East Asia is one of the most important areas of tropical forests worldwide. Considerable concern has arisen that the East Asian economic crisis would result in a further worsening of the already high pressures experienced by the region’s forests. This report examines the available evidence on...

The World Bank’s Operational Policy on Economic Evaluation of Investment Operations requires that project evaluations include all the costs and benefits generated by the project, including environmental costs and benefits. Theis review examines the use of environmental valuation in 101...

With an estimated loss of up to 20 million ha of forest over the past decade, deforestation in Indonesia has come to the forefront of global environmental concerns. Indonesia is one of the most important areas of tropical forests worldwide. In addition to providing a multitude of benefits...

As part of its efforts to improve the rural economies of its client countries, the World Bank is supporting programs to strengthen land administration and undertake land reform. Land administration projects can include a variety of activities. Usually, the most expensive and that which is most...

Bangladeshi agriculture has undergone a substantial intensification. Continued and accelerated agricultural growth will require intensification to continue. There has been rising concern, however, that intensive agriculture may not be sustainable and that it may be damaging to the environment or...

Valuation studies have considerably increased our knowledge of the value of ecosystems. Their usefulness has often been undermined, however, by a failure to properly frame them so as to address the specific question of interest. Valuation is not a single activity, and the seemingly simple...

Adoption of improved silvopastoral practices in degraded pasture areas is thought to provide valuable local and global environmental benefits, including biodiversity conservation, However, these practices are insufficiently attractive to individual land users for them to adopt them...