ABSTRACT
Mounting public concern in industrial countries in the late 1980s and early 1990s about global climate change and biodiversity loss focused international attention on deforestation and resulted, among other things, in pressure from international non-governmental organizations on the World Bank to adopt a conservation-oriented forest strategy. The weight developing countries give to conservation objectives depends on their forest endowments, population pressures, stages of resource exploitation and economic development. The priorities in Bank operations in the 20 moist-forest countries did not materialize because there was no demand for economic analysis or project lending by the Bank for forests in forest-rich countries. Global Environment Facility is expanding its reach to involving other regional banks, international and national institutions in addition to its three implementing agencies. Forest policies in China, Costa Rica and India were relatively consistent with the Bank's forest strategy. In Cameroon and Indonesia, economic crises have increased dependence on the Bank and other donors.
