Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Finance, funds and markets · Turkey · 2001–2003

World Bank US$600m farm loan coincided with a 90% fall in farm support

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The World Bank approved a US$600m loan in June 2001 to move growers away from hazelnut, tobacco and sugar beet. OECD (2011) reports that the crop-switch targets were only partly met.

What?
A World Bank loan of US$600m, approved on 29 June 2001, funded a transition away from hazelnut and tobacco, and support spending fell 90% in 2000–2003. World Bank
Where?
Turkey World Bank
When?
Loan approved 29 June 2001; support cuts 2000–2003; OECD evaluation 2011 World Bank
Who?
Gained
  • Turkish Treasury — Lower farm support spending; the World Bank document gives a cut of about US$5.4bn World Bank
Lost
  • Hazelnut, tobacco and sugar beet growers — Lost farm support as spending fell 90% in 2000–2003 World Bank
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The programme aimed to move growers out of hazelnut, tobacco and sugar beet into other crops, as the OECD describes its design. OECD
How?
Transition grants, lower support spending and a planned cut to the sugar beet quota
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The World Bank approved a US$600m loan on 29 June 2001 to fund a transition grant for growers moving from hazelnut and tobacco to alternative crops (World Bank, 2004).

Support spending fell 90% in 2000–2003, a cut of about US$5.4bn (World Bank, 2004).

The hazelnut target area fell by only 0.05%; the tobacco target was cut from 36,000 ha to 9,000 ha, and about 5,000 ha was reached (OECD, 2011).

A letter of intent to the IMF dated 3 May 2001 committed Turkey to cut the sugar beet quota from 12.5 to 11.5 million tonnes.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not measure the effect on farm incomes or on the crops planted after 2003.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the US$5.4bn cut is a single figure from the World Bank document and is not checked against Turkish budget data.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say who benefited from the sugar beet quota cut.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Institutions

    OECD complaint
    A complaint filed with a government's National Contact Point under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; the process is mediation, not a court.

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

    Bonds and banking

    Arranger
    The bank that structures and sells a bond or loan deal, usually for a fee.

    Law and courts

    Land titling
    Formal legal recognition of ownership of land.
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