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Celebrate World Day to Combat Desertification - #2018WDCD
A wise investment in land supports you and your future. Your choices determine future scenarios for sustainable growth. The 2018 World Day to Combat Desertification (#2018WDCD) urges you to move away from unsustainable land use and make a difference by investing in the future of land under the slogan, “Land has true value – invest in it.”
We often use land as if it were a limitless resource, ignoring its role in our everyday lives. This negligence threatens food and water supply, biodiversity, and even human security itself. Short-sighted economic gains such as land grabbing, unplanned urban sprawl, unsustainable agriculture, and over-consumption lead to unsustainable land use, which eventually causes degradation and loss of critical ecosystem services. As a result, consumption of the Earth´s natural reserves has doubled in the last 30 years, with a third of the planet´s land already severely degraded.
By turning land degradation into land restoration, we can realize the land´s full potential. Healthy and productive land can bring not only environmental but also significant economic gains. For example, case studies from the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative (2015) indicate that:
The annual loss of 75 billion tons of soil from arable land leads a missing opportunity for economic benefits of USD 400 billion per year globally
Taking action against soil erosion over 105 million hectares would save up to USD 62.4 billion in net present value over the next 15 years
Enhancing carbon stocks through agricultural soils alone can create potential value on the carbon market from USD 96-480 billion annually
Burkina Faso: 20 000 trees are planted to create living hedges. Photo Credits:UNCCD
Sustainable land management (SLM) is a wise investment for economic growth that does not compromise resilient livelihoods. It is key to safeguarding and managing the quality of the land by balancing its biological and economic potential. Moreover, land can play a vital role in linking multiple Sustainable Development Goals by harnessing synergies while minimizing potential conflicts and trade-offs. SLM can give tremendous momentum to positive change. By safeguarding life on land, we deliver for all life on Earth.
This is the true value of land.
Every one of us has a role to play. Farmers can invest in smart agriculture that leads to higher yields despite a reduction in inputs like pesticides. Policy makers and land managers can support bio-economy by investing in new SLM technologies and processes. Consumers can spend their money on organic and fairly traded products to avoid land degradation. There are many more ways to invest in land wisely.
Vietnam: Delegates of the WDCD meeting plant 2 000 trees at Dien Bien Dong district, Dien Bien province to promote sustainable land management practices. Photo Credits:UNCCD
We can all contribute to and benefit from investing in SLM – whether we act as consumers, producers, corporations, or governments. Changes in behavior and adoption of more efficient planning and practices can guarantee that sufficient land resources are available long-term to meet our ambitions for and to provide sustainable livelihoods.
The choice is ours. Know the true value of land and invest in it.
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Wildlife Works REDD+ project in Kenya wins Best Offsetting Project in Environmental Finance
Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project located in Kenya won Best Offsetting Project in Environmental Finance’s 8th annual Voluntary Carbon Market Rankings. The ranking is produced by polling the voluntary carbon market as to who are the most highly regarded players across numerous categories.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is a UN climate change mitigation strategy, included in the Paris Climate Agreement. REDD+ is the fastest, most effective and lowest cost initiative that can be done right now to protect forests and combat climate change.
Through a voluntary agreement with local landowners and a community of more than 100,000 people, the Wildlife Works “Kasigau” project avoids the annual release of 1.5M tonnes of CO2 emissions and generates funding for sustainable development in one of the world’s most impoverished communities. Providing access to water, improved food security, education and healthcare are among key project initiatives.
“Wildlife Works is very proud of this award, as we believe it validates our belief that the key to a successful REDD+ project is what happens on the ground, in the landscape, every day, where decisions about the future of forest lands are being made day in, day out, as the community works hand in hand with our teams to meet their sustainable development needs” said Mike Korchinsky, founder and president of Wildlife Works.
Korchinsky went on to say, “As the market for carbon offsets becomes increasingly sophisticated, investors and buyers taking action to fight climate change are more and more aware that high social and biodiversity impact alongside the carbon emission reductions is what makes a project really valuable”.
With job creation as a core conservation strategy, the Kasigau project protects an essential wildlife migration corridor that provides safe haven to thousands of elephants and dozens of other species of threatened wildlife. The project contributes to eleven of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
As the carbon market's landmark forest conservation project, Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project has been responsible for many innovations, from being the first avoided deforestation project to achieve verification under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), to being selected by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which issued a first of its kind $152 million Forest Conservation Bond in October 2016 to support the project.
“Our community partners have been with us every step of the way and deserve all the credit for this award, having made the brave decision to forego short term gain from destructive use of their forest, in favor of long term sustainability for their communities” said Korchinsky.
About Wildlife Works
Wildlife Works, established in 1997, is a for-profit private company based in Mill Valley, California committed to bringing marketplace initiatives into the fight to protect the planet’s threatened forests and the magnificent species that call them home.
The company is a recognized leader in the REDD+ sector and is the first company in the world to achieve verification of a REDD+ project under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCB).
Wildlife Works developed and manages REDD+ projects in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo that protect 1.24M acres of forest, reducing over five million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Wildlife Works protects threatened forests, the wildlife that live in them and provides communities with a sustainable and transformative development path.
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Africa can Benefit from Nature-based Tourism in a Sustainable Manner
Africa’s unique natural assets — its iconic wildlife, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, rapids, majestic forests, unique bird populations, pristine beaches and coral reefs—represent tremendous value. Wonders of nature such as Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya, and the Victoria Falls, as well as Zanzibar’s Stone Town and its beautiful beaches, and the wildebeest migration between the Masai Mara and Serengeti, are some of the world’s best-known tourist attractions.
Indeed, tourism, primarily nature-based in East and Southern Africa, significantly contributes to GDP, jobs, and livelihoods. The World Travel and Tourism Council says that in 2016 the total contribution of travel and tourism was 7.8 percent of GDP and 6. percent of total employment, including its wider effects from investment, supply chain, and income.
In some countries, this contribution is significantly higher. In Namibia, 19 percent of all employment is directly or indirectly linked to tourism. In Tanzania, tourism is the largest foreign exchange earner, competing with gold. Importantly, the spillover effects of tourism throughout the economy can be significant. There is also a strong gender dimension: half of the world’s hotel and restaurant employees are women.
Tourism has been growing faster in emerging and developing regions than in the rest of the world, especially in countries proactively supporting tourism, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization. Africa is at the forefront of this trend, with the role and value of nature-based tourism likely to increase even more than the global average because of the scarcity of unique wildlife and natural assets.
Nowhere else in the world can tourists experience the same thrill of encounter with wild animals. They can go gorilla trekking in Rwanda, walk with cheetahs in Zambia, observe lions resting in trees in Uganda, or lounge on the pristine beaches of Mozambique’s Maputo Special Reserve while watching wildlife. For this experience, tourists have been willing to pay a premium, and some African countries have been able to corner a high paying niche of the tourism market.
What is needed for Africa to use its huge potential for capitalizing on its natural assets in a sustainable manner?
First and foremost, this requires strong protection and the sustainable management of these assets. Threats such as the rampant poaching of wildlife, the clearcutting of forests, and the pollution of beaches should not only be a concern for environmentalists, but for ministers of finance, planning, and tourism. They should also worry the private sector and local communities, as this sort of damage can deprive them of opportunity. Understanding the value of natural assets and the potential revenues they can generate can help mobilize broad support for protection and conservation efforts.
Investing in protecting a country’s natural assets is equally important for the local and global good.
Role in Protecting Biodiversity
The World Bank has been protecting biodiversity for decades, in the past ten years through a portfolio of projects worth US$2bn globally, leveraging additional resources. But an urgent response is needed to help people protect against large-scale poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
Many countries have introduced anti-poaching programs and stepped up efforts to curb international networks dealing in the illegal trade of wildlife products, particularly ivory and rhino horn. The World Bank-led, Global Environment Facility-supported, and partnerships such as the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime, have brought together CITES, UNODC, the Interpol, and the World Customs Organization to help.
Devising sustainable tourism strategies, targets, and plans also helps. Policymakers need to understand that increasing the number of tourists is not always the best target. Other considerations are important, too, such as an ecosystems’ carrying capacity and the need to maintain a unique tourist experience; these attract low impact, high value tourism, especially in areas with unique assets. Revenue per tourist rather than the number of tourists should be used as the benchmark for success. The country’s image should be built, promoted and linked to this vision.
The local economy and local communities need to share the benefits from tourism. There are many opportunities for this, including sourcing supplies and labor, which can be supported by targeted training and capacity building to increase local value addition. My visit to a Bank-supported small training facility in Botswana, one where youth are trained in tourism, showed an uplifting example of what can be done with limited resources. More systematic vocational training can do much more.
Local conservancies have also evolved in countries from Namibia to Kenya to provide sustainable models of community involvement in conservation and tourism. Beyond this, tourism revenue needs to be managed in a transparent and equitable manner to generate broad, local support.
The regulatory environment for businesses to start up and operate needs to be simple and accommodating. Overly comprehensive regulations too often inhibit and discriminate against local business development. Policy reforms can improve the business climate and allow local businesses to thrive.
Investment in services (health, finance, hospitality, safety, and visas) and infrastructure (transport, accommodation, safe water and sanitation) are the basic foundations for attracting tourists. The role of public-private partnerships also needs to be strengthened to ensure that scarce public resources are used for the highest priority public goods, as well as to help leverage private investment.
Nature-based tourism can offer a bright future for Africa. A step in this direction is the US$150m Tanzania Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth Project, the largest nature-based tourism project in the Bank’s portfolio, to be approved by the Board on, September 28, 2017.
Banner and thumbnail photo credits to Magda Lovei/World Bank
You can also read Magda Lovei's blog post on the World Bank Group website.
Agriculture & Climate Change: How Multi-stakeholder Actors Are Driving Positive Change & Innovation
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On September 20th, the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) with The Earth Institute Columbia University are hosting a side event at the Climate Week NYC (September 18-24) to share information for sound implementation and scaling up of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA).
iSimangaliso Rare and Endangered Species boosted by Eco-Series events
Since its inception in 2012, the iSimangaliso Rare and Endangered Species Fund has continued to grow and fund a number of projects exclusively dedicated to the conservation of these flora and fauna in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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