Expert statements indicate that annually
approximately 20 billion dollars will be needed to prevent
90 percent deforestation in tropical countries. Development
practitioners are eager to see the benefits from REDD plus
initiatives shared with local partners. Equally important to
understanding how local partners might benefit are questions
such as, who should derive benefits from REDD plus
initiatives, and how to ensure these initiatives reach the

Liberia aims to achieve middle-income
status by 2030 through broad participation and inclusive
growth. The Government's growth strategy aims to
accelerate growth through the exploitation of natural
resources, while maintaining sound macroeconomic policies,
improving the business environment, and prudently allocating
aid and commodity-based financing resources to expand
infrastructure and formal sector employment. However,

This Investment Climate Survey Report
(ICSR) for Cote d'Ivoire evaluates the country's
business environment by (i) analyzing barriers to private
sector investment and growth and how they vary among
different types of firms, (ii) benchmarking the Ivorian
investment climate and firm performance to that of other
countries and (iii) providing recommendations to promote and
strengthen the private sector. The ICSR is supported by the

The objective of the Bhutan Investment
Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment
climate in Bhutan in all its operational dimensions and
promote policies to strengthen the private sector. This ICA
consists of two volumes. Volume 1 summarizes the main
results. Volume 2 presents a more detailed analysis of each
of the three main themes of the report: labor productivity
and skills, access to finance, and business government

The second Climate Investment Funds
(CIF) partnership forum took place at the headquarters of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines, on
March 18-19, 2010. The objective of the 2010 partnership
forum was to share lessons learned from the CIF design
process and from early implementation of CIF-funded
programs. The forum aimed to provide an open, transparent
and constructive platform for dialogue on knowledge gained

This assessment of the anti-money
laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism
(CFT) regime of the Arab Republic of Egypt (Egypt) is based
on the Forty Recommendations 2003 and the Nine Special
Recommendations on Terrorist Financing 2001 of the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), andwas prepared using
the AML/CFT assessment Methodology 2004, as updated in
February 2008. The assessment team considered all the

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
is the third most populous county in Sub Saharan Africa and
has many natural advantages that would enable it to
experience rapid sustained economic growth and rapid poverty
alleviation. These include rich and diverse natural
resources, such as mining and hydroelectric potential,
abundant fertile land, and a large domestic market. The
country is emerging from conflict and democratic election,

The situation in The Gambia is a good
example of the many challenges small states have to deal
with. The country is faced with institutional capacity
constraints and due to a narrow resource base and a small
domestic market, its production base and exports show little
diversification. Like other small states, the country tends
to rely heavily on external trade and foreign investment to
overcome its scale and resource limitation, increasing its

Interest in investment climates has
emerged relatively recently. In the 1960s and 1970s,
governments in many countries believed they should play a
direct role in rural credit, input supply, production,
trade, transport, distribution, and even marketing. However,
in the 1980s and 1990s, government-dominated systems fell
into disgrace because of poor performance. For the rural
sector, the primary focus had traditionally been on

This report summarizes the findings of
Investment Climate Assessments (ICAs) carried out for all
countries in the South Asia region. It compares South Asian
countries to countries in other regions, analyzes
similarities and differences within the region, and
identifies the way forward in improving the investment
climate. The first volume analyzes similarities and
differences within the region and between South Asia and the

This report summarizes the findings of
Investment Climate Assessments (ICAs) carried out for all
countries in the South Asia region. It compares South Asian
countries to countries in other regions, analyzes
similarities and differences within the region, and
identifies the way forward in improving the investment
climate. The first volume analyzes similarities and
differences within the region and between South Asia and the

Land issues have been rising up the agenda of policy makers due to rapid urbanisation and high food prices. Yet, land administration is one of the most corrupt government activities. How should international donors respond? The first priority is to support domestic governments in improving land administration and anti-corruption processes in general. In addition, donors should undertake explicit analysis of the political economy of land, reduce the impact of their own projects on land administration corruption, help increase transparency and exploit international connections.