This study examines how environmental
issues have been addressed in the water sector in Brazil,
within the context of activities of the Federal Government,
generally, and those implemented under Bank sector
operations, in particular. The core focus of the study lies
in the management of water quality, as it affects both the
users of raw water, and those who are primarily concerned
with the disposal of wastewater. The report considers the

Cooperative management, and development
of Africa's international rivers holds real promise for
greater sustainability, and productivity of the
continent's increasingly scarce water resources, and
fragile environment. Moreover, the potential benefits of
cooperative water resources management, can serve as
catalysts for broader regional cooperation, economic
integration, and development - and even conflict prevention.

This issue, which serves as the annual
review on the environment, looks at the Bank's work
from July 2002 through June 2003, dedicated this year to
Water and the Environment, on the occasion of the Fifth
World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa. Following the
overview, which reviews progress in the implementation of
the Environment strategy, the report presents viewpoints on
ways to move forward in delivering water as committed in

Since the early 1990s, Jordan has
initiated efforts toward far-reaching stabilization and
structural reform. The reforms have aimed at laying the
foundations for a reduced role of the state,
private-sector-export-oriented-growth, employment, poverty
reduction, and overall improvement in the welfare of the
population. Due to this intensive effort, inflation has been
reduced, the current account of the balance of payments has

The review focuses on development and
the environment in Yemen, particularly analyzing the
environment resource base, where renewable fresh water is
scarce, mainly ground water, and its over exploitation is
one of the country's major environmental problems.
Fisheries resources are also important, while oil and gas
are significant resources contributing to some eighty five
percent of Yemen's export revenues. Environmental

The report assesses the main factors
which constrain the sustainable development of the Gezira
Scheme (GS), to develop medium, to long term plans,
including short-term actions, to address those constrains.
The GS, is described as a large and complex enterprise,
because although it is one the world's largest
irrigation systems, it has become one of the least
efficient, irrespective of the fact that it uses thirty five

The objective of this paper is to
examine the challenges in the water sector faced by Armenia
today, and outline options for management and allocation of
its water resources in the future, considering the need for
a stable, transparent apublic sector management framework
and sustainable resource use for long-term private
investment and job creation, and for appropriate balances
among water uses for domestic, industrial, agriculture,

The intensive development of tourism in
the Gulf of Aqaba presents both an opportunity and a dilemma
for Egypt. Intensive tourism, if left unmanaged, can inflict
irreversible damage on coral reef and desert ecosystems and
curtail the area's economic potential. Together with
current projections for a rapid expansion of the tourism
base in the Aqaba coast, degradation from mounting
recreational activities give rise to serious concerns about

The study reviews Niger's water
resources, and planning process, through its short- and
medium-term water investment program, and priorities in the
water supply, and sanitation sector. Critical challenges are
examined for improving its complex water resources
management to support economic growth, given its landlocked
situation, with diffuse, and mostly rural population, and
immense, untapped fossil aquifer supplies. Despite multiple

The study reviews the challenges water
resources management faces, and the opportunities for policy
formulation towards sustainable development in Argentina,
where regardless of prudent public finances management,
water resources management remain disproportionately
backward compared to regional, and international best
practices. Hence, within a frame of reference on the
country's population, institutions, and legal

This Strategy Note sets out a framework
for World Bank involvement in the environment sector in the
immediate to medium term. It elaborates upon and reinforces
the environmental objectives specified in Thailand's
Eighth National Economic and Social Development Plan
(1997-2001) and the World Bank's Country Assistance
Strategy for 1998. This report is organized in six sections.
Section 1 provides a brief introduction to the changing