The Central America region is a small market. The region contains around 43 million inhabitants (0.6 percent of total world population) who generate around 0.25 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the region has successfully embarked on a regional integration agenda and has strong commercial links with the US, extra-regional trade-mainly with large fast-growing emerging economies-remains a challenge.

The corporate scorecard provides information on the Bank's overall performance and results achieved by its clients against the backdrop of global development progress. The scorecard facilitates dialogue between management and the board on progress made and areas that need attention. The four-tier scorecard covers the full spectrum of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) activities.

Neste estudo foram analisados os programas de fomento florestal das empresas do segmento de celulose. O objetivo é identificar a participação do fomento florestal no suprimento de madeira e as dimensões definidas nos contratos desses programas. Para o estudo utilizou-se o referencial teórico da nova economia institucional, particularmente a teoria dos contratos incompletos de longo prazo e dos custos de transação. Utilizou-se a abordagem qualitativa da pesquisa exploratória e descritiva.

The project initially focused on
building upon the 1998 Registration Law to develop
registration procedures, and on getting the Legislative
Reform Office (LROs) up and running. Cost, affordability,
and quality of services were important considerations. The
Project benefited from the country's high education
levels and relatively low labor costs. Since independence in
1991, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has sought to

Political risk has once again become a
key concern of investors after the perceived openness and
liberalization of foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes in
the 1990s. Governments that do not recognize this trend pay
a high price in lost investments. Confronting political and
regulatory risks as part of the investment climate is thus
crucial for countries to make their business environments
more competitive. This note suggests reforms that can have

This approach resulted in the
fragmentation of agricultural holdings, with families owning
noncontiguous plots. Land use was inefficient, owing in part
to the low rate of use of agricultural machinery. Making
land use and farming more efficient will require the
establishment of a functioning land market. Granting farmers
the right to sell, exchange, and lease their land will
enable them to use it as collateral and to consolidate

Agriculture is one of the major sources
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting for
approximately 14 percent of total GHG emissions. However,
unlike other sectors such as transport or energy,
agriculture is potentially a significant carbon
'sink'. Moreover, because the majority of GHG
emissions from agriculture originate in developing
countries, early intervention could be highly
cost-effective. This note examines the potential role of

Carbon finance projects are often
intended to be both a payment for an environmental service
(PES) and an instrument to facilitate sustainable
development in developing countries. To enhance livelihood
objectives, these projects should benefit rural land users,
provided they are willing and able to participate. This
holds particularly true for forest carbon initiatives.
However, high transaction costs and large uncertainties

Food insecurity and income poverty are
rampant in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-one percent of
children under the age of five are malnourished and some 72
percent of the population lives on less than US$2 day.
Forty-one percent lives on less than US$1 day. The
impoverished and hungry are concentrated disproportionately
in rural areas and rely mainly on the consumption and sale
of agricultural produce for their food and income. Africa

The recent surge in food and fuel prices
has prompted countries with high dependence on food imports
to try and lock in future food supplies through direct
investment in agricultural production in other countries.
The price surges also led to a wave of proposals to invest
in biofuels investments in agricultural land. While such
investment can provide large benefits, it also carries
considerable risks both to investors and citizens in the

Agricultural water has been seen as a
prime mechanism for fostering rural economic growth and
reducing rural poverty. But agricultural water has
encountered problems of performance, profitability and
sustainability. This resulted in a reduction in investments
from governments and lending from development organizations
like the World Bank up to early 2000s. A sourcebook on
improving poverty reduction performance of agricultural

Housing is one of the most important
sectors of the economy -- in developing countries as in
richer ones -- with large positive externalities in terms of
economic growth, public health and societal stability. It is
the primary form of asset accumulation for the poor -- often
representing more than 50 percent of the assets of
households. However, housing systems in developing countries
are dominated by badly designed, poorly targeted, and