This report presents a political-economic analysis of land governance at the regional level, focusing on the Mekong Region. The primary emphasis is on Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, but the paper also takes into account the regional role and land governance experiences of Thailand and China.

This paper compares the Hoa Binh (constructed 1979-1994) and Son La dams (under construction since 2005) to investigate how Vietnam’s resettlement policies and programmes have evolved over time. The comparison between a dam built in 1970s-80s and one now under construction shows that improvements in policy may bring only limited improvements in Vietnam’s dam development planning and practices.

The West African coastline is home to
major industries, mining activities, peri-urban and
agro-industry, and tourism, as well as urban and seaside
residences, all of which generate waste and cause pollution.
Many areas along the coast also lack adequate wastewater and
solid waste management systems. As a result, large volumes
of untreated wastewater and solid waste are dumped into the
open, polluting the land and water. Water quality studies

In its drive to meet the United Nations
Millennium Development Goals, the World Bank issued, in
October 2002, new strategies for agricultural and rural
development, and water resources management. These
strategies both identified more and better drainage
investments as important to achieving some of the Millennium
Development Goals, notably poverty reduction and
environmental sustainability. The Bank subsequently

This report directly provide
recommendations for improvement of the quality of the
regional master socio-econsomic development plan and
national laud use plans for Vietnam, to the year 2020. It
provides analysis and assessment of the
reviewed-adjusted-ammended socio-economic development plan
for the Mekong Delta, which is aimed at improvement of the
quality and feasibility of regional socio-economic

The Nile Story is one of immense
challenges and remarkable achievements for the economic
development of the region. It begins in 1999, when the
ministers in charge of water affairs in the Nile countries
agreed to form the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). Between 2003
and 2015, the Nile Basin Trust Fund (NBTF) supported and
coordinated cooperative work in the region, which has been
delivered mainly through the NBI. This book, commissioned by

In the past decade, Latin America and
the Caribbean has achieved impressive social and economic
successes. For the first time in history, more people are in
the middle class than in poverty. Inequality, although still
high, declined markedly. Growth, jobs and effective social
programs have transformed the lives of millions. In a
striking departure from the crisis-prone Latin America of
the past, the region has shown it is better prepared to

This paper's objective is to strengthen the capacity of various institutions in the Ministry of
Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation for sustainable water resources management, and to develop training tools for innovative techniques for further dissemination to state agencies and other stakeholders.

The proper management of water resources
plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of
Armenia. On average, Armenia has sufficient water resources.
Taking into account all available water resources in the
country, Armenia has sufficient resources to supply
approximately 3,100 cubic meters per capita per year well
above the typically cited Falkenmark water stress indicator
of 1,700 cubic meters per capita per year. These water

This article examines the effect of
water pricing policies on farmers’ water saving behaviors,
using original water user group (WUG) data from a reservoir
irrigation system in China. The introduction of volumetric
water pricing at the group level, to replace area-based
pricing, induces institutional change to prevent each
member’s overuse of water when the volumetric price levels
are moderate. Depending on the initial conditions, the

Recognizing the importance and
uniqueness of the Sundarbans, the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
declared the Indian portion of the forest a World Heritage
Site in 1987, and the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program
has included the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve in the Global
Network of Island and Coastal Biosphere Reserves
Contributing to Action on Climate Change and Sustainable

To evaluate and reflect the
sustainability of services in the region, an overall sector
maturity assessment was done taking into account four main
dimensions: access to services, quality of services,
efficiency of services, and financing of services. Each of
these dimensions is measured through three simple and
objective indicators. For each indicator, best practice
values are established by looking at the best performers in