This volume is based on a review of the evolving groundwater situation during the 1990s in a substantial number of developing nations. It aims to raise awareness of the key linkages between groundwater and rural development and to identify appropriate technical and institutional approaches for...

Russia's educational system, with broad access, and high levels of scholarly achievement, has long been a source of strength. The Soviet system, however, was grossly overcentralized, inefficient, and lacking in accountability. In the last decade, attempted rapid decentralization has not been...

Government and the private sector have complementary roles in promoting development and in fighting poverty.

Governments have revamped mining legislation to enable private investment while becoming more sensitive to environmental factors. In light of this legislation, this report examines the environmental effects of artisanal, small, and medium mines in three Latin American Countries: Bolivia, Chile,...

This report is a critical review of the technical, economic, and institutional constraints to improving soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and actions recommended to address them. The report is a review of selected literature, illustrated by a synthesis of the most important lessons...

Privatization has been the basic direction of reform in transitional economies. In implementing this process, however, policy makers overlooked the problems of the remaining public enterprises, mainly public utilities and natural resource-based industries which often include declining...