As we navigate accelerating and interlinked crises—from climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, to debt, rising cost-of-living, and conflict—it has never been more urgent to measure and value nature to make better decisions for development. Many people in developing countries depend on natural capital, such as forests, water, farmland, and soils, for jobs, raw materials, and food security. The Global Program for Sustainability (GPS) is at the forefront of global efforts to measure, quantify, and integrate nature and sustainability into economic decision-making to equip policy makers with the information they need to “make nature count” on balance sheets.

The GPS 2024 Annual Report showcases the breadth of our work: GPS is simultaneously harnessing the power of analytics and partnerships and shifting the intellectual discourse through groundbreaking research, while increasingly emphasizing social inclusion. Over time, our impact is growing: case studies in this report from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal, Nigeria, and Türkiye illustrate tangible progress in measuring the hidden values of nature’s contributions to people and integrating sustainability into economic planning, policies and investments. Read more

Call for Proposals for Targeted Technical Assistance Activities

In December 2024, the GPS launched a Call for Proposals for BEDAs (formerly BETFs). In GPS terminology, these are referred to as Targeted Technical Assistance (TTA) activities.

The call for proposals requested them to be aligned with the following two core GPS priority areas:

• Making natural capital and ecosystem health count in World Bank Group (WBG) financing (Investment Project Financing (IPFs), Development Policy Financing (DPFs), Program-for-Results (PforRs)); and
• Integrating natural capital and ecosystem health into Bank engagements (e.g., Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCDs), Country Partnership Frameworks (CPFs)) and public policies.

The call is now closed, and the proposals are under review. Reflecting the demand for GPS support to advance nature economics and policies, approximately 20 applications were received from different regions.

Addressing Air Pollution in Honduras through Sustainable Resource Management

The World Bank, through the Global Program for Sustainability (GPS), is supporting a diagnostic study to assess air pollution in Honduras and its links to natural resource management. With a $75,000 grant from the GPS Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the initiative will analyze pollution sources—such as unsustainable agricultural practices, forest fires, and firewood use—and provide policy and investment recommendations. Findings will inform Honduras’ upcoming Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) and future projects, including the next phase of the COMRURAL and Energy Access Projects. By integrating sustainability into natural resource management, this effort aims to enhance environmental resilience and improve long-term health and economic outcomes. The study is set for completion in December 2025.

Read the latest story from the Sovereign ESG Data Portal:

Driving sustainability with new insights: refining deforestation KPIs to strengthen green financing

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Enhancing Conservation Through Data-Driven Decision-Making in Zambia

Zambia is home to 20 national parks and 36 game management areas, covering approximately 30% of the country's land area. These areas are critical habitats for iconic wildlife species and play a significant role in the economy, including jobs, food security, and climate resilience.

Zambia is updating its Wildlife and Protected Areas Accounts under the Zambia Natural Capital Accounting Program, supported by the World Bank’s Global Program for Sustainability. This update aims to provide systematic, data-driven insights into the economic contributions, biodiversity trends, and sustainability of Zambia’s protected areas.

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Watch video of how private tree planting on farms can also help build forest cover and boost livelihoods in Nepal. Nepal’s forest cover has expanded from 25% to 46% over the last 25 years. About half of Nepali households have private trees, providing non-timber forest products like firewood, fodder, and leaves, with a growing demand for fruit trees. Supporting private tree planting can bring many development benefits, including household energy, livelihoods, resilience of crop and livestock production, and less pressure on community forests. Watch here.

From February 3-7, 2025, the GPS team supported a technical mission in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together teams from the Kenya Watershed Services Improvement Project (KEWASIP) and Ethiopia’s Climate Action Through Landscape Management Program (CALM). Attendance included a total of 13 participants, (6 from Ethiopia, 7 from Kenya), including 3 women. The mission, organized in collaboration with Ethiopia’s Resilient and Green Development Programmatic ASA, focused on capacity building in ecosystem service modeling and investment prioritization to enhance sustainable land and watershed management.

The training provided hands-on experience with sediment delivery, water yield, and carbon models, helping participants develop watershed prioritization scenarios. It reinforced Ethiopia’s use of the Investment Prioritization Tool (IPT) to refine landscape restoration interventions and supported KEWASIP in applying InVEST tools for data-driven decision-making. Participants emphasized the value of cross-country knowledge exchange, and next steps include further technical trainings, virtual check-ins, and deeper integration of socioeconomic data.

The Ghana National Landscape Forum took place from April 2-4, 2025, at the Marriott Hotel in Accra and online. Key stakeholders discussed sustainable natural resource management, climate-smart cocoa, forest governance, pollution management, and community-led conservation initiatives to drive inclusive economic growth and shape Ghana's future.

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