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1. Registration Begins for ADB Annual Meeting in Spain
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will hold the 41st Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors from 3 to 6 May at the Institución Ferial de Madrid (IFEMA) in Madrid, Spain. Accredited civil society organizations (CSOs) are invited to attend the event, which features several seminars for all delegates, and panel discussions and briefings tailored to the particular interests of participating CSOs. For more information, including details about accreditation, contact Suzanne Nazal, Civil Society Cooperation Officer, NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC), at ngocoordinator@adb.org.
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2. ADB Engages Civil Society Organizations on Safeguard Policy Update
ADB continues to seek civil society views on the consultation draft of the Safeguard Policy Statement. Dozens of representatives of NGOs, indigenous people’s organizations, and affected communities have already contributed feedback at consultation workshops, and through written submissions. The consultation draft was posted on ADB's website in October 2007 for public comment until April 2008. After the consultations, a draft policy will be prepared and made publicly available for additional comments.
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3. Philippines Aims to be First Asian Country to Phase out Incandescent Bulbs
The Philippines plans to replace incandescent bulbs with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cut household energy costs. ADB is considering extending a $30 million loan later this year to the country to help fund a range of programs on energy efficiency, including pilot programs that could be continued as long-term development projects. Portions of the ADB funding could be used to provide compact fluorescent lamps to low-income families.
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4. Kabul’s Drug Epidemic Requires Unique Approaches in HIV/AIDS Prevention
Afghanistan is a leading producer of heroin and Kabul’s residents increasingly turn to the drug to escape the traumas of continuing instability, unemployment, and poverty. Increased drug use and a subsequent rise in HIV/AIDS infections caused by sharing needles will continue to be a major concern in the foreseeable future, say NGO representatives working at a center run by Social Development Drug Rehabilitation and Medical Services (NEJAT) in Kabul. ADB supports the NEJAT Center as a pilot initiative under its NGO Initiatives to Prevent HIV/AIDS project.
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5. Project Aims to Clean up Contaminated River System near Manila
Known as the seat of the Philippines’ jewelry industry, Meycauayan Municipality, lying on plains 19 kilometers north of Manila, is on the verge of mercury and heavy metal toxicity. On the upstream of its river system rests industries that use toxic heavy metals. Water flows along 17 kilometers of a main river and about 10 kilometers of tributaries before draining into Manila Bay. An ADB-funded pilot and demonstration activity will demonstrate appropriate technologies for reducing mercury and heavy metal contamination in the Meycauayan river system.
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6. New Facility Promotes Clean Energy Projects
ADB and the United Nations Environment Programme are developing the Seed Capital Assistance Facility with a $4.2 million grant from the Global Environment Facility. The Seed Capital Assistance Facility will increase access to financing at the early stages of sustainable energy enterprises and projects in the Asia-Pacific region. With increased experience among financiers in investing in small-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, mainstream energy investors will be encouraged to fund more clean energy enterprises and projects.
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7. Grant to help Tonle Sap Communities Participate in Development
A $1.5 million grant from the ADB-administered Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will help strengthen the capacity of communities in the most impoverished region in Cambodia to participate in an ongoing development initiative in the area. The project will support training, demonstration, and knowledge sharing with the community leaders, organizations and concerned government staff so that they can participate effectively in poverty reduction efforts under the Tonle Sap Initiative. The project relies heavily on community participation and community-driven development.
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8. ADB Publishes Guide to Environmentally Responsible Procurement
ADB has prepared a guide for its staff, consultants, and project executing agencies on how to design and implement an environmentally sound project. It sets forth ADB’s approach to environmentally responsible procurement (ERP), the scope (and integration) of ERP in project operations, and ERP in other lending modalities. The guide can be downloaded from ADB’s website.
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9. CSO Visitor: VSO
This regular feature spotlights one of the many CSOs whose representatives have recently met with ADB staff at the institution's headquarters in the Philippines.
VSO in an international development charity that works through volunteers. Its vision is a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfill their potential. CSO sends women and men from a wide range of professions who want the chance to make a difference in the fight against poverty. These volunteers work in partnership with VSO colleagues and communities to share skills and learning, and achieve positive change together.
Since 1958, VSO has sent more than 30,000 volunteers to work in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Eastern Europe in response to requests from governments and community organizations. VSO currently has around 1,500 people working in placements in these regions. Volunteers tend to be skilled professionals between 30 and 50 years old. Most placements last for two years.
Based in the United Kingdom, VSO welcome volunteers from an ever-increasing range of countries and backgrounds. VSO has national partner agencies in Canada, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Philippines, India, and Ireland. These agencies recruit volunteers from many different countries worldwide. This international approach allows VSO to combine and learn from a rich variety of perspectives.
In all the countries where VSO operates, the organization is represented by a program office. Staff and volunteers in the program offices work together with local partner agencies and the people whose interests VSO aims to serve, to agree on a program of development priorities in the country and region. These priorities are then written up in program area plans, which describe how VSO services will be put into action.
On 22 February, Mark Anthony R. Dasco, Programme Funding and Fundraising Manager, VSO Bahaginan, met with staff of ADB’s NGO and Civil Society Center to explore possible ADB-VSO collaboration. For more information on VSO, see www.vso.org.uk.
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10. Training Courses in 2008
A listing in this section does not imply ADB endorsement or availability of financing for participants.
- Understanding EIA: From Screening to Decision Making, 25-29 February, New Delhi, India. Contact: Sujit Kumar Singh, CSE; e-mail: sujit@cseindia.org; tel: +91 11 29955124/125, extension 281; website: www.cseindia.org/aagc/eia.htm.
- Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit/Nongovernmental Organizations, 10 March – 16 May, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Contact: Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; e-mail: ty_henry@ksg.harvard.edu; tel: +1 617 496 6082; website: www.harvardEE.org/sfno4.
- Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, 7-25 April, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: IIRR; e-mail: Information@iirr.org; tel: +63 46 414 2417; website: www.iirr.org.
- NGO Skills Training Program/Internship in International Development, June-August, Portland, Oregon, United States. Contact: Green Empowerment; e-mail: Jason@greenempowerment.org; tel: +1 503 284 5774; website: www.greenempowerment.org.
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