BRASILIA, March 25, 2009: The approval earlier this month of a 1,3 billion US dollar World Bank loan to support environmental policy actions in Brazil has greater significance than the actual size of the loan itself – one of the largest of its kind.
(Bemærkning: 1,3 mia. dollar = godt 7 milliarder kr., hvilket svarer til cirka halvdelen af Danmarks årlige udviklingsbistand)
The loan represents the commitment of the Brazilian government to address environmental issues head on, despite the financial crisis, and to mainstream sustainability into polices that spur economic growth.
The new project is part of the Banks active full-service partnership with the country on the environment, ranging from analytical work to projects and integrated multi-sector work.
The history and goals of this new operation could be a useful example for other countries facing similar challenges.
In few countries is the ecosystem as crucial to development and peoples welfare as in Brazil.
The country has one-third of the worlds tropical rain forests, the largest reservoir of fresh water (20 percent of the globes total), and a savanna with the greatest biodiversity in the world. A significant part of Brazils economy relies on the use of natural resources for production inputs.
But the country faces major challenges to strengthen the sustainable use of its natural resources. Over the past 30 years, roughly 19.000 km2 of the Amazon Forest has been cut down per year.
Economic forces, poor agricultural practices, weak property rights, and poor regulatory enforcement have combined to produce these worrying results. And deforestation is impacting the climate, soil erosion, and biodiversity.
Seventy percent of Brazils CO2 emissions come from deforestation and change of land use.
Green incentives
However, in recent years the country has made important improvements to its environmental management at the national, state, and local levels by integrating environmental concerns into social and economic policies.
The World Bank-supported program will further ensure that “green” incentives and economic instruments are integral parts of the government’s overall actions.
The 1,3 billion dollar Development Policy Loan aims to help Brazil attain sustainable development goals linked to economic growth: from Amazon sustainable development to climate change as well as the water sector.
Additionally, the huge Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), which issues more than 40 billion dollar in loans per year, will operate under new environmental safeguards and criteria.
– Brazil is an environmental superpower, and this also means that it faces major challenges to reverse a trend of unsustainable use of its natural resources. This is especially true in the context of the international financial crisis and its possible environmental and social impacts, said Makhtar Diop, country director for Brazil.
– Brazil has recognized that the social and economic costs of environmental destruction are high. Smooth coordination of policies and procedures within the Brazilian environmental management system, combined with an increased commitment from the financial sector to long-term sustainability, are key to guaranteeing that specific actions and investments in the area can achieve growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive, Diop added.
Unprecedented loan
In addition to being one of the largest environment-focused loans ever made, this is the first time in the Banks history that a project has been broadened to include existing programs in various sectors to improve overall project implementation.
For Brazil, it is also the first project effectively integrating government, the private sector and economic instruments, thus making finance facilities integral parts of the governments environmental management strategy.
The programs experience could be useful for other countries in Africa and Asia that face similar environmental and social challenges.
The World Banks support for the environment in Brazil recognizes the country’s unique circumstances and challenges.
The Amazon Protected Areas Program is well on its way to preserve biodiversity in 50 million hectares of the Amazon region by 2013.
In partnership with the international community, the Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest has already demarcated more than 45,5 million hectares of indigenous land, and sponsored more than 200 projects that experiment with new models of rain forest conservation.
Recent advisory work supports the countrys efforts to develop its clean energy matrix efficiently and sustainably in the hydro-electric sector and in the low carbon and biofuels economy.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
