World Development Report 1994 examines the link between infrastructure and development and explores ways in which developing countries can improve both the provision and the quality of infrastructure services. In recent decades, developing countries have made substantial investments in infrastructure, achieving dramatic gains for households and producers by expanding their access to services such as safe water, sanitation, electric power, telecommunications, and transport. Even more infrastructure investment and expansion are needed in order to extend the reach of services - especially to people living in rural areas and to the poor. But as this report shows, the quantity of investment cannot be the exclusive focus of policy. Improving the quality of infrastructure service also is vital. Both quantity and quality improvements are essential to modernize and diversify production, help countries compete internationally, and accommodate rapid urbanization. The report identifies the basic cause of poor past performance as inadequate institutional incentives for improving the provision of infrastructure. To promote more efficient and responsive service delivery, incentives need to be changed through commercial management, competition, and user involvement. Several trends are helping to improve the performance of infrastructure. First, innovation in technology and in the regulatory management of markets makes more diversity possible in the supply of services. Second, an evaluation of the role of government is leading to a shift from direct government provision of services to increasing private sector provision and recent experience in many countries with public-private partnerships is highlighting new ways to increase efficiency and expand services. Third, increased concern about social and environmental sustainability has heightened public interest in infrastructure design and performance.

Producing enough food is a basic human priority and a critical challenge in the face of a growing population and the deteriorating ecological health of the planet. Modern agricultural practices promise to maximise the productive efficiency of available land but are one of the main drivers of agro- and biodiversity loss. Agroecology, which places ecological sustainability and diversity at the heart of agriculture, is one response to these challenges. It presents agriculture not only as the process through which food is produced but as a dynamic socioecological phenomenon that exists through networks comprising natural and human stakeholders at global, national and subnational levels. Drawing on a combination of agroecological and legal literature, this book explores where there is space in international law to pursue agroecology. Using a range of case studies, it demonstrates how concepts, mechanisms and regulatory approaches in the law advance, and can be reformed to further advance, an agroecological legal framework that allows humanity to meet its agricultural needs in a way that protects the natural and cultural diversity that is fundamental to the ecological integrity of the planet.