This report analyzes global prospects
for fisheries and aquaculture. The World Bank Group (WBG)
Agriculture Action Plan 2013-15 summarizes critical
challenges facing the global food and agriculture sector. An
ever-increasing global population necessitates adequate food
and nutrition for the growing population through increased
production and reduced waste. Production increase must occur
in a context where resources necessary for food production,

The major role tropical forests play in
biodiversity and climate change has led the world to search
for effective ways to slow down deforestation. Community
forest management (CFM) is an example of the broader concept
of community-based natural resources management (CBNRM). As
part of the decentralization policy in many countries,
mainly in Africa and Asia, CFM was expected to promote: (i)
a more effective stewardship of the resources by involving

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

Biochar is the carbon-rich organic
matter that remains after heating biomass under the
minimization of oxygen during a process called pyrolysis.
There are a number of reasons why biochar systems may be
particularly relevant in developing-country contexts. This
report offers a review of what is known about opportunities
and risks of biochar systems. Its aim is to provide a
state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge regarding

Recent surveys show considerable
progress in maternal and child health in Ethiopia. The
improvement has been in health outcomes and health services
coverage. The study examines how different groups have fared
in this progress. It tracked 11 health outcome indicators
and health interventions related to millennium development
goals one, four, and five. These are stunting, underweight,
wasting, neonatal mortality, infant mortality, under -five

Refugee return is one of the three
so-called durable solutions to refugee displacement
envisaged by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and the international community. The objective of
this study is to identify the conditions that influence the
decisions by refugees in protracted displacement regarding
return to their home country - when, why, and by whom are
decisions on return or other coping strategies made, and how

The focus of this document is to provide
a wide range of ideas and options to improve the inclusion
of environmental sustainability throughout the road
transportation project cycle (system planning, project
planning and design, construction, and operation and
maintenance) based on environmental sustainability
indicators and highlighting environmentally sustainable
products and materials for road construction. Sustainable

The World Bank Group (WBG) Country
Partnership Framework (CPF) for Egypt forFY15-19 has been
prepared at an important juncture in Egypt’s history to
support transformational changes to the economic and social
space. It builds on the Government of Egypt’s (GOE)
medium-term strategy and national priorities for economic
development, responds to client demands, and is informed by
consultations with a broad array of stakeholders in Egypt.

Like many organizations working in the tourism sector, the authors believe that private sector investment is one of the key drivers of development. Over the past few years, the private sector has been a central innovator in forging business partnerships with local communities for tourism purposes around the world. Having demonstrated some extraordinary development results, joint ventures increasingly need to demonstrate their commercial viability over the long term.

The new Country Partnership Framework
(CPF or framework) presents the engagement of the World Bank
Group (WBG) in Sri Lanka over the next four years (fiscal
years 2017-20 (FY17–20)). The CPF aims to support the
achievement of some of the government’s medium-term goals in
areas that are critical for reducing extreme poverty and
promoting shared prosperity, and that are consistent with
the WBG’s comparative advantage. Notably, the CPF provides

Seventy years after independence and
more than a decade of political and institutional reforms,
Indonesia has emerged as a stable democracy. Indonesia’s
achievements are now under stress, with a slowdown in its
commodity driven economy, stagnant rates of poverty
reduction, and rapidly rising inequality. The development
policy review, completed in 2014, and the systematic country
diagnostic (SCD), completed in 2015, explain the limited

In the past decade, Latin America and
the Caribbean has achieved impressive social and economic
successes. For the first time in history, more people are in
the middle class than in poverty. Inequality, although still
high, declined markedly. Growth, jobs and effective social
programs have transformed the lives of millions. In a
striking departure from the crisis-prone Latin America of
the past, the region has shown it is better prepared to