World Bank consortium targets biodiversity hot spots

The new fund will help protect habitat for the lemur, pictured here in the Berenty Reserve of Madagascar

By Environmental News Network staff

Nestled in the branches of one of the most biodiverse forests in the world, a rare lemur, one of Madagascar's most endangered species, looks for lunch. Because lemurs eat only leaves, they rely on several species to maintain a balanced diet.

Eighty percent of Madagascar's estimated 10,000 plant species are native to this lush African island. Yet only 10 percent of the endemic vegetation remains.

Similarly, Madagascar's abundant and diverse wildlife is being decimated by habitat destruction as demand for usable land and forest products grows. Much of the land is under constant stress from illegal logging, burning and overfarming.

In their efforts to preserve rare species such as the lemur, conservationists face two recurring obstacles: money and time.

More and more scientists believe conservation planning is most effective if investments target biodiversity hot spots, where conservation needs are greatest and payoffs from safeguards are highest.

Conservation International identified Madagascar as one of these hot spots and has invested money in the area since the early 1990s. Nevertheless, depletion of the rain forest continues at an estimated rate of 1.5 percent a year in the small African nation.

Enter the financial power and political experience of the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility.

In a partnership formed to safeguard the world's threatened biological diversity in developing countries, the World Bank, Conservation International and the Global Environment Facility on Tuesday launched the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.

The $150 million fund will build on Conservation International's focus on biodiversity hot spots around the world. Initially, it will target areas of Madagascar, West Africa and the tropical Andes of South America. Each year hence, the partnership will fund a minimum of five critical ecosystems.

The Mauritia Palm al Cocococha lake in Tambopata-Candamo, Peru, is targeted for protection

Any group can apply for funding provided it supports the strategy determined by Conservation International for the area.

"In most cases there is already lots going on in these sites," said Gonzolo Castro, the World Bank's biodiversity specialist. "The idea is to complement what is already happening and to fill in the gaps."

The partnership may mark a new direction for the bank, under fire recently for its conservation policies.

Environmentalists blame the World Bank for using public money to support ill-conceived development efforts around the world — efforts, they say, that frequently ravage unique ecosystems and harm the very communities they were intended to help.

"The bank normally works by lending money to governments," said Bob Watson, director of sustainable development at the World Bank. "We have tended to focus on one country at a time."

Watson said the CEPF will cut across geo-political boundaries. "We hope to be the most strategic in utilizing funds to either form partnerships and leverage existing ongoing activities, or by identifying gaps and placing our money there."

While environmentalists support the CEPF, they remain skeptical about the World Bank's lending policies.

"This has potential to be an important and useful initiative," said Steven Schwartzman, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense. "Nevertheless, you have to consider that $150 million is about the same size as a middle-size World Bank project. The bank is still involved in a number of highly controversial infrastructure projects that are potentially extremely environmentally destructive such as the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline."

The bank has approved a $222 million loan package for the pipeline project.

"We hope this initiative will not run at cross-purposes with much larger development projects," Schwartzman said.

In Madagascar, the CEPF will focus on developing the resources of local NGOs to tackle environmental issues.

"Small NGOs are more flexible and often better at addressing conservation problems than government agencies," said Karl Morrison, director of Conservation International's Madagascar program. "The greatest biodiversity is often in remote places with very little government support."

Copyright 2000, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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