The Government of Ceará has asked for
the Bank s support in implementing its multi-year plan
(Plano Plurianual or PPA) for 2012-15. The objectives of the
Plan are to promote equitable social development,
sustainable economic development and to contribute to the
emergence of a more efficient and participatory public
sector.The activities to be supported have been chosen on
the basis of the importance to these goals, the state s

This overview of climate change
activities in the Kyrgyz Republic is part of a series of
country notes for five Central Asian countries that
summarize climate portfolio in a number of sectors, namely
agriculture, forestry, water, health, energy, and transport.
Recognizing the nature and significance of climate change
contribution to an increase in disaster risk, the note also
looks into the development partners' approaches and

This report outlines a 3-year program to
upgrade the knowledge platform for managing water resources
in Central Asia. Its ultimate purpose is to enhance the
ability of all countries to engage in evidenced- based
dialogue on water and energy management. It focuses on
regional actions, linking all five countries plus
Afghanistan, but recognizes the essential role of national
initiatives. It covers the core elements of a modern

This paper presents the first basin-wide
assessment of the potential impact of climate change on the
hydrology and production of the Ganges system, undertaken as
part of the World Bank’s Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment.
A series of modeling efforts, downscaling of climate
projections, water balance calculations, hydrological
simulation and economic optimization, inform the assessment.
The authors find that projections of precipitation across

As countries develop, the demand for
water increases while water supply becomes less certain and
is often not enough to meet demand. In general, pressures
from both environment and human activities can increase the
likelihood of water scarcity. Such pressures include
increased socio-economic development and population growth,
change in people's diets, competition for available
water among different user sectors and growing climate

Climate change is at the top of the
development agenda in Central America. This region, together
with the Caribbean, is highly vulnerable to the effects of
climate change in Latin America. Climate change is
manifesting itself through higher average temperatures and
more frequent droughts that result in higher water stress,
and through the rising frequency of extreme weather events
such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods and landslides,

This overview of climate change
activities in Tajikistan is part of a series of country
notes for five Central Asian countries that summarize
climate portfolio of the major development partners in a
number of climate-sensitive sectors, namely energy,
agriculture, forestry and natural resources, water, health,
and transport. Recognizing the nature and significance of
climate change contribution to an increase in disaster risk,

This report presents the outcome of the
World Bank's analytical and advisory work to assess the
status of water resources development and the key water
issues and challenges facing the country. The Bank has also
reviewed its history of cooperation with the Government of
China in recent decades, and notes the remarkable
achievements China has made in developing the water sector.
The report proposes solutions for tackling the enormous

Disasters are increasing worldwide with
more devastating effects than ever before. The absolute
number of disasters around the world has almost doubled
since the 1980s, but the average number of natural disasters
in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has almost tripled
over the same period. In MENA the interplay of natural
disasters, rapid urbanization, water scarcity, and climate
change has emerged as a serious challenge for policy and

While agreeing on the choice of an
optimal investment decision is already difficult for any
diverse group of actors, priorities, and world views, the
presence of deep uncertainties further challenges the
decision-making framework by questioning the robustness of
all purportedly optimal solutions. This paper summarizes the
additional uncertainty that is created by climate change,
and reviews the tools that are available to project climate

The sector review includes seven
chapters and one annex. This first chapter is an overview of
agriculture, irrigation and the purpose and content of this
report. The second chapter provides a review of the Bank s
own strategy and priorities for irrigation and drainage
within its portfolio of investments, from the time of its
2004 Strategy until the present. It also includes a short
summary of key lessons learned in this sector. The third

Water is a fundamental platform for
economic and social development, and contributes to reducing
multiple dimensions of poverty. It is essential to food and
energy security, industrial growth, and the protection of
ecosystems. Water has been going through unprecedented
pressures as growing populations and economies have
increased demand and at the same degraded supplies. As a
result, water insecurity has become one of the greatest