Environment Department Papers
52 items available
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These discussion papers are produced primarily by the Environment Department, on occasion jointly with other departments. Papers in this series are not formal publications of the World Bank. They are circulated to encourage thought and discussion. The use and citation of this paper should take this into account. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank.
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Publication
Biological Resource Management : Integrating Biodiversity Concerns in Rural Development Projects and Programs
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2002-01)The aim of this study is to improve understanding of how biological resource conservation concerns can be better incorporated into projects and programs that primarily address the objective of rural development rather than environmental conservation. A multi-disciplinary study team was assembled and six background papers produced, along with the main overview paper. The six papers were on: 1) measuring biodiversity, predicting impacts, and monitoring change; 2) integrated pest management and biodiversity conservation; 3) biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes in Britain: relevant issues for developing countries; 4) reconciling biodiversity and development issues in practice; the search for a win-win situation in Ghana's coastal wetlands; 5) strategies for biodiversity conservation: examples from Tanzania; and 6) participatory initiatives in biodiversity conservation: lessons from experience. A study was also made of World Bank policies and procedures relating to biodiversity management and rural development together with three portfolio reviews. These findings were incorporated into this paper. This paper argues that bioresources and people's livelihood systems are intricately interrelated, and opportunities for intervention for development purposes must start from good understanding of different people's access to and use and management of these resources, and also the incentives, constraints, and institutional factors governing the process. -
Publication
Beating the Resource Curse : The Case of Botswana
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-10)The endowment of natural resources has often been associated with disappointing economic development. This phenomenon is referred to in the literature as the "resource curse," which hypothesizes that economies experiencing resource booms, either through price increases or new discoveries, will experience unsustainable growth rates. There are various mechanisms through which a resource-boom can negatively impact on an economy. For instance, it can lead to excessive government expenditure during the boom period and drastic cuts when the boom ends; detrimental impacts on non-boom tradable sectors; inefficient investment beyond the absorptive capacity of the country; and rent seeking behavior. By exploring the case of the mineral boom in Botswana, this paper will demonstrate that the resource curse is not necessarily the fate of resource abundant countries. The adoption of sound economic policies and the good management of windfall gains have allowed Botswana to continuously manage growth and to become one of the great success stories of developing countries. -
Publication
Country Assistance Strategies and the Environment
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-07)This report is the outcome of a Country Assistance Strategy and Environment program that was started and aimed to identify practical constraints to incorporating environmental concerns into CASs and to develop a logical framework for doing so. The analysis is based on two key efforts: a review of CASs undertaken in fiscal year 1999, and five participatory case studies of on-going CASs. The report presents a set of practical actions to improve the environmental quality of CASs based on the learning that emerged from the case studies and the environmental review: 1) integrating environmental considerations into country activities; 2) linking environmental efforts to poverty reduction; 3) strengthening the information base; and 4) improving the CAS process. After the introduction, Chapter 2 presents a review of fiscal year 1999 CASs and ranks them according to their treatment of environmental issues. Regional differences are discussed, best practices examined, and recommendations made for future CASs. The methodology used for the review is described in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 discusses the CAS process in five countries - Azerbaijan, Dominican Republic, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Zambia. The chapter then examines practical challenges to mainstreaming environmental issues. The last chapter identifies lessons learned and presents recommendations.