| AT A GLANCE: - The Sustainable Development network became operational in January, 2007; a product of the integration of the former Infrastructure (INF) and the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) networks. The new network is led by Vice President Katherine Sierra.
- The purposes driving the consolidation of these two networks have been: mainstreaming environmental issues, improving synergies, better integrating core operations, and ensuring that the Bank strengthens its focus on sustainability as it increases its investment in infrastructure.
Sustainable Development – The Indispensable Link Between the Short and Long Term Sustainable development — the development path that meets the needs of people today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own goals; a development path that focuses on long-lasting and integrated economic growth, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. For the staff of the World Bank, this means supporting poverty reduction and growth by enhancing sustainable sectoral and multi-sectoral investments (in infrastructure, agriculture, natural resources), and by promoting inclusive and accountable institutions. A Long Term View – A Better World By 2050, estimates are that the world population will reach nine billion people, up from six billion today. Almost all of that increase will take place in the cities and towns of developing countries. With per capita GDP growth of 2 percent in rich countries (the average over the last 20 years) and 3.3 percent in low and middle income countries (a figure representing the growth experienced in the 1960s and 1970s), world income by 2050 would be $135 trillion, up from $35 trillion today. By 2050, basic human needs for shelter, food, and clothing could be more than met. And people would be healthier and more skilled. Even pessimistic estimates place life expectancy in today’s low and middle income countries at 72 years (up from 64 today) and under-5 mortality at 17 per 1,000 live births (down from 85 today). Adult illiteracy rates could be less than 5 percent, a fifth of today’s 25 percent. Aligning the Future with Today’s Needs – The Mission Many decisions to be taken in the near term will have long-term consequences. For example, much of the infrastructure built in the next 20 years will still be with us in 2050. The world has an opportunity to take actions today that will enhance development options for coming generations. By promoting economic growth strategies based on expanded infrastructure and agriculture development – which are financially, economically, and environmentally responsible and socially acceptable – we are bringing a sustainable future closer to today’s immediate needs of economic growth, wealth creation, and poverty reduction. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG s) – designed to reduce poverty by half by 2015 – represent a milestone, the first step in this process. Sustainable Development at the World Bank Sustainable development is not a new idea and there has been rapid progress in its contours and implementation since the 1980s. The Bank was a leader in creating an integrated approach to economic growth and we are now taking it to a new level, focusing on sustaining growth and improving the quality of that growth. The Sustainable Development Vice Presidency, which integrates into one network key areas such as infrastructure (energy and water, transport, urban, power, extractives industries, telecommunications) with social development, environment, and agriculture and rural development, is the result of new thinking, convergence, and practical synergies. The lessons learned on infrastructure and agriculture development have clearly established that sound governance and environmental and social considerations are key factors in determining success on the ground. The debate between development on the one hand and environmental and social sustainability on the other is over. It is not an either/or, mutually exclusive proposition. In the real world, natural resources represent in many developing countries an engine for growth (forests, ecosystem services) and poverty reduction. If not used soundly, however, growth prospects will be threatened. On the social development side, it is also becoming increasingly clear that for a country to sustain its growth, it needs strong, transparent, and accountable institutions – institutions that allow governments to function effectively to meet the needs of their people and that promote participation from the bottom-up in the decision making process as central to producing sustainable development outcomes. The Way Forward The Sustainable Development Vice Presidency works with development partners, both inside and outside the Bank, and across all spaces – from the biggest cities to the smallest towns, at the global, national, and local levels – helping to: - ensure reliable economic opportunities by meeting the needs of economic growth in developing countries through agriculture, rural, and urban development, expanded energy access, transportation services, access to clean water and sanitation services, and telecommunications;
- mitigate the impact of damaging carbon emissions and adapt to the already present effects of climate change while still meeting the energy needs of the world’s poor;
- expand our focus on the sustainable management of natural resources, with flagship global programs on avoided deforestation, sustainable land management, forest law enforcement, and sustainable fisheries development, involving key stakeholders (governments, civil society, the donor community, and the private sector); and
- improve governance in all of the above sectors of the economy in order to produce lasting results on the ground, through social accountability and participatory approaches.
(See also the Issue Brief on the World Bank’s Corporate Environment and Social Responsibility Greening Program). Updated October 2008 - ### - Media Contacts: Roger Morier: (202) 473-5675 Email: rmorier@worldbank.org Robert Bisset: (202) 458-5191 Email: rbisset@worldbank.org Karolina Ordon: (202) 458-5971 Email: kordon@worldbank.org |
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