The Strategic Environmental and Social
Assessment (SESA) of the mining sector in Sierra Leone was
undertaken in response to the Government of Sierra
Leone's (GOSL) request for assistance in developing its
minerals policy. The SESA will help meet long-term country
development by integrating environmental and social
considerations in mining sector reforms. The crucial aspect
of the SESA process is that the environmental and social

The cases from the forum presented here
capture the lessons from the science, technology, and
innovation (STI) capacity building experiences of both
developing and industrial countries (governments working in
partnership with the private sector, nongovernmental
organizations, academia, and development partners). These
cases highlight ways that STI capacity building programs
have enabled countries to achieve the following: (i) provide

Release of the final report of the International Comparison Program (ICP) and publication of new estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) in World Development Indicators 2008 are an important statistical milestone. The estimates offer a consistent and comprehensive set of data on the cost of living in developed and developing countries, the first since 1997, when the results of the previous ICP data collection were published in World Development Indicators. The 2005 data cover 146 countries and territories, 29 more than the last round in 1993, and many for the first time.

The Forests Sourcebook is divided into
two parts. The first contains an introduction to the book
plus seven chapters covering topics associated with
enhancing the contribution of forests to poverty reduction,
engaging the private sector, meeting the growing demand for
forest products, optimizing forest functions at the
landscape level, improving forest governance, mainstreaming
forest considerations into macro policy dialogue, and

The 2008 World Bank project performance
data shows improvement in achieving development outcomes,
allaying concerns that the weakened 2007 performance could
signal a new downward trend. The decline in performance in
2007 was modest, and it has rebounded in 2008. Bank
performance is rated on a six-point scale, from highly
satisfactory to highly unsatisfactory. The percentage of
satisfactory projects increased in 2008, continuing a steady

Although much has been written about
climate change and poverty as distinct and complex problems,
the link between them has received little attention.
Understanding this link is vital for the formulation of
effective policy responses to climate change. This paper
focuses on agriculture as a primary means by which the
impacts of climate change are transmitted to the poor, and
as a sector at the forefront of climate change mitigation

The World Bank’s assistance strategies
showed strong client orientation and were aligned with
Uganda’s poverty reduction strategy. The programs were
substantially effective in decentralization, public sector
reform, growth and economic transformation, education, and
water and sanitation. However, more could have been done to
help counter the perception of increasing corruption,
improve power supply, reduce transport costs, enhance

This report, Building Response
Strategies to Climate Change in Agricultural Systems in
Latin America, reports the results of action research to
identify and prioritize stakeholder driven, locally relevant
response options to climate change in Latin American
agriculture. The study has three primary objectives. The
first is to develop and apply a pilot methodology for
assessing agricultural vulnerability to climate change and

This paper addresses two vital concerns
in the debate on adaptation to climate change. First, how
can countries prepare to manage the impact of climate-change
induced natural disasters? Second, how can countries ensure
that they have the governmental institutions required to
manage the phenomenal challenge of adaptation to climate
change? A range of economic and institutional measures are
tested for their potential effects on natural disaster

This study reports the results of “action research” to identify and prioritize stakeholder driven,
locally relevant response options to climate change. These response options comprise the basis of
local action plans developed to address agricultural adaptations to climate change in three
diverse agroecoystems: the Yaqui Valley in northwestern Mexico, the Mantaro Valley in central
Peru, and the western littoral regional of Uruguay. The study has three primary objectives. The

Ecuador is a country with exceptional
natural resource and environmental advantages and
challenges. It is strategically located and has considerable
oil reserves in the interior and the coastal region. This
document does not aim to describe the state of the
environment in Ecuador. Rather, its main objective is to
provide an analytical foundation to identify the
country's institutional weaknesses and provide

The global monitoring report 2008 comes
at an important time. This year marks the halfway point in
the effort to achieve the millennium development goals
(MDGs) by 2015. This is also an important year to work
toward a consensus on how the world is going to respond to
the challenge of climate change, building on the foundation
laid at the conference in Bali in December 2007.
Successfully meeting this challenge will be essential for