This book responds to a congressional request to evaluated criteria by which land is acquired under the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The committee reviews criteria and procedures by which four agencies acquire lands for conservation; examines the historic, public policy, and scientific bases of criteria and compares them with nongovernmental organizations; and assesses the effectiveness of the agencies in preserving natural resources while achieving agency objectives.

This Technical Assistance report assesses the state of public investment management (PIM) in Malawi. Measured against the overall strength of its PIM institutions, Malawi performs broadly in line with other low-income developing countries and sub-Saharan African countries, but less well than better-performing emerging markets. Measures of institutional strength show how well Malawi rates in terms of its existing laws and regulations, as well as the formal guidelines and instructions issued by the government to implement these laws. The public investment management assessment diagnostic tool also measures how effectively, in practice, the government implements and enforces these laws and regulations. On this measure of effectiveness, Malawi performs relatively poorly. Looking at individual indicators of PIM, Malawi’s performance is mixed.