The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
This book defines the new field of "Bioeconomy" as the sustainable and innovative use of biomass and biological knowledge to provide food, feed, industrial products, bioenergy and ecological services. The chapters highlight the importance of bioeconomy-related concepts in public, scientific, and political discourse. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the authors outline …
This new report reviews initiatives undertaken by cities in the Asia-Pacific region to stem the social and economic losses from increasing congestion and pollution. It calls for improving road safety and acknowledges the increasing role of intelligent transport systems for urban and inter-city mobility. The Review of Development in Transport …
Global production of major wood products surged in 2016 for the seventh consecutive year with a growth rate of three to six percent, according to new data published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The fastest increase in major wood products (industrial roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels, wood pellets) occurred …
According to the Presidential Order, published in the Statel Gazette on December 7, the funding aims to boost the economic and social development of the country through the re-launch of agriculture. The diploma, signed by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, is already in force, and it authorizes the …
Without a renewed commitment to policy change, commodity-dependent developing countries (CDDCs) are by 2030 set to lag behind countries with more diverse economies in their social and economic achievements, UNCTAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a report. The Commodities and Development Report …
An upturn in the global economy—now growing by about 3 per cent—paves the way to reorient policy towards longer-term issues such as addressing climate change, tackling existing inequalities and removing institutional obstacles to development, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2018. The World Economic Situation …
This paper explores ways of financing the transition from brown, carbon-intensive models of economic development to low-carbon, green economies. Countries are beginning to better understand their progress in transitioning from brown to green models of economic development. However, there is no single set of indicators to allow an assessment of …
This is a critical time for Kenya, as the incoming administrations at national and devolved levels face the high expectations of ordinary Kenyans to deliver on ambitious economic development agendas and hasten the attainment of Vision 2030. This sixteenth edition of the Kenya economic update seeks to contribute to the …
Over the past decade, India has taken several steps to address climate change while supporting long-term development objectives. This paper analyzes the climate change mitigation goals that have been set and the key policies that have been and are being implemented. The objective is threefold: to enhance understanding of India’s …
An estimated 1.25 million people are killed on the world’s roads every year, and between 20 and 50 million people are seriously injured. Every traffic crash is an individual loss. When death or serious injury results, this loss is compounded by the harm to people, households, and social networks. But …
Developments in the Rwandan economy as of the first half of 2017 have been mixed. On the upside, Rwanda's external imbalances have eased on account of improvements in global commodity prices, global and regional strengthening of growth recovery, and the external adjustment the government undertook in 2016. Inflation pressures have …
Traditionally, agriculture is the prime sector of rural economy and rural employment. The transition in composition of output and occupation from agriculture to more productive non-farm sectors is considered as an important source of economic growth and transformation in rural and total economy. However, no serious attempt has been made …
A new report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) calls for the industrialization of the continent with a focus on smart industrial policy, structural transformations and a move towards processing the continent’s raw materials into value added products. The report, entitled “Industrialize Africa: Strategies, Policies, Institutions and Financing”, was …
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the National Academy of Economic Strategy (NAES) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) have jointly released a report on cities’ competitiveness around the world, focusing on the relationship between housing and urban competitiveness. Titled ‘The Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2017-2018: House …
The tenth edition of the Tanzania Economic Update covers the state of the economy and includes a near term outlook, with a special focus chapter on one of the most cross-cutting determinants of development outcomes, water resource management. Part One presents a discussion and analysis of Tanzania's recent macroeconomic and …
This paper provides a helpful framing to understand both why and how policy attention and investments should be channeled through agriculture and agrifood systems as key vehicles for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It illustrates the ways in which agriculture, particularly within the context of food value chains, is …
While overall food security has improved remarkably in Asia in the past decades, food insecurity still prevails in many developing countries in the region. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, over 500 million Asians still suffer from hunger. Sound strategies need to be developed and actions undertaken to fight …
With over 80 per cent of global trade by volume and more than 70 per cent of its value being carried on board ships and handled by seaports worldwide, the importance of maritime transport for trade and development cannot be overemphasized. Recognizing the sector’s strategic function, the global policy framework …
Policies that encourage sustainable growth and entrepreneurship have the potential to ignite a green industrial revolution in Africa. Transformative economic and ‘green growth’ policies, combined with entrepreneurship, could enable Africa to ‘leap frog’ to a clean, resource-efficient modern economy. A new working paper finds that Africa’s transformation to a more …
The Index of Economic Freedom provides compelling evidence of the wide-ranging tangible benefits of living in freer societies. The Index analyzes economic policy developments in 186 countries. Countries are graded and ranked on 12 measures of economic freedom that evaluate the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and the …
