Globally, an estimated 24 percent of the disease burden (healthy life years lost) and an estimated 23 percent of all deaths (premature mortality) are attributable to environmental risks (World Health Organization, or WHO 2006). The burden of disease is unequally shared, with the children and the...

This paper describes the study undertaken to assist the government of Sri Lanka in identifying a path toward sustainable power development. The timing of the report is important, as Sri Lanka is about to embark on the development of coal-fired power plants over the coming years. The purpose of...

In Japan, the sustainable development of cities and provinces has been vigorously pursued since the late 1990s under various programs through the initiative of the central government and local authorities. In 2009, the World Bank launched an urban development initiative called Eco2 Cities:...

Ecuador is a country with exceptional natural resource and environmental advantages and challenges. It is strategically located and has considerable oil reserves in the interior and the coastal region. This document does not aim to describe the state of the environment in Ecuador. Rather, its...

Indonesia is an oil producing country and is the only East Asian member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Over the years, this endowment of oil resources has been steadily exploited with substantial rents flowing to the government from production and exports of crude...

This environment strategy outlines the current thinking in the World Bank Group Africa Region about priorities and actions for the institution in the environmental arena. The Africa Region Environment Strategy (ARES) outlines the Bank's commitment to help its clients achieve sustainable poverty...

This staff sector assessment note accompanies the recently completed national environmental action plan for sustainable development (NEAP-SD), which, as an output of the Industrial Pollution Control Project in Algeria, focused on charting a new course for environmental management in the country,...

This report analyzes, through a review of the regulatory framework, case studies, and international experiences, current arrangements for coordination of government programs in priority regions in Mexico, as well as opportunities for better addressing the development needs of those regions via...

This Strategy Note sets out a framework for World Bank involvement in the environment sector in the immediate to medium term. It elaborates upon and reinforces the environmental objectives specified in Thailand's Eighth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1997-2001) and the World...

This study presents a detailed analysis of the system of environmental expenditure in Ukraine with a particular focus on public expenditures. It examines the extent to which the present system meets national environmental objectives and identifies ways in which it can be improved and made more...