Reduction of carbon emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation has been identified as
a cost effective element of the post-Kyoto strategy to
achieve long-term climate objectives. Its success depends
primarily on the design and implementation of a financial
mechanism that provides land-holders sufficient incentives
to participate in such scheme. This paper proposes
self-enforcing contracts (relational contracts) as a

Questions about the ultimate size of
mineral and energy resource endowments and the degree of
fiscal prudence which should be exercised by countries
engaged in resource extraction have become central for many
developing countries during the recent resource boom. To
explore these questions, this paper develops a model of
optimal resource extraction and discovery that combines two
polar assumptions: (i) that discovering a resource today

Weather is a key source of income risk
for many firms and households, particularly in emerging
market economies. This paper uses a randomized controlled
trial approach to study how an innovative risk management
instrument for hedging rainfall risk affects production
decisions among a sample of Indian agricultural firms. The
analysis finds that the provision of insurance induces
farmers to shift production toward higher-return but

There are two common problems in flood
hydrology: 1) estimate the return period for a given flood;
and 2) estimate the flood for a given return period. A
commonly used procedure to solve these problems is to fit a
probability density function such as the Gumbel, Pearson
type three or the generalized extreme value distributions to
the historical data. The Pearson probability distribution
was named after the statistician Pearson, it is also called

This paper studies the role of
cooperation and reciprocity on the structure of
self-enforcing carbon sequestration contracts. The optimal
contract is derived as a result of the optimizing actions of
purely self-interested agents, and agents that act according
to social or egoistic preferences. The analysis finds that
buyers' preferences do not affect contract structure
unless the buyer is averse to inequality. In contrast, the

This first World Bank for Results report
provides the Bank's shareholders, partners, and
external stakeholders with an integrated view of results and
performance in recent years. It serves as a companion to the
World Bank Corporate Scorecard. Aggregating results that
countries have achieved with Bank support against the
backdrop of global development results, the report also
assesses operational and organizational performance at the

The study examines Bangladesh's
extreme vulnerability to climate change, whose low-lying
topography, and funnel-shaped coast, further exposes the
land to cyclones, and tidal surges, resulting in seasonal
floods. These factors, and the large population base,
widespread poverty, aggravated by the lack of strong
institutional development, makes the country particularly
vulnerable to climate variability. Various climatic factors,

Land degradation is accelerating and drought is escalating worldwide. At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders clearly acknowledged that desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD) are challenges of a global dimension affecting the sustainable development of all countries, in particular developing countries. In view of this, they committed to strive to achieve a land-degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development and to monitor land degradation globally (paragraphs 205–207 of “The future we want”).

La degradación de la tierra se está acelerando, y las sequías van en aumento en todo el mundo. En la conferencia Río+20, los dirigentes mundiales reconocieron sin ambages que la desertificación, la degradación de la tierra y la sequía son problemas de dimensión mundial que afectan al desarrollo sostenible de todos los países, en particular los que están en desarrollo.

Research was conducted in Alutilla Valley in eastern Bangladesh to identify the nature of existing agroforestry systems and to identify potential agroforestry models that could ameliorate currently degrading forest resources Data were collected through farmer participatory research and a structured quarterly survey in two villages. Qualitative and supplementary quantitative analysis methods were used to assess the financial potential of agroforestry systems.

Forest resources directly contribute to
the livelihoods of 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people
living in extreme poverty and indirectly support the natural
environment that nourishes agriculture and the food supplies
of nearly half the population of the developing world.
Forests also are central to growth in many developing
countries through trade and industrial development. However,
mismanagement of this resource has cost governments revenues

This report focuses on one specific
interaction: the role of forests, and particularly protected
forests, in maintaining quality of drinking water for large
cities. There are many reasons for this focus: many city
dwellers already face a crisis of water quality, and
contaminated water spreads a vast and largely unnecessary
burden in terms of short and long-term health impacts
including infant mortality, with knock-on effects on ability