The China–WBG Global Center for Ecological Systems and Transitions (GKC) represents a collaboration between the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China and the World Bank Group (WBG). Officially launched in December 2024, the center aims to harness China's development experience, particularly in ecosystem restoration. It also seeks to integrate global knowledge and expertise from the World Bank Group to facilitate an exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices among international stakeholders.
A comprehensive approach is necessary for large-scale ecosystem restoration, involving science, policy, finance, and engagement from both private sectors and communities. The GKC will highlight natural capital as essential for economic prosperity and planetary health while supporting key ecosystem services like hydrological flow regulation, soil retention, carbon sinks, and pollination.
As part of its evolving role as a Knowledge Bank, the WBG is transforming its knowledge architecture to address client needs for innovative solutions to development challenges. With offices in 120 countries, it leverages a combination of global and local knowledge to assist clients with urgent development issues.
The GKC will serve as a platform for exchanging knowledge among countries facing similar developmental challenges. It aims to foster impact through sharing experiences, policy support, and producing knowledge products on a global scale.
The center's focus will be on three interconnected technical areas that together form a comprehensive strategy for ecosystem restoration:
1. Ecosystem Restoration in the Broader Development Context: This area stresses spatial planning tools' importance in effectively planning zones for restoration efforts. It includes understanding degradation drivers and using integrated planning approaches while exploring nature-based solutions contributing to development and climate resilience.
2. Developing and Sharing Technical Best Practices: This involves spreading best practices at site levels such as soil conservation techniques in degraded landscapes, large-scale forest planting plans, water-smart planting techniques, drought and flood management solutions. It also focuses on incentives for stakeholder engagement in restoration efforts while leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence and remote sensing.
3. Financing and Realizing Economic Benefits: The focus here is on utilizing environmental-economic data beyond GDP metrics to measure progress economically. It involves building capacities at local and national levels to make economic cases for restoration investments. Additionally, it promotes policies that invest in landscape management aimed at creating green jobs and growing economies efficiently using public funds while identifying private sector financing solutions.