PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE

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1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Project Name Region Country PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project (P127015) SOUTH ASIA Bangladesh Sector(s) Forestry (100%) Lending Instrument Project ID Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Environmental Category Date PID Prepared Specific Investment Loan P Ministry of Enviornment & Forest, Ministry of Enviornment & Forest Bangladesh Forest Department B-Partial Assessment 18-Mar-2012 Estimated Date of Appraisal Completion 30-Apr-2012 Estimated Date of Board Approval Concept Review Decision I. Introduction and Context 30-May-2012 Report No.: PIDC172 Country Context Over the past decade, real GDP in Bangladesh grew at an average rate of 6 percent per year, despite recurring natural disasters, weak economic governance, and conflicting political environment. Inflation has been kept in the single digit range until very recently and domestic debt levels are low and stable. Per capita GDP has risen to USD 664 in FY11, and the share of the population living below the poverty line has declined from 59 percent in 1990 to 32 percent in Bangladesh has progressed well in achieving the most of the human development targets to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Looking ahead, Bangladesh now aims to become a middle-income country by 2021, to mark its 50th year of independence. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency and severity of the floods, tropical cyclones, storm surges and droughts in the near future. Eighty percent of Bangladesh consists of floodplains created by 300 rivers and channels, including three major rivers: the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Meghna (GBM). The country#s location at the tail end of the delta formed by GBM rivers makes the timing, location and extent of flooding dependent on the precipitation of the entire GBM basin, not just on the 7 percent of the basin that lies within the country. Nearly 80 percent of the country#s annual precipitation occurs during the summer monsoon season, when these rivers have a combined peak flow of 180,000 m3 per second, the highest in the world. Floods inundate once every three to five years, up to twothirds of Bangladesh, causing substantial damage to public infrastructure, housing, agriculture and livelihoods. Bangladesh#s southern part is nestled in the Bay of Bengal, extending on a 710 km long coastal belt that is home to nearly 35 million people. The low-lying coastal areas are at risk from tidal floods and severe cyclones. On average once every three years, a severe cyclone hits the coastline, either before or after the monsoon, creating storm surges that are sometimes above 10 meters. The storm surges are higher in Bangladesh than in neighboring countries because the Bay of Bengal narrows towards the north, where Bangladesh is located. However, the country has been better prepared in the past decade to deal with weather uncertainty and emergency responses, making recent events less deadly than earlier disasters. In addition to natural disasters and climate change impacts, the pressure on natural resources in Bangladesh is very high, due to the country#s population density among the highest in the world. Crops cover two-thirds of the land area, which is the largest proportion in South Asia. Cropping intensity is also the highest in the region, having increased by 25% over the last thirty years, and available evidence shows the imbalanced use of agricultural inputs and the existing nutrient depletion. The share of land under forest cover is the second lowest in the region, with natural forest cover accounting for only half of that in the 1960#s. In this context, participatory afforestation and reforestation in coastal and hilly areas will be one of the key contributors in meeting the challenge of climate change vulnerability and depleting forest resources. Sectoral and Institutional Context Forestry Sector in Bangladesh Forest Coverage in Bangladesh: Statistics on Bangladesh forestry vary considerably from one source to another, and there is a general dearth of reliable systematic information in this regard. According to the Forestry Sector Master Plan (FSMP), total forest cover is 2.56 million hectares (m ha) or 17.8% of Bangladesh#s land area. This includes all classified (1.49 m ha) and unclassified (0.73 m ha) state owned forestland, village forest lands or homestead forestry (0.27 m ha), tea estates and rubber gardens (0.07 m ha). The classified forest includes hill forests (43.8%), natural mangrove forests (39.2%), mangrove plantations (9.2%) and sal

2 forests (7.8%). The unclassified forest mainly concentrates in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and cover about 29% of the country#s total forest land. The Ministry of Land controls the land, while the Forest Department manages the forestry activities therein. The forest sector#s contribution to GDP is around 4% in terms of timber, fuel wood, food like honey, wax, medicine, fodder, industrial raw materials etc. If the value of services such as protection against natural hazards, recreation and biodiversity were considered, forest contribution to GDP would be substantially higher. Coastal Afforestation: Since , the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) has established mangroves in the coastal embankments, newly accreted coastal char lands and offshore islands along the 710 km long coastline. Coastal afforestation has gained momentum since through the implementation of different development projects in the coastal embankments, chars and islands. To date, man-made mangrove forests cover more than 0.17 m ha of embankments, chars and islands and represent a unique greenbelt along the coast. Sundri (Heritiera formes), Gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), Keora (Sonneratia apetala) and Passur (Xylocarpus mekongensis) are the major mangrove species. Besides, non-mangrove plantations (block, strip, agro-forestry, institutional, village afforestation) are established through the social forestry program in the coastal districts. These greenbelts protect lives and property of the coastal region from the impacts of frequent natural hazards like tidal surge, cyclone and salinity intrusion inwards. Foreshore afforestation proved to be a cost effective method to dissipate wave energy and reduce floods on embankments during storm surges. This was evident during the 1991, 2007 (Sidr) and 2009 (Aila) cyclones. For example, the virtual absence of mangrove forests in Chokoria and surrounding areas resulted in large damages to property and loss of lives in In contrast, even scattered and unplanned afforestation on the foreshore of embankments affected by the 2007 cyclone Sidr substantially broke the storm surge velocity, reducing damages and losses. Coastal afforestation/reforestation also improves physical environment and ecosystems of the coastal region and contributes to combat land degradation and resource depletion. The government has recently approved an afforestation project that establishes mangrove plantations (12,355 ha), non-mangrove plantations (400 ha) and strip plantation (678 km) in coastal areas. In addition, as follow-up of National Adaptation Program for Action (NAPA), the project #Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestation in Bangladesh# is under implementation. It is supported by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the designated Global Environment Facility (GEF) Agency and jointly financed by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Government of Bangladesh (GOB), and UNDP. However, there is still significant demand for the planned afforestation and reforestation in the coastal districts to create natural barriers in the coastal areas. Hill Forests: The total area of hill forests is 670,000 ha, which corresponds to 4.7% of the country's surface area. Hill forests are spread over the areas of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet and Chittagong Hill Tracts. Based on the topograph y, soil and climate, they can be classified into tropical wet evergreen forests and tropical semi-evergreen forests. Hill Forests have rich varieties of flora and fauna. Principal species include the Garjan (Dipterocarpus spp.), Chapalish (Artocarpus chaplasha),telsur (Hopea odorata), Tali (Dichopsis polyantha), Kamdeb (Calophyllum polyanthum), Jarul (Lagerstroemia speciosa), Uriam (Mangifera sylvatica), Civit (Swintonia floribunda), Toon (Toona ciliata), and Bandarhola (Duabanga grandiflora). Deforestation is the major challenge in the hills, contributing # along with heavy rainfall -- to serious landslides in Chittagong and Cox#s Bazaar hill districts. The areas that were massively affected by deforestation in recent years are more prone to landslides than forested areas. Change in land use pattern, encroachment of forest land, fire, uncontrolled and wasteful commercial logging, illegal felling of trees, turning forest land into grazing fields and collecting fuel wood are considered the major reasons for deforestation. Plantations in hilly areas play an important role in improving soil stability, thus reducing the risk of landslides and erosion. People#s Participation in Forest Management: Bangladesh has showed notable success in poverty reduction through social forestry. The Social Forestry Program, aimed at ensuring #active participation by the rural people in planning, implementation and benefit sharing of tree growing schemes#, has brought significant change and success in forest management to Bangladesh. About 335,000 rural poor are now participating in the on-going Social Forestry Program. The program is marked as a milestone in the national economy for poverty reduction. So far, it distributed about Tk million (more than USD 17 million) among 81,402 participants as part of their benefit share. There is evidence that social forestry projects have contributed to considerable income and employment generation opportunities over last two decades, as well as provision of other benefits and services. Social forestry was included in the Forest (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Social Forestry Rules were approved in An assessment carried out jointly by Chittagong University and BFD emphasized for i) decentralized decision making process at BFD; ii) improving partnership, participation and dialogue at local level; and iii) developing social capital and local capacity building in designing future social forestry project. The Rules defined the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, management, capacity building and distribution of earnings from social afforestation. In addition, the BFD recently introduced #Co-Management# of Protected Areas through an USAID-funded project. The co-management approach for protected area management is now officially included in forestry sector management through gazette notification. Need for a Comprehensive Forest Resources Assessment: Although many successful interventions for afforestation and reforestation were carried out, the analytical work and research are very limited in the forestry sector. There is no comprehensive resource assessment and monitoring system to mark the areas covered by the projects and those to be identified for future interventions. Available assessments remain discrete. For example, a detailed assessment of coastal forests was carried out during with no follow-up resource assessment and monitoring. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) supported another assessment of the national forest and tree resources during by using a sampling method and focusing mainly on village forestry. Comprehensive integrated resource management in forestry sector is required.

3 Need to Update the Forestry Master Plan. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted GOB in preparing a #Forestry Master Plan# for the period The plan provides a framework for optimizing the forestry sector#s contribution to stabilizing environmental conditions and assisting economic and social development. Over time, the BFD has acquired significant experience in implementing social/participatory afforestation and natural forest management interventions. At this time, an assessment of the implementation of the Forestry Master Plan and preparation of a new long-term forestry master plan are urgent priorities for BFD. A new plan would need to focus on a sustainable forestry management including key emerging issues like bio carbon financing for forestry sector management, climate change risks, bio-diversity conservation, community participation and co-management of forestry resources. Institutional framework: The BFD under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is the primary agency in Bangladesh responsible for managing forests resources in the country. The BFD has built a good working relationship with the communities, local level committees and NGOs. The department has 8,681 staff and most of them are located at forest divisional levels. However, the BFD and the MoEF have limited experience on managing large-scale projects, which could result in slow implementation. Furthermore, the department requires institutional capacity building in terms of human resources and logistics for proper forest management. Policy Focus on Afforestation and Reforestation The National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction II (Revised FY ) emphasizes mainstreaming and strengthening climate change adaptation across various sectors- improved crop production practices, watershed and coastal zone management including afforestation, building cyclone shelters, emban kments, improving salinity control measures, creating public awareness, highlighting the need for climate research and data collection. The strategy reinforces the need for climate change resilient afforestation and reforestation in the denuded hill forests and newly accreted coastal lands. The National Strategy also emphasizes community participation, and especially greater women#s involvement in the afforestation program. Linked with the National Strategy, the Bangladesh Sixth Five year Plan (FY2011-FY2015) underscores the need for afforestation and reforestation of an estimated 250,000 ha of hill forest land, 40,000 ha of coastal areas and 7,000 ha of plain land forest by According to the plan, existing scattered and denuded hill forests will be replanted to increase productivity by promoting scientific management principles. In order to prevent the extent of damage by cyclones and tidal surges, the plan envisages creating a Coastal Green Belt and enhancing access to input materials, including seeds and seedlings. In 2009, GoB adopted the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP). Among other key areas, the strategy highlights adaptation and expansion of the #green belt# coastal afforestation program, with mangrove planting along the shoreline, and the social forestry program. The action plan based upon the strategy has six pillars: (i) food security, social safety and health; (ii) comprehensive disaster management; (iii) infrastructure; (iv) research and knowledge management; (v) mitigation and low carbon development; and (vi) capacity building. A multi-donor trust fund entitled #Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF)# was established in 2010 for implementing the BCCSAP. GOB is managing and implementing BCCRF. On behalf of the contributing Development Partners, and in consultation with the GoB, the World Bank will, for a certain period, ensure the BCCRF#s compliance with due diligence requirements (including fiduciary management, transparency and accountability) and implementation of projects with due regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The proposal for this project was prepared by BFD and submitted to the BCCRF Management Committee for endorsement. Bank#s involvement in Forestry Sector Bank#s past experience with Forestry Sector in Bangladesh: IDA supported the forestry sector through funding of three forestry projects during The first project was Mangrove Afforestation Project (Cr BD; Credit Amount US$11 million), which was implemented during, Implementation period ), which established about 30,500 ha of new plantations and demonstrated the value of remote sensing. Overall, project implementation was successful with 18% economic rate of return. Upon project completion, IDA provided support to the sector by financing the Second Forestry Project (Cr BD; Credit Amount US$28.0 million) during The project#s principal objective of expanding the forest resource base was successfully met. The Forest Resources Management Project (Cr BD; Credit Amount US$53.23 million) was implemented from 1992 to 2001, with satisfactory achievement. It established the basis for an improved forest management system. The project also established 33,570 ha mangrove forests and 36,500 ha of industrial plantation. Lessons Learnt from Earlier Projects: The key lessons learnt from the Mangrove Afforestation Project are: (i) flexible rotation period for mangrove should be considered since growth is rapid up to 8-10 years and stops thereafter (presently assumed years); and (ii) coordination among land use agencies in the coastal areas should be established to prevent allocation of some mangrove areas for use in other activities before the plantations are mature. T he main lessons from the Second Forestry Project were: (i) a five-year project period is too short, particularly in the absence of annual monitoring; (ii) greater prominence needs to be given to people' s participation in project design and execution; (iii) new staffing and recruitment policies need to be agreed at the start of the project; and (iv) a clear institutional mechanism is requir ed to allocate reclaimed coastal lands to their most appropriate longterm use consistent with environmental protection. These lessons were incorporated in the follow-up Forest Resources

4 Management Project. The key lessons from the Forest Resources Management Project were: (i) effective plantation management and achievement of optimal forest products yields require adequate and timely provision of funds; (ii) sustainable management of mangrove plantations will depend on having a sound legal basis for tenure, within an agreed policy for disposition of the mangroves and accreted land to their best land use ; and (iii) effective development and management of forests and protection of wildlife and protected areas must consider the needs and possible involvement of marginal and landless people adjacent to the forests. Bank#s recent engagement with Forest Sector in Bangladesh: IDA recently approved an Adaptive Program Loan on #Strengthening Regional Cooperation for Wildlife Protection in Asia#, of which Bangladesh will receive an amount of US$36 million (Cr BD) for: (i) capacity building to address illegal wildlife trade through regional cooperation; and (ii) habitat protection and management to generate regional conservation benefits and address the human-wildlife conflict, thereby ensuring the conservation of flagship species such as the tiger in increasingly fragmented habitats. In addition, the Bank is carrying out a non-lending technical assistance activity on the Bangladesh Sundarbans that would enable GoB to develop an action plan in that geographic area that addresses three main objectives: (i) climate change adaptation; (ii) biodiversity conservation; and (iii) income growth and poverty reduction. Relationship to CAS The proposed operation is fully aligned with the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for FY The overarching objective of the CAS is to help Bangladesh achieve its ambitious target of reaching middle-income status and reducing poverty from 32 percent to 15 percent of the population by The project contributes to this objective by increasing poor people#s access to assets and economic opportunities in forest surrounded areas and reducing their vulnerability to severe cyclones, storm surge and soil erosion. The project is in the line with the second pillar of the CAS: Reduce Environmental Degradation and Vulnerability to Climate Change and Natural Disasters. II. Proposed Development Objective(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed Project Development Objectives (PDO) are to: (a) strengthen the institutional capacity of the Bangladesh Forestry Department and selected local communities in the coastal and hilly areas of Bangladesh for participatory afforestation and reforestation; and (b) increase the size of reforested areas in selected communities through participatory afforestation and reforestation. Both objectives would help to improve climate change resilience in the selected local communities. Key Results The following results will be used to evaluate the achievement of the PDO: (a) The Forestry Department and local communities are working effectively to rehabilitate and co-manage community forest areas. (b) Increase in the size of community forest areas (from xha to y ha). To achieve the first result (a), the following activities are proposed to be undertaken: - Participatory planning for plantation and community capacity building for forest conservation; - Introducing alternative income generating activities to benefit local communities; - Carrying out targeted capacity development of forest officials; - Developing a forest resource assessment/monitoring system through remote sensing and geographic information; - Updating the existing Forestry Sector Master Plan; and - Introducing better facilities for forest field level staff (smart green facilities). To achieve the second result (b), the following activities are proposed to be undertaken: Coastal areas - Mangrove plantation 3,500 ha. - Non-mangrove plantation (with dyke) 1,500 ha. - Non-mangrove plantation (with mound) 1,000 ha. - Strip plantation 2,500 km. Hilly areas - Core zone plantation 5,000 ha. - Buffer zone plantation 5,000 ha. III. Preliminary Description Concept Description The project will include three components: a. Component 1: Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation in Coastal and Hilly Areas (approximately US$15.0 million): The component aims at scaling up the afforestation and reforestation through participatory forestry and providing livelihood support to poor people living in project areas. The component has two subcomponents: i) afforestation and reforestation and ii) alternative income generation.

5 i) Afforestation and Reforestation (approximately US$12.0 million) The objective of this subcomponent is to increase the afforested/reforested areas through participatory forestry and comanagement approach in the degraded forestland, marginal, fallow and newly accreted land in coastal and hilly areas. This plantation will contribute in (i) better protecting of lives and property in coastal areas against the cyclones and surges and (ii) improving soil stability and water retention in hilly areas. The afforestation and reforestation will be undertaken on available lands that are not yet covered by other planned, on-going and completed projects of the BFD or other development partners. The project will engender engagement with local communities in afforestation and reforestation throughout the project cycle from the planning phase. Also, a community participation model will be developed using the social forestry program as a foundation along with comanagement. Poor people living in the target geographic areas will work in nursery raising and plantation establishment. The afforestation and reforestation program will generate an estimated 0.70 million man-days of work. In addition, about 15,000 poor and vulnerable people will be selected through a transparent and inclusive process as the core beneficiaries of forestation program. This selected group will also be responsible for maintaining the plantations and will receive benefits from the earnings of the afforestation/reforestation program. The key results section provides specific targets on afforestation/reforestation. ii) Alternative Livelihood (approximately US$3.0 million) The objective of the subcomponent is to finance alternative livelihood options of local people in the targeted hilly areas to reduce their dependence on forest resources and strengthen the participatory forest management. This subcomponent will be implemented by Arannayk Foundation (AF). The community based organizations (CBO) or groups meeting the basic/minimum participation requirements (to be designed and agreed on with key project stakeholders) will receive cash grants from an overall endowment fund to be launched under the project. The fund will operate on a revolving basis as a supporting mechanism to help group members develop and sustain alternative income generating activities (AIGAs). Group members will also generate additional funds through participatory savings (monthly, fortnightly or weekly) first to supplement the seed grant and second, to demonstrate a level of commitment to the group#s investment plans. The groups will operate the revolving fund based on agreed upon guidelines. Loans (interest free) from the revolving fund will be given to the group members based on the prospect and viability of AIGAs proposed by the applicants. Loans can also be utilized for community interventions. AF (along with its partner organizations) will mobilize the community, facilitate the CBO formation (where necessary), develop their capacity, and provide market information and linkage building support to the AIGA applications and CBOs. In addition to creating new community groups, this component will support existing CBOs with the necessary skills and assistance to enable them to participate in the livelihoods component and also on forest conservation. AF will carry out the periodic auditing of the funds utilization by CBOs during project period. The subcomponent will primarily focus on income activities outside the forest sector but will also consider non-extractive forest based income generating activities. This will cumulatively result in forest conservation and sustained forest resource productivity. b. Component 2: Technical Assistance (approximately US$8.0 million): This component aims to improve forest management through three subcomponents: i) technical studies; ii) introduction to and demonstration of smart green infrastructure; and iii) capacity development. i) Technical Studies (approximately US$4.5 million) The objective of the subcomponent is to improve the technical knowledge base on forest resource assessment/monitoring and long-term planning for sustainable development of forest sector. This subcomponent will establish the forest resource assessment and monitoring system through Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) for BFD. The assessment will provide comprehensive information on afforestation/reforestation resources in coastal and hilly areas of Bangladesh, and thereby contribute to better planning process. This will provide scientific information on existing resources, areas to be covered under the afforestation/reforestation projects and future needs. The assessment will be carried out both in the first and last year of the project. Comparing the two assessments for project area will reflect the changes in the plantations expected to take place during the project timeframe. The subcomponent will also support the review of the existing Forestry Sector Master Plan ( ) and it#s updating to include contemporary issues of climate change impacts, adaptation measures and carbon sequestration. The analytical studies such as economic cost-benefit of afforestation/reforestation investment, impact of climate change, improved water management in hilly areas, land tenure issue in accredited afforested areas, institutional structure of BFD for participatory approach and better forest management will be carried out under the assignment to strengthen the present knowledge base and contribute to master plan. This will also explore potential financing support through bio-carbon financing for sustainable forest sector planning and management. The study will include area specific management plan and short, medium and long term investment requirement to implement the plans. ii) Smart Green Facility (US$2.5 million) The objective of the subcomponent is to introduce and pilot smart green facility (small infrastructure) that could potentially support forest biodiversity conservation by i) minimizing and mitigating adverse impacts of infrastructure; and ii) remediating and

6 compensating for any residual damage to have a net positive impact. This will be achieved through construction of new and rehabilitation of existing Forest Department field level Offices by adopting design and construction practice that have no or little residual impacts on the surrounding biological, physical and natural environment. The design options will consider the solar system, rainwater harvesting and local materials. The project will develop design and construction guidelines for smart green facility to promote it for biodiversity conservation. It is anticipated that the civil works will generate local employment of about 0.18 million man days. iii) Capacity Development (US$1.0 million) The objective of the subcomponent is to develop further the capacity of the BFD to better manage forest assets in a country confronted with climate change risks. This subcomponent will support capacity assessment and will provide a strategy for capacity development. Some BFD officials and staff will receive long-term training (i.e. one year masters/diploma program for around five officials and two-three months training for around twenty officials), while others will benefit from short-term training (i.e. on climate change impact on bio-diversity and forests, community mobilization and participatory process, methods to design and implement policy, program and projects in coastal and hilly areas). Special attention will be given to quality assurance, financial management, RS, GIS, management information systems, performance management/monitoring and evaluation. c. Component 3: Project Management (US$2.0 million): This component will support the establishment of a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) at the BFD. This PIU will also provide necessary support like financial management, social and environmental safeguard, communication and procurement to the AF. The budget allocation will cover consultancy fees, routine monitoring, travel, purchase of office equipment and vehicles (including small water vessels), emergency maintenance works, meeting costs, audits and other operating costs necessary for project implementation and reporting. This component will also finance an independent/third party monitoring for project activities. IV. Safeguard Policies that might apply Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 Forests OP/BP 4.36 Pest Management OP 4.09 Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 V. Tentative financing Financing Source Amount Borrower 1.20 Bangladesh MDTF for Climate Change Total VI. Contact point World Bank Contact: Shakil Ahmed Ferdausi Title: Senior Environmental Specialist Tel: sferdausi@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Name: Ministry of Enviornment & Forest Contact: Mr. M. Nasiruddin

7 Title: Tel: Joint Secretary Name: Ministry of Enviornment & Forest Contact: Mr. M. Nasiruddin Title: Joint Secretary Tel: Implementing Agencies Name: Bangladesh Forest Department Contact: Mr. Yunus Ali Title: Chief Conservator of Forest Tel: (880-2) VII. For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C Telephone: (202) Fax: (202) Web: