patth@ccnysci.UUCP (08/14/89)
Ported from PeaceNET's RainForest.Tropic_Timber Conference: /* Written 4:57 pm Aug 9, 1989 by jbarnes in cdp:ran.tropictimber */ /* ---------- "URGENT -- IDA9 NEGOTIATION (WORLD B" ---------- */ August 11, 1989 URGENT ACTION ALERT World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) Replenishment Negotiations (September 21-22, 1989) Dear Friends: As you may be aware, the negotiation for replenishment of IDA is underway. This provides an opportunity for NGOs to voice their concerns about the environmental and social problems of IDA. More importantly, because governments will be putting up new funds, this provides a political vehicle for achieving part of our reform agenda for the World Bank. Many NGOs in Washington are putting forward to US Government officials proposed reforms on "access to information", as a first priority. Emphasis on this particular area of reform is especially timely since it is expected that the World Bank will shortly announce its adoption of a long-awaited policy directive on Environmental Assessments. One key to proper implementation of the Environmental Assessment directive is access to information by NGOs. The IDA fund has been replenished eight times since 1960. This ninth replenishment will cover the years 1991- 1993. There were negotiation sessions in London on May 16 and 17, and in Copenhagen, on July 5 and 6. The next sessions will be held in Washington, on September 21 and 22 and in Kyoto, on November 6 and 7. It is expected that the negotiation will end on November 7. The main issues at the first two meetings have been (1) the size of the replenishment, and (2) which countries should receive funds. The delegates are aiming for contributions of between US$12-16 billion. The US is not eager to commit much more than $1 billion, citing budgetary difficulties. The European governments, in general, support a larger increase in IDA funds. Moreover, they argue that the US ought to maintain its 20% to 25% share, according to the relative size of its economy. Regarding allocation of IDA funds, the US is contending that most funds should be concentrated on the development of Sub-Saharan Africa; Japan prefers to focus on Southeast Asian countries; some governments doubt that African countries' economic infrastructures would be able to productively absorb additional large sums of funding. There also has been concern that several countries which have "graduated" from the ranks of IDA borrowers--such as Nigeria--now find themselves in need of IDA funds. This implies that projects funded by IDA have not provided for "sustainable" growth sufficient to pay off the large debt burdens while at the same time fostering economic growth. In the final package there will probably be a renewed emphasis on overall economic performance as an indicator for loan approval, including the rate of economic growth and the willingness of the recipient country to accept conditionality thought by the Bank to be necessary for improved performance. Environmentalists argue that a major defect of IDA lending policy is its failure to seriously consider the environmental and social impacts of projects. These issues were not discussed at the London meeting, but were placed on the Copenhagen agenda. The Bank was asked to prepare for the meeting Technical Note No. 5, entitled "IDA's Environmental Activities", for the discussion. In preparation for the Cophenhagen meeting, US government delegates developed four points: 1. Environmental Impact Assessment: Barber Conable, President of the World Bank, has directed his staff to issue standards on environmental impact methodologies by September, in advance of the Bank's annual meeting. In all likelihood, this will be issued as an Interim Directive, with a consultation process on implementation that will allow NGO input during the next year. 2. Access to Information and Documentation: Most important Bank documents are secret and not available to the public in either donor or borrowing countries. For this reason, it is quite common for the supposed beneficiaries of IDA lending--the poor in borrowing countries--to have no notice of the Bank- supported projects that can affect their lives and livelihoods. This is a common feature of all World Bank activities. The US is pressing for greater access to Bank documents as a condition of its IDA-9 contribution and is looking for support from other countries on this crucial issue of democracy and fairness. Of the environmental issues expected to arise during the negotiations, this is one on which the Bank has made the least progress in the last few years. 3. Energy Efficiency and Conservation: A growing body of literature demonstrates that energy needs in many developing countries can be partly met through improved energy efficiency and conservation, rendering investments in environmentally harmful dams and power plants unnecessary. Although the Bank has pressed for energy pricing reforms in borrowing countries, it has done little in the area of demand management through lending for efficiency and conservation projects. The Bank has proposed to increase the capabilities of its Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), which currently has almost exclusive responsibility for these issues. However, that proposal is inadequate because it does not address the need to fully integrate conservation and efficiency options into the Bank's lending operations. 4. Direct Participation by NGOs: The Bank should allow for more direct involvement in project development by non-governmental organizations. *** Of course, there are other environmental issues that could be discussed during the replenishment, but we believe that these four issues merit serious consideration by all the delegates involved. If the IDA-9 Replenishment negotiation is to prove useful in achieving further reforms of World Bank policies and procedures, key member governments must be working toward the same goals. It is imperative that Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and other donors stress the importance of these reforms. Ministries of Finance will be responsible for the IDA negotiations in most donor countries. PLEASE ACT NOW by urging your country delegates to consider the four points above in the final two negotiating sessions for the replenishment. Try and get interested members of your parliament or legislature to put pressure on the government. If possible, start a letter-writing campaign from citizens and leaders of environmental and social action organizations. We would appreciate it if you would send us copies of letters you write to your countries' delegates, and otherwise keep us informed as to the actions you take on this issue. Sincerely, James N. Barnes Senior Attorney Environmental Policy Institute/ Friends of the Earth 218 D. St. SE Washington, DC 20003 Tel: 202-544-2600 FAX: 202-5434710 email: jbarnes@cdp.uucp Telex: 158215480 ************************************************************* August 11, 1989 M E M O R A N D U M TO: Interested NGOs FR: Jim Barnes, David Wirth, Bruce Rich RE: Public Access to Information on World Bank Operations _________________________________________________________________ A. Basic Principles 1. Increased public access to information is essential to ensure and improve the quality of Bank operations. The Bank should make fully available to the public, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups, complete information on the physical, institutional, and economic details and the environmental, public health, and socio-cultural impacts of proposed Bank operations. 2. The need for greater access to information is particularly acute for the public, including NGOs and community groups, affected by Bank operations in borrowing countries. 3. The need for confidentiality between the Bank and borrowing country governments must be balanced with the necessity to meet the public's need for information and to assure the quality of Bank operations. B. New Bank Policy Therefore, the Bank should prepare a new policy on public access to information, to be operational by April 15, 1990 [or other date], incorporating the following criteria: 1. The Bank should develop a policy, in consultation with interested and concerned members of the public in host and donor nations, that specifically identifies a limited number of precisely defined categories of information that the Bank may treat as confidential for purposes of public disclosure in final Bank-generated documents and final country-generated documents required by the Bank. 2. The designation of each such category should be justified by compelling demonstration of the need to preserve the Bank's confidential relationship with borrowing country governments, such as the protection of personal privacy or national security. 3. Information concerning fundamental physical, institutional and economic elements of the Bank's operations, such as loan design, conditionality, economic analyses, and environmental, public health, and socio-cultural impacts, should never be treated as confidential. 4. All information not specifically designated as confidential should be presumed to be available to the public in host and donor countries. All final Bank-generated documents and final country-generated documents required by the Bank should be presumed available to the public in their entirety, unless the Bank determines in each specific case that portions of a final document are confidential. In this instance, the remaining non- confidential portions should be available to the public. 5. All final loan-related documents should be publicly available at least six months prior to Board presentation. 6. A senior (staff grade 23 or above) staff member within each Country Department (and, where applicable, resident country office) should be assigned responsibility for responding to public requests for information concerning that country within twenty working days of their receipt by the Bank and for initiating contact with the public in the country in question to facilitate dissemination of publicly available documents at the Bank's initiative. --- Patt Haring | UNITEX : United Nations patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange