Publications

National Workshop on Participatory Irrigation Management and Integrated Water Resource Management

Over the past few years, large investments in irrigation infrastructure have resulted in substantial irrigation potential, which, however, remains largely underutilized in the absence of effective irrigation management reform initiatives.The Department of Water Resources, Government of Orissa, and the Asian Development Bank organized a National Workshop on Participatory Irrigation Management and Integrated Water Resource Management as part of the design process for the proposed Orissa Integrated Irrigated Agriculture and Water Management Project. The objective of the workshop was to share experiences from around the country regarding major issues in water management.

Consulting Services Operations Manual

In April 2006, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) issued a revised edition of its Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by Asian Development Bank and Its Borrowers, (the Guidelines), incorporating significant changes resulting from the harmonization of policies and procedures with those of the World Bank.

While the Guidelines set basic policies and procedures, further guidance on using consultants is provided to ADB staff through the project administration instructions (which are updated periodically). A third reference, which provides information on practices and procedures in even greater detail and to a wider audience, has been the Handbook for Users of Consulting Services (the Handbook). The last edition of the Handbook was produced in 2002. Thus, when the new Guidelines were issued, a substantial amount of updating was needed, both because of the changes to the Guidelines themselves and because of incremental changes in policies, practices, and procedures over the years.

In considering the type of document needed to replace the Handbook, it was decided to aim at a broader utilization and a wider audience than the Handbook had served, and to produce a publication that could be used for training purposes as well as a reference. It was thus decided to produce a somewhat different document with a more practical and pragmatic focus that would be aimed at all users and providers of consulting services for ADB. This current Consulting Services Operation Manual (the Manual) is the product of that decision.

How to Design, Negotiate and Implement a Free Trade Agreement in Asia

This reference book, intended to complement the training courses on free trade agreements (FTAs) conducted by ADB, aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of officials who are actively involved in designing, negotiating, and implementing FTAs. Building on international trade theories and good practices and FTA experience of member countries, the book explains important facts and benchmarks to be considered when preparing, negotiating, and enforcing FTAs in Asia.

The Afghanistan Pilot Participatory Poverty Assessment (APPPA)

The Afghanistan Pilot Participatory Poverty Assessment (APPPA), conducted between May 2007 and May 2008 was designed to permit the views of the "poor" to be taken into account in the formulation and implementation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). The ANDS will be launched in April 2008 and some of the findings of the APPPA have been included in the poverty profile of the ANDS.

Special Report - Food Prices and Inflation in Developing Asia: Is Poverty Reduction Coming to an End?

This Special Report was prepared by a team from the Economics and Research Department. Food prices have increased sharply since mid-2007 and accelerated alarmingly in early 2008. Rice and wheat prices have spiked at levels not seen in over three decades. This threatens to exacerbate poverty in developing Asia by reducing the real incomes of the already poor, while pushing many others below the poverty line. The report proposes appropriate policy responses to the challenge of food price inflation in order to avoid the reversal of the gains in poverty reduction in the region.