Large-scale development projects oftentimes end up creating negative impacts that affect vulnerable populations with particular intensity. Projects likely to displace families from their homes, degrade the living conditions of indigenous peoples or intensify social conflicts at local levels are not uncommon. Social safeguards are intended to prevent these and other unintended impacts, and when the impacts cannot be averted, to develop appropriate measures to mitigate them. However, the practical implementation of social safeguards is plagued with a series of structural problems. The collection of stories from the field presented in this book illustrates the principles and application of social safeguards in the context of projects funded by multilateral banks, identifying key challenges in their implementation and exploring paths to overcome those limitations.

Large-scale development projects oftentimes end up creating negative impacts that affect vulnerable populations with particular intensity. Projects likely to displace families from their homes, degrade the living conditions of indigenous peoples or intensify social conflicts at local levels are not uncommon. Social safeguards are intended to prevent these and other unintended impacts, and when the impacts cannot be averted, to develop appropriate measures to mitigate them. However, the practical implementation of social safeguards is plagued with a series of structural problems. The collection of stories from the field presented in this book illustrates the principles and application of social safeguards in the context of projects funded by multilateral banks, identifying key challenges in their implementation and exploring paths to overcome those limitations.

When it comes to environmental conservation and sustainable development initiatives in tropical forests, indigenous peoples are key players. They have been described often as either conservationists or destroyers of biodiversity. The position adopted on this matter is important because it guides the design and implementation of conservation strategies. The central question about what makes indigenous peoples conserve or degrade biodiversity, however, has posed a significant challenge, particularly in light of widespread trends such as cultural change, market expansion, and greater diversification of livelihoods. The reasons why indigenous communities end up degrading or conserving natural resources are addressed in a comprehensive yet accessible manner in this book, filling a critical gap in current knowledge about the socioeconomic drivers of biodiversity loss, and the rise of community-based conservation, using the hunting trends and conservation efforts of the Wachiperi for this analysis. Readers could greatly benefit from the lessons provided in this book about achieving both socioeconomic development and biodiversity conservation by engaging indigenous communities in a sustainable manner.

This note provides an overview of good practice standards in Social Impact Assessment (SIA). It has been prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), to provide guidance to practitioners and decision-makers. By applying the approach presented in this note, it is expected that the quality, consistency, and operational relevance of SIAs will improve. SIA facilitates the systematic integration of social issues in the planning and implementation of projects. It improves the quality and sustainability of projects, supports and strengthens national requirements, and enhances project acceptance and local ownership. The SIA helps to identify and manage potential adverse social impacts a project may cause or contribute to, and to maximize benefits to local communities and other groups.

Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.

A global assessment of potential and anticipated impacts of efforts to achieve the SDGs on forests and related socio-economic systems. This title is available as Open Access via Cambridge Core.