Update

Unpacking the ADB: A Guide to Understanding the Asian Development Bank

16 September 2004

For a similar guide to the World Bank, check out BIC's recent publication, "Tools for Activists: An Information and Advocacy Guide to the World Bank" September 2006 (BIC website)

This is the 2nd edition of the original Guide which was issued in 2005. This edition has been updated to reflect changes at the ADB, in particular with reference to the ADB Public Communication Policy, which became effective in September 2005. The toolkit has also been translated into Bangla and Bahasa Indonesia and is available below.

About the ADB Toolkits

The ADB Toolkits series is intended to help those unfamiliar with the Asian Development Bank to gain an understanding of the institution, the work it does, and why it is important for civil society groups to be aware of its operations. The Toolkits provide an introduction to the ADB, including information about the ADB’s structure, the types of services it provides to developing and transitional country governments in Asia and the Pacific, the kinds of projects and programs it funds, and the support it provides to private sector companies investing in the region.

The Toolkits series also serves as a resource for activists who are already involved in monitoring ADB operations. The Toolkits include information that will assist activists in their advocacy and lobbying of the institution, including a breakdown of the ADB’s policy framework, guidance on how to make use of the ADB’s new accountability mechanism, and opportunities for lobbying ADB Board of Directors and Management.

Introduction to the ADB Toolkits

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are the largest source of development finance in the world, typically lending between US$30-$40 billion to low and middle income countries in any given year. The ADB provides billions of US dollars in loans to its Developing Member Countries (DMCs). This allows it to have enormous influence over its DMCs’ development objectives. In some cases the ADB may actually have more influence over developing country budgets and operations than a country’s own elected officials. The vast majority of the funding provided is in the form of loans. DMCs, and thereby their citizens, are required to pay back this money, regardless of whether the projects are successful or not. At times, not only are the projects unsuccessful, but local communities are left to face new challenges from harm caused by projects and citizens face an increased debt burden.

For the Asia-Pacific region, the ADB is the third largest donor (after the Japanese government and the World Bank) lending approximately $5 to $6 billion a year to its developing member countries. The ADB is increasingly focused on financing private sector operations, supporting structural adjustment programs prescribed by the IMF, and implementing global trade rules. It is startling to note that this agenda is implemented by an institution which is plagued by an inadequate governance structure, using a weak safeguard policy framework, and extending loans to governments that are mostly unaccountable to their citizens. The ADB is able to do this by keeping a low profile and escaping public scrutiny. While the international movement monitoring the international financial institutions has been successful in forcing the MDBs – particularly the World Bank – to increase democratic spaces for citizens and to adopt a framework of policies that protect the environment and promote sustainable development, the ADB has not featured prominently in this reform agenda.

It is imperative that Asian civil society focus its attention on the ADB. Having assumed for itself a role as promoter of regional cooperation through its Regional Cooperation Strategies, the ADB is shaping the development agenda of the region’s fledgling democracies, communist governments, and military dictatorships. The ADB continues to highlight the potential benefits of its lending while glossing over its adverse environmental and social impacts. ADB lending achieves even greater significance in the context of the understanding reached by MDBs to re-commit themselves to high risk/high reward infrastructure projects in the near future.

Download the ADB Toolkits

*You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader program to open these files. Download Acrobat Reader for free

English Version

Part 1 (Acrobat pdf 352 KB)

Part 2 (Acrobat pdf 220 KB)

Lampiran 8: Glossary (Acrobat pdf 134 KB)

Acknowledgements

The original Guide was written by Jane Garrido and Mishka Zaman of Bank Information Center (BIC) and Marnie Dolera of NGO Forum on ADB helped with the design and layout. Richard Mahapatra and Avilash Roul of Bank Information Center’s South Asia Office based in Delhi managed the reprinting of the 2nd edition while Karen Showalter of BIC’s Information Services Unit edited it.

BIC and NGO Forum on ADB would like to thank Natalia Ablova, Yuki Akimoto, Manish Bapna, Toshiyuki Doi, Sameer Dossani, Leslie Greene, Jen Kalafut, Ruth Pune, Jessica Rosien,

Gopal Siwakoti, Rena Sugita, and Alvin Carlos for providing thoughtful comments and edits on the original version.

Ordering Information

To order a hard copy of the ADB Toolkits, please send an email to info@bicusa.org. BIC would like to invite NGOs and civil society organizations to translate them into other languages, and to distribute them widely (with proper attribution). For future Toolkit updates and new issues, please visit our website or email us at info@bicusa.org if you would like to be notified of future issues.