Irrigation management transfer is an
important strategy among donors and governments to
strengthen farmer control over water and irrigation
infrastructure. This study seeks to understand whether
irrigation management transfer is meeting the promise of its
commitments. The authors use data from a survey of 68
irrigator associations and 1,020 farm households in the
Philippines to estimate the impact of irrigation management

Water is a scarce and finite resource
with no substitute, and upon which the very existence of
life on earth depends. The challenges facing water resources
are daunting. The Millennium Development Goals aim, inter
alia, at reducing by half, by 2015, the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking water and
sanitation. Although progress thus far is not encouraging,
it is hoped that necessary actions will be taken to achieve

The overall goal of this report and the
accompanying report summarizing the findings and
recommendations, both based on the economic and sector work
(ESW), is to advance the understanding and integration in
operational terms of environmental water allocation into
integrated water resources management. The specific
objectives of the reports are the following: 1) document the
changing understanding of environmental flows, both by water

The report begins with definitions of
watersheds and watershed management, a characterization of
the problem of watershed degradation, and a short history of
watershed management operations and policies (Chapter 1).
The following four chapters discuss the findings from
experience with implementing watershed management programs
over the last 20 years based both on the project review and
on the literature. The second chapter discusses the findings

Irrigation has made a major contribution
to poverty reduction in the past decades, enabling higher
yields and better nutrition. Despite these achievements,
large-scale irrigation schemes have usually yielded low
returns and attracted negative publicity because of their
adverse environmental and social impacts. As a result, the
Bank has largely switched its support for irrigation away
from new construction toward rehabilitation and policy

South Asia has attracted global
attention because it has experienced rapid GDP growth over
the last two decades. What is not so well known is that
South Asia is the least integrated region in the world.
South Asia has opened its door to the rest of the world but
it remains closed to its neighbors. Poor market integration,
weak connectivity, and a history of friction and conflict
have resulted in two South Asias. The first South Asia is

The Africa Development Indicators 2007 essay explores the patterns of growth in Sub- Saharan Africa over the past three decades. It finds that the volatility of growth-an outcome of conflict, governance, and world commodity prices-has been greater than in any other region. Volatility has dampened expectations and investments-and has obscured some periods of good performance for some countries. The essay shows that pickups in growth were seldom sustained- indeed, that they were often followed by ferocious declines, and hence, Africa's flat economic performance over 1975-2005.

Based on a literature review and expert
interviews, this paper analyzes the most important climate
impacts on development goals and explores relevant
institutions in the context of mainstreaming climate
adaptation into development assistance in Mozambique.
Climate variability and change can significantly hinder
progress toward attaining the Millennium Development Goals
and poverty aggravates the country's climate

Mozambique's continuous efforts to
sustain economic growth and reduce poverty face a number of
constraints including its economic and political history,
and its geography and climatic conditions. It is widely
accepted that future economic growth of the country will
continue to rely on its natural resources base and,
specifically, on sustainable use of land and water
resources. Mozambique has plentiful land and water resources

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

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 Philippines is one of the most natural hazard-prone countries in the world. The social and economic cost of natural disasters in the country is increasing due to population growth, change in land-use patterns, migration, unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation and global climate change. Reducing the risk of disasters will be key to achieving the development goals in the Philippines. The World Bank with assistance from the Philippines Government conducted an informal study on natural disaster risk management in the Philippines.