Spanish PDFs Available

2024-03-21, World Bank

The objective of this Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment (CHVA) is to assist decision-makers in Colombia with planning effective adaptation measures to deal with climate-related health risks. This assessment includes sub-national considerations for health-related climate action (see Annex A for the methodology). Sub-national considerations are given for Colombia’s 32 departments (see Figure 1). It also incorporates data from a Climate and Health Economic Valuation conducted by the World Bank to estimate of the potential economic costs of health impacts arising from projected changes in temperature and precipitation (see Annex B for the methodology). The findings from this CHVA are organized under four sections. Section I characterizes the climatology in Colombia, highlighting observed and projected climate exposures relevant to health. Section II describes key climate-related risks to health, including nutrition and food security, vector-borne diseases (VDBs), water-borne diseases, increasing temperatures, air quality, and zoonotic diseases. Section III analyzes the adaptive capacity and readiness of Colombia’s health system to prevent and manage climate-related health risks. Recommendations are discussed in Section IV.

2023-11-09, World Bank

Over the past decade, illegal gold extraction has increased significantly in the Amazon region, partly due to the high international prices of this mineral, the less stringent attitude of some countries in relation to the environment and the pursuit of immediate economic opportunities. Furthermore, this illicit activity is closely intertwined with other illegal practices, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the trafficking of endangered species. This has repercussions not just for the region's ecological wealth, but also for the physical well-being of those safeguarding their lands and the health of communities living in proximity to the extraction zones due to the contamination of their rivers and, consequently, their primary sources of food, such as fish. Despite the international effort to recognize the socio-environmental repercussions of this activity, there are still gaps on this issue, mainly due to the economic losses that this activity represents.

2013-01-03, Cervero, Robert, Suzuki, Hiroaki, Iuchi, Kanako

This study explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. It first identifies barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transit infrastructure and urban development. It then recommends a set of policies and implementation measures for overcoming these barriers and exploiting these opportunities. Well-integrated transit and land development create urban forms and spaces that reduce the need for travel by private motorized vehicles. Areas with good access to public transit and well-designed urban spaces that are walkable and bikeable become highly attractive places for people to live, work, learn, play, and interact. Such environments enhance a city's economic competitiveness, reduce local pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions, and promote inclusive development. These goals are at the heart of transit-oriented development (TOD), an urban form that is increasingly important to sustainable urban futures. This book uses a case study approach. It draws lessons from global best-case examples of transit-oriented metropolises that have direct relevance to cities in developing countries and elsewhere that are currently investing in bus rapid transit (BRT) and other high-capacity transit systems. It also reports the results of two original in-depth case studies of rapidly growing and motorizing cities that introduced extended BRT systems: Ahmedabad, India and Bogota, Colombia. Two shorter case studies enrich the understanding of factors that are critical to transforming cities with transit.