This article provides evidence from one of the poorest countries in the world that the institutions of property rights matter for efficiency, investment, and growth. With all land state-owned, the threat of land redistribution never appears far off the agenda. Land rental and leasing have been made legal, but transfer rights remain restricted and the perception of continuing tenure insecurity remains quite strong. Using a unique panel data set, this study investigates whether transfer rights and implied tenure insecurity affect household investment decisions, focusing on trees and shrubs.

This strategic framework serves to guide and support the operational response of the World Bank Group (WBG) to new development challenges posed by global climate change. Unabated, climate change threatens to reverse hard-earned development gains. The poorest countries and communities will suffer the earliest and the most. Yet they depend on actions by other nations, developed and developing. While climate change is an added cost and risk to development, a well-designed and implemented global climate policy can also bring new economic opportunities to developing countries.

The world development report 2010 estimates that an additional $200 billion per year of climate-related financing is needed in developing countries between now and 2030 to keep global average temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius. Developing countries face increased financing challenges over coming decades as they seek to pursue economic development along a lower emission trajectory.

Durban is located within a global biodiversity hotspot, and still contains a wealth of biodiversity. Some of this is protected in nature reserves, but much of it is in private hands or in communal lands on the city’s periphery. City managers are divided over the level of attention that should be given to preserving these remaining natural areas.

James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank Group, discussed the issues that link the United States to other countries: health, migration, trade, peace and stability, energy, food, and crime and narcotics. The responsibilities of foundations do not end with our cities and communities. The job the Bank does can only be done on the basis of partnership with the governments, with the other multilateral institutions, with the private sector, but most particularly with civil society.

Agriculture and agribusiness play an important role in the Zambian economy, contributing around 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years and about 12 percent of national export earnings. Agriculture employs nearly 70 percent of the labor force and remains the main source of income and employment for most of the people living in rural areas. The objective of the Zambia agribusiness indicators (ABI) country report is to examine factors that have affected agricultural productivity, market access, and the policy environment for agriculture in Zambia.

Senegal is located in the Sahel region of West Africa. Between 1970 and 2000, the country suffered prolonged droughts that contributed to rural exodus. Communities in these peri-urban areas, already among the poorest in the country, are the most vulnerable to episodes of heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding. The impact of floods in this situation of uncontrolled urban growth is exacerbated by the lack of a functional storm water drainage system, ineffective land-use policies and non-compliance with the urban planning and development master plan.

Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2017, the third report in the EBA series, offers insights into how laws and regulations affect private sector development for agribusinesses, including producer organizations and other agricultural entrepreneurs. Globally comparable data and scored indicators encourage regulations that ensure safety and quality of agricultural inputs, goods and services but are not too costly or burdensome.

The objective of the Ugandan government is to make Uganda an upper - middle income country within thirty years. Economic diversification is a key component of that strategy. The country economic memorandum (CEM) report discusses how the emergence of oil and mineral production can contribute to Uganda’s effort to promote economic diversification as a means to achieve sustainable and shared growth.

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, shared his thoughts about how the global community can face the double challenge of protecting our environment and strengthening our economies. Brazil is working to turn this double challenge into a double dividend, by meeting energy needs that are essential for growth and fighting poverty, while leaving a smaller environmental footprint. Investing in the environment is investing in the future of the poor.

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, remarked that we are seeing today an emerging global consensus that we must do something about climate change. But equally important is the agenda to reduce poverty. We face this double challenge of reducing damaging carbon emissions, and still meeting the energy demands of the world’s poor.

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, discussed how to meet the rising demand for energy while reducing our carbon footprint. Rich countries need to lead by example, renovating and replacing infrastructure and investing in clean technology. Rich countries also need to lead with direct support to developing nations, both to reduce poverty and reduce carbon emissions. Moving to a low carbon path will require investments, and a long-term equitable global regulatory framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.