GDLN in Latin America and the Caribeean organizes, together with other units at the World Bank, activities related to Rural Development, Social Development and Environment, with a special emphasis in creating partnerships that contribute to the development of the rural sector such as the Ed Rural Alliance.

According to a study from the World Bank, around 44% of the total population in Latin America and the Caribbean is considered rural. This is a concept that has multiple dimensions, encompassing factors such as the access to social services and infrastructure, employment opportunities and markets of goods, and the participation in agribusiness activities. The rural sector is important in the region for different reasons: the high contribution of agriculture to the national domestic product, the impact of agriculture on the environment, the contribution of the rural sector to the development of other economic sectors, and the high poverty rates existing in rural areas.

Rural Development: Ed Rural Alliance
The development community has recognized the need to develop new approaches to conceptualize, analyze and implement strategies and investments that promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. Current thinking is that a holistic approach must be adopted to achieve poverty reduction and economic growth, going beyond agricultural solutions towards integrating a group of sectors that have an impact on the rural space.

GDLN in Latin America and the Caribbean, together with 16 global organizations, launched the Ed Rural Alliance in February 2005. The Ed Rural Alliance seeks a greater impact for development of the rural space by combing efforts among partners for dialogue and exchange of best practice and capacity building for the Latin America and Caribbean region. The Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) will serve as the community to develop these activities and as the tool for delivering them.

More information

Calendar of Activities Ed Rural Alliance

Download the calendar in pdf format for Fiscal Year 2005 (in Spanish only)

Social Development
Together with the Social Department of the World Bank, GDLN LAC has launched activities related to involuntary resettlements in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Environment
The importance of incorporating environmental sustainable practices is one of the priorities when designing and implementing projects and strategies of the the World Bank. GDLN LAC, together with the Environment department in Latin America and the Caribbean, has prepared various global dialogues to exchange experiences and knowledge on different environmental topics.

For further information on activities in this sector, please contact the regional GDLN team.