Resource information
The objective of this paper is to review
experience with completed country environmental analysis
(CEAs) to improve the effectiveness of CEAs as a strategic
analytical tool. Through in-depth analysis of the process,
methodologies, costs, and results of completed CEA pilots,
the paper assesses how effective CEAs have been in informing
and providing strategic guidance to the Bank and client
countries on environment-development issues and the extent
to which they have facilitated donor coordination. The
analysis carried out in this paper also provides feedback on
when to prepare a CEA, how to prepare and structure CEAs,
and how to use specific methodologies and processes in
influencing policy dialogue with partner countries. The
findings are of potential interest to World Bank sector
managers, country directors, CEA task teams, and
environmental staff, but also to development partners who
carry out work similar to CEAs. The paper is based on a desk
review of completed CEAs and on interviews with task
managers and members of CEA teams. Several reports,
including a fieldwork-based assessment of the Ghana, India,
and Guatemala CEAs commissioned by the Environment
Department; a review on Tunisia by the Quality Assurance
Group (QAG); and a report commissioned by the Latin America
and Caribbean Region, based on in-country assessments of
completed CEAs, have also informed this study. A detailed
case study analysis of each completed CEA was prepared for
this exercise; it substantively informed the review and is
available as a background paper. The original CEA concept
note proposed that CEAs have three main building blocks: (a)
establishment of environment-development priorities linked
with growth and poverty reduction, (b) assessment of the
environmental implications of sector policies, and (c)
institutional analysis. Assessing CEAs against this building
block structure, the review highlights several findings.
