Rainforest in Malaysia. (Photo by R. Butler)
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Intergovernmental Institutions
Until recently the concept of sustainable development was foreign to the principal organizations funding development
projects, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The World Bank, a multilateral development
bank that lends money to help countries develop economically through financing infrastructure and new industries, has
historically funded numerous projects that resulted in the destruction of rainforests. The IMF shares a similar record.
The bank has traditionally funded "mega-projects" because they are easier to administer than a number
of small projects. Because of the size of these projects, World Bank loans to developing countries are usually
substantial, sometimes in the billion-dollar range, adding further debt pressure. In 1987 the bank granted loans
exceeding US$15 billion to tropical countries. Some developing countries lack heavy-equipment industries, so a portion
of the loan is often returned to the contributing countries in the form of payments for industrialized products
and materials.
The influence of the World Bank is powerful, and other organizations follow its lead by sponsoring similarly destructive
projects. The bank primarily used economic rate of return as its means of selecting projects, and virtually ignored
the social and ecological costs. The result has been many socially and environmentally damaging projects like the
Brazilian Tucuri Dam, which displaced 25,000 people and submerged 900 square miles of rainforest; the Polonoroeste
road-building project, which promoted the colonization of the rainforests of Rondonia, Brazil, by one million peasant
farmers; and the Indonesian transmigration program.
However, in recent years, the World Bank and such organizations have designed a number of useful and successful projects
that are considerably more sustainable, while promoting economic returns as well. Today these institutions staff environmental
consultants to raise concerns over the impacts of new projects.
The Global Environmental Facility (GEF), established in 1990 by the World Bank, UN Environmental Program, and UN
Development program, has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to setting up national parks, promoting sustainable
forestry, and establishing conservation trust funds in developing countries. In August 1994, the World Bank inspection
panel was established as a independent body to create a legal mechanism for individuals and organizations
whose interests are adversely affected by bank-backed projects. Through it, investigation can be conducted to correct
mistakes and ensure that the bank enforces its own policies. The panel was put to the test in 1995, for the first time,
when Latin America challenged a World Bank project, Planafloro—a loan of US$167 million to Rondonia, Brazil.
The challengers cited mismanagement and social/environmental degradation from a previous loan as their reason for submitting
their claim. In 1996, the World Bank withheld a loan to Papua New Guinea after it failed to conform with its timber
regulations (although the bank has since granted the loan). In 1999 the World Bank weakened the panel.
The World Bank is currently wooing loggers to participate in sustainable forestry projects. The implementation
of these and future reforms may prevent the bank from sponsoring further Tucuri-scale projects. Environmental reform
of the World Bank lies in the hands of the developed nations since they control the majority of the votes. The
member nations vote on what projects to finance and therefore have control over World Bank activities.
In December 2005, the World Bank granted the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) $90 million to support the central African country's transition from instability and civil war. The grant addresses key areas in DRC's forestry sector including strengthening an existing moratorium on new logging concessions "until such a time when a strategy for the use of DRC's forest resources is elaborated, in consultation with all affected and potentially affected stakeholders, including indigenous people, and is duly adopted," according to a bank statement. Further, the grant requires an independent review of the legality of all existing concessions and the publication of all concessions awarded to date. The World Bank says these measures are expected "to help increase transparency and to promote the environmentally sustainable and socially responsible use of DRC's forests."
The World Bank is increasingly funding small community projects that more directly benefit the local economy and
are often less environmentally destructive. Because decisions are made on a local level, projects can be better
adapted to local conditions.
In June 1997, WWF and the World Bank announced a global alliance for forest conservation and sustainable use. The
plan called for the protection of 10 percent of each of the world's major forest types by the year 2000 by establishing large areas of
forests under "real" sustainable management. While the plan failed to meet its goal, it was a major commitment towards greener practices on the part of the World Bank. In 2005 the WWF-World Bank Forest Alliance announced an ambitious global program aimed at reducing global deforestation rates by 10 percent by 2010. The Forest Alliance continues to look promising because it forces countries to live up to their conservation commitments or risk their standing with international financial institutions. Such alliances between groups with different constituents are vital to future conservation efforts.
Intergovernmental Institutions
Involved in Rainforest Conservation
Review questions:
- Why were past World Bank projects often destructive?
- How has the World Bank changed its approach towards the environment?
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
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Recent news
Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
(02/09/2012) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
Majority of protected tropical forests "empty" due to hunting
(02/08/2012) Protected areas in the world's tropical rainforests are absolutely essential, but one cannot simply set up a new refuge and believe the work is done, according to a new paper in Bioscience. Unsustainable hunting and poaching is decimating tropical forest species in the Amazon, the Congo, Southeast Asia, and Oceana, leaving behind "empty forests," places largely devoid of any mammal, bird, or reptile over a few pounds. The loss of such species impacts the whole ecosystems, as plants lose seed dispersers and the food chain is unraveled.
New rainforest and indigenous reserve established in Peru
(02/07/2012) On February 4th, the Peruvian government and a small indigenous group created a new Amazon reserve, dubbed the Maijuna Reserve. Located in northeastern Peru, the 390,000 hectare (970,000 acres) reserve is larger than California's Yosemite National Park and over three times the size of Hong Kong.
Guyanese tribe maps Connecticut-sized rainforest for land rights
(02/07/2012) In a bid to gain legal recognition of their land, the indigenous Wapichan people have digitally mapped their customary rainforest land in Guyana over the past ten years. Covering 1.4 million hectares, about the size of Connecticut, the rainforest would be split between sustainable-use regions, sacred areas, and wildlife conservation according to a plan by the Wapichan tribe that will be released today. The plan says the tribe would preserve the forest from extractive industries.
Supernatural beliefs keep hunting sustainable on Indonesian island
(02/02/2012) How do indigenous communities hunt without pushing target species to local extinction? In other words, how have communities retained sustainable practices over countless generations. One answer is given in a new study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Center for International Research in Agronomy and Development (CIRAD): supernatural beliefs. Looking at a community of indigenous people on the Indonesian island of Seram, researchers found that supernatural hunting beliefs ensured animals never vanished for good.
More news on rainforest conservation
More rainforest news
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