Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems are essential for the long-term growth of economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism. The integrity and functionality of these vital natural assets, however, are increasingly compromised. Sixty to 70% of the world’s ecosystems are degrading faster than they can recover. Mismanagement of the environment and natural resources results in significant economic losses. For instance, $50 billion–$100 billion are lost each year due to ocean fisheries mismanagement.
The organization supports informed decision-making through analysis and using methodologies such as environmental economics and natural capital accounting. This is because countries are in a better position to seize growth opportunities, weigh pollution costs and climate risks, identify synergies, and understand the repercussions of policy and investment choices to support sustainable development when they are equipped with evidence and data.
On the occasion of the visit of Ms. Julia Bucknall, the acting Sr. Director for the Environment and Natural Resources, she discusses the economics of natural resources management as a contribution to green growth with focus on the World Bank’s effort to promote the development and use of accounts for natural capital assets in developing countries including the latest updates of Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES), a World Bank-led global partnership that aims to promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources are mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts. She also introduces the importance of supporting developing countries’ effort to support sustainable fisheries as part of national development goals.
Program
Opening Remarks
Yasusuke Tsukagoshi, Special Representative, Japan, World Bank Group
Presentation
Julia Bucknall, the acting Sr. Director for the Environment and Natural Resources, the World Bank
Presentation Material: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Natural Resources Management (PDF)
Commentator
Yoji Natori, Conservation International Japan
Presentation Material: Natural Capital Coalition and Natural Capital Protocol (PDF)
*This session will be recorded for later viewing.