The expected long-term impact of the Sundarbans Biodiversity Conservation Project was to secure the integrity of the environment and biodiversity of the Sundarbans Reserved Forest (SRF). Comprising 6,000 square kilometers, the SRF is a globally significant ecosystem with a rich area of biodiversity and natural resources.

India has undertaken extensive reforms in its manufacturing sector in the last two decades. However, an acceleration of growth in manufacturing, and a concomitant increase in employment, has eluded India. What might be holding

The annual Asian Development Outlook provides a comprehensive economic analysis of 44 economies in developing Asia and the Pacific. This edition examines trends and prospects in Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. This year's theme on workers in developing Asia spotlights three issues. Will the region reap the demographic advantages of its many young people about to enter the workforce? Can it resolve its silent crisis in terms of its skills shortages?

This book gives an overview of the major issues in Asian cities in providing services and investments for their citizens in a period of rapid change and new challenges of climate change and economic restructuring. It provides lessons drawn from case studies of the urban sector in the People

This paper examines the experiences of private sector participation (PSP) in the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector. The paper first uses nonmarket failures as a concept to briefly explain why public sector provision of WSS is prone to failures. The widely sought solution, PSP, has not shown encouraging results in the WSS sector. In particular, private resources have not been adequately mobilized to solve WSS sector problems as anticipated by the proponents of PSPs. PSPs in

The dramatic projected rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Asian [and wider] cities poses a major challenge for the world. Population growth, increased urbanisation, the rise of
megacities, increased average incomes and consumption mean that travel demand is rising rapidly. The supply of transport funding and infrastructure to meet these challenges lags behind

Soaring food grain prices in recent months have caused serious concern around the world. In Asia the estimated 1.2 billion poor people who spend on average 60% of their income on food have been hit hard. Food price inflation severely stresses the most vulnerable groups.

Climate change is not just an environmental issue; and responding to climate change is not just about turning to more efficient energy technologies. Climate change is also an economic issue and the poverty-stricken Asia and Pacific region must learn to cope with it now and prepare for a future of more change.

The recent spike in global food prices and the short-sighted policy responses that accentuate volatility in prices threaten to push large numbers of people back below the poverty line