Environmental and Social Safeguards

With nearly US$120 billion invested since 2005 and US$22.1 billion in 2014 alone, China is the biggest foreign investor in the Latin American region. China has developed its own infrastructure in a pace and scope unparalleled in human history. The country can bring a unique wealth of experience and know-how to help our region close its infrastructure gap. Transforming this to … [Read more...] about Why China is going to take safeguards more seriously

When I think about the climate change scenarios for periods such as 2030-2050 or 2070-2090, they seem so far off that I hardly imagine I'll even be around then. In this sense, "global warming" as a daily reality doesn't feel like it affects me very much at all. Nevertheless, this reality does not seem so distant when discussing investments in infrastructure and even less so … [Read more...] about Three Reasons to Measure the Carbon Footprint of the Port of Manzanillo

IDB has a clear policy against supporting projects that may introduce invasive species. While on its face this is a logical, clear-cut policy, it can become complex upon implementation. What exactly are invasive species, and how can the Bank follow both the spirit and letter of this policy? An invasive species is defined as any species that causes problems for the … [Read more...] about Are Invasive Species as evil as we make them out to be?

How do you feed a mega-city encrusted in the middle of the Amazon forest without resorting to deforestation? The inescapable answer is agriculture. But the challenge doesn’t end there. The capital city of the Amazonas state, Manaus, finds itself isolated from the major agricultural producing centers of Brazil. As a result, it must rely heavily on smallholder, rural producers … [Read more...] about One farmer at a time: how a digital land registry will improve food, land security and forest protection in rural Amazonas

This past March, two high profile articles were published that make somber reading for those interested in the natural world. The first, in Current Biology, was led by Bill Laurance and described the risks of rapid infrastructure expansion for habitats and biodiversity and the second, in Science, was led by Nick Haddad and described the pernicious, and now global, effects of … [Read more...] about Location, Location, Location: Where we put infrastructure impacts habitats and biodiversity