Paraguay and the World Bank
As forests become increasingly scarce and climate change disrupts agricultural output, Paraguay will be forced to adapt its economy and society to meet a number of targets including strengthening the rule of law, achieving sustainability in regards to its natural resources, investing in human capital, and improving government services.
Paraguay has collaborated with the IBRD on a total of 58 projects in 10 sectors including agriculture, health, education, and central governance.
Greenhouse gasses are expected to fall by 23% and the IFC is investing in energy and water efficient meat processing plants.
It was approved in 2013 and has helped 24,875 households increase their agriculture output and profitability in rural regions of the country by providing technical assistance and connecting them to markets and value chains[9] while also ensuring long term sustainability and environmental preservation.
These goals will be met through the use of investments by the IBRD to build new care centers, train more staff, revise practice guidelines, increase patient registration in the new centralized database to 70%, and the implementation of a system to control the stock of certain medicines within the country.
[13] In 2013 The World Banks private lending institution (IFC) approved a loan of $85 million to Brazilian beef company Minerva in an attempt to boost economic growth in the Chaco region of Paraguay.
The loan was supposed to create employment opportunities and bring a much needed investment stream to the region, however investigative journalists from Reporter Brasil found evidence that the company was exploiting indigenous workers, including children, and clearing bio diverse forests to make way for cattle production.
One condition of the loan was the inclusion of an "Environmental and Social Action Plan" which included a supply chain verification system to ensure that only ethical suppliers were being used.
Labor Unions in Paraguay that oppose the loan argue that without stringent safeguards, the program was certain to cause negative environmental and social implications from the start.
The Chaco region is roughly the size of the United Kingdom and lacks the resources to enforce labor laws and carry out cattle farm inspections.
[15] This estimate proved to be incorrect as the project has ended accumulating a price tag of over $12 billion to date and still does not operate at maximum capacity.
Two species of aquatic snail are now extinct and pampas deer, capybara, certain water birds, and yacare cayman all suffered catastrophic population declines.
[17] In 1997, World Bank Management issued a letter to the Paraguayan press claiming that it did not violate its policies on resettlement, environmental impacts, and community participation.
