Maintaining biodiversity and healthy ecosystems is in the interest of rich and poor alike, for reasons that are both economic and non-economic. However, people rationally pursuing private gain may not only threaten the extinction of species of possible global importance; they may also damage resources valuable to their own family and neighbors. “Overview,” in World Bank, World Development Report 2003, p. 164. Sometimes the signs of loss of biodiversity do not become apparent until too late. The complexity of the problem, along with the possibility of irreversible losses, makes this an important global issue.
Much of this part of the seminar will focus on the biodiversity of the world’s forests, which cover 33 million square kilometers, or 26 percent of all the land on earth. More than 1.6 billion people depend to varying degrees on forests for their livelihood. Forests are home to at least 80 percent of the world’s remaining terrestrial biodiversity, and, by acting as a major absorber of carbon from the atmosphere (a carbon sink), they help regulate the global climate. Forests also help maintain the fertility of the soil, protect watersheds from erosion, and reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides. The forest products industry is a source of economic growth and employment in many countries: international trade in global forest products is on the order of $270 billion annually, of which developing countries account for 20 percent. Worldwide, forest industries provide employment for 60 million people.
Despite the universally recognized importance of forests, a number of problems impede their sustainable management and conservation. Among these are encroachment of agricultural land on forests; ambiguous ownership of some forest resources; illegal logging and corruption in the public forest sector; and the contribution of deforestation to global warming and water scarcity. In addition to its focused look at the problems of forests, the seminar will explore the scale of the biodiversity problem, the drivers of ecosystem degradation, the global actions that are being taken or contemplated, and some potential solutions as well as key global initiatives.
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Bennett, E.L. (2004). Seeing the wildlife and the trees. Improving Forest certification for Conservation of Wildlife. Discussion paper . World Bank, Washington, D.C.
IUCN, The World Bank, and The Nature Conservancy (2004). How Much is an Ecosystem Worth? Assessing the Economic Value of Conservation. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
Pierce, S., Cowling R., Sandwith, T. and MacKinnon, K. (2002). Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Development . Case Studies from South Africa. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
Putz, F. E., Redford, K.H., Robinson, J.G. Fimbel, R. Blate, G.M. (2000). Biodiversity conservation in the context of tropical forest management. Environment Department papers 75. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
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World Bank (2003). Cornerstones for Conservation. World Bank Assistance for Protected Areas 1988-2003. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
World Bank (2004). Ensuring the Future. The World Bank and Biodiversity. World Bank, Washington, D.C.
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