Within the next two decades Indonesia
aspires to generate prosperity, avoid a middle-income trap,
and leave no one behind as it tries to catch up with
high-income economies. Can Indonesia achieve them? This
report argues that the country has the potential to rise and
become more prosperous and equitable. But the risk of
floating in the middle is real. Which pathway the economy
will take depends on: (i) the adoption of a growth strategy

While the negative impacts of climate
change on urban areas are well-known and widely discussed,
its implicit impacts on historic downtowns have not been
studied as extensively. In recent years, cultural heritage
conservation and valorization have increasingly become
drivers of local economic development. Many projects
supported by the World Bank in this field help leverage
cultural heritage for economic development while developing

This report analyses the current status of the land-use sector under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, and formulates options for how various incentives and systems could be harmonised under a future climate treaty. It argues that the land-use sector serves key environmental and social functions and supports the livelihoods of around a half of the world’s population. However, it is argued that the climate regime fails to formulate a coherent vision or set of incentives for mitigation and adaptation from the sector.

The transport sector is an important
economic sector in Belarus, contributing 6.7 percent of
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2008 and 6.6 percent in
2009. Belarus has been a net exporter of practically all
modes of transport services. The country serves as a transit
transport corridor between the European Union (EU) and
Russia and potentially between the EU and Asia; thus, the
strategic geographical location of Belarus places the

Cities and the people who live in them
account for more than 80 percent of the world's total
greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, more than 80 percent
of the overall annual global costs of adaptation to climate
change are estimated to be borne by urban areas. This issues
brief looks at potential financing opportunities and costs
of mitigation and adaptation in the urban context.
Wide-ranging potential sources for finance for climate

This study was undertaken by the World
Bank in its initiative to support Brazil's integrated
effort towards reducing national and global emissions of
greenhouse gases while promoting long term development. The
study builds on the best available knowledge and to this
effect the study team undertook a broad consultative process
and surveyed the copious literature available to identify
the need for incremental efforts and centers of excellences.

The strategic / sectoral social and
environmental assessment of power development options (SSEA)
offers an overview analysis of major regional power
development options and regional transmission
interconnections in the Nile Equatorial Lakes region in
Eastern Africa. The assessment provides a solid foundation
for planning the development of the power sectors of the
region as it contains a proposed development strategy and a

Large increases in international food
prices in 2007 and early 2008 have become a key concern for
policy makers in East Asia. The increases are likely to have
a significant impact on the living standards of many,
particularly the poor. By March 2008, dollar nominated world
food prices were more than two and a half times higher than
in early 2002. Almost three quarters of this increase
occurred since the start of 2007, and about half since the

Miombo woodlands stretch across Southern
Africa in a belt from Angola and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) in the west to Mozambique in the east. The
miombo region covers an area of around 2.4 million km. In
some areas, miombo has been highly degraded as a result of
human use (southern Malawi and parts of Zimbabwe), while in
others, it remains relatively intact (such as in parts of
northern Mozambique, and in isolated areas of Angola and the

This document presents the recently
elected Colombian administration with a set of policy notes
meant to enrich the debate around critical issues affecting
the country's development. These notes build mostly
upon existing research and represent the Bank's
independent view on topics which are either at the crux of
ongoing policy discussions or merit a more prominent place
in this dialogue. This window of opportunity provides a very

The strategic / sectoral social and
environmental assessment of power development options (SSEA)
offers an overview analysis of major regional power
development options and regional transmission
interconnections in the Nile Equatorial Lakes region in
Eastern Africa. The assessment provides a solid foundation
for planning the development of the power sectors of the
region as it contains a proposed development strategy and a

The strategic / sectoral social and
environmental assessment of power development options (SSEA)
offers an overview analysis of major regional power
development options and regional transmission
interconnections in the Nile Equatorial Lakes region in
Eastern Africa. The assessment provides a solid foundation
for planning the development of the power sectors of the
region as it contains a proposed development strategy and a