Natural Habitats

The Bank's Operations are based on a set of Operational Policies (OPs), Bank Procedures (BPs), Good Practices (GPs), and Operational Directives (ODs).

The World Bank Policy on Natural Habitats (OP 4.04) defines 'natural habitats' as: 'land and water areas where (i) the ecosystems biological communities are formed by native plant and animal species, and (ii) human activity has not essentially modified the area's primary ecological functions'; and determines that: 'the Bank does not support projects involving the significant conversion of natural habitats unless there are no feasible alternatives for the project and its siting, and comprehensive analysis demonstrates that overall benefits from the project outweigh the environmental costs'.
Certain natural habitats are defined as being 'critical' if they are: (i) existing protected areas and areas officially proposed by government as protected areas, areas initially recognized as protected by traditional local communities and sites that maintain conditions vital for the viability of these protected areas or (ii) sites identified on supplemental lists prepared by the Bank or an authoritative source determined by the regional environment divisions. In this regard: the Bank does not support projects that, in the Bank's opinion, involve the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats.

• Operational Policy 4.04: Natural Habitats
  
  
• Operational Policy 4.04 Supplemental List for East Asia and Pacific, 2002 (30 Kb PDF)
  
  
• Bank Policy 4.04: Natural Habitats
  
  
• Natural Habitats Pop Quiz, March 28, 2002  (8 Kb PDF)
  
  
• Biodiversity and Cultural Property in the Management of Limestone Resources - Lessons from East Asia, September 30, 1999
  
  
• Coral Reefs: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development, July 31, 1998
  
  
• Freshwater Biodiversity in Asia: With Special Reference to Fish, September 30, 1996
  
  
• Integrating Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation With Development: Some Emerging Lessons , 1998
  
  
• Protected Areas Systems Review of the Indo-Malayan Realm , 1997
  
  
• Sustainable Financing Mechanisms for Coral Reef Conservation: Proceedings of a Workshop, September 30, 1995
  
  
• Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean, September 30, 1995
  
  
• Transboundary Reserves - World Bank Implementation of the Ecosystem Approach, April 30, 2000