Secure land tenure in rural landscapes is widely recognized as an essential foundation for achieving a range of economic development goals. However, forest areas in low and middle-income countries face particular challenges in strengthening the security of land and resource tenure. Forest peoples are often among the poorest and most politically marginalized communities in their national contexts, and their tenure systems are often based on customary, collective rights that have insufficient formal legal protection.

The countries of East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) are among the most vulnerable in the world to the physical, social, and economic effects of natural disasters. Disaster impacts are not distributed uniformly within a population. Due to existing socio-economic conditions, cultural beliefs and traditional practices, women and men are affected differently. In many cases, the mortality rates for women in the aftermath of a disaster are much higher than those of men.

With a fast growing population requiring an ever growing supply of food, a national poverty rate of 63 percent, and a labor force that is dominated by agricultural work, Nigeria's efforts to boost agricultural productivity could not be better timed. Though women constitute a large share of the agricultural labor force in Nigeria, little is known about their activities, roles, and constraints in the sector.

Even though a large majority of poor households are engaged in agriculture, per capita productivity and real levels of sectoral growth remain low in Madagascar. Approximately 80 percent of the population are engaged in agriculture, which provides the main source of income for households, albeit at subsistence levels. Cultivation practices are based on extensification strategies with implications for Madagascar’s fragile natural resource base, rather than improving the productivity of existing farms and land use.

This report summarizes the results of the analytical work on housing market finance carried out by the World Bank Group at the request of the Ministry of Finance. The purpose of the work was to inform the policy dialogue about how best to develop a sustainable housing finance market in Nigeria, and improve the effectiveness of interventions aimed at stimulating the housing market and providing quality housing to the population. The work was funded by DFID and carried out over 2013 and 2014.

The Government of Tanzania is committed to supporting women entrepreneurs with both policy and practical support. The Government of Tanzania has made impressive strides in supporting women entrepreneurs, and its policies reflect a commitment to advancing women. The Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Marketing, which commissioned this report, has established special initiatives to reach out to women, and government supported organizations such as the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) have been working to empower women entrepreneurs through training and access to credit.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Tonga. The report analyzes gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Four key investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice, the courts, and mediation; and access to and enforcement of rights over registered land.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Timor-Leste. The report analyses gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Four key investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice and alternative dispute resolution; and access to, and enforcement of, rights over registered land.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Solomon Islands. The report analyses gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Four key investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice, the courts and mediation; and access to and enforcement of rights over registered land.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Samoa. The report analyses gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Six investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice and alternative dispute resolution; access to, and enforcement of, rights over registered land; access to finance; and access to, and enforcement of, rights over intellectual property.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Vanuatu. The report analyses gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Four investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice, the courts, and mediation, and; access to and enforcement of, rights over registered land.

This report is one of six gender and investment climate reform assessments undertaken in six Pacific nations including Papua New Guinea. The report analyses gender-based investment climate barriers which constrain private sector development and identifies solutions to address them. Four key investment climate areas are considered: public private dialogue; starting and licensing a business; access to justice, the courts, and alternative dispute resolution; and access to, and enforcement of, rights over registered land.