Application of the Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy on Invasive Species

The Inter-American Development Bank requires analysis of the risk of introducing invasive species through Policy Directive B.9 of the Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy which states that the Bank "will not support operations that introduce invasive species." Invasive species result in an estimated annual economic cost of US$1.4 trillion - 5% of the global economy. Within the LAC (Latin America and Caribbean) region, the estimated annual agricultural cost of invasive species in Brazil is estimated to be US$42.6 billion while the health and environmental costs of invasive species are US$6.7 billion. The socio-economic and environmental implications of invasive species are equivalent to those caused by climate change and habitat loss and the management of invasive species is therefore an environmental and socio-economic imperative. The purpose of this note is to provide guidance on the implementation of the invasive species element in Policy Directive B.9 to improve efficiency and consistency.