|
The Changing Wealth of Nations 2024
Revisiting the Measurement of Comprehensive Wealth
| |
|
GPS successfully launched the latest edition of its flagship, The Changing Wealth of Nations 2024: Revisiting the Measurement of Comprehensive Wealth (CWON2024), on October 15, 2024. The launch event highlighted the report's main concepts, providing an overview of the rationale for using wealth as a measure of economic progress, detailing the CWON methodology, and analyzing trends in the assets of the CWON wealth portfolio, which includes nonrenewable natural capital, hydropower, forests and agricultural land, blue natural capital, and human capital. Additionally, the speakers presented various ways to utilize the data effectively.
Featured speakers included Dr. Matthew Agarwala, Bennett Chair of Sustainable Finance; Livia Bizikova, PhD, Lead II in Monitoring and Governance; Prof. Brodjonegoro, Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN); Richard Damania, Chief Economist, Planet Vice Presidency; Catherine Van Rompaey, Senior Economist, Development Data Group at the World Bank; Stefanie Onder, Assistant Professor at American University; and Luis Diego Herrera Garcia, Environmental Economist.
If you missed the launch or want to revisit the discussions, you can rewatch the event here.
| |
|
Ghana's Natural Capital Accounting program trains local journalists and Civil Society Organizations
|  | |
Ghana’s Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) program is finalizing its land, ecosystem extent, and ecosystem services accounts, set for publication by early 2025. A capacity-building workshop in Accra on August 6, 2024, trained over 50 journalists and civil society representatives on NCA to enhance their ability to communicate and advocate for it.
Dr. Ofosu-Baadu, Chief Statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), emphasized that integrating NCA into economic accounting is vital for measuring natural resources for sustainable development, calling on the media and civil society to support the process. Other officials from the National Development Planning Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the GSS stressed the role of media and civil society in preserving natural resources and driving evidence-based advocacy to influence policy.
The workshop included presentations on the NCA program’s relevance to sustainable development and a panel discussion on challenges, opportunities, and communication strategies for promoting NCA in Ghana. The discussions highlighted the importance of collaboration between government, media, and civil society in advancing NCA for sustainable development.
Learn more
| |
| |
|
|
Where Beauty Meets the Beast:
Enhancing Women Participation in Livestock Production In Türkiye
The Global Program on Sustainability helped to investigate the interests of women in rural Turkiye and the opportunities they foresee for themselves in better landscape management. The Social Inclusion work focused mainly on women’s role in the use of natural resources, farming, livestock rearing and forestry, their assessment of the status of the natural resource base in their villages, and their outlook on the future of their livelihoods in Turkiye. The discussions focused on villages in Bolaman and Çekerek Basins, since women are heavily involved in farming, livestock management, and hazelnut production – main uses of natural resources in these two basins.
Read the full story here
| | |
|
Using Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounts to Inform the Tourism Sector through Stakeholder Engagement in Tunisia
| |
Celebrating the World Tourism Day, a two-day stakeholders consultation workshop was co-organized by the World Bank, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Tourism and Handicraft and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory on September 26 and 27, 2024, in Tabarka, Tunisia. Discussions took place about the use of the Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounts for decision making to guide ecotourism and nature-based tourism development in Tunisia. Policy briefs providing essential guidelines to frame policies and investments in the sustainable tourism sector were also examined. Supporting full ownership, capacity building needs were identified to develop a capacity-building plan and a communication strategy was presented to promote the key findings of the technical assistance. | |
|
|
Embedding Ecosystem Services into Policy (EESP) Training Program e-course | |
The GPS supported Embedding Ecosystem Services into Policy (EESP) training program recently included an e-course on the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus. The e-course features video presentations from leading ecosystem service scientists and environmental economists, offering participants insights into ecosystem science and its practical applications.
Check out the EESP e-course
| | | |
|
The GPS team and the World Bank Group are attending the Conference of the Parties (COP16) on Biodiversity in Cali, Colombia, from 21 October - 1 November 2024. The participation will support the unprecedented ambition enshrined in the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). A decades-long leader on the nature agenda, the Bank is mainstreaming nature into development programs, economic policy, and strategic investments across sectors and regions, to serve as a key implementing partner for the KMGBF.
Highlights:
Tuesday, October 22
11:30 – 12:45 - Making Nature Count through Valuation and Natural Capital Accounting
This session will highlight the importance of valuation and natural capital accounting to support integrated policies and decision-making, examine how natural capital accounting and valuation can help mainstream biodiversity into relevant strategies and plans, systematically integrate biodiversity into programs, policies, and projects, and promote sectoral, planning, and investment coordination.
4pm to 5.15pm - Innovative approaches for mainstreaming nature in policies and investments
This session will highlight the importance of valuation and natural capital accounting to support integrated policies and decision-making, examine how natural capital accounting and valuation can help mainstream biodiversity into relevant strategies and plans, systematically integrate biodiversity into programs, policies, and projects, and promote sectoral, planning, and investment coordination.
Watch online or join us at the MDB Pavilion, Blue Zone
Learn more about the World Bank Group at CO16
| | |
|
|
The GPS Seminar Series presents regular virtual events on the latest knowledge on how policy makers and the financial sector can integrate environmental sustainability considerations into decision making. The next GPS seminar is will cover the topic "Integrating natural capital to inform policies and programs for low-carbon and climate-resilient development for Nigeria"
Stay tuned for more details.
| |
|
The GPS team was an integral part of a larger initiative led by the London School of Economics (LSE), which has recently published a report on National Transition Planning. This report presents a strategic framework for governments to communicate their sustainable development plans to the financial sector. It goes beyond Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Strategies (LTS) to include National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). The proposed framework is adapted from one initially designed for financial institutions by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), aiming to bridge the gap between governmental climate ambitions and financial sector engagement.
The report and its recommendations were also a focal point at three key events, co-organized by the GPS team in collaboration with the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action:
Regional Workshop in Manila, August:
A workshop was held during the ASEAN Regional Meeting of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila. This event provided a platform for ASEAN finance ministry representatives to discuss how national transition plans can be better aligned with sustainable finance.
Event at New York Climate Week, September:
During New York Climate Week, the GPS team helped organize an event alongside the New York Climate Exchange, where high-level speakers from Coalition member countries, global commercial banks, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), New York pension funds, academia, and development organizations like the UN shared their insights. This session focused on how to reform the financial sector to better align with 21st-century climate challenges.
Global Climate Action Partnership Workshop, Brazil, October:
A session was organized as part of the Global Climate Action Partnership workshop in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, gathering insights from representatives of finance ministries from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The discussion centered on using the framework to inform national policies on climate resilience and sustainable finance.
Across these events, finance ministry representatives from over 30 countries, particularly from the ASEAN and LAC regions, actively participated in exploring the integration of climate goals into national economic planning. These engagements showcased the global momentum around embedding sustainability into financial systems, with contributions from both the public and private sectors.
| |
|
This newsletter is published by the GPS Communications Team
We welcome your submissions of news, events, and publications at gps@worldbank.org
| | | | |
