Other Infrastructure Study

2024-05-22, World Bank

This report provides an assessment of Equatorial Guinea’s digital economy, as part of the World Bank’s Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) initiative. Prepared to support the implementation of the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa, approved by the African Union in February 2020, the World Bank’s DE4A Initiative aims to help drive Africa’s digital transformation and sets out a bold vision to ensure that every African individual, business and government is digitally enabled by 2030. The initiative leverages an integrated and foundation-based diagnostic framework to examine the development of the digital economy across Africa. Based on this framework, this assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the five DE4A foundational elements in Equatorial Guinea: digital infrastructure, digital public platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses and digital skills.

2023-06-21, World Bank

This report analyzes the current state of, challenges to, and opportunities for the development of a digital economy and proposes six policy priorities for the Government of Colombia (GoC). The report is based on the World Bank’s Digital Economy Assessment methodology, which analyzes the digital economy across six pillars or foundational elements: digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses, digital skills, and trust environment.

2020-10, World Bank

The objective of this good practice note (GPN) on dam safety is to provide additional guidance to World Bank staff on the application of relevant requirements under the environmental and social framework (ESF). This GPN provides guidance on using a risk management approach to the application of the dam safety requirements. The guidance contained in this note is designed to enhance the quality of practice without creating new requirements for the application of the ESF. The GPN provides guidance on compliance requirements, a risk management approach to dam safety, risk analysis tools, quality of information and capacity, application to World Bank operations, and procedural aspects. The GPN pertains to: (a) construction of new dams or dams under construction (DUC) under investment project financing (IPF); (b) rehabilitation of existing dams under IPF; and (c) existing dams or DUC that are not financed under IPF, on which the project relies or may rely.

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.

2022-04, World Bank

The widespread adoption of digital technologies is transforming how individuals, businesses, and governments interact, as well as creating new opportunities for boosting shared prosperity and reducing poverty. Digital technologies are playing an increasingly important role in El Salvador’s economic development and will play an even larger role as the global economy continues to digitize. Digital transformation can help El Salvador address its persistent growth challenges and explore new avenues toward green, resilient, and inclusive development. This report builds on the strategic priorities of the digital agenda (DA) 2020-2030, assesses the state of digital economy development in El Salvador, and provides detailed analysis and policy recommendations to inform the reform agenda in the country. The report provides a comprehensive overview El Salvador’s digital economy development across six foundational elements of a digital economy: digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses, digital skills, and trust environment. The diagnostic and recommendations are based on analysis of secondary data, structured interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions with key government and private sector stakeholders. The findings of the report are organized in six chapters - each dealing with a pillar of the digital economy. Policy recommendations are presented in the form of sequenced action plans that can inform relevant efforts by national authorities, the private sector, and development partners. The report summarizes the main findings on each digital economy pillar.

2012, PROFOR

As donors pledge growing support for protecting and managing forests to address climate change, the question of how to pay tropical countries to reduce their emissions from deforestation and forest degradation assumes greater urgency. Depending on the detailed implementation of REDD plus at a national and international level, forest nations may be able to secure funding from a range of sources, including donors and multilateral funds (a funded approach) and the voluntary and compliance carbon markets (a carbon markets-based approach). These payments are supposed to act as financial incentives that will engender changes in behavior and policy frameworks, spur the development of appropriate institutional arrangements and needed technologies, and motivate both national and international coordination to achieve REDD plus objectives. These pages provide a brief synthesis of four papers financed by the Program on Forests (PROFOR). All four papers are included in a CD enclosed at the end of this booklet. The papers are: making benefit sharing arrangements work for forest-dependent people: overview of insights for REDD plus Initiative (Chandrasekharan Behr, 2012); identifying and working with beneficiaries when rights are unclear (Bruce, 2012); assessing options for effective mechanisms to share benefits (PwC, 2012); and benefit sharing in practice.

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).

2021-08-17, World Bank

This report assesses water security in Argentina, using a conceptual framework developed by the World Bank. The effects of the pandemic reinforce the importance of safe access to water, hygiene, and sanitation, both as the first barrier against virus transmission and as an essential factor during recovery to mitigate secondary impacts on livelihoods and community well-being. The clear need to ensure that water is available in sufficient quantity and quality for human and productive uses, together with controlling the effects of the excess of water, highlights its central role in the economy, and in particular in securing the well-being of vulnerable communities. Argentina is already taking key steps to close water security gaps. It is increasing access to water and sanitation services with a focus on the most vulnerable; defining planning instruments such as national water plans; reinforcing tools such as the national information system for water and sanitation, the national water network information system (SNIH) and management and results plans (PGRs) for public service companies; expanding the regulatory framework with law 27,520 on minimum budgets for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change; and creating new entities such as the national directorate of drinking water and sanitation (DNAPyS). This study builds on these efforts and recommends steps to take toward becoming a more water-secure country by 2030.