The effects of policy interventions on
women are of increasing concern to policy makers in all
fields, and trade is no exception. This note reviews recent
World Bank projects and studies that 'gender
inform' trade-related interventions, and it uses the
Bank's experience to promote gender-equal opportunities
by highlighting entry points at which trade projects,
studies, and policies can effectively address gender issues.

Over the recent year, humanity has faced
natural disasters of unprecedented magnitude and impact.
However, governments and international aid organizations do
not systematically plan for preventing and mitigating the
effects of natural disasters, and macroeconomic scenarios
seldom take into account the results of their increasing
incidence, damages, and costs. Using evaluative lessons from
the World Bank's and others' experience, this note

This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Mexico, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Mexico
is the only developing country to have submitted three
national communications to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), indicating strong
commitment by the government for addressing climate change

This approach resulted in the
fragmentation of agricultural holdings, with families owning
noncontiguous plots. Land use was inefficient, owing in part
to the low rate of use of agricultural machinery. Making
land use and farming more efficient will require the
establishment of a functioning land market. Granting farmers
the right to sell, exchange, and lease their land will
enable them to use it as collateral and to consolidate

This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Colombia, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Like
most countries in Latin America, Colombia has submitted one
national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a second one
under preparation. Agriculture (including land use change

Despite the large potential of the
agricultural sector in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,
production is still limited by a lack of technical knowledge
and, in many cases, an unwillingness to change agricultural
practices inherited from Soviet times. The problem has more
than one cause: poor technology, management skills, and
quality of produce prevent farms from joining agribusiness
supply chains. Limited access to financing further prevents

Worldwide, most countries recognize
equal rights between men and women. Many have produced
regulations intended to fight discrimination and programs
granting women access to health, education, and economic
rights such as land ownership. However, the fact remains
that women have fewer opportunities than men to benefit from
economic development, with lower participation in the labor
force. Even in the most advanced countries, their wages

The Government of Tanzania has, in
recent years, focused on revitalizing its mining sector in
order to attract foreign investment, with the goal of
raising its contribution to Tanzania's Gross Domestic
Product. With the support from the World Bank through the
Mineral Sector Development Project (MSDP), the legal and
fiscal regimes were revised and an environmental framework
was put in place. As the growth of the small scale mining

Unplanned and unregulated urban
development is not unique to Swaziland, but addressing the
issue through direct consultations with beneficiaries is an
important improvement toward resolving this persistent
problem. The Swaziland Urban Development Project includes
standard infrastructure work, such as increasing urban
roads, rehabilitating and expanding water and sewage
services, and developing a solid waste facility However, in

The purpose of this Act, consisting of 86 sections, divided into five Parts and completed by three Schedules, is to give effect to the deed of settlement, which is a deed that settles the historical claims that relate to the Maraeroa A and B blocks dated 12 March 2011.

The Land Tenure Journal is a peer-reviewed, open-access flagship journal of the Climate, Energy and Tenure Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Land Tenure Journal, launched in early 2010, is a successor to the Land Reform, Land Settlement and Co-operatives, which was published between 1964 and 2009. The Land Tenure Journal is a medium for the dissemination of quality information and diversified views on land and natural resources tenure.

In the 1980s the Thai government tried to legalize squatters by issuing special titles that restricted the sale and rental of the land. Using data from 2,874 farming households collected in 1997, the author finds that in places where these government titles where issued, leased plots are more likely to be titled than those that are self-cultivated. For these areas, he uses a model to estimate a 6 percent risk premium in the rental rate for untitled plots.