Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Landscape Assessment (BELA)

 

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Click here to access the BELA Case Study Series or scroll below for snapshots of each case study.

What is BELA? 

Supported by the PROGREEN Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes since June 2021, the Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Landscape Assessment (BELA) initiative promoted the use of ecosystem-services-informed landscape analytics and project planning to enhance the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of investments in agriculture, water resources, forestry, nature-based tourism, infrastructure, and to boost countries’ resilience to climate change. 

The BELA initiative brought together a team of technical specialists to support World Bank teams and national governments to implement ecosystem-based landscape assessments.  The team brought expertise in ecosystem services modeling, spatial analytics, environmental economics, and scenario analysis. The team first engaged in scoping dialogues with Bank teams to determine their project context, key questions, available data, timeline, and resources, and made recommendations for appropriate methods and analytical products to produce. In some cases the team agreed to pursue capacity development activities alongside of or instead of analytics.  

The team provided tailored support to Bank teams in eight countries and also carried out activities to build capacity within the Bank and with its partners.  At the end of the initiative, the BELA team compiled lessons learned in a series of case studies, work packages, example TORs, and in this Synthesis Report, with the goal of making it easier for Bank teams to understand when BELA approaches are appropriate, and to mobilize the expertise needed to replicate the approach.  

Scroll below to read more about BELA’s country engagements! 

What is the BELA approach? 

When effectively managed, ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services. These include the provision of timber, food, and medicinal plants, preservation of freshwater supplies and soil quality, carbon sequestration, protection from storms, erosion, and flooding, habitat for species, and cultural and spiritual value, among others. There is also a growing recognition that market mechanisms that overvalue built capital and undervalue natural capital are contributing to the ongoing degradation of natural systems. Accounting for changes in ecosystem services (ES) can help decision-makers understand the values of ecosystems and the trade-offs that exist between different development pathways and project alternatives. The merits of this approach have been validated by the recent adoption of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework by the United Nations Statistical Commission, and by the rapid growth in demand for natural capital assessment and accounting frameworks by countries and multilaterals worldwide. 

The BELA approach takes a landscape perspective and uses state of the art modeling tools and scenarios assessment to evaluate the ecosystem services produced by landscapes, and then evaluates the potential for their decline and/or improvement given different land management practices. Land management scenarios typically reflect different policy choices, development strategies, climate adaptation strategies, national and/or international restoration commitments. BELA also provides an idea of the costs and benefits of investing in landscape management as a strategy that countries can use to achieve development goals and for climate mitigation and adaptation. 

BELA’s integrated approach to assessing natural capital in the context of landscapes considers the health of the ecosystems that support human livelihoods and the flow of ecosystem services that contribute to the resilience of rural communities.  BELA draws on cutting-edge biodiversity and ecosystem service science and employs innovative tools to help teams identify interventions needed to manage landscapes more effectively.  This approach helps teams to 

  • Understand tradeoffs between different uses of a landscape to help identify effective solutions, such as adaptation policies, integrated land management practices, and nature-based solutions.  These tools provide critical information to help teams within the Bank and national governmentscl decide where and what solutions are needed to manage competing uses and development goals; 

  • Move from problem-based to solution-based targeting of actions to generate higher and more sustainable societal, public health, ecological and financial benefits on investments. For example, a problem-based perspective targets investments based on snapshots of threats or problems and directs resources to those areas, whereas a solution-based perspective takes an action-oriented approach and targets places where the impacts of investments would be highest; and 

  • Measure anticipated impacts on ecosystems and the services they provide, enabling projects to monitor outcomes that national governments care about and set targets for performance-based financing. 

BELA’s Impact  

In total, BELA provided analytical services and/or capacity building workshops to eleven countries in 2 years.  For nine countries, BELA provided on-demand analytical services to Bank project teams and relevant government ministries to demonstrate the role of nature in climate adaptation and mitigation plans, and to build knowledge and capacity through direct engagement.  For two countries, the focus was on delivering a highly tailored capacity building workshop.  Two countries, Malawi and Ethiopia, received both analytical services and tailored capacity-building workshops.  BELA also addressed the need to build knowledge of and demand for the BELA approach with a series of webinars. 

bela diagram

The BELA Case Study Series was developed to showcase the analytical and capacity development work of the BELA initiative and to facilitate knowledge sharing and replication in future World Bank operations. Read the full Case Studies here. 

Below is a summary of the services that the BELA team provided to task teams in ten countries along with key impacts from the work.  

Burundi - Diagnosing land degradation hotspots to scale up landscape restoration 

BELA services: 

  1. Hotspots of land degradation and how they affect ecosystem services in productive lands. 
  2. Where Burundians are most at risk from natural hazards, based on current trends, combined with the impacts of climate change.  
  3. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to build climate resilience, alter the trajectory of land degradation, and provide positive economic benefits across sectors. 

Key impacts: 

  • BELA worked closely with the Integrated Catchment Management Unit (ICMU) of Lesotho to engage nominated representatives from key ministries and build the Ecosystem Services Task (EST) Team. Together with the intersectoral EST Team, BELA held regular planning meetings to define a 4-day workshop agenda that would introduce ecosystem services and their intersectoral applications for integrated watershed management. As a result, the EST Team became a functioning community of practice. Following the workshop, BELA introduced the EST Team to the Africa Natural Capital Accounting Community of Practice (Africa NCA COP). Soon after the workshop, their membership in the Africa NCA COP was confirmed. 

  • BELA prepared a rapid assessment of ecosystem services in Lesotho. These results were presented to technical experts and high-level government officials representing key sectors for integrated watershed management in Lesotho during the capacity building workshop. As a result, the workshop helped to launch the intersectoral collaboration for integrated watershed management led by the ICMU. 

DRC - Illuminating the diverse values of forests to guide landscape restoration  

BELA services: 

  1. The values of ecosystem services provided by DRC’s forests and how they will be affected by ongoing forest loss and land degradation. 
  2. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to alter the trajectory of forest loss and land degradation, improve ecosystems services, and provide positive economic benefits to rural populations. 
  3. The contribution of forest loss to DRC’s future carbon emissions and the potential for DRC to participate in the global carbon market.

Key impacts: 

  • Their work helped the DRC CCDR stand out as a frontrunner in incorporating land conditions and ecosystem services into its evaluation of climate impacts on the economy and the potential for carbon finance. 

  • BELA also helped showcase the value of ecosystem services and the economic cost of their loss, thus securing government support for natural capital approaches and guiding DRC’s global dialogue on incentivizing protection and management of Congo Basin forests; and helped define the priority intervention area for a new $300 million landscape project in the DRC, the Forest and Savanna Restoration Investment Program (P178642). 

Ethiopia - Developing an investment prioritization tool to combat degradation 

BELA services: 

  1. How landscape conditions will magnify or mitigate the impact of climate change on the country’s economy and ecosystems. 
  2. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to alter the trajectory of forest loss and land degradation, improve ecosystems services, and provide positive economic benefits to rural populations. 
  3. The contribution of landscape degradation to Ethiopia’s future carbon emissions and the potential for the country to participate in the global carbon market. 
  4. Hands-on training for the development of ecosystem and land accounts, and the Investment Prioritization Tool (IPT).  

Key impacts: 

  • The BELA work brought to light a notable shift in the hotspots of land degradation within the country. While government investments in the highlands have effectively reversed some concerning degradation trends, BELA analysis showed that the country should now pivot towards addressing similar issues in the lowlands. This led to a key recommendation from the CCDR to redirect investment in landscape management towards the lowland areas.   

  • In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, the team developed an Investment Prioritization Tool that utilizes ecosystem services as a guiding metric to identify priority areas for Sustainable Land Management (SLM).  The IPT combines data on land cover, land condition, climate, soils, and infrastructure, along with state-of-the-art spatial modeling approaches to prioritize areas for investments in sustainable land management programs optimizing cost-effectiveness and landscape-level benefits. Insights from this tool provided inputs to both the Ethiopia Strategic Investment Framework and the recalibrated component of the Climate Action through Landscape Management (CALM) project. 

Madagascar - Developing an ecosystem services index to guide investment  

BELA services: 

  1. The hotspots of land degradation in Madagascar, and the consequences for Madagascar's economy 
  2. The impact of land degradation on ecosystem services such as erosion control for agricultural productivity, water and sediment regulation for hydropower production, and carbon storage. 
  3. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to build climate resilience, alter the trajectory of land degradation, and provide positive economic benefits across sectors. 

Key impacts: 

  • The BELA team assessed land degradation and its impacts on key economic drivers such as hydropower and agriculture contributed to the Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) in 2022 and developed an Ecosystem Services Index to provide the government and the World Bank team with a tool to guide ongoing and incoming investment in Integrated Landscape Management in the country.  

  • Results led to a recommendation to mainstream ecosystem services across the Bank’s sectoral engagements and informed the Country Partnership Framework (CPF).  

Malawi - Bringing Nature into the Country Climate Development Report 

BELA services:  

  1. How landscape conditions magnify or mitigate the impact of climate change on Malawi’s ecosystems and economy 
  2. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to build climate resilience, alter the trajectory of land degradation, and provide positive economic benefits across sectors. 
  3. The contribution of landscape degradation to Malawi’s future carbon emissions and the potential for the country to participate in the global carbon market. 
  4. Promote adoption of ecosystem services and natural capital approaches in national planning strategies

Key impacts: 

  • Malawi’s CCDR was one of the first where nature, especially land conditions, was incorporated into the assessment of climate impacts on the economy and the potential for carbon financing. A key recommendation, guided by BELA assessments, focused on halting and reversing land degradation.    

  • The BELA modeling exercise revealed a gap in the current World Bank portfolio: that current land restoration projects lack coordination and are not necessarily targeting areas where ecosystem services could be enhanced at the least cost. This insight is shaping the design of a deep dive on Strategic Restructuring of Landscape Management in Malawi (P180215) and the Regional Climate Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa (P181308) in Malawi.   

  • BELA partnered with the Global Program on Sustainability (GPS) to deliver a capacity building workshop that convened 13 senior government officials and 46 technical experts and practitioners from various sectors in the environmental, policy and financial planning space in Malawi. The workshop raised awareness of landscape and ecosystem planning within the country and helped secure Malawi’s membership in the Africa Natural Capital Accounting Community of Practice. 

Pakistan - Targeting National Restoration Actions for Ecosystem Services 

BELA services: 

  1. The hotspots of land degradation in Pakistan and how they affect ecosystem services in productive lands. 
  2. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to alter the trajectory of land degradation, mitigate flood risks, improve ecosystem services, and enhance landscape productivity.    
  3. The costs and potential co-benefits of investing in landscape restoration actions in priority areas. 

Key impacts: 

  • BELA's technical report on Integrated Landscape Management for Ecosystem Services in Pakistan was pivotal in shaping the World Bank's Recommendations for an Ecosystems Restoration Strategy. This strategy, incorporating spatial modeling of ecosystem services, identifies priority areas for intervention. The plan emphasizes community-based delivery models, moving beyond provincial lands to target communal lands.    

  • As Pakistan aims to integrate ecosystem services into its Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Program (TBTTP), BELA's insights will focus on defining ecosystem services restoration within the TBTTP and ensuring scalability with targeted interventions due to limited resources. Aligning with the National Adaptation Plan 2023 for climate change, the project aims to promote this agenda on an international stage, notably at the COP. The government's commitment, with buy-in from provinces and development boards, highlights a coordinated effort for effective implementation over the next four months.  

Uzbekistan - Pinpointing hotspots of ecosystem services opportunity 

BELA services: 

  1. The hotspots of land degradation in Uzbekistan and the consequences for Uzbekistan’s economy  
  2. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to alter the trajectory of land degradation, mitigate landslide and climate change risks, improve ecosystem services, and enhance landscape productivity. 
  3. Costs and benefits of investing in climate-smart technologies in priority areas. 

Key impacts: 

  • The BELA analysis helped make the case to the government that climate adaptation measures can result in strong induced economic and development benefits, making them worthwhile investments even without considering climate risks.   

  • The Deep Dive on Landscape Restoration Opportunities for Climate Adaptation in Uzbekistan report demonstrated that the benefits of sustainable land management investments are two to three times higher than the costs, helping build buy-in within the government for additional investment.  

  • The degradation hotspots and potential for adaptation opportunity identified by the BELA analysis are also helping to guide implementation of sustainable land use practices in Uzbekistan through the World Bank's RESILAND CA+ Regional Landscape Restoration Program in Central Asia. 

Zimbabwe - Evaluating costs and benefits of nature-based solutions in production landscapes 

BELA services: 

1. Key ecosystem service hotspot areas in Zimbabwe that could be good candidates for a project to enhance biodiversity and climate resilience in productive landscapes. 

2. The values of ecosystem services provided by the Mazowe catchment and the potential for their improvement with landscape management interventions. 

3. Where to prioritize investments in landscape management to build climate resilience, alter the trajectory of land degradation, and provide positive economic benefits across sectors?    

Key impacts: 

  • BELA's national landscape assessment provided the evidence for sustainable landscape management investments in the country, offering data-driven recommendations for the selection of the Mazowe catchment as a target area for development of the new PES program. The analysis showed that public investment to scale up sustainable landscape management in the Mazowe catchment is cost-effective, with every US$100 invested in landscape interventions generating US$170 in benefits.   

  • BELA’s work helped identify three policy areas for discussion with government counterparts: (1) scaling up climate-smart agriculture; (2) investing in sustainable forest management; and (3) leveraging climate finance and piloting payments for ecosystem services to incentivize sustainable landscape management and climate action

Zambia - Integrating ecosystem service science and landscape approaches into planning and policymaking 

BELA services: 

  1. Piloted the EESP workshop to understand capacity challenges that prevent countries from utilizing landscape assessments in their projects, investments, and planning processes. 

Key impacts: 

  • BELA partnered with the Global Program on Sustainability (GPS) to launch the Embedding Ecosystem Services into Policy (EESP) capacity building program. This program was piloted in Zambia through a two-day hybrid (virtual and in-person) workshop focused on Landscape Approaches that draw on ecosystem services science to help the government of Zambia achieve their water resource planning and development goals. Following this pilot workshop, BELA reviewed exit surveys and debriefed the workshop design with facilitators and key participants to inform the design of the full EESP program. 

  • BELA prepared a rapid assessment of Zambia’s ecosystem services related to water resource management. All workshop materials were shared with participants for integration into their work in government, academic, or private sector spaces. 

Reports and publications