This report is about how to progressively reduce over time Afghanistan's dependence on opium - currently the country's leading economic activity - by development initiatives and shifting economic incentives toward sustainable legal livelihoods. Specifically, the report identifies additional...

This Note outlines a larger report describing the changing context of demand and supply for agricultural water. It identifies the policy, institutional, and incentive reform options that will accelerate improvements in productivity and pro-poor growth in this sector. It articulates priorities...

This Note is based on the report, "Shaping the Future of Water for Agriculture: A Sourcebook for Investment in Agricultural Water Management," which presents a range of solutions and good practices from World Bank and worldwide experience are documented to meet the challenges of agricultural...

This working paper draws from the joint World Bank and World Meteorological Organization / Global Water Partnership Integrated Drought Management Program (IDMP) work stream on benefits of action and costs of inaction (BACI) for drought preparedness and mitigation. It suggests a methodological...

"Shared water resources in Israel and Palestine are often the site of political, economic, historical, legal and ethical contestation. In this, the first of two volumes on the subject, the authors look beyond the political tensions of the region, to argue for the need for shared water security...

"Shared water resources in Israel and Palestine are often the site of political, economic, historical, legal and ethical contestation. In this, the second of two volumes on the subject, the authors look beyond the political tensions of the region, to argue for the need for shared water security...

Reliable supplies of water for agriculture have helped meet rapidly rising demand for food in developing countries, making farms more profitable, reducing poverty, and helping vast regions of the world develop more dynamic and diversified economies. Can these successes be sustained with demand...

A watershed is an area that supplies water by surface or subsurface flow to a drainage system or body of water. Watersheds vary from a few hectares to thousands of square kilometers. Watershed management (WSM) is the integrated use of land, vegetation, and water in a specific drainage area with...

Agricultural water has been seen as a prime mechanism for fostering rural economic growth and reducing rural poverty. But agricultural water has encountered problems of performance, profitability and sustainability. This resulted in a reduction in investments from governments and lending from...