Characterization of preexisting flora is an essential preliminary step for successful land rehabilitation projects. This descriptive study was undertaken in a fragmented, dry tropical forest region in Panama. Five different habitat types were selected: active pasture, 2-yr and 5-yr abandoned pastures, forested riparian zones, and a forest fragment. Species richness, density, basal area, dispersal modes, and phenology of trees as well as their uses were determined.

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.

After a destructive civil war and
extreme political instability, Uganda began its
reconstruction process in 1987. Within the enabling
environment of macroeconomic stability, most of the progress
on the twin goals was attributable to higher agricultural
incomes. Poverty reduction among households primarily
engaged in agriculture accounted for 53 percent of the
reduction in poverty from 2006 to 2010 and 77 percent of the

Afghanistan is a deeply fragile and
conflict affected state. It has been in almost constant
conflict for over 35 years since the Soviet invasion of
1979. Today the country is at a crossroads in its
development with economic growth down sharply and poverty
incidence stubbornly high. Afghanistan faces tremendous
development challenges. Gross domestic product (GDP)
per-capita is among the lowest in the world, poverty is deep

Robust GDP growth continues, and real
growth for 2014 has been revised up by the authorities to
7.1 percent from an earlier estimate of 7.0 percent. Strong
domestic demand, boosted by a construction boom and
accommodated by high domestic credit growth, helps offset
the moderation in export growth with the slowdown of the
garment, tourism and agriculture sectors observed in the
first half of 2015. As an oil importer, the country benefits

This technical note discusses the
current status of banking supervision and regulation in
Montenegro in the context of select Basel Core Principles
(BCP). This note has been prepared as part of a Financial
Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) update conducted jointly by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in
September 2015. As agreed with the authorities, the FSAP tea

Part one of the report provides an
overview of the economy. It has one chapter (chapter one),
which provides an overview of the country’s growth and
macroeconomic performance and challenges and analyzes and
emphasizes the limited dynamism of a rent- and
hydrocarbon-cursed economy. Part II describes cross-cutting
issues that constrain policy implementation, regardless of
the sectors where they occur. In chapter two, the report

Costa Rica stands out for being among the most politically stable, progressive, prosperous, and environmentally conscious nations in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Its development model has brought important economic, social, and environmental dividends, with sustained growth, upward mobility for a large share of the population, important gains in social indicators, and significant achievements in reforestation and conservation. However, there are a number of development challenges that need to be addressed to maintain the country’s successful development path.

Despite its challenging circumstances,
Bangladesh has proven to be remarkably resilient and
achieved significant human development gains. The country
partnership framework (CPF) will refocus the World Bank
Group’s (WBG’s) strategic direction on removing stubborn
impediments to job creation and growth. The CPF will build
on a well-performing portfolio, particularly in human
development, identified by the systematic country diagnostic

Inequality in Indonesia is rising
rapidly. During the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, poverty
rosesharply, while the Gini measure of inequality fell, as
the richest were the hardest hit. Since then, the Gini has
increased from 30 points in 2000 to 41 points in 2014, its
highest recorded level. In 2002, the richest 10 percent of
Indonesians consumed as much as the poorest 42 percent
combined; by 2014, they consumed as much as the poorest 54

Situated in a fertile low-lying river
delta, Bangladesh combines high vulnerability to floods,
tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and climate change with one
of the world’s highest population densities, with around 159
million people living in less than 150,000 sq. km. With the
world’s second lowest per capita income in 1975, it was
labeled ‘the test case for development’ in view of the
formidable development challenges it faced. Nevertheless,

The housing finance market in Mali
remains small and under developed. Few banks currently offer
a full mortgage product with Banque Malienne de Solidarite,
Mali Housing Bank (BHM), Bank of Africa, and EcoBank being
the main lenders although at minimal levels. The total
annual housing need in Mali based on the household formation
rate amounts to 82,500, split between 51,100 urban units and
31,400 rural units. Overall some social housing is