Latin America & Caribbean | World Bank

Brazil - Sao Paulo Sustainable Rural Development and Access to Markets : P108443 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 06

2013-06-18T04:00:00.000Z

Colombia - CO Sustainable Development Inv Project : P082520 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 15

2013-06-18T04:00:00.000Z

The project Promotion of Public Participation in the Public Financial Management Oversight has changed to Closed

2013-06-18T04:00:00.000Z

The project Promotion of Public Participation in the Public Financial Management Oversight has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Rio de Janeiro Strengthening Public Sector Management Technical Assistance Project has changed to Active

2013-06-18T04:00:00.000Z

The project Rio de Janeiro Strengthening Public Sector Management Technical Assistance Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Rio de Janeiro Strengthening Public Sector Management Technical Assistance Project for Brazil is to support institutional capacity strengthening in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro to enhance public service delivery, including in health, education and environmental management. The project has 4 components. (1) Fiscal and public investment management component will provide support for the improving medium term fiscal and public investment management process through the integration of impact evaluation results, performance information and proposed policy changes in the planning and budget process; and the carrying out of diagnostic evaluations, and the implementation of the recommended actions resulting from said evaluations. (2) Innovating in service provision component will provide further support to innovations introduced that have proven effective in improving health and education service delivery. (3) Strengthening social governance and monitoring and impact evaluation component will focus on strengthening the program operational systems, as well as on promoting innovations in the way sectoral policies are coordinated in order to promote the integration of secured favelas. (4) Innovating environmental management component will develop the institutional framework for the development and implementation of the monitoring system; support technical assistance, equipment, and training to ensure an effective data collection, modeling, reporting and monitoring and evaluation.

The project Sao Paulo State Sustainable Transport Project has changed to Active

2013-06-18T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sao Paulo State Sustainable Transport Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Sao Paulo Sustainable Transport Project for Brazil is to contribute to the improvement of the Borrower's transport and logistics efficiency and safety while enhancing the Borrower's capacity in environmental and disaster risk management. The project has three components. The first component is improving transport and logistics efficiency and safety. This component will provide support to improve the state's transport and logistics efficiency and safety, through carrying out the following activities: (i) rehabilitating and upgrading the state's transport networks; and (ii) sustainable transport planning and management. The second component is strengthening sustainable environmental and land use planning and territorial management capacity. This component will provide support in the area of land use planning and territorial management and environmental management, through carrying out the following activities: (a) supporting sustainable land use planning and territorial management; (b) improving environmental enforcement and environment quality monitoring; and (c) supporting the modernization of the environmental licensing system. The third component is increasing state's resilience to natural disasters. This component will provide support to enhance the state capacity to plan for and manage disasters through carrying out the following activities: (1) mainstreaming disaster risk management in the transport sector; and (2) enhancing disaster risk management policy and institutional capacity.

Globalized, resilient, dynamic : the new face of Latin America and the Caribbean

2013-06-17T04:00:00.000Z

Many countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, especially in South America, fared well during the global crisis and are now on a strong growth path. The regions recession in 2009 was relatively short lived and, with the notable exception of Mexico, remarkably mild. The current pace of economic recovery is exceeding expectations, with gross domestic product (GDP) projected to grow in the 5-6 percent range in 2010. This report discusses LAC's newfound resilience in the midst of financial globalization, examining key features of the cyclical behavior of LAC economies in comparison to other emerging economies and to its own past. Resilience is defined throughout this report in a broad sense to denote the ability of an economy to navigate with minimum disturbances through shocks, cushioning their negative spillovers in bad times, and recovering fast after a downturn. The report is structured as follows: first, it evaluates the relative performance of LAC countries during the contractionary period generated by the recent global crisis, to shed light on LAC's ability to shield its economies or soften the blow of a large external shock. Second, a similar exercise is conducted for the recovery phase of the cycle, when in the aftermath of an external shock more resilient countries will be expected to have a faster and more robust recovery. Third, it takes a deeper look at the different driving forces behind the recovery, including the role of domestic demand, commodity prices, and the connection to emerging Asia. Fourth, it provides evidence of the ability of different countries in LAC to conduct counter-cyclical policies in response to the global financial crisis. Lastly, a concluding section warns about the main macro-financial tensions and challenges lying ahead for the region.

Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Appraisal Stage) - Ecuador - Quito Metro Line One - P144489

2013-06-17T04:00:00.000Z

Official Documents- Amended Disbursement Letter for Credit 4471-NI and Grant H407 and H815

2013-06-17T04:00:00.000Z

Shifting gears to accelerate shared prosperity in Latin America and Caribbean

2013-06-17T04:00:00.000Z

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have made laudable progress in the past fifteen years in reducing poverty, building the middle class and promoting prosperity for all levels of society. Extreme poverty, defined in this region as life on less than $2.50 a day, has declined by half, while in 2011, for the first time in recorded history, the LAC region had a larger number of people in the middle class than in poverty. Across this region of close to 600 million people, the poor have been gaining faster than the already well off. But despite these impressive achievements, about 80 million people still live in extreme poverty, half of them in Brazil and Mexico. And millions more who have risen out of poverty risk being pulled back down into it by economic shocks and severe weather brought on by climate change. This brief reviews LAC's progress toward these objectives, outlines the continuing challenges and proposes a policy framework for keeping the region on its upward arc and picking up the speed.

Social spending, distribution, and equality of opportunities : opportunity incidence analysis

2013-06-17T04:00:00.000Z

Existing evidence forms a body of "conventional wisdom" on the redistributive impact of fiscal policies that has been recently questioned by more disaggregated analyses. This paper proposes an additional extension to the traditional benefit incidence analysis to explore further the extent to which the conventional wisdom holds, as well as to provide effective guidance in fiscal decision making. The benefit incidence analysis extension includes linking fiscal policies with the concept of equality of opportunities. The paper describes this approach and showcases the application of the proposed "opportunity incidence analysis" to six pilot countries: Liberia, Cote dIvoire, Zambia, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Paraguay. Three main contributions stand out: first, opportunity incidence analysis complements traditional benefit incidence analysis by applying its mechanics to a more forward looking concept of equal opportunity. Second, opportunities can be used to target public spending with higher precision. Third, micro-simulations can be used to understand the cost-effectiveness of alternative spending interventions that seek to improve equality of opportunities. All of these results complement the diagnosis produced by traditional incidence analysis and provide useful information to guide specific policy decisions.

The project Costa Rica Pilot on Early Warning Systems for Hydrometeorological Hazards has changed to Closed

2013-06-16T04:00:00.000Z

The project Costa Rica Pilot on Early Warning Systems for Hydrometeorological Hazards has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

Argentina - Norte Grande Road Infrastructure : P120198 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 05

2013-06-14T04:00:00.000Z

Mexico - Second Programmatic Upper Secondary Education Development Policy Loan : P126297 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 02

2013-06-14T04:00:00.000Z

Peru - Mainstreaming inclusive design and universal mobility in Lima : P129561 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 02

2013-06-14T04:00:00.000Z

Supporting women through agriculture projects in the Latin America and Caribbean Region

2013-06-14T04:00:00.000Z

In the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Region, agriculture projects cover a variety of activities such as agricultural production, off-farm employment, access and management of water resources (irrigation), land titling and land management, as well as access to markets and financial services. Women represent the majority of the rural poor, and increasing the economic productivity of the rural poor is largely about enabling women to realize their socioeconomic potential more fully and improve both, their own and their families' quality of life. To this end, in 2008 the Agriculture and Rural Development Unit of the Latin America and Caribbean Region (LCSAR) received a grant of $250,000 from the Gender Action Plan (GAP) to mainstream gender into already existing projects in the region. The GAP was a multi-donor trust fund that ran from 2007-11. Its focus was to advance women's economic empowerment as a means to promote shared growth and accelerate the attainment of third millennium development goal, which is to promote gender equality and empower women.

Main report

2013-06-13T04:00:00.000Z

The objectives of the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PRONASAR) for Peru are to increase the sustainable use of new and rehabilitated water supply and sanitation facilities in rural areas and small towns while emphasizing improvement in hygiene practices and training in operation and maintenance. This second level restructuring project is financed by two loans, the first loan was approved in 2002 for fifty million US dollar, and another additional financing loan of thirty million US dollar approved in 2010.The restructuring will bring the following changes: a) closing date to be advanced from December 31, 2013 to June 30, 2013; b) reallocation of funds for first loan ; and c) change in financing percentages for first loan , the percentage of expenditures to be financed by the bank corresponding to categories 4 and 6 need to be modified in order to allow for payments of all ongoing contracts to be made with 100 percentage of the loans resources, allowing for the total execution of the remaining balance.

Data sheet

2013-06-13T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Land Management Project has changed to Closed

2013-06-13T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Land Management Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Sustainable Land Management Project for Chile is to develop a national framework for sustainable land management to combat land degradation, mainstream biodiversity into national policies, and protect forest carbon assets. The project has 5 components. (1) National sustainable land management (SLM) framework component will: (a) carry out of an assessment of the potential of the member country's existing agriculture, forestry, ranching and conservation programs to be part of the SLM framework; and (b) develop recommendations to update said programs in order to become part of the SLM framework and the identify the gaps between said existing programs and the requirements of the National SLM Framework and development of proposals to cover those gaps. (2) SLM pilot projects component will develop a strategic plan for each strategic pilot area, carry out the demonstration and capacity building activities, and technical assistance. (3) SLM monitoring and evaluation system component will: (i) carry out of studies to identify the users' needs and technology requirements; (ii) provide the required hardware and software; (iii) provide the technical assistance for SLM data management; and (iv) develop the operational manuals. (4) Institutional capacity building component includes: development of inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms to support the SLM Framework; carrying out of capacity building activities to improve SLM; design and implementation of outreach activities and strategies to disseminate SLM informationp; development and implementation of a university-level course on SLM; and development and carrying out of an international seminar on SLM. (5) Project management component will provide the support for project management through provisioning training, workshops, and audits.

OECS Countries - Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction APL1 - Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines : P117871 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 04

2013-06-12T04:00:00.000Z

Panama - Rural Productivity Project (GEF) : P083045 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 14

2013-06-12T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Land Management Project has changed to Active

2013-06-12T04:00:00.000Z

The project Sustainable Land Management Project has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Public and Social Sector Transformation Project (PSST) has changed to Active

2013-06-11T04:00:00.000Z

The project Public and Social Sector Transformation Project (PSST) has changed to Active. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objective of the Public and Social Sector Transformation Project for Antigua and Barbuda is to assist the borrower in: (i) strengthening its capacity in managing public policies and the public service; (ii) improving the efficiency of social protection spending through an integrated monitoring and targeting system; and (iii) improving the income and employability of the vulnerable population through temporary employment and training programs. The project has five components. The first component is build effective institutions for strategic management of government policies. This component will enhance the borrowers capacity to improve the quality of decision-making through coordinated planning to facilitate alignment of resources with government policy priorities. The second component is Modernize Human Resource Management (HRM). This component will modernize the borrowers public service human resource management through the following activities: (a) the establishment of an integrated public service employment regime; and (b) the establishment of an effective public service management system to support the new single public service structure. The third component is to improve the efficiency of social protection spending. This component will provide support to the Ministry of Health, Social Transformation and Consumer Affairs (MHST) to carry out the following activities: (i) the design and implementation of a unified targeting system and a single registry for beneficiaries of social protection programs for carrying out the recertification and identification of beneficiaries of social protection programs14 aimed at improving the efficiency and efficacy of social public spending; and (ii) strengthening its capacity to plan, coordinate and monitor the borrowers social policy, including developing effective institutional arrangements for coordination of the social sector and establishing a mechanism to foster governance. The fourth component is support active labor market programs. This component will provide support to the Ministry of National Security and Labor (MNSL). The fifth component is project management. This component will provide support to the Project Management Unit (PMU), including: (i) the hiring of selected contract staff (a project coordinator, a financial management specialist, a procurement specialist, a HRM specialist and a communication specialist); and (ii) provision of assistance in carrying out of annual financial audits required under the project and process evaluations during project implementation.

Bolivia - BO PICAR Community Investment in Rural Areas : P107137 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 04

2013-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

Bolivia - BO Rural Alliances : P083051 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 15

2013-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

Bolivia - Second Participatory Rural Investment : P101298 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 13

2013-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

Can conditional cash transfers compensate for a father's absence ?

2013-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

This paper investigates how the permanent departure of the father from a household affects children's school enrollment and work participation in rural Colombia. The results indicate that the permanent departure of the father decreases children's school enrollment by approximately 5 percentage points and increases child labor by 3 percentage points. This paper explores the rollout of a conditional-cash-transfer program during the period of study and shows that this program counteracts these adverse effects. When coupled with other evidence, this finding strongly suggests that the channel through which the father's departure most affects children is by reducing the income of very poor households, which tightens their liquidity constraints. This finding also highlights the important safety-net role played by welfare programs with respect to disadvantaged households, particularly because these households are unlikely to have formal or informal mechanisms with which to insure themselves against such vagaries.

Guatemala - LAND ADMINISTRATION II APL : P087106 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 15

2013-06-10T04:00:00.000Z

The project Dominican Republic National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) has changed to Closed

2013-06-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Dominican Republic National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project BR - Road Transport Project has changed to Closed

2013-06-01T04:00:00.000Z

The project BR - Road Transport Project has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Brazil Road Transport Project's ultimate development objective is to stimulate higher economic growth by increasing effectiveness in the use of the federal road infrastructure. The project is expected to: 1) improve the quality of public expenditures in the road sector, by (a) expanding the use of output-based contracts, and (b) streamlining procedures and strengthening capacity in the National Department for Transport Infrastructure to manage contracts, including revision of design, procurement, contract award and supervision, as well as payments; 2) support the Government in pursuing policy discussions with respect to the progressive decentralization of the federal road network to states and of the management of portions of the road network to the private sector; and 3) promote an adequate allocation of resources to increase the efficiency and sustainability of the Federal Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to improve the road network condition to economically-optimized levels. The objective is to be achieved through two project components: (1) support to the first phase of the Federal Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program; and (2) a comprehensive program of institutional strengthening activities to improve efficiency and sustainability of road transport investment programs.

The project GUATEMALA Maternal and Infant Health and Nutrition has changed to Closed

2013-06-01T04:00:00.000Z

The project GUATEMALA Maternal and Infant Health and Nutrition has changed to Closed. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Maternal and Infant Health and Nutrition Project for Guatemala aims to improve maternal and infant health in the project's 40 areas of intervention; and to reduce chronic malnutrition among children younger than 2 years of age in the rural areas of the 70 municipalities targeted by the project. This extension was granted to enable completion of civil works in 35 maternal and child health care centers under component one and design and implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system for the nutrition and health intervention under component three. A careful review of future project expenditures indicates that not all of the estimated funds for category of consultants' services, training, and audits, category 4-b of health services under second part of the project, category five of operating costs, and category eight of unallocated will be needed and that a total of US$4,545,350.19 from these four expenditure categories could be reallocated to two other expenditure categories. The increase for expenditure in the category of goods and associated services amounts to US$3,535,350.10 is also a reason of reallocation. Costs for services and goods especially for equipping and furnishing health care facilities have increased significantly since project preparation was finalized in December 2005.

The project Honduras Additional Financing Social Protection is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-31T04:00:00.000Z

The project Honduras Additional Financing Social Protection is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project DO Flexible Employment System Project (FESP) is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-15T04:00:00.000Z

The project DO Flexible Employment System Project (FESP) is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Climate Resillient Infrastructure is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-07T04:00:00.000Z

The project Climate Resillient Infrastructure is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Ecuador - Quito Metro Line One is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-06T04:00:00.000Z

The project Ecuador - Quito Metro Line One is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in the North Region of Haiti is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in the North Region of Haiti is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Management and Protection of Key Biodiversity Areas in Belize is now in the pipeline.

2013-05-02T04:00:00.000Z

The project Management and Protection of Key Biodiversity Areas in Belize is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

World Bank - IMF Chorus Concert

2013-05-01T17:00:00.000Z

The World Bank-IMF Chorus is presenting it's spring concerts of favourite choruses from around the world on:

- Tuesday, May 7 at 1pm in IMF HQ2 Conference Hall
- Wednesday, May 8 at 1pm in the WB MC Atrium

Admission is free - guest passes needed for non-Bank & IMF badge holders.

http://www.wbimfchorus.org/

The project EC Manta Public Services Improvement Project is now in the pipeline.

2013-04-23T04:00:00.000Z

The project EC Manta Public Services Improvement Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Andes Adaptation to the Impact of Climate Change in Water Resources is now in the pipeline.

2013-04-20T04:00:00.000Z

The project Andes Adaptation to the Impact of Climate Change in Water Resources is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Third Phase Disaster Vuln.Reduction APL for Dominica is now in the pipeline.

2013-04-10T04:00:00.000Z

The project Third Phase Disaster Vuln.Reduction APL for Dominica is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project HN AF WSS Modernization is now in the pipeline.

2013-03-20T04:00:00.000Z

The project HN AF WSS Modernization is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The objectives of the Water and Sanitation Sector Modernization Project additional financing for Honduras are to support the recipient to improve: (a) the sustainability, efficiency, and reliability of its Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) services in eligible municipalities; (b) the performance of its national WSS sector institutions in the exercise of their respective roles in accordance with the WSS Sector Framework Law; and (c) its capacity to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible emergency. The project has five components. (1) Supporting eligible municipalities to create autonomous WSS service providers and to invest in efficiency, rehabilitation, and expansion of WSS service delivery. (2) Tegucigalpa non-revenue water reduction. (3) Institutional strengthening of national and regional WSS sector institutions. (4) Project management. (5) Immediate Response Mechanism (IRM) contingent component will support the response to an eligible emergency.

Full Steam Ahead: World Bank Seeks “Global Push” for Geothermal Energy Revolution

2013-03-06T05:12:41.000Z

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Nearly 40 countries have enough geothermal potential to meet a significant proportion of their electricity needs.

• World Bank calls for a Global Geothermal Development Plan to bring geothermal power to millions in developing countries.

• Geothermal lending in 2012 was $336 million, almost 10% of the World Bank’s total renewable energy lending.

March 6, 2013

Over a thousand years ago, the Norse settler Ingólfur Arnarson named the capital of Iceland Reykjavik, or “smoky bay” in English, for what he thought was smoke rising from the ground. In fact, it was steam rising from hot springs. A millennium later, Iceland is still tapping this resource. Over 25% of Iceland's electricity comes from geothermal energy. Nine out of ten buildings are heated by waste heat from geothermal power plants.

Iceland is one of about 40 countries with enough geothermal potential to meet a significant proportion of their energy needs. But global potential remains largely undeveloped. To date, geothermal electricity capacity has reached only 11 gigawatts worldwide – only 0.3% of total global power generation.

The main obstacle for geothermal projects has been the initial test drilling phase, which is expensive and risky. Proving the viability of a single steam field can cost US$15-25 million, and if a site has no potential, this investment is lost.

To change this picture, the World Bank is launching a Global Geothermal Development Plan to bring together donors and multilateral lenders around an investment plan to scale up geothermal power in the developing world. The Plan focuses on exploratory test drilling, with the goal of developing a pipeline of commercially-viable projects that are ready for private investment.

Geothermal energy could be a triple-win for developing countries: clean, reliable, locally-produced power. And once it is up and running, it is cheap and virtually endless. || Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director, The World Bank

Speaking at the Iceland Geothermal Conference in Reykjavik on March 6, World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati called on donors, multilateral banks, governments and the private sector to join the Plan and bring what is now a marginal renewable energy source into the mainstream to deliver power to millions.

“Geothermal energy could be a triple-win for developing countries: clean, reliable, locally-produced power. And once it is up and running, it is cheap and virtually endless,” said Sri Mulyani Indrawati. “The World Bank Group, and many of our partners, support the goals of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, led by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and our President Jim Yong Kim. Two of those goals are universal access to modern energy services, and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. Geothermal energy will be a major step towards both.”

Many developing world regions are rich in geothermal resources, including East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, and the Andean region. Already, the World Bank and Iceland are working together under a “Geothermal Compact” to support surface exploration studies and technical assistance for countries in Africa’s Rift Valley—Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia are participating with Zambia expected to join soon.

The Global Geothermal Development Plan expands on previous efforts by its global scope, and its focus on test drilling. It will identify promising sites and leverage financing for exploratory drilling, to develop commercially viable projects. The Plan’s initial target is to mobilize US$500 million. Donors can participate by identifying viable projects, and through bilateral assistance, as well as by contributing to existing channels such as the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) or the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GGDP will be managed by the World Bank’s longstanding Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

The World Bank will convene donors later this year to discuss financing of specific geothermal projects under the plan. The Bank Group’s financing for geothermal development began in the 1970s and has increased from $73 million in 2007 to $336 million in 2012. It now represents almost 10 percent of the Bank’s total renewable energy lending.

Geothermal is also the energy source with the smallest land footprint per kilowatt hour, making it especially attractive in developing countries where population densities are high and land is at a premium.

“Until now, our work has been at the country and regional levels,” Sri Mulyani said. “These efforts are important, and should continue. But a global push is what is needed now. Only a global effort will put geothermal energy in its rightful place – as a primary energy source for many developing countries. Only a global effort will pool resources to spread the risk effectively. It will let us learn from each other, from our failures and successes, and apply that learning.”

Resources

Crossing Boundaries

2012-09-06T23:45:00.000Z

As prepared for delivery

Friday, September 7, 2012

World Conservation Congress

Jeju, Korea

Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Sustainable Development

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen - I am honored to have been asked to make the keynote address at this vital gathering of conservation thinking, leadership and action. I am particularly delighted to be here as I had the privilege and honor to work at IUCN a number of years ago. It feels good to be back again!

This Congress brings together some of the world’s smartest thinkers on the policy and practice of conservation and environmental protection. If anyone is going to guide the world in new ways of thinking and acting, it is this group of 7,000 or more which traverses all spheres - private, public, civil society, multilateral, large, small, left, right.

You, as a group, are not at the fringes of decision-making - you are at the very heart of it. Your scientific research, dedication, pursuit of better policies and connections to community all go towards much better, more informed decision-making.

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to cross some of the boundaries that very often define our perceptions and determine the work in our institutions. My perspectives changed as I moved from IUCN to working with private companies during my time at the World Bank’s private sector arm - the IFC - and they’re changing again now as Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank.

Today, I am convinced that we will have to make a bigger effort to cross boundaries – between our organizations, across public and private sectors and within civil society - so that we reach a better future for our planet.

Let’s take a look at just some of the evidence of environmental decline before us. Evidence is one of the many things that the World Bank and IUCN share.

· The number and size of populations of the world’s species have decreased by almost a third over the last 100 years and this is projected to continue decreasing

· Over 60 percent of ecosystems are in worse shape now than 50 years ago

· 85 percent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited or over-exploited or depleted

· The condition of coral reefs has deteriorated by 38 percent since 1980

· 80 percent of people live in areas where the quality of rivers is threatened

· Climate change is worsening everything. Flood disasters increased by 230 percent and drought disasters by 38 per cent in the 20 years to the early 2000s.

At the same time that this assault on nature has been occurring, we have enjoyed an unrivalled period of economic growth which has seen 660 million people lifted out of poverty in the past 20 years. Don’t get me wrong - we are not saying we need to stop growth to protect nature. Rather, we are calling for a different kind of growth - a greener and more inclusive growth.

An indispensable part of this will be realizing the potential of ecosystems within our economies and to put nature at the foundation of economic strategies. Nature needs to be firmly on the agendas of finance ministers and discussed in board rooms with the focus on building the public-private partnerships to invest in our natural wealth.

Are we ready to do this? Increasingly the World Bank Group is. Now let me share with you three reasons for my cautious optimism that others are ready too.

Firstly, governments are increasingly stepping up - whether by increasing the number and extent of areas under protection or by better recognizing the value of nature and ecosystem services.

Governments, however, are facing daily trade-offs - for example - building a road through a park so that farmers can have better access to markets and/or conserving a road-less national park. Or, they’re weighing up a marina in a mangrove area to boost tourism versus protecting it for its fish breeding, storm protection and carbon storage values.

Effective conservation cannot and will not be driven just by conservation for conservation’s sake. Fortunately, governments increasingly recognize that maintaining and, eventually, accounting for their natural capital comes down to a question of social and economic development. There may not be simple win-wins all the time; but there may be approaches that can come close enough.

We are seeing more and more good examples. In the State of Acre in the northwestern corner of Brazil, the State Government has been making a concerted effort to bring services to its dispersed rural population and to move away from a growth model based on extraction of forest products and expansive agriculture. Where previously 90 percent of Acre’s timber extraction was illegal, now the majority comes from approved forest management plans. Real GDP has increased by over 44 percent and deforestation rates have declined by 70 percent. Acre is showing that safeguarding a state’s natural wealth will also help lift its people out of poverty.

In Liberia, the government has installed a chain of custody system for exporting logs that is helping reduce illegal logging and bringing in much-needed funding for conservation. The Government is also enforcing fishing regulations and arresting vessels found to be fishing illegally.

To manage trade-offs, governments need better information on the economic and social effects of their decisions. More and more governments are embracing the need to use natural capital accounts alongside GDP. At the World Bank Group, we are working with countries from Botswana to the Philippines to put the value of natural capital into the center of their economic decision making. After the 50:50 Campaign at Rio, 62 countries have signed on to support natural capital accounting along with the heads of close to 90 companies. These companies are doing this for competitive reasons - they need to be able to value their assets over the long term.

That brings me to the second reason for my optimism -- the growing leadership coming from parts of the private sector, be they small businesses and local entrepreneurs or Fortune 500 companies.

I see real traction emerging from the advent of rigorous performance standards and principles for corporate behavior. For example, we are beginning to see evidence that the revised IFC Performance Standard on Biodiversity is driving major change both at corporate headquarters and, more importantly, on the ground.

Companies working in developing countries are increasingly investing in biodiversity expertise, in community development, environmental restoration and long-term conservation capacity building. The big shift is that companies are beginning to see this as more than reputational risk management and rather as a way to improve their operations and manage business risk, a key part of creating value. Mainstreaming nature conservation across their operations makes good business sense. Why? Because many companies depend on freshwater, genetic resources, climate regulation, and natural hazard protection to run their businesses successfully and to see their profits grow.

As well as making good business sense, conserving nature and maintaining the resilience of ecosystems upon which people and business depend, allows companies to build trust in the communities in which they operate and among stakeholders abroad. This creates something many call a “social license to operate”.

We are beginning to see more and more companies engage with conservation organizations and external experts to better understand the environment in which they are working. This has inspired some companies to go beyond the minimization of project impacts but also to consider how they might contribute to conservation more broadly.

One example is Rio Tinto which launched its biodiversity strategy at this Congress in 2004. That strategy committed the company to making a Net Positive Impact on biodiversity through its operations. For the past seven years, the company has been piloting the strategy - working alongside government, conservation groups and civil society in Madagascar to build public sector capacity, develop livelihood alternatives, and establish offsets to conserve high biodiversity value areas.

Other examples include Shell in Gabon and Peru LNG which have been working together with the Smithsonian Institution to develop science-based assessment and monitoring of project impacts.

I also see the first few encouraging examples from the finance sector in integrating nature and ecosystem services protection into their investments.

That takes me to my third reason for optimism - that the need for action is overcoming global political sclerosis.

Rio+20 confirmed for me that while at the global level we lack political leadership today to gain consensus, global inaction is being overwhelmed by the ideas, the innovation and the real commitment to action from smart policymakers, city mayors, community leaders and CEOs.

Like-minded coalitions across sectors emerged on almost all issues. People gravitated to ideas and approaches that promised action - whether that was about ocean health, natural capital accounting, access to sustainable energy or reducing short-term climate pollutants.

For the more than 1000 business executives who attended Rio, the message was that action on sustainability is all about future markets, future products, future employees, future investors, and competitiveness linked to sustainability as shared value.

There was an almost overwhelming sense that while we need global governance for ultimate speed and scale, we cannot afford to wait for international agreements to do what everyone knows needs to be done. For every square bracket negotiated, a species is lost and that window of opportunity gets smaller and smaller.

…………………

So, while I have these reasons for cautious optimism --- I am also speaking from a place of urgency. To address the challenges ahead, each and every one of us will have to cross boundaries and we in the conservation community will need to move collectively outside our comfort zones. To this end, I have three appeals.

First to governments: Governments have responsibilities to their citizens that are measured in units of finance – jobs, tax receipts, GDP. We are not naïve: There can be and will be tensions between conservation and development; that’s why public servants need to be armed with the tools and information they need to make fully informed decisions. And that’s why those of you here who work in government should unpack the economic benefits of conservation and translate them into real numbers through natural capital accounting to transform conservation from a discrete sector to an engine of inclusive green growth.

Second to the Private Sector: To be part of the solution, companies need to raise the profile of nature conservation in their boardrooms and recognize the value of nature to their bottom lines. On the ground, companies need to commit to best management practices which will sometimes mean working beyond their immediate project areas to offset impacts and to secure supply chains. This raises technical, political and governance challenges which is why companies need to reach out and offer a hand in partnership to governments, to conservation organizations and even to each other. We hear from the private sector the need for a level playing field when it comes to best practice in biodiversity management. A coordinated and loud voice from industry groups towards government regulators might be part of the solution.

We also need to find ways to bring to scale financial instruments like green bonds, conservation banking, subsidy reform, license to operate agreements for generating new potential sources of support so that good practice can be rewarded with access to capital.

Third to Civil Society: Very often, civil society, conservation organizations and academic institutions are the backbone of any commitment to conserving nature.

But it is important to remember that it’s governments that have the main responsibility for the stewardship of natural assets. These are their citizen’s natural assets; governments must manage them. The rest of us – civil society, donors and philanthropists – must work together, provide them support while demanding transparency and holding them to account, so that they can do more and do it better.

We in the conservation community need to see the private sector as full partners for solutions and not just a threat or a fundraising opportunity. For example, in public private partnerships - if we were able to develop aggregated offsets, is the conservation community collectively ready to provide the means for verification?

Across all these areas of engagement, the World Bank Group stands ready to do its part and to do more:

We entered the debate on green growth in May 2012 through our report ‘Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development’. We want to contribute, in particular by focusing on the inclusiveness of green growth, on the importance of sound fiscal policies - like the removal of inefficient fuel subsidies - and on ensuring that nature considerations are taken into account in economic decision-making. Our work on green growth is, importantly, supported by the Korean Government.

With new energy and emphasis around Natural Capital Accounting stemming from Rio, it is crucial to keep up the political support and momentum, attract key new country partners, and visibly demonstrate action - including through our global partnership called WAVES.

We also want to do more to streamline nature considerations into our own operations by coordinating the implementation of the IFC’s Performance Standards and the World Bank’s operational policies. And I expect that the Bank Group will work more on aggregated offsets as a means of bringing public and private interests together to conserve at scale within a transparent framework.

We are also working on enhancing environmental law enforcement to ensure that the benefits of nature accrue to national economies and local communities - not thugs and organized crime.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen, as we begin this Congress:

· Let’s agree that we need to do more, better and with more far-reaching consequences

· Let’s together move away from our ardent attachment to old ideologies, old attitudes that stop us from finding solutions together. What we need today is innovation, communication and partnerships between governments, communities, financial institutions, companies and conservation organizations.

· The type and range of solutions will be as diverse as species and ecosystems. Just as nature is not just a set of charismatic species, we will need more than a set of boutique projects and anecdotes to show large-scale impact. We will need to prioritize without devaluing any one community’s chance of life. We will need brave thinkers at the table, all types of partnerships, people with the humility and patience to make them work. Who better than those of us already humbled by the glory of nature and the complexity of its life support?

· Let’s cross our boundaries together.

· I look forward to being with you every step of the way.

An Effective Public-Private Partnership for Mexico’s Protected Areas

2012-08-30T18:24:00.000Z

moll

National System of Protected Natural Areas (SINAP), Mexico

Overview

Mexico is a 'mega-diverse' country, with the fourth-highest number of species of plants and animals of any country on the planet. Yet this high biodiversity is constantly threatened. In response, the World Bank, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), helped create and capitalize the Fund for Protected Areas (FANP), a unique partnership that has played an instrumental role in both protecting this biodiversity and inspiring the growth of the protected area system which will conserve it for the future.

GEF's Photo Gallery

More Results

What's Happening to Biodiversity? (Infographic)

$75.89 million

the total amount for FANP to support conservation efforts in 23 protected areas that represent 30% of the total area under federal protection

Challenge

Mexico counts 174 protected areas covering 25 million hectares. Protected areas are the most advanced proven tool for conserving Mexico’s biological treasures, but their effectiveness is only assured when well-managed. Deforestation, overexploitation, uncontrolled tourism, accelerated economic development and arbitrary settlement policies have at times compromised protected areas as the communities living within them continue to use their resources. With private and public interests intersecting in the management of protected areas, tight collaboration between government and civil society is required to achieve conservation results.

Approach

Starting in 1998, the World Bank provided the Mexican government with GEF funds that would eventually total USD 47.5 million. The interest from the endowment portion (USD 40.9 million), managed by the private Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN) funds basic protected area operations and local civil society activities for innovative conservation of priority protected areas across the country.

Results

Using a privately managed endowment guarantees political independence and transparency across administrations. This enables long-term planning and systematic management;
Endowment funds did not replace but instead leveraged traditional government funds and attracted resources from outside donors: FANP thus grew to USD 75.89 million, supporting strategic conservation activities in 23 protected areas that represent 30% of total area under federal protection;
The Fund’s growth enabled the increase of annual disbursements from USD 1 million per year in 1998 to USD 4.3 million in 2009. Between 1998 and 2008, more than USD 20 million in interest was allocated to conservation;
Land use change in the supported protected areas is lower than in surrounding areas, and populations of key indicator species within the protected areas remain stable. Both suggest that biodiversity is being conserved;
FANP also had an important leverage impact: In 1994, the Mexican government dedicated a mere USD 100,000 to its protected areas, which had no permanent staff. FANP’s results were showcased to increase CONANPs profile within the Mexican government, with the result that its annual budget grew to more than USD 80 million;
FANP has promoted citizen participation as FMCN disburses funds to each area through local partner NGOs and requires that CONANP establish conservation priorities with the input of local advisory committees

Main Image: Global Environment Facility

Connecting the Americas: Filling in the ICT Gaps

2012-07-30T12:43:00.000Z

July 30, 2012

The next digital divide for Latin America & the Caribbean concerns Internet access and the many rural areas in the region that are still without it.

In the 1980s, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean spearheaded reforms in the telecommunications sector, and many countries around the world followed suit.

They started by privatizing state-owned incumbents and then opened up the sector to new entrants which led to a competitive market, particularly for mobile operators. The gap in access to voice telephony has largely been met now, due to the rapid rollout of mobile networks. However, the next digital divide concerns Internet access and the many rural areas in the region that are still without it.

The Connect Americas Summit 2012, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union in Panama City, brought together leaders from the public and private sectors, as well as international and regional development agencies, to identify resources required to close information and communication technology (ICT) gaps in the region.

Doyle Gallegos, the World Bank's lead ICT policy specialist who attended the summit, says, "We are now at the base of the next wave of reforms which will position the region to fully benefit from all the infrastructure that has been put in place. In this next stage, we will need to focus on connecting the rural areas and on the uptake of ICT applications to boost productivity, improve access to information and to innovation platforms."

Many of the country representatives voiced concerns that the private operators were not reaching the remote and rural areas. These areas are often seen as unprofitable or are in rough terrain which makes infrastructure rollout difficult. Improving access in these areas will require examining how the private sector can be incentivized to reach them and to look at public-private partnership arrangements where necessary. Target beneficiaries will need to include key institutions such as hospitals, schools, and community centers.

As Internet service at faster speeds becomes more available, the benefits and impact should increase as well. Yet, to fully leverage this new capacity does require some help. How people use ICTs becomes a key factor. Hence there is a role for governments to play in facilitating and triggering ICT use – such as through using ICTs themselves to provide basic services, and by ensuring a secure online environment where e-commerce, e-government, and e-entrepreneurship can flourish.

The World Bank is supporting the connectivity agenda in the region through the Nicaragua Rural Telecommunications Project and the Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme (CARCIP).

RELATED RESOURCES

Transform, Innovate, and Connect: A New Strategy for Information and Communication Technology

2012-07-25T12:15:00.000Z

July 25, 2012

The World Bank Group aims to help developing countries use ICT for greater development impact.

A dramatic increase in use of mobile phones and the Internet; plunging prices of computing and mobile internet devices; the increasing prevalence of social media: these are some of the rapid changes seen in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector over the last decade.

The World Bank Group’s new strategy for the ICT sector for the period 2012-2015 reflects this new context. It aims to help developing countries use ICT to transform delivery of basic services, drive innovations and productivity gains, and improve competitiveness.

“Information and communication technologies can help reduce poverty, boost economic growth, and improve accountability and governance,” explains World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte.

Three Priority Areas

The new strategy emphasizes the transformative potential of ICT – in areas such as accountability, energy, and health – while maintaining a steady focus on ICT-enabled innovation and ICT infrastructure. Bank Group support will be directed to three priority areas:

Transformation: Making development more open and accountable, for instance, by facilitating citizen feedback to governments and service providers; and improving delivery of services, such as education, health, and financial services.

Innovation: Developing competitive IT-based service industries and fostering ICT innovation across the economy – with a focus on job creation, especially for women and youth.

Connectivity: Leveraging private investments to help scale up affordable access to broadband – including for women, disabled citizens, disadvantaged communities, and people living in remote and rural areas.

“The World Bank Group’s new strategy will help our client countries take advantage of the opportunities that ICT offers across all sectors of the economy, drawing on our unique expertise in public-private partnerships in the ICT sector.”

Working with client countries

The new strategy builds on the Bank Group’s experience working with client countries on ICT sector reforms, infrastructure development, and electronic government:

Over the 2000s, Bank support for ICT sector reforms helped attract an estimated $30 billion in private investment for mobile network infrastructure in the least developed countries. The IFC’s $2.3 billion in telecommunications infrastructure investments and MIGA’s $550 million in political risk guarantees also supported private investment in mobile service providers in difficult and high-risk environments.
Bank Group support for ICT applications has grown rapidly over the last decade, and over 70 percent of the 1,700 projects in the Bank’s active portfolio now have ICT components.
Since 2007, the Bank Group has intensified its support for public-private partnerships for broadband and high-speed Internet, helping bring down retail prices and increasing the take-up of services, in some instances by a factor of 10.

Stakeholders from 17 low- and middle-income countries and four OECD countries provided inputs for the new strategy through a series of face-to-face and online consultations. The document also draws on a review by the Bank Group’s Independent Evaluation Group.

For Rashad-Rudolf Kaldany, IFC Vice President for Global Industries, “The Strategy recognizes the vital role of the private sector in improving access to information infrastructure and services in developing countries.” He explains that “IFC works with the private sector as an advisor, financier, and standard setter to help unlock the potential of ICT for development.”

Jose Luis Irigoyen, the World Bank’s Director for Transport, Water, and Information and Communication Technologies, underlines how “ICT offers new tools to directly address poverty by providing access to information, contributing to pro-poor market developments such as microfinance and mobile money, and equalizing opportunities in rural areas.”

Collaborating across the Bank Group

Under the new strategy, the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA will work together to assist countries in unlocking the opportunities offered by ICT.

For instance, the World Bank will provide support for appropriate policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks, as well as catalytic investment in ICT backbone infrastructure; IFC will provide financing and advisory services to mobile operators; and MIGA will provide guarantees to support the roll-out of telecommunications networks and services.

“MIGA has contributed to the rapid growth of access to ICT services in emerging countries by mitigating the political risk of investments,” says Michel Wormser, MIGA’s Vice President and COO.

He adds that, “Under the new WBG strategy, MIGA will make available its insurance capacity to further accelerate ICT investments in higher-risk countries, notably fragile and post-conflict countries, where ICT will be key to growth, job creation, sharing of knowledge, and governance.”

The ICT strategy will adopt a new approach to implementation, including country diagnostics to help prioritize Bank Group interventions at the country level and leverage more partnerships with external sources of expertise. A results-based framework will be used to track progress.

In this video, Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Sustainable Development, speaks about how
the World Bank will leverage ICTs in its work.

RELATED RESOURCES

‘Maximizing Mobile’ Report Highlights Development Potential of Mobile Communications

2012-07-17T15:00:00.000Z

July 17, 2012

The new World Bank study says that about three-quarters of planet’s population now has access to a mobile phone.

Around three-quarters of the world’s inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone and the mobile communications story is moving to a new level, which is not so much about the phone but how it is used, says a new report by the World Bank and infoDev, its technology entrepreneurship and innovation program.

The number of mobile subscriptions in use worldwide, both pre-paid and post-paid, has grown from fewer than 1 billion in 2000 to over 6 billion now, of which nearly 5 billion are in developing countries. Ownership of multiple subscriptions is becoming increasingly common, suggesting that their number will soon exceed that of the human population.

Innovation in Action

In India, the state of Kerala’s mGovernment program has deployed over 20 applications and facilitated more than 3 million interactions between the government and citizens since its launch in December 2010.

Kenya has emerged as a leading player in mobile for development, largely due to the success of the M-PESA mobile payment ecosystem. Nairobi-based AkiraChix, for example, provides networking and training for women technologists.

In the West Bank & Gaza, SoukTel’s JobMatch service is helping young people find jobs. College graduates using the service reported a reduction in the time spent looking for employment from an average of twelve weeks to one week or less, and an increase in wages of up to 50 percent.

The report,Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile, says more than 30 billion mobile applications, or “apps,” were downloaded in 2011 – software that extends the capabilities of phones, for instance to become mobile wallets, navigational aids or price comparison tools.

This trend is also benefiting developing countries where people are increasingly using mobile phones to create new livelihoods and enhance their lifestyles, while governments are using them to improve service delivery and citizen feedback mechanisms.

"Mobile communications offer major opportunities to advance human and economic development – from providing basic access to health information to making cash payments, spurring job creation, and stimulating citizen involvement in democratic processes,” says World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte.

She adds that the challenge now is “to enable people, businesses, and governments in developing countries to develop their own locally-relevant mobile applications so they can take full advantage of these opportunities.”

A mobile revolution

This new report, the third in the World Bank’s series on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development, analyzes the growth and evolution of mobile telephony, and the rise of data-based services, including apps, delivered to handheld devices.

The report explores the consequences for development of the emerging “app economy,” especially in agriculture, health, financial services and government, and how it is changing approaches to entrepreneurship and employment.

For Tim Kelly, lead ICT policy specialist at the World Bank and one of the authors of the report, “The mobile revolution is right at the start of its growth curve: mobile devices are becoming cheaper and more powerful while networks are doubling in bandwidth roughly every 18 months and expanding into rural areas.”

“We have included the latest available data and indicators for the mobile sector for more than 150 economies in the report,” explains Shaida Badiee, director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group, adding that, “the spread of mobile phones means we now have data that can be used for cross-country comparisons.”

Developing mobile applications

The report emphasizes the role of governments in enabling mobile application development. In the agriculture sector, for instance, many of the mobile services that are being developed – such as information services for Senegalese farmers or a traceability scheme for coffee-growers in Colombia – are reliant on public funding and are still in pilot stages.

“Government support is needed to develop sound business models, foster ICT skills, and ensure that the infrastructure is in place and affordable,” explains Kelly.

The study also highlights how mobile innovation labs – shared spaces for training developers and incubating start-ups – can help bring new apps to market. For instance, infoDev, in collaboration with the Government of Finland and Nokia, has established five regional mobile innovation labs (mLabs) in Armenia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Africa, and Vietnam.

Click to Read
IC4D 2012:
Maximizing Mobile

“Most businesses based around mobile app technology are at an early stage of development, but may hold enormous employment and economic potential, similar to that of the software industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Supporting the networking and incubation of entrepreneurs is essential to ensure that such potential is tapped,” says Valerie D’Costa, program manager of infoDev.

The study benefits from research funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland, the Korea Trust Fund for ICT4D, and UKaid.

Infographic: Maximizing Mobile

The developing world is now more mobile that the developed world, and the near ubiquity brings new opportunities. Click to view the full infographic.

Report highlights

Tim Kelly, one of the authors of the report, presents highlights from the report in the following video:

RELATED RESOURCES

Maximizing Mobile 2012 Infographic

2012-07-17T15:00:00.000Z

Click the images to download high-resolution files

Zoellick to Join Harvard’s Belfer Center, Peterson Institute

2012-06-27T13:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2012—Robert B. Zoellick today said he would join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC after he steps down as World Bank Group President on June 30.

Zoellick will become the Peterson Institute’s first Distinguished Visiting Fellow as well as also becoming a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

“I appreciate the opportunity to engage with the scholars and practitioners at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Peterson Institute for International Economics,” said Zoellick. “I hope to work on the intersection of economics and security, applying history to policy questions of today. Both institutions have been at the cutting edge of research and policy development, and I have benefited greatly from both in the past.”

As the 11th president of the World Bank, Mr. Zoellick turned around an institution in trouble in 2007, recapitalized the Bank, and expanded financing for the poorest countries following the food, fuel and financial crises of recent years. He modernized the Bank by making it more accountable, flexible, fast-moving, transparent, and focused on good governance and anti-corruption. He has increased representation of developing countries in governance and staffing and encouraged developing countries to set their own priorities rather than have them dictated from the Bank. His record has also been marked by an increased role for the private sector through the bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which under his leadership has recruited sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in poor countries, especially in Africa.

Before his term at the Bank, Mr. Zoellick served as Vice Chairman, International, of the Goldman Sachs Group as well as Managing Director and Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Board of International Advisors from 2006-2007. Previously, he was Deputy Secretary of State in 2005-2006 and a member of the Cabinet as U.S. Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005.

From 1985 to 1993, he served at the Treasury and State Departments in various posts, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff. He was the lead U.S. official in the "Two-plus-Four" process of German unification in 1989-90 and served as "sherpa" for the preparation of the G-7/8 Economic Summits in 1991-92.

Mr. Zoellick graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College in 1975 and earned a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the Kennedy School of Government in 1981.

Contacts:

In Washington: Frederick Jones, (202) 473-9336, fjones@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Mehreen Sheikh, (202) 458-7336, msheikh1@worldbank.org

Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness: Key Factors for Growth in the Caribbean

2012-06-19T18:41:15.000Z

Caribbean Growth Forum discusses policies and partnerships for increased growth and opportunities for all

Kingston, Jamaica, June 19, 2012--The University of the West Indies hosted this week the launch of the Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF), a new regional platform for dialogue to foster higher levels of economic growth with opportunities for all in the region. More than 150 participants from the public and private sectors, academia, youth, and civil society joined the conference to discuss the key factors that have the greatest potential to contribute to increased growth in the region.

“The discussions we’ve had at the Forum have generated a lot of enthusiasm and fresh thinking on how we can move the growth agenda forward,” said Professor E. Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies. ”We had frank conversations on actionable policies and shared examples of success stories illustrating how in the appropriate conditions change is possible.”

The CGF is a partnership between the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in close collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Department For International Development (DFID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The CGF will be guided strategically by a Steering Committee comprised of the Secretary General of CARICOM, the President of the CDB, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies.

“The Caribbean region has a rich and proud history, tradition and culture. It has a huge potential,” said Françoise Clottes, World Bank Director for the Caribbean. “It is ready to move beyond traditional markets and trade preferences and reach out into new sources of growth, exploiting its natural advantages of location, environment, political stability and democratic traditions. We have heard today very encouraging examples of how it is already happening."

The two-day conference focused on competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship, and explored a broad range of issues such as how energy services can be improved in the Caribbean, what is needed to build a skilled labor market, how Caribbean governments can develop robust innovation economies, and practical steps for micro, small and medium enterprises to get improved access to finance.

“Successful implementation of far-reaching reforms requires the participation of the broadest coalition of social partners,” highlighted Warren Smith, President of the Caribbean Development Bank. “There has to be a broad-based understanding and acceptance in all sectors of Caribbean society that inaction is not an option. The Caribbean Growth Forum offers great promise for building an effective and purpose driven coalition.”

Caribbean countries face many common challenges, such as frequent natural disasters, high poverty rates, a small size and lack of economies of scale, as well as vulnerability to external shocks. Economic growth has been structurally low in the region, and needs to become more inclusive. In addition, most countries experienced a significant economic contraction due to the 2008 global financial crisis.

In contrast to Latin America, which grew by an estimated 4.2% in 2011, Caribbean countries only grew by an average of 2.3%. Caribbean economies also face serious debt challenges. Public debt-to-GDP ratios have reached 100% in a number of countries in the past few years.

The CGF is a one-year initiative and will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and ideas on practical policies to stimulate sustainable and inclusive growth, and create jobs.

“We want this initiative to be truly inclusive, therefore we are inviting everyone to join the dialogue on how to generate economic growth and opportunities for all,” said Joel Branski, Country Representative, for Barbados at the IDB. “The Compete Caribbean Program has pledged its commitment to develop solid projects to support the work already started today and we will explore every avenue to stimulate growth in the Caribbean and reach out to all those other voices that are not always heard, including young people and civil society.”

The launch of the CGF will be followed by the Digital Jam 2.0 which will be held in Kingston on June 28-30. The focus on youth and jobs in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector is an integral part of the CGF agenda.

Contacts:

In Kingston: Melanie Zipperer, +1 (202) 468 9841, mzipperer@worldbank.org
Gerrard McDaniel, +876 260 3329, gmcdaniel@worldbank.org

For more information on the Caribbean Growth Forum, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/lac/caribbeangrowth

Be updated via Twitter: @caribgrowth and #caribgrowth

Innovative Fund to Boost Food Security and Farmer Livelihoods is Launched

2012-06-18T19:04:43.000Z

New Approach to Financing Innovations in Food Security and Agricultural Development Unveiled at G20 Summit in Mexico

AgResults: Innovation in Research and Delivery

LOS CABOS, Mexico (June 18, 2012) – An innovative initiative that will enhance global food security and improve the livelihoods of developing country farmers through prizes and other market-based incentives was announced today by G20 Leaders. With a results-driven funding model that rewards innovators for tackling some of the biggest problems in food security and agricultural development, AgResults addresses global challenges in food security and agriculture by generating market-oriented solutions. The initiative aims to achieve significant improvements in the wellbeing of the poor and vulnerable in developing countries with a fund of up to $100 million, to be administered by the World Bank. The governments of Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, are supporting this effort.

AgResults uses pull mechanisms to encourage innovation through results-based payments such as prizes that are typically paid out when certain objectives or milestones have been met. Such financing mechanisms have seen success in generating innovation and market-oriented solutions in other domains such as healthcare, and AgResults aims to deliver similar gains in global food security and agricultural development.

AgResults was born out of the realization that there is a great need for increased investment in global food security and agriculture, in particular from the private sector. The FAO estimates that world food production must double by 2050 to feed a growing world population, while nearly a billion people suffer from a lack of crucial micronutrients in their diet—a hidden hunger that inhibits the development of children and reduces adult productivity. Recognizing these gaps, leaders at the June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto committed to exploring innovative, results-focused ways of harnessing private sector innovations in food security and agricultural development in developing countries. This commitment involved a two-year effort by committed partners to develop AgResults, culminating in today’s launch of the initiative in support of the Summit priority of enhancing global food security. AgResults addresses this priority directly through new funding and a focus on bringing new, innovative approaches to bear on global food security issues.

In the coming years, AgResults will launch a series of pilots that address some of the biggest problems in global food security and agricultural development. The initiative’s portfolio of pilots will represent a diverse mix of agriculture and food security issues, testing different types of pull mechanisms in different regions globally. The initial set of pilots, focusing on maize production in Sub-Saharan Africa, include:

· Incentivizing the adoption of on-farm storage technology for smallholder farmers;

· Encouraging innovative distribution of a breakthrough technology to reduce aflatoxin contamination; and

· Building a market for new vitamin A-enhanced varieties of maize.

Additional pilots will be explored in the coming years, potentially including livestock vaccines and fertilizer innovation as well as new ideas related to increasing crop yields, decreasing post-harvest losses, increasing livestock productivity and improving nutrition.

For further information, please visit www.worldbank.org/cfp/agpm

Contacts:

In Washington: Amy Stilwell, (202) 458-4906, astilwell@worldbank.org

In Mexico: Fernanda Zavaleta, 52-55-5480-4252, fzavaleta@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

Global Mobility Unaffected by Financial Crisis, as Remittances Remained Resilient

2012-06-13T13:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2012 – The global financial crisis of 2008/09 has not sent migrant workers streaming back home, despite worsening employment prospects and anti-immigration rhetoric in some destination countries, says a new book on migration and remittances, published by the World Bank.

In fact, migrants may have mitigated some of the pain of the crisis as they tend to work for lower wages, receive fewer benefits and rely relatively little on the state, says the ‘Migration and Remittances during the Global Financial Crisis and Beyond’ book.

“During the crisis, remittances continued to provide a steady source of foreign currency to developing country economies at a time when foreign aid remained flat and foreign direct investment declined sharply,” said Otaviano Canuto, Vice President, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, at the World Bank.

Removing restrictions on human mobility may help enhance financial flows among nations and alleviate some of the adverse effect of the crisis, says the book. With migrant workers projected to remit about $399 billion to their home countries during 2012, compared to $372 billion in 2011, remittances are the most tangible link between migration and development.

Although many of the 215 million international migrants are facing worsening employment prospects in some destination countries, particularly high-income Europe, their cash support to families in their home countries has remained resilient, posting, in 2009, the only decline in recent memory. Even then, remittances decreased by a modest 5.2 percent, in sharp contrast with the precipitous declines seen in global private capital flows.

“The resilience of remittances is good news for developing countries as they remain one of the less volatile sources of foreign exchange earnings, particularly for the less developed countries. At the household level, these cash transfers are, in many cases, the only lifeline for families in the home countries,” said Hans Timmer, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.

However, despite many years of recording ever-increasing volumes of remittances, leveraging this rather large and growing source of funds for socio-economic development remains a key challenge, with the vast majority of remittances used for maintaining families and for the purchase of consumer goods.

The book, which is the first comprehensive study of remittances during the global financial crisis, is a compilation of 45 separate studies that identify and discuss remittance practices across the world and possibilities for the future. Each study is authored by a different expert who analyzes certain countries and certain aspects of remittances, ranging from patterns of remittance flows to usage of remittances received by communities and households.

The book is co-edited by Dilip Ratha, Manager of the Bank’s Migration and Remittances Unit; Ibrahim Sirkeci, Professor of Transnational Studies and Marketing at Regent’s College, London; and Jeffrey Cohen, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Ohio State University, USA, who also co-author the book’s first chapter on remittance flows and practices during the crisis.

“Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence of return of migrants, even as the financial crisis reduced employment opportunities in the United States and Europe, with many countries, such as Spain, offering financial incentives to encourage migrants to return,” said Sirkeci.

Migration, in fact, was a strategic response to the financial crisis. Like any political or environmental catastrophe, the financial crisis caused human insecurity and people in developing countries responded by crossing borders or moving domestically to survive the impact of the crisis.

“Remittances have remained resilient and, barring the decline in 2009, have maintained a healthy growth momentum. However, since the book went to press, the global economy continues to experience serious bouts of volatility, which could affect migrant earnings and, hence, remittances,” said Ratha.

For receiving countries, a key factor behind the resilience in remittances is the diversification of migrant destinations.

Countries in South Asia and East Asia with many migrants in the United States, Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continued to register increased remittance inflows. One study in the book concludes that only a prolonged global slowdown would cause a decline in remittance flows to India, the largest recipient of remittances in 2011, with $64 billion.

In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean region, whose migrants are concentrated in the United States, suffered a dramatic decline in remittances throughout the financial crisis. Mexico, the world’s third largest recipient of remittances ($24 billion in 2011), saw a significant decline in remittance inflows from the United States during the crisis. A similar strong impact was found in El Salvador. Both cases underline the fact that many Latin American countries were vulnerable to the effects of crisis, with a special impact on the urban youth in these countries, who face more difficult labor market prospects and declining opportunities to migrate.

Studies related to the effect of the crisis in the European Union on remittance-receiving countries found that Spain has been the fastest-growing immigration destination for the past decade and is now the fifth largest remittance-sending country, after the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Switzerland.

In the East Asia and Pacific region, remittances account for as much as 12 percent of GDP, as in the case of New Zealand and Pacific island economies, while remittances have been keeping the national economy afloat in the Philippines for the past three decades.

Also, due to the depreciation of local currencies of many remittance-recipient countries, such as India, Mexico, and the Philippines, migrants from those countries turned to investment-oriented remittances in South Asia and East Asia where goods, services, and assets suddenly became significantly inexpensive and affordable.

The book recommends that countries develop policies that reduce restrictions on human mobility and develop programs to facilitate the use of remittances for long-term investments and promoting entrepreneurship. Such changes, tailored to both host and recipient country needs, can strengthen the contribution of remittances to development.

Eliminating the complexity of transactions and reducing transaction costs would also help increase the volume of remittances utilizing official channels, to enable many small nations, in particular, to reap the socio-economic benefits of migrant earnings.

The book is available for purchase at http://publications.worldbank.org/18826

The latest migration and remittances data are available at www.worldbank.org/migration

Interact with migration experts at http://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/

Contacts:

In Washington: Indira Chand +1 (202) 458-0434, +1 (703) 376-7491, ichand@worldbank.org

For TV/Broadcast: Natalia Cieslik +1 (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

WB Urges Developing Countries to Strengthen Domestic Fundamentals, to Weather Global Economic Turmoil

2012-06-12T17:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2012 – Developing countries should prepare for a long period of volatility in the global economy by re-emphasizing medium-term development strategies, while preparing for tougher times, says the World Bank in the newly-released Global Economic Prospects (GEP), June 2012.

A resurgence of tensions in high-income Europe has eroded the gains made during the first four months of this year, which saw a rebound in economic activity in both developing and advanced countries and an easing of risk aversion among investors. Since May 1^st, increased market jitters have spread. Developing and high-income country stock markets have lost some 7 percent, giving up two-thirds of the gains generated over the preceding four months. Most industrial commodity prices are down, with crude and copper prices down by 19 and 14 percent, respectively, while developing country currencies have lost value against the US dollar, as international capital fled to safe-haven assets, such as German and U.S. government bonds.

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So far, conditions in most developing countries have not deteriorated as much as in the fourth quarter of 2011. Outside of Europe and Central Asia and the Middle-East and North Africa, developing country credit default swap (CDS) rates, a key indicator of market sentiment, remain well below their maximums from the fall of 2011.

“Global capital market and investor sentiment are likely to remain volatile over the medium term – making economic policy setting difficult. In this environment, developing countries should focus on productivity-enhancing reforms and infrastructure investment instead of reacting to day-to-day changes in the international environment,” said Hans Timmer, Director of Development Prospects at the World Bank.

Increased uncertainty will add to pre-existing headwinds from budget cutting, banking-sector deleveraging and developing country capacity constraints. As a result, the World Bank projects that developing country growth will slow to a relatively weak 5.3 percent in 2012, before strengthening somewhat to 5.9 percent in 2013 and 6.0 percent in 2014. Growth in high-income countries will also be weak, 1.4, 1.9 and 2.3 percent for 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively – with GDP in the Euro Area declining 0.3 percent in 2012. Overall, global GDP is projected to rise 2.5, 3.0 and 3.3 ⁽¹⁾ percent for the same period.

This baseline scenario remains the most likely outcome. However, should the situation in Europe deteriorate sharply no developing region would be spared. Developing Europe and Central Asia is especially vulnerable because of its close trade and financial ties with high-income Europe, but the world's poorest countries will also feel the fall out – especially countries that are heavily reliant on remittances, tourism or commodity exports or that have high-levels of short-term debt.

“Where possible, developing countries need to move to reduce vulnerabilities by lowering short-term debt levels, cutting budget deficits and returning to a more neutral monetary policy stance. Doing so will provide them with more leeway to loosen policy, should global conditions take a sharp turn for the worse,” said Andrew Burns, Manager of Global Macroeconomics and lead author of the report.

The full report and accompanying datasets are available at www.worldbank.org/globaloutlook

Regional Highlights

Growth outlooks for each country are available in the full report at:

www.worldbank.org/globaloutlook

Growth for the East Asia and Pacific region is on a moderately easing trend, with GDP gains for the region dropping to 8.3 percent in 2011 from 9.7 percent in 2010. The recent deterioration in global financial conditions is expected to add to pre-existing headwinds, including relatively weak demand from the high-income world, and a slowing phase in China to moderate regional growth to 7.6 percent in 2012, before broader global recovery lifts exports and growth for the region in 2013 to 8.1 percent, easing to 7.9 percent in 2014. China’s GDP is expected to accelerate from 8.2 percent in 2012 to 8.4 percent by 2014.

Notwithstanding the economic downturn in the Euro Area in the fourth quarter of 2011, developing Europe and Central Asia posted strong (5.6 percent) growth in 2011, driven by robust domestic demand and good harvests in countries such as Russia, Romania and Turkey. However, severe weather conditions in early 2012, capacity constraints in some countries, deleveraging by European banks, and the renewed turmoil in high-income Europe are projected to slow regional GDP growth to 3.3 percent this year, before a modest recovery begins with growth firming to 4.1 and 4.4 percent in each of 2013 and 2014.

Growth in the Latin America and the Caribbean region eased to 4.3 percent in 2011, from 6.1 percent in 2010, due to the pronounced slowdown in the region’s larger economies. In Brazil, GDP slowed sharply to 2.7 percent in 2011 (7.5 percent in 2010), as investment growth and private consumption eased. The region’s short-term outlook is clouded by a weak external environment, and capacity constraints in select economies. Regional GDP is expected to decelerate to 3.5 percent in 2012, firming to 4.1 percent and 4 percent in 2013 and 2014, respectively, while growth in Brazil is projected to remain below potential at 2.9 percent in 2012, before accelerating to 4.2 percent in 2013 and 3.9 percent in 2014.

Uncertainty, volatility, and political change continue to characterize conditions in the Middle East and North Africa region. Aggregate GDP grew by 1 percent in 2011, down from 3.8 percent in 2010. Regional growth is projected to remain weak at 0.6 percent for 2012, mainly reflecting the influence of sanctions on growth in Iran, and continued GDP declines in Syria and Yemen. As these elements fade in importance, growth for the region should step up to 2.2 percent in 2013 and 3.4 percent in 2014. Egypt’s economy is projected to move out of negative territory to 1.4 percent growth in 2012, rising to 4.6 percent in 2014. Growth is also expected to pick up strongly in Jordan and Lebanon, while oil prices, which are projected to average near $107/bbl in 2012, will benefit the region’s oil exporters.

Growth in South Asia slowed to 7.1 percent in 2011, from 8.6 percent in 2010, as headwinds from the Euro Area crisis caused a steep deceleration in exports and a reversal of portfolio inflows. Growth in India was particularly weak due to monetary policy, stalled reforms, and electricity shortages, which, along with fiscal and inflation concerns, cut into investment activity. Policy uncertainties, fiscal deficits, entrenched inflation, and infrastructure gaps will continue to weigh negatively on investment activity and are expected to limit regional growth to a relatively modest 6.4 percent in 2012, 6.5 percent in 2013, and 6.7 percent in 2014. India will see growth (measured at factor cost) increasing to 6.9, 7.2 and 7.4 percent in fiscal years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa remained robust in 2011 at 4.7 percent. Excluding South Africa, growth in the rest of the region was stronger, at 5.6 percent, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions. Higher commodity prices and improved macroeconomic and political stability in recent years has supported increased private investment flows to the region, with promising prospects in the medium term. As global demand firms and domestic demand remains robust, regional growth is expected to strengthen to 5 percent in 2012, 5.3 percent in 2013 and 5.2 percent in 2014.

Contacts

In Washington: Merrell Tuck-Primdahl +1 (202) 473-9516, +1 (202) 476-9897, mtuckprimdahl@worldbank.org;

Indira Chand +1 (202) 458-0434, +1 (703) 376-7491, ichand@worldbank.org

In London: Derek Warren + 44 (20) 7592-8402 , dwarren1@worldbank.org

For TV/Broadcast: Natalia Cieslik +1 (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

(1) Using purchasing power parity weights, global growth would be 3.3, 3.9 and 4.2 percent for 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Globalization: Made in the Americas

2012-06-08T00:30:00.000Z

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Inter-American Dialogue 30^th Anniversary Dinner

Remarks of Robert B. Zoellick, President, World Bank Group

June 7, 2012

Introduction

Thank you for the honor of your invitation to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the Inter-American Dialogue.

The origins of this Dialogue stretch back to a discussion between Peter Bell and Abe Lowenthal on a park bench.

Peter and Abe were disturbed by the breakdown in inter-American exchanges during the Falklands/Malvinas war, and by the lack of ties with the rising democrats of Latin America. So they discussed bringing together leaders from across the hemisphere to set a new inter-American agenda. The Dialogue held its first ad hoc conference in late 1982.

Today, 30 years later, Latin America’s very success offers the opportunity to remake that Hemispheric partnership around new pillars:

· A revived free trade policy that will aid structural reforms for growth in all our countries;

· An energy transformation, ending the Hemisphere’s energy dependency;

· A new diplomacy infused with private sector pragmatism to solve public problems;

· Shared security; and

· The first Democratic Hemisphere.

For the United States, this new agenda could enable us to rely on a great, home-grown asset – Hispanic-Americans – as the vanguard of U.S. connectivity in a new Western Hemispheric economy.

This Dialogue can – and I believe will – help drive this change: to create a “Globalization: Made in the Americas.”

Under Peter Hakim’s and now Michael Shifter’s energetic leadership, the Inter-American Dialogue has become the leading U.S. center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication in the Western Hemisphere.

The idea at the heart of the Dialogue remains very much the same as that which emerged from the conversation on the park bench: that through dialogue and shared vision, interested citizens across the hemisphere together can plant the seeds of new policy ideas and practical proposals for progress in the Americas.

So tonight, let’s put that idea to work.

A Different Vantage Point

Just two months ago, the leaders of the Western Hemisphere met in Cartagena for the Summit of the Americas. Colombia was an excellent host, and the Summit showcased the country’s many hard-won achievements.

But the news reports were, frankly, disappointing. Aside from the behavior of some Secret Service agents, the coverage focused on disagreements about Cuba and drugs. Some even suggested this would be the last Summit of the Americas. The agenda seemed stuck in a time warp.

So when Carla Hills asked if I could join you this evening, I thought the best way to celebrate the Dialogue’s Anniversary was to offer new possibilities for the Americas in a fast-changing global economy.

My vantage point on our hemisphere is different from many U.S. contributors to the Dialogue. I am not a specialist in Latin America.

Like many of my U.S. foreign and security policy colleagues, much of my energy has been concentrated on the issues of Europe and the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

Yet because of my economic background, Latin America and Canada have loomed larger on my global map.

In the 1980s and early 90s, working with Secretary of Treasury and State James Baker, we were immersed in issues of Latin American debt and reforms for growth, the Canadian and North American FTAs, and Central American security and democracy.

In 2001, as U.S. Trade Representative, we were fortunate to build on that experience, negotiating FTAs with Chile, Colombia, Peru, Panama, the five countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic. Together with NAFTA, these FTAs cover 54 percent of the economy of our hemisphere, not including the United States, offering an underutilized web of free traders that could support deeper integration in the Americas – even hemispheric free trade and democracy.

Five years as President of the World Bank Group has added to this perspective.

Why am I stressing this global outlook on Latin America? Because, while working on the issues of our region, I have urged my Latin counterparts to look globally, too.

Instead, for too many years, the dialogue within our hemisphere seemed constrained by a North-South framework. The United States loomed large – whether as a hegemon, source of support, market, model, danger, or even frustrating land of inattention.

On development, debt, investment, competition, and trade, Latin Americans need to see the wider horizon – especially to benchmark with East Asia. And beyond East Asia, Latin America has a new role to play in building multiple engines of growth with other emerging markets. It is time to break out of that North-South construct.

Consider Canada’s experience in combining regional integration with global reach: of course, Canada’s FTA with the United States in 1988 deepened the two countries’ economic integration – but in addition, the competitive adjustment driven by that accord made Canadian business more competitive globally.

A new hemispheric partnership requires leaving old habits, old mindsets, and old models of dependency behind.

That partnership will necessitate a new mix of partners, public and private.

That partnership should be the next challenge for the Summit of the Americas and this Dialogue.

Latin America’s Record of Gains

Latin America’s recent record of gains now puts it in a position to remake the Hemispheric partnership.

The numbers tell the story.

Between 2003 and 2010, the income of the average Latin American increased by more than 30 percent. A silent revolution in macro-financial policy has strengthened the economic immune system of many countries. We saw the payoff after the fall of Lehman Brothers: Sound policies in Latin America enabled expansions to offset the downturn without the aftershocks that now threaten Europe.

About 73 million Latin Americans have been lifted out of poverty since 2003. Today, almost a third of the region’s population is considered middle class.

Latin America is breaking a pattern of persistent inequality, including through an increase in women’s involvement in the economy, particularly from poor families. Colombia and Peru have buttressed this trend by boosting opportunities for people of African and indigenous origin, seeking to overcome divisions that populists have exploited.

Mexico and Brazil have led in developing well-targeted conditional cash transfer programs that have revolutionized public assistance. These programs couple income grants for poor families with incentives for health check-ups and keeping children in school. Mexico’s Oportunidades program has probably done more for women’s health than anything in the country’s history.

These are safety net programs that appeal to a fiscal conservative: They cost only about half a percent of GDP. The World Bank has helped export this model to 40 other countries, ranging from Pakistan to the Philippines.

Latin America is “going global.” As the global trade negotiations have stalled, leading Latin American free traders have tried to keep up the momentum. Mexico has FTAs with 59 countries; Chile with 43.

Colombia offers a leading example of how a democracy can combine security, development, and good governance to overcome narco-traffickers, kidnappers, and terrorists. Peru demonstrates how sound economic policy and political commitment across administrations can reverse years of stagnation.

Brazil’s influence is expanding – through its companies, agricultural and mining experience, development work, peacekeeping in Haiti, and interest in Africa. Brazil’s leaders of the left have also turned a page in history by sticking with democracy. Rising leaders of the left in other Latin American countries have seen the benefits for the poor of Brazil’s example, compared to authoritarians who tear down institutions to consolidate personal or party power.

Looking Ahead

So what’s ahead for Latin America?

Latin America’s per capita income is still only at 30 percent of the U.S. level.

To climb higher, Latin American economies will need to leap beyond the so-called middle income trap. Many developing economies make early rapid gains. But then productivity and growth tend to slow.

This is a global challenge. In 1960, the World Bank ranked 101 economies as middle income; by 2008, almost half a century later, only 13 had made it to high income levels – and one was Greece.

Many Latin American countries will need to translate the commodity boom into broader, more diversified economies. This region has lived through roller-coaster booms and busts before.

Higher productivity is the antidote to the middle income trap.

Since the 1980s, Latin America has underinvested in infrastructure – electricity, roads, bridges, ports, transport – and maintaining and operating these services. Currently, Latin America spends 2 to 3 percent of GDP on infrastructure, less than half the rate of investment in East Asia.

Public-private infrastructure partnerships not only offer a source of financing, but also better design, maintenance, and operations to deliver high-quality services on time.

Colombia has experimented with PPPs in urban water supply and sanitation. Mexico’s new Highway Concession Program has mobilized PPP projects of around $11 billion, expanding the country’s major toll roads network by some 25 percent.

Latin America has to anticipate its human capital needs. The region is aging rapidly: today, about 11 percent of Brazil’s working age-population are seniors; by 2050, it will be nearly half.

Latin America also needs to improve the results of its investments in education. By age 15, the learning achievement of the average Latin American student lags two years behind his or her developed country counterparts.

Latin America is recognizing that gender equality is smart economics. Today, women in Latin America outnumber men in schools and universities. Working age women represent roughly 40 percent of the entire labor force in the region.

To continue to grow, the region will need more competition and innovation in the service sector. Competitive services increase productivity. They supply the ‘software’ of integration: transport, where delays and losses can impose significant costs; information technology, because accurate data and effective communication is vital; financial services, to create a supportive business environment; and logistics systems, which are a driver of business competitiveness.

A New Agenda

What do these challenges mean for a new hemispheric partnership? What should have been the news coming out of Cartagena?

Let me offer five ideas.

First, the Western Hemisphere needs to revive an activist free trade and economic reform policy, globally and regionally. We need fresh approaches.

The United States will be cutting agricultural subsidies, especially given high prices, and eliminating protection for ethanol. Why not deploy these to prod others?

Service sector liberalization can boost productivity, open new businesses, create new jobs, and cut the “Latin cost” that many countries impose on their own businesses. Why not deploy this economic need to revive a mutual interest in negotiation?

A strong self-interest can drive this renewed call for liberalization. Latin American economies still need much investment and more robust capital markets – especially in local currencies – that can help Latin American entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses to expand.

Infrastructure investments require capital goods and services, as Panama’s 21st Century Canal project is demonstrating. Why not dismantle barriers to lower the cost of infrastructure expansion?

Better logistics make economies more competitive. The World Bank’s 2012 Logistics Performance Index estimated that Latin American logistics costs are between 16 and 26 percent of GDP – that’s two to four times the average in Europe or East Asia.

The World Bank has helped Colombia and Peru to implement a “single window” approach to customs clearance and border management. In Brazil and Peru, the Bank has worked with international freight forwarders to connect rural, remote villages and small businesses to export through national postal services; in the first six months, more than 300 small firms in Peru became exporters, most for the first time.

Even as the WTO works toward a Trade Facilitation agreement, the Americas could develop an accord that points the way.

Brazilian officials are focused on exchange rates. Yet to really boost growth the target should be productivity. Better infrastructure can help, and so can more efficient and effective public services. The World Bank Group has launched a deeper partnership with the Governors of the Northeastern states of Brazil to overcome these impediments. Over time, however, the United States and its free trade partners should be working with Brazil to rebuild the case for a hemispheric initiative to realize the benefits of trade liberalization and economic reforms.

It takes two to tango, and this agenda requires changes on the part of the United States, too. The United States is no longer leading the open trade agenda, as it relies increasingly on defensive measures. The United States has its own high costs of trade – antiquated ports and laws to protect special interests.

The United States should work with its current free trade partners in the Americas to deepen ties of development, reform, and investment.

The current architecture of US FTAs in the hemisphere offers a solid legal framework, but it needs to evolve into a home for an ongoing dialogue – across countries and with business, academic, civil society, and environmental communities – to see what else can be done to lower costs and barriers and create opportunities.

The United States and its partners could explore progressive integration across the FTAs, for example by expanding provisions to cumulate inputs among partners while qualifying for free trade.

The United States needs to make its hemispheric FTA network dynamic, linked to business and investment policies, and improved governance.

A new concept of an FTA network in the Americas could also support inclusive and sustainable development as the foundation for open societies and borders.

Second, innovation in the energy sector, led by the United States, could transform energy security for North America, the Hemisphere, and the world.

In 2008, imports supplied 70 percent of US oil demand. By 2020, PFC Energy estimates that imports could be down to 40 percent of US oil demand – or even 20 percent if Canadian oil is counted as part of the home market. If natural gas for Canada and the United States is added, U.S. net energy imports from the rest of the world could drop to five percent of U.S. demand. That’s an amazing game-changer in energy.

If Mexico opens PEMEX to real outside investment, the outlook is even brighter. With the discovery of the giant deep offshore PRESAL oil and gas fields, Brazil can play a major role in supplying oil and gas in the region.

Yet there is a need to connect these energy supplies – through infrastructure – with countries in Central America and the Caribbean that have suffered from high prices and limited access. Increased efficiency and alternative sources could help the energy poor, too. It’s long past time for a hemispheric energy policy – blending consideration of inclusive growth, the environment, and indigenous communities’ interests.

Third, this new Hemispheric partnership needs to break old patterns of diplomacy. There are now vibrant private sectors all across the hemisphere. The challenges of overcoming the middle income trap and structural reforms to boost productivity need private sector advice and solutions. All across the developing world, the World Bank is encountering a new pragmatism about involving the private sector in areas that used to be public monopolies: infrastructure; education; healthcare; skills training; delivery of public social services. Advanced economies such as the United States should be taking note, too.

Yet government-business dialogues can be stilted showcases. The Summit of the Americas – and perhaps the Dialogue – should review which approaches work better and why. With some guidance, businesses can better connect possibilities with policies. Governments can commit to responses, commitments, openness, and results.

Fourth, the new Hemispheric agenda should help all 35 countries overcome security threats to growth and opportunity.

The fragile governments of Central America are at risk of being overwhelmed by crime and violence linked to drug trafficking, organized crime, gangs, and firepower. Spain, which has roughly the same population as Central America, has about 400 murders per year; in 2010, Central America had over 18,000.

The region pays a heavy economic price for this insecurity – as much as 8 percent of GDP. The basic legitimacy of governments and institutions is fraying: About half of Central Americans say a military coup could be justified when crime levels are high.

Experiences from Medellin and Rio de Janeiro have shown that the best way to attack criminal insecurity is through an integrated approach: combining stepped-up policing, prevention, and community investments. Quick turnarounds are possible. Strong regional cooperation is indispensable.

The United States has an unfortunate pattern of ignoring dangers in Central America until they explode. This time U.S. diplomacy should work with Mexico, Colombia, and Panama to develop a coherent strategy – not band-aids. As in Colombia, the Central American private sector must also be part of the solution. And the United States should also take responsibility for the drug habits of its public that fuel demand for narcotics from the south.

Fragility in the Caribbean is another soft spot. But small economies can be competitive in many sectors. Accelerating integration in the Caribbean can share services, add to resilience, and boost economic prospects.

Latin America should also be looking toward a greater role in global security – through practical steps, not the old G-77 policies of the past. My friend and former colleague, Bernie Aronson has proposed, for example, that Brazil could lead by voluntarily ending its uranium enrichment program and then calling on other nations – including Iran – to follow its example. If Brazil wants to help shape the 21^st Century, leadership in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons – with an idea and action – would send a powerful signal.

Fifth, the debate over Cuba at Cartagena sounded like hollow echoes from another era. Look ahead, not back.

Chavez’s days are numbered. If his subsidies to Cuba and Nicaragua are cut, those regimes will be in trouble. The democrats of Latin America – left, center, and right – should be preparing. The calls for democracy – for an end to intimidating thugs, human rights, fair elections, and rule of law – should come from all its capitals.

There will soon be an opportunity to make the Western Hemisphere the first Democratic Hemisphere. Not a place of coups, caudillos, and cocaine -- but of democracy, development, and dignity.

This transformation will not be achieved by the Calvo doctrine. By divisive populists. By corruption. By acquiescence. By silence.

You know well that if Latins leave the work to Washington and Ottawa, the opponents of liberty and human rights will play the cards of gringoism and neo-imperialism. Trump them.

Conclusion

For the United States, a new partnership in the Western Hemisphere offers opportunities for renewal at home, too.

All the debates about macroeconomic issues – fiscal and monetary policies – as important as they are, risk inattention to microeconomic incentives, structural reforms in the United States.

Energy. Infrastructure. Education. Human capital. Competition. Environment. Innovation. The United States also needs to clear away old rigidities on these new fundamentals.

The United States also needs to draw on the energies, intelligence, and drive of all its citizens.

As my friend Luis Alberto Moreno of the Inter-American Development Bank has pointed out, the 50 million strong Hispanic community in the United States is a growing market, source of entrepreneurship, and resource for a Hemispheric economic strategy. At over $1 trillion, the purchasing power of Latinos in the United States is larger than the economies of every Latin American country except Brazil.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are between two and three million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States. Many are small. But they create jobs, earn revenues, and pay taxes.

As Latin America grows, the Hispanic businesses in the United States offer an incredible asset. Hispanics in the United States could be in the vanguard of a new Western Hemispheric economy.

Small and medium-sized Hispanic-American businesses will need help to expand their entrepreneurialism – information about markets, financing, and risk management services. To be most effective, this assistance should be decentralized – perhaps drawing on local chambers of commerce in cities and states where most Hispanic businesses can be found. The Small Business Administration, OPIC, Ex-Im Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank could then deploy their resources to help.

The world economy is still struggling to recover from the worst blows since the 1930s. Europe is a danger zone. U.S. leadership remains vital to get through the storm, to reach a new world economy of multiple poles of growth.

This is why the news coming out of the Cartagena Summit was disappointing.

This is not a time for drift, for old North-South debates, for retreat behind borders, old mindsets, or out-dated dependencies.

This is a time for the New World to again inspire novel thinking – about development, growth, structural reforms, rule of law and human rights, democracy, and security.

This Dialogue should aim high: To have the Western Hemisphere shape this next era of globalization – so that future historians will title the next chapter, not “The Passing of the New World,” but “Globalization: Made in the Americas.”

Cities to Face Sharply Rising Costs for Garbage Treatment

2012-06-06T15:30:00.000Z

New report points to 70% global increase in urban solid waste

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 – A new, far-reaching report on the state of municipal solid waste around the world predicts a sharp rise in the amount of garbage generated by urban residents between now and 2025. The report estimates the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) will rise from the current 1.3 billion tonnes/year to 2.2 billion tonnes/year, with much of the increase coming in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. The annual cost of solid waste management is projected to rise from the current $205 billion to $375 billion, with cost increasing most severely in low income countries.

The report, What a Waste: A Global Review of Solid Waste Management, for the first time offers consolidated data on MSW generation, collection, composition, and disposal by country and by region. In itself, this is an accomplishment because, as the report states, reliable global MSW information is either not available or incomplete, inconsistent, and incomparable. Nevertheless, the authors of the report point to a looming crisis in MSW treatment as living standards rise and urban populations grow.

“Improving solid waste management, especially in the rapidly growing cities of low income countries, is becoming a more and more urgent issue,” said Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Sustainable Development at the World Bank. “The findings of this report are sobering, but they also offer hope that once the extent of this issue is recognized, local and national leaders, as well as the international community, will mobilize to put in place programs to reduce, reuse, recycle, or recover as much waste as possible before burning it (and recovering the energy) or otherwise disposing of it. Measuring the extent of the problem is a critical first step to resolving it.”

The report notes that municipal solid waste management is the most important service a city provides. In low-income countries, MSW is often the largest single budget item for cities, and one of the largest employers. A city that cannot effectively manage its waste is rarely able to manage more complex services such as health, education, or transportation. Improving MSW is one of the most effective ways of strengthening overall municipal management.

The report shows that the amount of municipal solid waste is growing fastest in China (which surpassed the US as the world’s largest waste generator in 2004), other parts of East Asia, and part of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Growth rates for MSW in these areas are similar to their rates for urbanization and increases in GDP. There is a direct correlation between the per capita level of income in cities and the amount of waste per capita that is generated. In general, as a country urbanizes and populations become wealthier, the consumption of inorganic materials (e.g. plastics, paper, glass, aluminum) increases, while the relative organic fraction decreases.

“What we’re finding in these figures is not that surprising,” said Dan Hoornweg, Lead Urban Specialist in the Finance, Economics, and Urban Development Department of the World Bank and eco-author of the report, “What is surprising, however, is that when you add the figures up we’re looking at a relatively silent problem that is growing daily. The challenges surrounding municipal solid waste are going to be enormous, on a scale of, if not greater than, the challenges we are currently experiencing with climate change. This report should be seen as a giant wake-up call to policy makers everywhere.”

The authors of the report say an integrated solid waste management plan is needed in cities to approach solid waste in a comprehensive manner. Key to such a plan is consultation and input from all stakeholders, including citizen groups and those working on behalf of the poor and the disadvantaged. Public health and environmental protection aspects of any such plan are also critical.

The report also spells out policy recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, many of which emanate from inefficient solid waste management practices. Post-consumer waste is estimated to account for almost 5% of total global GHG, while methane from landfills represents 12% of total global methane emissions. The report says that a number of practical approaches could be applied in most cities, including:

· Public education to inform people about their options to reduce waste generation and increase recycling and composting;

· Pricing mechanisms (such as product charges) to stimulate consumer behaviour to reduce waste generation and increase recycling;

· User charges tied to the quantity of waste disposed of, with (for example) consumers separating recyclables paying a lower fee for waste disposal; and/or

· Preferential procurement policies and pricing to stimulate demand for products made with recycled post-consumer waste.

For a link to the report, click here: http://go.worldbank.org/BCQEP0TMO0

Contacts:

In Washington: Roger Morier, +1 202 473 5675, rmorier@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1 202 458 9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

World Bank Group Unveils New Focus on ‘Green, Clean, Resilient’ Development

2012-06-05T04:00:00.000Z

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 -- The World Bank Group today released its ambitious, new Environment Strategy for 2012-2022 aimed at supporting countries to pursue sustainable development pathways that are green, inclusive, efficient, and affordable. The new Strategy responds to calls from governments and the private sector for new approaches to development in light of unprecedented environmental challenges and lays out a vision for “a green, clean and resilient world for all”.

“We’re seeing that working through the nexus of food crises, water insecurity, and energy needs is being made all the more complicated by environmental degradation and climate change,” said World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte. “Countries and communities and the ecosystems they depend on need to build resilience while moving to more efficient growth paths. This Strategy lays out the areas where we will put emphasis as we work to respond to countries’ needs.”

As countries seek to reduce poverty in the face of climate change and other major environmental challenges, the Bank Group is providing knowledge, solutions and financing to foster an environment that is:

· Green where natural resources are sustainably managed and conserved to improve livelihoods and ensure food security;

· Clean in which cleaner air, water and oceans enable people to lead healthy, productive lives and where development strategies emphasize low-emission, climate-smart transport, energy, agriculture and urban development;

· Resilient in which countries are better prepared for shocks and less vulnerable to natural disasters, volatile weather patterns and other impacts of climate change.

World Bank commitments addressing environment and natural resource management have grown from $1.5 billion or 8.4 percent of World Bank lending in FY01 to $6.3 billion or 14.3 percent in FY11.

“The Strategy acknowledges the vital role of the private sector in achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development,” said International Finance Corporation (IFC) Vice President for Business Advisory Services Nena Stoiljkovic. “IFC works with the private sector as an advisor, financier, and standard setter to help unlock this potential.”

The IFC invested $1.7 billion in climate-friendly projects in FY11, up 6 percent from $1.6 billion in FY10.

Under the “green” agenda, a key priority is the Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) global partnership which supports countries’ efforts to factor natural capital into national accounting systems and through the Global Partnership for Oceans, the focus is on restoring the world’s oceans to health and optimizing their contribution to economic growth and food security. The “clean” agenda prioritizes pollution management through river clean-up and legacy pollution projects while also encouraging low-emission development strategies and financing for renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and lower-carbon cities.

The “resilience” agenda, targets support to countries to adapt to climate change, improve disaster risk management, with a focus on vulnerable Small Island Developing States to reduce dependence on oil imports, build sound infrastructure, and restore protective coastal ecosystems such as mangroves.

The Strategy includes action plans for the specific environmental challenges in each developing region of the world.

· In Africa, work will focus on strengthening governance for natural resource management given growing pressure on the region’s agriculture, mining, forests, and water basins. In partnership with other agencies, the private sector, and civil society, the Bank Group is seeking to expand access to clean energy across the region.

· In East Asia and the Pacific the Bank Group is supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency, sustainable urban development and transport, as well as prioritizing the phase-out of numerous industrial pollutants; advising on carbon markets and adaptation in agriculture and coastal infrastructure; scaling up forest management; and strengthening regional partnerships to preserve biodiversity.

· In Europe and Central Asia where many countries are faced with energy shortages and a legacy of industrial pollution, the Bank Group is promoting clean energy and production while supporting programs to dispose of pollutant stockpiles, rehabilitate watersheds and improve disaster preparedness.

· In Latin America and the Caribbean where pressure continues on coastlines, wetlands, and the world’s largest forest cover, the Bank Group is supporting the management of protected areas, the integration of biodiversity conservation into productive landscapes and in some countries, the use of payments for environmental services. It is also providing the world’s most urbanized region with policy advice on cleaner development paths, supporting industrial pollution abatement, and promoting “green cities”.

· In Middle East and North Africa where high population density, water scarcity, and overfishing tend primarily to affect the poor, the Bank Group is supporting programs to strengthen the capacity of countries with shared seas—the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Gulf—to reduce marine pollution and manage fisheries. Other focus areas include desert ecosystems and livelihoods; improved urban and industrial planning; scaled-up solar power generation; and efforts to reduce vulnerability to drought.

· In South Asia where the poorest live in areas of high soil erosion, variable rainfall, and degraded forests, the Bank Group is helping to strengthen the role of natural resource management in the development agenda, strengthen environmental management in industry and reduce the costs to countries of environmental degradation.

Meeting the challenges of a green, clean, and resilient world requires leveraging the comparative advantage of all development partners. The new Strategy recognizes the growing role of the private sector in addressing sustainability concerns, developing sustainability standards, and ensuring that global markets can and do promote sustainable development.

The Strategy also encompasses the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) - the arm of the World Bank Group that promotes responsible foreign direct investment into developing countries by offering political risk insurance to the private sector.

"MIGA is pleased to have contributed to this strategy and to advance the notion that the private sector is absolutely crucial to affect change with respect to environmental issues," said Michel Wormser, MIGA's Vice President and COO.

To measure and monitor progress the Environment Strategy includes a results framework to track progress over time. The new Strategy also advances work to assess greenhouse gas emissions from the Bank Group’s portfolio of development projects with pilots being undertaken in a number of World Bank energy, transport and forestry sector projects.

Contacts:
In Washington: Elisabeth Mealey, +1 202-458-4475, emealey@worldbank.org

Vanessa Bauza, +1 202-458-1603, vbauza@ifc.org
Mallory Saleson +1 202-473-0844 msaleson@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1 202-458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

To read the World Bank Group Environment Strategy 2012-2022, click here.

For more information on Sustainable Development at the World Bank click here.

For more information on the IFC Sustainability: www.ifc.org/sustainability

For more information on MIGA: www.miga.org

World Bank Increases Transparency through Inaugural Publication of Sanctions Board Decisions

2012-05-30T13:30:00.000Z

Milestone in anti-corruption agenda unmatched by any other IFI

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2012 - Marking another advance in openness and accountability in its anti-corruption work, the World Bank Group today published for the first time a set of decisions issued by the World Bank Group’s Sanctions Board in cases of alleged fraud and corruption.

"The World Bank Group takes a hard line against corruption, and we believe that greater transparency must be part of that effort,” said World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati. “By publishing Sanctions Board decisions, we are making all parties involved in the sanctions process more accountable. This move should deepen the deterrent effect of debarments and enhance the educational value of the Sanctions Board’s findings."

The first published decisions were announced at a panel discussion hosted by the World Bank Group Sanctions Board Secretariat to take stock of recent developments and consider ongoing challenges for the Bank Group’s sanctions system. At the discussion, the Bank Group also announced the appointment of two new Sanctions Board members: Mr. Yves Fortier, an international arbitrator and former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, who will serve as Chair of the Sanctions Board; and Ms. Catherine O’Regan, President of the International Monetary Fund Administrative Tribunal and former Judge of the South African Constitutional Court.

The Sanctions Board, an independent administrative tribunal with a majority of external members, serves as final decision-maker in all contested sanctions cases. Decisions are taken based on an adversarial process that includes written arguments and evidence and, where requested, an administrative hearing. More than 530 firms and individuals have been sanctioned by the World Bank Group for fraud, corruption and collusion since the sanctions system was established in 1999. Most of these sanctions have been in the form of debarments, where firms or individuals are rendered ineligible to participate in Bank Group-financed operations.

From December 2011, the Sanctions Board Law Digest has made publicly available summaries of past cases and the legal principles applied over time. The publication of full Sanctions Board decisions goes a step further and creates an unprecedented level of transparency by presenting the Sanctions Board’s detailed review of each new appeal to determine whether misconduct occurred and if so, what sanctions should apply.

"Publication of our decisions furthers the Sanctions Board's goal to fight fraud and corruption through the rule of law," said Fathi Kemicha, the first external Chair of the Sanctions Board. "Parties that come before the Sanctions Board, as well as our partners in the international community, will now have a more robust understanding of our process, case law, and careful examination of each case."

The decisions published today can be accessed on the World Bank’s external website, and explain the rationale for sanctions imposed in eight cases recently considered by the Sanctions Board:

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 46 (Sanctions Case No. 151): Income Electrix Limited debarred for six months for fraud.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 47 (Sanctions Case No. 121): M/s. Concept Pharmaceuticals Limited debarred for fraud, with conditional release after three years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 48 (Sanctions Case No. 118): Zhonghao Overseas Construction Eng. Co., Ltd. debarred for two years for fraud, with conditional early release after one year.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 49 (Sanctions Case No. 130): De Lorenzo of America, Corp., S.A. de C.V., and its affiliate Marketing Enterprises Latin America, LLC., each debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 50 (Sanctions Case No. 117): ASDECON Corporation Company Limited debarred for corrupt practices, with conditional release after five years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 51 (Sanctions Case No. 145 and Sanctions Case No. 146):

- Sanctions Case No. 145: General Consulting Training (GCT) and Mr. Ali Safi each debarred for one year for fraud.

- Sanctions Case No. 146: TEAM Engineering & Management Consultants (TEAM) debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

· Sanctions Board Decision No. 52 (Sanctions Case No. 134): Contransimex Nigeria Limited debarred for fraud, with conditional release after two years.

All sanctions are reflected on the World Bank Listing of Ineligible Firms & Individuals (www.worldbank.org/debarr).

For more information, please visit: www.worldbank.org/sanctions

Contacts:

In Washington: David Theis, (202) 458-8626, dtheis@worldbank.org;

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

New Initiatives Give Hope to a Carbon Market Facing Challenges

2012-05-30T12:30:00.000Z

World Bank releases State and Trends of the Carbon Market report 2012

COLOGNE, GERMANY, May 30, 2012 – The total value of the carbon market grew by 11 percent in 2011, to $176 billion, and transaction volumes reached a new high of 10.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) according to a new report from the World Bank.

According to State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2012 this growth took place in the face of economic turbulence, growing long-term oversupply in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and plummeting carbon prices.

The report, released here at the Carbon Expo in Cologne, describes how even as prices declined, the value of the global carbon market increased in 2011, driven predominantly by a robust growth in financially motivated transactions. By far, the largest segment of the carbon market was that of EU Allowances (EUAs), valued at $148 billion. There was also a substantial increase in the volume of secondary Kyoto offsets (which grew by 43 percent, to 1.8 billion tons of CO₂e, valued at US$23 billion) fueled by increased liquidity in the Certified Emission Reduction (CER) market and in the nascent secondary Emission Reduction Unit (ERU) market. Following the same pattern observed in previous years, the global carbon market in 2011 was primarily driven by the EU ETS.

With the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, the value of the pre-2013 primary CER, ERU and AAU markets declined once again in 2011. Not surprisingly, however, the market is starting to look beyond 2012 and consequently the post-2012 primary CDM market increased by a robust 63 percent, to US$2 billion, despite depressed prices and limited long-term-visibility. Although China remained the largest source of contracted CERs, African countries – largely bypassed in the pre-2013 market – emerged stronger in 2011 and accounted for 21 percent of post-2012 CERs contracted during the year.

Against this backdrop, several new domestic and regional carbon market initiatives gained traction in both developed and developing economies in 2011. Five new jurisdictions passed legislation adopting cap-and-trade schemes.

“It is heartening to see that, while leading economies continue to experience difficulties and the carbon market faces major challenges, we see increasing interest in, and support for, new market-based mechanisms to mitigate climate change in the long term,” said Joëlle Chassard, Manager of the Carbon Finance Unit of the World Bank.

The Australian Parliament passed the Clean Energy Act, the California Air Resources Board adopted a cap-and-trade regulation, and Québec adopted its own cap-and-trade program. The province is now working toward linking it with California’s starting in 2013. Last month, both Mexico and the Republic of Korea passed comprehensive climate bills, laying the foundation for future market-based mechanisms.

“Together, these initiatives will drive substantial resources towards low-carbon investments and they have the potential to unleash a truly transformational carbon market, in support of a global solution to the climate challenge,” said Alexandre Kossoy, Senior Financial Specialist, World Bank Carbon Finance Unit.

Contacts:

In Cologne: Isabel Hagbrink, +1 202 458 0422, ihagbrink@worldbank.org

In Washington DC: Elisabeth Mealey, +1 202 458 4475, emealey@worldbank.org

For an electronic version of the report and more information on the Carbon Finance Unit and its carbon funds, please see: www.carbonfinance.org

World Bank Welcomes African Leadership on Natural Capital Accounting

2012-05-25T14:17:29.000Z

Announces $3m in support from Japan to help countries around the world put it into action

GABORONE, BOTSWANA, May 25, 2012 – The World Bank’s Vice President for Sustainable Development, Rachel Kyte, today welcomed the strong endorsement from ten African countries for natural capital accounting - a tool for factoring countries’ natural assets into their systems of national accounting.

Speaking at the conclusion of the African Sustainability Summit in Botswana, Kyte said African leaders had shown the way forward through a joint communiqué on natural capital accounting which recognized GDP’s limitations as a measure of well-being and sustainable growth and underscored the importance of a tool for taking natural capital into account for improved economic decision-making.

“Africa is where sustained and sustainable economic growth and the stewardship of natural wealth become one and the same thing,” Kyte said. “Making progress means more than just a strong GDP - it means giving equal attention to the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development. By endorsing natural capital accounting as a tool for delivering on more inclusive green growth, Africa is showing the way for the rest of the world.”

Kyte said that 24 countries around the world were already compiling natural capital accounts. With so much on-the-ground experience to draw upon, she said the World Bank was hoping to see at least 50 countries and 50 private corporations follow Africa’s lead by endorsing natural capital accounting at the upcoming Rio+20 Conference.

The World Bank is supporting countries to factor their natural capital into systems of national accounts through a global partnership called WAVES (Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services). Ms Kyte took the opportunity of the Botswana Summit to announce the Government of Japan’s financial commitment of $US3 million to support the WAVES Partnership.

“Japan’s generous commitment helps us step up to meet the increasing demand from countries to make natural capital accounting a reality,” Kyte said.

Japan’s Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs and Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister for Global Environmental Finance, Naoko Ishii said “Japan has long been a supporter to enhancing biodiversity and preserving ecosystems, and is excited to strengthen this initiative.”

WAVES is working to build capacity in countries to implement Natural Capital Accounting based on the UN’s recently endorsed System for Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA). The SEEA provides an internationally agreed method, on par with the current System of National Accounts, to account for material natural resources like minerals, timber, and fisheries.

WAVES is also working to develop an agreed methodology for accounting for ecosystem services, including for example, the `regulating’ services of forests for pollination and wetlands for reducing the impacts of floods.

The WAVES partnership includes the United Nations Environment Program, the UN Development Program, and the UN Statistical Commission; the countries of Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Madagascar, and the Philippines, which are implementing programs; as well as financial or technical support from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom, and several NGOS.

For a copy of the latest WAVES report “Moving Beyond GDP” go to:

http://www.wavespartnership.org/waves/

Contacts:

In Washington: Robert Bisset, +1 202 458 5191, rbisset@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, +1 202 458 9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org

For more information about WAVES and the World Bank’s work on sustainable development visit:

http://www.worldbank.org/sustainabledevelopment

For more information about the Summit For Sustainability in Africa, please visit here.

World Bank Database Shows Export Markets Are Dominated by Big Firms

2012-05-24T13:46:46.000Z

Difficult for Newcomers to Survive

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2012 – A few large companies dominate export markets in developing and developed countries, with the top one percent often accounting for more than half – sometimes nearly 80 percent – of total exports, according to a new World Bank database with a wealth of details on exporting firms.

The new Exporter Dynamics Database offers the most comprehensive picture yet of exporter characteristics and dynamics – a firm’s entry, exit and survival in the export market – in 45 developed and developing countries. The database mainly covers 2003-2009, though data from the 1990s are also available for some countries.

A key finding is that the export market is difficult to tackle for newcomers, with 57 percent of companies on average – and two-thirds in Africa – quitting within a year of entering the export market.

“Governments traditionally have focused on helping exporters expand to new products and new markets, but they may need to do more to help firms survive,” says Ana Margarida Fernandes, the task leader of the database, which was developed by the Trade and International Integration team of the World Bank’s Development Research Group.

The global database allows for cross-country comparisons of exporters based on factors such as size, survival, growth, and concentration. More countries will be added as the database expands. Until now, most databases focus not on exporting firms, but on the aggregate flow of goods across borders based on countries or products.

Based on data sets covering the universe of export transactions obtained directly from customs agencies, the data are comparable across countries. Measures cover the size distribution of exporting firms, their diversification in terms of products and markets, the dynamics of exporting firms’ entry, exit and survival, and the average unit prices of the goods traded.

The Exporter Dynamics Database could help policy makers identify opportunities in particular sectors and address challenges faced by their exporters, especially in their entry and survival in export markets. For example, it can be used to analyze the performance of export sectors in a country, comparing them with their counterparts in the region or richer countries. The database can also make it easier to analyze the impact of tariffs and other trade barriers. For example, it can be used to assess the impact of stringent non-tariff measures on the numbers and average size of exporters.

The database reveals several interesting trends. For example, the rate of firms entering the export market is high, with more than half of the exporters in Laos, Malawi, Tanzania, and Yemen being newcomers in any given year. But their survival rate isn’t that good, generally with more than a third of companies on average leaving the export market every year.

“Our database shows how large the degree of churning in export markets is, particularly in less developed and smaller economies,” says Martha Denisse Pierola, an economist at the Development Research Group who started the project with Caroline Freund, now the chief economist at the Middle East and North Africa Region of the World Bank. “We need further research to better assist governments in minimizing the costs associated with these high exit rates.”

Contacts:

In Washington: Jane Zhang, (202) 473-1376, janezhang@worldbank.org

For Broadcast Requests: Mehreen Sheikh, (202) 458-7336, msheikh1@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit: http://econ.worldbank.org/exporter-dynamics-database

For more information click here.