China has an ancient tradition of
hydraulic engineering but in the past half century the
intensity of exploitation of water resources has accelerated
as a result of population and economic growth. The three
major issues for Chinese water management are water
shortages, flood control and pollution. The World Commission
on Dams noted that since 1949 the number of large dams in
China had increased from 22 to 22,000, almost half the

The Little Green Data Book 2004 is based
on the World Development Indicators 2004, and represents a
succinct collection of information. It is a collaboration
between the Development Economics Data Development Group,
and the Environment Department of the World Bank. Under the
headings of agriculture, forests, biodiversity, energy,
emissions and pollution, water and sanitation, and
'greener' national accounts, it presents key

The energy sector plays a significant role in the overall economy of Azerbaijan, as in other transition countries, and the World Bank's experience suggests that without energy sector reform and financial viability the transition process is much more difficult and delayed. The objective of this report, therefore, is to outline the issues and options facing Azerbaijan as it develops and implements its agenda for reform of the energy sector in order to inform the country's dialogue on this subject and the associated decision making process.

This paper looks at the evidence on the
magnitude and impacts of forest illegal acts, examines the
vulnerabilities of the forest sector, and proposes a
strategy for combating forest crime. Forest crime
prominently includes illegal logging but acts against the
law also affect other sector operations such as forest
products transport, industrial processing, and trade. Almost
universally, criminal exploitation of forest products and

Madagascar has an impressive array of
biodiversity, natural beauty and cultural resources to
support tourism. Surprisingly, of the 200,000 visitors the
island per year, only about 60,000 come expressly for
tourism, the rest traveling for other reasons but which
could include some tourism activity. Madagascar has the
potential to welcome many more tourists if the sector's
growth is well planned in a broad, multi-sectoral way -

The objective of this study is to raise awareness and understanding of exposure and vulnerability to drought in Central Asian countries and the Caucasus and to introduce a strategic, pro-active framework of mitigation and prevention. The audiences of the report are the governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the Caucasus and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia. The report will further be of interest to NGOs and civil society, as well as donors.

Tariffs are low in Azerbaijan and need
to be raised to finance badly needed network maintenance and
to balance supply and demand. This study presents an
analysis of the short-term impacts of a 50 percent
electricity tariff increase on residential consumers. The
study starts by reviewing electricity tariffs, consumption
levels, and expenditure patterns compared to neighboring
countries. It then considers the welfare effects o f raising

The author looks at the feasibility and potential of instituting small-scale irrigation dams to reduce Ethiopia s dependence on rainfed agriculture and the associated food insecurity. He develops a theoretical framework to assess the welfare implications of irrigation development programs and provides empirical evidence from microdam construction and reforestation projects in northern Ethiopia. The author pays particular attention to health-related costs of establishing small-scale irrigation dams in areas prone to waterborne diseases.

This report is the first step in a
process toward using environmental damage cost assessments
for priority setting and as an instrument for integrating
environmental issues into economic and social development.
The report provides estimates of damage cost for several
areas of the environment: air, water, land and forests, and
waste disposal. The estimates should be considered as orders
of magnitude and a range is provided to indicate the level

Household fuel choice in the past, has
often been analyzed and understood through the lens of the
energy ladder model. This model places relatively heavy
emphasis on household fuel switching in response to rising
incomes. This report views energy use through a household
economics framework. The household economics framework
clarifies that, in addition to income and market prices, the
opportunity costs of firewood collection also need to be

This staff sector assessment note
accompanies the recently completed national environmental
action plan for sustainable development (NEAP-SD), which, as
an output of the Industrial Pollution Control Project in
Algeria, focused on charting a new course for environmental
management in the country, based on an objective assessment
of past policy, and institutional failures, on a new
consensus on the need for mainstreaming the environment into

This report summarizes the proceedings
from a workshop, the first in the region designed to foster
a multi-sectoral approach to development energy services for
poverty reduction, held at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, October 23-25, 2002. It was co-organized by the
World Bank-UNDP sponsored Energy Sector Management
Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the World Bank Africa Energy
Unit, and others. The report focuses on the key issues