Quickening e-Governance in Myanmar

E-governance is a potent enabler of effective, transparent, and accountable institutions and also raises the level of participation available to citizens in the governance process—all essential if Myanmar is to assure a prosperous future.

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Knowledge Database Helps Policy Makers Identify and Assess Toxic Waste Hot Spots

Toxic pollution affects the health of millions of people in developing countries. In 2009, ADB joined the Global Inventory Project to build a database that catalogs, assesses, prioritizes, and estimates costs for remediation of critical toxic sites. The database now provides policymakers better information and possible cleanup solutions.

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Developing e-Health Capabilities in Bhutan

The improved e-Health service in Bhutan’s remote Bumthang District successfully uses television white space, which allows internet connection to penetrate difficult terrain and thick foliage. Through this technology, rural health patients in Bumthang can now avail of much-needed low cost yet quality health care.

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How Tobacco Taxes Can Expand Fiscal Space and Benefit the Poor

Without intervention, cigarette smoking could kill about 267 million smokers in the People's Republic of China, India, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Raising tobacco taxes in these countries can deter smoking, reduce the number of smoking-related deaths, and generate revenues to help meet healthcare costs for the poor.

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Affordable Pay-As-You-Go Solar Power for India's Energy-Poor Homes

ADB's $2 million equity investment in Simpa Networks aims to provide rural households in India with affordable energy using pay-as-you-go solar home systems.

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Shanxi Farmers Embrace Modern Irrigation Methods to Adapt to Climate Change

The Shanxi Province in the People’s Republic of China has been experiencing declining groundwater tables since 1956. From 2000 to 2007, overall water availability decreased by about 5% annually from 8.2 billion cubic meters to about 7 billion. Changing climate conditions have further compounded the issue, with unsustainable groundwater use and outdated agricultural practices threatening food production in the province.

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Emergency Flood Damage Rehabilitation in Bangladesh

In terms of geographic extent and economic damage, the floods of mid-2004 were the worst ever experienced by Bangladesh. How did ADB's immediate assistance, which came with simplified administrative processes, fare in terms of rehabilitating the damage?

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Rising from the Rubble: Reconstruction and Rehabilitation after the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake

In 2001, Gujarat, India experienced its worst earthquake in the last half century. Three years later, the rubbles had been cleared and new roads, houses, buildings, and water and power lines were in place. What propelled Gujarat's successful reconstruction and recovery?

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Carbon Credits: Improving Financing and Sustainability of a Landfill Closure Project

In 2 years, the Indian city of Mumbai transformed its great eyesore—a 19.6 hectare landfill filled with 80-foot high waste—into a vast expanse of greenery with considerable revenue-generating potential. How did carbon credit financing catalyze this transformation?

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Expanding Water Supply and Sanitation Coverage through Output-Based Aid

The Asian Development Bank is set to undertake its first output-based aid (OBA) initiative. Will it prove to be the right modality for Nepal's small towns and their water supply and sanitation concerns?

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Chashma: A Case Study in Compliance

Even good projects engender complaints. An irrigation project in Pakistan showcases how ADB responds to such complaints and improves the project.

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Raising Farmer Incomes through High-Value Crops

A project in rural Bangladesh provided farmers with knowledge, credit support, and market linkages to increase productivity.

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Building Narrative Capacity at ADB

ADB makes growing use of knowledge management tools, methods, and approaches but must better capture and store its wealth of tacit knowledge.

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Managing Climatic Risks with Adaptation

In a world of climate change, adaptation is about managing risks to avoid probable costly post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation. There is no "off the shelf" approach to adapting to climate change; location and current conditions will influence how climate change impacts are assessed and what adaptation measures can be adopted. Deficiencies in land use management can exacerbate the adverse impacts of climate change.

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Climate Proofing Timor-Leste's Roads

When climatic changes impact roads to the point that their closure or threatened disappearance becomes commonplace, climate change risks should logically be considered in a rehabilitation project. In a pilot, this is just what Timor-Leste and ADB are learning to do.

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Bilateral Dimensions of the CAREC Trade Facilitation Agenda: Spotlight on Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China

Cooperation on regional public goods promises substantial economic benefits. The ADB-assisted CAREC program sponsors measures to facilitate trade and maximize the impact of investments in infrastructure. The program provides an effective institutional forum for negotiating complex, cross-border projects. (No. 26 | May 2010)

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Boosting Aquaculture Livelihoods in Post-Disaster Aceh, Indonesia

The tsunami that struck Aceh Province in Indonesia in 2004 devastated coastal aquaculture livelihoods. The Asian Development Bank-assisted Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project engaged fish farmers to build and operate four Aquaculture Livelihood Service Centers. The Aceh Aquaculture Communication Center was also set up. With improved aquaculture support services, fish farmers now produce high-value shrimps for export. (No. 23 | January 2010)

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Complaints from Beneficiaries: A Valuable Resource for Project Implementation

Problems often arise in large and complex projects, leading to complaints from intended beneficiaries. The Asian Development Bank's Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project in Indonesia established several avenues for receiving and responding to complaints at the project level. The complaint-handling systems provided feedback about problems and enabled their early resolution before they escalated into difficult issues, resulting in smoother project implementation.

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When Size Matters - Improving Microfinance Outreach in Aceh Through a Revitalized Provincial Rural Bank Network

The Asian Development Bank-assisted Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project aimed, among others, to develop sustainable and responsive financial services for micro and small enterprises in Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia. By Mariano A. Cordero, Rizal Matondang, and Pieter Smidt (No. 20 | November 2009)

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Mapping the Sea: Knowledge for Natural Resources Management

With loss of life from the devastating tsunami of 2004, knowledge of fishing grounds around Aceh was reduced: the locations of reefs and other underwater hazards became less clear to the remaining fishers; consequently, they frequently damaged or lost their nets. To restore knowledge of fishing grounds, the ADB-assisted Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project partnered with he Panglima Laot-Aceh's traditional fishing authority and with fishers to conduct a community-based bathymetric survey and map the ocean floor. The beneficiaries collected data to help produce maps of hazardous coastal areas, potential fishing grounds, and ocean currents. Because of the survey, the Panglima Laot and fishers learned to partner with others and their capacity to keep more transparent accounts was improved. By Pieter Smidt and Richard Beresford (No. 19 | October 2009)

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