The 2008 World Bank project performance
data shows improvement in achieving development outcomes,
allaying concerns that the weakened 2007 performance could
signal a new downward trend. The decline in performance in
2007 was modest, and it has rebounded in 2008. Bank
performance is rated on a six-point scale, from highly
satisfactory to highly unsatisfactory. The percentage of
satisfactory projects increased in 2008, continuing a steady

Although much has been written about
climate change and poverty as distinct and complex problems,
the link between them has received little attention.
Understanding this link is vital for the formulation of
effective policy responses to climate change. This paper
focuses on agriculture as a primary means by which the
impacts of climate change are transmitted to the poor, and
as a sector at the forefront of climate change mitigation

The World Bank’s assistance strategies
showed strong client orientation and were aligned with
Uganda’s poverty reduction strategy. The programs were
substantially effective in decentralization, public sector
reform, growth and economic transformation, education, and
water and sanitation. However, more could have been done to
help counter the perception of increasing corruption,
improve power supply, reduce transport costs, enhance

This report, Building Response
Strategies to Climate Change in Agricultural Systems in
Latin America, reports the results of action research to
identify and prioritize stakeholder driven, locally relevant
response options to climate change in Latin American
agriculture. The study has three primary objectives. The
first is to develop and apply a pilot methodology for
assessing agricultural vulnerability to climate change and

This paper addresses two vital concerns
in the debate on adaptation to climate change. First, how
can countries prepare to manage the impact of climate-change
induced natural disasters? Second, how can countries ensure
that they have the governmental institutions required to
manage the phenomenal challenge of adaptation to climate
change? A range of economic and institutional measures are
tested for their potential effects on natural disaster

This study reports the results of “action research” to identify and prioritize stakeholder driven,
locally relevant response options to climate change. These response options comprise the basis of
local action plans developed to address agricultural adaptations to climate change in three
diverse agroecoystems: the Yaqui Valley in northwestern Mexico, the Mantaro Valley in central
Peru, and the western littoral regional of Uruguay. The study has three primary objectives. The

Ecuador is a country with exceptional
natural resource and environmental advantages and
challenges. It is strategically located and has considerable
oil reserves in the interior and the coastal region. This
document does not aim to describe the state of the
environment in Ecuador. Rather, its main objective is to
provide an analytical foundation to identify the
country's institutional weaknesses and provide

The global monitoring report 2008 comes
at an important time. This year marks the halfway point in
the effort to achieve the millennium development goals
(MDGs) by 2015. This is also an important year to work
toward a consensus on how the world is going to respond to
the challenge of climate change, building on the foundation
laid at the conference in Bali in December 2007.
Successfully meeting this challenge will be essential for

Over the past year, the global economy has cooled significantly, a far cry from the boom just a year ago in various countries and across markets. At the same time, the scientific community communicated the heightened urgency of taking action on climate change. Policymakers at national, regional, and international levels have put forward proposals to respond to the climate challenge. The most concrete of these is the adopted European Union (EU) climate and energy package (20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020), which guarantees a level of carbon market continuity beyond 2012.

Based on a literature review and expert
interviews, this paper analyzes the most important climate
impacts on development goals and explores relevant
institutions in the context of mainstreaming climate
adaptation into development assistance in Mozambique.
Climate variability and change can significantly hinder
progress toward attaining the Millennium Development Goals
and poverty aggravates the country's climate

Panama is experiencing spectacular
economic growth, averaging 7.5 percent during 2004-06; a
construction boom; and emerging new opportunities and
growing export markets. Despite this impressive growth
performance, at the national level poverty remained almost
unchanged during 1997-2006 at around 37 percent (masking a
decline in rural poverty and an increase in urban and
indigenous areas). Key development challenges for Panama

The 2008 edition of the little green
data book includes a focus section, four introductory pages
that focus on a specific issue related to development and
the environment. This year the focus is on the damage from
climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. As this focus
shows, global warming can have negative effects on
agriculture, health, infrastructure, and other economic
activities effects that are likely to hit developing