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The Global Plankton Database: an inventory and data from the former Soviet Union expeditionsCore international projects dealing with the ocean, as well as the UNEP Biodiversity and Climate Change Program, have emphasized an urgent need for information on the impact of climate change on species diversity and on the development of efforts to deal with this impact. In order to assess this impact, a global database of historical data sets is needed. For instance, there is a lack of knowledge on the interannual climate-related variability of zooplankton communities of the tropical Atlantic, central Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, and Arabian Sea due to the absence of appropriate databases. The general goal was to develop a plankton database of the Former Soviet Union expeditions (carried out by the academic research vessels), available for the international scientific community. This database contains 41 expeditions to the Atlantic Ocean and over 30 expeditions to the enclosed seas of the Atlantic Ocean, including over 30 years of sampling in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and 14 expeditions to the Indian Ocean. Basic approach to the proposed research involved: Development of co-operation between experts and data holders in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UK, and USA to rescue and compile the oceanographic data sets and release them on CD-ROM (this is the online version of the CD as archived in Pangaea in 2008). The organization and compilation of a database based on FSU cruises to the above regions. The analysis of the basin-scale interannual variability of the zooplankton species abundance, biomass, and species diversity. The Database was created with the assistance of the following institutions: Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas, Ukrainain National Academy of Sciences, Sevastopol, Ukraine Marine Hydrophysical Institute, Ukrainain National Academy of Sciences, Sevastopol, Ukraine Caspian Biological Station, Institute of Zoology of Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan Institute of Zoology and NGO "Tethys", Almaty, Kazakhstan Marine Sciences Research Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, United Kingdom
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Wood-Based Biomass Energy Development for Sub-Saharan AfricaNearly half the world's population
 and about 81 percent of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) households
 rely on wood-based biomass energy (fuel wood and charcoal)
 for cooking. This degree of reliance is far greater than in
 any other region. While the use of biomass fuels in China,
 India and much of the developing world has peaked or will do
 so in the near future, SSA's consumption will either
 remain at very high levels or even grow over the next few
 decades. Population growth, coupled with strong urbanization
 dynamics and relative price changes of alternative fuels,
 offset the important achievements made over the past decade
 by significant investments in energy access, rural and urban
 electrification, off-grid energy developments, and the
 promotion of alternative energy sources. With increasing
 economic development, the demand for energy is increasing as
 well and consumers depend on a broader portfolio of energy
 sources to satisfy growing energy needs. While electricity
 and other energy sources are needed to satisfy additional
 energy needs emerging with economic development, a vast
 majority of Sub-Saharan African consumers continue to use
 wood based biomass energy for cooking. Especially
 electricity is not regarded a suitable alternative for
 cooking given equipment and use costs. Biomass burning in
 cook stoves also emits black carbon (BC) as part of visible
 smoke, which is particulate matter that results from
 incomplete combustion. Climate science now views BC as the
 second or third largest warming agent after carbon dioxide,
 alongside methane. In the case of biomass cooking, the
 warming effects of BC and the cooling effects of organic
 carbon that is also emitted during the burning appear to be
 closely balanced. Given the present uncertainty about the
 net impact, additional research is currently underway. Black
 carbon has also an impact at the regional level: it
 accelerates melting of ice and snow, and contributes to
 regional pollution which can alter climatic conditions and
 precipitation patterns over a wide area. This paper
 advocates that any policy reform should entail a combination
 of clear rules, transparent enforcement, strong incentives
 and awareness-creation/capacity development. Key
 stakeholders and the general public need guidance by way of
 information campaigns, training, and demonstration projects
 to ensure that awareness-deficits or false perceptions do
 not curtail policy implementation. The bureaucratic and
 administrative barriers e.g. overcomplicated forest
 management planning requirements, complex fiscal systems and
 land tenure procedures may inhibit development and thus
 warrant critical reflection. The regulatory framework needs
 to integrate externalities in order to promote adequate
 pricing of charcoal, and thus enhance regional economies.
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Assessing the Environmental Co-Benefits of Climate Change ActionsThis internal background paper has been
 prepared to help inform the 2010 environment strategy with
 respect to a proposed way forward on use of country systems.
 The World Bank Group environment strategy is built on three
 pillars: leveraging natural resources for growth and poverty
 reduction; managing the environmental risks to growth and
 development; and transforming growth paths. As part of its
 exploration of these three pillars, the strategy considers
 the question of environmental co-benefits of climate change
 actions. In particular, it poses the question of potential
 trade-offs between actions to address climate change and
 other local and regional environmental priorities, and
 considers how to maximize co-benefits arising from climate
 action. The primary objective of this background paper is to
 assess the potential for climate change mitigation and
 adaptation actions to provide environmental co-benefits,
 particularly in the quality of environmental media, flow of
 ecosystem services, and maintenance of biodiversity. To
 accomplish this, the paper is organized in five sections:
 section one gives provision of an organizing framework to
 identify and classify potential co-benefits; section two
 gives summary of the external literature on co-benefits;
 section three gives review of examples from the World Bank
 portfolio; section four presents initial thoughts on
 creation of enabling conditions for co-benefit provision;
 and section five gives review of implications for the
 environment strategy.