Brussels Launch of GMR 2008 Report

April 23 - There is an urgent need to address the economic and social burden of environmental hazards, if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to be achieved. This was one of the main messages of a panel discussion co-organized by the World Bank Brussels Office and the European Economic and Social Committee on the World Bank’s flagship report - the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2008: An Agenda for Inclusive and Sustainable Development. 

The meeting was informed that though much of the world is expected to cut poverty by half by 2015, most countries will fall short on many of the MDGs. Prospects are gravest for the goals of reducing child and maternal mortality, with serious shortfalls also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation goals.

Lead author of the report Mr. Zia Qureshi, in presenting the report outlined a six-point agenda for inclusive and sustainable development as follows:

Specifically on climate change and development, co-author Mr. Kirk Hamilton enunciated the following World Bank strategic framework for donors and recipient countries alike: 

• Continuing natural resource loss and the role of environmental governance: 
• Approaches to adaptation and the imperative for mitigation
• Responses in terms of international finance and suggested principles.

Ms Nicholson argued that there is a major gap in the Bank’s six point plan on the need for practical implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, the strengthening of institutional capacity in many developing countries to deliver on their environmental governance commitments, and supporting the roles of UNEP, UNDP, and the other UN processes and institutions trying to manage the global environmental commons. She called for intense global efforts on mitigation, with industrialised countries taking the lead. Regarding the response of the international financial institutions, Ms. Nicholson warned that the multiplicity of funds being developed risks duplication and more transaction costs, as well as the blurring of responsibilities amongst the key actors. 

 

Fellow panelist Mr. Luis Riera – Director of Development Policy at the EC, in his comments stated that the report’s message was in line with the EC’s approach to the MDGs. He informed the meeting that the EC in 2008 will be focusing on developing a system of division of labor with its Member States to ensure that all countries and issues relevant for achieving the MDGs are given adequate attention. He also announced that the EC and the Bank are developing a financing mechanism to generate additional funds for adaptation in developing countries.

 

In the ensuing discussion several speakers argued that the eight MDGs should be seen as a package with each MDG reinforcing the others. They cautioned that singling out specific issues like the environment could lead to neglect of other equally important MDG related areas. Another widely expressed concern was that addressing the current rise in food prices may detract attention from longer-term development goals such as poverty reduction, agricultural and rural development, maternal education and child health.

 

The GMR is produced jointly by the World Bank and the IMF. It annually assesses the contributions of developing countries, developed countries, and international financial institutions (IFIs) toward meeting the MDG’s.

 

Power Point Presentations:  World Bank Presentation – WWF Presentation