Modernizing weather forecasts and disaster planning to save lives

Article published on http://www.worldbank.org, August 9th, 2016.
By Lisa Finneran

Is it hot outside? Should I bring an umbrella?© Angela Gentile/World Bank

Most of us don’t think much beyond these questions when we check the weather report on a typical day. But weather information plays a much more critical role than providing intel on whether to take an umbrella or use sunscreen. It can help manage the effects of climate change, prevent economic losses and save lives when extreme weather hits.

During the second IDA18 replenishment meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, I visited the Myanmar Department of Meteorology and Hydrology’s Multi-Hazard Early Warning Center to see how funding from IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, is helping the country modernize its systems for observing and forecasting weather through the Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management Project.

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Article: Climate Change Expected to Magnify Water Scarcity

Article published on http://www.worldbank.org, August 18, 2016

Story highlights

  • Nearly 1.6 billion people live in countries with physical water scarcity – a figure that Imagemay double in the coming two decades.
  • As the potential for developing new sources of water diminishes, making more efficient use of water becomes essential to meeting future demand.
  • The World Bank works with countries around the world to help ensure water resources remain secure through water efficiency measures, including improved agricultural practices.

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Latin America and the Caribbean: seizing a trillion dollar opportunity in climate investments

Article published on http://www.worldbank.org on July 13, 2016.

Soon the world will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the historic climate agreement  Alessandra Bazan Testino / IFC signed in Paris in December 2015. The agreement will be implemented through country-led greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction commitments known as their intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which to date have been submitted by 189 countries covering 95 percent of global GHG emissions.

Apart from signaling concrete commitments, these reduction targets also offer a clear signpost of the investment direction countries need to follow as the global economy steers towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient pathway. Estimates point to between $57 trillion and $93 trillion in new low-carbon, climate resilient infrastructure investment by 2030.[1] How developing countries evaluate and respond to their infrastructure needs will greatly determine their ability to meet GHG reduction commitments.

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The challenge to be climate smart with the world’s agriculture

Article published on http://www.worldbank.org on August 11, 2016.

Here’s something you may not be aware of: agriculture and changes in land use already contribute 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a statistic that matters in the face of two unrelenting challenges now facing the globe –how to turn the promises of last December’s historic Paris climate change agreement into reality and how to feed a growing global population.

Already more than one billion people on the planet are now undernourished, and the world needs to produce at least 50 percent more food by 2050 to feed an estimated nine billion people. And we have to achieve that while delivering on the Paris agreement to keep the global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

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WB report: How Eight Cities Succeeded in Rejuvenating their Urban Land

Article published on http://www.worldbank.org on July 13, 2016.

The single most crucial component in rejuvenating decaying urban areas around the world is private sector participation, according to a report released today from the World Bank and the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) during the World Cities Summit taking place in Singapore this week.

Urban regeneration projects are rarely implemented solely by the public sector.  There is a need for massive financial resources that most cities can’t meet,” said Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director for the World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice.  “Participation from the private sector is a critical factor in determining whether a regeneration program is successful – programs that create urban areas where citizens can live, work, and thrive.”

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What’s Food Loss and Waste Got to Do with Sustainable Development? A Lot, Actually.

The very relevant topic of “Food Loss and Waste” rehashed below.

More than 150 world leaders will meet in New York this weekend to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of global targets intended to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and curb climate change. The SDGs will help set the global development agenda for the next 15 years, focusing attention on the opportunities that will allow for more a sustainable future.

One such priority included is reducing global food waste. Specifically, SDG Target 12.3 will call for the world to cut per capita food waste in half by 2030. If met, this ambitious target will not only boost food security, but also improve livelihoods, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save land and water. In short, curbing food waste is both a goal in itself and a means of achieving other SDGs.

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Get connected with Latin-America & Caribbean

Accessing and finding tenders are one of the most time consuming activities when trying to work with financial institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). That is why the IDB has created the ConnectAmericas platform. The platform not only allows you to see the IDB tenders but also tenders from other Latin American & Caribbean companies who are looking for overseas partners.REDES SOCIALES BID

With the slogan “Take the world with your hands”, the goal of the platform is to foster the internationalization of companies, in particular Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by providing contacts, content (tenders), and financing options.

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What’s wrong with how we do impact evaluation?

World Bank Blog Submitted by Markus Goldstein On Thu, 02/11/2016. Click here to go to the World Bank Website

Neil Shah, Paul Wang, Andrew Fraker and Daniel Gastfriend of IDinsight, make a case for what they call decision focused impact evaluation. What, you may ask is a deciFinancial Educationsion focused impact evaluation? Shah and co. define it as one which “prioritises the implementer’s decision-making needs over potential contributions to global knowledge. They contrast these to what they call knowledge focused evaluations which are “those primarily designed to build global knowledge about development interventions and theory.”

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eConsultant2: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Firm for Gateway Academy

Deadline: 10-Feb-2016 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

To build on this foundation, Gateway Academy is intended to: Create a transformative Young Entrepreneursimpact on financial inclusion by increasing the reach of high-quality training content; Capture a significant audience by offering a solution that meets the audiences needs in terms of user experience- e.g. the technical aspect of the platform are adapted to the target audiences environment; Create lasting impact for those working to advance financial inclusion.
See full tender here:#1212397 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Firm for Gateway Academy

eConsultant2 website: https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org

Tender notification: # 1212397

Assignment Countries:

  • No Countries Assigned