Continued from page These sentiments were echoed by government officials Theseneedsmandateadrasticchangeinthemanagement and university administrators from across the region - and financing structure of universities. The conference from the conflict-driven Afghanistan to the robust participants generally accepted that higher education Malaysia, to the newly independent and the region's systems need to be separated from direct government poorestTimorLesteandthefast-growingVietnam.World control. (In East Asia, countries that have moved toward Bank experts on higher education also joined the granting more autonomy to universities include Japan, conference to share their knowledge and moderate the Thailand, and Indonesia). discussions on how higher education reforms were working in other countries. "You want to have a regulatory framework to support the changes and allow universities to undertake the needed reform to meet the new challenges," said Mr. Salmi. "Governments can't ask universities to be more flexible, creative, or entrepreneurial if they don't allow universities to be more autonomous." Furthermore, universities should not shy away from building linkages to the private sector to improve the design and organization of degree programs. This will ensure that graduating workers have acquired the skills andthepracticalknowledgeforsolvingreal-lifeproblems in specific technical fields. In turn, the private sector should be encouraged to invest more in universities. With reform programs underway, funding models becoming more diversified, and the partnership with industries strengthening, the overall priority is to make sure that quality continually improves. This can be done Ascanbeexpectedfromsuchadiversesetofparticipating through systems of quality assurance. nations, experiences varied widely. But each participant saw education as a key to development, said Emmanuel In Sri Lanka, for example, the Government has set up the Jimenez, the director of the World Bank Bank's human Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council to routinely development sector in East Asia. review public universities and institutes as well as the standard of education offered by specific university "Developing countries that are just beginning to scale up departments,saidChrisThomas,whooverseesthework theirhighereducationsystemsarelookingtolearnfromthe of the World Bank's education sector in East Asia. experiences of countries that have already done so." Mr. Jimenezsaid. "Buteventheselattercountries,mostofwhich "Qualityassuranceandaccreditationsystemsofferguidance haveachievedmiddle-incomestatus,arerealizingthatthey to universities for continual improvement, while providing need to continue the reform process if their workforces are information on the quality of various institutions to going to be ready to compete in the global economy." consumers,"he said. Participants of the conference identified a number of As many countries have learned, the above steps are not essential steps for improving higher education systems easy; many require a very strong political leadership to and institutions. First, rigid and lengthy oversight and push through. During the conference, Mr. Jimenez administrative procedures must be relaxed. Universities needtorespondmoreeffectivelytothechangingtraining needs of the students and of increasingly knowledge- based industries. They must be able to quickly establish new degree programs, reflecting new science and technological fields. They must also be able to regularly modify existing curricula, as well as eliminate outdated programs. Inaddition,universitiesmustbeabletooffercompetitive salaries to qualified teachers, to appoint the best managers, and to diversify their funding sources to rely less on public financing. Teachers must improve their performance and be more accountable to the students and society at large. Teachers must also take on a new role as facilitators of creative learning. Page 2 reaffirmedtheWorldBank'scommitmenttohelpcountries obtain the necessary information to make the tough To download presentations and related conference materials, decisions and then carry out the even more difficult task please log on to http://go.worldbank.org/TD47GPXW50 of reforms. Contact Omporn Regel at oregel@worldbank.org for more "We can help you through a number of programs and information about World Bank support for higher education analytic work. We can help facilitate learning that needs to reforms in East Asia take place across countries,"he said on the last day of the conference. "The World Bank is not a repository of experts on higher education. What we can do is to convene those experts together to help. We are also the link between you and the ministry that holds the purse string. And we hope we can bridge that gap." Introducing World Bank's like anything else, it creates carbon dioxide and releases it into the atmosphere. In addition, wildfires reduce the New Forest Carbon number of trees that will help absorb carbon. Partnership Facility: Part I Secondly, economic development creates increasing marketsforrawmaterials,particularlywood(forbuilding construction, furniture, paper, etc). This has led to trees Those who have followed the development of being cut down ­ or deforestation in an official language international carbon markets will have heard about the ­bothlegallyandillegally.Inmanydevelopingcountries World Bank's new Forest Carbon Partnership Facility. withrichnationalforests,illegallogginghasbecomeone Launched in December 2007 at the United Nations of the major challenges. And not only does deforestation Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, destroy the environment and the livelihoods of the Indonesia, this financing facility aims to help developing indigenous people dependent on forests, it also causes countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions through floods, increases the temperature, and increases carbon deforestation. dioxide in the atmosphere. As noted by World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick Two years ago, developing countries started posing this during the Bali Convention, deforestation is responsible question at international climate talks: why can't we earn for anywhere between 20 and 30 percent of greenhouse money from keeping our forests standing instead of gas emissions. Why? There are two reasons for this, said cutting them down?This question has introduced a new World Bank Lead Environmental Specialist for the East way of looking at the deforestation issue, said Mr. Prasad, Asia and Pacific region, Neeraj Prasad. who dropped in on us recently after attending the UN First of all, we all know that trees and plants are good for Convention in Bali. the environment because they absorb carbon. But every Thatbringsustothemainsubjectofthisarticle:theWorld year, fire burns between six and 14 million hectares of Bank's new carbon fund. Known by its abbreviation as forests around the world, according to the World the FCPF, this fund provides a financial incentive to curb Conservation Union. And when trees are burning, much deforestation. Continue on page 4 Page Continued from page The facility consists of two components: A $100 million absorbing carbon dioxide? Or is it more valued as timber? Readiness Fund will provide grants to help countries set This is the economic question that the Bank is trying to help upsystemsandprocessestomonitorandcrediblygovern countries address." their forests. Several countries will also be able to sell emissionreductions This is not an easy issue, Mr. Prasad acknowledged. In to a special $200 developing countries that generate billions of dollars in millionCarbonFund annual revenues from wood-based industries, the s u p p o r t e d b y economic benefits of avoided deforestation may still be d e v e l o p e d insufficient. For instance, each standing hectare of forest countries, as well as absorbs 15-17 tons of carbon dioxide a year, and each the private sector ton of carbon dioxide is worth $5-$10. and organizations. "So one and a half hectares of forests standing gives you The Bank's ultimate more than $100 of carbon money, in addition to the fact goal is to jump-start that you still have the trees," he explained. "The question is, a forest carbon if this is enough an incentive to keep the forests intact? At market that rewards the Bank, we think that, if we can create a (forest carbon) c o u n t r i e s f o r market, these prices will go up. And at a certain price, it will conserving forests. become more economically attractive to keep the forests as "It's quite different they are, in addition to existing environmental benefits." Neeraj Prasad during a recent knowledge- from what we have sharing seminar on the World Bank's Forestdone previously - we Next month: Avoided deforestation in Thailand ­ an Carbon Partnership Facility used to look at the interview with World Bank Carbon Finance Analyst, forests only from the conservation and biodiversity point of Pongtip Puvacharoen. view, and the carbon markets for forests only when they reduced emissions by creating or re-planting forests" For more information about carbon finance at the World Bank, Mr. Prasad said. "Now countries are looking at it from the please visit www.carbonfinance.org, or contact Nat Pinnoi at economicperspective.Isthetreemorevaluedstandingand npinnoi@worldbank.org Upcoming Event Jan. 24, 9:00 am ­ 12:00 pm: Workshop on "Developing Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects for Municipal Solid Waste Management in Thailand," meeting room, 4th floor, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP). This event is open to the public. Please contact Pongtip Puvacharoen at (0) 2686-8362, or email ppuvacharoen@worldbank.org, if you like to attend. Page 4