Environmental degradation is costly, to
individuals, to societies, and to the environment. This
book, edited by Lelia Croitoru and Maria Sarraf, makes these
costs clear by examining a number of studies carried out
over the past few years by the World Bank's Middle East
and North Africa region. Even more important than estimating
the monetary cost of environmental degradation (COED),
however, are the clear guidance and policy implications

Structural change is a key driver of
rapid growth: countries diversify into new industries, firms
learn new things, people move to new locations. Anything
that slows this structural change is also likely to slow
growth. Because urbanization is one of the most important
enabling parallel processes in rapid growth, making it work
well is critical. Urbanization's contribution to growth
comes from two sources: the difference between rural and

India is the largest groundwater user in
the world, with an estimated usage of around 230 cubic
kilometers per year, more than a quarter of the global
total. With more than 60 percent of irrigated agriculture
and 85 percent of drinking water supplies dependent on it,
groundwater is a vital resource for rural areas in India.
Reliance of urban and industrial waste supplies on
groundwater is also becoming increasingly significant in

Drawing on several studies on APEC
economies, this report discusses economic policy choices for
mitigating and adapting to climate change effects. It
highlights that APEC economies will have a central role in
both sides of climate change. These economies include some
of the largest emitters and also those among the most
vulnerable to the impact of climate change. The report
suggests that action on climate change will require a wide

The goal of the Congo, Democratic
Republic of (DRC's) trade policy is to create a
regulatory, fiscal and institutional environment in which
domestic and foreign trade can develop unhindered, opening
up the country's vast territory and integrating it into
regional and international trade channels. In this respect,
the analyses in this report highlight three priorities: (i)
to streamline and reduce port taxation; (ii) to conclude the

The objective of this Country
Environmental Analysis (CEA) is to highlight the underlying
challenges and opportunities for Indonesia's
environment and management of its natural resources in order
to guide the World Bank support to Indonesian institutions
for more sustainable development. Rather, the CEA sets the
broader context (chapter one) and economic costs of
environmental degradation (chapter two) in order to identify

After 20 years of neglect by
international donors, agriculture is now again in the
headlines because higher food prices are increasing food
insecurity and poverty. In the coming years it will be
essential to increase food productivity and production in
developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and
with smallholders. This however requires finding viable
solutions to a number of complex technical, institutional

Adaptation has long been neglected in
the debate and policies surrounding climate change. However,
increasing awareness of climate change has led many
stakeholders to look for the best way to limit its
consequences and has resulted in a large number of
initiatives related to adaptation, particularly at the local
level. This report proposes a general economic framework to
help stakeholders in the public sector to develop effective

This paper explores the reduction of
food insecurity in Bolivia, adopting a supply side approach
that analyzes the role of agricultural spending on
vulnerability. Vulnerability to food insecurity is captured
by a municipal level composite -- developed locally within
the framework of World Food Program food security analysis
-- that combines welfare outcomes, weather conditions and
agricultural potential for all 327 municipalities in 2003,

The Dominican Republic-Central American
Free Trade Agreement with the United States aims to create a
free trade zone for economic development. The Agreement is
expected to intensify commerce and investment among the
participating countries. This paper analyzes the changes in
the production and trading patterns in 2-digit manufacturing
sectors with the goal of understanding the short-term
environmental implications of the Dominican Republic-Central

This paper investigates the impact of
rising wheat prices -- during the 2007/08 global food crisis
-- on food security in Afghanistan. Exploiting the temporal
stratification of a unique nationally-representative
household survey, the analysis finds evidence of large
declines in real per capita food consumption and in food
security (per capita calorie intake and household dietary
diversity) corresponding to the price shocks. The data

Asia's green revolution in rice was
transformational and improved the lives of millions of poor
households. Rice has become an increasingly important part
of African diets and imports of rice have grown. Agronomists
point out that large areas in Africa are well suited for
rice and are encouraged by the field tests of new rice
varieties. So is Africa poised for its own green revolution
in rice? This study reviews the recent literature on rice