The vulnerability of the agricultural sector to both climate change and variability is well established in the literature. The general consensus is that changes in temperature and precipitation will result in changes in land and water regimes that will subsequently affect agricultural productivity.
... See More + Research has also shown that specifically in tropical regions, with many of the poorest countries, impacts on agricultural productivity are expected to be particularly harmful. The vulnerability of these countries is also especially likely to be acute in light of technological, resource, and institutional constraints. Although estimates suggest that global food production is likely to be robust, experts predict tropical regions will see both a reduction in agricultural yields and a rise in poverty levels as livelihood opportunities for many engaged in the agricultural sector become increasingly susceptible to expected climate pressures
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This report is intended to inform the international development community about the links between black (BC) carbon and climate change. With growing scientific clarity on the contribution of black carbon to climate change, the benefits of limiting its emissions are becoming more evident.
... See More + This report reviews the existing knowledge on the subject and identifies relevant considerations for development organizations. Climate modeling shows that a large reduction in the global amounts of BC emissions, without changes in emissions of organic carbon, will lead to a sharp onetime decrease in the warming influence of human activities. A rapid reduction in BC emissions has thus been proposed as a way to partially offset the projected increase in temperatures in coming decades. This will not solve the long-term problem of climate change, which is caused by the greenhouse gas (GHGs), but it could extend the limited time that is available to reduce emissions of GHGs aggressively, before global temperatures reach dangerous levels. Proposals to reduce BC emissions also often address the need to reduce emissions of several other short-lived gases (such as ozone) that are mostly not covered by the Kyoto Protocol. This paper is designed to inform development agencies, in a brief, simplified, and non-technical manner, about the links between BC and climate change, and how these could relate to development policy. The paper describes: (a) what is known about the impact of BC and related aerosols on climate, (b) the sources and importance of BC emissions, (c) possible actions and policies to mitigate emissions, and (d) considerations for agencies in light of these issues.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 67322 DEC 01, 2011
There is overwhelming consensus amongst climate scientists that the Earth's warming in recent decades has been caused primarily by human activities that have increased the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere.
... See More + To mitigate the most serious impacts of climate change a range of different strategies to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere are required. Building on outcomes and recommendations from various coastal carbon activities, this report explains the GHG dynamics of coastal wetlands and marine ecosystems (chapter two). The importance of coastal wetland and near-shore marine ecosystem carbon pools for climate change mitigation are described in chapter three, with a brief overview of the status of these systems, including drivers of change and implications of degradation of carbon pools, provided in Chapter four. Chapter five gives an overview of policy opportunities under ongoing United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and through revision of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon accounting methodologies and eligible mitigation activities for developing as well as developed countries. The main recommendations for action are summarized in chapter six.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 60578 MAR 01, 2011
Climate change is both a cause and an effect of biodiversity change. Along with anthropogenic dispersion, climate change is the main driver of change in the geographical distribution of both beneficial and harmful species, crops, livestock, harvested wild species, pests, predators and pathogens.
... See More + And the capacity of ecosystems to adapt to climate change depends on the diversity of species they currently support. This paper considers the connection between climate, biodiversity and ecosystem services. The impact of climate change on human wellbeing is measured by the change in ecosystem services caused by climate related change in biodiversity. Similarly, the role of species richness and abundance in climate change mitigation or adaptation is measured by the change in the climate-related services of biodiversity. The categories of ecosystem services are those applied in the millennium ecosystem assessment. The paper first considers how climate and biodiversity have been linked in recent attempts to link the two things. From the side of the natural sciences, this covers the consequences of climate change for various dimensions of biodiversity. From the side of the social sciences, it covers the value of biodiversity in the carbon cycle. It then uses insights from the economic treatment of the relation between biodiversity and ecosystem services to re-evaluate the connection between biodiversity and climate change, and to draw conclusions for climate policy.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 58165 NOV 01, 2010
Poverty reduction strategies (PRSs) provide a central framework for macroeconomic, structural, and social policies in developing countries. Because of the numerous and complex links between environment and poverty, it is important that environmental issues are taken into account in the PRS process.
... See More + This paper follows six previous assessments of the degree of mainstreaming environment in the PRS process using a similar methodology to present trends and provide an understanding of the effectiveness of environmental interventions in reducing poverty. However, it goes beyond previous assessments in three important ways. In-depth country case studies of the evolution of environmental mainstreaming in the PRS process over time. Many countries have now gone through several iterations of their poverty reduction strategies and have received a sequence of credits designed to implement key aspects of these strategies, making it possible to see how the process of mainstreaming environment in the strategies has evolved over time. In this assessment, the authors conduct detailed case studies of this evolution in Ghana, Albania, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The choice of countries was based on the maturity of each country's PRS process, taking into consideration country size, lending volume, and vulnerability to climate change. An assessment of climate change mainstreaming in the PRS process in the same four countries. Like environment as a whole, the potential impacts of climate change have often been considered separately, if at all rather than as an integral part of development policies. An evaluation of environmental development policy loans (DPLs) in several middle income countries (Brazil, Gabon, and Mexico). DPLs represent an important opportunity to mainstream environment and climate change into middle-income countries' growth and development. This review assesses the process by which environmental DPLs have been prepared and the effectiveness with which they have been implemented.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 50082 JUN 01, 2009
Sea-level rise (SLR) due to climate change is a serious global threat: the scientific evidence is now overwhelming. The rate of global sea level rise was faster from 1993 to 2003, about 3.1 mm per year, as compared to the average rate of 1.8 mm per year from 1961 to 2003 (IPCC, 2007); and significantly higher than the average rate of 0.1 to 0.2 mm/yr increase recorded by geological data over the last 3,000 years.
... See More + Anthropogenic warming and SLR will continue for centuries due to the time scales associated with climate processes and feedbacks, even if greenhouse gas concentrations were to be stabilized. This paper reviews the scientific literature to date on climate change and sea level rise. There appears to be a consensus across studies that global sea level is projected to rise during the 21st century at a greater rate than during the period 1961 to 2003 and unanimous agreement that SLR will not be geographically uniform. Ocean thermal expansion is projected to contribute significantly, and land ice will increasingly lose mass at an accelerated rate. But most controversial are the mass balance loss estimates of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets and what the yet un-quantified dynamic processes will imply in terms of SLR. Recent evidence on the vulnerability of Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets to climate warming raises the alarming possibility of SLR by one meter or more by the end of the 21st century.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 48525 MAY 01, 2009
The overall goal of this report is to help water resources and environment professionals within the Bank and client countries use strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to effectively implement the principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM).
... See More + The report contains four elements: (1) a review of SEA support for IWRM; (2) an analysis of 10 case studies and four water policies; (3) an in-depth pilot study of water sector reform in a developing country; and (4) a framework for enhancing the use of SEAs in integrated water resources management. This SEA provides important lessons on the usage of SEA rather than on the technical aspects of conducting them. It illustrates how an environmental instrument can be used to further development and poverty alleviation as well as environmental protection by putting its findings and recommendations in terms that are meaningful to politicians and senior decision makers. This includes use of economic and financial arguments and linkages to national goals such as poverty reduction and millennium development goals (MDGs). It also illustrates the importance of building support among a wider constituency than just the lead agency and working patiently over a number of years to implement reforms. The influence of an SEA can be felt a number of years as opportunities arise to implement components of a reform program. Finally, it clearly illustrates that an SEA need not be costly or time consuming to be influential if it is focused on the core questions, builds a constituency, and presents its findings in a way that is relevant to decision makers.
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The overall goal of this report and the accompanying report summarizing the findings and recommendations, both based on the economic and sector work (ESW), is to advance the understanding and integration in operational terms of environmental water allocation into integrated water resources management.
... See More + The specific objectives of the reports are the following: 1) document the changing understanding of environmental flows, both by water resources practitioners and by environmental experts within the Bank and in borrowing countries; 2) draw lessons from experience in implementing environmental flows by the Bank, other international development organizations with experience in this area, and a small number of developed and developing countries; 3) develop an analytical framework to support more effective integration of environmental flow considerations for informing and guiding: (a) the planning, design, and operations decision making of water resources infrastructure projects; (b) the legal, policy, institutional, and capacity development related to environmental flows; and (c) restoration programs; and 4) provide recommendations for improvements in technical guidance to better incorporate environmental flow considerations into the preparation and implementation of lending operations.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 48871 APR 01, 2009
The livelihoods of communities in rural areas of Peru are predominantly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture. Given their close connection with the environment, the understanding of how these communities perceive risks and how they adapt to and cope with climate hazards is important for identifying entry points for efforts aimed at building resilience.
... See More + In this context, it is assumed that the successful use of climate information will depend on appropriate information formats that fit the decision-making structure of communities as stakeholders and also have their trust. In connection with collecting information of community knowledge on environmental predictors of weather and climatic conditions and recommendations for capacity-building needs, it is hoped that the report will provide valuable, initial guidance on which elements play an important role in strengthening the adaptive capacity of communities to climate variability and change. The objective of part one is to place climate variability and change into the broader development of Peru and outline risk management structures. This overview will then be contrasted with the perceptions of risks and vulnerabilities and coping and adaptation strategies at the community level described in part two for Northwestern Peru and the altiplano, which are regions considered highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards. The report concludes by developing a set of overarching and locale-specific recommendations.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 44945 MAY 01, 2008
The objective of this paper is to review experience with completed country environmental analysis (CEAs) to improve the effectiveness of CEAs as a strategic analytical tool.
... See More + Through in-depth analysis of the process, methodologies, costs, and results of completed CEA pilots, the paper assesses how effective CEAs have been in informing and providing strategic guidance to the Bank and client countries on environment-development issues and the extent to which they have facilitated donor coordination. The analysis carried out in this paper also provides feedback on when to prepare a CEA, how to prepare and structure CEAs, and how to use specific methodologies and processes in influencing policy dialogue with partner countries. The findings are of potential interest to World Bank sector managers, country directors, CEA task teams, and environmental staff, but also to development partners who carry out work similar to CEAs. The paper is based on a desk review of completed CEAs and on interviews with task managers and members of CEA teams. Several reports, including a fieldwork-based assessment of the Ghana, India, and Guatemala CEAs commissioned by the Environment Department; a review on Tunisia by the Quality Assurance Group (QAG); and a report commissioned by the Latin America and Caribbean Region, based on in-country assessments of completed CEAs, have also informed this study. A detailed case study analysis of each completed CEA was prepared for this exercise; it substantively informed the review and is available as a background paper. The original CEA concept note proposed that CEAs have three main building blocks: (a) establishment of environment-development priorities linked with growth and poverty reduction, (b) assessment of the environmental implications of sector policies, and (c) institutional analysis. Assessing CEAs against this building block structure, the review highlights several findings.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 42821 FEB 01, 2008
The current assessment builds on previously published reviews of poverty reduction strategy programs (PRSPs), and is the sixth report in a series.
... See More + This paper aims at presenting a clearer picture of how PRSPs influence the developmental agenda in 11 African countries by assessing the level of environmental mainstreaming in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Process. The paper includes the following headings: introduction; framework for assessment; implementation of environment priorities; and conclusions and recommendations.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 40407 MAY 01, 2007
Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) have been periodically reviewed from a variety of different perspectives. This review assesses how environment is integrated in CASs for 2005 and also compares the progress made by 37 countries over the period of 1999-2005.
... See More + Five themes are used to assess the 23 CASs across an established methodology also used in previous reviews. The five themes are: issues identification, treatment, mainstreaming, environmental policy and poverty- environment linkages. The review finds that the treatment of environment in CASs has only marginally improved. However, the positive aspect is the increase in the number of good practice cases as illustrated by high scores of individual countries under the five different themes. These good practice cases provide lessons and serve as tools for strengthening future CASs. Poverty environment linkages continue to remain the weakest aspect of CASs.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 38176 NOV 01, 2006
It is now recognized that invasive alien species (IAS) pose a major threat to agricultural and natural ecosystems, and to human health and livelihoods.
... See More + These non-native species, which are accidentally or intentionally introduced into new areas, range from microbes to mammals. This report examines the precise origins of many existing IAS problems, particularly in the developing world, which remain poorly understood. This complicates assessments of the relative importance of different vectors and pathways for IAS introductions, and the prediction of future risks. International assistance programs can facilitate both deliberate, and unintentional IAS introductions. Such misjudgments and accidents are costly; indeed, their negative effects may be far greater, and more long-lasting than the positive impacts of the aid programs from which they arose. It is thus suggested that knowing how, and from where, IAS are being introduced are important first steps in the development of effective prevention and early detection schemes. An urgent, and fuller, assessment is needed on the nature and severity of IAS threats associated with international assistance programs. Particular attention needs to be paid to vectors and pathways of movement. Part of the focus should be on case studies, in order to elucidate more fully constraints in relation to existing prevention schemes. Nonetheless, some actions should be considered in advance, including awareness raising to aid agencies, and promoting the development of voluntary codes of conduct, and risk assessments.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 35434 MAR 01, 2006
One of the most difficult issues to be addressed in enabling, and conducting invasive control measures, is simply the need to apply practical legislative reasoning to the process.
... See More + It is difficult because of the fact that introduction of new species cannot simply be prohibited; and, due to lack of current scientific ability to know in advance which species will become invasive. The report addresses these issues, and stipulates legislation of invasive species issues must always involve a balancing of interests-the interests mandating introduction, balanced against the interests involved in protecting natural, and agricultural ecosystems from destruction by such species. This paper is designed to consider questions of "motivation, capability, and reality," and to consider possible legislative approaches for developing countries. It comprises five parts as follows. Part I provides a conceptual and scientific summary and introduction, and Part II provides a very brief overview of some of the key global developments in the field, while Part III examines in greater detail the legislative tools available for use in the control of specie introduction, and invasive species. Part IV discusses some of the special concerns relating to the process of building one, or more legislative frameworks utilizing the legislative tools described in Part III, and, provides, in some cases, a brief identification of how the selection and use of those tools might differ within the developing country context from their use in other places.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 35433 FEB 01, 2006
This paper represents an important dimension in filling Latin America history's gaps through the lens of land rights. The continent was populated by many nations, functioned in harmony with nature, had a variety of cultures and languages, and, developed many different socio-economic systems (nationally and locally).
... See More + These nations were sovereign and recognized from Alaska to Patagonia. Indeed, among all of them, we know they had very advanced, and well established institutional arrangements and organizations (formal and informal), created and nurtured with the view to respond to the needs, and challenges of the time. With a variety of forms of governance, these societies did assign rights, and responsibilities to the different actors, and groups in order to maintain an acceptable level of social cohesion, to establish important political consensus. As the political systems of some countries are now becoming more democratic to listening, and embracing the views of minorities, issues of land rights have clearly surfaced. Issues of sovereignty, customary law and, simply, of traditional norms-from the national to the household levels-are being put on the table of what is clearly a complex social dialogue. The paper is an excellent source of basic information, sharing an easy and practical understanding about land tenure/titling, as discussed above. In addition, the paper represents a genuine attempt to: a) recognize the existence of these complex land rights and land titling systems across Latin America; b) study the content at the country level, so that international experiences/comparisons may spark a move towards policy coherence and legislation; and, c) demonstrate that land is not only a physical asset with some economic and financial value, but an intrinsic dimension, and part of peoples lives and belief systems. There is also a human rights dimension to all of the above. And it is essential to understand this human rights dimension of land rights, not just as a legal obligation, but as a key element of economic and social development.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 30886 OCT 01, 2004
This paper seeks to clarify how valuation should be conducted to answer specific environmental policy questions. In particular, it looks at how valuation should be used to examine four distinct aspects of the value of ecosystems: 1) Determining the value of the total flow of benefits from ecosystems; 2) Determining the net benefits of interventions that alter ecosystem conditions: 3) Examining how the costs and benefits of ecosystems are distributed; and, 4) Identifying potential financing sources for conservation.
... See More + These four approaches are closely linked, and build on each other. They represent four different ways to look at similar data regarding the value of an ecosystem: its total value, or contribution to society, the change in this value if a conservation action is undertaken, how this change affects different stakeholders. Each of these approaches to valuation uses similar data, yet in very different ways, that is, sometimes at a subset, sometimes looking at a snapshot, and sometimes looking at changes over time. Each approach has its uses and its limitations.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 30887 OCT 01, 2004
Pagiola, Stefano; von Ritter, Konrad; Bishop, Joshua
This paper describes the contract mechanism developed for the Regional Integrated Silvopastoral Ecosystem Management Project, which is being implemented with financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
... See More + The project is testing the use of the payment-for-service mechanism to encourage the adoption of silvopastoral practices in three countries of Central and South America: Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. The project has created a mechanism that pays land users for the global environmental services they are generating, so that the additional income stream makes the proposed practices privately profitable.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 29351 MAY 01, 2004
Pagiola, Stefano; Agostini, Paola; Gobbi, Jose; de Haan, Cees; Ibrahim, Muhammad; Murgueitio, Enrique; Ramirez, Elias; Rosales, Mauricio; Ruiz, Juan Pablo
This report provides annotated summaries of recent publications on participatory conservation for protected areas. The report focused on lessons learned and good practices for donor-funded projects.
... See More + The summaries include study objectives, methodology and findings. A keyword search list is also available at the end of the report.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 29350 JAN 01, 2004
The review examines the use of environmental valuation in 101 projects in the World Bank's environmental portfolio approved in fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002.
... See More + It has three broad objectives. First, it examines the extent to which environmental costs and benefits have been incorporated in the economic analysis of projects. Second, it examines how well valuation was used. Third, it seeks to identify areas of weakness so as to feed into plans for capacity building. The results show that the use of environmental valuation has increased substantially in the last decade. Ten years ago, one project in 162 used environmental valuation. In recent years, as many as one third of the projects in the environmental portfolio did so. While this represents a substantial improvement, there remains considerable scope for growth.
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About 50 countries have prepared interim and full Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). In this context, this paper examines Millennium Development Goal (MDG)7: Ensuring Environmental Sustainability, its targets and indicators, and responds to three questions: To what extent do PRSPs define and adopt targets and indicators that align with those of MDG7?
... See More + To what extent do the available data allow tracking of progress with respect to MDG7? When data are available, what are the trends, and how can the data be effectively utilized to examine the status and trends of countries in relation to MDG7? The assessment of interim and full Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) shows that: 1) Only 12 of the 28 full PRSPs present some information on the baselines and targets in line with the MDG7; and none of the 22 interim PRSPs present discussion on the long-term perspective; 2) Within the PRSPs that present targets aligned with MDG7, attention is almost exclusively focused on water and sanitation; 3) Available data can be used to document the status and trends of relevant MDG7 indicators.
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