Forests and Landscapes

Healthy forests and landscapes provide services that are critical for people and economies, such as biodiversity habitats, clean water, climate regulation, erosion prevention, crop pollination, soil fertility, and flood control.

Deforestation and forest and land degradation, however, are threatening these ecosystem services and reducing the productivity of 23 percent of land worldwide. Land degradation impacts an estimated 3.2 billion people worldwide, with 40 percent of the world’s poorest living on degraded land.

Approximately 12% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation and forest degradation. The 2019 IPCC special report on Climate Change and Land affirmed that planting forests and protecting existing forests is key to limiting global warming to 1.5ºC or well below 2ºC increase. Such investment is urgently needed as many of the world’s remaining forests are increasingly threatened by activities such as agricultural expansion, timber extraction, and fuelwood collection. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) estimates that investment in nature-based solutions could contribute about 37 percent of the climate change mitigation needed by 2030. This in turn has the potential to generate jobs and biodiversity co-benefits.

Goods from forests provide an important hidden harvest for rural populations, keeping many people out of extreme poverty. An estimated 4.17 billion people – 95 percent of all people outside urban areas – live within 5 km of a forest, and 3.27 billion live within 1 km. In many tropical countries, forest-adjacent people earn about one-quarter of their income from forests.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of healthy forests and terrestrial ecosystems. More than 30 percent of new diseases reported since 1960 are attributed to land-use change, including deforestation, and 15 percent of 250 emerging infectious diseases have been linked to forests. Deforestation, particularly in the tropics, has been associated with an increase in infectious diseases such as dengue fever and malaria. Clearing forests for agriculture, extractive industries, urbanization, and other land uses causes the loss or degradation of habitat, bringing humans and wildlife into closer contact and increasing the risk of infectious diseases such as SARS, Ebola, and HIV. Now, more than ever, we see the urgent need for an integrated or “one health” approach to landscape management that collectively considers human, animal, and ecosystem health.

Forests and landscapes provide much-needed employment opportunities for vulnerable populations. Some of the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population live in fragile natural resource environments. In the short term, these communities can receive income support through land rehabilitation and forest work schemes. Landscape programs can be scaled up further to create jobs, support livelihoods and market access, food security and long-term natural resource resilience. Such projects support participatory community resource management mechanisms and direct investments in economic activities.

Last Updated: Apr 03,2024

The World Bank Group supports countries in their efforts to harness the potential of forests and landscapes to end poverty and ensure a livable planet. To this end, the World Bank is supporting sustainable forest economies that deliver jobs and social services, work for people, and deliver for climate and nature. This entails working to conserve forest landscapes; to valorize forest landscapes with a view to building new businesses and diversifying income sources; and to create development dividends for people and communities living in and around forest landscapes.

For decades, the World Bank Group has delivered impact through its investments in forests. With an active forest and landscapes portfolio worth about US$8.6 billion, the Bank Group invests in a broad range of landscapes, from tropical basins to arid deserts; fertile grasslands in the Argentinian Pampas, to mangrove belts along the coasts of South and Southeast Asia. Funding from the International Development Association (IDA) represents 58% of the portfolio.

Multi-donor trust funds help mobilize finance and partners for impact. They leverage Bank Group resources, including the International Development Association (IDA), and other grant programs, like the Global Environment Facility and Climate Investment Funds, to sustain and improve forest benefits for people, planet, and economies.

PROGREEN, a global partnership for sustainable and resilient landscapes launched in 2019, supports countries’ efforts to improve livelihoods and strengthen investment in management and conservation of forests and all terrestrial ecosystems, biodiversity conservation, landscape restoration, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.  Through an integrated landscape approach, PROGREEN helps countries meet their national and global sustainable development goals and commitments, including poverty reduction, in a cost-effective manner at scale.

Last Updated: Apr 03,2024

Country Specific Results

In Ethiopia, the World Bank-funded Sustainable Land Management Program (SLMP) has brought 900,000 hectares of land under sustainable management, benefitting some 2.5 million people. The program has contributed to better water access, less soil erosion, higher yields, diversified sources of income and improved food security – resulting in more resilient livelihoods and boosting the country’s human capital. Making the land more productive and conserving soil and water has also improved biodiversity overall. A series of projects will expand these results. The Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Projects (I and II) are improving climate resilience, land productivity and carbon storage, and increasing access to diversified livelihood activities in selected rural watersheds. Launched in 2020, the Ethiopia Climate Action Through Landscape Management Program (Program for Results) takes these efforts to even greater scale with the aim of bringing 2.5 million hectares of degraded land under sustainable land management practices and expand access to secure land titles in non-rangeland rural areas across 500 major watersheds. The Oromia Forested Landscape Project brought 118,882 hectares of forest under management plan and afforested more about 9 million hectares of new forest.

These projects and programs are increasingly looking at the role the private sector and sustainable production forestry could play in building resilient rural bio-economies. The Bank’s engagement in Uganda and Rwanda reflects this new agenda.

PROGREEN support is helping to expand the reach of the SLM Program to the forest and agricultural landscape of South-West Ethiopia, an under-served region that has a high potential for implementing a landscape approach while establishing and managing green corridors.

In Brazil, since 2012 the World Bank is supporting the government in better managing and conserving the Cerrado forest through a set of complementary projects that comprise a landscape approach. The Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America, which was being deforested twice as quickly as the Amazon due to land clearing for agriculture and cattle ranching. The Cerrado is a driver of economic growth and important for food security, biodiversity conservation, water regulation and carbon sequestration. Investments underway are addressing drivers of deforestation by clarifying land rights, making agricultural production more sustainable, providing monitoring and information, and building capacity to detect, prevent and fight forest fires and supporting traditional communities to manage their natural areas and resources. Results to date include:

• 20,025 farmers have been trained been in low carbon emission agricultural practices.  
• 93,844 hectares of agriculture lands are using low carbon emission agricultural practices
• 313,000 hectares of land are being cultivated where sustainable agricultural practices
• 2,000 people have been trained to manage forest fires, and
• 2,000 farmers have received technical assistance for low carbon agriculture practices
• 190,072 landholdings, totaling about 35.5 million hectares, have been enrolled in the National Rural Environmental cadaster system (SICAR) and as a result are adopting sustainable land management practices
• 32 Traditional Communities’ Territories, encompassing a total area of 94,897 hectares, were georeferenced, and 2,506 families have registered their land.

In China, the Shandong Ecological Afforestation Project (2010-2016) planted trees on 66,915 hectares of barren mountainous slopes and saline coastal areas, increasing forest cover, reducing soil erosion, and improving the environment and biodiversity. The project has:

• Developed and demonstrated effective and scalable afforestation models for environmentally degraded areas.
• Generated additional incomes for 26,556 farm households.
• Reduced soil erosion by 68% and provided an example for forest-based carbon sequestration.

The results of the project encouraged the government to establish 84,000 hectares of project model plantations on degraded sites outside the project area.

In Mozambique, the forestry sector directly employs 17,000 people and accounts for nearly two percent of GDP. Around 267,000 hectares of forest are lost each year and the World Bank is supporting the government in mobilizing resources to sustainably manage the forest sector through an integrated landscape management portfolio. Through technical assistance, on-the-ground investments, results-based finance, and analytical work, the portfolio is:

• Investing in the livelihoods of thousands of small- and medium-size landholders,
• Improving the sustainability of timber, charcoal and agricultural production,
• Strengthening land rights and land use planning,
• Restoring degraded lands,
• Reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing carbon stocks,
• Tackling wildlife poaching, and
• Conserving biodiversity, and 
• Contributing to disruptive forest technologies to improve law enforcement within and out of protected areas.

In Mexico, the World Bank has been supporting the Government with a series of projects that have increased sustainable forest management, forest-related jobs, and the net value of forest goods and services. The Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project, for example, focuses on productivity to enable forest-dependent people and enterprises to benefit from forest landscapes. To date, the project has brought an additional 180,000 hectares of land under integrated landscape management practices and has benefited 33,800 people. The project also complements a wider forest-sector agenda, integrating a range of instruments, including technical assistance to Mexico’s Forest Commission and the preparation of an FCPF Carbon Fund Emissions Reduction Program that could potentially leverage up to US$50 million in payments to the country for results linked to avoided deforestation.  

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to the second-largest swath of rainforests in the world, about 62 percent of the territory is covered by forests that critically contribute to the livelihoods of 40 million people, who are among the world’s poorest. Rapid population growth has increased the demand for agricultural land, fuelwood and charcoal production, and large-scale development, resulting in significant deforestation. Since 2008, the World Bank mobilized $140 million to support reforms and pilot innovations in forest governance, land use planning, and land tenure. Under the Improved Forested Landscape Management Project alone, 17,000 hectares of agroforestry plantations were created; 20,000 hectares were enclosed for natural regeneration; 110,000 people saw an income increase of 18% and more than 6 million tCO2eq emission reductions were generated. Estimates show that scaling up these approaches could enhance rural livelihoods by 300% and increase cash generation by up to $2,200 per household per year while providing more sustainable charcoal and agricultural commodities to the megacity of Kinshasa. The Forest Dependent Community Support Project has been key in supporting the continuous engagement of the DRC civil society and Indigenous peoples in forest action.  

In Senegal, the Sustainable Participatory Energy Management Project (PROGEDE by its French acronym) helped combat Senegal’s rapidly growing demand for household fuels and the associated degradation of forests and the rural environment. Results include:

• increased income from forest resources in participating villages from US$18 to $70 million in 5 years;
• doubling of forest area under management: Extended community-based sustainable forest management from 400,000 ha to 997,300 ha in 5 years;
• increased sustainable wood fuels production from 180,000 to 2,500,000 m³;
• reduced deforestation by 74,127 ha and reduced net CO₂ emissions in the project area by 3,220,826 t CO₂e
• positive gender impact, with the emergence of female operators in charcoal production and in the marketing of improved stoves, greater participation of women in decision-making, stronger female leadership in the governance of community organizations, and improved livelihoods.

In Moldova, where the majority of poor communities depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, the Moldova Agriculture Competitiveness Project is increasing the use of sustainable land management practices like forestry shelter belts, which can limit soil erosion and sequester carbon, while contributing to greater returns for farmers.

Emission Reduction Payment Agreements (ERPAs):

Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Ghana, Guatemala Indonesia, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal, Republic of Congo and Vietnam — all countries with globally significant forest resources — have signed landmark agreements with the World Bank that reward community efforts to reduce carbon emissions by tackling deforestation and forest degradation. Together, these 15 agreements, known as Emission Reductions Payment Agreements, unlock results-based payments of more than $720 million for nearly 145 million tons of carbon emissions reduced through 2025 - equivalent to taking nearly 32 million cars off the road for a year. The payments will come from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Carbon Fund, whose Secretariat is hosted by the World Bank. 

Last Updated: Apr 03,2024

The World Bank works with a wide range of stakeholders and partners at the country, regional, and global levels. The World Bank places special emphasis on partnerships that can deliver operational support to client countries through coordinated efforts.

PROGREEN, the Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes, is a World Bank Umbrella Program that supports countries’ efforts to improve livelihoods while tackling declining biodiversity, loss of forests, deteriorating land fertility, and increasing risks such as uncontrolled forest fires, which are exacerbated by a changing climate. Through an integrated landscape approach, PROGREEN helps countries meet their national and global sustainable development goals and commitments, including poverty reduction, in a cost-effective manner at scale.

Platforms established under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and Forest Investment Program (and its associated Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities) have deepened the World Bank’s engagement with a variety of stakeholders involved in the forest sector.

The Global Wildlife Program (GWP) is grant program launched in 2015 with projects across 38 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and $365 million in GEF financing and $2 billion in co-financing. The GWP addresses issues such as: illegal wildlife trade, unsustainable wildlife trade, human-wildlife conflict, and zoonotic spillover risk. It also promotes wildlife-based economies and nature-based tourism as a response to the lack of sustainable livelihood opportunities for local communities. The program enables cooperation and knowledge sharing across national and local governments and partners to create long-lasting impact.  

The Amazon Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) Program, is a 113 million impact Program funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the objective to protect globally significant biodiversity and implement policies to foster sustainable land use and restoration of native vegetation cover in the Amazon regions of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. A second phase is in preparation to include Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana and Suriname.

The Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program is a $306 million grant program funded by the GEF that seeks to transform the global food system by promoting sustainable, integrated landscapes and efficient commodity value chains. As the lead agency, the World Bank manages the program’s Global Platform. The Platform supports, promotes and scales the work of 27 country projects related to establishing sustainable production landscapes for eight commodities: beef, cocoa, corn, coffee, palm oil, rice, soy, and wheat. The Global Platform benefits from the expertise of five Core Partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, Food and Land Use Coalition, International Finance Corporation, the Good Growth Partnership, and the Global Landscapes Forum.

Through its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, the Bank Group also encourages responsible corporate investments across the forest products supply chain and works to create a more level playing field for legitimate forest-sector enterprises that adopt sustainable forest management practices.

The World Bank is a member of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, a group of 15 international organizations and secretariats with substantial programs on forests that coordinate to promote sustainable management of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end, in support of the United Nations Forest Forum-UNFF. The World Bank also works closely with the Global Landscape Forum; the Global Restoration Council; the Global Partnership for Forest and Landscape Restoration; the AFR100and the Tropical Forest Alliance. In addition, the World Bank is chairing the Finance Task Force  of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

The World Bank also participates in the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR), a global network of agencies, organizations and initiatives working toward a shared goal of restoring the world’s lost and degraded forests and their surrounding landscapes. GPFLR aims to regain ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes through a landscape approach to forest and landscape restoration.

Last Updated: Apr 03,2024