Bank Information Center: Monitoring the projects and policies of the World Bank, IMF and other international financial institutions


Home ResourcesWhat's New What’s New The latest updates, articles, resources, and other content from throughout this site. RSS Update \| 21 May 2012 Extractive Industries Review: some progress, but much work to do Almost a decade after the Extractive Industries Review (EIR), the consensus is that while some progress has been made on fighting corruption in extractive industries, there is still much more to do. Read more Update \| 16 May 2012 Bishops and Extractive Industries: A Human Face of Mining At the Washington National Cathedral an unlikely gathering of bishops, preachers, and advocates met to explore how they might draw attention to the harm that bad mining practices wreak on people and land. Read more Update \| 15 May 2012 Stakeholder consultations in investment operations The World Bank has published a guidance note on how best to engage with local communities throughout a project cycle. Read more Update \| 14 May 2012 Letter to Dr. Jim Yong Kim from the World Bank Alumni Association World Bank alumni report points out problems in internal management, human resource functions and policy leadership; calls for reform. Read more Update \| 3 May 2012 What's next for Myanmar? As international economic sanctions loosen, the World Bank considers getting involved after two decades away. Read more Update \| 27 April 2012 IF-Eye India March 2012 World Bank approves $ 4.3 billion aid to India, IFC to invest in water management project, and more. Read more Update \| 25 April 2012 Sierra Club makes Kosovo coal a focal point at Spring Meetings Opposition to the proposed "Kosovo C" coal plant is mounting. Read more Update \| 25 April 2012 Defining best practices in responsible mining A new paper examines what responsible mining actually is and offers a guide to corporations wanting more information on how to become responsible. Read more Update \| 23 April 2012 Statement from Dr. Jim Yong Kim Regarding his selection by the World Bank's Executive Directors as 12th President of the World Bank. Read more Update \| 18 April 2012 Dr. Kim's core challenge Carl Pope shows how World Bank projects that have the biggest short-term benefits cause the most long-term damage to the environment and surrounding communities. Read more Update \| 16 April 2012 Kosovo's coal: a World Bank legacy The World Bank is funding another coal plant in an already polluted country. Are there no other alternatives? Read more Update \| 16 April 2012 BIC on Al Jazeera-- watch the video Jelson Garcia, our Asia Program Manager, debated the World Bank's future challenges on Al Jazeera's Inside Story last week. Read more Update \| 13 April 2012 How will the World Bank safeguards affect your country? New papers show how the World Bank safeguards work with local laws. Read more Update \| 13 April 2012 Jim Yong Kim is the next World Bank President Today Kim was officially named the 12th President of the World Bank. But will he honor our request for a meeting to discuss the Bank's future? Read more Update \| 11 April 2012 Indonesian NGOs tell FIP team they "cannot accept the excuse of... technical difficulties" In a second open letter, Indonesian NGOs detail their needs so that an open dialogue can take place. Read more Update \| 11 April 2012 IF-Eye Bangladesh: February 2012 World Bank reports on how climate change will cause floods and cyclones in Bangladesh, UN speaks out about open pit coal mine, and the mega plan for more coal-fired power. Read more Update \| 9 April 2012 Dear future World Bank President An open letter from BIC and other NGOs requesting a meeting to discuss the challenges the next President will face. This letter is open indefinitely for signatures. Read more Update \| 5 April 2012 Tweet the World Bank candidates The Washington Post and the Center for Global Development will be live streaming Q & A sessions with the candidates starting April 9th. Read more Update \| 3 April 2012 Know your World Bank candidates With the official choice being made the week of April 16th, the pros and cons of candidates are being hotly debated. Here's a roundup of their bios and critiques. Read more Update \| 30 March 2012 "Our Land, Our Decision!" Today residents of Obiliq, Kosovo carried out a protest against a new coal power plant that has funding from the World Bank and the support of the US government. Read more Update \| 28 March 2012 IF-Eye India: February 2012 IFC approved power plant covers Indian villages in red dust, World Bank reconsiders Tata Mundra, exposing the top 20 dirtiest banks, and more. Read more Update \| 23 March 2012 Dr. Jim Yong Kim is nominated to lead World Bank The US nominee for WB president has a history working for the World Health Organization, but isn't afraid to lay down some phat beats. Read more Update \| 22 March 2012 Indonesian NGOs frustrated with English-only draft of the Forest Investment Program The new Forest Investment Program promises to affect entire communities, and yet it's not being made available in a way that Indonesians can easily access, read, or comment on. Read more Update \| 21 March 2012 New job opening at the World Bank Inspection Panel Read more Update \| 20 March 2012 How to get your voice heard at the World Bank Learn about accountability mechanisms at Amazon Watch's "green bag" lunch presentation on March 21st! Read more Update \| 12 March 2012 LPHU launches a global campaign to integrate disability rights into the World Bank's Safeguards 101 organizations and individuals endorse a letter to the World Bank President on disability and Safeguards. Read more Update \| 12 March 2012 A critique of the World Bank's 2012 gender report The 2012 WDR reflects a conceptual shift in how the World Bank views women's rights, but will the Bank put its conclusions into practice? Read more Update \| 2 March 2012 Phulbari Coal Project threatens fundamental human rights UN experts warn that hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi people will be affected Read more Update \| 1 March 2012 Friends of the Peruvian Amazon fundraiser Please join us for a social/fundraising event with Daysi Zapata and Roberto Espinoza from AIDESEP in Peru! Read more Update \| 29 February 2012 P4R update: World Bank approves Program for Results Policy A 5% cap will limit P4R Operations over a 2 year pilot period, but questions remain about how P4R expansion will be conditioned upon the results of management and IEG evaluations Read more Update \| 23 February 2012 Human Rights Watch to World Bank: promote civil society participation in Burma Calls for meaningful consultations with a broad range of non-State actors and to uphold transparency and accountability. Read more Update \| 23 February 2012 IF-Eye India: January 2012 World Bank pushes dirty coal, arm-twists Delhi Jal Board for water privatization. Read more Update \| 15 February 2012 World Bank president Zoellick announces he's stepping down Zoellick's term officially ends on June 30th, 2012. BIC hopes the next candidate brings sweeping reform. Read more Update \| 15 February 2012 Follow South-East Asia on Twitter! BIC has a new Twitter account for our South-East Asia program, @BIC_SEAMekong. Read more Update \| 14 February 2012 "Disappointing": MASS on the Tata Mundra coal power plant assessment The Association for the Struggle for Fishworkers’ Rights calls out their Ombudsman for an assessment report that fails to take their social and environmental concerns into account. Read more Update \| 13 February 2012 Pollution glorified The World Bank’s investing arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), finances a polluting steel mill in Jharkhand, India. Read more Update \| 3 February 2012 The World Bank seeks Tunisian citizens’ input on its new strategy for the country As the World Bank prepares its upcoming Interim Strategy Note for Tunisia - which will outline its engagement in the country for 2012-2013 - it is seeking citizens’ input and feedback which they can submit online through March 2012. As the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to spark the Arab Spring, Tunisia has shown that equitable development cannot take place in the absence of participation and accountability. With the World Bank playing a role not only in economic reforms but also in the areas of institutional and governance reforms, this consultation is one of hopefully several opportunities for citizens to play a role in shaping the economic and political future of Tunisia. Read more Press Clipping \| 3 February 2012 World Bank Lifts Suspension on All Credits and Grants to Yemen The World Bank announced on January 23rd, 2012 that it would be re-establishing a presence in Yemen after several months of suspended disbursements to the country. The re-engagement is limited however; staff travel to Sana'a is restricted to essential missions, with much of the work continuing to be done out of the Bank's Amman and Cairo offices. A reassessment of the security situation will be done after Yemen's scheduled elections in February. Read more Update \| 2 February 2012 World Bank’s MENA department opens up to inputs from the region’s citizens The Bank Information Center welcomes the World Bank’s initative to open up and create a larger space for civil society from the MENA region. Read more Update \| 25 January 2012 World Bank defends integrity of Development Policy lending, evidence lacking The outgoing World Bank Country Manager for Brazil, Mahktar Diop, challenges the conclusions of an evaluation by Bank Information Center of the $1.3 billion Sustainable Environmental Management Development Policy to promote environmental reforms in Brazil. Read more Update \| 24 January 2012 IF-Eye India December 2011 Learn about the World Bank's promotion of water privatization, the Gujarat state highway project, Durban's dirty energy week, and more. Read more Update \| 20 January 2012 World Bank appoints Makhtar Diop as new Vice President for Africa Read more Press Clipping \| 19 January 2012 Cairo From Below on World Bank's proposed loan for Egyptian transportation project: Is it enough? Nicholas Hamilton of the blog Cairo From Below discusses a proposed World Bank loan of $250 million for a major Egyptian transportation project, in the broader context of envisioning a sustainable transport strategy for the Greater Cairo Region. The Bank's proposed project is called the Urban Transport Infrastructure Development and is scheduled to be approved by the Bank's Board of Directors in early 2013. Read more Update \| 4 January 2012 IF-Eye India November 2011 Land grabs and the World Bank, recent pipeline projects, and water privatisation in India. Read more Update \| 15 December 2011 World Bank's current portfolio in Egypt Read more Update \| 15 December 2011 The World Bank Group and Lebanon: A country study BIC/MENA publishes a study which overviews and analyzes the World Bank Group's role in Lebanon over the past five years. Read more Press Clipping \| 15 December 2011 Land conflicts, carbon piracy and violations of indigenous peoples’ rights New report by Amazonian indigenous peoples exposes the reality of REDD+ in Peru and proposes solutions. Read more Case Study \| 15 December 2011 BIC publishes report on the World Bank, climate finance, and Bangladesh Commonly, it's thought that developing countries bear a large portion of the blame for climate change. This study shows that the biggest climate offenders are in fact the richest countries in the world, while low and middle income countries suffer from the effects. Read more Update \| 14 December 2011 IF-Eye India August 2011 India's energy scenario is debated at the World Bank-IMF AGM, new roads in Assam, a loan for West Bengali farmers, and more. Read more Update \| 14 December 2011 IF-Eye India July 2011 Learn about how the World Bank is encouraging India to treat schools like businesses, the future of India's loans, and upcoming conservation initiatives in West Bengal. Read more Press Clipping \| 13 December 2011 Roundtable to be organized on World Bank and Parliamentary accountability The National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) co-organised a roundtable discussion on the need for more parliamentary accountability and scrutiny of International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Read more Update \| 12 December 2011 IF-Eye India September 2011 Read the latest on IFI happenings in India, including Indian women's participation in energy projects and the Rampur hydro scam. Read more Update \| 28 November 2011 Letter to the IADB President Luis Alberto Moreno Read more Update \| 23 November 2011 Green energy from the Sahara: great opportunity, great responsibility The long-awaited solar program for the MENA region being co-funded by the World Bank has the potential to provide clean energy and jobs for the region, if it is implemented in consultation with local communities and with their interests and needs as a priority. Read more Update \| 22 November 2011 Ready to be Africa's climate bank? The African Development Bank has been setting itself up as a major knowledge broker for sustainable development across the continent. However, a new mapping project from Heinrich Boell and BIC draws into question the Bank's track record when it comes to climate change. Read more Update \| 7 November 2011 Update on the proposed Central Asia – South Asia Regional Energy and Trade Project (CASA-1000) The CASA-1000 project, which begins the process of integrating the energy markets in Central and South Asia, is moving along with updated feasilbility studies from an independent consulting firm. Read more Update \| 7 November 2011 Update on the proposed Rogun Regional Water Reservoir and Hydropower Project (Rogun HPP) The World Bank is continuing apace on its work studying the proposed Rogun hydropower project in Tajikistan, which would be the largest hydropower in Central Asia. Two new assessments were recently released. Read more Update \| 20 October 2011 The Sustainable Environmental Management Development Policy Loan for Brazil A new evaluation of a $1.3 billion World Bank development policy loan to promote sustainability reforms at the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) that questions the effectiveness of DPLs due to weaknesses in existing Bank policy guiding their design and execution. This brief calls for the reform of Bank DPL policy as an urgent part of the ongoing revision of World Bank safeguard policies to ensure consistent management of risk across all World Bank operations. Read more Update \| 19 October 2011 World Bank & Development Policy Lending in Brazil: Lessons for Revising DPL Policy A new evaluation of a $1.3 billion World Bank development policy loan to promote sustainability reforms at the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) that questions the effectiveness of DPLs due to weaknesses in existing Bank policy guiding their design and execution. The report calls for the reform of Bank DPL policy as an urgent part of the ongoing revision of World Bank safeguard policies to ensure consistent management of risk across all World Bank operations. Read more Update \| 19 October 2011 Sierra Club reviews issues in World Bank Terms of Reference for Kosovar coal plant The Sierra Club, along with the Kosovar Institute for Policy Research and Development, has commissioned a report detailing the economic data involved in the World Bank's TOR for its proposed Kosovar power project, including a lignite fired coal plant, finding many problems with the analysis. Read more Update \| 18 October 2011 Sara Margalit Aviel nominated as U.S. Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank On September 6, Sara Aviel was nominated to serve as the Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank. Read more Update \| 17 October 2011 REDD Alert October 2011 Read the latest REDD Alert for updates on the R-Package, Carbon Fund and Common Approach, as well as country updates from Africa, Latin America and Asia. Read more Update \| 14 October 2011 Make Aid Transparent campaign seeks signatures The Make Aid Transparent Campaign, launched this summer, is looking to make an impact on the Aid Effectiveness forum in Busan, Korea this November. Please sign their petition calling for governments to make their aid transparent. Read more Update \| 13 October 2011 Introduction to the FCPF Readiness Package (R-Package) and the Carbon Fund (CF) Operational This update prepared by the Bank Information Center introduces the FCPF Readiness Package (R-Package) and the Carbon Fund (CF) operational. Read more Update \| 7 October 2011 About 38 million of hectares in Colombia were illegally transferred to carbon credits The irregularity of the voluntary market of carbon credits is outpacing the environmental and legislative capacity of the country: irregular transfer of millions of hectares of forests as part of the market for carbon credits and other environmental services. Read more Update \| 6 October 2011 Civil society comes out of meeting with new MENA VP Andersen with a renewed sense of enthusiasm MENA civil society representatives met with the Bank’s new MENA Vice President, Inger Andersen, to discuss Bank-civil society relations in the post-revolution era. The Bank responded positively to civil society’s demands for inclusive, equitable and sustainable development with full civil society participation. Read more Update \| 6 October 2011 MENA civil society extends Arab Spring demands for participation & transparency to WB BIC/MENA and civil society representatives from across the region engaged World Bank officials at the 2011 Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, drawing commitments to inclusive and equitable development strategies and greater participation for civil society. Read more Update \| 5 October 2011 Reaching out: MENA civil society representatives meet with Merza Hasan, WB Executive Director Civil society representatives from Egypt, Yemen, and Lebanon find Executive Director Merza Hasan receptive to their concerns and willing to break new ground in future engagement with civil society. Read more Update \| 5 October 2011 Egypt’s Laila Iskandar overviews CSO demands at Townhall Meeting with Zoellick and Lagarde At the Civil Society Townhall Meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Laila Iskandar, an Egyptian activist and chairperson of the Community and Institutional Development Group eloquently spoke on behalf of global civil society outlining the various CSO concerns which had been brought to her attention. Read more Update \| 5 October 2011 MENA civil society wins commitments to engage from World Bank officials at 2011 Annual Meetings With goals of achieving greater participation for civil society organizations in World Bank operations alongside a commitment to inclusive and equitable development strategies, BIC/MENA and civil society representatives from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, and Yemen among others successfully engaged the Bank at the 2011 Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings Read more Update \| 23 September 2011 Move beyond coal, now! The Sierra Club and Bank Information Center are releasing a new report today describing the daily realities of coal impacted communities from Cirebon, Indonesia, the Konkan coast and Kutch India, Inner Mongolia China, Appalachia USA, New South Wales Australia, and Limpopo South Africa. Read more Update \| 16 September 2011 CSOs send letter to President Zoellick asking for reinstatement of B-SPAN BIC has joined 106 other signatories on a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick requesting the Bank reinvigorate B-SPAN, the institution's webcasting station, with adequate funding. Until 2004, B-SPAN streamed hundreds of Bank policy dialogues, seminars and conferences to global audiences. Read more Update \| 16 September 2011 Voices From the African Rainforest - Is the World Bank Listening? Thursday, September 22, 2011 Time: 3:30 – 5:00 World Bank MC C1-200 Read more Update \| 6 September 2011 World Bank lending to post-revolution Tunisia This piece provides a brief update about the role of the World Bank in post-revolution Tunisia Read more Update \| 6 September 2011 World Bank Management proposes action plan in response to complaint on Lebanon water project Read more Update \| 1 September 2011 Bank Information Center (BIC) attended the Oslo REDD Exchange The workshop Oslo REDD Exchange 2011 was organized by Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), on 23-24 June 2011. Read more Update \| 1 September 2011 CSO-World Bank correspondence on World Bank Safeguards Review Civil society organizations (CSOs) submitted a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick on the World Bank safeguards review on August 31, 2011. The letter includes signatories as of this date and organizations who wish to sign the letter can do so below. On Sep 20, 2011 World Bank Managing Director Caroline Anstey responded to this letter. Read more Update \| 1 September 2011 Gender and international financial institutions: A guide for civil society As the World Bank plans to engage more fully on gender issues, both in the Safeguards review and in the upcoming release of the 2011 World Development Report, CEE Bankwatch has written a guide for CSOs seeking to identify and ameliorate gender-related problems in IFI projects Read more Update \| 31 August 2011 World Bank Safeguard Policy Review: Early Issues, What to Expect? It took many years to establish the World Bank's operational policies that safeguard society and the environment, and are some of the world's highest development standards. As the Bank reviews these policies, civil society is organizing efforts to present their concerns and expectations, and offer their imputs as to what the outcome of the review should be. Read more Update \| 24 August 2011 IF-Eye India June 2011 Read the latest on IFI happenings in India, including an examination of the National Rural Livelihoods Project, as well as recently approved and pipeline projects. Read more Update \| 19 August 2011 World Bank closes Egypt's West Delta project Read more Update \| 18 August 2011 Aid to Yemen continues to dwindle as World Bank announces suspension of disbursements BIC/MENA comments on the string of donors cutting aid to Yemen, including the World Bank which recently stopped disbursing funds to Yemen. Read more Update \| 15 August 2011 The scandalous allocation of mining titles in natural parks Granting titles to large companies and individuals in national parks and other protected ecosystems is controversial because it was an openly illegal action. Read more Update \| 15 August 2011 The Federal Public Ministry of Brazil's Federal District takes action to protect watersheds According to the MPF, the evaluation of impacts of hydroelectric plants has been partial and does not reflect the true environmental risks. Read more Update \| 11 August 2011 Tipnis: the indigenous do not dialogue; the UN asks for consensus Read more Update \| 11 August 2011 Brazil to disimburse funds for TIPNIS until ecosystem preservation is guaranteed The disimbursement of the funds for the third section of the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos highway is now being withheld until the preservation of the ecosystem in the Indigenous Territory in the Isiboro Sécure National Park (TIPNIS) is guaranteed, a commitment by the government of Evo Morales to Brazil. Read more Press Clipping \| 11 August 2011 Brazil Planning to Invest in 7 Hydroelectric Dams in Latin America Read more Press Clipping \| 11 August 2011 Brazilian investments in Peru likely to exceed U$10 billion in 2016 Brazilian companies are more interested in entering the Peruvian market and its accumulated investments will likely exceed US$10 billion by 2016. Read more Press Clipping \| 11 August 2011 BRAZIL: Soy Boom Drives Westward Expansion of Railroads Read more Press Clipping \| 9 August 2011 Peru: Gold rush another blight to ailing Amazon jungle With gold’s price soaring globally as the metal became a hedge against financial uncertainty, the army of small-scale miners in the state of Madre de Dios has swelled to some 40,000. The result: Diesel exhaust sullies the air, trees are toppled to get at the sandy, gold-flecked earth and the scars inflicted on the land are visible on satellite photos. Read more Press Clipping \| 9 August 2011 BRAZIL: Soy Boom Drives Westward Expansion of Railroads Despite high interest rates and high household electricity tariffs, Brazilian economy has been growing at the highest rates seen in decades. Another problem that, although not in the way of growth, must be overcome is the costly use of roads for transporting farm products – issue being addressed by the expansion of railway networks. Read more Update \| 8 August 2011 Annual Meetings 2011 Read the latest information on World Bank and civil society events organized around the upcoming World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings to be held the week of September 20-25 2011. Read more Press Clipping \| 5 August 2011 Managing social risk: notes from the Peruvian Amazon The lack of free, prior and informed consent to upstream oil and gas operations is at the heart of many social conflicts in the Peruvian Amazon Read more Press Clipping \| 5 August 2011 The concentration of land in Brazil Once updated the productivity rates, as required by law, Brazil has experienced a huge expansion of the inventory of properties subject to expropriation. Taking the data from 2010, there are in Brazil, 69 200 large unproductive properties, with an area equivalent to 228.5 million hectares. Read more Update \| 4 August 2011 Civil society brief on World Bank safeguards review The Bank Information Center, World Resources Institute, and the Center for International Environmental Law have prepared a briefing that introduces the World Bank safeguards review which will begin in September 2011. Read more Update \| 3 August 2011 IFC releases full sustainability framework The IFC's policy updates, approved by the board in May and coming into effect on the first of the upcoming year, have now been released to the public. BIC and partners will be writing an analysis of the gains and gaps in the new policies soon, but we congratulate the IFC on strengthening these vital policies. Read more Update \| 3 August 2011 Huffpo: As debt talks crescendo, let's not give the World Bank a free ride Michelle Chan, economic policy director for Friends of the Earth, writes that with deficit-mania sweeping Washington, Congressional leaders should be focusing on whether the money put into the World Bank is being well spent. Read more Update \| 2 August 2011 IF-Eye India May 2011 Read the English and Hindi versions of the newest IF-Eye here, including an examination of the World Bank's shift to energy transmission and distribution, as well as a review of recently approved and pipeline projects Read more Update \| 29 July 2011 México y la estrategia REDD+ En COP 15, México se comprometió a reducir sus emisiones de GEI, para lo cual se propuso desarrollar la Estrategia Nacional REDD+ (ENAREDD+). A varios pasos de la preparación para la estrategia, el BM ahora realiza una misión Due Diligence. La gerente del equipo de Latinoamérica, observadora para la misión, nos cuenta más sobre el tema. Read more Update \| 28 July 2011 Amazon road plan tests Bolivian leader's priorities Indigenous groups vow to march over forest highway plan. Morales is now facing protests from within Indian support base. This situation is an example of the struggle to balance development with cultural identity. Read more Search this website Print Email		Search Regions Africa Asia Europe/Central Asia Latin America Middle East and North Africa Institutions AfDB CAF ADB Bank of the South EBRD IDB IFC IMF MIGA World Bank Key Issues Access to Information at the World Bank Forests IFC Policies and Standards Review World Bank Energy Strategy Review World Bank Safeguards Review Stay Informed! Sign up for our e-newsletters. SignUp

	Last updated 21 May 2012 © 2012 Bank Information Center Website content may be freely reproduced as long as BIC is credited as the source.

Site by CaudillWeb