It took many years to establish the World Bank’s operational policies that safeguard society and the environment, and are some of the world’s highest development standards. As the Bank reviews these policies, civil society is organizing efforts to present their concerns and expectations, and offer their inputs as to what the outcome of the review should be.
The World Bank is in the process of revising its Operation Safeguard Policies which presents an opportunity to update some of the World’s highest development standards, and also to influence a paradigm shift within the institution that goes far beyond safeguards.
This brief explains what is at stake with the World Bank’s safeguards policy review, why it matters, and what to expect in the year ahead. It includes a summary of the recent discussions with the Bank’s management, of the key findings from the IEG Safeguard Policy evaluation, and the IFC PS review, and discusses the central issues for the consultation process, such as how the operation policy framework will be framed.
For many organizations that were part of the creation of these policies, the overarching expectation for this planned review is to contribute to the strengthening of the Safeguard Policies, their effective implementation, and expanding their scope in key areas. Trends within the Bank however point to a different motivation for the review, which responds to a shifting balance of power calling for fewer imposed conditions and greater use of the national finance and risk management systems of borrowing clients.
For the review to go in the right direction it must consider several principles such as: including and clearly linking all relevant lending reforms in the review, that safeguard updating should result in stronger risk management in all stages of the lending cycle, that the Safeguard review present an opportunity to clarify expectations, benchmarks and support for the use of country systems, that expansion of the safeguard policies is required in certain areas, that the focus of the review should extend beyond the policy to the Bank’s incentive systems, and the establishment of an acceptable timeframe for the review process.
Civil society will engage the World Bank in the revision of its safeguard policies to defend prescriptive rules on risk avoidance, mitigation and management, but to also expand and define the scope of the Bank’s role in promoting environmental sustainability.
CSO letter on World Bank Safeguards Review
Civil society organizations (CSOs) submitted a letter to World Bank President Robert Zoellick on the World Bank safeguards review on August 31, 2011. The letter includes signatories as of this date.
On behalf of everyone working on the World Bank safeguards review global campaign, we want to thank all and every organization for lending your support.