According to proponents, voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated with polluters sidestep weak institutions and other barriers to conventional environmental regulation in developing countries. Yet little is known about their effectiveness. We examine VAs in Colombia, a global leader in the use of...

In order to inform the 2010 Strategy, and suggest what role the World Bank Group (WBG) can realistically play in strengthening environmental institutions and governance, this paper takes stock of WBG operations in this area since the 2001 Strategy. Looking across the spectrum of lending and...