This review aims to provide the
Government of Madagascar with a situation assessment and
insights and guidance on how to position the rural and
environment sector as an engine for inclusive and
sustainable economic growth. The review has cast the
analytical net quite widely with the aim to come up with a
comprehensive overview of the sector. In view of the
intimate linkages between rural development and the

The majority of Ethiopians depend on
medical plants as their only source of health care,
especially in rural areas where access to villages is
lacking due to the absence of vehicular roads. The
increasing scarcity of medicinal plant species represents a
trend that should be immediately addressed. The health and
drug policies of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health recognize
the important role medical plants and traditional health

Within the sub-region of West Central
Africa (Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana,
Niger, Nigeria, and Togo) several countries have completed
National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs). Some are
implementing environmental support programs based on these
plans, as well as more site-specific natural resource
management, urban environmental management, and biodiversity
conservation projects. The report notes some success

The Sahel Operational Review (SOR) seeks
to accelerate the transfer of lessons learned in natural
resource management from ongoing Bank projects to the design
of new Bank projects. This paper is the final report of the
second phase of the SOR. It summarizes 29 SOR activities
between 1989 and July 1994, including project reviews,
seminars, workshops, conferences, and studies. This final
report is an attempt to incorporate the major lessons and

T&V has a high payoff. A new
approach to petroleum exploration. More books for schools,
by A. Buchan, C. Denning, T. Read, D. Lacase, and S. Diop.
Better transport, by Phillip Moeller and S. Carapetis et al.
A new deal for mining. Public examinations: problem or
solution, by Kelleghan and Greaney. Nexus update. A
comprehensive approach to land management, by Walter J.
Lusigi and Bengt A. Nekby. Agriculture research to be revitalized.

Largely due to the potential threats to
development, and human lives of well known climate changes,
the World Bank is getting involved in a range of activities
under the subject. The note focuses on climate changes in
Africa, and, although it is argued that greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from development projects in Africa should be paid
minor attention, - because GHG emissions from Africa are
negligible on a global scale; industrial countries should be

A social assessment was done during the
preparation of Tajikistan's Pilot Poverty Alleviation
Project to answer several key questions: What are the poor
people's priority needs and wants? Why are they poor?
What are their own strategies for improving their lives?
And how can they be helped to improve their circumstances?
By answering these questions, the social assessment helped
the project team incorporate poor people's priorities

Parks and protected areas are valuable
assets to developing nations, whether viewed as
environmental, economic or social goods. Nevertheless, to
date there are few examples where the full potential
economic rent of protected areas has been captured
efficiently or distributed effectively. This severely limits
the capacity of developing nations to sustain their natural
resources. In Sub-Saharan Africa the crisis is acute,

Over two decades, the World Bank has
undertaken many structural adjustment operations with
governments of developing countries. During negotiations for
structural adjustment loans (SALs), partner governments
agree to specific policy reforms, whose implementation
becomes a condition for disbursement of SAL funds.
Conditionality varies with local circumstances, but
generally supports privatization of state enterprises,

The report requested by the government
of Malawi updates the poverty assessment completed in March
1990. It will guide policy and investment priorities, and
inform the design of programs intended to improve living
conditions and increase incomes of the people in Malawi. A
greater understanding of the magnitude and the profile of
poverty will also make it easier to implement a monitoring
system to evaluate the effects of programs and track the

Environmental degradation primarily
affects the poor, both in rural and urban areas. Reversing
the downward spiral of this degradation is essential to any
strategy for reducing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This
study outlines the World Bank's strategy for improving
its assistance to SSA countries as they move toward
environmentally sustainable development (ESD). It assesses
the environmental situation and long-term trends in Africa,

Environmental concerns must be
integrated into the development process, but African
countries still face many challenges as they work to achieve
development that is economically, socially, and
environmentally sustainable. Many countries have already
launched National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs) and
National Conservation Strategies; however, in preparing and
implementing them, economics was used sparingly because