Lesotho began a structural economic
transformation in the early 1990s. The transformation has
brought higher, more secure incomes to households while the
government succeeded in dramatically improving access to
services such as education, health, water, and
transportation. Yet today, Lesotho faces a number of serious
development challenges, including a high rate of chronic
poverty, entrenched income inequality, and most troubling

Poverty in Pakistan is overwhelmingly
rural. Some two-thirds of Pakistan's population, and
over 60 percent of the country's poor, live in rural
areas. In 2005, average per capita expenditures in rural
areas were 31 percent lower than in urban areas. This
inequality between urban and rural areas is re-enforced by
inequality within and between rural areas. Owing to uneven
access to land and useable water, most of the increased

This book grew out of the Global Issues
seminars and is itself a testament to that two-way dialogue:
the suggestion to compile the speakers' lecture notes
into a book came from the students themselves. Both the
seminars and this book reflect the Bank's conviction
that the seemingly intractable problems of our globalizing
world-from entrenched poverty, to climate change, to new
infectious diseases such as AIDS and avian flu-can be

Agriculture sector growth has made a
powerful contribution to post-war economic recovery in
Tajikistan, accounting for approximately one third of
overall economic growth from 1998 to 2004. Sector output
increased by 65 percent in real terms during this period,
and has now returned to the level extant at independence in
1990. Total Factor Productivity (TFP) has also increased, by
3 percent per year. Despite this progress, there is

More forest area is being designated for
use by local communities and indigenous peoples. In a
growing number of countries legislation is being introduced
to ensure that local partners share in the benefits of
forest operations and participate as active stakeholders in
the sustainable use of forest resources. Private sector
investment in the forest sector is increasing as well. For
businesses in an expanding range of investment settings,

Poverty reduction on a large scale
depends on empowering those who are most motivated to move
out of poverty-poor people themselves. But if empowerment
cannot be measured, it will not be taken seriously in
development policy making and programming. Building on the
"Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Sourcebook,"
this volume outlines a conceptual framework that can be used
to monitor and evaluate programs centered on empowerment

The release of 'Sunken billions:
The economic justification for fisheries reform' has
drawn renewed attention to the enormous loss of wealth
suffered in fisheries each year due to weak fisheries
governance and the need for fundamental fisheries reform.
Such reform calls for addressing the issues plaguing the
world's fisheries, such as persistent overfishing and
fleet overcapitalization, and addressing the political

This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Honduras, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Like
most countries in Latin America, Honduras has submitted one
national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a second one
under preparation. Land use change and forestry are by far

There is increasing interest in climate
change issues in Indonesia particularly in the lead-up to
the COP13 or Copenhagen meeting in Bali in December 2007
when there was renewed focus on Indonesia as the third
largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world due
to deforestation, peat-land degradation, and forest fires.
In Indonesia, the agriculture sector employs the largest
share, 45 percent, of Indonesia's labor and contributes

This country note for Azerbaijan is part
of a series of country briefs that summarize information
relevant to climate change and agriculture for three
countries in the Southern Caucasus Region, with a particular
focus on climate and crop projections, adaptation and
mitigation options, policy development and institutional
involvement. The note series has been developed to provide a
baseline of knowledge on climate change and agriculture for

This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Venezuela, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Like
most countries in Latin America, Venezuela has submitted one
national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a second one
under preparation. Land use change and forestry are the

The aim of this study is to assist the
government in this endeavor by focusing on selected
priorities. The overarching objective of this report is to
promote the mainstreaming and integration of climate related
risks in India's development policies and processes,
where this is appropriate. The objectives and scope of work
were developed in close consultation with the Ministry of
Environment and Forests as the primary counterpart, a