The US Department of the Treasury awarded the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) the Development Impact Honors award for a project establishing protected areas in the Amazon region, in Brazil.
7 June 2012: The World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) received the inaugural Development Impact Honors award from the US Department of the Treasury for their work in protecting the world’s largest rainforest in Brazil.
The award was presented to the World Bank and the GEF to commend their work aiding Brazil in reducing deforestation rates through the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) program. The World Bank-implemented ARPA program has two phases financed with US$46 million in grants from the GEF.
ARPA is a long-term initiative launched in 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in partnership with the Government of Brazil, the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio), the World Bank, the GEF, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the German Development Bank (KfW). The award commends the program’s work to promote sustainability and growth in vulnerable regions through establishing them as protected areas. [US Department of Treasury Press Release]