With the passing of the National Rural Employment Act (NREGA) in 2005, the Government of India established a landmark provision that enables communities to act as watchdogs on local level implementation of the Government's flagship anti-poverty program. While the concept of 'social audits'...

The foundation of good corporate governance is the intellectual honesty of directors and senior management. This intellectual honesty is expressed by acting in the best interests of the incapacitated company. The company, on formation, is a person, but it is absolutely incapacitated until its...

This report provides estimates of social and financial costs of environmental damage in India from three pollution damage categories: (i) urban air pollution, including particulate matter and lead; (ii) inadequate water supply, poor sanitation, and hygiene; (iii) indoor air pollution; and four...

The Latin America and Caribbean Region has been at the forefront of global biodiversity conservation, dedicating 20 percent of its land to protected areas compared to 13 percent in the rest of the developing world. This progress has stretched available budgets for conservation with estimates...

Global warming and changes in climate have already had observed impacts on natural ecosystems and species. Natural systems such as wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, cloud forests, and Arctic and high-latitude ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate-induced disturbances. However, enhanced...

This issue of environment matters celebrates the 2010 international year of biodiversity and describes some of the challenges and opportunities in protecting biodiversity for the benefit of humankind. From the world's highest mountain ranges to the lowland plains, and from the great oceans and...

The World Bank's mission is to alleviate poverty and support sustainable development. Climate change is a serious environmental challenge that could undermine these goals. Since the industrial revolution, the mean surface temperature of earth has increased an average 2 degree Celsius due to the...

Climate change is a serious environmental challenge that could undermine the drive for sustainable development. Since the industrial revolution, the mean surface temperature of earth has increased an average of 1degree celsius per century due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the...

Climate change is a serious environmental challenge that could undermine the drive for sustainable development. Since the industrial revolution, the mean surface temperature of earth has increased an average of 1degree celsius per century due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the...

This project (1996-2001), whose total cost was $1.6 million, intended to (a) protect critically endangered biodiversity of international importance by restoring degraded small island habitats and propagating and reintroducing endemic species to these habitats; and (b) strengthen capacity for the...