Stand alone books
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Publication
Integrating Environment into Agriculture and Forestry : Progress and Prospects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)This study reviews how the integration of environmental concerns into agriculture and forestry is progressing in the countries of Southeastern Europe (SEE) and of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia (EECCA) since 2000 and assesses prospects for the future. The present report is a contribution to the environment for Europe process. At the Fifth Ministerial Conference in Kiev in 2003, participants decided to pay greater attention to the needs of the EECCA and adopted an environmental strategy for the sub-region. The commitments made under that strategy are taken as benchmarks against which progress is assessed, recommendations made, and emerging environmental priorities reviewed. This report also includes an assessment of SEE countries and territories. The analysis provided here is intended primarily to inform discussions during and after the sixth environment for Europe Ministerial Conference, to be held in Belgrade in October 2007. The main text of this report provides a synthesis of major regional issues and trends, with broad recommendations for future directions and priorities. The annexes provide a wealth of data along with detailed country reviews for the 22 countries and territories studied. -
Publication
Financing Energy Efficiency : Lessons from Brazil, China, India, and Beyond
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Energy for heating, cooling, lighting, mechanical power, and various chemical processes is a fundamental requirement for both daily life and economic development. The negative impact on the environment of current energy systems is increasingly alarming, especially the global warming consequences of burning fossil fuels. The future requires change through the development and adoption of new supply technologies, through a successful search for new, less resource-intensive paths of economic development, and through adoption of energy. Greater energy efficiency is key for shifting country development paths toward lower-carbon economic growth. Especially in developing countries and transition economies, vast potential for energy savings opportunities remain unrealized even though current financial returns are strong. Activities included specialized technical assistance, training, and applied research covering the four primary areas of country interest: (a) development of commercial banking windows for energy efficiency; (b) support for developing energy service companies (ESCOs); (c) guarantee funds for energy efficiency investment financing; and (d) equity funding for ESCOs or energy efficiency projects. One clear message from the experience of the three country Energy Efficiency Project is the importance of establishing and maintaining practical, operationally focused dialogue between the banking community and the energy efficiency practitioner community. -
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Revisiting Ecuador's Economic and Social Agenda in an Evolving Landscape
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)The policy notes for Ecuador are part of a series of books that the Bank prepares periodically summarizing its accumulated knowledge on the economic and social issues of member countries. The timing of the notes, early 2007, coincides with a new presidential period, which offers the country the opportunity to consolidate many of the gains of the past few years, while building the basis for a more dynamic, equitable and inclusive growth process. The analysis contained in the policy notes indicates that Ecuador is a country with great potential, with a society that has exhibited incredible resilience and the ability to adapt to new challenges. The Ecuadoran society has overcome adversity with great determination in the past few years. Periodic economic crises, external shocks, and even natural disasters tested the country's ability to cope with difficulties. Despite these challenges, the country has maintained a forward-looking perspective and has achieved some important goals. Economic stability in the past few years has given Ecuador the opportunity for a period of sustained economic growth. During this period several development indicators have improved, and several sectors of the economy have demonstrated the dynamism and entrepreneurship that are present the Ecuadoran culture. In general, surveys show that Ecuadorans feel that their individual conditions are likely to improve in the future. The notes cover many areas and subjects but are grouped into three broad themes: preserving stability and accelerating growth, promoting sustainable and equitable social development, and improving governance and strengthening institutions. The remainder of this chapter summarizes the main findings and recommendations of the policy notes. -
Publication
Environment Matters at the World Bank, 2007 Annual Review : Climate Change and Adaptation
(Washington, DC, 2007)This edition of environment matters arrives just as the international community embarks on a two-year process to secure a new global framework to limit the amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) entering the atmosphere and devise ways to help developing countries adapt to and prepare themselves for the effects of climate change. At the World Bank, the author believe that climate change, and developing countries' adaptation to it, is a critical challenge of our time that must be integrated into core development strategies. Changes in temperatures and weather patterns will affect the frequency and severity of rainfall, droughts, floods, and access to water, flood protection, health, and the use of land. These impacts will not be evenly distributed. The poorest countries and people, those least responsible for climate change and least able to cope with it, will suffer earliest and most due to their geographical location, low incomes, and low institutional capacity, as well as their greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. This is why building up resilience to increasing climate variability is the most significant climate challenge facing many developing countries. But we believe that adaptation, while necessary in and of itself, can also serve to meet the development objectives of countries. Many appropriate adaptive measures are consistent with good development practice. They can improve the local environment, increase resilience to current and future climate variability and to natural disasters, and ease the dissemination of innovative technologies. They can also reduce resource scarcity within specific social groups or regions, thereby addressing some of the principal causes of social unrest and violent strife. In other words, climate action is development action. -
Publication
An Opportunity for a Different Peru : Prosperous, Equitable, and Governable
(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2007)This book argues that Peru faces an unprecedented opportunity to become the next success story in Latin America. In the coming five years, policy making could put the country on a development path similar to the one that, say, Chile, Costa Rica, or Spain have followed over the last two decades. This book includes 32 sector-specific chapters and 2 historical perspectives that precede them. The beginning chapter, a synthesis, builds a comprehensive reform agenda that highlights possible sequencing and priorities. It is organized in five sections-the main messages, the three strategic challenges in Peru's development, and a path for action over the next five years. -
Publication
Liberalization and Universal Access to Basic Services : Telecommunications, Water and Sanitation, Financial Services, and Electricity
(OECD and the World Bank, Paris, 2006)Access to basic services plays an important role in both individual well-being and a country's economic development. For this reason, general availability of these services to citizens, regardless of income level and geographical location, has generally been viewed as an important public policy goal. However, the precise definition of this goal and the means of attaining it have provoked controversy. This volume explores whether liberalization can contribute to achieving universal service goals and, if so, how, and looks at the types of complementary policies that may be required. It focuses on experience in four sectors: telecommunications, financial, water and sanitation, and energy services. For each sector, an overview paper and one or two case studies from developing countries examine the experience of governments in harnessing liberalization to meet social goals. It is hoped that this cross-sector view will yield general insights which a focus on a single sector may not, and help each sector to generate ideas by drawing upon experience in other sectors. A horizontal assessment also helps to determine how far the services negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), under the general agreement on trade in services can aid or impede the attainment of universal service goals. -
Publication
From Inside Brazil : Development in a Land of Contrasts
(Washington, DC: World Bank and Stanford University Press, 2006)The overarching theme of the book is development in a land of contrasts. There have been large economic, social, and political changes. The mass of society is far more expressive and politically involved today. In 1945, the country had 7.4 million voters, about 11 percent of the population. Today it has 120 million voters, or 67 percent of the population. The economy has been modernized, the capitalist ethos spread across regions, mass communication reached every part of the country, and basic education (though of varying quality) has become almost universal. Poverty has been reduced, but inequality remains extremely high. Moreover, the country has become more violent and prone to disorder. Meanwhile, the state has become weaker and less present where it should be present (in the slums and urban fringes), and more present where it should not be. The author captures remarkably well the transformations of the 1990s, when Brazil deepened its insertion into the global economy, opening to imports and to foreign direct investment on the one hand, and increasing its competitiveness on the other. This led to a great expansion of exports, and to the return of large trade surpluses, increasing considerably the share of trade in the country's gross domestic product. However, there is an unfinished agenda with two main imperatives. The first is the need to enter a new and sustainable growth cycle; the second concern is the reform agenda, especially the economic and institutional reforms that are highlighted by this book. Finally, social and environmental issues must remain a high priority. -
Publication
GEF and Small Island Developing States
(Washington, DC, 2005)The report highlights the GEF's work with small island developing states (SIDS) on key natural resource issues -climate change, biodiversity, international waters, and land degradation. It also describes the GEF's strategic priorities for SIDS over the next five years, recognizing the interrelatedness of SIDS' global environmental problems and their links to economic and social development. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) hopes this report will contribute to discussions at the International Meeting for the 10-Year Review of the Barbados Program of Action. The GEF fully supports the Barbados Program of Action as a fundamental framework for the sustainable development of SIDS and looks forward to continuing to work with SIDS on its implementation in areas consistent with the GEF's mandate. -
Publication
Private Solutions for Infrastructure in Rwanda : A Country Framework Report
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005)This report aims to provide an objective assessment of the condition of Rwanda's infrastructure sectors and of the institutional and policy frameworks that are associated with them. It also provides a clear route map for infrastructure sector reform, as well as highlighting both the opportunities that exist for the private sector and the role that the donor community can play in assisting the Government with establishing priorities in infrastructure. -
Publication
Roma in an Expanding Europe : Breaking the Poverty Cycle
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005)This publication brings together original sociological research, evaluations of programs, and the first comparative cross-country household survey on ethnicity and poverty. It finds that Roma poverty is multi-faceted and can only be addressed by a comprehensive policy approach that attends to all dimensions of Roma social exclusion. It proposes an inclusive policy approach which would expand and promote Roma involvement and participation in mainstream society, while maintaining cultural and social identity and autonomy. Policy mechanisms include those which make existing policies more accessible to Roma and identifying areas where targeted initiatives are needed.