 The World Bank has strengthened emphasis on working with government, communities, and other partners to ensure that support benefits El Salvador's overall development. The following are some examples where assistance has resulted in a positive impact on the ground.
Land Administration | Education | Private Sector Competitiveness Land Administration
The ongoing Land Administration Project has become a key operation in rural and urban areas. The project has supported land cadastre and registration, and used these activities for disaster mitigation and prevention (e.g. hazard mapping), identifying the best available, risk free areas in which to resettle the population in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake. Project accomplishments include: Establishment of a unified land registry and cadastral system under a single institution (Centro Nacional de Registros, CNR); Active participation by civil society in the regularization of land in key departments; Internet access to land records; Agreement between the CNR and metropolitan San Salvador municipalities to develop and share cadastral data; Initial participation by selected municipalities in the maintenance and use of the cadastre information.
In fact, the project has provided El Salvador with one of the most modern systems of land administration in Central America. El Salvador now serves as a model for other land administration systems throughout the region. Â Education
Investments in human development projects now comprise the majority of lending to El Salvador. After years of civil strife, one million Salvadoran children were not in school in the late 1980s. Since 1989, the World Bank has supported an innovative, community-driven education program with three loans totaling $148 million. EDUCO (Educación con Participación de la Comunidad) has strengthened preschool and primary education and enabled parents and teachers to manage their schools, effectively devolving power from the central government to local communities. The improvements have been dramatic: enrollment jumped from 8,400 children in 1991 to 237,000 children by 1999; dropout rates have plunged from 1993 figures of 0.9% in rural areas and 2.1% in urban areas to 0.1% in both areas by 2000. The quality of education has also improved: repetition rates are down to 5.2% in 2000 from 7.6% in 1993, and the number of students completing grade 6 was 20.5% higher in 2000 than in 1996.  Competitiveness Enhancement
Since 1995, the Competitiveness Enhancement Project has helped the Government of El Salvador to raise productivity and accelerate outward-oriented private sector development. Project achievements include: Completion of a series of legal and regulatory reforms such as investment and accounting laws; Creation of the National Investment Office which has reduced the time needed to start a new investment from seven weeks to seven days; Reorganization of the Ministry of Economy to strengthen the agencies in charge of investment and export promotion; Establishment of a Trade Point to provide information to small exporters; Launching of a small pilot matching grant program for exporters; Facilitation of dialog between the public and private sectors, as well as among small and medium enterprises. Industrial cluster associations (asociatividad) enhance the competitiveness of small firms by promoting peer-to-peer collaboration.
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