This paper reviews recent developments
in biofuel markets and their economic, social and
environmental impacts. Several countries have introduced
mandates and targets for biofuel expansion. Production,
international trade and investment have increased sharply in
the past few years. However, several existing studies have
blamed biofuels as one of the key factors behind the
2007-2008 global food crisis, although the magnitudes of

This paper is one of a series of
analytical studies commissioned by the World Bank's
Africa Region and Water Anchor which are intended to
identify and address the future challenges of urban water
supply, sanitation and flood management in Sub-Saharan
Africa's (SSA) cities and towns. Following the terms of
reference for the assignment, and as indicated by its title,
the paper is directed at understanding and describing the

This Joint Social and Economic
Assessment (JSEA) has been prepared in response to a request
from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation
(MoPIC), and was undertaken jointly by the World Bank, the
United Nations, the European Union, and the Islamic
Development Bank. The JSEA's main purpose is to assess
the social and economic impact of the crisis in Yemen, and
to identify challenges and key priorities for early

There are two common problems in flood
hydrology: 1) estimate the return period for a given flood;
and 2) estimate the flood for a given return period. A
commonly used procedure to solve these problems is to fit a
probability density function such as the Gumbel, Pearson
type three or the generalized extreme value distributions to
the historical data. The Pearson probability distribution
was named after the statistician Pearson, it is also called

These report overviews recent
developments in the consumption and production of bioenergy.
It examines the main issues and possible economic
implications of these developments and assesses their
potential impact on land use and the environment, especially
with respect to forests. The report examines both solid
biomass and liquid biofuels, identifying opportunities and
challenges at the regional and country levels. The

This report presents the impact and
lessons learned from the Andhra Pradesh Drought Adaptation
Initiative (APDAI). The APDAI was implemented as a package
of pilot activities in two dryland districts in Andhra
Pradesh (Anantapur and Mahbubnagar) with the aim of
developing and testing approaches for natural resource-based
economic activities to better respond to current climate
variability and long-term consequences of climate change.

Parts of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the
northeastern most administrative region of Pakistan, have
been undergoing a dramatic transformation over the last
three decades. Given the challenging environment, GB's
development outcomes are impressive, built on the
time-tempered resilience of the people of GB and facilitated
by high levels of social capital. GB has also benefitted
from the attentions of the national Government of Pakistan

The Living Standards Measurement Study
(LSMS) surveys which have collected information on many
dimensions of household well-being for over 36 countries
since 1980 are one of the most important data sources for
informing policy making on development. The LSMS surveys
have been used to assess household welfare, to understand
household behavior, and to evaluate the welfare impact of
various government policies. These surveys, however, lack

The book discusses basic concepts on key
topics to managing a small piped water system ideally for up
to 1,000 households. It presents tools that can be adapted
by Community-Based Water Organizations (CBOs) for use in
their operations, such as forms, checklists and procedural
guidelines. Illustrative examples have also been compiled
from the experiences of the district local governments,
support organizations and CBOs operating in East and West

The impact of climate change is likely
to have considerable implications for water resource
planning, as well as adding to the risks to water
infrastructure systems and effecting return on investments.
Attention is increasingly being paid to adaptation
strategies at the regional and basin level; however, the
current paucity of information regarding the potential risk
to hydrological systems at this scale presents a substantial

International river basins will likely
face higher hydrologic variability due to climate change.
Increased floods and droughts would have economic and
political consequences. Riparians of transboundary basins
governed by water treaties could experience non-compliance
and inter-state tensions if flow falls below levels presumed
in a treaty. Flow information is essential to cope with
these challenges through water storage, allocation, and use.

A reform in Burundi's coffee sector
is currently under way. Even though the reform was launched
by the government of Burundi in 1992, it was only in 2008
that implementation fully started. The purpose of the reform
is to restructure the coffee sector, focusing on the
following processes: privatization of the industrial units
(especially washing and hulling units), liberalization of
government control among the production and export agencies,