Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

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Promoting Good Governance with Social Funds and Decentralization

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2001-04) Parker, Andrew

Bad governance undermines development. Two important types of World Bank support for local governance are social funds and broadly based support for governments committed to decentralizing responsibility and power to local governments and other local institutions. But there are concerns that these two approaches, which address different elements of governance, sometimes work at cross-purposes. A study was therefore commissioned to examine the interaction between social funds and decentralization in Bolivia and Honduras (advanced decentralization), Peru and Zimbabwe (some decentralization), and Cambodia, Malawi, and Zambia (little or no decentralization). This Note is based on the findings of the study.
Developing Financial Mechanisms for Long-Term Funding of Biodiversity Conservation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1993-10) Larsen, Jeri

On March 12, 1992, the Regional Environment Divisions and the Global Environment Facility Administration in the Environment Department sponsored a one-day workshop. Conservation professionals, financial and legal specialists, and Bank operational staff involved with biodiversity, particularly Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects, gathered to discuss trust funds, endowments, and foundations as a means of providing long-term, continuous funding for biodiversity conservation. Following this, another workshop focusing on trust fund design for GEF biodiversity projects was held on July 31, 1992. The paper previewed in this article outlines the main issues and operational lessons from both workshops. It is dividied into three subheadings. The first section deals with issues in setting up a long-term financial mechanism; the second section addresses special considerations for the GEF; and the third summarizes conclusions from both workshops.