Resource information
Environmental degradation primarily
affects the poor, both in rural and urban areas. Reversing
the downward spiral of this degradation is essential to any
strategy for reducing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This
study outlines the World Bank's strategy for improving
its assistance to SSA countries as they move toward
environmentally sustainable development (ESD). It assesses
the environmental situation and long-term trends in Africa,
draws lessons from Bank experience, and proposes new
directions. The study focuses on three questions: what are
the key environmental issues and challenges in Sub-Saharan
Africa? How has the World Bank responded to those
challenges, and what are the lessons learned? And what
should the World Bank do to help African countries make
their development sustainable?