This report presents a brief discussion
of indigenous peoples’ development as evidenced in a select
number of case studies about World Bank financed projects
that had a positive impact on indigenous peoples’
communities. The main objective of this study is to identify
and document good practices and lessons learned that can be
shared with World Bank staff, borrower governments, and
Indigenous Peoples’ organizations to help improve the design

Economists have either avoided or
struggled with the concept of culture and its role in
economic development. Although a few theoretical works --
and even fewer empirical studies -- have appeared in the
past decades, this paper tries to build on a
multidisciplinary approach to review the evidence on whether
and how culture matters for development. First, the paper
reviews available definitions of culture and illustrates

Groundwater comprises 97 percent of the
worlds readily accessible freshwater and provides the rural,
urban, industrial and irrigation water supply needs of 2
billion people around the world. As the more easily accessed
surface water resources are already being used, pressure on
groundwater is growing. In the last few decades, this
pressure has been evident through rapidly increasing pumping
of groundwater, accelerated by the availability of cheap

Aden has a number of widely recognized
unique assets, which are critical inputs to its emerging
strategic positioning within Yemen and the region. Most
notable is its natural deep-water harbor on the Red Sea,
striking landscapes and distinctive topography, abundance of
raw materials, and rich urban heritage. In addition, the
residents of Aden are known for their hospitable nature and
openness to diversity. Today, leadership in Aden, both

Malawi sits amid a vibrant Travel and
Tourism (T&T) region that is growing rapidly and
increasing its world market share. Proximate to countries
with thriving T&T sectors, Malawi has a relatively
underdeveloped diversity of natural, cultural, and man-made
attractions. It is challenged to embrace effective policies
that will enable public and private sector alignment to
achieve a viable niche as an economically productive, multi

The study presents an analysis of the
situation of the Pygmies in Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), including their history and relations with the other,
mainly Bantu, populations. It provides a brief description
of their lifestyle, their socioeconomic status, and a
participatory diagnosis of the key factors that lead to
their current impoverishment and marginalization. The study
discusses the rationale for protecting Pygmy culture and

The last two decades have witnessed a
growing recognition of the importance of taking cultural and
ethnic diversity into consideration when designing and
implementing development programs. As societies around the
world have become more culturally diverse, and the role
culture plays in the formation of identity has become better
understood, governments are beginning to pay greater
attention to the management of cultural diversity and are

The consensus among scholars and
policymakers that "institutions matter" for
development has led inexorably to a conclusion that
"history matters," since institutions clearly form
and evolve over time. Unfortunately, however, the next
logical step has not yet been taken, which is to recognize
that historians (and not only economic historians) might
also have useful and distinctive insights to offer. This

Tourism is one of Latin America's
fastest growing industries, outranking remittances and even
drugs in many countries as a source of foreign exchange. But
the impact of tourism on the poor and on the environment
remains under debate. Certainly many suspect that tourism
does more harm than good, damaging the environment and
leaving the poor worse off while shipping profits overseas.
But few have actually analyzed the impact of tourism on the

This study provides support to the
Bank's ability to conduct client dialogue on solid
waste management technology selection, and will contribute
to client decision-making. The goal of the study was to
fully explore the use of the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and the Research Triangle Institute
(EPA/RTI) holistic decision model to study alternative solid
waste systems in a wide array of waste management

Qufu and Zoucheng are two neighboring
county-level cities in Jining Municipality, a poor area in
the South-West of Shandong Province. The area was home to
some of China's earliest civilizations, and rich in
cultural heritage assets. Cultural heritage assets in the
project area include the Confucius temple, Kong family
mansion, and burial grounds complex, a United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Seven years out of brutal conflict,
Sierra Leone is now a peaceful and stable country. Yet, its
strides toward economic recovery and competitiveness have
been modest even in sectors such as tourism, which used to
be a major generator of foreign exchange revenues prior to
the conflict. This paper presents a cluster-based analysis
of the tourism sector in Sierra Leone. The analysis shows
that tourism in Sierra Leone draws entirely on basic factor