About ADB

Protecting the Environment

Since the historic Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, ADB has been aggressively responding to the escalating demand from its DMCs for assistance in environmental management. Over the years, ADB's environment agenda has evolved from impact mitigation to impact prevention, and has expanded to cover environmental integration into country operations, and sector and macro policy work, along with targeted interventions in loan projects to achieve direct environmental benefits. ADB and its partners have achieved significant progress; but considering the magnitude of environmental issues, the impact of these programs on broad environmental trends throughout Asia and the Pacific has been less than what was hoped for in Rio. ADB's decision to make poverty reduction its overarching objective strengthened its environment agenda; moreover, it shifted its environment program focus to support this overarching objective.

Sound environmental management is critical to sustainable development, and as a consequence, to poverty reduction. Growth will be short-lived if it does not conserve the natural environment and its resources. Although much of the past damage has been caused by powerful vested interests, the pressures of poverty and population can compound the problem through deforestation, overgrazing, and overfishing. The rural poor are often forced to live on fragile lands and near-fragile waters that require sensitive resource management in the face of increasing degradation. The urban poor are exposed to diseases and illnesses resulting from overcrowding, inadequate basic services, and polluted living conditions. To address poverty, it is important to empower the poor and to give them a stake in managing the environment and natural resources.

In addition to targeting interventions to achieve direct environmental benefits in loan projects and programs, ADB continued to mainstream environmental considerations in country operational strategy studies, sector policies, and into its loan and investment projects and programs. It also ensured that environmental impacts of projects and programs were reviewed, and that prevention, abatement, and mitigation measures were incorporated. Where appropriate, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and summary EIAs were circulated for review by stakeholders, who were also encouraged to participate in implementing environmental management plans. Better ways of reviewing and monitoring projects from identification to postevaluation were adopted to ensure quality at entry and quality of supervision.

One recently completed activity in support of this objective is the updating of ADB's 1986 environmental guidelines for use in preparing initial environmental examination reports. A peer review process to improve the quality of EIA reports involving Environment Network members was initiated. A study of several loan projects was conducted to determine the effectiveness of ADB project implementation procedures for environmental compliance monitoring. Further, recognizing the limited value of EIAs in dealing with impacts of various initiatives other than projects, ADB conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment in dealing with the cumulative and indirect impacts, and large-scale effects generated by these nonproject initiatives.

In 1999, ADB continued to assist DMCs to improve their capability in environmental planning and management through technical assistance grants.

In addition to helping address country-specific environmental problems, ADB addressed environmental issues common to several DMCs at regional and subregional levels. These efforts were realized in cooperation with bilateral funding agencies and international organizations. Transboundary environmental issues addressed through ADB technical assistance included climate change, acid rain in northeast Asia, and the impact of atmospheric haze brought about by forest fires in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The ASEAN Regional Strategy for Haze Prevention and Mitigation is an output of ADB assistance. ADB's technical assistance resulted in part in a transboundary haze pollution web site (http://www.haze-online.or.id), which acts as an information clearinghouse, as well as facilitates coordination and monitoring of national, regional, and international initiatives with institutions in the region on programs for preventing and mitigating forest fires and transboundary haze pollution. In the Greater Mekong Subregion, a Working Group on Environment, supported by ADB technical assistance, continued to lead cooperative efforts among participating countries in addressing common environmental issues.

ADB also addressed the issue of climate change in cooperation with other organizations. In collaboration with the Hans Seidel Foundation, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and United Nations Environment Programme, ADB conducted a capacity-building regional workshop on implementing the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism for representatives of 17 DMCs.

ADB continued major regional technical assistance designed to enhance existing national and regional capabilities to develop least-cost greenhouse gas abatement strategies that promote environmentally sustainable economic development in several countries in the region. The project-funded by ADB, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the United Nations Development Programme, and the Norwegian Government- resulted in a 13-volume study outlining an Asia Least-Cost Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy.

In 1999, using a more streamlined approach to access GEF grant resources, ADB pursued new opportunities for partnership with GEF. The policy, adopted by GEF in May 1999 on Expanded Opportunities for Regional Development Banks, allows ADB to blend its own resources for sustainable development at the country level with GEF grant resources allocated to address global environmental issues. This approach enables ADB to deliver new and greener products to its clients on more attractive lending terms. In 1999, five ADB project concepts entered the GEF pipeline, and four GEF grants were approved to help formulate components of ADB projects being prepared.

ADB continued to promote environmental awareness among DMC officials and ADB staff members through workshops, seminars, conferences, and forums. Several publications were prepared, including Mobilizing Broader Support for Asia's Biodiversity; Environment and Economics in Project Preparation-Ten Asian Cases; and Emissions Trading in the Energy Sector-Opportunities for the People's Republic of China.

Environment Projects

In 1999, ADB approved nine loan projects for nearly $1 billion to improve the environment and conserve natural resources. Two projects in the People’s Republic of China had primary environmental objectives, including a rehabilitation project for the Suzhou Creek to improve water quality and flood control and a loan in Shanxi Province to help solve air pollution problems in three cities. A $40 million loan to Sri Lanka will address the problem of coastal erosion and resource degradation. A project in Viet Nam will enhance overall environmental conditions in Ho Chi Minh City.

Four projects had secondary environmental objectives and a poverty reduction focus. In Karnataka, India, a $175 million loan will go to urban development and coastal environmental management. In the Maldives, $8 million will go to a regional development investment project. In the Marshall Islands, a $9.2 million loan was approved for health and infrastructure improvements for water supply and sewerage systems. In Pakistan, $7.8 million was lent to develop the institutional capacity of farmers for sustainable management of distributary canals.

Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of DMCs' Environmental Agencies

In 1999, ADB continued to support its DMCs' efforts to strengthen their institutional capacity. For example, in the People’s Republic of China, technical assistance included preparing a project in Tianjin for wastewater treatment and water resource protection, and building capacity in ministerial status responsibilities in the State Environmental Protection Administration. ADB helped build staff and institutional capacity to decentralize the environmental impact assessment process in Indonesia. In the Philippines, ADB approved technical assistance to prepare a community-based forest resource management project. In Sri Lanka, an ADB technical assistance supported sustainable natural resource management for developing and preparing a protected area management and wildlife conservation project. In Viet Nam, ADB approved a study on the policy and institutional framework for forest resources management. It also assisted India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam in developing the policy and institutional framework for integrating cleaner production principles as a priority element in national environmental and industrial development strategies.

Asian Partnership on Greenhouse Gas Abatement

The Asia Least-Cost Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy Project was designed to assist countries to meet their commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and prepare a portfolio of greenhouse gas abatement projects and national plans embodying country development objectives for 11 participating countries: Bangladesh, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The Project found that in 1990 the 11 participating countries, which have about half of the population of the world, accounted for 12 percent of all global carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, estimated at 37,050 teragrams. Other developing countries accounted for 31 percent and the rest of the world for 57 percent. If the number of zero or negative abatement cost measures identified in the Project are fully implemented, these could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the 11 countries by approximately one third of their projected “business-as-usual” emissions in 2020. More aggressive but low abatement cost measures could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the projections even further in many of the participating countries.

The Project developed 81 project briefs including regional project proposals for climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment. Perhaps the most significant product of the effort was creating capacity within each of the countries to analyze and deal with the many challenges of sustainable development that arise from greenhouse gases.

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