IMF lending programs causing deforestation should be rethought (commentary)
Recent research indicates that IMF lending programs contribute to increased deforestation in countries receiving financial assistance. Specifically, countries under these programs experience a 9.2% higher annual tree cover loss. As the IMF reviews its lending approach, there is a call for greater consideration of environmental impacts in its policies.
- ▪Countries under IMF lending programs see a 9.2% increase in annual tree cover loss.
- ▪In a typical three-year IMF program, this loss equates to forest area the size of Barbados.
- ▪Only 34 out of nearly 36,000 policy reforms since 1980 explicitly target the forestry sector.
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The IMF provides financial assistance to countries to balance their books but recent research by the co-authors of a new commentary shows this support comes at an environmental cost: an increase in deforestation.The co-authors reveal countries experience 9.2% higher annual tree cover loss during years in which they are under such programs, which is an unnecessary cost; and thus, the IMF should consider how to fix this issue while it’s currently reviewing the design of its lending programs, they argue.As the IMF rethinks its lending approach, these groundbreaking new findings underscore the need to deepen understanding of the impacts of forest and biodiversity loss on economic systems, the co-authors write.This article is a commentary.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Mongabay — News.
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