World Bank financing for sustainable forest management: the case of China

Abstract

In 2002 the World Bank (WB) adopted the so-called Sustaining Forests: A Development Strategy, in accordance with the commitments assumed in the Rio Declaration (ONU, 1992). In recent decades, this multilateral financial institution has man-aged a significant volume of resources for development projects aimed at the forestry sector in China, contributing to the growth of the tree mass, which is increasing, representing 23.3% of the total its surface in 2020. The purpose of this research is, first of all, to know the activities financed and the amount received by the Asian country between 2002 and 2021, which are intended to contribute to the sustainability of forests. Second, the relative importance of these resources is analyzed both in relation to the rest of the actions that have obtained financing in the country and in the geographical distribution of the Bank's active operations in forestry. The work is based on an extensive literature review on China's forest policy in recent decades and statistical information obtained from the World Bank and FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) databases. The study carried out contributes to the scarce literature on financing and recovery of forests and allows conclusions to be drawn to guide the development of actions in favor of sustainable forest management.