Topic: philippines

Report Finds 85% of Reefs in the Coral Triangle Are Threatened - Now Available in Bahasa Indonesian

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:35:32 -0400

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle” maps threats to reefs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste

The report Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle, released at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium this past July is now available in Bahasa Indonesian. The report finds that more than 85 percent of reefs in the Coral Triangle are directly threatened by local human activities, substantially more than the global average of 60 percent. Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle shows that the greatest local threats to reefs in the countries that make up the Coral Triangle are overfishing, watershed-based pollution, and coastal development. When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent across the Coral Triangle region.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in close collaboration with the USAID Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), a consortium of WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International that assists the six Coral Triangle governments in implementing their regional and national Coral Triangle Initiative plans of action. This report was adapted from WRI’s landmark 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Indonesia is home to 16% of the world’s coral reefs (second only to Australia in total reef area) and the highest reef-associated population in the world, with nearly 60 million people living on the coast near coral reefs. The bahasa Indonesia edition of this report is intended to inform local and national decision-makers of the status of the country’s and region’s coral reefs and support coastal management activities in Indonesia.

To read the full report in Bahasa Indonesian click here: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

85% Terumbu Karang di Coral Triangle Tergolong “Terancam”

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:44:56 -0400

Laporan lengkap sekarang tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia.

“Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle” memetakan tingkat ancaman terhadap terumbu karang di Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua Nugini, Filipina, Kepulauan Solomon, dan Timor-Leste.

Laporan Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle (Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang) kini tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Laporan ini dirilis pada bulan Juli lalu di acara Simposium Internasional Terumbu Karang ke 12. Laporan ini menemukan bahwa lebih dari 85 persen dari terumbu karang di Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang (Coral Triangle) secara langsung terancam oleh aktivitas manusia, jauh melebihi rata-rata global yaitu 60 persen. Temuan laporan ini menunjukkan bahwa ancaman terbesar bagi terumbu karang di negara-negara kawasan Coral Triangle adalah penangkapan ikan yang berlebihan, polusi pada daerah aliran sungai, dan pembangunan kawasan pesisir. Ketika ancaman ini digabungkan dengan pemutihan terumbu karang (coral bleaching) yang didorong oleh kenaikan suhu laut, terumbu karang yang tergolong “terancam” meningkat menjadi 90%.

Laporan Terumbu “Terumbu Karang yang Terancam di Coral Triangle” dikembangkan oleh World Resources Institute (WRI) dan bekerjasama dengan Kemitraan Pendukung Segitiga Terumbu Karang USAID, sebuah konsorsium yang berisi WWF, The Nature Conservancy, dan Conservation International. Konsorsium ini membantu mengimplementasi rencana aksi enam negara yang membentuk Kawasan Segitiga Terumbu Karang. Laporan ini diadaptasi dari analisis WRI tahun 2011 tentang ancaman terhadap terumbu karang pada tingkat global, Reefs at Risk Revisited. Laporan ini dilengkapi dengan data terbaru dan lebih mendetil untuk wilayah Segitiga Terumbu Karang.

Indonesia adalah rumah bagi 16% dari terumbu karang dunia (kedua terbanyak setelah Australia) dan hampir 60 juta penduduk yang mata pencahariannya tergantung pada terumbu karang. Edisi Bahasa Indonesia dari laporan ini diharapkan dapat menginformasikan pembuat kebijakan baik di tingkat lokal maupun nasional mengenai keadaan terumbu karang di wilayah pesisir Indonesia.

Read the full report in bahasa Indonesian here: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Monitoring the Receipt of International Climate Finance by Developing Countries

Sarah Parsons — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:19:30 -0400

Executive Summary

The 2010 Cancun Agreements and 2011 Durban Outcome call for developing countries to register, monitor, and report on support received, and for developed countries to improve their reporting by using more complete climate finance reporting guidelines. Doing so will enable information on climate change finance from developed countries to be matched with information from developing countries. The lack of detailed guidance makes it difficult for developing countries to decide how to respond to calls to report climate finance received.

This paper explores the challenges faced by three Asian countries, that is, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam in monitoring finance for climate change. Challenges faced in the three focus countries can be grouped into five categories, and are summarized as follows:

Definitions and Criteria: Countries and donor institutions use a variety of definitions and criteria in identifying climate finance and distinguishing it from other development finance. For the three focus countries, no formal climate finance marker system or definitive guidance exists to help address this definitional issue.
Classifications and Indicators: Sector and activity type classifications also vary widely among donor and recipient institutions, and often do not lend themselves well to climate finance. For example, in the Philippines, there is no energy-specific classification in its current official development assistance (ODA) monitoring system.
Financial Instruments: The type of financial instrument monitored can carry both political implications as well as technical challenges. From a political standpoint, many developing countries and NGOs hold that climate finance—especially adaptation finance—should be delivered primarily in the form of grants. From a technical standpoint, all three countries expressed challenges in monitoring grants, while their loan monitoring systems are fairly developed.
Source: Private finance could potentially play a very important role in international climate finance and its monitoring may be something developing countries could explore for domestic purposes. However, domestic private finance monitoring efforts in the focus countries are often not coordinated with ODA monitoring efforts, nor do they include climate-specific information.
Institutional Arrangements: In the three focus countries, institutional responsibility for the coordination of national climate finance and development of monitoring systems is generally fragmented. Institutional platforms and databases for gathering data on climate finance in particular do not exist. Countries have two options, that is to either modify existing systems or to develop standalone/complementary standardized climate data systems for climate finance.

Despite significant challenges in building their capacity to monitor the receipt of climate change finance, government officials consulted in all three countries expressed an interest in doing so. Such efforts would require several steps, including, for example:

Developing the institutional arrangements and technical platforms necessary to monitor climate finance received. This may include the formation of an interministerial working group on climate finance with an agenda item dedicated to monitoring climate finance, and a complementary (stand-alone) management information system.
Agreeing on and adopting climate finance-specific definitions, criteria, and classifications.
Agreeing on the scope of information to be tracked (type of financial instrument, private versus public, etc.).

Such efforts should be complemented and furthered by support at the international level, both in the form of consistent yet flexible guidance that takes into account the domestic challenges outlined in this paper, as well as financial and capacity building support from developed countries.

RELEASE: 85 Percent of Reefs in the Coral Triangle Are Threatened, New Report Finds

Lauren Zelin — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:17:43 -0400

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle” maps threats to reefs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste

A new report finds that more than 85 percent of reefs in the Coral Triangle are directly threatened by local human activities, substantially more than the global average of 60 percent. Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle shows that the greatest local threats to reefs in the countries that make up the Coral Triangle —Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—are overfishing, watershed-based pollution, and coastal development. When these threats are combined with recent coral bleaching, prompted by rising ocean temperatures, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in close collaboration with the USAID Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP), a consortium of WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and Conservation International that assists the six Coral Triangle governments in implementing their regional and national Coral Triangle Initiative plans of action. The report was released at the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium in Cairns, Australia.

“Across the Coral Triangle region, coastal communities depend on coral reefs for food, livelihoods, and protection from waves during storms, but the threats to reefs in this region are incredibly high,” said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI and a lead author of the report. “Reefs are resilient—they can recover from coral bleaching and other impacts—particularly if other threats are low. The benefits reefs provide are at risk, which is why concerted action to mitigate threats to reefs across the Coral Triangle region is so important.”

The Coral Triangle features immense biodiversity–it contains nearly 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish—twice the number found anywhere else in the world. More than 130 million people living in the region rely on reef ecosystems for food, employment, and revenue from tourism.

“The influence of coral reefs on the most important aspects of people’s lives cannot be overstated,” emphasized Katie Reytar, research associate at WRI and a lead author. “The influence extends far beyond the Coral Triangle to people around the world who benefit from the fisheries, tourism, medicines, and numerous other services that reefs provide.”

The report calls attention to the vulnerability of coral reefs in the Coral Triangle and factors leading to degradation and loss. The report shows that:
* On the list of countries most vulnerable to social and economic impacts from the loss of coral reef services such as food, employment, and shoreline protection, five of the six Coral Triangle countries topped the list;
* An assessment of the existing coverage and management effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Coral Triangle found that 16 percent of the region’s coral reefs are inside MPAs, which is substantially lower than the global average of 28 percent;
* Less than one percent of MPAs in the Coral Triangle were found to be fully effective at reducing threats such as overfishing and destructive fishing.

Alan White, a contributing author to this report and senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy and partner in CTSP, noted that “while there is still room for improvement in increasing the effectiveness of MPAs, especially large MPAs that require significant resources to manage, a lot of progress has been made in building up awareness about reef protection at the local level and in providing communities with the tools and resources to manage the reefs that they depend on.”

Considered the center of coral diversity in the world, Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle illustrates the vulnerability of the region’s reefs and highlights strategies to protect them. Among the many recommendations offered in the report for protecting reefs in the Coral Triangle, the most urgent is to reduce local pressures such as overfishing, destructive fishing, and run-off from land.

“Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle is an important contribution for supporting the six Coral Triangle countries in making critical decisions related to protecting their marine resources,” said Maurice Knight, a contributing author and Team Leader for CTSP. “The region-wide perspective on the status of coral reefs as depicted in this report demonstrates the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action.”

Healthy reefs are more likely to survive the negative effects of climate change, such as coral bleaching caused by higher ocean temperatures or reduced coral growth rates due to increased ocean acidity. Tackling the local threats first will buy reefs time until the global community can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle report will inform the activities of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a multilateral partnership formed in 2009 by the six countries of the Coral Triangle to promote sustainable fishing, improve MPA management, strengthen climate change adaptation, and protect threatened species in the region.

The new report was adapted from WRI’s landmark 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

To download the Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle report visit: http://www.wri.org/publication/reefs-at-risk-revisited-coral-triangle. To watch WRI’s new video “Polyps in Peril!” featuring Celine Cousteau with animation by Jim Toomey visit: www.wri.org/polypsinperil.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Sarah Parsons — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:53:54 -0400

Summary: Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle

Download the 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited

The World Resources Institute produced the report in close collaboration with the USAID-funded Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP). Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle was adapted from WRI’s 2011 global analysis of threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk Revisited, and supplemented with more recent and detailed data for the Coral Triangle region.

Threats to coral reefs in the Coral Triangle are much higher than the global average. More than 85 percent of reefs within the Coral Triangle Region are currently threatened by local stressors (such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development), which is substantially higher than the global average of 60 percent. Nearly 45 percent are at high or very high threat levels. When the influence of recent thermal stress and coral bleaching is combined with these local threats, the percent of reefs rated as threatened increases to more than 90 percent, which is substantially greater than the global average of 75 percent.

Reefs at Risk Revisited in the Coral Triangle studies current and future threats to the Coral Triangle’s reefs, evaluates social and economic vulnerability to reef degradation and loss throughout the six countries, examines reef management initiatives, and identifies solutions to help safeguard reefs.

PRESS RELEASE: 6th Asia Clean Energy Forum Opens in Manila, Philippines

Michael Oko — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 21:26:18 -0400

ADB President Calls for “Radical Steps” on Clean Energy

Leaders in government, business, policy and nongovernmental organizations are gathering this week for the 6th Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila, Philippines. According to the Asian Development Bank, 800 million people in Asia live without access to electricity and a significant push is needed to fast-track new business models and policies for clean energy development. With over 550 participants from 40 countries in attendance, ACEF is being organized the World Resources Institute, the United States Agency for International Development, and ADB to promote efforts to scale up clean energy in Asia and the Pacific.

“Asia is poised to be a world leader in clean energy that can propel the regional economy, while increasing its energy security,” said Manish Bapna, executive vice president and managing director, WRI. “In order to achieve its clean energy potential, leaders in Asia need to make the right policy decisions and increase their investment in clean energy. This forum will inform this important dialogue on Asia’s energy future.”

The year’s forum, from June 22 - 24, will focus on “New Business Models and Policy Drivers: Building the Low-Carbon Future,” including discussions around best practices in energy policy and regulation, financing and investment, innovative business models, and energy access. Parallel sessions will provide opportunities to discuss successful innovation and methods to break down barriers to large-scale clean energy development and deployment. (See the full agenda here)

“Asians have more to lose from climate change than any other people. The climate fight will be won or lost by decisions made in this region,” said Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB President. “An important key to lowering energy intensity is the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and a rapid transition to renewable energy. Asia must also take radical steps to increase energy efficiency and the efficiency of entire economies.”

The opening plenary session, on June 22, will include remarks from Mr. Kuroda; Mohamed El-Ashry, Senior Fellow, UN Foundation and chairman of the Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21); and Amory Lovins, Co-founder, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute (by video). Jennifer Morgan, WRI’s Director of Climate and Energy Program, will give the closing plenary speech.

“In order to meet the challenge of climate change, we need a fundamental transformation in our global energy system with a rapid increase of renewable energy and improvements in energy efficiency,” said Morgan. “With a significant increase in investment in clean energy, Asia can drive economic growth and innovation as it reduces carbon emissions that are altering the climate.”

WRI is working to support Asian countries in reaching their clean energy potential by drawing on the institute’s technical expertise, research, analytical tools, and stakeholder engagement. WRI experts work in areas such as policy and regulation, finance and investment, innovative business models and energy poverty to help a smooth transition to renewable energy.

“Hundreds of millions of people in Asia still lack access to energy and, meanwhile, energy demands are accelerating in the region,” said Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros, Project Manager of International Financial Flows and Environment Project, WRI. “It’s up to governments, investors and other decision-makers to determine the path ahead for clean energy in the region. More investment is needed to increase energy access and move Asia toward a low-carbon future.”

Get more information about the 6th Asia Clean Energy Forum

Read an Op-ed by Jennifer Morgan and Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros

MEDIA ADVISORY: Asia Clean Energy Forum Kicks-Off June 22, Philippines

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:20:23 -0400

Leaders exchange ideas on clean energy innovation, business models, policy and investment at ACEF2011

The Asia and Pacific region will be one of the most important areas for clean energy over the next several decades.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) will co-host the premiere knowledge-sharing platform for clean energy investment in Manila, Philippines, from June 22-24, 2011. The 6th Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) will explore issues in the clean energy sector including policy, regulation, financing and innovative business models; all under the theme of “New Business Models and Policy Drivers: Building the Low-Carbon Future.”

Senior representatives from the host organizations along with energy leaders from around the world will participate in the event.

The Opening Plenary session on June 22 will include remarks from Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB President, and Mohamed El-Ashry, Senior Fellow, UN Foundation and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21).

On Friday, June 24, Jennifer Morgan, Director of WRI’s Climate and Energy Program, will give the closing plenary speech “A Vision for a Low Carbon Future.”

Throughout the week, WRI experts will be featured in panel discussions on topics including renewable energy policy, carbon and energy finance, greening public transportation, ESCOs, universal access to energy, energy efficiency financing, low emission development strategies, and more.

WHAT:
Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) 2011, a detailed program of events is available here.

WHEN:
ACEF: June 22 – June 24, 2011

HIGHLIGHTS FOR MEDIA:

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 9-10:30 a.m.: Opening Plenary Session with remarks from Haruhiko Kuroda, ADB President, and Mohamed El-Ashry, Senior Fellow, UN Foundation and Chairman, REN21

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 10:30 a.m.: Media Availability with WRI experts

Thursday, June 23, 2011 6:00 p.m.: Cocktail reception hosted by WRI, ADB and USAID

WHO:
WRI experts are available for media interviews, including:

Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate and Energy Program
Athena Ballesteros, Project Manager of the International Financial Flows and Environment Project
Dr. Zou Ji, China Country Director
For more information on WRI experts click here

WHERE:
ADB Headquarters, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines

RSVP:
To receive a press pass or to set up interviews, please contact:
DC: Lauren Cole at lcole@wri.org
Manila: Emily Chessin at echessin@wri.org
Beijing: Xiaohua Sun at xsun@wri.org

PRESS RELEASE: New Paper Lays Out Smart Policies for Renewable Energy Growth

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:15:18 -0400

Offers six principles of smart energy policy for developing countries

A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that 77 percent of the world’s energy could come from renewable sources by 2050, as long as governments adopt the right policies. A new working paper, Grounding Green Power, outlines the key components of smart renewable energy policy in developing countries, focusing on the electrical power sector. The paper, from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, suggests priorities for international donors looking to make the most efficient investments in clean energy.

“Helping to build a wind farm is a good thing, but when donors support policies that bring down the cost of renewables, they lay the groundwork for many more wind farms and exponentially more renewable energy projects,” said Lutz Weischer, lead author of the paper and Research Analyst at WRI. “Smart renewable energy policies can drive private investment and create the right environment necessary for long-term growth.”

Grounding Green Power identifies the key components of smart energy policies and draws conclusions from on-the-ground experiences in 12 developing countries. The recommendations were based on a workshop with representatives from Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand.

Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, GMF Senior Director for Policy Programs said, “No two countries are the same, but by convening actors from so many developing countries we have been able to discern best practices that apply across countries. This paper should help the international community as it seeks simultaneously to achieve the goals of development cooperation and reduce the risk of climate change.”

The working paper outlines six principles of smart renewable energy policy that are necessary to achieve transformative deployment at scale, based on the 12 international case studies. According to the authors, a smart renewable energy policy should be:

Comprehensive – strives to create an enabling environment including power sector regulations, investment and financing conditions, suitable electric grid infrastructure, and technical capacity.
Based on clearly defined objectives – includes technology deployment, energy access and economic development goals, in addition to added power generation.
Welcoming to private investment – leverages private investment by promoting attractive and predictable market conditions.
Cost-effective – calls for careful policy decisions that avoid over subsidization of renewables, while removing incentives for fossil fuels.
Supportive of innovation – improves performance, reliability, safety and cost of renewable technologies, to take innovation beyond the lab.
Transparent, accountable and participatory – takes into account the principles of good electricity sector governance, including transparency, accountability, and stakeholder participation.

The paper is intended for audiences including bilateral and multilateral development agencies (the World Bank, bilateral financial institutions, and export-credit agencies); existing multilateral climate funds (Global Environmental Facility and Clean Technology Fund); as well as the new Green Climate Fund; and other international organizations like the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The full working paper is available here.

“Grounding Green Power; Bottom-up perspectives on smart renewable energy policy” was co-authored by Lutz Weischer, Davida Wood, Athena Ballesteros, Xing Fu-Bertaux, of the World Resources Institute and published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and WRI.

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The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. (www.wri.org)

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting better understanding and cooperation between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has six offices in Europe: Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm. (www.gmfus.org/)

The Heinrich Böll Foundation is affiliated with the German Green Party. As part of the Green political movement it has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism. The main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, self-determination and justice. HBF places particular emphasis on gender democracy, meaning social emancipation and equal rights for women and men. As a green think tank and an international policy network, the Heinrich Böll Foundation is active in ecology, democracy and human rights worldwide with 30 offices across the globe. (www.boell.de/service/home.html)

Grounding Green Power: Bottom-Up Perspectives on Smart Renewable Energy Policy in Developing Countries

Maggie Barron — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:51:13 -0400

Watch the summary interview with Lead Author Lutz Weischer

This paper was published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the World Resources Institute.

Developing Countries in the Renewable Energy Transformation

In order to meet the intensifying climate challenge, the global energy system must undergo a fundamental transformation, with a rapid increase of renewable energy worldwide. Developing countries are at the forefront of this challenge, since they are expected to add around 80 percent of all new electric generation capacity worldwide in the next two decades.

The deployment of energy from renewable sources is accelerating in developing countries, and already accounts for a higher percentage of electricity generation than in the developed world. In 2008, non-OECD nations generated 21 percent of their electricity from renewable sources including large-scale hydroelectric power (compared with 17 percent in OECD countries), according to International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics. However, this figure must more than double by 2035, to 46 percent, in order to meet the IEA’s “450 scenario,” which outlines a climate friendly pathway for meeting global energy demands.

Transforming the energy system on this scale will require significantly increased support from developed countries, channeled through both bilateral assistance and multilateral institutions, as well as philanthropic initiatives. Our conclusions, derived from a series of case studies and a comprehensive review of existing literature, suggest that donors should deploy financial support more effectively by moving beyond a project-by-project approach to one that creates the right environment for investments in scaled-up, nationwide deployment.

This working paper seeks to assist in this process, by identifying key components of smart renewable energy policy in developing countries, focusing on the power sector. It also provides recommendations for maximizing the effectiveness of international support for deployment of renewable energies, drawn from these on-the-ground experiences in developing countries.

About this Working Paper

Chapter 1 introduces the approach and methodology taken in this paper and describes the key concepts we address. The second chapter discusses what developing countries are already doing to deploy renewable energy sources, and how they can be supported in scaling up such efforts. It also introduces a set of principles of smart renewable energy policy to propel such a transformation, developed by the World Resources Institute. These are based on insights drawn from case studies of existing renewable energy policies in 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as well as from existing literature.

The following five chapters each examine one key element of smart renewable energy policy, discuss lessons learned, and identify needs for international support. These cover planning and strategy (Chapter 3), well-designed generation-based incentives (Chapter 4), an enabling policy and regulatory framework (Chapter 5), attractive financing conditions (Chapter 6), and the necessary technical environment (Chapter 7). Our findings and recommendations are summarized in Chapter 8.

Principles of Smart Renewable Energy Policy

We define smart renewable energy policy as the set of rules, regulations, and government actions that lead to an increased share of renewables in total electricity consumption in line with a country’s development objectives. Smart renewable energy policy encourages private investment, achieves its objectives in a cost-effective way, promotes continuous innovation, and is designed through transparent, accountable, and participatory processes.

Presentation

Download Slides (PDF, 839 Kb)

PRESS RELEASE: 75% of World’s Coral Reefs Currently Under Threat, New Analysis Finds

Michael Oko — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:55:53 -0500

“Reefs at Risk Revisited” report presents comprehensive analysis of threats to coral reefs

A new comprehensive analysis finds that 75 percent of the world’s coral reefs are currently threatened by local and global pressures. For the first time, the analysis includes threats from climate change, including warming seas and rising ocean acidification. The report shows that local pressures— such as overfishing, coastal development, and pollution— pose the most immediate and direct risks, threatening more than 60 percent of coral reefs today.

“Reefs at Risk Revisited,” the most detailed assessment of threats to coral reefs ever undertaken, is being released by the World Resources Institute with the Nature Conservancy, the WorldFish Center, the International Coral Reef Action Network, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center, along with a network of more than 25 organizations. Launch activities are taking place in Washington, D.C., London, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Caribbean, Australia, and other locations around the world.

“This report serves as a wake-up call for policy-makers, business leaders, ocean managers, and others about the urgent need for greater protection for coral reefs,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “As the report makes clear, local and global threats, including climate change, are already having significant impacts on coral reefs, putting the future of these beautiful and valuable ecosystems at risk.”

Local pressures – especially overfishing and destructive fishing – are causing many reefs to be degraded. Global pressures are leading to coral bleaching from rising sea temperatures and increasing ocean acidification from carbon dioxide pollution. According to the new analysis, if left unchecked, more than 90 percent of reefs will be threatened by 2030 and nearly all reefs will be at risk by 2050.

“Coral reefs are valuable resources for millions of people worldwide. Despite the dire situation for many reefs, there is reason for hope,” said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI and a lead author of the report. “Reefs are resilient, and by reducing the local pressures we can buy time as we find global solutions to preserve reefs for future generations.”

The report includes multiple recommendations to better protect and manage reefs, including through marine protected areas. The analysis shows that more than one-quarter of reefs are already encompassed in a range of parks and reserves, more than any other marine habitat. However, only six percent of reefs are in protected areas that are effectively managed.

“Well managed marine protected areas are one of the best tools to safeguard reefs,” said Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist at the Nature Conservancy and a lead author of the report. “At their core, reefs are about people as well as nature: ensuring stable food supplies, promoting recovery from coral bleaching, and acting as a magnet for tourist dollars. We need apply the knowledge we have to shore up existing protected areas, as well as to designate new sites where threats are highest, such as the populous hearts of the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Middle East.”

Reefs offer multiple benefits to people and the economy – providing food, sustaining livelihoods, supporting tourism, protecting coasts, and even helping to prevent disease. According the report, more than 275 million people live in the direct vicinity (30 km/18 miles) of coral reefs. In more than 100 countries and territories, coral reefs protect 150,000 km (over 93,000 miles) of shorelines, helping defend coastal communities and infrastructure against storms and erosion.

For the first time, the report identifies the 27 nations most socially and economically vulnerable to coral reef degradation and loss. Among these, the nine most vulnerable countries are: Haiti, Grenada, Philippines, Comoros, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Kiribati, Fiji, and Indonesia.

“The people at greatest risk are those who depend heavily on threatened reefs, and who have limited capacity to adapt to the loss of the valuable resources and services reefs provide,” said Allison Perry, project scientist at the WorldFish Center and a lead author. “For highly vulnerable nations – including many island nations – there is a pressing need for development efforts to reduce dependence on reefs and build adaptive capacity, in addition to protecting reefs from threats.”

The report is an update of “Reefs at Risk,” released by WRI in 1998, which served as an important resource for policymakers to understand and address the threats of reefs. The new report uses the latest data and satellite information to map coral reefs— including a reef map with a resolution 64 times higher than the original report.

“Through new technology and improved data, this study provides valuable tools and information for decision makers from national leaders to local marine managers,” said Katie Reytar, research associate at WRI and a lead author. “In order to maximize the benefits of these tools, we need policymakers to commit to greater action to address the growing threats to coral reefs.”

Find out more at: www.wri.org/reefs

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The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. (www.wri.org)

The Nature Conservancy(TNC) is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than one million members have protected more than 480,000 sq km of land and engage in more than100 marine conservation projects. The Conservancy is actively working on coral reef conservation in 24 countries, including the Caribbean and the Coral Triangle. (www.nature.org)

WorldFish Center is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. Working in partnership with a wide range of agencies and research institutions, WorldFish carries out research to improve small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. Its work on coral reefs includes ReefBase, the global information system on coral reefs. (www.worldfishcenter.org)

International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) is a global network of coral reef science and conservation organizations working together and with local stakeholders to improve the management of coral reef ecosystems. ICRAN facilitates the exchange and replication of good practices in coral reef management throughout the world’s major coral reef regions. (www.icran.org)

United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is an internationally recognized center for the synthesis, analysis, and dissemination of global biodiversity knowledge. UNEP-WCMC provides authoritative, strategic, and timely information on critical marine and coastal habitats for conventions, countries, organizations, and companies to use in the development and implementation of their policies and decisions. (www.unep-wcmc.org)

Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) is an operational unit of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) charged with coordinating research and monitoring of coral reefs. The network, with many partners, reports on ecological and socioeconomic monitoring and produces Status of Coral Reefs of the World reports covering more than 80 countries and states. (www.gcrmn.org)

Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia

Maggie Barron — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:19:51 -0500

The coral reefs in Southeast Asia are the most threatened in the world. About 95 percent are at risk from local threats (i.e., coastal development, overfishing/destructive fishing, marine-based pollution, and/or watershed-based pollution), with almost half in the high and very high threat categories. The few places that are in the low-threat category are located in the more sparsely populated eastern areas.

Download hi-res version (JPEG, 2149 x 1843 px, 1.1 Mb)
View global maps of threats to coral reefs

A Vision for Clean Energy in Asia

Manish Bapna — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:39:28 -0400

This piece is adapted from a speech that was delivered on June 25th at the 5th Asia Clean Energy Forum: Meeting the Technology Transfer Challenge. The forum, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Resources Institute, is the premiere knowledge sharing platform on best practices in policy, technology, and finance for clean energy in the Asian region.

There once was a legendary industrialist who was notoriously protective of his privacy. So it came as a shock to a young reporter when he granted her request for an interview - on one condition: she could only ask three questions.

When the day of the interview arrived, she sat down and said: “You are one of the most successful people in the world and your business has redefined industry. What has made you so successful?”

He replied: “Good decisions.” She waited and waited but he said nothing else. She reflected a bit and then asked: “Well, how did you make such good decisions?”

He replied: “Experience.” She was beside herself. Two questions and he had answered with only three words!

So she thought long and hard about her last question: “How did you get this experience?”

The man replied, with a wry smile, “Bad decisions.”

This story captures an important message for me from this conference. Bold goals and big success require the ability to take risks and learn from mistakes. This will be especially true for all of us here committed to working towards a virtually zero-carbon economy.
However, the challenge we face is that we don’t have much time.

According to the IPCC, global GHG emissions should peak by 2015 – that is in 5 years—if we want a fighting chance to keep climate change below 2 degrees.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), investment in clean energy will need to exceed $2.2 trillion dollars over the next 10 years above the reference scenario.
We must meet these goals while still addressing major development and energy poverty challenges, including the spiraling energy needs of developing countries.

This conference has been a terrific platform to share what works, what doesn’t and what we can learn from each other. I’d like to offer a few lessons and insights that came through for me – and which I believe are essential if we are to succeed in fostering a clean energy revolution.

1. “Loud, Long and Legal”: The Right Policies for Clean Energy

To meet this challenge, we need clear and ambitious policy to promote clean energy, and we need to be able to learn as we go. The message of the Bonn Conference on Renewables about six years ago showed that policy needs to be loud, long and legal if we are to drive investment in clean energy.

We need processes to allow us to adapt and improve policy over time while providing the necessary level of predictability to investors.

This message is consistent with recent research from WRI and the Peterson Institute for International Economics on the wind and solar sectors. We found that new wind and solar investments were tightly correlated to government support policies. When strong and predictable incentives for clean energy were put in place, investments went up. When incentives expired or were canceled, clean energy investments collapsed.

We know that policy is critical for building clean energy markets. But we also know that we won’t always get policy design right from the start. Spain is a stark reminder of this. In 2007, Spain introduced ambitious feed-in tariffs that stimulated solar investment. But the scale of the subsidy was seen by some as too expensive, and there was pressure to remove it. When the government drastically reduced the tariff and set a rigid annual capacity cap to limit the number of eligible projects, solar investment collapsed. That is why we need processes to allow us to adapt and improve policy over time while providing the necessary level of predictability to investors.

In this regard, one thing that the ADB can do is scale up its efforts to help client countries improve the transparency, inclusiveness and accountability in policy and regulatory processes. This was one of the main conclusions reached at the dialogue on clean energy governance earlier this week.

2. Economic Cost-Benefit Analysis is at the Heart of Energy Planning

Even though I am an environmentalist, my next point is about economic cost-benefit analysis. Good economic analysis should be at the heart of energy planning, and at the heart of the ADB’s decisions about which projects and technologies they will support.

The problem is that most governments rarely use cost benefit analysis. Even MDBs don’t take economic analysis seriously. I was an economist at the World Bank for nearly a decade and led several cost-benefit studies for major energy and water projects. The incentive was to show that the project met the 12% hurdle rate, what was considered an acceptable rate of return. We never used economic analysis to internalize the full range of environmental and social costs, or to find ways to include non-monetary benefits such as jobs or energy security, or to assess alternatives or options in a meaningful way.

I would urge governments and the ADB to rigorously apply economic cost-benefit analysis to help inform the energy policy and investment decisions they take. They should do this in a transparent manner inviting public scrutiny to help test assumptions. Better policies and better investments will emerge from such open, inclusive processes. If the ADB seriously commits to this, it could open up new possibilities and investments for meeting the region’s energy needs.

3. Energy Efficiency: The Low-Hanging yet Hard-to-Pick Fruit

My third point is about energy efficiency. At this conference we have heard inspiring stories about how much is happening on renewable energy in Asia. By contrast, for all the talk of energy efficiency as a “low hanging fruit,” progress has been slow. A couple of observations emerged during this conference:

We need to connect energy efficiency projects with the right kind of financing. There are many groups working on this issue, and there is a need to share ideas on successes and failures as models are explored. One promising idea is to convene a workshop at the next ACEF to help find scalable business models to support the deployment of energy efficiency projects.

We need a constituency for energy efficiency at the national and international levels. Right now it does not exist as it does for other industries. This is due in part to the particular characteristics of the energy efficiency sector – it is creating something less (energy savings) rather than something more, which can make it intangible and abstract. The sector is also more fragmented and less visible than other industries. Perhaps we need to help create a coalition of consumers and civil society organizations who have a stake in improving existing energy systems.

As we focus on the clean energy revolution, we must not forget that we are still fighting the battle against energy poverty. More than a billion people in this region alone lack access to clean, modern energy services. This is unacceptable.

4. Energy for All: Financing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

As we focus on the clean energy revolution, we must not forget that we are still fighting the battle against energy poverty. More than a billion people in this region alone lack access to clean, modern energy services. This is unacceptable.

Over the past days, we heard a call for more emphasis on how to support and scale solutions promoted by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The problem is that many of these SMEs lack access to the capital that they need to implement and scale their business ideas. Their financing needs are above the reach of microfinance but below those that attract private equity. This is what ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda referred to as the “missing middle” during his opening speech.

The ADB can help lower perceived risks around SMEs and clean energy, through partial loan guarantees to debt funders or patient (long-term) capital to equity funders. This is an important frontier for ADB’s work with its financial intermediary partners throughout the region.

5. Reality Check: Country Ownership for Clean Energy

My final point is about the importance of country ownership. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Structural Adjustment Lending was popular with the World Bank and the IMF, yet these programs failed in large part because they were never truly owned or supported by the governments on whom conditions were imposed, or their citizens. Though I and many others around the table care deeply about clean energy, we do not want to repeat that same mistake. Clean energy support must be deeply owned within countries. This is the only way we will mobilize the radical and sustained changes needed for a clean energy revolution. Through its work on the Electricity Governance Initiative, WRI has been working with civil society, policymakers and regulators across Asia to improve transparency, inclusiveness and accountability in policy and regulation of the electricity sector.

For its part, the ADB needs to proactively engage in-country stakeholders and tailor its clean energy investments to meet their sustainable development needs. Our interventions to support clean energy must respond to the realities of implementation within Asian countries – and the diversity of circumstances and capacities that exist within this region. There is plenty of room for dirty business in clean energy, and so the ADB should emphasize the importance of good electricity governance when it makes its investments.

Conclusion: The Time for Political Leadership

Asia leads the world in the concept of “frugal innovation”… Imagine what could happen if you unleashed that entrepreneurship to focus on renewable energy technologies.

I remain incredibly impressed by the bold policy leadership demonstrated by Asian countries. China and India get lots of attention, but many other countries, notably our host country the Philippines, are taking action as well.

I believe that Asia will be the source of low-cost clean energy solutions to the world. As we know, many of the technologies already exist. The problem is that they are still too expensive. Asia leads the world in the concept of frugal innovation. Indian companies, for example, have been leading innovators – they have developed the $2,000 car (the Tata Nano), the $70 refrigerator, and the $30 cataract surgery. Engineering skills and big markets but relatively low purchasing power creates incentives to drive down costs in a radical manner and this fuels incredible innovation. Imagine what could happen if you unleashed that entrepreneurship to focus on renewable energy technologies.

When Asian companies see the size of the future market in clean energy, they will, I believe, lead the technological revolution that is needed. This revolution will radically reshape the energy sector in ways that current projections only begin to suggest.

I’d like to close with a story that may help inspire the bold political leadership that will be needed if this clean energy revolution is to succeed.

A few months ago, US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner called a meeting with the leaders of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) – a coalition of businesses and environmental organizations that have been instrumental in pushing for mandatory climate legislation in the United States.

The meeting, over breakfast, took place in the middle of a severe snowstorm in Washington DC. It was therefore quite small as only a few USCAP members could attend. Secretary Geithner asked Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, why he supported mandatory climate legislation and when GE would start seriously investing in the United States again.

Immelt replied: “When I look to invest in energy, I look for 3 things”:

Scale of potential market: both the U.S. and Asia are at the top of my list;
Availability of credit: this is bouncing back in U.S. and already available in Asia;
Clear policy: The U.S. does not have clear policies to encourage clean energy. Asia does. We can do a cost-benefit analysis to assess our return on investment in Asia with confidence. Money will flow where risk-adjusted returns are highest. That is not the United States, it is Asia.

Note: Resources and presentations from the 5th Asia Clean Energy Forum are now available online!

Analyzing Environmental Trends in Asia

Dana Krechowicz — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 10:08:42 -0400

How can the financial community better understand the financial impacts of environmental trends?

Climate change and water scarcity will pose serious threats to countries in South and Southeast Asia over the next several decades. These threats, which range from more extreme weather events (like typhoons, floods, and droughts) to more limited water availability, are likely to have significant impacts on the region’s economies and industrial sectors. Gaining a better understanding of how and when environmental risks may impact company performance will help the region’s financial community accurately assess corporate value.

To that end, WRI and HSBC partnered to identify and quantify environmental risks facing key sectors in South and Southeast Asia, culminating in the recent release of three reports on the power, food and beverage, and real estate sectors.

Why is it so difficult to analyze the financial impacts of environmental trends in Southeast Asia? Today WRI releases Analyzing Environmental Trends: Taking the Pulse of Asia’s Financial Community, a working paper that looks at this question and draws on insights gained from the sector reports, as well as feedback from the region’s financial community. The paper frames the key challenges:

A lack of publicly available data relating to both environmental trends (for example, localized water scarcity data) and company-specific exposure to potential environmental risks (for example, the number of corporate facilities in water scarce areas);
Limited contextual analysis –- including examinations of social, economic and political drivers – for framing the complex connections between environmental trends and their financial impacts;
The highly unpredictable nature of environmental trends which limits analysts’ ability to forecast their likelihood and their magnitude.

Lack of Data

The lack of reliable environmental data raises particularly serious concerns in Asia, because this region is predicted to be among the highest impacted by environmental risks such as climate change. There is an urgent need for investors to engage with companies to obtain key data points, such as the specific location of key facilities and the security of a company’s access to key resource inputs such as water. Better information in these areas will help investors fully understand the extent to which environmental risk will impact companies.

Contextual Analysis

Data alone are not sufficient if they are not accompanied by contextual analysis. Contextual analysis entails understanding the extent to which a company or its facilities are: (1) exposed and (2) vulnerable to environmental impacts. A company’s geographical location (or that of its plants/facilities) determines its exposure to physical environmental trends, while the nature of a company’s operations determines its vulnerability to these trends.

To evaluate exposure to environmental trends, the WRI/HSBC research project used geographical information system (GIS) maps. The maps plotted the location of company operations (including facilities and plants) on areas of environmental exposure. In India, for example, 74 GW—over half of existing and planned capacity for major power companies—are located in areas considered to be water scarce or water stressed, which is significant because traditional power plants typically use significant amounts of water.

Thermal Power and Hydropower Plant Locations and Water Stress Level

Modeling Uncertainty

Arguably the most daunting challenge to assessing the financial impacts of environmental trends is the inherent uncertainty in forecasting both the magnitude of environmental risk and the degree of impact that adverse events would have have on companies. This forecasting ability is further complicated by the difficulty in isolating the impacts of environmental trends on company performance.

The WRI/HSBC research project tackled the challenge of uncertainty by initially engaging with environmental experts and companies in the region to establish qualitative connections between environmental risks and financial value. WRI constructed hypothetical but realistic environmental trend scenarios, which HSBC used as a basis to evaluate how companies would be impacted financially using sensitivity analysis. The primary aim of the research was to establish the connections between environmental risks and company value qualitatively, and then prove that they could also be financially material.

What role can the financial community play in improving understanding of environmental trends?

The WRI/HSBC paper suggests actions aimed at improving the quality of environmental data and at enhancing financial analysis methodologies:

1.Engage with companies to publicly disclose relevant environmental data and provide context for interpretation.

Financial analysis requires data (including resource use and dependencies) at the facility (or local) level as well as the company-wide level. Examples of the type of data required include:

Location of facilities
Revenue broken down by product and/or facility

2.Seek out environmental data sources from private data providers, academics, and governments.

The financial community can encourage governments to provide better environmental data at a national level, while working with private data providers to access environmental data at a local level. Examples of specific data that the financial community should seek from governments include:

Resource (e.g. water) availability data at the smallest scale possible
Data on local climate impact predictions

3.Apply methodologies that simulate financial uncertainties to environmental trends.

For analysts looking to take their environmental analysis one step further, WRI used the following methods to cope with uncertainty in analyzing the power sector:

Sensitivity analysis: For plants dependent on freshwater resources, conduct a plant level sensitivity analysis of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) impacts of outages and load losses. This will reveal which companies have the highest financial risk tied to disruptions.
Scenario analysis: Develop scenarios around water availability at the river basin level for each plant based on future projections (if available) or key risk factors present at the local level. When combined with the sensitivity analysis above, this provides insight into which plants are most at risk from water constraints and the potential magnitude of financial impact.
Management quality analysis: Assess and rank companies based on their strategies for mitigating water risk. (e.g. the extent of their water management strategies; their utilization of advanced technologies, such as air cooling, to reduce water dependency). Use this information to appropriately adjust conclusions from the sensitivity and scenarios analyses detailed above.

The availability and quality of environmental data in South and Southeast Asia remain limited, despite broad consensus that environmental trends are likely to have negative impacts across the region. This situation makes the need for better disclosure and environmental analysis all the more pressing and illustrates the clear role that Asia’s financial community can play in addressing this important gap.

The Government of Japan, through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), generously provided funding for this research.

Analyzing Environmental Trends: Taking the Pulse of Asia’s Financial Community

Maggie Barron — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:53:32 -0400

Executive Summary

In 2008, a unique research collaboration between The World Resources Institute (WRI) — a leading environmental think tank —and HSBC — a major global financial institution — was formed to better understand the financial materiality of environmental trends affecting selected sectors in Asia. This research collaboration produced in-depth, peer-reviewed research on the impacts of climate change and water scarcity in South and Southeast Asia’s power, food and beverage, and real estate sectors.

This working paper draws on insights gained from the research as well as feedback from the region’s financial community, to frame the key challenges that analyze the financial impacts of emerging environmental trends in the region.

These challenges can be summarized as:

A lack of publicly available data relating to both environmental trends (for example, localized water scarcity data) and company-specific exposure to potential environmental risks (for example, the number of corporate facilities in water scarce areas);
Limited contextual analysis for framing the complex connections between environmental trends and their financial impacts;
The highly unpredictable nature of environmental trends which limits the ability to forecast their likelihood and their magnitude.

While these challenges are not specific to South and Southeast Asia, this report provides examples of analysis that incorporates environmental trends in the region and suggests practical steps to enhance and expand how Asian (and other emerging) financial markets are responding to emerging environmental issues.

A Seat at the Table: Including the Poor in Decisions for Development and Environment

Maggie Barron — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:59:37 -0400

For more information, and to watch a webcast of the launch of “A Seat at the Table,” visit the Access Initiative website.

En Español

Executive Summary

Decisions that have significant environmental and social consequences are often made without the involvement of those whose interests are directly at stake. For poor people whose lives and livelihoods often depend on natural resources, and who are therefore most vulnerable to environmental risks, the consequences of exclusion can be especially severe. Weak access to decision-making may expose poor communities to high levels of pollution, remove them from productive land, and deprive them of the everyday benefits provided by natural resources.

The three pillars of sound decision-making for the environment that are key to responding to the challenge of providing “access” are: access to information, public participation, and access to justice. Many countries, regardless of their level of economic development, have promoted these pillars as policy aspirations or as enforceable legal rights. Yet even where progress has been significant, more work remains if such laws are to be implemented in a way that is meaningful to all citizens, especially the poor.

To better understand the obstacles to access facing the poor, and the efforts by governments to reach this population, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and its civil society organization (CSO) partners in The Access Initiative (TAI) closely examined access rights and practices in four countries—Cameroon, Paraguay, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

The case studies highlighted in this report cover a range of environmental concerns including water quality, land use, data availability, and the use or absence of environmental impact assessments (EIAs). The findings and literature review show that the poor in these countries face a daunting array of barriers to access, including low literacy, high costs (including the costs of corruption), exposure to risk from participation, and lack of documentation of legal identity or rights to a resource that is necessary to influence decisions. Additionally, cultural norms that limit who may speak in public disproportionately exclude the poor.

The case studies also provide examples where civil society organizations, community groups, and - most importantly - governments have taken steps to overcome these barriers. Based on the findings and literature review, we have identified six poverty-related barriers to access to decision-making and proposed eight categories of policy responses to overcome these barriers. Importantly, a general lack of access to information for all citizens had a commensurately larger impact on access to information for the poor.

En Español

Las decisiones que tienen consecuencias medioambientales y sociales significativas suelen ser tomadas sin la participación de aquellas personas cuyos intereses están directamente en juego. Para las comunidades vulnerables cuyas vidas y medios de subsistencia suelen depender de recursos naturales, y quienes, por lo tanto, están más expuestas a los riesgos medioambientales, las consecuencias de la exclusión pueden ser particularmente severas. Un acceso precario a la toma de decisiones puede exponer a las comunidades vulnerables a altos niveles de contaminación, apartarlos de tierras productivas, y privarlos de los beneficios cotidianos que los recursos naturales les proveen.

Los tres pilares de la toma de decisiones sobre el medioambiente que resultan claves para responder adecuadamente al desafío de dar “acceso” son: el acceso a la información, la participación pública, y el acceso a la justicia. Muchos países, independientemente de su nivel de desarrollo económico, han promovido estos pilares como objetivos de sus políticas públicas o como derechos legales vinculantes. Sin embargo, aun ahí donde el progreso ha sido significativo, hay mucho por hacer si se desea que las leyes que norman los derechos de acceso sean implementadas de una manera que resulte significativa para toda la ciudadanía, y especialmente para los grupos vulnerables.

Para aportar a una mejor comprensión de los obstáculos al acceso que afectan a las comunidades vulnerables, y de los esfuerzos que los gobiernos pueden hacer por alcanzar a esa población, el Instituto de Recursos Mundiales y sus socios de la organización de la sociedad civil La Iniciativa de Acceso examinaron detenidamente los derechos y prácticas de acceso en cuatro países—Camerún, Paraguay, Filipinas y Sri Lanka.

Los estudios de caso destacados en este informe cubren una variedad de asuntos medioambientales incluyendo la calidad del agua, el uso de la tierra, la disponibilidad de datos, y el uso o ausencia de Evaluaciones de Impacto Ambiental (EIA). Los hallazgos de la investigación y la bibliografía revisada muestran que en estos países los grupos vulnerables enfrentan un abanico enorme de barreras para ejercer sus derechos de acceso, incluyendo el bajo alfabetismo,
los altos costos (incluidos los costos de la corrupción), la exposición a los riesgos de la participación, y la falta de documentos de identidad o del derecho a algún recurso necesario para participar o influir en la toma de decisiones. Adicionalmente, las normas culturales que definen quiénes pueden hablar en público excluyen a los grupos vulnerables desproporcionalmente.

Los casos de estudio también proveen ejemplos en los que organizaciones de la sociedad civil, grupos comunitarios, y –más importante– algunos gobiernos han dado pasos para superar o eliminar estas barreras. En base a los hallazgos y la revisión bibliográfica, hemos encontrado seis barreras al acceso a la toma de decisiones que se relacionan con la pobreza y propuesto ocho categorías de medidas de política pública (policy responses) que sirven para superarlas (ver Tabla 1). Es importante señalar que la falta generalizada de acceso a la información por parte de la ciudadanía tiene un impacto apreciablemente más alto en la falta de acceso a la información por parte de los grupos vulnerables.