June 2005, The World Bank
For the purposes of these guidelines, the NRM portfolio comprises of projects or programs that involve the allocation and use of renewable resources under the general headings of land, water, forests, and biodiversity.
Under the Bank’s current administrative structure, NRM projects can fall within one or more sectors, some of which are overarching, for example, Forestry; Irrigation and Drainage; General Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry; General Water, Sanitation, and Flood Protection. But projects with substantial NRM activities can also bring into play a number of sub-sectors, as well as themes in the Environment area such as Biodiversity, Land Management, and Water Resources Management. In practice, natural resources do not observe sectoral boundaries, and from an operational perspective, the divisions between land, water, forests, and biodiversity are frequently blurred. An example of this is found in a water management project that harmonizes the use of soil, water, and vegetation in a watershed area. Many investment projects feature some combination of environmental conservation and production boosting objectives, as in the case of the once-popular integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs). Accordingly, these guidelines consider both the conservation and productive aspects of NRM.
From region to region great variability exists, in part because the designation of a project as NRM straddles the administrative separation between the Environment and the Agriculture & Rural Development families. For example, NRM projects in certain parts of the Europe & Central Asia region (ECA) may largely involve arable soils conservation and water salinity management for irrigation, whereas in the Latin America & Caribbean region (LCR) projects may involve preserving areas of high endemism (i.e., areas containing a number of species that are unique to them) in protected areas.
