The Bank's Policy on Forestry

Abstract

The Bank’s forestry operations began in 1977, with loans totaling more than $250 million over the first decade, complemented by some $15 million in technical assistance (TA) grants. A 1978 Working Paper on the “Role of the Bank in Forestry and Forest Industries Development” guided the Bank’s investments in the sector during this initial period. The Working Paper emphasized production-related aspects of forestry, agriculture-supportive forestry, watershed rehabilitation and the establishment of forest industries. This Policy Paper acknowledges the need to balance the three imperatives of production, protection and participation. It also underscores the involvement of beneficiaries at an early stage of project development through to implementation and management to ensure that investments in the forestry sector are sustainable. The Paper makes explicit statements on (i) conditions for Bank involvement in forestry sector investments; (ii) the potential role of NGOs in the entire process of the project cycle from design to implementation and monitoring; (iii) the treatment of old-growth forests; and (iv) areas of Bank involvement, taking into consideration emerging priorities.