Brazil

Utilizing four-dimensional (firm-product-destination-year) Brazilian firm-level export data, the paper shows that antidumping (AD) duties result in a significant and... Show More + dramatic increase in the unit values of the products that firms export to duty-imposing countries. Furthermore, it examines the effect of potential (retaliatory) AD duties on the unit price of the firms' shipments. The findings suggest that AD activities in Brazil lead Brazilian exporting firms to increase their unit export prices for the named industries' products to decrease the dumping margin and avoid the threat of retaliation by the target countries. Show Less -

The development objective of the Sergipe Water Project is to promote the efficient and sustainable use of water in the Sergipe river basin, by strengthening sector governance,... Show More + enhancing land management practices and improving water quality. The project aims to improve environmental conditions in the Sergipe river basin through investments to recover degraded areas and promote the efficient and sustainable use of water resources. The project aims to tackle the challenge of revitalizing the Sergipe river basin through a balanced approach of integrated investments in water infrastructure, irrigated agriculture and Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) services coupled with strengthening of the institutional and political framework and improving the integrated management of water resources and the environment in the State of Sergipe. The project will be implemented by the State secretariat of environment and water resources, through the project technical administration unit, and by the State water supply and sanitation company. Show Less -

Water is an essential part of supporting sustainable economic growth within a more equitable and inclusive society. Possessing about 14 percent of the world's water,... Show More + Brazil is rich in water resources, but 70 percent is in the Amazon River and only 1.6 percent in the State of Sao Paulo, where 25 percent of the population resides and 33 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is generated. The Bank has recently approved the innovative Sao Paulo Water Recovery Project (REAGUA) which adopts output-based financing to tackle water scarcity. This is the first Bank-financed project in the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector to implement comprehensive results based scheme. Its objective is to increase clean water availability in São Paulo but its lessons could be applied worldwide. Show Less -

This report focuses on two distinct sets of documents and works which integrate the Pernambuco Sustainable Water Project (PSH-PE): (i) the social and environmental assessment... Show More + of works currently under implementation with 100 percent financing from counterpart funds; and (ii) a framework for environmental and social management of future works to be implemented under the project with financing from the World Bank, including the environmental assessment of subproject typologies and the setting of criteria and procedures for the environmental assessment of subprojects in the project implementation phase. The PSH-PE is structured in three components: 1) water sector management and institutional development. This component covers the strengthening of institutions and the development of an efficient water resource management model, and supports: (i) integrated water resource management, (ii) water services and infrastructure; and (iii) project management; 2) improving efficiency in the provision of water supply and sanitation services. This component will support: (i) non-revenue water, which will support activities aimed at reducing technical and commercial water losses and improving the Pernambuco State Water and Sanitation Utility (COMPESA's) services, sales and operational efficiency in the Metropolitan Region of Recife (MRR), and (ii) the implementation of a corporate development program with focus on activities that can improve COMPESA's financial equilibrium, overall customer satisfaction, staff productivity as well as corporate organization and management; and 3) water supply and sanitation service expansion. This component is divided into the following sub-components: (a) Pirapama water supply system sub-component, which will support technical assistance and acquisition of goods and works targeted towards increasing water supply availability and reliability in the MRR, and includes the on-going expansion and integration of the Pirapama water supply conveyance system; and (b) expansion of services sub-component, which will finance technical assistance, acquisition of goods and works to expand services and leverage investments in priority areas. Show Less -

Brazil is confronted with steadily increasing demands for electricity. The country has the ability to meet that demand by developing its considerable hydropower potential,... Show More + but the regulatory process that governs the approval of new hydroelectric plants imposes unnecessary delays that push up project costs and increase uncertainty. The process, among other reasons, has created a shortage of investment in otherwise viable hydropower projects in favor of less efficient and more harmful technologies. Brazil's electricity sector serves roughly sixty million residential and commercial customers and generates revenues of US$20 billion. With demand growing at a rate of 4.4 percent annually, an additional 3,000 megawatts of generating power will be needed by 2015. The cost of the new power plants needed to provide that power is estimated at US$40 billion. Presently, five-sixths of the country's power needs are met by hydroelectric plants, though in recent years only half of the new plants receiving licenses to begin construction have been hydroelectric. The other half of the licenses have been issued for coal, diesel, and nuclear plants that provide electricity at higher unit costs than hydroelectric plants and have greater adverse effects on people and the environment. The seeming anomaly can be explained by the fact that the licensing process for thermal plants is simpler and more predictable than that for hydroelectric plants. Show Less -

The Status of Projects in Execution (SOPE) report for FY08 provides information on all International Bank and Rural Development (IBRD)/International Development Association... Show More + (IDA) projects that were active on June 30, 2008. The report is intended to bridge the gap in information available to the public between the project appraisal document, disclosed after the Bank approves a project, and the implementation completion report, disclosed after the project closes. In addition to the project progress description, the FY08 SOPE report contains project level comparisons of disbursement estimates and actual disbursements, and a table showing the loan/credit/grant amount and disbursements to date for all active projects. Show Less -

This report specifies that this fiscal year has been the busiest since the Inspection Panel was established in 1993. During the past year, the Panel registered six new... Show More + Requests for Inspection, completed two investigations, and has been conducting three other investigations, one of which is nearly complete. The six new Requests for Inspection concerned the Brazil Paraná Biodiversity Project; the proposed Santa Fe Road Infrastructure Project in Argentina (two Requests); the Private Power General Project in Uganda; the Uttaranchal Decentralized Watershed Development Project in India; and the Albania Power Sector Generation and Restructuring Project. The Panel submitted Eligibility Reports to the Board of Executive Directors on the first five of these, and the Board approved the Panel's recommendations on a non-objection basis. The Panel's report on the last project in Albania was in process at the end of the fiscal year. Show Less -

The development objective of the Municipal (APL) - Cubatao - Guara Project for Brazil is to assist the Municipality of Cubatão in addressing key local bottlenecks constraining... Show More + sustainable growth and development, through targeted investments coupled with policies and planning capacity improvements. This environmental assessment (EA) document evaluated impacts and suggests mitigation measures in the following areas : damage to natural vegetation, erosion; land slides; loss of fauna and flora; acid rain; institutional capacity of Cubatao Municipality; institutional, social and environmental conflicts in Vila dos Pescadores; water supply and sanitation services and public lighting; lacks sufficient territory to accommodate continued urban expansion; conservation of remnant areas of the threatened Atlantic Forest and protection of the mangroves of the Santos Estuary; resettlement of project affected peoples that currently live in palafitas; project affected peoples right-of-way, safety, sanitation, social services; sites of archeological and cultural value; reclaiming areas of mangrove for environmental rehabilitation and delimitation of the Vila dos Pescadores perimeter to impede its further expansion; and finally, promote information campaigns with community members and project affected peoples (PAPs) to keep them informed of all stages of project design and implementation. Show Less -

Using data from the International Benchmarking NETwork database, the authors estimate measures of density and scale economies in the water industry in four countries... Show More + (Brazil, Colombia, Moldova, and Vietnam) that differ substantially in economic development, piped water and sewerage coverage, and characteristics of the utilities operating in the different countries. They find evidence of economies of scale in Colombia, Moldova, and Vietnam, implying the existence of a natural monopoly. In Brazil the authors cannot reject the 0 hypothesis of constant returns to scale. They also find evidence of economies of customer density in Moldova and Vietnam. The results of this study show that the cost structure of the water and wastewater sector varies significantly between countries and within countries, and over time, which has implications for how to regulate the sector. Show Less -

The purpose of the additional financing for the Federal Water Resources Management Project for Brazil is to provide continuity to PROAGUA activities, consistent with... Show More + the project's original objectives, components, sub-components, and the project's present expenditure categories. No major changes are being proposed to the original project scope. This additional financing would: (i) support continued implementation of the existing water resources infrastructure component in the Northeast Region of Brazil, and (ii) expand the institutional development component to continue the support to the Northeastern states and also prepare other Brazilian states for a future infrastructure-intense project. Show Less -