This paper takes a critical view of the
challenges that lie ahead for land?related development
projects in Central America. Drawing upon several sources of
information and types of analysis, including literature
reviews, field visits and rapid participatory assessments,
along with decades of professional experience, the authors
examine land-related development policies and projects over
the past two decades in Central America (although monitoring

The idea of social inclusion has
garnered considerable attention, especially in the context
of two recent developments: the Sustainable Development
Goals and the heightened attention to inequality. This paper
reviews the manner and extent to which social inclusion is
addressed in the first 17 Systematic Country Diagnostics
(SCDs), which are ex ante, country-level assessments
conducted by the World Bank Group, ahead of the preparation

This 2015 index of sustainability
indicators has been prepared in accordance with the
internationally recognized standard for sustainability
reporting Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and
complies with the ‘core option.’ The GRI Index provides an
overview of sustainability considerations within the World
Bank’s lending and analytical services as well as its
day-to-day operations and management of staff. The World

In 2013 the World Bank set itself two
ambitious goals: to end extreme poverty within a generation
and to boost the prosperity of the bottom 40 percent of the
population worldwide. In Latin America, the significance of
both goals cannot be overstated. Indigenous people account
for about 8 percent of the population, but represent 14
percent of the poor and over 17 percent of all Latin
Americans living on less than United States (U.S.) $2.50 a

Infrastructure services are significant
determinants of economic development, social welfare, trade,
and public health. As such, they typically feature strongly
in national development plans. While governments may receive
many infrastructure project proposals, however, resources
are often insufficient to finance the full set of proposals
in the short term. Leading up to 2020, an estimated US$836
billion - 1 trillion will be required each year to meet

This report centers on the problems
stemming from land issues in Nicaragua. The report's
main recommendations deal with four priority actions:
institutional reform; adjustments to the legal framework;
systematic regularization of land rights; and, firmly
addressing previous land invasions, and preventing future
invasions. The issue of land distribution, and ownership is
especially critical in Nicaragua; indeed, the country

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LCR)
will be center stage in the global development debate as
leaders from around the world convene in Lima, Peru for the
annual meetings of the World Bank Group and International
Monetary Fund. Critical progress in poverty reduction has
been made in the region over the last decade. The region’s
bottom 40 percent of the population saw growth eclipsing
that seen by the group in every other region in the world.

Effective environmental and social risk
management in development policy financing (DPF) is central
to achieving the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme
poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable
manner. If the World Bank is supporting far-reaching member
country reforms that are intended to contribute to the twin
goals, then it should seek to understand the impact of those
reforms on the poor. It should also ensure that the

In July 2013, the World Bank Group
launched its Strategy, outlining how it will partner more
effectively with clients to help them achieve the ambitious
goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared
prosperity through economic growth, inclusion,
sustainability and resilience. In April 2014, the World Bank
Group Corporate Scorecard was launched for the first time
and the World Bank Scorecard revised to monitor the

This report presents a brief discussion
of indigenous peoples’ development as evidenced in a select
number of case studies about World Bank financed projects
that had a positive impact on indigenous peoples’
communities. The main objective of this study is to identify
and document good practices and lessons learned that can be
shared with World Bank staff, borrower governments, and
Indigenous Peoples’ organizations to help improve the design

Today, the world is at a conjuncture where issues of exclusion and inclusion are assuming new significance for both developed and developing countries. The imperative for social inclusion has blurred the distinction between these two stylized poles of development. Countries that used to be referred to as developed are grappling with issues of exclusion and inclusion perhaps more intensely today than they did a decade ago. And countries previously called developing are grappling with both old issues and new forms of exclusion thrown up by growth.