The primary completion rate for 7 countries-Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Niger-more than doubled between 1991 and 2009. Still large differences persist between rich and poor within countries. In some low-income countries, such as Benin, the completion rates for the richest quintile are 95 percent or higher, but completion rates for the poorest quintile are 35 percent or less. And there is a 9 percentage point gap in the completion rates for boys and girls.

For the last 15 years, the agglomeration of Riga has expanded and one of the most important problems that Riga faces is movement of middle-class people to surrounding municipalities. This tendency is mostly referable to the processes in the USA during the second half of the 20th century. This research has first identified the history and causes of urban sprawl since the earliest times and has compared it with the situation in Riga Region.

The report considers the critical issues providing the context for discussing land issues affecting West Africa as a region. These include the political, social and economic context, colonial legacy and legal plural systems, the operations of regional economic communities and other regional initiatives, impact of demography, migration and urbanization, conflicts and post-conflict issues, as well as shared resources and ecosystems.

This guideline jointly published by The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in partnership with the Urban Design Lab of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, provides practical tools for city planners and decision makers to reform urban planning and infrastructure design according to the principles of eco-efficiency and social inclusiveness.

En este número nos proponemos estudiar la Asociación Mundial de la Bioenergía y la importante labor llevada a cabo por esta entidad en colaboración con gobiernos y organizaciones internacionales para establecer unos indicadores de sostenibilidad destinados a los proyectos bioenergéticos. También informaremos sobre «Alimentos para las ciudades», una iniciativa integrativa orientada a coordinar las actividades de la FAO en zonas urbanas y periurbanas, y a compartir con otras organizaciones internacionales y de la sociedad civil las mejores prácticas realizadas en este ámbito.

In this issue, we discuss the Global Bioenergy Partnership and the important work it is undertaking - in collaboration with governments and international organizations - to establish sustainability indicators for bioenergy projects. We also report on the Food for the Cities Initiative, an integrative approach to coordinating FAO's activities in urban and peri-urban areas and sharing best practices with other international and civil society organizations. Finally, we introduce the new water report: Climate change, water and food security.

Dans ce numéro, nous examinerons le Partenariat mondial sur les bioénergies et le travail important qu’il a entrepris – en collaboration avec les gouvernements et les institutions internationales – pour formuler des indicateurs de durabilité pour les projets de bioénergie. Nous nous intéresserons aussi à l’Initiative ‘Aliments pour les villes’, une approche intégratrice pour coordonner les activités de la FAO dans les zones urbaines et périurbaines et pour partager les bonnes pratiques avec d’autres organisations internationales et de la société civile.

Made under section 77(1) of the Urban Planning Act 

The Banjul Urban Profiling consists of an accelerated, action-oriented assessment of urban conditions, focusing on priority needs, capacity gaps, and existing institutional responses at local and national levels. The purpose of the study is to develop urban poverty reduction policies at local, national, and regional levels, through an assessment of needs and response mechanisms, and as a contribution to the wider-ranging implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Malaysian economy decelerated as solid domestic demand was not sufficient to offset a weakening external environment. Private consumption growth continued at a healthy pace. Favorable rubber and palm oil prices drove up incomes of smallholders while continued employment and wage growth supported urban incomes. In contrast, fixed investment was more volatile, with private investment showing signs of picking up while public investments lagged.

The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding for policy makers and service providers of mobility and migration among ex-combatants and the effectiveness of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programming in Uganda. The study followed a scoping study on migration in Uganda conducted in March 2011 by the Transitional Demobilization and Reintegration Program (TDRP) of the World Bank.

Reforestation measures for degraded lands, strategies for the sustainable management of forest resources, and agroforestry practices that incorporate trees into farming systems are increasingly demonstrating their promise for producing commercialized tree products. Although the level of investment so far has remained modest, the challenge is to find ways to scale up promising investments in a way that will have a clear impact at the landscape level.