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Bulgaria has substantial green growth potential, but it depends upon bold and systematic actions in areas like agriculture, energy efficiency, and green manufacturing, says Markus Repnik, World Bank Country Manager for Bulgaria. Read More »
A new report, "Growing Green: The Economic Benefits of Climate Action" outlines policies and recommendations to help guide countries in the Europe and Central Asia region towards a new growth model. Read More »
Climate Change impacts and adaptation responses are reshaping agriculture and farming in Europe and Central Asia. Read More »
What Works in Montenegro Could Work in TajikistanThe inaugural conference of the Economics of Green Growth Peer-Assisted Learning Network was timely and important, according to participants. "If... Show More + we want to make sure we give humanity the chance to enjoy a decent life, we need to ensure growth that provides jobs, while at the same time protecting and improving the state of the environment," said Aneta Wilmańska of Poland's Ministry of Environment.The focus was on building a network for sharing ideas and technical cooperation among senior government specialists from Ministries of Finance, Economy, and Environment on the economics of climate change and green growth. World Bank staff and officials from Europe and Central Asian countries joined key experts to identify common interests."It's really important. It gives us an opportunity to see other countries' expectations and practices. And so I believe that this is very important and it's very productive." Štefan Kišš, with Slovakia's Ministry of Finance, agreed. "This knowledge transfer is very relevant for countries like ours, so we are keen to learn a lot."Networking in Person and OnlineThe new Network will rely on periodic conferences and workshops simiilar to this one, and will be reinforced with a web-based knowledge-sharing platform. The green growth issues covered are broad, ranging from carbon pricing and energy subsidies to green jobs and exports. Other topics include green investments and technologies, and the costs and potential benefits of climate change mitigation.The Network is a platform for a regional sharing of ideas, strategies, and practical information. "Each of you in government needs to be watching what your counterparts in other governments are up to, what they are doing, how they are dealing with practical problems of implementation," said Erika Jorgensen, Economic Advisor with the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management unit of the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia region. "What have they learned when they have tried to get households to save energy?"Vita Valiūnaitė, with Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agreed that a regional approach to green growth makes sense. "Most important for me is to meet others here and to share our expertise, because we have a specific regional approach about how we're dealing with green growth in Eastern Europe."Participants left the conference eager to continue their collaborations. The next steps are an online "meeting place" and the dissemination of practical implementation knowledge about green growth strategies and operations for Europe and Central Asia. Show Less -
The famed waterfalls and forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Una National Park were once full of debris and other sad remnants of the war which wracked this area and other parts of the former Yugoslavia... Show More + two decades ago.But a conservation project has now given new life to the park and surrounding areas – creating new hope for those who live there. "Less than 20 years ago there were war-related activities in this area, and this area was littered with waste and damage caused by irresponsible citizens. At the beginning, we had a lot of work which took us and our supervisors a lot of time and energy to clean this area - the roads, the paths, and the forests," says Haris Hadzihajdarevic, an administrative associate at the park.This is the future - not only for my children but for the whole region of Bosnia and Herzegovina.This is natural beauty which needs to be preserved for future generations.The park, named for the river which runs through it, was supported by the government-implemented Forest and Mountain Protected Areas Project, financed by Global Environment Facility (GEF) funds and administered by the World Bank.The Forest and Mountain Protected Areas Project is helping to protect the country's natural forests and parks, and create eco-friendly opportunities for those who live nearby - like 34-year old Senad Tutic, who fled war in the area as a 12-year-old back in 1992 and who has recently returned to work as a park supervisor."This is the future - not only for my children but for the whole region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is natural beauty which needs to be preserved for future generations," says Tutic.Since the project's implementation two years ago, trees, fauna, and fish are on the rise at Una Park. After years of deforestation, over hunting, and over fishing these activities are now strictly regulated and monitored by locally hired park rangers.Based on the results of last year, we expect a higher number of tourists this year.Dozens of other local residents have found work building ecologically safe walkways and benches throughout the forest and along the river. They have also built signs explaining various sites and locations.Such measures are helping to attract a growing number of local - and international - tourists say Park officials, who put the number at 30 thousand per year, and rising."Based on the results of last year, we expect a higher number of tourists this year - an increased number of visits and a better financial outcome for the national park," says Amarildo Mulic, Director of Una's Public Utilities.This increase in valuable tourist dollars, according to Mulic, helps pay for ongoing park maintenance and staff salaries, as well as for park- related information centers - which advertise for environment-friendly businesses in and around Una. The forestry project also provided local businesses with small grants in order to expand on the budding enterprises now catering to tourist needs. Smail Celikovic is using his grant to train local residents in cultivating natural herbs in the park, which can be dried and sold to tourists."Within the national park, where it is permitted, local residents will collect this herbal medicine and produce organic foods," he says.Jasmina Kurtagic received a grant to expand on carpet weaving and other activities practiced by members of the women's association she belongs to, which operates near the park and sells homemade products to passing tourists."Now we have great cooperation. Some of our products are being sold at the checkpoints for the national park and the park also directs buses of tourists our way," she says.80-year-old Dmitar Reljic says he didn't need help with his business - an old fashioned corn mill which also serves as a kind of washing machine. "I worked in the water mill for 64 years grinding, so many people have come to me and I have learned to deal with people. I always try to welcome and please everyone," he says.He says his mill, located on the edge of the park, has been attracting curious tourists - and their money - for decades. Show Less -
Since early 2011, blue skies have taken on a new meaning for Zoran Balevski and Slave Ivanovski, and for the whole of FYR Macedonia as well. The country has more than 200 days of sunshine a... Show More + year, which these two entrepreneurs are harnessing in the first serious FYR Macedonian solar power plant.Balevski and Ivanovski blazed a trail in the renewable energy field when they installed more than four thousand solar panels in this landlocked nation's largest valley. Their company, Mega Solar, had support to get off the ground from the Sustainable Energy Project financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and managed by the World Bank.Balevski, Mega Solar's manager, learned about the benefits of solar energy through his work in Slovenia and his travels through Western Europe, where he witnessed solar power plants and wind farms at work firsthand. It wasn't long after he came back home that he began to realize his idea of making solar energy a reality for his power-starved country. Aided by solid research, he first had to pick a site for the solar plant.Not well known, it's the right mix of sun and temperature that generates the most energy. Contrary to popular belief, if it's too hot, power generation goes down. In fact, in its first year of operation, Mega Solar generated the most in March, a relatively cool month.Mega Solar picked Germian, near Bitola, the second largest city in FYR Macedonia, after careful planning and study of information available from the European Union's Joint Resource Center and different NATO maps of the country. However, this was only the beginning. The hard part was to follow."Looking at things from this perspective, I can say that finding a good location in a country like FYR Macedonia was easy," says Balevski. "What was exceedingly difficult was to persuade the bankers to invest in something that no-one in FYR Macedonia took seriously."Indeed, it took two years of wading through different bureaucratic procedures and knocking on doors to get the project going and to build the plant. Despite the obvious profitability of the investment, commercial banks were skeptical and hesitant to be the first to back Mega Solar.Getting assistance from the World Bank was crucial. It helped increase the confidence and decrease the interest charged by the commercial bank.But persistence paid off. Balevski and Ivanovski got in touch with the World Bank team that was working on the implementation of the GEF-financed Sustainable Energy Project and quickly found a reliable partner for both funding and advice. The skepticism of the commercial banks quickly decreased after the World Bank became involved, and soon after, the local branch of Société Générale approved the investment and financed the lion's share of the project. After 77 days of intense work on the ground, the solar plant was connected to the local power grid and the first kilowatts of power were delivered in summer 2012.The plant covers an area of 20,700 square meters and has a capacity of one megawatt. It produces 1,650 MWh annually. And it doesn't end here. The plant also serves as an education center for Bitola University, whose academic staff uses the measurements for their own research and students come for educational visits. And the plant's owners are planning to procure a smaller inverter that will serve to record the history of exposure to sun over longer periods of time. Show Less -
As climate change sweeps through the dry steppes of northern Kazakhstan, farmers are relying on new climate-smart technology to keep their crop yields high. That is crucial for both Kazakhstan and the... Show More + world, since the country is the 7th largest wheat exporter in the world.According to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, one of 15 international agricultural research centers part of the CGIAR Consortium), in 2012 Kazakh farmers in three northern regions of the country adopted the new technology, known as 'no-till' or 'zero tillage.' That brings 1.85 million hectares or 10% of all of Kazakh farmland under no-till farming practices. Today the country appears to be the second fastest global adopter after China.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank estimated that just in 2012 the adoption of the technology resulted in 0.7 million tons of additional wheat grain, which is enough to feed some 5 million people for a year. So far, the new method is showing 30-40% yield increases, cutting cultivation costs, and reducing soil erosion.Meiram Sagimbayev is one of the farmers using no-till, also sometimes called conservation agriculture, which helps keep moisture in the soil. "We started applying no-till in 2003 and 2004 on small fields first, and I really liked the results, so in 2005 I decided to apply the technology on all my fields," he says. "But the results convinced me that there are some peculiarities we should have taken into account, and we started analyzing it."We started applying no-till in 2003 and 2004 on small fields first, and I really liked the results, so in 2005 I decided to apply the technology on all my fields.Holding on to SnowIn this part of the world, 40% of the precipitation comes in the form of snow. The northern steppe's strong winds often blow the snow away, leaving the soil bare and dry. No-till leaves the stubble of the previous year's crop standing in the fields; this traps snow which, when the weather warms, seeps into the soil.Snow is crucial for farmers, says Meiram Sagimbayev. "Snow in 2013 has been abundant; the cover is thick and high, around 50 centimeters in depth. Most years the snow depth is about 10-15 centimeters. Each centimeter of snow is equal to about 1 millimeter of rain. That means, in addition to the rain, there will be another 50 millimeters of moisture from snow."No-till technology does not rely on plowing to control weeds; so all-year-round soil cover is essential. In Kazakhstan, the stubble of the preceding crop is left standing for snow-trapping purposes to increase soil moisture, particularly in dry years such as 2012. Following winter and at sowing time in spring, if required, farmers can chop and spread the old crop residues on their fields.No-till requires significant investments in machinery and herbicides; about $250-300 per hectare to buy modern machinery. But experts stress that the benefits, both for the farmers and for the environment, pay back those investments in just a few years. And the international community is helping farmers get started.We estimated this level of adoption on the basis of surveys and field visits. This increased production for a value of around 180 million dollars: one year alone could pay for almost 10 years of investments in agricultural research of Kazakhstan.International Support for No-TillWith support from the government and international organizations like the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, or CIMMYT, farmers across Kazakhstan are relying more and more on no-till."We estimated this level of adoption on the basis of surveys and field visits. This increased production for a value of around 180 million dollars: one year alone could pay for almost 10 years of investments in agricultural research of Kazakhstan," Murat Karabayev of CIMMYT says.In wet years, like 2011, Kazakh farmers produced 24 million tons of wheat. But no-till is even more important in dry years, like 2012, when farmers grew only 11 million tons of wheat; without no-till, production would have been even lower.But there are still some obstacles, experts warn. Some farmers need to learn more about no-till in order to abandon plowing, which is, after all, one of the foundations of their craft for millennia. Indeed, experts caution, a major risk is the potential failure of early adopters, which could create the wrong impression of no-till and scare other farmers off. Another possible obstacle is the cost of investment. It is estimated that farmers in northern Kazakhstan have invested about US$200 million to equip their farms with no-till machinery. The return on these investments is high, but the initial costs might scare some farmers away. Finally, Kazakh farmers need to be encouraged to plant crops other than wheat, to allow for crop rotation to strengthen the soil.But, experts argue, the real key to success is to continue scaling up no-till; conservation agriculture saves fuel, soil, and time. The longer farmers use no-till, the greater the fertility of the soil. And no-till is also capturing carbon, as healthy organic matter, in the soil, contributing to climate mitigation. In fact, sequestering 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide a year is the equivalent of taking 270,000 cars off the road. So by adopting no-till, Kazakh farmers are working to protect crops from climate change, which is a practical example of climate smart agriculture. Show Less -
Water is one of the most basic human needs. With impacts on agriculture, education, energy, health, gender equity, and livelihood, water management underlies the most basic development challenges. Water... Show More + is under unprecedented pressures as growing populations and economies demand more of it. Groundwater is being depleted faster than it is being replenished and worsening water quality degrades the environment and adds to costs. Access to safe sanitation and water is still out of reach for 2.5 billion and 780 million people, respectively, leading to thousands of lives lost daily and billions of dollars in economic losses annually, up to 7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in some countries. These statistics are expected to worsen because of climate change. There is ample evidence that climate change will increase hydrologic variability, resulting in extreme weather events such as droughts floods, and major storms. It will continue to have a profound impact on economies, health, lives, and livelihoods. The poorest people will suffer most and are the least prepared. Within this changing physical and socio-economic landscape, water practices of the past are no longer adequate. Countries cannot grow, nor can the world meet longer-term sustainability goals, or strengthen resilience to climate change without smart water management that takes into account decreasing water availability, quality and allocation.Global water challenges include:Food is by far the largest user of water, accounting for almost 70 percent of global withdrawals, 90 percent of global consumptive water use, and up to 95 percent of the withdrawals in developing countries. By 2050, feeding a planet of 9 billion people will require a doubling of current water inputs to agriculture. Over the next 20 years, cities in developing countries will double and so will their demand for water-intensive energy, such as for fuel extraction, cooling water, and hydropower. In the past 30 years, economic losses from natural disasters have nearly tripled. Low-income and middle-income countries alone mourned 2.3 million people and suffered a loss of US$1.2 trillion due to damage.Extreme weather due to the Earth's changing climate will worsen the situation by increasing water stress. Experts estimate that by 2080, 43 to 50 percent of the global population will be living in water-scarce countries, compared to 28 percent today. A new World Bank report suggests that in a 4°Celsius warmer world, water stress will increase in areas around the world. The roughly 1 billion people living in monsoonal basins and the 500 million people living in deltas are especially vulnerable. At least 2.5 billion and 780 million people remain without access to sanitation and safe water, respectively. With projections of potential decreases in water availability, these statistics could worsen. SolutionThe World Bank is uniquely positioned to play a key role by working across sectors, countries and with institutions and diverse stakeholders to help countries build resilience to climate change through water resources management. The Bank is one of the key providers of knowledge and technical assistance on water. It is the largest multilateral donor for water development with a water portfolio accounting for 15 percent of its overall portfolio. Currently, it is defining a strategic vision for water that builds on the directions outlined in the World Bank 2003 Water Strategy and its 2010 mid-cycle review. ResultsOn-the-ground results related to activities financed through the International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) include the following critical areas:Policy and legal framework: A large proportion of World Bank-funded water resources management projects include institutional and/or policy components. In Tanzania, for example, IDA funding supported the development of a National Water Policy, which was adopted by the Cabinet in 2002 and which subsequently formed the basis for a National Water Sector Development Strategy. A follow up project helped the country prepare integrated river and lake basin management and development plans, including the sustainable exploitation of a recently discovered deep aquifer with potential to supply Dar es Salaam. In Morocco, the IBRD-financed Water Sector Development Policy Loan (US$100 million) in 2007 supported comprehensive water reform to address legislative, financing and planning gaps in the water sector. This work led to a reform program in which water-demand management, conservation and resource management became new thrusts in Morocco's water strategy. Institutions and capacity building: Institutions in water resources management span the range of local, basin, national and international levels. With the support of IBRD, Colombia (US$800 million total) introduced a number of reforms for improved environmental management, including water resources. The government approved a national policy for water, and created a Water Resources Group in the Ministry of Environment, Housing, and Territorial Development. This is the first centralized group responsible for planning and budgeting activities related to water resources management in the country. At least 25 municipalities adopted watershed management plans in areas of water scarcity in order to manage and monitor valuable national resources better. In Yemen, the IDA-financed Sana'a Basin Water Management Project (2003-2010, US$24 million) was the first initiative in the country to address the crisis in groundwater depletion by reducing agricultural groundwater use of about 4,000 hectares (ha) of irrigated area and increasing groundwater recharge, which saved more than 15 million cubic meters of water annually extracted from the local aquifer.Hydropower: Hydropower is currently the world's largest source of affordable renewable low-carbon energy and offers a hedge against energy price fluctuations. The IBRD-funded Vietnam Trung Son Hydropower Project (US$330 million) approved in FY11 aims to supply least-cost electric power in a safe and environmentally sustainable way. At completion, the project is expected to produce an average of 1,019 gigawatt hour (GWh) of electricity a year, help control annual flooding in the river valley downstream, and supplement water supplies for agricultural use during the dry season. In FY10, IDA contributed US$85 million in additional financing for the Felou Hydroelectric Project (WAPP) in Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea and Mali as a means of increasing access to stable, reliable, and affordable electricity to the citizens of the Economic Community of West African States. The project will augment the supply of low cost hydroelectricity by generating an additional 60 megawatt and make available 95 percent of the power generated. Agriculture and Food Security: In many low-income countries, agriculture employs the largest share of people and is therefore a critical sector for achieving targets for global poverty reduction. The On-Farm Irrigation Project in the Kyrgyz Republic (2000-2013, US$20 million) was designed to increase crop production through reliable and sustainable water distribution in formerly state and collective farms across seven administrative regions. A core activity has been strengthening services to about 450 water users associations, including training and support. Over 50,000 people were trained, and approximately 450 user associations, with 166,000 members, were formally registered to manage irrigation areas covering 710,000 hectares, or about 70 percent of the country's irrigated land. The IBRD-funded Peru Irrigation Subsector Project (FY97, US$85 million) raised agricultural production and productivity by enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of existing public irrigation systems. As a result of the project, water conveyance efficiency increased on average about 55-68 percent in improved irrigation systems and about 190,000 new water rights were formalized. The project benefitted 135,000 farm families over a total irrigated area of 435,000 hectares, created 6,400 new jobs, and generally increased agricultural productivity. Yields per hectare (ha) were raised by 20-50 percent in on-farm improvement areas. Flood Protection and Environmental and Social Benefits: The Bank follows an integrated flood management agenda which includes well-functioning early warning systems, infrastructure, and institutional arrangements for coordinated action to address increased variability and changes to runoff and flooding patterns. In Yemen, IDA financing (US$80 million total) provided vital flood control structures in and around the city of Taiz. By the project's closing in 2008, major parts of Taiz had been transformed into livable and flash flood-secure neighborhoods. The project contributed to an increase in land values of more than 100 percent and a reduction in damages to residential properties and businesses from 160 and 660 per year to zero. Flood structure and complementary wastewater connections helped to improve health and sanitary conditions by reducing the flow of wastewater into wadis (riverbeds), which had become breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. In Morocco, as a result of safeguard diagnostic reviews and environmental and social assessments conducted under the Oum Er Rbia Sanitation Project, there is now increased transparency and better public participation and consultation in addressing environmental and social safeguards around water sector projects in the country. In China, the Hai Basin Integrated Water and Environment Management Project, completed in 2011, promoted an integrated approach to water resource management and pollution control and contributed to the restoration and protection of marine environments, ecosystems, and biodiversity in the Bohai Sea. It was implemented in 16 counties in northern China, benefitting over 20 million people. Better water use and pollution control in the Basin has improved resident health and living standards. Farmers also benefited from more efficient consumption-based irrigation management, which increased water productivity, crop yields, and incomes. Trans-boundary River Management: With 263 international rivers in the world, supporting their cooperative management is an important contribution for fostering gains from water resources use and thus contributing to poverty alleviation. The Bank supports the joint management of transboundary watercourses in various ways, especially in Africa. In the Senegal River Basin, IDA-financed projects have contributed to more effective management of the resources of the Senegal River and to the inclusion of Guinea into the organization responsible for this management, allowing integrated water resources management in the entire basin. In the Mekong River Basin, the Bank is supporting riparian states such as Cambodia and the Lao People's Democratic Republic in strengthening their integrated water resource management and disaster risk management capacities, cooperating closely with the Mekong River Commission that cooperatively manages the basin. Management Across Sectors: Frequently, water resources management projects involve more than one sector and combine investment initiatives entailing both institutional development and capacity-building. To integrate water management into country programs and development plans, the World Bank has prepared Country Water Resource Assistance Strategies (CWRAS). The India and Pakistan CRWASs laid the groundwork for major increases in water lending. In Ethiopia, the CWRAS helped to show the links among sectors using water and the economic impacts of hydrological variability. This finding led to some realignment of the Bank's portfolio, and the identification of investment priorities, including multipurpose hydraulic infrastructure development, water supply and sanitation, and watershed management.Strengthening the Quality and Impact of Investment Lending: The World Bank strengthens the quality of its water projects for more results through additional support from Global Partnership Programs. The Bank'sWater Partnership Program (WPP), a multi-donor trust fund, contributes to the Bank's efforts to reduce poverty by promoting improvements in the management of water resources and the delivery of water services to boost the results of Bank-financed projects and by mainstreaming of water services and management in climate-resilient, green growth. The program supports more than 40 percent of all analytical work in water across all regions and water sub-sectors and it is maximizing and influencing almost US$11.5 billion in Bank financing. To respond to the complex water challenges of the 21st century and address issues such as climate change and the food-energy-water nexus, more than half of WPP financing supports water resources management work. A market-scoping study funded by the WPP is having a direct impact on the Bank-funded Karnataka Municipal Energy Project in India. The study identified energy efficiency improvements in India's low-efficiency urban water sector. The Karnataka Municipal Water Energy Project rolled out pilot projects in six municipalities to replace old pumps with more energy efficient models. The cost of the program was about US$800,000 and is expected to lower operating costs by between 20 and 25 percent and save 16 million kilowatt hour per year. Over 10 years, the pilot will offset CO2 emissions by about 135,000 tons. Bank Group ContributionThe World Bank funding for water resources management amounted to about US$8.0 billion across projects approved during fiscal years 2002-2012. In FY11 as well as FY12, World Bank funding for water resources management amounted to US$1.2 billion. PartnersThe Bank collaborates with partners to support innovation in integrated water resources management. Given the broad reach of water resources management needs and initiatives, this type of collaboration has been significant.The Water Partnership Program (WPP) is a multi-donor trust fund supported by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark. The fund aims to enhance the World Bank's efforts to reduce poverty through improved water resources management and water service delivery. It finances about 40 percent of all Bank analytical work on water and it is currently supporting activities in 55 countries. The WPP's funding has particular emphasis on Africa, gender equality, poverty reduction, as well as the quality of lending operations. The program has entered its second phase, which is largest in size and scope.The South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) is a multi-donor trust fund launched in 2008 with the goal to strengthen water resources management within and between the countries of South Asia, with an emphasis on regional cooperation and adaptation to climate change. Donors have to date committed a total of US$9.5 million of which US$5.5 million has already been transferred to the World Bank. In March 2011, the World Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States government to expand and enhance collaboration in the water sector. The Bank is working in close cooperation with 16 U.S. agencies to support developing countries in managing global water crises, such as the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation, diminishing aquifers, drought, flooding, and climate change impacts. Moving Forward Continuous Bank leadership and strengthened support will be critical to secure the above achievements and increase the benefits to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. The World Bank is currently developing a new vision for water that strengthens the water practice to deliver on the bold leadership aspirations and meet changing client need. The vision places water at the center of helping people, economies and ecosystems thrive and thus contributing to a world free of poverty. Moving forward the Bank will: Strengthen efforts to address climate variability in Bank-financed projects through improved storage, flood control, and emergency response preparedness.Devote more resources to exploring and strengthening the linkages between water and other sectors such as energy, agriculture and the environment and to ensuring that water considerations are included in country sectoral planning.Increase support for hydropower and seek more opportunities to improve efficiency of water supply systems. Ensure that the food security agenda considers irrigation and work with clients to improve water efficiency of existing irrigation schemes.Strengthen the use and supply of data for decision making and dialogue between countries, and facilitate the integration of technologies for more reliable information.Continue its strong support to institutional reform and capacity building of relevant organizations, and strengthen global water partnerships for lasting impact.Beneficiaries It is something Arwa Mohamed remembers well. When it rained, the floodwaters in the streets in her Taiz neighborhood in Yemen were so high people were stuck for days. "When it would rain and the kids were in school, we were afraid, because the floods would come and cut off the streets, and whoever was home – the mothers – would wait by the windows to see their children coming, and scream out 'don't try to cross, it is dangerous.' The flood once even swept away an old woman and her grandchild." Now, Arwa ways, her neighborhood is safe. The rain water still comes, but now travel underneath her neighborhood, instead of through it, by way of a covered channel. "Now we have these nicely paved streets, and we can cross even during floods, but before, we were completely cut from life when it rained."For Amin Jibari, a grocer, the project has finally brought security to his basement home. "After they built the channel and a protection wall, the floods don't come here. We are relaxed. No flooding!" Amin says that since the construction of a covered channel nearby, he and his family of five are no longer in danger. Show Less -
ChallengeToday's urban population of about 3.5 billion people is projected to reach 5 billion by 2030; fully two-thirds of the world's population will then be urban. Ninety percent of this growth is taking... Show More + place in developing countries. Around 5 million people migrate every month to cities in developing countries, in search of jobs and better access to services. This rapid urban growth is increasing the demand for basic services, infrastructure, land, and affordable housing. These needs must be met, particularly for the nearly one billion urban poor, many of whom live in informal settlements with limited access to services. Cities need to build resilience because of their vulnerability to extreme weather events and other natural hazards. For example, almost half a billion urban residents live in coastal areas, increasing their risk of exposure to storm surges and sea level rise. If climate change is allowed to continue unabated, the world is likely to warm by 4° C by the end of this century, and the corresponding impacts are expected to exacerbate many existing urban vulnerabilities. Within cities, the urban poor are the most vulnerable as they tend to occupy locations that are more exposed to hazards and have limited adaptive capacity. Cities are critical for achieving sustainable and inclusive green growth. Fifty-two percent of the world's population is urban. Cities occupy 2 percent of the world's land, yet consume 75 percent of the world's resources and are responsible for as much as 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Denser, energy-efficient cities with integrated transport and land-use development can deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits, including improved mobility and accessibility to services, housing and jobs, better air quality, and increased quality of life. The need for action is immediate, and delay is costly. The physical structure of cities—buildings and infrastructure—lasts for decades or more. Getting the 'right' solutions is not only important for making cities successful today, but also for creating a sustainable foundation for future generations to build on at later stages of development. SolutionThe World Bank is responding to the challenges presented by urbanization at many levels. The Bank's work on urbanization is guided by its Urban Development Strategy, and organized along five business lines: city management, finance and governance; urban poverty and slum upgrading; cities and economic growth; urban land, housing and planning; and urban environment, climate change, and disaster management. These business lines focus particularly on decentralization of governance (which devolves control over resources closer to the urban challenges themselves); forecasting and preparing for urban growth (as the basis for providing more urban land and affordable housing and reforming regulations, to pre-empt slum formation); and helping cities to build resilience and adapt to climate change.Within these business lines, key initiatives include:Urbanization Review: The Urbanization Review provides a robust sustainable policy framework and diagnostics for city leaders to assess specific urbanization challenges, and informs policy responses on the location and types of infrastructure to connect across cities and to global markets. Urbanization Reviews have been undertaken in 15 countries so far, including Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Additional studies are being initiated in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, and the Philippines. Urbanization Knowledge Platform: The Urbanization Knowledge Platform aims at creating a global urban community of practice and represents a network of 70+ partner organizations. The platform provides a tool for global knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning between policymakers, practitioners.Solid Waste Management: A global initiative on solid waste management is building collaboration between a range of partners in order to work at the city level. This includes a strong focus on co-benefits for the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), specifically methane emissions from solid waste. To address the chronic underfunding of solid waste operations in developing countries, the Bank is also working on applying results-based financing and output-based approaches in the sector.ResultsSome examples of results of projects achieved with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) support are as follows:Bangladesh: The Municipal Services Project (1999-2012, US$205.6 million, IDA) improved the urban environment, infrastructure, and service delivery in selected municipalities by (1) strengthening the institutional capacity of cities to plan, finance, implement, operate, and maintain urban infrastructure services in an efficient and sustainable manner; (2) improving resource allocation and fiscal discipline through the establishment and operation of a municipal development fund; and (3) financing critically needed urban infrastructure and services to reduce urban poverty and improve environmental conditions for urban communities. The project's investments included the construction of 1,381 kilometers of urban roads, 11 bus and truck terminals, 24,960 street lights, 230 kitchen markets, 287 solid waste collection vehicles, 260 drains, 173 water supply pipelines, and flood damage rehabilitation works in approximately 350 municipalities.Macedonia: Citizens in municipalities participating in the Macedonia Municipal Services Improvement Project (2009-2017, US$75 million) have benefited from better quality of municipal service delivery, while local governments have realized cost savings and additional revenue generation, in turn enabling more investments in municipal services and infrastructure.In Skopje, for example, 17 new waste collection vehicles and 60,000 standardized waste bins have reduced operation and maintenance costs, while extending collection coverage to 11,500 additional households, hence providing 55,200 households with more frequent and reliable waste collection services. In Kočani, 11,615 inhabitants now benefit from 24-hour water supply, and for the first time, citizens in Bogdanci have 100 percent coverage of public street lighting. In addition, replacement of outdated mercury light bulbs with modern energy efficient bulbs has generated annual savings of 10 percent in electricity costs for the municipality. Overall, 40 percent of participating municipalities have improved their financial performance reflected by increased revenues and/or reduced costs as a result of completed sub-projects.Brazil: The Programmatic Loan for Sustainable and Equitable Growth: Housing Sector Reform (2005-2006, US$502.5 million) coupled with a Technical Assistance Loan (2006-2010, US$1.3 million) supported the government in several areas of housing sector and urban development policy reform. The program helped the government put together its National Housing Plan and create a strong institution, the Ministry of Cities, to foster reforms, thus creating the policy, regulatory and institutional foundations for the establishment of the following two government programs: (1) a housing program called Minha Casa Minha Vida (My Home, My Life) whose first phase (US$15 billion) was launched in 2009 and has already delivered one million new housing units for low-income families as of December 2012. Phase two (US$35 billion) was launched in 2011 with a target of enabling the supply of an additional two million new housing units by 2014. (2) Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento - Urbanização (Growth Acceleration Program - Slum Upgrading, PAC) whose first phase (2007-2010) cost BRL15 billion or US$7 billion and helped improve social and urban infrastructure in informal settlements, and its second phase (US$30 billion) is currently under implementation.Thus far, the PAC urbanization program has assisted 1,818,449 families. The number of municipalities that implemented municipal regularization programs went up to 1,744 in 2012 from 387 in 2009 and 65 in 2005. The Housing Sector Program also supported the introduction of the trust deed instrument, which contributed to driving the increase of mortgage value for existing and new homes from BRL$5.4 billion in 2004 to BRL$66.1 billion in 2012.Morocco: The Solid Waste Development Policy Lending (DPL) was a novel project that focused on improving municipal solid waste management (SWM) through development policy operations, and accompanied the transformation of Morocco's solid waste sector from an emphasis on cleanliness in the cities to broader social, environmental and economic sustainability considerations. The project's novelty lies in incentivizing municipalities to establish modern and integrated SWM systems.The Bank-supported program contributed to substantiating the sector policy and providing the necessary regulatory framework to establish the foundations for integrated and affordable municipal solid waste management systems. The project resulted in: (a) 66 percent of the urban population benefiting from professional collection services, compared to less than 40 percent before the project, (b) 32 percent increase in disposal of collected waste in sanitary landfills, as compared to a low 10 percent in 2008, (c) the closing or rehabilitating of 21 open dumpsites, (d) an increase in the municipal service tax, from MAD 1.4 million in 2008 to 2.6 million in 2011, (e) the establishment of the National Commission of SWM to coordinate sector policies and government actions in the framework of a 15-year national solid waste program, (f) a fully operational environmental impact assessment (EIA) system consistent with international good practices, and (g) the development of a carbon finance program under the Clean Development Mechanism with a potential to generate revenue from 6 million tons of CO2 equivalent by 2020.Vietnam: The Urban Upgrading Project (2004-2014, US$382.4 million IDA) improved the environmental and living conditions of the urban poor in four large cities: Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho, Hai Phong and Nam Dinh. The project involves infrastructure upgrading and the provision of affordable housing loans to women living in low-income areas. As of August 2012, neighborhood upgrading has directly benefited over 2.5 million low-income residents, and improvements in primary infrastructure will benefit over 2 million more. About 60,000 women have been able to improve their houses and an additional 35,000 women have received loans for income generation. Repayments rates are almost 100 percent. The project introduced a new participatory approach towards working with communities at planning, design and implementation stages, in addition to cash and in-kind contributions. The success of this project encouraged the government to scale it up by developing a National Urban Upgrading Program (NUUP), approved by the Prime Minister in 2009. Under the NUUP, IDA has approved a second Urban Upgrading Project for the Mekong Delta Region (US$292 million), which started implementation in August 2012.Bank Group ContributionThe Bank's urban portfolio has expanded considerably over time: IDA commitments under the Urban Development theme nearly tripled from an annual average of US$0.56 billion during FY2003-07, to US$1.56 billion during FY2008-12. For the same periods, IBRD commitments under the Urban Development theme nearly doubled with the average annual amount growing from US$1.31 billion to US$2.58 billion. Such lending aimed specifically at urban development has also grown as a percentage of total IDA new commitments, from 5.9 percent in FY2003-07 to 10.9 percent in FY2008-12. Investment financing is provided for basic services, housing, infrastructure, slum upgrading, municipal governance, environmental improvements and adaptation, and local economic development including cultural heritage. Technical assistance and analytical work have also grown, including through the World Bank Institute, where the urban program helps build client capacity for urban development.PartnersMany urban development projects are funded and implemented in collaboration with partner organizations, including Agence Française de Développement(AFD), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Austria-World Bank Urban Partnership Program on Strengthening Local Governments in South-East-European Countries, Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP), Cities Alliance, Climate Investment Fund, German technical cooperation (Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ), Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), Haiti Fund, Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD), German Development Bank(KfW), Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) for Sustainable Urban Development, and Spanish Trust Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (SFLAC). The joint work program between the Cities Alliance, the World Bank, theUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to help cities address challenges to climate change by capturing current knowledge on the issue and help local and national decision-makers incorporate climate change adaptation and mitigation into their urban planning. Under the Urbanization Knowledge Platform, the World Bank has interacted with more than 70 organizations from academia, civil society, and the public and private sector, including national and municipal government, to create a global network for knowledge exchange on urban issues. Moving Forward The World Bank is focusing on several initiatives to address development challenges associated with urbanization: Urban environment and resilience: The Bank is building on existing work programs in disaster risk management and on cities and climate change to bring together expertise on disasters and climate change adaptation. Key areas of focus include urban risk assessments and standardized metrics to support decision-making and investment in cities that will increase urban resilience. Urban land, housing, and planning: The Bank is developing diagnostics and practical policy advice to help policy makers find evidence-based solutions to providing urban land and affordable housing for the billions of people moving to cities in the coming decades, and reforming regulations to pre-empt slum formation.Cities and economic growth: The Bank is working with both city and national governments to harness the gains from density and agglomeration economies. The sustainable urbanization policy framework formulated in the Urbanization Reviews, for example, informs policy and investment priorities to enhance the contribution of urbanization and cities to economic development.The Bank is also partnering with external institutions to engage in knowledge exchange and capacity building activities in areas including metropolitan strategic planning, municipal finance and governance, urban service delivery, and safe and resilient cities.Recognizing the need for credible, globally comparable open data on cities, the Bank is also pushing for an open city data platform. This platform will improve the "interoperability" of city data, and enable global benchmarking across regions. "Smart" and innovative solutions, such as the use of information and communications technology (ICT) tools for better governance and service delivery through technology-enabled citizen engagement will further help in addressing a city's challenges. Beneficiaries "Before the road reconstruction, it took us a long time to travel. I'd go to the market to purchase some stuff for my shop, and my car often broke down on damaged roads. It affected my family budget a lot," said Grigol Berishvili, a shop owner in Tbilisi, Georgia, about the Municipal Development and Decentralization II Project. "Now my car is not breaking down so often and a thirty minute trip has been reduced to 10 minutes." Show Less -
ChallengeTransport infrastructure and services still need to be made safer, cleaner and more affordable, particularly in developing countries. Provision of transportation needs to respond to increasing... Show More + urbanization and motorization with solutions for urban mobility, rural poverty with more efficient and long-lasting accessibility solutions, and the need to make lower- and middle-income countries more competitive in the global market. The transport sector must be more responsive to create long-term skilled employment, to reduce the cost element of attaining food security, and to address mitigation and adaption to climate change.Poverty reduction is more likely when communities have ready access — at all hours and in all weather — to essential services and to markets. Still, an estimated 1 billion people, or about 40 percent of the rural population in countries receiving International Development Association (IDA) support, lack direct access to an all-season road, and lack of routine maintenance threatens the life of many transport infrastructure assets. Urban transport systems in developing cities face major challenges too amid the continuous growth of urban population, private vehicle ownership and congestion, and the fragility or even absence of public transport systems.Improvements in transport have the greatest impact on poor people when part of a cross-sectoral development agenda. Efficiencies are also gained through a multi-modal approach, such as improving passenger and freight mobility. However, enhancing transport infrastructure and services is not enough. The functioning of institutions and practitioners' access to knowledge are also crucial to effective transport solutions.SolutionThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) are facilitating more effective strategies needed to harness the sector's contribution to poverty reduction and economic growth. IBRD lending in the transport sector focuses on facilitating economic growth and regional integration through national and international trade. High transport costs magnify the impact of distance and reduce trading opportunities, while good freight services can make traded goods more affordable and help developing countries to build more complex supply chains that facilitate trade. The IBRD focus on the reduction of transport costs for traded goods allows producers to increase their disposable income.IDA's main transport priorities over the last 10 years have been the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of roads and highways, representing 79 percent of commitments for the sector. Within this category, rural roads account for 64 percent of the commitments. IDA lending has also addressed policy and institutional development and general transport, together accounting for 10 percent of the total spending. Eleven percent includes programs in ports, shipping, railways, and air transport.The multidisciplinary capabilities of IDA allow comprehensive initiatives that cut across economic sectors. IDA commitments help governments formulate national and rural transport policy, strategy, and programs and develop sector-wide approaches and multi-donor cooperation for rural transport investment. Due to its work on road programs, IDA has developed a strong capacity for diagnosing bottlenecks and can recommend solutions to encourage institutional innovation, such as second-generation road funds, for more successful implementation of new projects and programs. The portfolio of IBRD and IDA together is more diversified in urban, rail, maritime and air transport, and contains projects aiming to improve trade competiveness through transport reform and investments. The share of lending in roads, as a percentage of total transport lending, has decreased from 83 percent in 2006 to 49 percent in 2012.The World Bank has adopted the Governance and Anti-Corruption (GAC) Strategy in its infrastructure advisory program and, since 1999, has developed a Road Cost Knowledge System to monitor and benchmark Bank-financed road and highway project costs.ResultsSince 2002, World Bank-supported projects constructed or rehabilitated more than 190,000 kilometers of roads. Some results achieved by IBRD/IDA-funded projects include:Nigeria: The IBRD-funded Lagos Urban Transport Project (FY02) supported a bus rapid transport (BRT) system, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, as a comprehensive and integrated approach to improving public transport. In Lagos, some 200,000 commuters per day are now using this bus system. BRT passengers have seen a 30 percent decrease in average fares and have cut their time in transit by 40 percent. Colombia: The IBRD-supported Urban Transport Program (FY03), has developed a bus rapid transit system, planned by local city planners and implemented using local capacity. The system, TransMilenio, carries close to 1.4 million passengers per day — approximately 27 percent of Bogotá's public transport demand, and low-income residents account for 70 percent of the passengers. More than 2,000 highly polluting buses have been eliminated from the streets, and accidents in TransMilenio corridors have declined by 90 percent. Overall, Bogotá has been transformed by safer and quicker commutes and a healthier urban environment. Mexico: IBRD, in partnership with the Carbon Fund and the Clean Technology Fund, contributes to the transformation of urban transport toward a lower carbon growth path. The Urban Transport Transformation Program (FY10) proposed to the reduce CO2 emissions in Mexican cities by approximately 1.96 million tons per year beginning in 2017 through capacity building and the development of 18 integrated transit systems. This project represented a scaling-up of the prototype Carbon Fund project: Mexico City Insurgentes Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System (FY05), which was the first surface mass transport corridor in Mexico City. At end of 2011, 18 percent of the users of the Insurgentes BRT owned a car but chose to use the BRT system, and demand had reached an average of 260,000 rides per weekday, with peaks of over 300,000 trips per day. Armenia: The Lifeline Roads Improvement Project (FY09) rehabilitated about 290 km of the lifeline roads network under 42 civil works contracts. The project created about 17,000 person-months of employment in the form of local jobs, or enabled people to keep their existing jobs. In addition, local designers and contractors successfully applied new technologies and appropriate and cost-effective design standards based on international practice, strengthening the sustainability of investments and improving road safety for pedestrians.Vietnam: The rehabilitation of 7,600 km of roads and 26 km of bridges by IDA-supported projects increased their use by 70 percent between 2002 and 2004, with an accompanying 12 percent drop in travel time. Access to all-season roads has improved for approximately 16 million rural people, and helped to lift 210,000 of 950,000 people out of poverty over a five-year time span. The roads contributed to increased access to health facilities, higher school attendance, and greater access to local government services. The project also helped develop the private sector by allowing small private contractors to construct and rehabilitate roads.Brazil: The Rio de Janeiro Mass Transit Project (FY09) aimed to improve the level of service provided to suburban rail transport users, to place the suburban rail transport system on a lower carbon growth path, and to improve the transport management and policy framework in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region. Through the implementation of an electronic single fare ticket card system, the project increased affordability, average savings of R$2.62 per user, while bringing reductions in travel time and when transferring between different modes of transport.Argentina: The Road Safety Project (FY10) focused on contributing to the reduction of road traffic injuries and fatalities through institutional strengthening, improved management capacity for road safety, and the reduction of road crashes in pilot corridors. Within a year of project implementation, the use of helmets increased by 14 percent, seatbelts by 4 percent, and child restraint systems by 2.8 percent. In a context of a 15 percent increase in the number of registered vehicles between 2008 and 2011, a 12.5 percent decrease in road crash fatalities was also observed. India: Expenditures on roads were found to have the largest impact on rural poverty compared with other types of public expenditure. For every 1 million rupees invested in rural roads, 163 people were lifted out of poverty. IDA-funded rural road projects are estimated to have helped 3.4 million people out of poverty between 2001 and 2010.Bank Group ContributionThe World Bank's engagement in transport projects tripled between fiscal year 2003 and FY12, reaching US$9.3 billion in new annual commitments in FY10 (74 percent from IBRD and 26 percent from IDA). There was a reduction in roads and highways sector lending (from 81 percent in FY03 to 49 percent in FY12) and an expansion for railways (from 1 percent in FY03 to 17 percent in FY12), as well as urban transport (from 3 percent in FY03, to 22 percent in FY12). For the ports and shipping sector, the investments have varied from 2 percent to 4 percent during the last decade. The modal distribution of all transport projects funded by IBRD and IDA between FY03 and FY12 shows that roads and highways account for 60 percent, urban transport 15 percent, railways 7 percent, aviation 3 percent, and ports and shipping 4 percent, with the remaining 11 percent in general transportation and public administration in transportation. This more diversified modal split of the portfolio demonstrates the development potential of railways and maritime transport, particularly for long-distance general freight transport and the vital role of air transport in the shipping of high-value items that need to reach markets quickly. The urban transport portfolio has consistently increased, from 5 percent in FY03 to 24 percent in FY12, reflecting the Bank's response to the escalating challenges posed by the dramatic growth of cities.PartnersIn the Latin America region, the Bank partners with other development banks and donors in collaborative projects. For instance, in Peru, IBRD has supported the Rural Roads Program in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank to upgrade the condition of the rural road network. In Asia, the World Bank is partnering with the Indian Government, state governments and various road agencies as well as the Asian Development Bank on the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Program. In Africa, the World Bank works with regional organizations such as the Regional Economic Councils, as well as multilateral initiatives such as the African Union's Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, and the donor-coordinated Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. Within the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) provided upstream advisory work to the Government of Kenya, in addition to debt financing in the Rift Valley Railways Consortium, while IDA provided partial risk guarantees to the investor for termination risks and financed the East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project. The success of this type of partnership is acknowledged by the Euromoney Award in 2007 for the "Africa Infrastructure Deal of the Year." In addition, due to its convening power, strong financial management and linkage with investment programs, the World Bank is playing a formative and key role in partnerships such as the Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade, the Global Road Safety Facility, and the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Program. Moving Forward Demand for transport infrastructure and services is expected to remain strong. The Bank will continue to provide high-quality knowledge and act as a convener to improve harmonization and coordination among clients and development partners. The World Bank has been increasingly involved in urban transport projects. The rural agenda will still benefit from the significant attention of the Bank as it looks forward to a more comprehensive framework of rural support. The World Bank will also remain active in the reduction of the transport carbon footprint. It engages in innovative efforts to reduce emissions in order to exploit the true potential of climate policies and to reduce sector vulnerability. Furthermore, special attention continues to be given to co-benefits with other sectors, and to transport safety. Beneficiaries In the last decade, more than 100 million people have benefitted from World Bank-financed transportation projects.In the northern highlands of Vietnam, a project with IDA and United Kingdom financing is piloting efforts to train rural, ethnic minority women in road maintenance and then formally employ them for the work. The Lao Cai Provincial Women Union has been entrusted with the responsibility to manage and monitor the recruitment of these women who are living along the rural roads in four communes of Bac Ha District of Lao Cai Province. So far, 1,533 women are already trained, and more are awaiting their turn."Women like to do this work; they are competing to join. They think that maintaining the road makes the roads nicer, and more convenient for transporting commodities to develop the household economy. During this time of the year, it often rains so maintaining the roads during this time is good," said Phung Pha Sui, a trainee.On completion of the training, women were enrolled as road maintenance workers with the Provincial Women Union. Show Less -
ChallengeWhile the world has made progress in reducing global poverty over the past decade, less progress has been made in managing the environment sustainably. Pollution, overexploitation of fish stocks,... Show More + biodiversity loss, and overuse of water and land threaten countries' development efforts. The world's population has grown larger, passing 7 billion people, and more prosperous. Global trade has more than tripled since 1992, while developing country gross domestic product (GDP) has nearly doubled, allowing for a proportional increase in consumption. As a result, agriculture has intensified, leading to agrochemical pollution, soil exhaustion and deforestation. Food demand has also stimulated water withdrawals that have tripled over the last 50 years. With over half the population now living in cities, and developing countries urbanizing rapidly, many regions also face serious air and water pollution. Carbon-intensive and often polluting industries have grown, contributing to climate change and freshwater resource depletion. The immediate and long-term consequences of climate change, from a warmer planet to more-acidic oceans, further threaten progress on poverty reduction and development. Current growth paths are clearly putting too much pressure on an already stretched environment. SolutionOver the last decade, the World Bank has contributed to improving quality of life by:• Enhancing livelihoods through promoting sustainable management of environmental services of ecosystems and natural resources, helping clarify and establish property rights and reforming incentive systems;• Preventing and reducing environmental health risks through reducing people's exposure to indoor and urban air pollution, waterborne diseases, and toxic chemicals; and• Reducing people's vulnerability to environmental hazards. The Bank's approach to improve the quality of growth has been supporting policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks for sustainable environmental management. This support included facilitating partnerships to address environmentally sensitive issues and to agree on benchmarks for environmental management. To protect the quality of the regional and global commons, the World Bank has focused primarily on local environmental benefits, and building on overlaps with regional and global benefits. To meet the costs of generating global and environmental benefits not matched by national benefits, the Bank facilitated the transfer of financial resources to developing countries and focused on addressing the vulnerability and adaptation needs of developing countries. ResultsSome examples of results of projects achieved with International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) support include:Expanding policy analysis at the country and sector levels: Forty-one country environmental analyses (CEAs) have been undertaken since 2005. In Ghana, the CEA became a catalyst for the creation of the IDA US$40 million Natural Resources and Environmental Governance Project (NREG) budget support program. In Colombia, the CEA helped to identify priority areas of reform that were included in the 2006-10 National Development Plan. The CEA also informed the preparation of a series of development policy loans which supported, among other topics, water, solid waste and air pollution legislation; national policies on environmental health; climate change; and monitoring and evaluation systems on environment. In Brazil, transport operations such as the São Paulo Feeder Roads and Brazil Road Transport Project coupled investments with technical assistance in strategic environmental management.Strengthening environmental policies and institutional frameworks supported by policy loans: The average annual development policy lending for environmental issues increased from US$328 million in FY03-07 to US$1.5 billion in FY08-12. The Peru environmental development policy lending program supported the creation of the Ministry of Environment in 2008, the setting-up of the agency for national parks and its sustainable financial strategy, air quality monitoring networks and public disclosure of air quality information. It also supported remediation of legacy pollution on mining and, managing overcapacity and inefficiency plaguing the anchoveta fishery, while supporting social protection for fishers.Helping strengthen civil society capacity in developing countries to engage governments: Supported by the Global Partnership for Environmental Governance, The Access Initiative (TAI) moved from preparing assessments on access rights in matters relating to the environment to catalyzing changes on the ground. This partnership contributed to law reforms that improved the structure, powers and procedures of the new Green Tribunal in India and in Malawi, a TAI partner worked to enhance access to environmental justice by facilitating the establishment of an Environmental Appeals Tribunal.Funding biodiversity conservation: The Bank has supported biodiversity protection in productive landscapes, including forestry, coastal zones, and agriculture. The first phase of the Amazon Region Protected Areas program (ARPA) helped double the area of the Brazilian Amazon under strict protection, from 12 million hectares at the start of the project to about 25 million hectares in 2008. An additional 10 million hectares were set aside in sustainable use areas to conserve biodiversity and provide improved livelihoods for traditional forest dwellers. In Africa, through the Strategic Partnership for Fisheries, the Bank is supporting a program of investments and partnerships to increase sustainably the net economic benefits generated by Africa's marine fish resources and the portion of benefits captured within the region. The program includes regional fisheries investments, starting with the West Africa Regional Fisheries Program (WARFP) from Mauritania to Ghana.Reducing pollution risks and environment-related health issues: The World Bank has contributed to improved air quality and health outcomes throughout more than 600 cities in China; managed hospital waste in Vietnam; had coastal zone and river basin management projects in India, Vietnam, and Pakistan; addressed indoor air pollution in Madagascar, Bangladesh and Uganda; addressed industrial pollution in India and air pollution through the Clean Air and Safer Mobility project in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and reduced particulate matter concentrations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which has one of the highest concentration levels of particulate matter in the world. The Bank has also helped to strengthen the institutional capacity of state pollution control boards in India and promoted industrial pollution control through financial intermediaries in Egypt and Brazil.Helping countries to implement natural capital accounting: Through the World Bank-facilitated partnership – Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) – Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Madagascar, and the Philippines have embarked on natural capital accounting systems for more informed development planning analysis, and 62 countries have signed a communique that a communiqué that calls on governments to strengthen the implementation of natural capital accounting around the world.Significantly expanding climate action support: The World Bank is supporting mitigation and adaptation to climate change activities in 130 countries and disaster risk reduction work. From 2009, 100 percent of Country Assistance Strategies of IDA countries discussed climate risks, while US$7.7 billion in development policy lending supported climate change actions in 17 countries. Bank Group ContributionOver the past decade, the World Bank (IBRD/IDA) committed loans for US$30.5 billion, from which IDA's contribution was US$7 billion, to support investment in environment and natural resource management. By far, climate change has been the fastest growing environment and natural resource management area where the Bank is supporting client countries.A sizable portion (17 percent for IBRD and 12 percent for IDA) of the Bank's environment and natural resource management commitment went to environmental policy and institutions for improving governance and strengthening environmental policy and natural resource management. In terms of areas of focus, in addition to climate change, the World Bank's environment and natural resource management loans were directed in large part to water resources management (24 percent) and pollution management and environmental health (21 percent). As for the types of loans provided over the decade, development policy lending accounted for 30 percent and investment lending 70 percent of the Bank's environment and natural resource management portfolio.In addition to funding projects directly, IDA has leveraged additional funds through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other agencies and organizations. Specifically, the GEF provides grants to IDA countries to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives.PartnersSolving the world's environmental challenges are beyond the means of any single institution. Partnerships with multilateral funds such as the GEF and the Multilateral Fund for the Montreal Protocol have focused on global and trans-boundary environmental issues. Close partnerships with civil society organizations have allowed a greater focus on biodiversity and social accountability in particular. The partnerships with the Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development and the Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program supported key analytical work. Other trust funds have focused on key subsectors, such as the Program on Forests (PROFOR) or the Global Program on Fisheries (PROFISH). Partnerships with the United Nations Environment Programme have allowed the Bank to broaden its analytical base. Through the Climate Investment Funds, the multilateral development banks are working in collaboration and demonstrating scaled-up climate action.Because the private sector plays a key role in creating jobs and technological development, it can contribute to sustainable development in ways that complement the public sector. Public-private partnerships have increased over the last decade and are likely to continue growing in the near future because they are essential for achieving sustainable development in a fiscally constrained world. Moving Forward Launched in 2012, the Bank's new Environment Strategy seeks to promote a green, clean and resilient development path. The green agenda focuses on nurturing more inclusive growth, while protecting biodiversity and ecosystems by:enhancing countries' decision making through the Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services global partnership that supports valuing countries' natural capital assets and incorporating them into their systems of national accounts;finding ways to restore the world's oceans to health and economic productivity through working with a broad coalition of governments, international agencies, nongovernmental organizations and private companies through the Global Partnership for Oceans; and,testing the market's willingness to encourage protection of critical habitat areas while also providing carbon storage benefits through continuing innovative work on forests and land use linked to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program.Under the clean agenda, the focus is on continued support to countries to find low pollution and low-emission development paths through:South-South exchange on best practice for managing pollution;scaling up use of cleaner stoves to help reduce indoor air pollution;supporting countries on river cleanup and legacy pollution issues; and,improving energy efficiency, encouraging a shift to renewable energies, finding climate- smart agricultural solutions, and building cleaner, lower-carbon cities.The resilience agenda aims at reducing vulnerability to climate risks through:supporting countries to find climate change adaptation solutions, such as better coastal zone management;minimizing the damage of natural disasters in terms of loss of life and structural damage;improving the resilience on small island states; and,increasing the resilience of infrastructure and restoring protective coastal ecosystems such as mangroves. 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ChallengeThe oceans are currently contributing far less to global economic growth than they could be, largely due to human actions diminishing the ability of underlying natural systems to provide optimal... Show More + levels of ecosystem services. Ocean ecosystems are changing at a rate and scale not seen since the rise of modern civilization, due largely to anthropogenic drivers resulting from the inability of institutions to sustainably manage human actions.The four key anthropogenic drivers of change in ocean ecosystem that have resulted from institutional weaknesses are: Overfishing: Technological improvements coupled with open access to fish stocks have led to roughly one-third of the world's ocean fisheries being over-exploited or depleted. Fishing capacity is estimated to be 2.5 times greater than sustainable harvest levels. Through analysis by the Global Program for Fisheries (PROFISH), the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimated in 2009 that the lost potential economic benefits from marine fisheries are about US$50 billion annually.Pollution, particularly land-based nutrient pollution: Nitrogen fertilizer application has increased fivefold since 1960, but as much as 50 percent of the nitrogen applied is lost to the environment, depending on how well the application is managed. Much of this excess runs off into rivers and streams and eventually to the ocean, resulting in algal blooms that consume most of the oxygen in the water. This has adverse effects on marine life, leading to 'dead zones.' There are now an estimated 405 ocean dead zones around the world, covering 246,000 square kilometers—an area larger than that of Great Britain. Habitat loss or conversion (for example, coastal development, coastal deforestation, fishing with dynamite, and mining): Ocean areas are experiencing some of the most rapid environmental change on the planet. An estimated 35 percent of mangrove area in countries with data on this aspect was either lost or converted between 1985 and 2005; and at least 20 percent of coral reefs have been destroyed globally in the last several decades, with another 20 percent having been degraded.Climate change and ocean acidification: Over the coming decades and centuries, ocean health will become increasingly stressed by rising seawater temperature, ocean acidification, and ocean de-oxygenation in ways that we are only beginning to understand. Coral bleaching, caused by rising ocean temperatures, is already affecting vast areas of tropical coral reefs, which harbor 25 percent of marine biodiversity. SolutionsAlthough human actions are driving negative changes in the ability of the living oceans to contribute to global economic growth, they can also drive positive change to reverse this trend and rebuild the oceans' natural capital. Most of these actions occur in the context of the institutions that govern the way ocean ecosystem services are valued and used. For this reason, the World Bank has been working with partners to support public investment in the development of new laws and institutions needed to both enhance the value of ocean ecosystem services and to alter conditions of blurred ownership resulting in an marine tragedy of the commons. The Bank and its partners widely recognize that there is a need to secure effective access rights and use rights, that potential efficiencies should not be compromised, and that rents should accrue at a level where they have optimal impact. Communities and small-scale fisheries have a large role to play, as does expansion of sustainable aquaculture. Increased seafood supply from aquaculture can reduce the pressure of overfishing, while aquaculture that is properly managed at the ecosystem level can make a positive contribution to the marine environment.To support these solutions, World Bank experts have produced a portfolio of internationally recognized reports through the Global Program on Fisheries, PROFISH. In 2012, the team published Evaluation of New Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs) and Hidden Harvest, the Global Contribution of Capture Fisheries—responding to the urgent need for sustainable fishery indicators and a profile of the world's small- and large-scale fisheries, respectively. The Bank worked with governments like that of the Seychelles to support national efforts to increase benefits from tuna fisheries, track the economic performance of tuna fishing activities, and guide economic development of the sector.Drawing from this analytical work and lessons learned, the Bank aims to scale up these investments to support the next generation of governance reforms, including implementing rights-based fisheries management, supporting the development of sustainable aquaculture, developing blue carbon assets, creating market mechanisms to internalize the costs of marine pollution, and supporting partnerships for sustainable financing of marine protected areas, among others. Ultimately, these governance reforms can lead to an enhanced quality of ocean environments, and support economic growth and livelihoods. The Bank is also working with the extractive industries sector, responding to oil and gas activity in deep waters under the jurisdiction of developing countries. Here, the Bank is engaging with countries, including Mozambique and Ghana, to build capacity to manage the large attendant operational, environmental and social risks.The centerpiece of all this work is the World Bank-initiated Global Partnership for Oceans, launched at the Rio+20, UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. It creates a new way of working multilaterally and multi-sectorally with a diversity of partners, including governments, the private sector, UN agencies, and civil society organizations. Whether or not we are from continental countries or island nations, we are indeed joined by the oceans.ResultsSome examples of results achieved with World Bank support, based on financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), or through trust funds managed by the World Bank, include:Guinea-Bissau: The Coastal and Biodiversity Management Project in Guinea-Bissau (FY05) helped the country to establish a national parks and protected areas agency and network, protecting 480,000 hectares of the country's coastal zone (representing over 13 percent of the national territory) together with local communities. In four of the five protected areas established, the effectiveness of park management increased by at least 15 percent from 2005 to 2010, based on the World Bank/World Wildlife Fund protected areas tracking tool that includes indicators such assufficient budget, park management planning, consultation, etc. To ensure that these protected areas are sustainably financed, partners and stakeholders have now established a private foundation, Fundacão BioGuinea. The Biodiversity Conservation Project (FY11) is supporting the operation and fund-raising efforts of this foundation until it is fully capitalized and self-sustaining. West Africa: Supporting sustainable fisheries in West Africa. Since 2007, the Bank has increasingly focused on supporting the development of the laws and institutions needed for sustainable fisheries. For example, the West Africa Regional Fisheries Program covers nine countries from Mauritania to Ghana, beginning with Cape Verde, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone in early 2010. The objective of this program is to sustainably increase the contribution of the marine fish resources to the region's economy through strengthened fisheries governance, reduced illegal fishing, and increased local value added to fish products. In Liberia, the government passed comprehensive fisheries regulations in December 2010 – the first legal framework for fisheries management since the 1970s. It also inaugurated the first fisheries monitoring center with radio and satellite communication links to the fishing fleet to help reduce illegal fishing. Subsequently, the government has issued some US$3.5 million in fines for illegal fishing to some 40 industrial vessels. Fishing communities along the coast are reporting higher catches as a result. Similarly in Sierra Leone, through program finance together with partners such as the Government of the Isle of Man, the Environmental Justice Foundation and NEPAD, the Government brought 12 industrial vessels to port for illegal fishing in the last 18 months, collecting over $1 million in fines. Similar to Liberia, catches in coastal fishing communities have reportedly increased during this time. India: Integrated Coastal Zone Management in India (FY07– FY15). The World Bank's largest 'blue' project, this effort is financing national- and state-level capacity building, long-term land use planning, and pilot investments in pollution management, resource conservation, and livelihood improvements. So far, more than 6,000 hectares of mangroves have been planted; 11 new coastal areas have been declared ecologically sensitive; and preparation of integrated plans for two of these has started. Work has also started to stop the flow of more than 100 million liters of untreated sewage per day into the ocean. The first stage of work has started to protect over 150 km of shoreline in the state of Odisha to protect Olive Ridley sea turtles, and aerial photography of a 90,000 km2 area to help identify all sensitive coastal and marine habitats has been completed. Detailed coastal and marine resource mapping, along with extensive studies on prominent protected species are being carried out to help develop integrated management plans and modeling of different development scenarios. For example, in Chilika (the largest lagoon in Asia that supports the livelihoods of some 250,000 fisherpersons) the project is supporting the development of a management plan that includes conservation activities, water quality monitoring, and pollution-reduction in the community.Bank Group ContributionThe World Bank and Bank-managed trust funds are increasingly supporting initiatives to rebuild the ocean's natural capital. Many of the Bank's investments in the oceans over the last five years promote the sustainable governance of marine fisheries, the establishment of coastal and marine protected areas, and integrated coastal resource management. The World Bank's active "blue growth" portfolio comprises activities worth US$4.5 billion. This amount includes fisheries management, habitat conservation including integrated coastal zone management, pollution reduction and water resource management.Partners The Bank has been working with a number of partners to increase investment in healthy oceans. Over the course of 2012, the Bank has participated in and/or hosted a number of partnership events, such as the Global Partnership for Oceans launch event at Rio+20, The Economist World Oceans Summit in Singapore, and the Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands. Current partnerships include: The Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO), launched in 2012, is the World Bank's largest and most ambitious ocean effort yet. A growing alliance of more than 125 governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and private sector bodies, it aims to address threats to the health, productivity and resilience of the world's oceans, focusing on the key areas of overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. The Global Program for Fisheries (PROFISH), created in 2005, is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the World Bank to support governance reforms for sustainable fisheries. PROFISH works with a range of partners, including the FAO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WorldFish, development organizations, and the private sector.The Alliance for Responsible Fisheries (ALLFISH), established in 2009 as a public-private partnership by the seafood industry, works with the International Coalition of Fisheries Associations, FAO, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), to promote responsible fisheries and aquaculture.The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been an integral partner in all of these efforts, with most Bank investments blended with grants from the GEF. In many cases, GEF co-financing has played a catalytic role in attracting Bank and other financing.Strategic Partnership for Fisheries in Africa is a partnership to promote sustainable fisheries in Africa. It is led by the African Union, with support from FAO and the World Wildlife Fund, and with financing from Bank-managed GEF funds.The Capturing Coral Reef and Related Ecosystem Services partnership aims to capture the value of coral reef ecosystem services through support for eco-enterprises linked to green markets, and other incentives to encourage investment in their protection. The Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Program (ABJN) aims to improve global sustainable fisheries management and biodiversity conservation with partners including the GEF, the FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Ocean Forum.50in10 is a collaboration initiated by over 30 organizations to achieve a 10-year target to bring 50 percent of fisheries and the global catch under sustainable management while increasing economic benefits by US$20 billion annually.Moving Forward The opportunity that comes from addressing the challenges to healthier oceans, and the benefits that countries stand to gain from healthier oceans, such as rebuilding fish stocks and expanding sustainable aquaculture, restoring the productivity of key coastal habitats and reducing the threats from pollution, is fundamental to the development mandate of the World Bank. Efforts to date by the Bank, as well as the large number of other organizations supporting healthier oceans, have been somewhat scattered and insufficient to capture this opportunity. A coordinated global effort is needed to improve the health of the world's oceans and the benefits they provide to the global economy and human welfare. Through its ability to convene a diversity of partners and stakeholders, and to mobilize public investment for governance reforms, the World Bank is uniquely positioned to foster and build an unprecedented global partnership. Supporters and Beneficiaries "Our challenge is to protect the oceans so that we can make the most of their gifts to the world. And we need more partners on deck for sustainable development." – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Global Partnership for Oceans Launch at Rio+20, 2012"We need technical assistance and more importantly efficient access to financing sources." –Tuiloma Neroni Slade, Secretary General, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Rio+20, 2012"Whether or not we are from continental countries or island nations, we are indeed joined by the oceans." –Lisel Alamilla, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development, Belize, Rio+20, 2012 Show Less -
ChallengeClimate change is a major threat to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in developing countries and to hard-earned development gains in all regions of the world. The report Turn... Show More + Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must Be Avoided, a snapshot of the latest climate science prepared for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in 2012, says we are on a path to a world 4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times by the end of this century under current greenhouse gas emissions pledges. Following the Bank's own Strategic Framework for Development and Climate Change in 2008 and the World Development Report on climate change in 2010, the report provides a clear picture of the planet in a 4°C warmer world and the disruptive impacts on agriculture, water resources, ecosystems and human health.The report concludes that while every region will be affected, those least able to adapt - the poor and most vulnerable - would be hit hardest. International Development Association (IDA) countries are the most vulnerable to risks associated with droughts, floods, coastal storms, and changes in agricultural productivity. Reports like Turn Down the Heat have shown that the world needs a global response equal to the scale of the global problem. Both adaptation and mitigation efforts are essential. The World Bank's work on inclusive green growth has found that with more efficient and smarter use of energy and natural resources, opportunities exist to reduce drastically the climate impact of development without slowing poverty alleviation or economic growth.SolutionTo meet the climate challenge, the World Bank supports country-led development strategies and priorities aimed at adaptation and mitigation action. Climate change action has been integrated as a priority across the World Bank. All 12 of the country assistance and partnership strategies prepared in FY12 for IDA countries address country vulnerability to climate change.There are increasing efforts to ensure synergies between adaptation and mitigation agendas when designing and planning climate actions and evaluating their impact. These efforts include examples of interventions in forestry, which help sequester carbon and increase resilience; "climate smart" agriculture, where the focus is on a triple-win—carbon sequestration, food security and climate resilient livelihoods; and water efficiency measures in urban municipalities that reduce water and energy consumption and emissions from water pumping and distribution.ResultsThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has been working with Mexico through the Efficient Lighting and Appliances Project (FY11) on providing a mix of financial and technical support to Mexico's efforts to deal with climate change. The results can be seen in the creation of a national climate change strategy, and the passage of renewable energy and energy efficiency laws. More than 5.5 million Mexican families now use energy-saving lamps that consume 20 percent of the energy and last 10 times longer than traditional light bulbs. In the first stage of the program, partially financed by the World Bank, there were more than 1,110 points of exchange in the whole country, providing 22.9 million incandescent light bulbs, achieving 1297 gigawatt-hours saved (as of September 30, 2012).The World Bank–China Montreal Protocol partnership has, over 20 years, phased-out over 219,000 tons of ozone-depleting substances from various sectors, including closing the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs). The corresponding climate co-benefits associated with this phase-out, accounting for the impact of alternatives phased in, is 885 million tons of CO2-eq, equivalent to taking 227 coal-fired power plants offline.A heavy reliance on fossil fuels, rising energy demands, and mounting greenhouse gas emissions are pushing Morocco to invest further in its abundant renewable energy resources. One project the Clean Technology Fund supported in Morocco is the 500 megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power plant—the biggest project of its kind in the world—located in Ouarzazate. Backed by the regional Middle East and North Africa Clean Technology Fund investment plan, the Ouarzazate plant will receive US$750 million in Clean Technology Fund financing and is expected to mobilize an additional US$4.8 billion for the project. The project is structured as a public private partnership between the Moroccan Solar Energy Agency and a private partner. The first 120-160 MW to come on line by 2014 will help Morocco avoid 240,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year—the same as removing 80,000 cars from the road annually. This project is in line with Morocco's ambitious Solar Plan, launched in November 2009, which aims to produce 2,000 MW of solar energy by 2020.Making development climate-resilient has emerged as a major theme in supporting poverty reduction and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of the IDA-financed Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia (FY05) was to deliver timely livelihood protection to the chronically food insecure households in rural Ethiopia. A drought risk component was introduced in the Bank's second phase of support (FY07) to provide immediate scaled-up financing in response to localized intermediate or severe drought. The projects are designed to increasingly provide cash rather than food support. In 2010, 7.8 million rural inhabitants received support under the program through paid work or grants. About 192 million paid workdays have been generated through community projects that address roots of food insecurity by rehabilitating severely degraded land and creating productive community assets, such as terraced fields, feeder roads and small scale irrigation systems.The Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility is designed to reduce the impact of natural disasters by providing member countries with insurance payouts sufficient to cover short-term liquidity needs in the aftermath of an earthquake or hurricane. Its 16 members pay risk-based insurance premiums to purchase a desired level of insurance coverage. The instrument is designed to cover only short-term needs, estimated to comprise at most 20 percent of losses. It is estimated that the premium was 68 percent lower than the cost of meeting similar risks through domestic reserve funds. The World Bank, through IDA, funded the participation fees, 100 percent of the first two years' premiums, and 50 percent of the third year's premium for Haiti, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It also funded 50 percent of the fourth year's premium for Dominica and St. Lucia. Payouts as of 2011 have totaled US$32 million across eight claims, with all payouts being made within three weeks of the event.Bank Group ContributionNearly 40 percent of all World Bank (IBRD/IDA) lending projects approved in FY12 are expected to contribute to climate change adaptation, mitigation or both in over 50 countries. This amount represents almost a doubling from the 22 percent share of climate-related projects in World Bank lending since FY11. IDA witnessed a tremendous increase in climate change co-benefits financing. In FY12, the financing of adaptation co-benefits grew to US$2.3 billion (61 percent increase over FY11) and to US$2.3 billion for mitigation (161 percent over FY11). The IBRD saw a major increase for adaptation financing to US$2.2 billion, up 158 percent from FY11. The World Bank approved a total of US$2.2 billion in financing for renewable energy projects in fiscal year 2012, a record 40 percent share of its annual energy lending of US$5.6 billion. Looking only at power generation projects approved in 2012, renewables accounted for an even larger share – 84 percent. Development policy operations are emerging as a major vehicle for supporting clients' climate change policy and institutional developments needed to tackle climate change. The World Bank recently approved a US$100 million development policy loan to promote inclusive green growth and sustainable development in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The loan will support the government as it launches transformative actions across its key engines of economic growth—energy, watershed management, industry and tourism. As part of its commitment to reduce its environmental footprint and to maintain carbon neutrality, the Bank measures, reduces, offsets, and reports on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its facilities and travel. In FY 2012, the Bank met its own goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent below its 2006 baseline and set a new target of 10 percent to be achieved by 2017. PartnersThe World Bank has successfully demonstrated innovative ways to mobilize additional resources to finance climate action by working with partners. The most notable success has been the US$7.2 billion Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), which are playing a key role in meeting international objectives regarding climate change. The CIFs currently support activities in 49 countries and are leveraging an additional US$43 billion in clean investment and climate resilience. The CIFs are channeled through the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs). For over a decade, the World Bank has supported carbon finance. When established in 1999, the role of the Prototype Carbon Fund was to catalyze the global market for greenhouse gas emission reductions. Today, the World Bank is Trustee of 15 carbon finance initiatives. The Carbon Finance Unit supports more than 150 projects through purchase of about 220 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.The World Bank has been pushing the frontiers of innovation in carbon markets and results-based finance of mitigation activities. Recent carbon initiatives include the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, aiming to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+); the Carbon Partnership Facility; the Partnership for Market Readiness; the Carbon Initiative for Development; and the Bio Carbon Fund Tranche 3. These innovative instruments seek to support a variety of market-based mechanisms that reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases in developing countries.The World Bank has also strengthened the operational links between climate adaptation and disaster risk management. The Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), a trust-funded global partnership hosted by the World Bank, serves as a disaster risk reduction knowledge hub and the Bank's rapid disaster response facility. The World Bank has been part of the multilateral development banks' effort in harmonizing their climate finance reporting systems. These banks have finalized a joint approach for mitigation finance reporting and released the Joint MDB Report on Mitigation Finance at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. They have recently finalized a joint approach for adaptation finance reporting, and released the Joint MDB Report on Adaptation Finance at the 2012 Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition, the World Bank announced a harmonized approach to measurement and reporting of project-level greenhouse gas emissions along with other international financial institutions, including five MDBs.Moving ForwardWith the prospect of a warmer world, the imperative to adapt to a changing climate further emphasizes the need to scale up support for climate-resilient low emissions development. Resilience to climate impacts and low emissions development are both key pillars of the increasing emphasis by the United Nations and Bretton Woods Institutions on the economic, environmental and social merits of Inclusive Green Growth and could provide an opportunity to support actions with multiple benefits for climate and development. As part of the UN family, the World Bank will be increasingly working with other agencies on climate actions in the context of sustainable development.Further attention will be given in IDA countries to help clients and partners understand and manage the adaptation-development linkages in different contexts. IBRD resources can be expected to be called for supporting transformational programs with lower emissions catalyzed by dedicated climate resources. It is also anticipated that there will be growing demand for IBRD capital for guarantees and insurance products to attract private sector investments in new technologies and in climate-vulnerable areas. Contributions to existing and emerging climate funds are expected to leverage considerable underlying financing from public and private sources. Show Less -
ChallengeThe most costly year on record for natural disasters was 2011, with estimated losses of US$380 billion, continuing a 30-year upward trend. Between 1980 and 2011, disasters caused more than 2.5... Show More + million deaths and US$3.5 trillion in economic damages and loss across the world. Disaster risk is increasing mainly as a result of growing exposure of people and assets to natural hazards. Detailed analysis shows that the biggest driver of disaster risk in recent years has been the substantial growth of population and assets in at-risk areas. Migration to coastal areas and the expansion of cities in flood plains, coupled with inappropriate building standards, are among the main reasons for the increase. The degradation of ecosystem buffers like mangrove swamps also increases hazard risk. Hydro-meteorological disasters are responsible for almost 80 percent of adverse natural events and 75 percent of losses. Looking ahead, climate change will have major implications on global ecosystems, agriculture and water supply, sea level rise and storm surges. Historical patterns alone will no longer be a good basis for planning. Effective climate risk adaptation strategies help manage disaster risk in the medium-term, while reducing vulnerability over the longer term. SolutionDisaster risk management was universally endorsed as a development priority through the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) in 2005. This framework is an agreement signed by 168 governments and international organizations, including the World Bank Group and the United Nations, to support disaster prevention across the world. The World Bank is responding to the growing demand from its clients, building disaster resilience through five core areas focusing on:Risk Identification: By understanding disaster risks and anticipating the potential impacts of natural hazards, disaster and climate risk assessments can help governments, communities, businesses and individuals make informed decisions to manage that risk.Risk Reduction: Disaster risk information can inform different development strategies, plans and projects that can in turn reduce risks. This can either be done by avoiding the creation of new risks by mainstreaming in new investments, or improved territorial planning or building practices, or by addressing existing risks, such as retrofitting critical infrastructure, the construction of embankment systems etc.Preparedness: Adequate preparedness measures are essential because disaster risk can never be completely eliminated. Preparedness through early warning systems save lives and protect livelihoods and is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce the impact of disasters. Preparedness activities need to include actionable contingency plans down to local and community level to respond to the effects of disasters.Financial Protection: Financial protection strategies protect governments, businesses and households from the economic burden of disasters. These strategies can include programs to increase the financial capacity of the state to respond to an emergency, whilst protecting the fiscal balance. They also promote the deepening of insurance markets at a sovereign and household level, and social protection strategies for the poorest.Resilient Reconstruction: The challenge of reconstruction also presents an opportunity to promote disaster risk management through integrated resilient recovery and reconstruction planning that will drive longer-term resilient development.ResultsThe growing strategic commitment of the World Bank to disaster risk management is reflected in the number of Country Assistance and Partnership Strategies (CASs/CPSs) that now consider disaster and climate risks in their approach to development. Based on a review of a representative sample of 80 CASs in 2012, 75 percent recognized natural hazards as a challenge to sustainable development, up from 46 percent in 2006. This increase is spread across regions and country income groups. This signals a shift from a historical tendency to treat disasters as interruptions to development towards seeing them as risks that should be proactively managed in an integrated way.The Bank has played a pivotal role in the development of innovative disaster risk financing solutions to decrease the financial vulnerability of developing countries to disasters. Through innovative instruments and investments, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) assistance has provided support for countries exposed to adverse natural events. For example, the world's first regional disaster financing facility, the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), was established in 2007 to provide access to short-term liquidity for Caribbean governments in the aftermath of disasters. In addition to technical assistance in the establishment of the facility, the World Bank financed the cost of joining the facility for a number of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, and contributed to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which served as the initial supporting capital for the facility. Within two weeks of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, CCRIF transferred US$8 million to provide immediate liquidity to the government. A similar approach is being developed in the Pacific. The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) is operationalizing the results of an extensive risk assessment across 15 Pacific nations, including a pilot program covering five countries to test the feasibility of market-based sovereign catastrophe risk transfer instruments to reduce the country financial vulnerability to natural disasters. Following the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, the World Bank committed about US$1 billion to recovery and reconstruction efforts. Achievements include the provision of timely shelter support to 550,000 people and the reconstruction of more than 400,000 earthquake-resistant houses. More recently, supported by the World Bank's engagement, the Government of Pakistan (GoP) has created a National Working Group on Risk Assessment with the mandate to provide strategic guidance and coordinate all activities related to risk assessments in the country. The World Bank/GFDRR, with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and European Union (EU) partners, has scaled up its support to drought-prone countries in the Middle East and North Africa and in Africa, performing Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs) following the severe drought crisis affecting the Horn of Africa and the Sahel regions. These timely interventions are spearheading the risk management dialogue across ministries while linking short-term crisis mitigation with long-term development objectives, both at country and regional levels. In Djibouti in 2011, the timely PDNA facilitated the mobilization of US$13 million for drought mitigation in the rural, social and energy sectors. This program is currently supporting the development of a productive national safety net, increasing access of rural communities to water and enhancing their capacity to manage water and agro-pastoral resources and providing short-term emergency energy support to the energy poor.In middle-income economies, IBRD loans have enabled countries to assess and manage disaster risks effectively. In 2005, the Bank supported Colombia with a US$260 million loan to strengthen the capability of the national and local disaster risk management system in about 1,000 municipalities. The second phase of this program started in 2006 with an additional US$80 million loan to support the city of Bogotá to strengthen its capacity to manage disaster risks and reduce vulnerability in key sectors. Results of this project include the resettlement of 5,000 households living in high-risk areas to permanent housing in safe areas; retrofitting of 201 schools and kindergartens to seismic-resistant standards; and the reduction of the population at risk in public buildings from 575,000 to 252,000.The US$550 million IBRD loan to the Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness project in Istanbul, Turkey, improves the city's preparedness for a potential earthquake through enhancing the institutional and technical capacity for disaster management and emergency response, strengthening critical public facilities for earthquake resistance, and supporting measures for better enforcement of building codes. Bank financing catalyzed another US$1 billion in parallel funding from other financiers to support the program. As of today, 681 public buildings were retrofitted and 21 buildings were reconstructed. A comprehensive digital inventory of cultural heritage buildings in Istanbul with their vulnerability assessments, as well as designs for the strengthening and preservation of selected historical buildings in Istanbul were developed. As part of the Public Awareness and Neighborhood Community Volunteers programs, there were 450,000 people trained in disaster preparedness, and estimated 5 million citizens reached via social and public media. A training program in the retrofitting code was provided to 3,630 engineers throughout Turkey.IBRD loans have also assisted in the sustainable and disaster-resilient recovery of affected communities. The World Bank is supporting China with a US$710 million IBRD loan to restore infrastructure, health and education services in the Sichuan and Gansu provinces that were damaged or destroyed after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The project runs until 2014, and supports the government's reconstruction strategy articulated in the National Master Plan for Rehabilitation of the Wenchuan Earthquake, which was developed with support from GFDRR. As part of this Master Plan, a total of 4.4 million houses have been repaired and 2.2 million houses are being reconstructed. Destroyed schools and hospitals, retirement homes, community centers and other public service facilities are also being restored or rebuilt. The construction of all new buildings is subject to high seismic and flood risk standards and experts are supervising every step to ensure lives are not lost in the future. Other IBRD financial instruments customized for disaster risk management include the development policy loan (DPL) with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO), which is an ex ante contingent financing instrument available for IBRD countries. It offers immediate budget support to cover urgent financing needs in the aftermath of a national disaster while other resources, including national, bilateral aid, or reconstruction loans, are mobilized. Of the sixteen disaster risk management-related DPLs the World Bank has approved since 2008, eight included a CAT-DDO to enhance the capacity of governments to manage the impact of natural disasters. Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Philippines have drawn down funds from the instrument, in payouts of US$150 million, US$24 million, US$50 million, US$85 million and US$500 million respectively, to engage in immediate post-disaster recovery and reconstruction activities.Some highlights of results achieved in IDA-supported projects include:Sri Lanka: A significant share of the IDA support from the Tsunami Emergency Reconstruction Program I and II (US$75 million each), helped to reconstruct approximately 44,000 damaged houses, with over 100,000 families benefiting from livelihood cash grants, the first installment of which was paid within three months of the tsunami.Ethiopia: Approximately 7.8 million rural inhabitants received support under the IDA Productive Safety Net Adaptable Program Loan (APL) II Program through workfare or grants in response to localized intermediate or severe drought conditions between 2007 and 2009.Bangladesh: After Cyclone Sidr in 2007, over 1.7 million households benefitted from the construction of approximately 50 new cyclone shelters and repairs to another 250 existing multi-purpose shelters. In addition, over 100 kilometers of embankments were rehabilitated.Togo: Over 52,000 people in poor neighborhoods were protected against the 2010 floods through the Emergency Urban Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project. The project cleared over 70 kilometers of storm drains in areas facing flood risk, which allowed rainwater to flow where previously it would flood, rehabilitated roads, provided a 1,000-bed emergency center and connected underserved communities to the electricity network.Vietnam: Over 210,000 people living in 30 villages are now prepared for disaster events, with local early warning and evacuation systems, disaster action plans, 12 new or upgraded storm shelters, and 165 safe schools and health care facilities that had been damaged by recent storms.There were warnings, but nothing could really prepare us for what happened. Cyclone Sidr hit my hometown, Barguna with ferocious intensity. Powerful gusts of winds and heavy rainfalls frightened the helpless people, many of whom had left their homes and possessions to seek the protection of cyclone-shelters, like my school.Bank Group ContributionBetween 2008 and 2012, the World Bank financed 92 disaster prevention and preparedness operations (US$ 6.5 billion) and 53 disaster reconstruction operations (US$2.7 billion). Within the urban, water, agriculture or rural development sectors, these operations have built-in disaster risk management as core components of the project design in an effort to mainstream disaster risk management into development.New IDA investments have been triggered by large-scale disasters of recent times. Furthermore, emergency recovery loans financed by both IDA and IBRD have been approved to restore public services and infrastructure in the wake of recent disasters. However, there is still more to be done to integrate an assessment of disaster risks systematically into the design and implementation of World Bank-financed projects.PartnersIn disaster-prone countries, the World Bank often plays a role in coordinating donor efforts both in ex-ante investments in risk reduction and ex-post assistance for resilient reconstruction and recovery. The World Bank develops partnerships through technical and financial assistance to national governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations tasked with the challenge of protecting their country from the impact of disaster events. GFDRR: As a partnership financing mechanism, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery includes 43 country governments from developed, emerging and developing countries, as well as eight international organizations. Recognizing the need for partnership and synergy in the post-disaster context, the World Bank, the United Nations (UN) and the European Commission entered into a Joint Declaration on Post-Crises Assessments and Recovery Planning in 2008 to improve the coordination of support offered to governments affected by disasters. This declaration promotes a harmonized approach to the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), in which a multi-disciplinary team—led by client government and comprising members from the World Bank, the UN, donors and others—typically guides post-disaster recovery strategy in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders. Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program: The Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program maintains a continuous dialogue with the private insurance sector, leveraging both: (i) the sector's expertise through promoting the provision of risk information and market knowledge as public goods and (ii) its risk-carrying capacity through supporting countries in accessing appropriate market-based solutions for their risk financing needs. Random Hacks of Kindness: Increasingly, partnership is taking on new and innovative forms, including through expert communities and civil society. For example 'volunteer technical communities'—who are most often technical professionals with deep expertise in geographic information systems, database management, social media, and/or online campaigns—apply their skills to some of the most complex aspects of disaster risk management, such as mapping risk and evaluating mitigation options. Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), a public-private-people partnership, which includes the World Bank, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Hewlett-Packard, brings together 150 government, private sector and civil society partners supporting the initiative around the globe. InaSAFE: Another example of an innovative partnership is the development of the Indonesia Scenario Assessment for Emergencies, InaSAFE, which provides a practical tool for local planners to understand and communicate hazard impacts. The initiative was developed in partnership with the Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), the Australia-Indonesia Facility for Disaster Reduction (AIFDR), GFDRR and the World Bank, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and Open Street Map. The tool is useable by anyone with basic computer skills and supports the GFDRR Open Data for Resilience Initiative (Open DRI).Moving Forward The World Bank will provide timely, cutting-edge disaster risk management knowledge and expertise to partner countries, and will continue to mainstream disaster risk management across all sectors of investment. The World Bank will support countries in the development and use of risk information, further development of country and sector risk profiles, capacity building in disaster risk assessment, and the use of spatial and structural risk analyses to inform investment planning. The World Bank will strive to scale up technical assistance and targeted disaster risk management financing to high-risk developing countries that lack the resources and capacity to invest in long-term risk reduction activities. In addition, the Bank will increase its advisory support for financial exposure profiles, risk financing strategies and sustainable domestic catastrophe risk insurance markets.IDA has also stepped up its support to manage disaster risks. The Crisis Response Window was institutionalized in IDA16 to assist low-income countries to enhance their response to disasters and adopt preventive measures to minimize the adverse consequences of future catastrophes. This funding window is a major step forward and provides greater availability and predictability of additional concessional assistance for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction in low-capacity, high-risk countries. In addition to physical investments in resilience, IDA and IBRD will scale up support for innovative and customized financial solutions for both low- and middle-income countries that build fiscal and economic resilience to natural hazards. Beneficiaries "I still remember Cyclone Sidr in 2007," said Hasina Begum, headmistress of Paschim Napitkhali Primary School in Barguna, Bangladesh. "There were warnings, but nothing could really prepare us for what happened. Cyclone Sidr hit my hometown, Barguna with ferocious intensity. Powerful gusts of winds and heavy rainfalls frightened the helpless people, many of whom had left their homes and possessions to seek the protection of cyclone-shelters, like my school."The Paschim Napitkhali Primary School, a non-descript two storied building played a life-saving role in 2007, when Barguna and other coastal regions were hit hard by the storm surge of over 5 meters (16 ft). Initially established by Hasina's father, the school was later rebuilt and converted into a school and cyclone shelter. During the year, the primary school bustles with children – but during cyclones and other natural disasters, the building doubles up as a shelter. In 2007, this cyclone-shelter alone had helped save more than 800 people. Show Less -
ChallengeMore than 1.2 billion people—about 17 percent of the world's population—are without access to electricity, most of them concentrated in about a dozen countries in Africa and Asia. Another 2.8... Show More + billion rely on wood, charcoal, dung and coal for cooking and heating, which results in over four million premature deaths a year due to indoor air pollution. Shortages in power supplies, and their unreliable and poor quality, due to underinvestment, are also major challenges facing developing countries.Electricity access must be reliable as well as environmentally and socially sustainable. Ensuring these depends on business models robust enough to mobilize financing, as well as policy and institutional frameworks that ensure that electricity access projects are both economically viable and sustainable from a climate perspective. SolutionThe Bank Group supports development of energy systems based on least-cost options with an emphasis on renewable sources, such as hydropower, wind, solar and geothermal, while also promoting energy efficiency. Projects support achievement of universal access to electricity and modern household fuels, as well as improved utility performance and sector governance. The Bank Group also provides financing and advice to countries on oil and natural gas extraction, production, processing, transmission and distribution. And it is sharing leadership with the UN of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which aims for universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels; doubling the share of the world's energy supplied by renewable sources; and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. Representative projects include support for grid expansion in India, rural electrification in Ethiopia, hydropower projects in Senegal and Cameroon, increased geothermal capacity in Kenya and Indonesia, off-grid solar home systems in Bangladesh and Mongolia, and support for off-grid lighting solutions in Africa through the Bank-International Finance Corporation (IFC) partnership, Lighting Africa.ResultsDuring 2002-11, the Bank supported projects for the construction and rehabilitation of about 115,000 kilometers of transmission and distribution lines and about 19,000 megawatts of generation capacity to improve access to reliable energy. Some examples of results achieved with IBRD-financed projects include:India: To extend power to India's nearly 400 million people currently without electricity requires a massive expansion of transmission capacity. World Bank financing has helped India expand transmission across the country's regions by 52 billion kilowatt-hours. It has also supported a five-year program from 2008-12, led by India's Power Grid Corporation to increase its circuit by 40,000 km to reach 100,000 km, raising inter-regional electric power transfer capacity from 21 to 37 gigawatts. A $1.0 billion IBRD-financed project has supported expansion of five regional transmission systems, to enable transfer of power from energy-surplus regions to towns and villages in under-served regions. This expansion has helped to integrate the national grid, resulting in a more reliable system and reduced transmission losses.Mexico: Mexico has achieved an energy efficiency milestone by distributing almost 23 million energy-saving light bulbs for free. The national program, partially financed by $185 million from the Global Environment Fund, established over 1,100 exchange points in 2011-12 at which customers replaced their incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). In total, more than 5.5 million Mexican families now use energy-saving lamps that consume only 20 percent of the energy and last 10 times longer than a traditional light bulb. The first stage of the program, partially financed by the World Bank, resulted in savings of 1,400 gigawatt hours (Gwh). The program also enables families to save up to 18 percent of their electric bill. When the second stage ends in 2014, it is estimated that the saving will be of 2,800 Gwh per year, preventing about 1.4 million tons of CO2 emissions.Some highlights of results achieved in IDA-supported projects include:Bangladesh: In 2002, only 7,000 Bangladeshi households were using solar panels. Today, more than 1.4 million low-income rural households in Bangladesh have electricity—delivered by solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Installations of the panels under the IDA-supported Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project have doubled since 2010 to 40,000 a month. A $130 million IDA credit in 2009 and another for $172 million in 2011 followed earlier IDA financing that launched the project in 2002.Competitively priced solar PV panels and a well-designed financing scheme have combined to deliver life-changing—and zero-carbon—electricity to bottom-of-the-pyramid families on a scale that was inconceivable only a few years ago. Under the program, non-governmental (NGO) partner organizations install the systems in households following standards, with the households paying 10-15 percent down with the rest financed by a microcredit loan. Funds from IDA, among others, re-finance part of the microcredit extended to the households. In addition to IDA support, the solar home systems program in Bangladesh has received financing from the World Bank-managed Carbon Finance Unit, the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid, and several other donors including the Asian Development Bank, and the German agencies KfW and GIZ.The program aims to deliver off-grid solar power to 2.5 million households by 2014, while also promoting mini-grids for rural consumers. In addition to delivering power to un-served communities, it is helping to reduce carbon emissions from avoided use of kerosene and diesel for lighting. The solar electrification industry and its supply chain in Bangladesh has also helped create, directly and indirectly, about 50,000 jobs.Ethiopia: In Ethiopia three IDA credits totaling $440 million helped expand electricity to community services in about 4,300 towns and villages, benefiting over 30 million people by powering streetlights, local flour mills, water pumping and irrigation installations, telecommunications, businesses, schools and clinics in five years. The Electricity Network Reinforcement and Expansion Project, approved by the World Bank in May 2012, extends this work by upgrading and extending the grid in order to improve the overall service delivery of the Ethiopian electricity network. The last project is expected to benefit 385,000 people. Mongolia: About 500,000 people in Mongolia have gained access to solar power through a program launched in 2006 by the Mongolian government with support from the World Bank and the Government of the Netherlands. Thanks to the National 100,000 Solar Ger (Yurt) Electrification Program, 70 percent of Mongolia's herders now have access to modern electricity.Bank Group ContributionSince 2008, the Bank Group has provided $45.3 billion for energy projects, with $21.9 billion from IBRD, and $8.5 billion from IDA. Of the total Bank Group financing, $11.6 billion—25.7 percent—was for renewable energy projects and programs, reflecting the determination of many countries to seek lower-carbon energy solutions. Energy efficiency, and transmission and distribution accounted for nearly one-third of energy financing. About 25 percent of the portfolio since 2008 is devoted to fossil fuel projects. PartnersThe Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is a global knowledge and technical assistance program administered by the World Bank. ESMAP provides analytical and advisory services to low- and middle-income countries to increase their know-how and institutional capacity to achieve environmentally sustainable energy solutions for poverty reduction and economic growth. ESMAP is funded by Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as the World Bank. The World Bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) initiative is a public-private partnership that brings together representatives from major oil-producing countries and companies. The GGFR aims to minimize the flaring of natural gas associated with oil production by fostering critical collaboration between governments and industry so together they can address policy challenges and specific project implementation. These efforts are starting to pay off. Since 2005, flaring of gas has dropped worldwide by almost 20 percent, preventing over 270 million tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent roughly to taking some 52 million cars off the road. Lighting Africa is a joint IFC and World Bank program that works towards improving access to better lighting in areas not yet connected to the electricity grid. Lighting Africa catalyzes and accelerates the development of sustainable markets for affordable, modern off-grid lighting solutions for low-income households and micro-enterprises across the continent.Moving Forward The Bank Group's strategic priorities in the energy sector are anchored around the goal of improving electricity access in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner. As energy security is essential for sustainable growth, the Bank will continue to work with other development partners to assist countries in achieving it, including through regional energy integration.The Bank pursues a portfolio approach, including support for investments in power generation that are least cost and sustainable; strengthening and expanding transmission and distribution power networks; improving efficiency through technical assistance, and advisory services. The latter helps countries improve the performance of their electricity utilities, brings greater rigor to their governance, and offers guidance on policy and regulatory frameworks to attract and increase the impact of public and private sector investments. Some developing countries, especially those emerging from conflict, have weaknesses in capacity to implement projects. The Bank provides support to strengthen their capacity. The World Bank is also sharing leadership with the UN of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which has three global energy objectives to be achieved by 2030: universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels; doubling the share of the world's energy supplied by renewable sources from 18 to 36 percent; and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency from 1.2 to 2.4 percent annually. To date, about 70 countries have opted in to Sustainable Energy for All, while many public, private and nongovernmental actors have made commitments to support its implementation. The Bank committed to doubling the leverage of its energy financing, providing technical assistance to several opt-in countries and supporting initiatives in partnership with the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). These initiatives include the Global Geothermal Development Plan, Lighting Africa and Lighting Asia, the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves, the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (Phase Four) and mapping of renewable energy resources.Beneficiaries One beneficiary of the Bangladesh rural electrification project is Mussarat Begum, who runs a small teahouse in Garjon Bunia Bazaar, a rural community. She bought a solar home system for $457, initially paying $57, and borrowing the rest. She repays the loan in weekly installments with money she earns by keeping her now-lighted chai-shop open after dark. At the same time, her children are able to study at night."My business is booming and my family lives much more comfortably with our increased income," she said. "But most importantly, I now have electricity at home and my children can study at night. They are doing much better at school." Show Less -
ChallengeSince the start of the global financial crisis in 2008, about 22 million jobs have been lost in developing countries. The global jobs crisis–documented in the WBG's World Development Report 2013... Show More + and in the IFC Jobs Study–will require developing countries to create 600 million jobs over the next 15 years–generating an average of 1 million jobs per month over the next 10 years just in Africa and South Asia alone. Policymakers worldwide thus must focus on strengthening competitiveness and innovation to meet this demand for employment. Clients want to create sustainable jobs that lead to inclusive growth, and are recognizing that shared prosperity and diminished poverty cannot be achieved through traditional approaches: To "bend the arc of history," new and transformative approaches are required.ApproachWorking with clients to create the conditions that will allow their firms and industries to compete successfully, the WBG's competitiveness and innovation programs pursue multi-sectoral "country transformation programs." They focus on firm-level programs to provide mentoring, networking and financing; and industry-level activities to unlock value chains, promote industrial clusters and accelerate growth. This new approach–complementary to the WBG's traditional focus on macro-level or micro-enterprise strategies for growth–emphasizes the private sector's holistic needs, remaining sensitive to market signals; pursuing a collaborative approach between the Bank and the IFC; and focusing resources through a new multi-donor trust fund, the Competitive Industries and Innovation Program (CIIP). This approach mobilizes all of the WBG's policy, lending and advisory branches – its macroeconomists to design policies, its investment and insurance specialists to develop financial instruments, its environmental specialists to create infrastructure and "green growth" strategies, and its human-development specialists to enhance workplace skills.ResultsExamples of the WBG's competitiveness programs include the following: In Bangladesh: Increased investment and job creation through the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the IFC-funded Bangladesh Investment Climate Facility (BICF) programs.Result: The 8 BICF EPZs resulted in $1.8 billion in investment, 262,748 jobs and $21.7 billion in exports. BEPZA, with the support from BICF, has contributed to increases in investment and employment of $113 million and 15,000 workers from 2007 to 2010In Croatia: Enhanced scientific excellence, commercialization of R&D, and business investments in R&D through collaboration with public research organizations and the private sector.Result: Income of a participating Croatian public research organization from the private sector has risen by 40%, up from 8% before the project. Contracts between 69 research organizations and private-sector industries were signed. Private-sector R&D amounting to $19,570,450 was mobilized. In addition, 12 licensing agreements were signed with the business sector with total value of $1,075,661, and five spinoff companies were created.In East Africa: An enhanced regional investment ecosystem, SME growth potential, and climate change mitigation were promoted through infoDev's Climate Innovation Center (CIC).Result: Three months into its operations, the CIC has mobilized more than 1,000 stakeholders in seven East African countries. With 11 firms receiving support and an additional 24 applications being considered, the CIC is on track to meet its objectives, including creating up to 4,600 jobs over five years, mitigating as much as 0.7 million tons of CO2, generating 90 megawatts of off-grid energy access, and bringing clean water to 110,000 households and better food to 42,000 households.The World Bank money will help me transport my cattle across the border to Nigeria.Bank Group ContributionMore than $4 billion in competitiveness and innovation lending programs have been sourced from the competitiveness and innovation programs, including almost $866 million from IDA/IBRD funds. More than 120 projects are now active worldwide, with 41% of them located in Africa, 20% in Europe and Central Asia, and 13% in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2011, the Facility for Investment Climate Advisory Services (FIAS) funded 128 initiatives strengthen client countries' investment climate. These efforts contributed to 42 policy, administrative and procedural reforms, including 37 in areas tracked by the WBG's Doing Business indicators.A new trust fund, the Competitive Industries and Innovation Program (CIIP), became effective in December 2012 with initial contributions of $8 million from Switzerland and Austria. Further contributions are expected. PartnersThe WBG has funding and thought-leadership partnerships with the European Commission, Austria and Switzerland, which have initiated CIIP. The development agencies of the United Kingdom and Finland are major funding partners for the WBG's InfoDev program. A "brain trust" of scholars, including Ricardo Hausmann, Francis Fukuyama, Dani Rodrik and Charles Sabel, provides counsel to CIIP. Another group of seasoned practitioners includes senior experts from Malaysia, Spain and Chile. In one recent experience, the WBG worked with the Planning Commission of India to organize a colloquium on competitiveness, bringing together experts from Brazil, Korea and Malaysia to exchange lessons learned and to promote South-to-South knowledge exchange.Moving ForwardCIIP is a new component of the WBG's efforts to promote competitiveness, jobs and prosperity. As a multi-donor trust fund, CIIP leverages existing resources and works across sectors, accelerating project preparation time and fund implementation; drawing on Bank and IFC expertise to develop multi-sectoral approaches; and monitoring impact to ensure optimal results. CIIP aims to leverage $6 billion in lending and public-sector investment over five years; to catalyze more than $100 billion in private-sector investment; and to support 15 to 20 large-scale competitiveness projects, global knowledge platforms and knowledge portals. BeneficiariesHassane Bola, a butcher near Maradi, the agricultural hub of Niger's Hausa region, has been helped by the WBG's value-chain activity, which is improving road access, meat storage and processing facilities for SMEs. He says: "[Niger's] meat is famous in the region. Everyone who tastes it says it is excellent. In a good month, I earn enough to support my wife and daughter. I am not rich but, compared to my friends, fate has been kind to me. We have enough millet to eat. The World Bank money will help me transport my cattle across the border to Nigeria. . . . A nicer abattoir will also help convince Nigeria to buy our delicious cut meat. If we have proper veterinary services, our animals will be fatter and [will] fall sick less often." Show Less -