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Quarry sites result from human activity, which includes the removal of original vegetation and the overlying soil to dig out stones for building use. Therefore, the dynamics of the quarry area provide a unique view of human mining activities. Actually, the topographic changes caused by mining activities are also a result of the development of the local economy. Thus, monitoring the quarry area can provide information about the policies of the economy and environmental protection. In this paper, we developed a combined method of machine learning classification and quarry region analysis to estimate the quarry area in a quarry region near Beijing. A temporal smoothing based on the classification results of all years was applied in post-processing to remove outliers and obtain gently changing sequences along the monitoring term. The method was applied to Landsat images to derive a quarry distribution map and quarry area time series from 1984 to 2017, revealing significant inter-annual variability. The time series revealed a five-stage development of the quarry area with different growth patterns. As the study region lies on two jurisdictions—Tianjin and Hebei—a comparison of the quarry area changes in the two jurisdictions was applied, which revealed that the different policies in the two regions could impose different impacts on the development of a quarry area. An analysis concerning the relationship between quarry area and gross regional product (GRP) was performed to explore the potential application on socioeconomic studies, and we found a strong positive correlation between quarry area and GRP in Langfang City, Hebei Province. These results demonstrate the potential benefit of annual monitoring over the long-term for socioeconomic studies, which can be used for mining decision making.

Several species of bats have faced strong population declines in Europe during the last century. However, an increase in some bat populations has been recently found in some parts of western Europe. We monitored wintering bats in the underground caves of north-western Italy (Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Liguria regions), with the aim of estimating long-term population variations. Over 28 years (from 1992 to 2019), 52 hibernation sites were monitored where 14 species of bats were present. Altogether, 97% of individuals belonged to Rhinolophus euryale, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus hipposideros, Barbastella barbastellus, Myotis emarginatus, and to the large Myotis group (Myotis myotis/blythii). We found a positive population trend for these six most common species with an average annual increase ranging between 3.5% (R. ferrumequinum) and 15.0% (B. barbastellus), which is in congruence with what has occurred in central and western Europe in the last 20 years. The species R. hipposideros showed a significant increase during the first 10 years, followed by a stable trend thereafter.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has advanced systems to gather, analyze, and apply investment and advisory project information. It has made strides in developing, aggregating, disclosing, and strategically using its development indicators. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has made progress in upgrading its system of assessing its development performance. There are gaps in terms of measuring private sector development for investment projects and use of relevant standard indicators in advisory services projects. Reliability of data can be enhanced by adding more independent verification. Most self-evaluation has been project focused, but there is much that could be learned by extending evaluation to cover programs and strategies. The systems could be improved in several aspects to make evaluation more effective and to get more value from evaluation lessons. This biennial report on operations evaluation is an evaluation of these systems. It takes stock of the strengths and weaknesses of the development results frameworks in place for IFC investment services, IFC advisory services, and MIGA guarantees, and determines whether they: (1) provide mechanisms to generate credible, timely, and relevant information; (2) support evidence based decision making and learning; and (3) improve the performance and results of IFC's or MIGA's activities. Where they fall short, this report offers recommendations for improvements.

Improving Development through Effective Evaluation The development paradigm has shifted toward private investment, and the private sector has become central in development strategies.The International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency are developing and refining their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) efforts.

'The Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2009' presents evidence on the World Bank's efforts in two areas. Part I tracks the outcomes of Bank projects and country programs and the evolution of monitoring and evaluation (M and E). Part II examines the Bank's support for environmentally sustainable development compatible with economic growth and poverty reduction. The Bank's project performance rebounded in 2008, allaying concerns about the weakened performance in 2007. As previous ARDEs have shown, project performance has been improving gradually for 15 years according to the traditional measure—percent of projects with satisfactory (versus unsatisfactory) outcomes. But IEG ratings of M and E quality for completed projects indicate considerable room for progress. Information to assess impacts continues to be lacking although preliminary data suggests improvements in baseline data collection. Bank support for the environment has recovered since 2002 due to new sources of concessional finance. The outcomes of environment projects have improved in recent years. A growing number of regional projects are addressing the shared use of water resources. New global partnerships are deepening the Bank's involvement in climate change issues. But M and E remains weak: three-quarters of environment-related projects—those managed by sectors other than environment—lack reporting of environmental outcomes.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction The Basis and Purpose of Marine Monitoring Some Considerations around Classical Chemical Monitoring and Other Methodologies Designing a Sampling Programme Sample Collection and Immediate Handling Sample Storage (Short and Long Term) Laboratory Analysis The Final Assessment Conclusion References

This evaluation finds that with its global mandate and experience, comprehensive country development focus, and overarching mission to fight poverty, the World Bank Group is well positioned to help countries overcome the policy, institutional, and technical challenges that prevent them from transforming resource endowments into sustainable benefits. Furthermore, the World Bank Group's achievements are many. On the whole, its extractive industries projects have produced positive economic and financial results, though compliance with its environmental and social safeguards remains a challenge. Its research has broadened and deepened understanding of the causes for the disappointing performance of resource-rich countries. Its guidelines for the mitigation of adverse environmental and social impacts have been widely used and appreciated. More recently, it has begun to address the challenge of country governance with a variety of instruments.

This paper presents the analysis and interpretation of ambient particulate matter concentrations measured as PM10 at a network of six air monitoring stations in Kathmandu valley during the years, 2003 through 2005. The purpose was to understand the pollution trends associated with different areas considering levels particulate matter concentrations representing the ambient air quality of Kathmandu valley. The study indicate that particulate concentrations (PM10) measured are persistently higher at air sampling sites representing roadside areas compared to the background sites. The inter-station network variability with respect the particulate pollution suggests optimizing resources. The comparison of annual average PM10 concentration observed at six air-monitoring sites in Kathmandu Valley with standard annual average concentration prescribed by World Health Organization as well as Europe Union indicates serious PM10 pollution in Kathmandu valley.

This year's annual review of development effectiveness (ARDE) is being written against the backdrop of a global financial crisis, declining growth, and massive fiscal stimulus efforts to revitalize markets. Demand for greater development support from the World Bank has grown, along with concerns that resources be used effectively and efficiently to achieve their development objectives. This ARDE focuses on the Bank's performance record in getting results from its projects and country programs and, as is customary, examines in depth one topic relating to development effectiveness. The focus of this ARDE is on the Bank's support for environmental sustainability, in response to a Board request for a synthesis of findings from recent Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) reports on the environment. This year's special focus getting results for sustainable development reflects the vital role of sound environmental stewardship for development and the grave threat that inaction poses of reversing gains in growth and poverty reduction. The Bank's record in implementing the 2001 environment strategy and advancing the results agenda is quite mixed. New sources of financing, including resources for global efforts, have helped lending and support for the environment to recover from the lows of the early 2000s; analytic work has fostered innovative approaches and enhanced environmental awareness; and direct support for environmental projects is showing improved performance, with tangible results. But implementation of the strategy in mainstream environmental work across sectors has been weak and must be strengthened. Project performance shows a clear improving trend.

This evaluation finds that with its global mandate and experience, comprehensive country development focus, and overarching mission to fight poverty, the World Bank Group is well positioned to help countries overcome the policy, institutional, and technical challenges that prevent them from transforming resource endowments into sustainable benefits. Furthermore, the World Bank Group's achievements are many. On the whole, its extractive industries projects have produced positive economic and financial results, though compliance with its environmental and social safeguards remains a challenge. Its research has broadened and deepened understanding of the causes for the disappointing performance of resource-rich countries. Its guidelines for the mitigation of adverse environmental and social impacts have been widely used and appreciated. More recently, it has begun to address the challenge of country governance with a variety of instruments.