Watershed management has come to be
recognized as a critical issue in the Nile Basin. Upstream
land use can cause degradation and soil erosion, resulting
in lower agricultural yields locally and causing
sedimentation downstream. The increased sediment load causes
economic problems by reducing water quality, and irrigation
and hydropower potential, as well as increasing flooding.
This note shows how, through Basin-wide cooperation, the

This joint report on MDB Climate Finance
captures a particular context of activities that
Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) carry out in
developing and emerging economies. The context is built on
the premise that development finance is being provided in a
world shaped by climate change. This is the fourth edition
of the Joint Report on MDB Climate Finance. The report
covers financing for climate change mitigation and

What do Bangkok, Cairo, Lagos, Mumbai,
and Nairobi have in common? These megacities, like others in
burgeoning emerging market economies, are magnets for people
seeking better opportunities. They also suffer from serious
traffic congestion, high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, and heavy air pollution. These urban areas face a
stark dilemma: economic expansion attracts more people and
vehicles; but the resulting traffic and pollution hinder

This Fifth Edition of the Uganda
Economic Update presents evidence that if the urbanization
process is well managed, it has the potential to stimulate
economic growth and to provide productive jobs for a greater
proportion of Uganda s young and rapidly expanding
population. In many countries across the world, the growth
of cities has stimulated the establishment and expansion of
productive businesses by reducing the distance between

This paper provides field
experiment–based evidence on the potential additional forest
carbon sequestration that cleaner and more fuel-efficient
cookstoves might generate. The paper focuses on the Mirt
(meaning “best”) cookstove, which is used to bake injera,
the staple food in Ethiopia. The analysis finds that the
technology generates per-meal fuel savings of 22 to 31
percent compared with a traditional three-stone stove with

This Country Partnership Framework (CPF)
covers the five-year period FY16-20. Anchored in the
government’s medium-term development plan as outlined in a
January 2015 Cabinet of Ministers Program of Action, it also
reflects the analysis and recommendations of the World Bank
Group’s (WBG) 2015 Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) for
Uzbekistan and the lessons learned from the Completion
Report of the previous CPS. The CPF’s objectives and

Climate-related hazards have adverse
effects on national growth and poverty reduction, affecting
the poor and several sectors of the economy simultaneously.
At its current rate of growth, Vietnam will become a major
global greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. The Government of
Vietnam initiated the Climate Public Expenditure and
Investment Review (CPEIR) to advance an understanding of the
current policy and institutional architecture as well as to

Africa is rapidly urbanizing and will
lead the world’s urban growth in the coming decades.
Currently, Africa is the least‐urbanized continent,
accommodating 11.3 percent of the world’s urban population,
and the Sub‐Saharan region is the continent’s
least‐urbanized area. However, the region’s cities are
expanding rapidly, by 2050; Africa’s urban population is
projected to reach 1.2 billion, with an urbanization rate of

A slow-moving tropical depression caused
persistent heavy rains in the Solomon Islands between April
1 and 4, 2014. The highest recorded daily rainfall
associated with this event was 318mm in Honiara on April 3.
The rains caused flash flooding in Honiara, Guadalcanal,
Isabel, Malaita, and Makira-Ulawa. More than 732mm of rain
was recorded over four days at the Honiara rain gauge,
although heavier rainfall was reported inland. On April 5,

This paper presents first concepts and insights on an International Carbon Asset
Reserve. In particular, it explores how different design options can support a range of networked carbon pricing efforts. The report provides an overview of key risks in carbon markets, highlights the benefits of pooling risks on an aggregated scale,
and identifies potential design options and structures for an international carbon asset reserve. The paper contributes to the wide effort to promote a long-term price on carbon and carbon market stabilization, comparability, and networking.

After a strong finish in 2014, growth
moderated in early 2015. Malaysia’s economy expanded by 6.0
percent in 2014, accelerating to 7.3 percent q/q saar in
Q42014 due to resilient domestic demand and a pick-up of
exports. Growth moderated to 4.7 percent q/q saar in Q1 2015
on account of weaker external demand, but domestic demand
remained strong. To transform the planning and delivery of
urban transport, Malaysia may consider prioritizing the

How much do poor rural households rely
on environmental extraction from natural ecosystems? And how
does climate variability impact their livelihoods? This
paper sheds light on these two questions with household
income data from the Poverty and Environment Network
pantropical data set, combined with climate data for the
past three decades. The study finds that extraction of wild
resources (from natural forests, bushlands, fallows, etc.)