Scientific evidence indicates that global warming could well lead to a sea-level rise of 1 meter or more in the 21st century. This paper seeks to quantify how a 1-meter sea-level rise that would affect coastal wetlands in 76 developing countries and territories, taking into account how much of wetlands would be submerged and how likely the wetlands would move inland as the coastline recedes. It is estimated that approximately 64 percent of the freshwater marsh, 66 percent of Global Lakes and Wetlands Database coastal wetlands, and 61 percent of brackish/saline wetlands are at risk.

This paper describes the serious fiscal
crisis faced by cities around the world following the Great
Recession of 2008. Five years later, the after-effects of
this major crisis continue to be felt and limit economic
opportunities in cities. Section 1 summarizes how the crisis
was triggered and how it unfolded in the US, then spread to
the rest of world -- highlighting the links between
financial sector and housing sector. Section 2 discusses the

The sector review includes seven
chapters and one annex. This first chapter is an overview of
agriculture, irrigation and the purpose and content of this
report. The second chapter provides a review of the Bank s
own strategy and priorities for irrigation and drainage
within its portfolio of investments, from the time of its
2004 Strategy until the present. It also includes a short
summary of key lessons learned in this sector. The third

This note on integrating
gender-sensitive disaster risk management (DRM) in
community-driven development (CDD) Programs is the sixth in
a series of guidance notes on gender issues in DRM in the
East Asia and the Pacific region. Targeting World Bank
staff, clients and development partners, this note gives an
overview of the main reasons for incorporating
gender-sensitive DRM into CDD programs, identifies the key

This paper studies the use of labor
markets to mitigate the impact of violent shocks on
households in rural areas in Colombia. It examines changes
in the labor supply from on-farm to off-farm labor as a
means of coping with the violent shock and the ensuing
redistribution of time within households. It identifies the
heterogeneous response by gender. Because the incidence of
violent shocks is not exogenous, the analysis uses

This paper analyzes real estate market dynamics over the past decade in the city of Ahmedabad, India, with a view to improving the living conditions of the large population living in slums. The paper combines census data, the National Sample Survey, and slum household surveys to review the demand side of the market. Satellite photography was used to estimate the production of both formal and informal housing over the past ten years. Analysis of the execution of the development plan for the Ahmedabad region and town planning schemes shows how the system of housing supply has evolved.

In this issue: benchmarking global
poverty reduction; rethinking the stateapos;s role in
finance; coordinating housing and transport policies in
urban South Africa; making public sector reforms work;
helping women get to work; export superstars; why did
inequality in Latin America decline in the 2000s?

This paper uses small area estimation
techniques to update Vietnam's province and
district-level poverty map to 2009. It finds that poverty
rates continue to be highest in the northern and central
mountainous regions, where ethnic minorities make up a large
fraction of the population. Poverty has fallen in most
provinces and districts over this decade, but the pace of
poverty reduction has been least pronounced in those

There is now broad consensus among
policymakers that social protection is a powerful way to
fight poverty and promote inclusive growth. This
international consensus is most clearly articulated in the
African Union's Social Policy Framework (SPF), which
was endorsed by all African heads of state in 2009. The SPF
explains that social protection includes 'social
security measures and furthering income security; and also

This report investigates Egypt's
regional economic growth, explores the causes for
geographically unbalanced development, and proposes policy
options to make unbalanced growth compatible with inclusive
development. In Egypt, despite rapid progress in most
welfare indicators in lagging regions, there are still
substantial gaps in consumption and opportunities between
growth poles and the rest of the country. This report's

Argentina has expanded the use of its
portion of the Parana-Paraguay waterways system for the
transportation of soy and other bulk commodities through an
innovative tolling system that self-finances the dredging
and maintenance of the rivers. Brazil, in turn, is pursuing
a 'green trucking' strategy to improve efficiency
of its cargo haulage industry, reduce petroleum usage, and
curb pollution from trucking. For the entire hemisphere, the
expansion of the Panama Canal will bring post-Panama vessels

In 2009 the Gabonese authorities defined
a new vision whose strategic guidelines are detailed in an
operational plan, the strategic plan for an emerging Gabon
(PSGE) whose goal is to turn Gabon into an emerging country
within one generation. PSGE includes an ambitious public
investment program to develop basic infrastructure and to
create the necessary economic environment for the emergence
of a diversified economy. The major challenge for PSGE, and