Sri Lanka's ten-year development
framework aims at accelerating economic growth while
ensuring a path of sustainable development and prioritizing
conservation of the country's natural heritage. It is
in this context that this policy note seeks to examine the
scope for enhancing protection of Sri Lanka's natural
assets through nature based tourism as an instrument for
conservation with a specific focus on elephant conservation.

This issue of environment matters
celebrates the 2010 international year of biodiversity and
describes some of the challenges and opportunities in
protecting biodiversity for the benefit of humankind. From
the world's highest mountain ranges to the lowland
plains, and from the great oceans and coastal wetlands to
agricultural landscapes, nations and communities rely on the
bounty and services of natural ecosystems. Biological

An increase in sea surface temperature
is evident at all latitudes and in all oceans. The current
understanding is that ocean warming plays a major role in
intensified cyclone activity and heightened storm surges.
The vulnerability of coastlines to intensified storm surges
can be ascertained by overlaying Geographic Information
System information with data on land, population density,
agriculture, urban extent, major cities, wetlands, and gross

This policy note focuses on analyzing
critical institutional and planning issues affecting
Dhaka's Metropolitan Area, and suggests policy
recommendations for introducing sound urban environmental
planning to improve the quality of life by mitigating and
reversing environmental degradation. The report concludes
with urgent recommended actions to address gaps in urban
planning and environmental management that focus on

Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs)
provide a central framework for macroeconomic, structural,
and social policies in developing countries. Because of the
numerous and complex links between environment and poverty,
it is important that environmental issues are taken into
account in the PRS process. This paper follows six previous
assessments of the degree of mainstreaming environment in
the PRS process using a similar methodology to present

The objective of this study is to
develop an integrated basin planning framework for analyzing
and prioritizing water resources development options in
Afghanistan, and to demonstrate its application in the Kabul
River basin. Accordingly, the study focuses on the tasks of:
(a) analyzing the medium and long-term options for
developing the water resources of the Kabul River basin for
multiple purposes, including domestic and industrial water

The Ghana Country Environment Analysis
(CEA) has thus been formulated to assist the Government of
Ghana and its development partners to: (a) assess the
country's environmental priorities in key sectors, the
environmental implications of key economic and sector
policies, and the country's institutional capacity to
address them; and (b) find practical management,
institutional, and policy solutions to handle issues of

The World Bank's mission is to
alleviate poverty and support sustainable development.
Climate change is a serious environmental challenge that
could undermine these goals. Since the industrial
revolution, the mean surface temperature of earth has
increased an average 2 degree Celsius due to the
accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Most of
this change has occurred in the past 30 to 40 years, and the

The need for land-related investment to
ensure sustainable land management and increase productivity
of land use is widely recognized. However, there is little
rigorous evidence on the effects of property rights for
increasing agricultural productivity and contributing toward
poverty reduction in Africa. Whether and by how much
overlapping property rights reduce investment incentives,
and the scope for policies to counter such disincentives,

The report begins with definitions of
watersheds and watershed management, a characterization of
the problem of watershed degradation, and a short history of
watershed management operations and policies (Chapter 1).
The following four chapters discuss the findings from
experience with implementing watershed management programs
over the last 20 years based both on the project review and
on the literature. The second chapter discusses the findings

The overall objective of the
Comprehensive Assessment of the Agricultural Sector (CAAS)
is to provide an evidence base to enable appropriate
strategic policy responses by the Government of Liberia
(GoL) and its development partners in order to maximize the
contribution of the agriculture sector to the
Government's overarching policy objectives. Given the
strong relationship between growth in agricultural

Forest in Kenya is an important source
of livelihood, environmental services, and economic growth.
In November of 2005 the Government of Kenya (GOK) ratified a
new Forests Act. The act contains many innovative provisions
to correct previous shortcomings, including a strong
emphasis on partnerships, the engagement of local
communities, and promotion of private investment. The
purpose of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is