In 2012, the World Bank initiated the
building urban resilience in East Asia program, aimed at
increasing the resilience of cities to disasters and the
impact of climate change by using a risk-based approach to
making public investment decisions. The objective is to
demonstrate a scalable methodology and practical tools for
risk assessment that can be used for city-level investment
decisions. This activity started with engaging selected

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.

Uruguay is a country of about 3.3
million people, which has consistently given high priority
to achieving broadly-shared economic growth and a
sustainable reduction in poverty. A strong and progressive
social compact has been a defining feature of Uruguayan
society and politics, with consistent emphasis placed on
protecting vulnerable groups, assuring worker dignity and
promoting equitable growth. This compact, combined with

The Montenegrin economy has yet to
recover from the collapse of the lending boom in 2008. The
financial crisis hit asset quality, weakening banks’
portfolios. The legacy of pre-crisis rapid increase in
indebtedness is adding to banking sector vulnerabilities.
The crisis triggered a prolonged period of balance sheet
deleveraging, which has translated into a near uninterrupted
credit contraction. Slow economic growth and gaps in the

This report presents the results of a randomized evaluation larger pool of 452 eligible candidates within the 14 CRP
of the impact of the Community Rangers Program 'treatment' communities, 280 such youths were randomly
(CRP), a community-based forest protection program selected to serve as rangers and 172 were assigned to a
implemented in Aceh, Indonesia, in 2011-14. Fauna and control group. Additional observational analysis and data
Flora International (FFt) implemented the CRP with funding collected in the non-CRP treatment Leuser National Park

Despite its challenging circumstances,
Bangladesh has proven to be remarkably resilient and
achieved significant human development gains. The country
partnership framework (CPF) will refocus the World Bank
Group’s (WBG’s) strategic direction on removing stubborn
impediments to job creation and growth. The CPF will build
on a well-performing portfolio, particularly in human
development, identified by the systematic country diagnostic

An efficient and transparent regulatory
framework governing international trade is a necessary
condition for countries to realize the benefits of
international trade. Over the last decade, Lao PDR has been
deepening its economic ties with the global economy through
the formal accession to the WTO in 2013. At the regional
level, the country is committed to be full member of the
ASEAN Economic Community. These agreements entailed profound

The WBG’s Colombia Systematic Country
Diagnostic (SCD) analyzed key constraints and opportunities
that will impact Colombia’s development in the context of
three defining country characteristics. They include uneven
territorial development, a long standing armed conflict and
a growth process led by extractive industries. The Colombia
Country Partnership Framework (CPF) proposes to address
these complex development challenges with a flexible,

The city of Kampala has undergone a
period of rapid urbanization that has contributed to the
degradation of the city’s natural environment. The urban
environmental profile for Kampala has been prepared as the
first component of the assignment promoting green urban
development in Africa: enhancing the relationship between
urbanization, environmental assets, and ecosystem services,
a project being conducted under the leadership of the World

Adaptation to climate change includes
addressing sea level rise and increased storm surges in many
coastal areas. Mangroves can substantially reduce the
vulnerability of the adjacent coastal land from inundation
and erosion. However, climate change poses a large threat to
mangroves. This paper quantifies the coastal protection
provided by mangroves for 42 developing countries in the
current climate, and a future climate change scenario with a

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate several techniques which can be used to evaluate
pathways to sustainable growth in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) via infrastructure
improvement. Decades of conflict and neglect have left the DRC’s transport infrastructure amongst the
sparsest and most dilapidated in the world.

Romanian industrial and power
installations entered the European Union Emissions Trading
Scheme (EU ETS) in 2007 when Romania joined the European
Union. Emissions from aircraft operators were included in
2012. Around 200 Romanian installations and operators
currently participate in the European Union Emissions
Trading Scheme (EU ETS), out of a total of some 10,000, and
they emitted around 40 percent of Romanian greenhouse gases