This document discusses China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its potential environmental impacts in Central Asia. It notes that Central Asia contains globally important biodiversity hotspots and that 50% of biodiversity hotspots are located in mountainous regions. The BRI involves major infrastructure projects that intersect with key biodiversity areas, protected areas, and snow leopard landscapes in Central Asia. While the BRI could boost connectivity and development, there are concerns about potential environmental damage and risks of unsustainable financing models. The document calls for ensuring biodiversity protection and inclusive benefit-sharing, assessing costs and mitigation measures, and reframing the BRI to explicitly support partner countries' sustainability goals.

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Banking our
future on
BRI?
Assessing the environmental dimensions
of mega infrastructure and other projects
under China’s Belt & Road Initiative
in the Mountains of Central Asia
Marc Foggin
Matthew Emslie-Smith
Alice Hughes
Alex Lechner
Troy Sternberg
Rafiq Dossani

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China’s Belt & Road Initiative
China’sinternationalrelationsanddevelopmentagenda
nowspanover70nationsaroundtheworld,impacting
social,economicandenvironmentaldimensionsas
neverbefore.ThefutureofBRIisvitalforall.

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BACKGROUND

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IPBES Biodiversity ReportBiodiversity is in serious decline

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Biodiversity Hotspots50% of biodiversity hotspots are in mountains

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Mountain biodiversity
§ Mountains are important for everyone
- Mountains cover about 25% of the Earth’s land area, and over half
of humanity depends directly and indirectly on mountain resources
for survival, especially through provision of water (cf. water towers)
- Mountains host approximately 25% of terrestrial biodiversity as well
as genetic resources for many of the world’s crops and livestock
§ Mountain biodiversity and mountain socio-cultural systems
provide fundamental ecosystem services

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Mountain biodiversity
§ Functional ecosystems and the services that they provide are
essential for both local and downstream populations
§ Mountain regions are connected with the rest of the world and
the state of mountain biodiversity affects global sustainability
§ However, regional land use change and climate change are
seriously threatening this global asset
§ All interventions should be assessed in light of this global asset

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Mountains of Central Asia
Mountainouscountries,dependenceonnatural
resources,harshandunpredictableconditions,
remoteanddifficultaccess,andperipheryof
largersocio-politicalrealms…

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Vulnerabilities in Central Asia
§ Legacies of Soviet era, transitional economies
§ Dependence on labour migration and remittances
§ Climate change and melting glaciers, needing to adapt
§ Challenging regional geopolitics, water and food insecurity

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China’s growing influence in the region
From ‘receiving side’… Is this for good, or for ill?

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Back to China’s BRI…
§ Mega infrastructure projects – transportation, communication
- Long distance transport and trade, integration with China
- Tele-communications, propaganda, exchange of ideas
§ Connectivity – with partnerships, networks, science
But at what cost?
Environmental damage? Social exclusion? Financial dependency?

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BIODIVERSITY IN CENTRAL ASIA
§ ‘Ecological values’ have been assessed through expert opinion
and multi-stakeholder consultations in Central Asia in at least 3
different but overlapping ways:
§ Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) – integrative IUCN methodology
§ Protected Areas (PA) – more traditional approach, but incomplete
§ Snow Leopard Landscapes (SLL) – good regional political support

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Mountains of Central Asia
biodiversity hotspot

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Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

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Protected Areas (PAs)

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Snow Leopard Landscapes (SLLs)

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BRI IN CENTRAL ASIA

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Intersection of infrastructure with KBAs

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IntersectionwithPAs

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IntersectionwithSLLs

21. zDifferentlevelsofprotectionin
KBAsandintersectionwithBRI

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KBAs in the Mountains of
Central Asia biodiversity
hotspot with little or no
protection, which intersect
with current or planned BRI
linear infrastructure projects

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Where is the BRI overlapping with
biodiversity in Central Asia?
Geographic intersection of existing and proposed BRI road infrastructure projects with KBAs

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DISCUSSION

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Protecting ecological values is vital for
sustainable development

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Ensuring fair benefit sharing is vital for
sustainable development

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What are anticipated costs of BRI
in the mountains Central Asia?

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How can the potential impacts of BRI
infrastructure projects be mitigated?
§ By requiring assessment and monitoring
§ By promoting inclusive forms of development
§ By instituting more appropriate financing mechanisms
§ By recognizing / incorporating ‘uncertain futures’ in planning

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RECOMMENDATIONS
What can be done?

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Reframing BRI as an ‘accelerator’ for
achieving partner countries’ SDGs

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Ensuring that development dialogues
are socially and culturally inclusive

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Moving beyond a ‘corridors’ approach,
bringing benefits to the hinterlands

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Ensuring ‘best practices’ are integrated
in all stages of BRI project cycles

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Building bridges and connectivity with
academic exchanges and networks

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Protecting the people who protect
nature and ecological values

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FINANCING CHANGE

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Valuing biodiversity and ecosystems

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Focusing on value chains

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Diversifying economies

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CLOSING REMARKS

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Loss of biodiversity
is a development issue

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Listening to mountain voices
increases resilience

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Integrating environmental dimensions in
BRI is necessary for sustainability

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Building a new ‘Green Silk Road’
Expanding on the concepts of ‘green economy’ and ‘sustainable mountain development’…

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Materials for this presentation were drawn from
the following manuscript:

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Contact information
Dr J Marc Foggin
Institute of Asian Research,
School of Public Policy and
Global Affairs,
University of British
Columbia
Email:
marc.foggin@ubc.ca