- ADB Initiates Update of Safeguard Policies
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has embarked on a safeguard policy update to enhance the effectiveness of its safeguard policies, and to ensure their relevance to changing client needs and new lending modalities and instruments. The three safeguard policies – on involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and environment – seek to avoid, minimize or mitigate adverse environmental impacts, social and economic costs to project-affected persons, and marginalization of vulnerable groups that may result from development projects. ADB is informing stakeholders across countries, sectors and agencies on the update and will actively seek their comments from them on the Safeguard Policy Update Discussion Paper which will be made publicly available in due course. For information, contact Albab Akanda, Principal Safeguards Specialist, ADB Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSDD), at safeguards_update@adb.org.
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Cambodia hosted the first of seven in-country consultations on the review of the implementation of ADB’s Water Policy. A total of 49 representatives from government, civil society organizations (CSOs), the private sector, academe, and international development and donor organizations met in Phnom Penh, 23-24 June, to share their views on how ADB has applied the policy over the past 5 years. Recommendations from the consultation will be posted on ADB’s web site soon, and will be considered in preparing the implementation review report. The next country consultations will be held 9 August, in Suva, Fiji Islands, and 25 August, in Jakarta, Indonesia. For more information, contact the review’s lead facilitator, Kathryn Nelson, at knelson@adb.org.
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The $350 million ADB-financed Access to Justice Program (AJP) is supporting efforts in Pakistan to improve the quality of laws and institutions administering justice, and their public accountability and performance. Launched in December 2001, the program is embedding a monitoring and evaluation system into the daily operations of the country’s institutions to enable the Government and judiciary to improve the courts and police forces after ADB’s assistance has been completed. Early results show, among other things, a marked decline in the backlog of criminal cases. From 2001 to 2003, the backlog in three AJP “focal districts” – Abbotabad, Dera Ismail Khan, and Peshawar – fell between 58% and 66% because of measure to reduce delay introduced by the AJP. For more information, contact Peter Robertson, ADB Consultant, at probertson@adb.org.
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Periodicals/ADB_Review/2005/vol37-2/justice-all.asp
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Periodicals/ADB_Review/2005/vol37-3/legal-impact.asp
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On 4 March 2005, ADB brought together 42 representatives of CSOs and government agencies in Hanoi, Viet Nam to deliberate on the regional cooperation strategy and program for the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and its annual update, formulation of the Viet Nam Country Strategy and Program (CSP), and key poverty issues with regional dimensions. A similar national workshop was organized 3 days earlier in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The workshops resulted in a series of recommendations for ADB, CSOs, and governments on tripartite cooperation, poverty alleviation, and ADB programming at both the national and regional level. The workshops, facilitated by World Vision Australia, contributed to the ongoing dialogue between ADB and CSOs in the GMS. For more information, contact Christopher Hnanguie, Program Economist, ADB Mekong Department, at chnanguie@adb.org.
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ADB will provide $1.8 million in grants to help conserve biodiversity in selected protected areas of Afghanistan while addressing the basic needs of communities in the buffer zones. The project has two interlinked components: a protected area component and a buffer zone component, which will link development interventions to conservation goals through conservation stewardship agreements. "Local communities located within nature reserves and their buffer zones are highly dependent on natural resources to sustain and enhance livelihoods," says Ali Azimi, an ADB Senior Environment Specialist. "Empowering local communities to manage protected areas will be the strategic approach to promote socioeconomic stability among the rural poor while conserving natural resources within the protected areas." For more information, contact Ali Azimi, Senior Environment Specialist, ADB South Asia Department, at aazimi@adb.org.
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ADB has approved a $150,000 technical assistance project to promote business partnerships with governments, NGOs, and poor villages for rural development efforts in Cambodia. The project is inspired by the Thailand Business Initiative in Rural Development (T-BIRD), launched in 1988 by the Population and Community Development Association, to match rural needs for better business skills and marketing opportunities with the resources and talents of the private sector. The project will support the involvement of businesses in poverty reduction, assess potential modalities of private-public partnership in rural development, explore sustainable options in facilitating businesses to contribute to poverty reduction, and identify potential participating villages. It will also catalyze partnerships, build capacity among interested parties, and design a strategy and program to replicate the T-BIRD approach in Cambodia. For more information, contact Sophea Mar, Social Sector/Poverty Officer, ADB Cambodia Resident Mission, at smar@adb.org.
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On 17 June 2005, ADB launched a public access information kiosk and web site at its South Pacific Subregional Office (SPSO) in Suva, Fiji Islands. Designed to improve information services to the public, the kiosk offers users free access to downloads of ADB's web site, including the new SPSO web pages, ADB's studies, and reports on the Asia and Pacific region. Ratu Jone Kubuabola, Minister for Finance and National Planning, and ADB Governor for the Fiji Islands, participated in the launch and observed that, "the kiosk will further enhance the role of the ADB in the region, whereby people can learn more about the [ADB] and the unique role it plays in the development of our economies as the region's own development bank." For more information, contact Sirpa H. Jarvenpaa, SPSO Regional Director, at sjarvenpaa@adb.org.
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ADB has approved a $1.7 million grant to help develop Thailand’s tsunami-affected Andaman region. Last year’s tsunami killed thousands and devastated Thailand's entire Andaman coastal strip, particularly the provinces of Krabi, Phanga, and Phuket (KPP subregion). Social impacts have been severe, with a dramatic rise in vulnerable groups such as orphans, single-parent families, and displaced people. The TA will help prepare a 15-year subregional development plan (SRDP) for the KPP subregion, and a medium-term action plan for priority actions and projects for 2006-2008. The SRDP will cover terms of land use, population distribution, settlement pattern, economic activity, social infrastructure, and major utility and transport infrastructure. The needs of the local population, particularly those directly affected by the tsunami, will be placed at the heart of the development plans, which will be prepared through a broad participatory process. For more information, contact Alfredo Perdiguero, Project Economist, ADB Mekong Department, at aperdiguero@adb.org.
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ADB has implemented an internal reorganization of RSDD to sharpen its focus and better position it to renew ADB’s core business, promote sustainability and inclusiveness of ADB investment, and strengthen knowledge management. Among the key changes, implemented starting on 1 July, is the creation of a new division -- the Gender, Social Development, and Civil Society Division. With this change, ADB’s relations with CSOs, including NGOs, foundations, and trade union associations, have been elevated to the division level. ADB’s NGO Center is included under the new division’s umbrella, and has been renamed the “NGO and Civil Society Center” to recognize its mandate of serving as the institution’s focal point for a broad range of nonprofit, nongovernment groups. For more information, contact Bart W. Édes, Head, NGO and Civil Society Center, at bedes@adb.org.
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The ADB Institute (ADBI) has created an online collection of over 250 development-related CD-ROMs produced by other institutions, NGOs, and the private sector. Each entry summarizes the contents and explains how to obtain a copy. Many items are free, or available at modest cost. Of particular interest to NGOs are the CD-ROMs produced by the UK-based NGO, Fahamu, several of which are being reviewed by independent experts. These reviews are posted online as well. For more information about ADBI knowledge resources, contact Penelope Price, Senior Communications Specialist and Webmaster, ADBI, at pprice@adbi.org.
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WWF’s Macroeconomic Program Office (MPO) has published Analyzing the Political Economy of Poverty and Ecological Disruption. The paper presents an analytical approach for use by community groups, CSOs, development agencies, and government offices that seek to change the dynamics of poverty and environmental degradation in rural areas of the developing world. The approach is designed to identify the principal constraints to rural poverty reduction and improved natural resource management. The paper emphasizes that quantitative and qualitative analysis of the link between poverty and the environment must be conducted at the local level. For more information, contact the author, David Reed, Director, WWF MPO, at MPO@wwfus.org.
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In the May 2005 edition of the World Bank Institute magazine, Development Outreach, two ADB staff -- Indu Bhushan, Director, Pacific Department and Erik Bloom, Economist, Economics and Research Department -- report on an ADB-assisted project that engaged NGOs to manage public health care delivery at the district level in Cambodia. In the article, the co-authors observe that, "contracting NGOs to manage the primary health care system was found to be an effective means to increase service coverage and achieve a more pro-poor distribution of services in rural areas."
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This regular feature spotlights one of the many civil society organizations that meet with ADB staff at the institution’s headquarters each month.
EnterpriseWorks/VITA aims to reduce poverty and raise living standards in developing countries by identifying opportunities for economic growth among small-scale businesses, thereby increasing employment and incomes at the household level and expanding prosperity and stability.
EnterpriseWorks/VITA customizes its plans according to local conditions based on nine standard principles. These include (i) assessing potential demand for a product or service that can generate substantial income, (ii) ensuring affordable products or services with minimal investment costs and maximum returns, (iii) employing a private sector approach that builds on existing local businesses and materials, and (iv) creating a win-win situation, where all players in the supply chain profit from the project. Other principles common to all EnterpriseWorks/VITA projects include (v) establishing local and decentralized production systems, (vi) facilitating access to financing, (vii) marketing to generate a critical mass of demand, (viii) training clients to ensure satisfaction, and (ix) incorporating a viable exit strategy for phasing out donor-funded support.
EnterpriseWorks/VITA seeks to link private sector interests to economic development – whether in developing new sources of material for local factories in developing countries, or working with multinationals to safeguard the environment. For example, EnterpriseWorks/VITA has collaborated with Applied Energy Systems and TransAlta Corporation to expand rural economies and decrease greenhouse gas emissions in India.
To determine how its projects have increased enterprise productivity, producer incomes, and employment, EnterpriseWorks/VITA uses a comprehensive impact tracking system (ITS). ITS enables EnterpriseWorks/VITA to analyze the effectiveness of ongoing projects to modify implementation and thus maximize project impacts. ITS also allows EnterpriseWorks/VITA to assess the sustainability of completed projects and to identify the most effective interventions for replication or expansion.
Based in Washington, DC, United States, EnterpriseWorks/VITA has worked to better lives in 100 countries over the past 4 decades. Since 1990, it has carried out projects in several Asian countries, including Afghanistan, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and Thailand.
EnterpriseWorks/VITA staff Ann Koontz, Senior Program Advisor, Asia, and Susan Naval, Philippines Country Director, visited ADB headquarters on 1 July 2005 to exchange ideas and information with the NGO and Civil Society Center. They may be contacted at Annkoontz@enterpriseworks.org and slnaval@yahoo.com, respectively. For more information on EnterpriseWorks/VITA, visit its web site at: http://www.enterpriseworks.org/.
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A listing in this section does not imply ADB endorsement or availability of financing for participants.
- Third Asian Women’s Conference, 2-3 August, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Contact: Shiv Khare, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), e-mail: afppd@inet.co.th; web site: http://www.afppd.org.
- “Participating to Create a Different World: Shaping Our Own Future” (conference), 14-17 August, Ottawa, Canada. Contact: Lui Kashungnao, Participatory Development Forum, e-mail: pdforum@pdforum.org; tel: +1 613 792 1006; web site: http://www.pdforum.org.
- International Conference on Engaging Communities, 14-17 August, Brisbane, Australia. Contact: OzAccom Conference Services, e-mail: info@engagingcommunities2005.org; tel: + 61 7 3854 1611; fax: +61 7 3854 1507; web site: http://www.engagingcommunities2005.org/program.html.
- NGO Management Programme, 15 August –16 September, Bangalore, India. Contact: B.R. Achutha Sharma, SEARCH, e-mail: f_stephen@vsnl.com; tel: +91.80 2663 5361; web site: http://www.developmentschool.com.
- 9th International PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) Thematic Training Workshop, 18 -29 September, Hyderabad, India. Contact: PRAXIS – Institute for Participatory Practices, e-mail: workshop2005@praxisindia.org; tel: +91 1 5164 2348; web site: http://www.indianngos.org/training/praxis.htm.
- Participation in Extension: Farmer-Led Approaches (training course), 19 September-7 October, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Training Associate, IIRR, e-mail: Education&Training@iirr.org; +63 46 414 2417 local 521; web site: http://www.iirr.org.
- International Seminar on “Operationalizing Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning in NGOs,” 19-21 October, Bali, Indonesia. Contact: Mark Ranford, Stratagility, e-mail: mark@stratagility.com; tel: +62 21 530 0351; fax: +62 818 553 594.
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ADB makes hundreds of documents publicly available each year on its website (http://www.adb.org) and through a growing network of 170 depository libraries around the world. The extensive online Publications Catalog allows users to browse through a list of over 4,000 titles. These include country economic reviews, environmental impact assessments, reports and recommendations of the President, project completion reports (PCRs), summary initial environmental examinations, technical assistance completion reports (TACRs), and technical assistance reports (TARs).
Examples of recently published documents include
- Regional Initiatives to Eliminate Micronutrient Malnutrition in Asia Through Public-Private Partnership (regional TACR)
- Family Health and Nutrition Project, Indonesia (PCR)
- Social Protection Study, Nepal (TACR)
- Strengthening Malaria Control for Ethnic Minorities (regional TAR)
- Implementation of Inter-Island Transport Reforms, Solomon Islands (TAR)
- HIV/AIDS Vulnerability and Risk Reduction Among Ethnic Minority Groups Through Communication Strategies (regional TAR)
- Capacity Building for Debt and Risk Management of the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan (TACR)
- and Shanxi Air Quality Improvement Project, People’s Republic of China (TACR).
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