Biotechnology proponents claim that genetically modified (GM) crops are good for consumers, farmers and the environment, and that they are growing in popularity around the world.

This report provides an overview of information on the world fertilizer situation in 2007/08 and a forecast till 2011/12. The fertilizer situation is examined in relation to crop production and factors likely to affect the latter. High commodity prices experienced over recent years led to increased production and correspondingly greater fertilizer consumption as reflected in tight markets and higher fertilizer prices at the start of the outlook period. While demand for basic food crops, for high value crops such as fruit and vegetables, for animal products and for crops capable of being used to produce bio-fuels is likely to remain strong, it is expected that increased fertilizer consumption required to support higher levels of production will be adequately catered for by growing supply world wide during the outlook period.

This global screening study makes a first estimate of the exposure of the world's large port cities to coastal flooding due to storm surge and damage due to high winds. This study also investigates how climate change is likely to impact each port city's exposure to coastal flooding by the 2070s, alongside subsidence and population growth and urbanisation. The assessment provides a much more comprehensive analysis than earlier studies, focussing on the 136 port cities around the world that have more than one million inhabitants.

This paper, together with five other background studies, is a part of a broader research programme addressing trade and structural adjustment issues in non-member economies which was conducted as a follow-up to Trade and Structural Adjustment: Embracing Globalisation (OECD, 2005)which identified policies for successful trade-related structural adjustment. This paper revisits and elaborates on specific parts of these policy recommendations with a view to reassessing their applicability to developing countries. The five background studies; a comparison study comparing East Asia and Latin America and four country case studies (Chile, Ecuador, the Philippines and Thailand), which were conducted as a part of this project, form the basis for the analysis, supplemented by existing literature.

Biotechnology proponents claim that genetically modified (GM) crops are good for consumers, farmers and the environment, and that they are growing in popularity around the world. Unfortunately, journalists often report such claims as fact, without first subjecting them to critical scrutiny.

The World Trade Indicators (WTI) database and ranking tool cover country level indicators of trade performance and policies and institutions that affect trade. This publication summarizes patterns in world trade policy and trade outcomes revealed by the WTI database, focusing mainly on regional and income level variations and providing the context to help evaluate individual country progress. It is hoped that this initiative, by benchmarking country performance in various policy and outcome areas, will enhance the ability of policy makers to design and implement needed trade-related reforms.

This Synthesis Report is based on the assessment carried out by the three Working Groups of the IPCC. It provides an integrated view of climate change as the final part of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report.

In 1997, the Government of Mexico introduced a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program called Programa de Education, Salud, Y Alimentacion (Progresa), providing assistance to about 300, 000 extremely poor households. The essential premise of a CCT program is a cash transfer to households, conditioned on their participation in health, nutrition, and education services.