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Risks to global biodiversity and Indigenous lands from China's overseas development finance
Hongbo Yang1, B Alexander Simmons1, Rebecca Ray1
1Global Development Policy Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
|September 21, 2021
Summary
China
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Conservation Biology
- Development Finance
Background:
- China is a major global lender for overseas development projects.
- Development projects can lead to biodiversity loss and impact Indigenous lands.
- Risks associated with China's overseas development finance are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the biodiversity and Indigenous land risks of projects financed by China's policy banks (2008-2019).
- To compare these risks with those from World Bank-financed projects.
- To identify global hotspots of socio-ecological risks from development finance.
Main Methods:
- Geospatial analysis of China-financed projects against critical habitats, protected areas, and Indigenous lands.
- Quantification of potential impacts on threatened species.
- Comparative risk assessment with World Bank-financed projects.
Main Results:
- 63% of China-financed projects overlap with high-risk areas for biodiversity and Indigenous peoples.
- Up to 24% of global threatened vertebrate species may be impacted.
- China's projects, especially in the energy sector, pose greater risks than the World Bank's.
Conclusions:
- China's overseas development finance presents significant socio-ecological risks.
- Risk hotspots are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.
- Findings can inform strategies for "greening" global development finance.
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