As World Bank member governments gather in Myanmar to discuss their contributions to the International Development Association, the Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, the Bank Information Center is calling on donors to make the adoption of stronger safeguard policies a key objective in the replenishment negotiations. In support of this call, BIC has released …
Activist Medha Patkar speaking on resistance to the Sardar Sarovar dam during the 2014 World Bank Annual Meetings. On Tuesday, June 7th, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress held a hearing on the advancement of human rights in India. In his opening remarks, Congressman James P. McGovern, Human Rights Commission Co-Chairman, …
The UN’s Indigenous Peoples expert bodies sent a joint letter to the President of the World Bank, Dr. Kim Jim, expressing serious concerns with proposed safeguards intended to protect indigenous peoples from harm caused by World Bank projects. The letter’s authors – the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Expert Mechanism …
Conservation International & BIC hosted a panel event at the Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank 2016 Spring Meetings on the Bank’s role in supporting forest commitments coming out of COP21. The panel includes Bank staff working on forests and climate change; CSO partners from FPP, WRI, CI, and Honduran indigenous organization MASTA; …
In the weeks following the murder of Berta Cáceres, leader of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras (Copinh) and leader of the resistance against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque river, there has been international outcry for justice for Berta and security for her colleagues. The Agua Zarca dam …
BIC organized a delegation of 9 Latin American SOGIE activists to participate during World Bank Annual Meetings. The delegates met key decision makers both inside and outside of the institution, participated as expert panelist at events during the WB Policy Forum, and a Civil Society Organizations Alternative Event. See our SOGIE page for more information …
Environmental and indigenous rights organizations all over the world reacted with shock and concern over the recent killing of Berta Cáceres, indigenous activist and head of COPINH, the Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organisations of Honduras. BIC, along with over 50 other organizations, has signed an open letter to the president of Honduras (Spanish|español) …
New research from p4ges project and the UK ecosystem services for poverty alleviation programme: Livelihood projects designed to compensate for the local costs of conservation may not be reaching the right people A team of researchers from the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar and Bangor University in the UK have found that REDD+ social safeguards do not …
The World Bank Group is the largest source of multilateral finance for forests, and a standard setter for international finance broadly. However, the Bank invests significantly more each year in sectors demonstrated to be primary drivers of deforestation such as agriculture, energy and mining, and transportation; than what it invests in forests. The Bank Information …