IF-EYE Newsletter

Issue #27

Thursday, January 10, 2008

A publication of the Bank Information Center

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first issue of the IF-EYE newsletter for 2008! This issue highlights the Asian Development Banks's involvement in funding a controversial coal project in Bangladesh and internal criticism at the International Monetary Fund over its continued reliance on conditionalities. Please send suggestions, contributions and subscription requests to: info@bicusa.org. Thanks for reading!

In this issue:

1. IFI Updates

2. Civil Society Highlights

3. SPOTLIGHT: Asian Development Bank’s private sector arm considering funding controversial coal project in Northwest Bangladesh

4. Announcements and Resources

5. New at BIC: BIC is hiring!

1. IFI Updates

International Monetary Fund’s internal watchdog criticizes continued reliance on structural conditions

1/4/2008 International Monetary Fund

On January 3, 2008 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report by its Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on the use of structural conditionality in IMF programs. The IEO found that the number of structural conditions imposed by the IMF per country per year has not changed, despite the “streamlining initiative” undertaken in 2000.

IEO Evaluates IMF Loan Conditions, IMF Survey, with links to all relevant IMF and IEO documents (IMF website)

Read more (BIC website)

Donors promise $8.9 billion to the African Development Bank

12/18/2007 African Development Bank

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has secured commitments from donors to contribute at least $8.9 billion toward the Bank’s concessional lending window for impoverished countries, the African Development Fund (ADF), during the final meeting of its current replenishment push in London. While the donations fell short of what the AfDB sought, the amount represents a 52 percent increase over the pledges to the ADF.

Read more (BIC website)

Palestinian Authority to cut spending on wages and electricity to access donor funds

12/17/2007 World Bank

On December 17, 2007, delegations from more than 90 countries and international institutions met in Paris, pledging $7.4 billion to support the Palestinian Authority (PA). The commitments surpassed the $5.6 billion requested by the PA to finance the funding shortfall in implementing its three-year Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP), which covers the period 2008 to 2010.

Read more (BIC website)

Ecuador follows Bolivia: Pulls out of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

12/17/2007 World Bank

Ecuador has pulled out of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Ecuador’s actions are part of a wider dissatisfaction among some Central and South American countries with international investment law and particularly its dispute settlement regime.

Read more (BIC website)

2. Civil Society Highlights

World Bank leak suggests support for Kibaki in disputed Kenyan elections

1/9/2007 Financial Times

The Financial Times (FT) reported that it has obtained a leaked copy of an internal World Bank memo indicating that the Bank accepts the Electoral Commission of Kenya's (ECK) ruling that incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was the victor in the country's presidential elections held last month. The FT suggests that the memo, written by the Bank's Kenya Country Director Colin Bruce, would be “likely to trigger accusations that the institution, which lends heavily to Kenya, has lost its political objectivity.”

Leaked memo deepens Kenya crisis by William Wallis, Michael Holman and Krishna Guha, January 9, 2007 (Financial Times website)

Read more (BIC website)

Loans to Hunt Oil’s Peruvian fossil fuel project challenged

12/13/2007 Multiple organizations

A high level delegation of indigenous, civil society and Parliamentarian leaders from Peru were in Washington, DC to lobby against the expected vote on public loans for the Peru LNG natural gas liquification plant. The delegation argued that by approving the project, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Ex-Im Bank and the International Finance Corporation, would breach their own social and environmental safeguards.

Loans to Hunt Oil’s Peruvian Fossil Fuel Project Challenged, by Amazon Watch, December 12, 2007. (The Baltimore Chronicle website)

Read more (BIC website)

Press Release: World Bank hands off forests

12/11/2007 Friends of the Earth, World Rainforest Movement, Global Forest Coalition

Environmental groups gathered in Bali, Indonesia last month for the United Nations convention on climate change warned that the World Bank’s market-oriented Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), launched Tuesday, December 11, 2007, will have negative social and environmental impacts. Citing the Bank’s poor track record in the forest sector and ongoing support for fossil fuels, the groups are demanding that forests be kept out of the carbon market and that governments increase their funding for other approaches to forest protection and climate change mitigation.

Read the full press release (Friends of the Earth website)

World Bank launches forest carbon fund, by Emma Graham-Harrison, December 11, 2007. (Reuters website)

Seeing the forest for the carbon? by Nikki Reisch, Bank Information Center, December 4, 2007 (BIC website)

Press highlights World Bank blunders in Congo’s forest

12/11/2007 Financial Times

On December 7, 2007 the Financial Times (FT) reported that the World Bank has admitted errors in its forest sector operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), home to the planet's second largest rainforest. The Bank's admissions come in response to a damning internal investigation into its forestry projects in the DRC, set to be discussed by the Bank's Board in January 2008. The FT also reported that the Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has been forced to face up to allegations that it has supported a company engaged in illegal logging activities in the DRC.

Read more (BIC website)

World Bank admits Congo omissions, by William Wallis and Dino Mahtani, December 7, 2007. (Financial Times website)

3. SPOTLIGHT: Asian Development Bank’s private sector arm considering funding controversial coal project in Northwest Bangladesh

12/20/2007 Asia Program, Bank Information Center

Global Coal Management (PLC), a UK-listed company, is awaiting official approval from the Bangladesh Government to operate an open pit mine that would extract 15 million tonnes of coal/year from Phulbari, a key rice producing area that contributes to the food basket of Bangladesh. GCM, through its Bangladeshi subsidiary, Asia Energy, proposes to mine for over 30 years. The project has fueled a strong grassroots movement in the Phulbari area and has raised major environmental, social and human rights concerns for both the indigenous and local residents of Phulbari.

Eight million tonnes of coal would be exported by rail and barges through the Sundarbans, one of the three largest mangrove forests in the world which is also an international Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Four million tonnes would be transported to India through the rail network and three million would be used for domestic consumption. GCM has proposed a 500 MW power plant at the mine site. According to the Summary Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA), the project would relocate 40,000 people (9000 households) and cover an area of 5,192 hectares (ha); the open pit at any given time would cover an area of 2,180 ha.

Asian Development Bank's Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) is promoting this project for an investment loan and a political risk guarantee in spite of major setbacks to the project. PSOD staff believe that the project will economically benefit Bangladesh and provide it much needed energy. ADB has approved the SEIA and is awaiting final resettlement action plans and indigenous people's plans. Under ADB rules, the private client interested in ADB funds can also conduct the mandatory studies required for high environmental and social impact projects such as Phulbari. ADB "safeguard specialists" on involuntary resettlement, environmental impacts and indigenous people are expected to approve these studies before the project is sent for Board Approval.

Follow recent developments on the Phulbari Coal Project by visiting BIC's Problem Project page (BIC website)

Visit the Phulbari Resistance blog for more information (Blogspot website)

Also check out the Phulbari Resistance Group on Facebook.com!

4. Announcements and Resources

Halifax Initiative organizes conference on the "Changing Face of Global Development Finance"

Register now for the Halifax Initiative's conference entitled “The Changing Face of Global Development Finance – Impacts and implications for aid, development, the South and the Bretton Woods Institutions” in Ottawa, Canada, on February 1st and 2nd, 2008. The deadline for registration is January 18th.

Global Transparency Initiative launches new report on transparency at the IMF

The Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) has launched a new guide to transparency at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The guide reviews the transparency policy at the IMF highlighting how it does not meet the GTI Transparency Charter, but also seeks help civil society learn how to use the information that is already made available by the IMF.

Read the full guide on IMF transparency October 2007 (Acrobat pdf, 416 KB) (GTI website)

5. New at BIC: Job openings at BIC!

Executive Assistant: BIC is seeking an Assistant who will support the Executive Director (ED) in his daily tasks. The position will be based in Washington, DC, and is ideal for individuals seeking exposure in international affairs, especially on issues relating to development, international human rights, and the environment. BIC offers the possibility of interaction with environment and social justice activists throughout the world. The Assistant will also provide support to some administrative requirements of the organization.

Development Director: BIC is seeking a Development Director, who will serve as the chief fundraising officer for BIC. The Development Director will work closely with the Executive Director and Regional Program Managers in identifying and pursuing funding leads for BIC’s Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Policy, and Information Services programs. The Development Director will be expected to: Develop and execute both short and long-term fundraising efforts of BIC; take the lead in framing, preparing, and maintaining grant proposals and reports to donor foundations; and identify and pursue potential funding opportunities, and strengthen existing donor relationships.

Internship: BIC is looking for an intern (full or part-time) for its Middle East and North Africa Program. This a paid internship based in Washington, DC. An internship at BIC is ideal for individuals seeking greater understanding of the international financial institutions (including the World Bank and IMF), multilateral institutions, development, human rights and the environment. BIC interns interact with environment and social justice activists throughout the world. Interns will also be encouraged to attend relevant events and meetings with other civil society organizations and at the World Bank. Our informal, dynamic structure enables interns to become immersed in BIC's day-to-day operations and gain extensive practical experience and knowledge of the IFIs.

Get full details of these positions on BIC's jobs and internships page (BIC website)

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