In countries such as Azerbaijan, the
risks of climate change for the agricultural sector are a
particularly immediate and important problem because the
majority of the rural population depends either directly or
indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. The need to
adapt to climate change in all sectors is now on the agenda
of the countries and development partners. International
efforts to limit greenhouse gases and to mitigate climate

From 2005 to 2013, a mining boom quickly
promoted Mongolia from a low-income to a middle-income
country. Although the World Bank Group strategy initially
overlooked the challenge of the mining boom, the new country
management team that came on board in 2005 decided to
prioritize mining issues in a more selective framework. This
involved taking a set of bold steps to support Bank Group
engagement in the extractive industry, including basing for

This forest policy note (FPN) offers
an outside view of the Moldovan forestry sector, provides
some strategic guidance to help define sector goals, and
identifies opportunities for consideration in the continued
development of the sector and for the implementation of the
Moldova and World Bank (WB) country partnership strategy
(CPS). This study is based on a number of short visits to
Moldova and on a number of background studies undertaken

Real gross domestic product (GDP)
expanded by 6.7 percent in 2013, a modest deceleration from
the 7 percent recorded in the previous year, but well above
the average 4.9 percent rate of growth recorded over the
last ten years. The economy benefited from strong growth in
the agriculture (rebounding from last year's drought),
mining and services sectors, which largely offset weaker
activity in fishing activity. A continuation of these

Kazakhstan made steady progress on
poverty reduction and social development during the review
period, driven by impressive economic growth and rising
hydrocarbon prices. Yet, the country continues to grapple
with a number of systemic challenges, including: a lack of
progress on economic diversification and anticorruption; a
dominant role of the state in the economy; a lack of skills
in the labor force; and a legacy of environmental problems

This study seeks to understand how
materials scarcity and competition from alternative uses
affects the potential for widespread deployment of solar
electricity in the long run, in light of related technology
and policy uncertainties. Simulation results of a computable
partial equilibrium model predict a considerable expansion
of solar electricity generation worldwide in the near
decades, as generation technologies improve and production

Improving logistics performance is at
the core of the economic growth and competitiveness agenda.
Policymakers globally recognize the logistics sector as one
of their key pillars for development. Trade powerhouses in
Europe like the Netherlands or in developing countries like
Vietnam or Indonesia see seamless and sustainable logistics
as an engine of growth and of integration with global value
chains. Indeed, inefficient logistics raises the costs of

This handbook is the product of a
workshop held in June 2014 with about 25 environmental
regulators from over 10 FCV-affected countries (Burkina
Faso, Central African Republic, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar,
Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and
Sudan) that was financed by the Korean Trust Fund (KTF) and
organized and hosted by the World Bank Group (WBG). Over the
course of one week the participants went through a dense

Georgia: Seizing the Opportunity to
Prosper suggests a path towards sustainable and shared
growth. Georgia s story is associated with three stylized
facts: high growth with persistent unemployment currently at
nearly 15 percent after 10 years of annual growth that
averaged above 5.5 percent; a doing business rank of 8 out
of 189 countries achieved without recovery to 1990 levels of
per capita income suggesting a relatively difficult

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(MEA), The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity study
(TEEB) and the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) provide a comprehensive and
useful framework to understand human dependence on ecosystem
services and how best to protect these services in
perpetuity. In these three authoritative studies, payment
for ecosystem services (PES) is listed as one of the

As Vietnam enters a crucial period of
urbanization corresponding to its present stage of economic
development, the Government of Vietnam has placed strong
emphasis on developing its system of cities. In accordance
with this objective this Urbanization Review is dedicated to
understanding the key dimensions and aspects of
Vietnam's urbanization process and to identifying
trends, opportunities, challenges and core policy priorities

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was
a disappointing 3.5 percent in 2013. It remained largely
unchanged compared to 2012, reflecting a decline in cereal
production and stagnation in the industrial sector. Services
continue to drive the economy. The economic outlook for 2014
was more positive, but poor rainfall and the Ebola outbreak
have forced downward revisions in GDP growth projections,
now expected to reach 4.5 percent. The plan Senegal emergent