As two of the largest public sources of development financing in Asia, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are largely responsible for setting economic development agendas in Asian countries.
While the mission of these institutions is to reduce poverty, projects funded by these banks have often resulted in widespread economic, social, and environmental damage. These institutions are publicly financed by taxpayer dollars, yet their activities are often carried out without the informed participation of affected communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and in some instances, elected officials in the borrowing countries.
In Asia, BIC works with grassroots social movements and national-level NGOs involved in challenging particular multilateral development bank (MDB) loans. BIC supports partner organization’s efforts to mitigate some of the most acute consequences of poor development policies. Perhaps most importantly, BIC aims to open spaces for affected communities to influence decision making at the institutions, and build the capacity of NGOs and grassroots social movements in Asia to engage effectively with the IFIs.
Panape Wetlands, Sri Lanka