01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations
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Publication Biodiversity for a Livable Planet: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support for Biodiversity (FY15-24), Approach Paper(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-28) World BankBiodiversity underpins the provision of critical ecosystem services, but it is being lost at an unprecedented rate and scale. The biodiversity crisis is a threat to development with far-reaching implications for economies, food security, and human welfare. Biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked. Global efforts to address the biodiversity crisis have been insufficient. Global efforts to address the biodiversity crisis have been insufficient. Embedding biodiversity considerations in the management of productive practices is critical for maintaining global biodiversity and enhancing sustainable production. risk management is critical for avoiding and minimizing adverse impacts on biodiversity loss. The World Bank Group plays an important role in addressing biodiversity loss. The World Bank Group is placing a renewed emphasis on biodiversity and nature, including the need to take a whole of economy approach. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess the performance of the World Bank Group (WBG) in its efforts to address biodiversity challenges, with a focus on the country level. The evaluation will do this by assessing the relevance and effectiveness of WBG’s support for biodiversity conservation activities and the integration of biodiversity considerations in key production sectors. It will also do this by assessing the effectiveness of the Bank’s support for risk management in projects that trigger relevant biodiversity related standards.Publication Making Waves – World Bank Group Support for the Blue Economy, 2012-2023 – An Independent Evaluation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-23) World BankThis evaluation assesses how well the World Bank is supporting a blue economy approach to achieve sustainable and inclusive development of ocean and coastal states. A livable planet requires well-managed coastal and ocean resources, which are vital for inclusive growth, jobs, food and nutrition security, and climate resilience. However, these resources are in a state of emergency due to fragmented policies, regulatory gaps, and policy inaction. International actors have coalesced around a blue economy approach to address ocean and coastal governance failures. At the core of this approach is the need to achieve healthy ocean and coastal resources to ensure ecosystem services that support inclusive and equitable economic growth. This evaluation assesses how well the World Bank is supporting a blue economy approach to achieve sustainable and inclusive development of ocean and coastal states. The evaluation examines the World Bank’s articulation of the blue economy and its operationalization and offers lessons to inform the future of the World Bank’s blue economy approach.Publication Sustainability Review 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-30) World BankThe 2023 Sustainability Review is a reflection of how the World Bank embodies its core values of impact, integrity, respect, teamwork, and innovation. The Review highlights World Bank activities undertaken in fiscal 2022 and 2023 to manage the environmental, social, and economic impacts of internal business operations. The review complements the World Bank Annual Report 2023 and the World Bank Global Reporting Index (GRI) 2023.Publication The World Bank Group in Papua New Guinea: Country Program Evaluation, Fiscal Years 2008–23(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-25) World BankPapua New Guinea has abundant resources in the form of oil and mineral wealth. But a complex set of factors, including systemic gender inequality, underinvestment in non-extractive sectors, and fragility compounded by vulnerability to disasters caused by natural hazards act as barriers to sustainable and inclusive growth of the country. This Country Program Evaluation (CPE) report assesses the relevance and effectiveness of World Bank Group support to Papua New Guinea between fiscal year FY08 and FY23. It assesses the Bank Group’s development effectiveness in addressing the above three core themes, namely: (i) lack of investment in Papua New Guinea’s non-extractive sectors and their poor performance, (ii) the economic exclusion of women and gender-based violence (GBV) issues associated with it, and (iii) unmitigated risks of disaster from natural hazards, and violence, and conflict. The report answers three specific questions. The first explores the extent to which the Bank Group adapted its engagement in line with key constraints, including in relation to development partners, changes in country context, and lessons from experience. The second focuses on the results of Bank Group support and explanatory factors for results under each them, answered by applying a gender lens where relevant. The third question explores the extent to which the Bank Group successfully identified and addressed conflict, violence, and disaster from natural hazards risks. The report offers key lessons to inform the World Bank Group’s future engagement with the country: (i) Data gaps need to be addressed to inform sound policy making and effective programming in Papua New Guinea. (ii) Declining governance quality and increasing bilateral aid will require the World Bank to reassess how it supports key policy reforms to achieve development impact, including through using DPOs. (iii) The Bank Group could elevate its impact on gender equality and GBV by shifting from a project-centric approach to a strategic country engagement approach. (iv) The negative effects that compound and interrelated risks pose to achieving development aims need to be addressed more comprehensively.Publication Creating an Enabling Environment for Private Sector Climate Action: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support, Fiscal Years 2013–22(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-09-26) World BankThe private sector has a critical role to play in addressing climate change by investing in low-carbon technologies, developing new technologies, and building climate resilience into its investments and operations. Private sector financing will also be critical for meeting the needs for global finance flows, but climate finance from the private sector has been very low. One reason for this is that most countries lack a conducive enabling environment for the private sector to engage in climate action. This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group’s efforts to improve the enabling environment for private sector climate action (EEPSCA). The evaluation defines the private sector enabling environment for climate action as the set of policies (laws and regulations), incentives, standards, information, and institutions that encourage or facilitate the private sector to invest or behave in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to the current or anticipated impacts of climate change. The private sector includes large, medium, and small firms; domestic and international financiers; and smallholder farmers or other producers. The evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of Bank Group support to EEPSCA and aims to identify lessons applicable to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to inform implementation of the Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2021 and subsequent Bank Group climate activities. The evaluation also aims to inform discussions on the evolution road map, which considers further increasing the prominence of the role the Bank Group plays on global public goods, such as climate change.Publication Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan. First Progress Report: Forging Ahead on Development-Centered Climate Action(World Bank, Washington DC, 2023-05-02) World BankThe Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan (NGACBP), launched in 2020, provides a platform to further galvanize climate action by prioritizing its focus on Sub Saharan Africa’s development challenges and priorities. The plan focuses on food security, energy, and environmental and water security while also proactively supporting countries to manage climate shocks and harness the urban transition through climate smart pathways as core strategic directions. Strategic areas of emphasis include the cross-cutting issues of climate-informed macroeconomic policies and green and resilient infrastructure. Two years after the plan’s release, this progress report aims to provide an update on the status of the NG-ACBP, highlighting key accomplishments and success stories, defining emerging areas of engagement, and setting out a roadmap for the next four years of the plan’s delivery. The latter is especially important as we ensure full alignment with the International Development Association (IDA) 20 policy commitments, the World Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), and regional priorities for Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) and Western and Central Africa (AFW).Publication The World Bank Group in Mozambique, Fiscal Years 2008-21 - Country Program Evaluation(Washington, DC, 2023-03-22) World BankBetween 1993 and 2013, Mozambique became one of the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa boosting incomes and living standards. Political and macroeconomic stability provided the foundation for robust growth led by a rebounding agricultural sector and significant donor support. Growth, however, decelerated beginning in 2016 in the face of low commodity prices, a hidden debt crisis, and natural disasters. In FY18, Mozambique was formally classified as a fragile country. The Covid-19 pandemic further eroded growth. In light of the country’s evolving context, this Country Program Evaluation (CPE) reviews the World Bank Group’s engagement in Mozambique over the period FY08 into FY21. The CPE assesses the extent to which the Bank Group’s support was relevant to Mozambique’s main development challenges and drivers of fragility as well as how Bank Group support evolved and adapted over time. The evaluation delves into four themes that are relevant to Mozambique’s pursuit of the Bank Group’s Twin Goals of Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity: (i) low agricultural productivity; (ii) unequal access to basic services; (iii) weak institutions and governance; and (iv) vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. The evaluation presents findings from each of the four themes covered and distills lessons from Bank Group experience in Mozambique to inform future strategies and engagements.Publication Evaluation Insight Note: Transport Decarbonization(Washington, DC, 2022-11) World BankTransport is a priority action area under the World Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan. Climate action in the transport sector is essential as the sector emits approximately 24 percent of the global total of energy-related carbon emissions and, without aggressive measures, the World Bank expects emissions from transport to grow 60 percent by 2050. This EIN was guided by the overall question: How has the World Bank been approaching transport decarbonization To answer this question, the note uses existing evidence from the self-evaluation system of the World Bank, including Implementation Completion and Results Reports prepared by the project teams and the associated Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) validations, relevant information from other project documents, literature from policy and academic sources, advisory services and analytics, country strategies, and existing IEG evaluations. This systematic review provided the basis for four main insights into the current patterns of World Bank work on transport decarbonization and the identification of a range of potential actions to exploit opportunities for decarbonization: (i) The World Bank has steadily increased the number of projects with decarbonization content, especially in low income countries, and has recently put together a strong knowledge base on transport decarbonization. (ii) Nevertheless, transport decarbonization in World Bank lending remains timid against the needed contributions to the Climate Change Action Plan. (iii) Country-specific decarbonization diagnostics and analytical work has been limited, and transport decarbonization seldom makes it onto the World Bank’s strategic country agenda. (iv) The World Bank has rarely measured transport decarbonization directly.Publication Transitioning to a Circular Economy: An Evaluation of the World Bank Group’s Support for Municipal Solid Waste Management (2010-20)(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) World BankThe impact of municipal solid waste has surpassed local and regional boundaries and has become a global challenge, with mounting public health, environmental, social, and economic costs. In this context, there is an imperative need to move on from the traditional linear economic model (take-make-dispose) and adopt sustainable alternatives such as the waste hierarchy and circular economy approaches. A waste hierarchy approach prioritizes waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and recovery before disposal. A circular economy closes the loop between extraction, manufacturing, and disposal by advocating for designing products to reduce waste, using products and materials for as long as possible, and recycling materials from end‐of‐life products back into the economy. The evaluation covers all World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) activities related to Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) during fiscal years 2010–2020, and assesses the relevance of the Bank Group’s approach and engagement in meeting client country needs, considering the latest evidence and thinking on MSWM practices and country context and readiness. The report evaluates the Bank Group’s cohesion across its institutions—World Bank, IFC and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as well as its collaboration and partnerships with other actors to support better outcomes for client MSWM needs. Finally, the report assesses the effectiveness of Bank Group engagements in delivering improved MSWM for clients and the factors that explain such effectiveness.Publication The World Bank Annual Report 2022: Helping Countries Adapt to a Changing World(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2022) World BankThe Annual Report is prepared by the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)--collectively known as the World Bank--in accordance with the by-laws of the two institutions. The President of the IBRD and IDA and the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors submit the Report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.