Ports have always played an essential role in this highly trade-dependent region. While there are still wide disparities in terms of throughput volumes and capacity, traffic has been growing rapidly in most countries over the last decade. Overall, total throughput in West Africa grew from around...

This report advances usable knowledge on how climate change and conflict interact in the region. Its findings contribute to a growing body of research examining the links between climate change and conflict outcomes. Its objective is twofold: first, to strengthen the evidence base on the...

By advancing knowledge on digital climate information and agriculture advisory services ('agromet services') in support of West Africa's farmers, this report has two objectives. First, it aims to identify priority actions for promoting digital agromet services under the West Africa Food System...

The circular economy has become a priority in recent decades as policy makers seek to facilitate a transition from linear production systems to closed systems that reuse resources, reduce energy consumption and avoid the exploitation of nonrenewable resources. This regional gap analysis reveals...

Plastic pollution is a worldwide environmental challenge. In coastal West Africa, about 80 percent of plastic waste is mismanaged, posing escalating challenges to people, the economy, and the coastal and marine environment. This Synthesis Paper was prepared to inform decision-makers from the...

Rapidly growing, unregulated plastic litter has created a multitude of environmental and economic problems worldwide. With an estimated lifetime of centuries, plastic waste has become a major stressor in marine ecosystems. In West Africa, the use of plastic products has proliferated with...

Policy makers across the Middle East and North Africa have for many years articulated plans to integrate their people spatially and economically. Wishing to bring communities together and narrow economic gaps, governments have made large capital investments in transport corridors and "new...

Addressing regional disparities is key to unlocking Russia's potential to achieve stronger gains in growth and equity outcomes as well as to improve its institutional environment. While spatial disparities have been an important policy concern in Russia for a long time, inequalities across its...

Russia's spatial disparities stem largely from its economic geography, which is unique and has no parallels even when compared to seemingly similar countries such as Australia and Canada. While Australia and Canada also have large land masses and even lower population densities than Russia, a...

On average, Vietnam has achieved remarkable improvements in nutritional status in recent decades, but improvements in national aggregates mask wide disparities and a persistent 'very high' burden among disadvantaged ethnic minority groups. Between 2000 and 2010, national stunting rates dropped...