitigate coastal
hazards such as sandstorms, salty winds, high tides, and
tsunamis. Although Japan's green belts were severely
damaged by the March 11 tsunami, they did reduce the impact
of waves, and protected houses by capturing floating debris.
Local governments are planning to reconstruct the green
belts as a countermeasure against tsunamis. While local

The case studies documented in this
report aim to inform the energy access community (including
practitioners, civil society groups, project planners, end
users) about best practices of successful energy access
initiatives targeted at slum dwellers. Eight case studies
focusing on electrification and household energy were
selected from India, Bangladesh, Colombia and Brazil, all
countries that have had varying success in providing access

Services are failing poor urban and
rural people in the developing world, and poverty remains
concentrated in rural areas and urban slums. This state of
affairs prevails despite prolonged efforts by many
governments to improve rural and urban services and
development programs. This book focuses on how communities
and local governments can be empowered to contribute to
their own development and, in the process, improve