Other Infrastructure Study

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  • Publication
    LAC Digital Economy Country Diagnostic: Ecuador
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-02-12) World Bank
    Ecuador has made significant progress on the adoption of digital technologies over the past decade. Despite these advances, millions of Ecuadorians, particularly those in rural areas, continue to be excluded from the digital economy because of affordability constraints, uneven infrastructure, and gaps in digital skills. Accelerating the adoption of digital technologies and addressing inequities in digital access can help Ecuador achieve its development goals. This report provides recommendations to support the effective implementation of Ecuador’s Digital Transformation Agenda 2022–2025. Universal internet access and digital transformation can help the country promote productivity and competitiveness in the non-extractive sectors, foster sustainable growth, create better jobs, and bridge inequalities, particularly the urban-rural divide as concerns the indigenous populations. The government’s commitment to digital transformation to address its development challenges is evident in the newly passed agenda, which includes digital infrastructure as axis number one. This report provides Ecuadorian authorities with recommendations for implementing the agenda across six pillars: digital infrastructure, digital public platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses, digital skills, and the trust environment. Key recommendations include legal and regulatory reforms to address affordability barriers to internet access, foster fintech and e-commerce ecosystems, and enhance cybersecurity. Ecuador’s digital transformation will also require investments in fixed and mobile infrastructure and international bandwidth, as well as in digital public platforms, to improve user experience and interoperability. Guiding student progress in digital skills from primary to higher education and digitizing government payments are also key reform areas.
  • Publication
    Identification for Development (ID4D): Diagnostic of ID Systems in Cameroon
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-01-23) World Bank
    An estimated 7.5 million Cameroonians—about one in three people in the country—do not have an official proof of identity such as a birth certificate or national ID card. More than one in three children have not had their birth registered and more than half do not have a birth certificate. An estimated 2.5 million adults do not have a national ID. In addition to being the objective of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 16.9— to “provide legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030—identification is a key enabler for individuals to exercise their rights and for progress towards many other SDG targets, such as financial and economic inclusion, social protection, gender equality, and safe and orderly migration. Women, people in rural areas, young people aged 18-24, people among the poorest 40 percent of the population, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) disproportionately suffer due to the lack of identity documents. Those without a birth certificate or a national ID are often unable to access basic services and economic opportunities, such as education, social assistance, financial services, or formal employment in.
  • Publication
    Green Data Centers: Towards a Sustainable Digital Transformation - A Practitioner’s Guide
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-12-05) International Telecommunication Union; World Bank
    Reliable, secure data hosting solutions are becoming increasingly important to support everyday functions across societies, including for public management and service delivery. As a result, investments in data infrastructure are increasing around the world, contributing to growth of the digital economy and to goals for digital transformation of public administration and services. Data infrastructure such as data centers and cloud solutions are essential for modern societies, but they are also highly energy intensive and consume refrigerants and often large amounts of water for cooling. As such, they leave a large environmental footprint and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Climate change also affects data centers. Climate hazards such as floods and increasing temperatures put data centers at risk and require site specific adaptation measures to protect investments and ensure resilient data storage. To ensure sustainable digital transformation, efforts are needed to green digital infrastructure, this includes managing climate risks and reducing the climate and environmental footprint of data centers. A wide range of practitioners are involved in decisions related to greening data centers. These individuals encompass policy makers developing digital economy and digital transformation strategies, as well as the engineers and technicians working every day on the floors of data centers. This guide takes the vantage point of public practitioners, but its fundamental principles apply to any stakeholder engaged in policymaking, regulation, or the development, operation, or procurement of data center infrastructure and services. Opportunities for and barriers to greening data centers are context specific, and strategies and policies should consider local conditions. Designed with a global outlook, the guide examines specific challenges and opportunities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
  • Publication
    Greening ICT: A Case Study in Singapore
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-12-05) World Bank
    This report is based on a targeted review of Singapore’s approach to climate change, focusing on how the country drives energy efficiency and reduces GHG emissions in the ICT sector, particularly in data centers. It aims to reflect the various measures undertaken by the Singapore Government, present lessons learned, keytakeaways and challenges that continue to lie ahead. The information in this version is current as of end November 2023. The purpose of this report is to provide the key lessons for broad, multistakeholder consideration and dialogue forwhat countries could consider as they approach “greening” the ICT sector. It is important to note that addressing all the issues raised in this report does not guarantee a perfect, or even workable, enabling environment to meet theglobal climate change challenge. This is because the effectiveness of these measures can be affected by exogenous factors and the unique national circumstances of each country.
  • Publication
    Digital Hotspots: Developing Digital Economies in a Context of Fragility, Conflict and Violence
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-10-30) World Bank
    Currently, about ten percent of the global population lives in economies affected by Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV). Climate change, rising inequality, demographic change, sovereign debt and other global trends render fragility increasingly more complex. In recent years, it has become widely recognized that the adoption of digital technologies “can’’ make a significant contribution to poverty reduction and socio-economic development in countries and regions around the globe, both FCV and non FCV alike, though it is far from sure that they “will”. The purpose of this report is therefore to provide an analytical backbone to underpin financial commitments to growing digital economies in FCV countries. The report presents case studies of countries that are recovering from different levels and stages of conflict, with a view towards identifying needed actions to keep ICT sectors afloat in FCV economies. Specifically, the report provides case studies of the development of the telecom sector in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
  • Publication
    Cierre de Brecha Digital en el Departamento del Amazonas
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-10-16) World Bank
    Colombia ocupa la última posición en conexiones a internet por cada 100 habitantes entre los 38 países medidos por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos (OCDE). La brecha de conectividad entre las áreas rurales y las áreas urbanas del país es considerable. El 52,9 % de los hogares en el área urbana y el 12,4 % de los hogares en el área rural tienen acceso a internet fijo. Los menores niveles de hogares con conexión a internet se encuentran en departamentos de las regiones de la Amazonía, la Orinoquía y el Pacífico. De conformidad con el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2022-2026 “Colombia Potencia Mundial de la Vida”, el Gobierno de Colombia (GdC) está trabajando en múltiples frentes orientados a cerrar la brecha digital y a conectar el 85 % del país. El estudio para el cierre de la brecha digital en el departamento del Amazonas se basa en las prioridades estratégicas del Plan Nacional de Desarrollo (PND).
  • Publication
    Integrating Resilience into Municipal Infrastructure Delivery in Kenya: Guidance Note for Municipal and County Engineer and Planners - Urban Resilient Infrastructure Guideline
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-01) World Bank
    This Resilient Urban Infrastructure Guidelines forms one of a suite of reports developed by AECOM for the World Bank Group under the ‘Enhancement of Resilient Urban Planning and Infrastructure Investments in Urban Areas in Kenya’ assignment and constitutes Deliverable 2. This guidance note provides simple guidance for increasing the resilience of municipal infrastructure projects, and of communities, to physical risks, notably impacts of climate changes. This will increase the sustainability of investments under Second Kenya Urban Support Program (KUSP2), enabling them to perform their required function for their proposed design life, in a changing climate. It follows, roughly chronologically, the project development and design process. For the purposes of this note, resilient urban infrastructure is defined as infrastructure that is designed to deliver essential services now and in the future. It is prepared for and can withstand, adapt and recover positively from the physical (and climatic) shocks and stresses it may face over its lifetime. This is both with regards to the assets themselves, as well as the wider system that these assets are part of, which could include: the natural environment, the urban system, the operators, and the communities that interact with them.
  • Publication
    Enhancement of Resilient Urban Planning and Infrastructure Investments in Urban Areas in Kenya - Guidance Note on Mainstreaming Resilience into Urban Planning
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-01) World Bank
    This ‘Guidance Note on Mainstreaming Resilience into Urban Planning’ forms one of a suite of reports developed by AECOM for the World Bank Group under the ‘Enhancement of Resilient Urban Planning and Infrastructure Investments in Urban Areas in Kenya’ assignment and constitutes Deliverable 7. Aimed at municipal-level planners in Kenya, this guidance note includes activities, considerations, and examples of good practice from within Kenya and other contexts to support municipal governments with mainstreaming resilience within the urban planning system. While the primary audience is municipal-level urban planners, this guidance note is likely to be helpful and relevant to other planning system stakeholders, including developers, local politicians, government ministries, departments and agencies, community leaders, other built environmental professionals, and the general public. Throughout, the Guidance Note focusses on mainstreaming resilience. In other words, this document is not, and should not be used as, a general ‘how-to’ guide for urban planning. While some advice is provided within it that may be more applicable beyond the topic of resilience and/or comprises basic good practice in urban planning, that text is nevertheless included as a means to build resilience as a primary outcome.
  • Publication
    Climate Resilient Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa Compendium Volume: A Focus on Infrastructure Project Design in Key Sectors
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-01) World Bank
    This Compendium Volume presents a series of guidance notes and more detailed complementary technical notes that offer practical insights in support of enhancing the climate resilience of infrastructure investment projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. This first introductory chapter starts with an overview of the investment conditions and climatic context in the region, followed by a description of the scope of this Compendium Volume and individual notes, target audiences, and a roadmap for users of the contents covered in this Volume.
  • Publication
    Sustainable Cities: Urban Areas and Climate Change in Sierra Leone
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-01) World Bank
    Sierra Leone is highly vulnerable to natural hazards whose impacts are exacerbated by unplanned rapid urbanization. The main victims of climate change risks and impacts in urban Sierra Leone are the urban poor who also bear the brunt of multiple crises such as Ebola and Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19). In response to these impacts, local councils are front and center in implementing climate action activities in Sierra Leone. Therefore, this report situates local councils at the center of climate action. By focusing at the urban and community level, it has three objectives: (i) Identify the risks and impacts of climate change, (ii) Explore what local councils are already doing, and (iii) Determine what they could do more of, or better.