IIED conducted an independent consultation on the World Bank

Around the world, the old paradigm,

Under the new industrial policy announced in 2002 and the export-import policy announced thereafter, SEZs have been sought to be created in several parts of the country for promoting industrial production and export growth. Their strategic view was looking to target foreign investors in combination with domestic suppliers, in order to make major inroads into world markets. SEZ Act, 2005 was passed by Parliament in May 2005 and received Presidential assent on 23rd June 2005. A large number SEZs have been given in-priniciple approvals, in different parts of India.

There is increasing international recognition that while growth in bioenergy offers new opportunities for sustainable agricultural development, it also carries significant risks. With use of current technologies and set policies, the growth in liquid biofuels is contributing to the rise of commodity prices and may have negative impacts on food security and the environment.

Climate change will have a disproportionate impact on poor developing countries - compared to the expected net effects in developed regions - due to a combination of more severe climatic impacts in areas that are already vulnerable today, coupled with inadequate resources, technology and organizational capacity to adapt to them.

In order to support the required level of economic activities in urban areas it is imperative to maintain the mobility of people by providing reliable, comfortable and sustainable transport network so that the people could easily access to their work places, educational centers, recreational places etc.

The stone age procession is a reminder that the car industry is still trapped in the "dinosaur dynamic" of building ever-faster and increasingly powerful gas-guzzlers at the expense of the climate. This report shows how the car industry, led by the Germans, has misled and manipulated the EU for 17 years.

Irrigation has made a major contribution to poverty reduction in the past decades, enabling higher yields and better nutrition. Despite these achievements, large-scale irrigation schemes have usually yielded low returns and attracted negative publicity because of their adverse environmental and social impacts.

This technical paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore,
the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species.

The detrimental effect of the high usage of fertilizer and pesticides in conventional cotton production is well known. The figures as you all know are as follows: Cotton uses 25% of the world