Incluye bibliografía.

Foreword -- Abbreviations and acronyms -- Overview -- Pt. 1. The fourfold agenda: 1. Assisting countries in environmental stewardship -- 2. Minimizing adverse impacts of bank-financed investments -- 3. Building on the positive synergies between development and the environment -- 4. Addressing regional and global environmental challenges -- Pt. 2. Equipping the Bank and reaching out: 5. Building capacity for the task -- Pt. 3. Strengthening the private sector's role: 6. Strengthening the private sector's role: the IFC and MIGA -- Annexes -- Bibliography -- Boxes -- Figures -- Tables.

The past few years have seen an important shift in the design of development policies and investment, as the links between natural environment and economic development have been more deeply understood. Since the establishment of the Environment Department (ENVDR) in 1987, and the Vice Presidency for Environmentally Sustainable Development (ESD) in 1993, the World Bank has embarked on a major effort to incorporate environmental concerns into all aspects of its work. This report focuses primarily on activities in fiscal year 1994. Progress has been substantial in each of the four areas that comprise the Bank ' s environmental agenda: 1) assisting countries in strengthening their own environmental policies and institutions; assessing and mitigating potential damage from Bank-financed activities; 3) building on complementarities between sound development and sound environmental policies; and 4) addressing global environmental problems. Good progress has also been made in strengthening the Bank ' s internal capacity and the environmental programs of IFC and MIGA. The report also stresses that there is still enourmous amount of work to be done and outlines goals to be achieved next.