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Reducing Dam Impacts and Costs by Thinking of the Land Above the Dam

Satoru Ueda's picture

In the World Bank we often discuss how important it is to integrate solutions across sectors. In Mombasa, Kenya, we have an example of how a comprehensive sediment management approach will allow the government to lower the environmental impact of a proposed dam and save tens of millions of dollars by reducing the amount of sediment that the dam traps. When too much sediment is trapped in a dam, the lifespan of the dam is shortened considerably so reducing sediment is key for long-term success.

Enhancing Women’s Voice & Empowerment

Jeni Klugman's picture

A vendor stands next to her wares in East Timor. Alex Baluyut/World Bank

On March 5, just before International Women’s Day, we mark the launch of On Norms and Agency: Conversations about Gender Equality with Women and Men in 20 Countries. This book is the result of an important partnership between the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation, and of vital qualitative work that accompanied the 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development.

Those whose voices we hear through this report—both men and women—emphasize a central point again and again: that the ability to make effective choices and exercise control over one’s life is a critical dimension of well-being.

At the World Bank, we see this book launch as an important foundation for new directions.

It's About Time for the Men to Step Up!

Prabu Deepan's picture

As part of World Bank South Asia's "What Will It Take to End Gender-Based Violence" campaign, we invited Prabu Deepan to blog about his ideas as the co-founder of the Stitch Movement in Sri Lanka.

Join Deepan for a live chat on Tuesday, March 5 at 4:00 p.m. Sri Lanka time. Location: facebook.com/worldbanksrilanka.

Gender norms and stereotypes not only affect women, they have an impact on men too. As a child whose father lost his job, I had to quit school and pick up the responsibilities of a man, to support my family financially. It has been more than 13 years and I have never stopped working; this is stressful. Studies show that men’s stress and childhood trauma increase the probability of them perpetrating violence against their partners, in comparison with a man who hasn’t had a stressful life or a traumatic childhood.

Of course, I don’t beat women, harass them, or even tease them because of my difficult upbringing. I guess most of you share the same sentiment. If I’m not someone who perpetuates violence against women and girls, then why is it my problem, right? I’m a good guy, I respect women, I treat them equally and definitely have never harmed them physically, so why worry about all of this?

Enough is Enough: Stop Violence against Women!

Naomi Ahmad's picture

Arne Hoel/World BankOne in every three women in the world will be physically or sexually abused at some point in her life. This could include the woman sitting next to you on the bus, your little niece playing in the garden, or even a friend you have known all your life.

For years, Rumana Manzur, assistant professor at Dhaka University, had been silent about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband. But on June 5, 2011, Manzur was brutally attacked at home. Her husband beat her mercilessly, tried to gouge out her eyes, and bit off part of her nose in a fit of rage. Their 5-year-old daughter was in the room and witnessed this inhuman act. Manzur is now blind, her daughter traumatized for life.

Measuring is Managing

Julia Bucknall's picture

Water management lies behind most of the great development challenges of the 21st Century.  It's obvious but we too often forget that we won't be able to achieve food security, energy security, healthy cities and productive ecosystems without greatly improving how we manage water.  In the global north, the challenges of basic access to water services are less pressing than they are in the south but -- as hurricane Sandy showed New York -- the challenges of making the right quantity and quality of water available where it is most needed still loom large.  

Engaging Youth via New Media: Beyond 'Clicktivism'

Sachini Perera's picture

As part of World Bank South Asia's "What Will It Take to End Gender-Based Violence" campaign, we invited Sachini Perera to blog about her work with Women and Media Collective (WMC) in Sri Lanka.

Join Perera for a live chat on Friday, March 1 at 2:30 p.m. Sri Lanka time. Location:
facebook.com/worldbanksrilanka.

I often notice young women’s and men’s lack of engagement. Being a young woman myself, I decided to experiment with ways to engage youth by meeting them halfway.

In 2011 and 2012, as part of WMC’s work for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we curated the Sri Lanka 16 Days Blog, a platform for raising awareness about gender-based violence among youth.

Quick Guide to International Women’s Day: Live Chat, Data, a Contest, Videos and More

Donna Barne's picture

International Women’s Day 2013 comes at a time of heightened concerns globally about women’s safety in society—hence the day’s  theme: “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.”  World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim addresses the issue in a Huffington Post blog, and invites feedback from the public on ways to accelerate progress for women and girls.  You can ask questions and weigh in on the factors driving women’s empowerment in a live chat March 6 in English, French, and Spanish with Sustainable Development Vice President Rachel Kyte, and World Bank gender experts.  Find a complete list of World Bank International Women’s Day 2013 resources.

Participate

March 6 Live Chat: What Drives Empowerment?
11 a.m. EST (DC time), 16:00 GMT (Convert Time)

Post questions ahead of the chat for Sustainable Development Vice President Rachel Kyte, Gender and Development Director Jeni Klugman and other experts. Follow on Twitter with hashtag #WBLive.

It’s Not OK to Be Silent on Gender-Based Violence

Diarietou Gaye's picture
Video Platform Video Management Video Solutions Video Player

The recent gang rape in India alarmed all countries in South Asia. A 23-year-old woman was gang-raped by five men on a bus in New Delhi. Some of the offenders had jobs (bus driver and assistant gym instructor) and one was a juvenile. The victim failed to survive the trauma. This incident resulted in a public outcry for justice, and the media still report statements exposing public officials who are insensitive and lack awareness of the social and economic costs of gender-based violence. Do we have to wait for such a violent incident to occur to start acting?

Inclusion is No Illusion

Zahid Hussain's picture

The World Bank’s recent report Bangladesh: Towards Accelerated, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth—Opportunities and Challenges examines inclusiveness along three dimensions—poverty, inequality, and the distribution of economic opportunities. The findings are summarized in this post.

Economic growth in the last two decades in Bangladesh has been pro-poor. Poverty declined significantly from 58.8 percent in 1991/92 to 31.5 percent in 2010. Bangladesh succeeded in “bending the arc of poverty reduction” in the decade ending 2010, a period in which the number of poor declined by around 15 million, compared with a decline of about 2.3 million in the preceding decade. There has also been regional convergence in poverty patterns during 2005-10. Poverty reduction in the lagging Western divisions (Rajshahi, Khulna, and Barisal) was larger than in the Eastern divisions. A number of other indicators of welfare also show notable improvements between 2000 and 2010 for the general population and the poor alike.

Income distribution stabilized after deteriorating in the 1990s. While comparisons based on consumption data have been used to argue that inequality in Bangladesh is low by international standards, when income rather than HIES consumption data are used, inequality appears to be much higher. The degree of income inequality was reasonably low and stable compared to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines during the 1970s and 1980s. But there was a sharp increase between 1991-92 and 1995-96. Gini consumption concentration ratios based on HIES 2000, 2005, and 2010 data were almost unchanged while Gini income concentration ratios increased by 3.5 percent during 2000-05 followed by 1.9 percent decrease during 2005-10. The good news is it has been a race to the top in the past decade with consumption growing for the poor and non-poor alike. However, income inequality in Bangladesh is relatively high. Among Bangladesh’s peer group of countries only Sri Lanka has a higher income Gini and Cambodia is close.

Bridging the Gender Gap: Empowering India’s Female Entrepreneurs

Mabruk Kabir's picture

A quiet revolution has been sweeping the Indian political landscape. Last year, the reservation (quota) for women in panchayats — rural local self-government — was increased to at least 50 percent, bringing women into the political fold in vast numbers.

However, economic empowerment may not have kept pace with political empowerment. When it comes to female labor force participation, gender disparities remain deeply entrenched. The 2012 World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index ranked India 123rd out of 135 countries on economic participation and opportunity.

Voices of Youth: Toward a Green South Asia from India

Shruti Lakhtakia's picture

At the 9th South Asia Economics Students' Meet on Green Growth, participants shared their vision about South Asian cities of the future. These are their innovative ideas.

The creation and expansion of urban centers has been a hallmark of the development process. As per capita incomes in South Asia have increased, urbanization has expanded from 18% in the early 1970’s to 30% in 2010. This will continue to expand as people are drawn to cities for the opportunities to realize their aspirations.

These large urban communities, however, provide significant challenges, such as a high density, pollution and traffic congestion, all of which reduces the quality of life for its residents. By designing cities with the environment in mind, we will be able to reduce energy use and limit waste. Green growth in the cities of the future will minimize the ecological footprint and improve living standards

What will it take to make this dream a reality?

Get the Conditions Right for Remittances to Matter

Zahid Hussain's picture

Recent evidence suggests that remittances have a positive impact on economic growth. This post will examine evidence based on an international panel data set that captures the surge in migration and remittances observed during 2006-09. The dataset includes 70 countries spanning from 1990 to 2009. This to our knowledge is the most recent data set that has been used in empirical remittance work. The recent effort of countries to decrease money laundering, use of improved technology and decrease in transaction costs is leading to a decrease in the unofficial portion of remittances. There has also been a surge in migration and remittances in the last half of the past decade. Thus this dataset should more comprehensively capture the growth impact of remittances compared to previous studies. Different models used to calculate the impact of remittances on growth are detailed in the report titled Bangladesh: Towards Accelerated, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth—Opportunities and Challenges, Volume II, Main Report, published in June 2012.

The impact of remittances on per capita GDP growth is economically significant

Like the Kumbh, Every Day

Onno Ruhl's picture

Kumbh Mela at the banks of Ganga,( photo by: Martje van der Heide)

When we got closer I saw that the bridge at the confluence was not a bridge:  It was a line stitched together from hundreds of little boats full of people.  Our own little boat went straight for it and docked at what looked like a slightly more important boat.  I then realized this was the place to take a dip…

Nepal Youth Pictures Inequality, Wins Photo Contest

Ravi Kumar's picture

Available in Español, Français

Nepal Youth Pictures Inequality, Wins Photo Contest

Among the evocative winning photos in the World Bank’s recent “Picture Inequality” contest was one that hit home for me.

It shows a skinny teenager crushing stones so they could be used to construct gravel roads in Nepal. The picture captured the sense of helplessness many youth feel in Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia that is struggling to recover from a decade-long civil war. And it brought to mind the saying a photograph is worth a thousand words.

The photographer, Niraj Prasad Koirala, 24, of Nepal, was one of 10 winners whose photographs and statements best captured inequality and described how they would make a better world. Koirala’s photo was one of 11 chosen by a panel of experts from 756 photos received between October 25 and December 16, 2012. 

"I was very happy when I got to read the winning message from the World Bank. It was my one of the greatest moments in life," says Koirala.

Talking to the UN Security Council about Climate Change

Rachel Kyte's picture

Flags at the United Nations. UN Photos

This morning, I had the honor of speaking to the UN Security Council about an increasingly dangerous threat facing cities and countries around the world, a threat that, more and more, is influencing everything that they and we do: climate change.

World Bank President Jim Kim is in Russia right now talking with G20 finance ministers about the same thing – the need to combat climate change. Every day, we’re hearing growing concerns from leaders around the world about climate change and its impact.

If we needed any reminder of the immediacy and the urgency of the situation, Australia Foreign Minister Bob Carr and our good friend President Tong of Kiribati spoke by video of the security implication of climate effects on the Pacific region.


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