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Economic losses from natural disasters totaled $92 billion in 2015, and average annual losses have been estimated at more than $300 billion a year.” Policy makers, analysts, and others are used to such statements, which measure the severity of disasters and their socioeconomic impacts using the value of the damages inflicted by disasters on buildings, infrastructure, equipment, and…

The Middle East and North Africa region is already suffering the consequences of climate change, and will be hit especially hard by the ongoing rise in global temperatures. Countries in the region are aware of their vulnerabilities and have begun taking action to confront the impacts of climate change, but the challenges are enormous. The World Bank Group has launched a…

Listening to people from across Europe and Central Asia shows that despite an overall good economic performance, there is a lot of discontent and rising concerns about a disappearing middle class. Through structured focus groups and in-depth interviews in 43 communities from nine countries, the report explores factors that have supported or hindered economic mobility and access to…

In the coming years, the agribusiness sector will navigate a rapidly shifting, increasingly challenging time. One of the challenges will be to meet the rising demand for agricultural products, even as the land suitable for growing crops declines. Navigating the changes will mean seizing new ways of increasing the productivity and efficiency of agribusiness value chains—the goods and services…

Land is of multi-dimensional character. It is multi-scale, multi-functional, multi-sectorial, multi-actor based: it needs people from practice and research to interact as equal partners to make sense of research for sustainable land management. The kind of research needed to deal with this complexity and these challenges we term implementation-oriented research. With its many practical examples,…

This report takes stock of key developments since the publishing of the independent report A New Climate for Peace commissioned by G7 members. It provides a concise risk horizon scan for 2015 and 2016, and an overview and assessment of key policy developments in 2015 and 2016 that are of relevance for addressing climate‑fragility risks. In 2015 A New Climate for Peace compiled the evidence…