This review focuses on how public
expenditure translates into the delivery of water supply and
sanitation services in rural and urban areas in Sierra
Leone. It describes the legal and institutional framework
for the allocation of resources assesses access to Water
Supply and Sanitation (WSS) services and past sector
performance, and analyzes public expenditure in the sector,
including the factors affecting the efficiency of use of

The objective of this review of
resettlement policy and implementation in Brazil, is to
identify ongoing good practices, as well as areas for
further improvement. It draws upon an assessment of the
Brazilian legal and institutional framework related to land
acquisition for projects in the public interest, a rapid
evaluation of the resettlement programs in six projects
(three projects that received Bank financing and three

Between 1996 and 2006, Nepal experienced
violent civil conflict as a consequence of a Maoist
insurgency, which many argue also brought about an increase
in female empowerment. This paper exploits within and
between-district variation in the intensity of violence to
estimate the impact of conflict intensity on two key areas
of the life of women in Nepal, namely education and
marriage. Overall conflict intensity had a small, positive

The aim of the scoping study was to gain
an understanding of the productive activities slum dwellers
engage in that rely on energy services and the potentials
and challenges of slums in Ghana regarding access to modern
energy services and income generation from productive
activities. The objective of the ESMED-EAfUP (Energy Sector
Management Assistance Program - ESMAP/SME Development -
Energy Access for the Urban Poor) programme is 'to

This overview summarizes the key
findings of the eight chapters and one policy note. It is
organized as follows. The first section provides a
background of Guangdong, while the second describes the
current situation of inequality in the province. Next is a
discussion of the potential impacts of the transfer of
industrial activities ('industrial transfer') in
mitigating regional disparity, followed by the

The objective of this report is to
respond to the request of the Ministry of Housing and
Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD), to assess the Housing
Provident Fund (HPF) system, and provide recommendations on
its positioning, strategy and future role in the overall
housing policy. The report focuses on a strategic review of
the HPF system and its strategy, mission, and operational
structure, and then analyses the market in which the

Housing development has direct and
indirect impacts on the environment. Through its design,
construction, and operation, housing represents a
significant point of direct consumption of natural
materials, water, and energy. Therefore, greenhouse gas
emissions embodied in housing can be very significant.
Moreover, in Brazil, civil construction is responsible for
the largest percentage of solid waste volume generated in

This note builds on the proactive
measures taken by the Government of China as announced in:
(i) the Decree of the state council of the people's
Republic of China, issued on 9 June 2008, providing
regulations on post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction; (ii)
the Directive on Counterpart Assistance (Directive) of 11
June 2008; and (iii) the land policies to support the
reconstruction of Wenchuan (land policies) of 11 June 2008

To ensure sustainable and optimal use of
its common property natural resources, Mexico will need to
strengthen its focus on enhancing stewardship in three key
sectors-forests, water, and energy resources. The key
objectives include the following: 1) identifying options
that would contribute to Mexico's climate agenda and
build social resilience through forest management; 2)
ensuring economically efficient and environmentally and

Twenty years of rapid economic
development in Ghana has done little, if anything, to reduce
the historical North, South divide in standards of living.
While rural development and urbanization have led to
significant poverty reduction in the South, similar dynamics
have been largely absent from Northern Ghana (or
equivalently the North, defined as the sum of the
administrative regions Upper West, Upper East, and the

This study reports on in-depth case
studies of dzud (extreme cold weather during winter,
subsequent to a very dry summer) impacts and responses.
Focus groups, key informant interviews, a household survey,
and photovoice, were used to document individual and
community experiences with dzud, and identify the factors
that make some households and communities more vulnerable,
and some less vulnerable, to the impacts of dzud, and the

This report focuses on the nexus of
environment and gender equality, defined as equality of
access to and control over natural resources and development
benefits; and equality of access to decision-making and
representation for environmental and natural resources
management process. The report provides recommendations to
expand women's opportunities to own land; expand
men's and women's knowledge and participation in