11 November 2005
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued its much delayed Discussion Note for the Safeguard Policy “Update” it publicly initiated in July 2005.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued its much delayed Discussion Note for the Safeguard Policy “Update” it publicly initiated in July 2005. The Discussion Note, which was released sometime towards the end of October, is open to a 90-day public comment period. Though it seeks comments, the ADB did not specify the exact start of the 90-day comment period. BIC has informed the ADB of this lack of clarity and suggested that the 90-day comment period start only after the ADB notifies external stakeholders about the Discussion Note, as many interested parties remain unaware.
The discussion note outlines key considerations during the upcoming review process of the ADB's three safeguard policies: the Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (1995); the Policy on Indigenous Peoples (1998); and the Environment Policy (2002). According to the discussion note, ADB objectives during the safeguard policy review include:
- “integrating the three safeguard policies… to improve coherence, clarity, and internal consistency”;
- “balancing emphasis on procedural requirements during project processing with greater attention to satisfying safeguard requirements during project implementation”;
- “tailor[ing] safeguard approaches to different clients with different capacities”; and
- “building institutional capacity and optimizing ADB’s internal safeguard implementation and compliance review processes.”
Following the 90-day comment period on the discussion note, a draft policy working paper (W-paper) will be developed by December 2005 and again posted for a 90-day comment period. Consultations with stakeholders are scheduled during this time, beginning in January 2006, and will include: five subregional consultations (Mekong, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Pacific); five or more country consultations; consultations in North America, Europe and Japan; website and electronic consultations parallel to the workshops; and expert reviews of the policies. After the consultations and second comment period ends, the W-paper will be finalized and submitted to the Board of Directors in April 2006, and posted online. After Board comments on the W-paper, a final restricted paper (R-paper) will be resubmitted to the Board for consideration in November 2006, and again posted online.
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