For many low-income countries, nature offers a pathway out of poverty. Nature-based sectors such as forestry, fisheries, and ecotourism have the potential to create jobs, boost economies, and increase resilience to climate change if managed sustainably. However, these countries are also at risk from the current unprecedented loss of nature. Losing just a few key ecosystem services could result in a 10 percent GDP loss annually by 2030 for these nations. Recent development gains in many low-income countries are being undermined by nature degradation, pollution, and climate impacts.
The International Development Association (IDA) is a crucial resource for the World Bank in supporting low-income countries to invest in nature. The financial assistance provided by IDA aims to protect nature while supporting economic development, creating livelihoods, and helping countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.
IDA is actively investing in projects around the world that focus on community engagement and capacity building. For example, the Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development (TRALARD) project in Zambia focuses on building a sustainable forest economy by increasing ecosystem resilience and productivity within vulnerable landscapes and enhancing disaster preparedness. This project works closely with local communities to promote awareness about the value of forests and build capacity around climate change and sustainable management practices.
Climate change is a significant driver of biodiversity loss, with IDA countries being some of the hardest hit despite their minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. In Nepal, the First Green, Resilient and Inclusive Programmatic Development Policy Credit supports key reforms aimed at building resilience to climate change. This includes measures to reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities to climate impacts. By enhancing resilience, this initiative helps protect biodiversity from adverse effects of climate change while ensuring the sustainability of ecosystem services.
Biodiversity underpins economies and human well-being globally across all income levels. As such, it remains an important discussion point in the 21st replenishment of IDA. For low-income countries, IDA plays a vital role in ensuring that development does not come at the cost of sustainability so that communities can continue benefiting from healthy ecosystems for generations.