IF-EYE Newsletter
Issue #49
Thursday, July 29, 2010
A publication of the Bank Information Center (BIC)
Welcome to the July 29, 2010 issue of the IF-EYE – the Bank Information Center’s monthly synthesis of key developments concerning international financial institutions. This issue spotlights the controversy around the Republic of Congo's R-PP, Egyptian groups demanding investment in renewable energy, and a BIC letter published in the Washington Post calling for reform alongside the World Bank's capital increase. Please send suggestions, contributions and subscription requests to: info@bicusa.org. Thanks for reading!
in this issue:
1. SPOTLIGHT: The Republic of Congo's REDD "Readiness Preparation Proposal" creates controversy
2. SPOTLIGHT: Egyptians tell the World Bank what they want loudly and clearly: Renewable energy
3. SPOTLIGHT: The Washington Post: Medicine fit for the World Bank?
4. Civil Society Updates
5. IFI Updates
6. Announcements and Resources
1. SPOTLIGHT: The Republic of Congo’s REDD “Readiness Preparation Proposal” (R-PP) creates controversy
7/22/2010 Bank Information Center
Despite the controversy surrounding it, the R-PP of the Republic of Congo was deemed of sufficient quality to move forward in the process, at the sixth Participants Committee meeting of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
Read more (BIC website)
2. SPOTLIGHT: Egyptians tell the World Bank what they want loudly and clearly: Renewable energy
6/30/2010 Various CSOs
At an energy consultation on June 29 for which it took weeks to finalize a date, 25 Egyptians from various segments of society, including NGOs, academic institutions, and private firms, all had one clear message for the World Bank to think about when designing its new energy strategy: "focus on renewable energy projects."
Read more (BIC website)
3. SPOTLIGHT: The Washington Post: Medicine fit for the World Bank?
6/28/2010 Bank Information Center
The Washington Post published a BIC Letter to the Editor arguing that significant reform must accompany the World Bank's request for an $86.2 billion general capital increase.
Read the article
Medicine fit for the World Bank? by Rebecca Harris, Bank Information Center, June 28th, 2010 (Washington Post website)
read more
Pay raises at World Bank, IMF draw criticism, by Howard Schneider, The Washington Post, June 25, 2010 (Washington Post website)
Civil society statement on energy access and public financing of fossil fuels, May 6, 2010 (PDF, 124 KB)
World Bank Group financing for fossil fuels FY2008-FY2010, by Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs, Bank Information Center (PDF, 1.47MB)
BIC model Energy Strategy, by Yong Chen, Bank Information Center, April 23, 2010 (PDF, 810 KB)
4. Civil Society Updates
52 South Asian organizations submit letter on IFC policy consultation
7/28/2010 Various CSOs
The organizations found the June 25th consultation invalid due to the limited number of civil society representatives and overrepresentation of industry. They used the letter to put forward their recommendations for the review of IFC's policies on social and environmental sustainability
Read more (BIC website)
ILRC and others call on the U.S. to sign indigenous rights declaration
7/20/2010 Indian Law Resource Center
At a series of ongoing consultations, many civil society actors have asked the U.S. to sign the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. BIC's Mark Rentschler and WRI's Kirk Herbertson discuss the importance of the declaration to work on the IFIs.
Read more (BIC website)
Groups seek stronger World Bank investment standards to protect poor
7/14/2010 Various CSOs
Organizations from different Asian countries demanded that multilateral agencies place additional and stronger safety provisions in their investment standards to ensure that poor communities do not become more vulnerable due to 'aggressive' development projects.
read the article
Groups seek stronger World Bank investment standards to protect poor, GMANews.tv, July 12, 2010 (GMANews.tv)
read more
PRESS RELEASE: Independent review points to Weda Bay Nickel plans as cause for major concern, WAHLI Indonesia, Earthworks, and Bank Information Center, July 12, 2010
BIC's IFC Performance Standards review webpage
Field report: Fighting for Lake Turkana
7/13/2010 International Rivers
For the people of northwestern Kenya, fighting to protect Lake Turkana from the Gibe 3 Dam is a fight for their livelihoods and the future of their unique cultures. International Rivers recently took a trip to the area and documented their struggle.
Read more and watch the video (International Rivers website)
Independent review points to Weda Bay Nickel plans as cause for major concern
7/12/2010 Various CSOs
Global civil society rallies against MIGA endorsement for an Indonesian nickel mine project due to substantial social and environmental concerns.
Read more
Independent review points to Weda Bay Nickel plans as cause for major concern, WAHLI Indonesia, Earthworks, and Bank Information Center, July 12, 2010 (BIC website)
World Bank, NGOs Spar over Indonesian Mine Project, by Matthew O. Berger, Inter Press Service, June 14, 2010 (IPS website)
5. IFI Updates
World Bank warns of "farmland grab" trend
7/27/2010 Financial Times
A draft World Bank report leaked to the press looks into the rush of investors to buy farmland in countries with weak laws, and the implications for country's eventual development. It found that "rarely if ever" were land investments tied to broader development strategies.
read the article
World Bank warns on "farmland grab", by Javier Blas, Financial Times, July 27, 2010 (Financial Times website)
Renewable energy projects in Indonesia: A learning opportunity for the World Bank Group
7/27/2010 Various CSOs
The Cinta Mekar Micro-Hydro Power Plant project and the Kulon Progo Improved Cook Stove Project in Indonesia demonstrate the development effectiveness of off-grid renewable energy projects. A best practices study identifies the replicable elements of the two projects.
Read more (BIC website)
Friends of the Earth Middle East reports back on World Bank's public hearings on Red-Dead Sea conduit
7/21/2010 Friends of the Earth Middle East
In June 2010, the World Bank held its third set of public hearings with respect to the Red-Dead conduit project. Friends of the Earth - Middle East attended the hearings and presented comments. This report comes from the FoEME website.
Read more (BIC website)
Civil society highlights deficiencies in World Bank Energy Strategy consultations in Peru, Brazil and Mexico, and Bank replies
7/2/2010 Various CSOs
Civil society groups compiled recommendations to the World Bank for the new energy strategy and feedback on public consultations in Peru, Brazil and Mexico. The letter and response are both in Spanish.
Read more (BIC website)
ClimateWire: Zoellick to appoint climate change envoy
6/25/2010 ClimateWire
World Bank President Robert Zoellick will appoint a special envoy to act as the institution's "point person" on climate change, according to an internal announcement obtained by ClimateWire. Andrew Steer, who once served as the World Bank's director of environment and recently returned to the bank after three years as director general of policy and research for the United Kingdom's Department of International Development, has been tapped for the job.
read the article
Zoellick to appoint climate change envoy, by Lisa Friedman, ClimateWire, June 25, 2010 (BIC website)
6. Announcements and Resources
BIC updates IFC Social and Environmental Sustainability campaign page
In keeping with the progress of IFC's revision of its policy on Social and Environmental Safeguards, BIC has created a new version of our campaign page, with new resources, case studies, and notes from consultations. Coming soon, BIC's forestry work webpages will also get a facelift, including new information on the Forest Investment Program, UN-REDD, and the REDD+ Partnership. Check BIC's website for more info in the coming weeks.
BIC's IFC Performance Standards Review page
Revised World Bank Access to Information Policy goes live
After a lengthy revision process, the World Bank launched its new Access to Information Policy, opening up the Bank's inner workings to an unprecidented degree. BIC and partners convened at the World Bank to celebrate the implementation of the Bank's revised access to information policy.
Read more (BIC website)
Coming soon: BIC toolkit on the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy
In early September, BIC will publish a toolkit written to assist civil society in accessing documents at the World Bank within the guidelines of their new Access to Information Policy. The guide will provide instructions on how to request specific documents from the World Bank, how to file an appeal in the case that a request for information has been denied and much more.