Tag Archives: biodiversity
Securing Our Future Through Biodiversity
How Can Cities Tackle Climate Change & Biodiversity Loss in Nature-Smart Ways?
- There is renewed urgency to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change, both of which can wreak havoc on cities.
- Despite the obstacles, tremendous opportunities exist if we act together, now, to integrate biodiversity measures into urban development plans and policies.
- Our new webinar series, “Bringing Nature to Cities: Integrated Urban Solutions to Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change,” convenes decision-makers, experts, and practitioners from around the world to exchange knowledge and hasten collaboration.
Investing in Nature Unlocks Development Benefits
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Loss of nature and biodiversity worldwide has become a crisis. The World Bank Group’s approach paper on biodiversity and ecosystem services, Unlocking Nature-Smart Development, argues that the global nature crisis is both a systemic risk for development and a development opportunity. The report proposes six global response areas to guide governments and inform broader discussions on how to integrate nature into development planning.
- Solutions to the global nature crisis lie in the economic sectors that put the greatest pressure on biodiversity and ecosystem services: land and ocean use, infrastructure, and energy and extractives.
- The World Bank Group has been engaged in biodiversity for over three decades and continues to provide support to countries in the transition to a greener, more resilient, and inclusive economy.
Banking on protected areas to promote a green recovery
The rollout of vaccines globally, particularly as this effort picks up momentum, is spreading 
hope that countries will soon have control over the devastating health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries still, though, have a long path to travel for economic recovery. In tourism-dependent economies in Africa and the Caribbean, for example, GDP is projected to shrink by 12 percent.
Why we need to invest in conflict resolution for better biodiversity outcomes
The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to increased poverty and inequality, further intensifying the 
need to focus on a recovery that is inclusive and sustainable. The UN’s Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework is a key step towards the 2050 vision of “Living in harmony with nature,” however, the inconvenient truth is that nature, particularly wildlife, can be very difficult to live with and global solutions do not always easily translate to the local level.
Investing in Nature Pays off for People and Biodiversity
If you take care of the land, it will take care of you, says Tsefaye Kidane, a 40-year-old coffee farmer from the Kafa Biosphere Reserve, a protected area in southwest Ethiopia that is also regarded as the birthplace of wild Arabica coffee.
Year in Review: 2019 in 14 Charts
As this decade comes to an end, the world has seen progress on many fronts. The poorest countries have greater access to water, electricity, and sanitation (i.e., a toilet). Poverty and child mortality have fallen. Technology has spread far and wide so that there are now more mobile phones than people. But we’ve also broken some of the wrong kinds of records. In 2019, more people were forcibly displaced than any other time in history. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere hit an all-time high and biodiversity is declining at an accelerating rate. These charts highlight some remarkable achievements and the serious challenges that remain as we head into 2020.
Putting biodiversity at the heart of IDA’s work
When people talk about biodiversity, it is often through the lens of conservation and the
survival of animal and plant species. But the value drawn from a healthy biosphere is much more than that – it delivers a steady supply of food, water, jobs and livelihoods and helps to regulate climate.
Our oceans are overfished and polluted with plastic; 1 million plant and animal species (out of 8 million) face extinction within decades, according to the latest scientific assessments, and deforestation and soil degradation have reached epic levels.
Five ways to help nature help us
This week I was at the G7 meeting in France’s northern city of Metz, discussing 
biodiversity with Environment Ministers from the Group of Seven countries (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States), along with delegations from countries such as Egypt, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Niger and Norway. Thanks to France’s leadership, the G7 meetings culminated in what is known as the Metz Charter on Biodiversity, elevating biodiversity on the global agenda.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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