On November 13, 2013, nine civil society organizations from Mongolia, Europe, US and Australia submitted their initial review of the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) project’s Operational Management Plans (OMPs) to the World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors in anticipation of the Board’s November 19th technical briefing. The Oyu Tolgoi copper/gold mine in the South Gobi …
Community Controlled Impact Assessment and Impact and Benefit Agreements: Relevance for upward harmonization of World Bank Group Safeguard Policies Presentation and Panel Discussion with Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh Professor of Politics and Public Policy in the School of Government and International Relations, Griffiths University, Australia Panel Moderator: Vince McElhinny, Sr. Policy Advisor, Bank Information Center Respondents: Meg Taylor, …
IFC’s dismissive response to the CAO’s findings regarding the Tata Mundra plant was met with immediate and heavy backlash from NGOs, especially those surrounding the Gujarati power plant. The full press statement from Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan, along with the documents in question (IFC response, CAO audit), can be found here. Since that time, though, there …
The Peruvian Amazon, the fourth largest extension of tropical rainforest in the world, is a battleground for indigenous rights and defense of critical environments. Key issues facing indigenous peoples are playing themselves out every day – territorial encroachment, illegal logging, government-sanctioned extraction of natural resources, construction of other mega projects, informal gold mining, among others. …
Representatives of civil society, indigenous communities, government and the press gathered in San Pedro Sula, Honduras from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 for the “First International Workshop on Social and Environmental Safeguards in Indigenous Territories and Forest Communities of Mesoamerica,” an initiative of the Bank Information Center, and for the Community Forestry Pre-Congress, organized by …
Between August 14 and October 5 2013 the Bank Information Center held a series of seven children’s consultations in six countries on the World Bank safeguards. The countries in which consultations have been carried out include: Peru, Yemen, India, Cambodia and Uganda. The World Bank is currently reviewing its social and environmental policy standards, and is …
Photo credit: Atossa Soltani/ Amazon Watch/ Spectral Q Mayalú Txucarramãe and Patricia Gualinga engaged an audience of civil society members, including BIC, in their discussion on Wednesday of women’s role in the struggles of indigenous communities to protect their lands, their rights, and their way of life from destructive infrastructure and extractive projects in the …
Image: A visually impaired respondent raises concerns during FGD at pawel parish in Patiko Sub County, Gulu district, Uganda The Disability and World Bank Safeguards Campaign, a partnership between the Bank Information Center and the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union, submitted revised World Bank Environmental Assessment Policy (OP 4.01), Indigenous Peoples Policy (OP 4.10), and Involuntary Resettlement …
On August 2, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) opened the first phase of public consultations on its Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (ICIM), aiming to revise and update the ICIM policy that has been in effect since September 2010. The ICIM (commonly known by its Spanish acronym, MICI) is an IDB policy that establishes an independent body …
Soumya Dutta outside the World Bank headquarters, August 2013 BIC highlights the work of Soumya Dutta in the campaign against Tata Mundra. Soumya Dutta is the National Convener of the Indian people’s science group Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha and the Convener of the Climate and Energy Group in the Beyond Copenhagen collective in India, a network …