The World development report 2010:
development and climate change highlights the link between
biotechnology, development, and environment. Aside from
recognizing biotechnology's potential to improve crop
productivity, increase crop adaptation to climatic stresses
such as drought, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, the
report emphasizes the need to establish science-based
regulatory systems 'so that risks and benefits can be

In this report, in addition to aggregate
results, six brief case studies are used to highlight the
impact of Bank supported mining sector reform on various
indicators at different links of the value chain. These
include: the impacts on investment; production and
employment in Argentina; institutional capacity building in
Papua New Guinea; production and fiscal revenues in
Tanzania; community and regional development in Madagascar;

This document proposes a set of
generally applicable recommendations and good practices for
creating a Mineral Rights Cadastre (MRC), an administrative
body responsible for overseeing the process of granting and
managing mineral licenses throughout a country. The document
reviews lessons learned from World Bank-funded projects
aimed at reforming mineral rights management and assesses
the impacts and benefits of the implemented changes. The

The objective of this study is to
develop an integrated basin planning framework for analyzing
and prioritizing water resources development options in
Afghanistan, and to demonstrate its application in the Kabul
River basin. Accordingly, the study focuses on the tasks of:
(a) analyzing the medium and long-term options for
developing the water resources of the Kabul River basin for
multiple purposes, including domestic and industrial water

Proper stewardship of revenue from the
oil, gas, and mining industries has tremendous potential to
lift people out of poverty and contribute to sustainable
development. These industries create jobs directly and
indirectly, transfer technologies and knowledge, and
generate significant income. These benefits provide
governments with a financial base for infrastructure
development and social service delivery. The extractive

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

This paper describes the contract
mechanism developed for the Regional Integrated
Silvopastoral Ecosystem Management Project, which is being
implemented with financing from the Global Environment
Facility (GEF). The project is testing the use of the
payment-for-service mechanism to encourage the adoption of
silvopastoral practices in three countries of Central and
South America: Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The

Country Assistance Strategies (CASs)
have been periodically reviewed from a variety of different
perspectives. This review assesses how environment is
integrated in CASs for 2005 and also compares the progress
made by 37 countries over the period of 1999-2005. Five
themes are used to assess the 23 CASs across an established
methodology also used in previous reviews. The five themes
are: issues identification, treatment, mainstreaming,

The review examines the use of
environmental valuation in 101 projects in the World
Bank's environmental portfolio approved in fiscal years
2000, 2001, and 2002. It has three broad objectives. First,
it examines the extent to which environmental costs and
benefits have been incorporated in the economic analysis of
projects. Second, it examines how well valuation was used.
Third, it seeks to identify areas of weakness so as to feed

The World Bank's new environment
strategy advocates cost-effective reduction of air and water
pollutants that are most harmful to human health. In
addition, it addresses threats to the livelihood of over one
billion people who live on fragile lands-lands that are
steeply sloped, arid, or covered by natural forests. The new
approach will require accurate information about
environmental threats to health and livelihood, as well as

Against the backdrop of economic
transition, several countries in Eastern Europe have
undertaken far-reaching programs to restructure their coal
sectors, which in the 1990s were in a state of deep crisis.
One aspect of restructuring has been the closure of
loss-making mines, which are often located in communities
where the coal industry is the dominant employer, and the
significant downsizing of the workforce. Mitigation efforts

About 50 countries have prepared interim
and full Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). In this
context, this paper examines Millennium Development Goal
(MDG)7: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, its targets
and indicators, and responds to three questions: To what
extent do PRSPs define and adopt targets and indicators that
align with those of MDG7? To what extent do the available
data allow tracking of progress with respect to MDG7? When