Measuring the poverty and distributional
impact of the global crisis for developing countries is not
easy, given the multiple channels of impact and the limited
availability of real-time data. Commonly-used approaches are
of limited use in addressing questions like who are being
affected by the crisis and by how much, and who are
vulnerable to falling into poverty if the crisis deepens?
This paper develops a simple micro-simulation method,

Over the last two decades Samoa has
suffered major damage from two cyclones in 1990-91, minor
damage from a third cyclone in 2004, and an earthquake
tsunami in 2009. Changes in the scale and impact of these
types of natural disasters are likely to be important
consequences of climate change for the country because the
increases in sea level and in average sea surface
temperatures will increase theintensity and damage

This paper assesses the impact of water
supply variability on treaty cooperation between
international bilateral river basin riparian states. Climate
change is anticipated to change the variability of water
supply, as well as its expected magnitude. Previous studies
have focused mainly on water scarcity, measured in terms of
mean precipitation or per capita water availability in the
country, as a trigger for conflict or cooperation. The water

Carbon finance projects are often
intended to be both a payment for an environmental service
(PES) and an instrument to facilitate sustainable
development in developing countries. To enhance livelihood
objectives, these projects should benefit rural land users,
provided they are willing and able to participate. This
holds particularly true for forest carbon initiatives.
However, high transaction costs and large uncertainties

This report forms part of the technical
assistance provided by the World Bank under the Non-lending
Technical Assistance Program for the Caribbean
'market-based agriculture risk management in the
Caribbean.' The program is largely financed by the
European Union All Agriculture Commodities Program (AACP)
Initiative and contributions from the International Fund for
Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the World Bank. This

This working paper concerns the growth
of investment climate in the Philippines. There are several
resounding ideas in areas both positive and negative. The
growth potential in the Philippines is considerable. The
country has significant natural resources; a large pool of
managerial and entrepreneurial talent; and widespread
proficiency in English. The Government's Medium Term
Development Plan (MTDP), 2005-2010 sets ambitious growth and

This paper provides empirical estimates
of the impacts of natural disasters on different forms of
capital (with a focus on human and intangible capital and
natural capital), and on real gross domestic product per
capita. The types of disaster considered are droughts,
earthquakes, floods, and storms and their impacts are
measured in terms of the number of people affected or people
affected per capita. The authors find statistically

This paper presents the conceptual framework for a training program on
integrating disaster risk reduction and climate-change mitigation into
Agriculture and Rural Development Department (ARD) programming. Its
target audience consists of World Bank task team leaders and their national
counterparts and partners working in agriculture and rural settings.

This paper examines the impacts of
natural disasters on schooling investments with special
focus on the roles of ex-ante actions and ex-post responses
using panel data from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Malawi. The
importance of ex-ante actions depends on disaster risks and
the likelihood of public assistance, which potentially
creates substitution between the two actions. The findings
show that higher future probabilities of disasters increase

Contrary to popular perception, Europe
and Central Asia (ECA) countries are significantly
threatened by climate change, with serious risks already in
evidence. The vulnerability and adaptive capacity of ECA
countries to climate change over the next two decades will
be dominated by socio-economic factors and legacy issues.
The next decade offers a window of opportunity for ECA to
make its development more resilient to climate change while

This report was undertaken in the wake
of the Ketsana Disaster, to assess damage, losses, and
resource requirements for recovery. Typhoon Ketsana hit
Cambodia between September 29 and October 5, 2009. Fourteen
out of 24 provinces were affected by the storm and
subsequent flash floods. The report addresses macro-economic
impacts, livelihood and social impacts, disaster risk
management requirements, and recovery and reconstruction

This report describes a pilot study of
natural risk hazards in the peri-urban extension areas of
the Dakar Metropolitan Area, Senegal. The area subject of
this study stretches across 580 square kilometers, covering
less than 1 percent of the national territory, but housing
about 50 percent of Senegal's urban population. Much of
the rapid population growth of the Dakar Metropolitan Area
is taking place beyond the boundaries of the Department of