E
East Timor (See Special Liaison Office in East Timor) East-West Economic Corridor To maximize the benefits of improved transport linkages, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries adopted a holistic development approach—an economic corridor that is a well-defined area where infrastructure improvements are linked with production, trade, and other development opportunities to promote economic cooperation and development among contiguous regions or countries. As their pilot project, the GMS countries selected the East-West Economic Corridor—a road link of some 1,500 kilometers from Mawlamyine in Myanmar to Da Nang in Viet Nam. In between, the road goes through Mae Sot, Tak, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Kalasin, Kuchinarai, and Mukdahan in Thailand; Savannakhet in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; and Quant Tri and Thua Thien Hue in Viet Nam. By 2004, it will be possible to traverse 90 percent of the corridor along a modern, all-weather highway.
(See also Greater Mekong Subregion) Economic Research ADB engages in and facilitates research, training, and exchanging and disseminating information through publications, conferences, workshops, and symposia. While research is primarily done in the Economics and Development Resource Center (EDRC), the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADB Institute) also has a research component that focuses primarily on new development paradigms, such as issues critical to long-term, broad-based, and sustainable development.
The main role of EDRC is to undertake and promote research on key development issues and strengthen analytical awareness on matters of economic relevance to ADB operations. This primarily translates into the following activities:
- undertaking research and analysis on emerging development policy issues and disseminating the findings for the use of ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs);
- providing operational support by undertaking methodology research in economic and financial analysis;
- reviewing the quality of project evaluation and sector work;
- apprising the Board, Management, and ADB staff on economic events, studies, and development policy debates relevant to ADB’s strategic objectives and operations;
- collecting, compiling, and disseminating statistical data to provide support services to other ADB departments and offices, and undertaking methodology research for improving statistical quality in DMCs;
- formulating and providing technical assistance to DMCs for improving their statistical systems and services; and
- providing resource center activities through wide-ranging capacity building activities and networking with development institutions for research and knowledge dissemination.
Economics and Development Resource Center (See
Departments and Offices.)
EDRC (See
Economics and Development Resource Center.)
Education (See
Social Infrastructure.)
Energy 2000: Review of Energy Policy and Realignment of Operational Priorities Currently, about 1.6 billion people have no access to reliable modern forms of energy such as electricity, gas, and liquid fuels. Many of these people live in the developing member countries (DMCs) of ADB and for the greater part, are poor. To alleviate this situation, energy supplies need to be expanded to progressively reach out to all those who do not have access to modern forms of energy. The poor, in particular, need to be provided with a minimum amount of energy at affordable price. To be able to do so, energy needs to be produced and supplied at least cost. Cleaner production processes for energy need to be adopted to minimize environmental degradation, something that often affects the poor the most. ADB's goal in the energy sector will, therefore, be to increase the availability of energy in a least-cost and environment-friendly manner and to improve access to energy for people in its DMCs, particularly the poor.
The 1995 Energy Policy focused on enabling private investments in the energy sector, demand side management, integrated resource planning, energy efficiency, and the local and national level environmental considerations relating to the sector. During 1995–1999, ADB approved 40 loans totaling US$4.83 billion in the energy sector. This represented a share of 11.0 percent in the total number of ADB loans during that period and 15.5 percent of total ADB lending. The total number of technical assistance (TA) projects approved during 1995–1999 in the energy sector was 141 (or 9. 8 percent of TA operations covering all sectors) with a total value of $74.1 million (or 9.4 percent of the total for ADB). While the two energy divisions focused on creating conditions in the DMC energy sector conducive to private investment, the Private Sector Group provided direct assistance to four energy sector projects developed by the private sector in PRC, India, Nepal, and Pakistan with ADB assistance totaling US$164 million and complementary loans totaling US$315 million.
According to Energy 2000, a review of ADB's energy policy, although most of the policy directions contained in the 1995 Energy Policy continue to remain relevant and valid, the new developments and the changed circumstances in the region require a realignment toward the following four operational priorities:
poverty reduction by creating energy infrastructure for sustainable economic growth, increasing access to energy for the poor, particularly in rural areas, and making sure that the poor account for a major portion of beneficiaries in ADB projects; promoting private sector involvement, by restructuring the energy sector and creating enabling environment for private investors; addressing regional and global environmental impacts, by supporting measures to address acid rain problems, use of clean energy and Kyoto Protocol mechanisms for greenhouse gas abatement, and by financing renewable energy projects; and promoting regional cooperation, by helping DMCs identify implement export-oriented hydropower and natural gas-based generation and transmission projects.
In the power subsector, the past decade has brought about a worldwide paradigm change. Many countries, both developed and developing, are now unbundling the power subsector and moving to competitive electricity markets to maximize the economic efficiency. ADB will support restructuring and the creation of enabling environment for the transfer of commercial activities to the private sector. During the period of transition from public to private management and ownership, ADB will assist further growth of the power subsector, including addition of generation capacity, strengthening of the transmission network (particularly to facilitate competition when needed) and increasing access to electricity.
ADB will actively promote the development of renewable energy resources in DMCs as it meets the objectives of environmental improvement, increasing access to energy (in off-grid applications), and poverty reduction. ADB will support implementation of measures for the rapid uptake of cost-effective renewable energy technologies. ADB will assist its DMCs in formulating viable renewable energy projects for providing electricity in remote areas and improving the quality of life of the rural poor. ADB will also assist in implementing such projects, preferably with private sector involvement to ensure their sustainable long-term operation. ADB will exploit the potential for leveraging resources from GHG abatement mechanisms. Environment Sound environmental management is vital to sustainable development and ADB's objective of reducing poverty. Development will be short-lived if it is not based on sustainable use of the natural environment and its resources. In recognition of the importance of the environmental dimension in socioeconomic development, ADB
Sound environmental management is vital to sustainable development and ADB's objective of reducing poverty. Development will be short-lived if it is not based on sustainable use of the natural environment and its resources. In recognition of the importance of the environmental dimension in socioeconomic development, ADB reviews the environmental impact of its projects, programs, and policies; encourages developing member country (DMC) governments and executing agencies to incorporate environmental protection measures in their policies, plans, programs and projects and implementation procedures, and provides technical assistance for this purpose; promotes projects and programs that will protect, rehabilitate, and enhance the environment and quality of life; and trains ADB and DMC staff in, and provides documentation on, environmental aspects of economic development.
Lending While more ADB projects are aimed specifically at enhancing the environment and addressing environmental problems, many more are designed to accelerate economic development in an environmentally responsible way. Projects in agriculture, industry, energy, and infrastructure, and those designed to reduce poverty, are increasingly planned and executed with environmental considerations foremost. Compliance with environment-related ADB policies is incorporated in the design and implementation of projects for ADB funding. To date, the proportion of projects with components designed to improve the environment in total ADB lending to its DMCs has been gradually increasing and now averages US$800 million a year—an average of 13 percent of total annual public sector lending volume.
Using a more streamlined approach to access Global Environment Facility (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 new approach enables ADB to deliver new and greener products to its clients on more attractive lending terms.
Technical Assistance Environmental considerations are important aspects in project planning and design. Increasing assistance is being given to ADB’s DMCs to strengthen their environmental and natural resource planning and management capabilities, and their ability to promote environmentally sound programs and projects. ADB has an impressive record in environment capacity building in the region. To date, it has extended nearly 340 such technical assistance projects amounting to US$242 million in most of its 37 DMCs. In promoting environmental capacity building, two subject areas—environmental management and institutional strengthening—continued to receive priority assistance. Other capacity building technical assistance focused on human resource development, legislation, planning, and policy formulation/reform.
(See also Office of Environment and Social Development)
Environmental Assessment To ensure "no significant harm" to the environment, ADB adopted the environmental assessment (EA) process, which is key in mainstreaming the environment into ADB project leading operations. The EA evaluates a project's potential environmental risks and impacts in its area of influence, examines project alternatives, and identifies ways of improving project selection, siting, planning, design, and implementation. To mainstream the environment review system and to optimize the use of staff resources, projects are categorized into A, B, and C with category A and selected category B projects classified as environmentally sensitive projects. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a summary EIA are required for category A projects, while an initial environmental examination (IEE) and a summary IEE are required for environmentally sensitive category B projects. In addition to encouraging stakeholder participation throughout the project cycle, the summary EA reports are circulated to interested parties 120 days before the ADB Board considers the project.
To manage the environmental inputs to a project or program, ADB developed an environmental review system that covers all stages of the project cycle from the preparation of the country operation strategy, to project identification, appraisal, implementation, completion, and post-evaluation. Inputs of environment specialists to programs and projects throughout the project cycle are monitored using the Environment and Social Monitoring Information System.
EPZ export processing zone Equity Investments ADB invests in the equity capital of private enterprises, including investment funds. ADB’s equity investment operations complement domestic resources and encourage other external resources to finance the private- sector in ADB’s developing member countries (DMCs). Equity investments can help speed up the development of domestic capital markets in DMCs.
ADB’s equity operations may take the form of investment in the equity of productive enterprises for financing specific projects, finance, other similar institutions, and investment funds. ADB normally reserves the right to appoint a nominee to the board of directors of the investee company.
(See also Financial Management; Private Sector Policy; and Private Sector Support) ERO (See
European Representative Office.)
ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ETM East Timor European Representative Office (See
Departments and Offices.)
Evaluation (See Operations Evaluation Department; Feedback; Operations Evaluation; and Project Selection Criteria) Exchange Risk Management ADB loans and investments are made in the same currencies in which they are borrowed or received. Occasionally, borrowed funds are swapped into other currencies and, at the same time, forward exchange agreements are entered into to recover the currencies converted. ADB does not otherwise convert one currency into another, except for limited amounts to meet certain obligations in the ordinary course of its business. ADB does not maintain a currency position whereby it could realize an exchange gain or loss in its operations.
(See also Lending) Export Credit Export credit cofinancing for both public and private sector projects is an important element of ADB's commercial cofinancing operations. Export credit is provided by export credit agencies either through their guarantee to commercial lenders or direct credit to borrowers. Such credit typically takes the form of either buyer's credit or supplier's credit. Direct export credit usually comes in the form of a buyer credit, whereby credit is provided directly to the importer or buyer to allow it to fund the purchase of exported goods or services primarily from the country in which the ECA is located. Export credit can also be extended through a supplier credit, whereby a supplier makes a sale based on deferred payment terms, with export credit insurance protecting the supplier (or its commercial bank) against the buyer's failing to meet its obligation to make payment when it becomes due. Export credit is usually provided in medium-term finance as a supplement to resources of the private sector, and generally for export promotion for capital equipment in large-scale projects.
(See also Office of Cofinancing Operations) Extended Mission in Gujarat, India (See
Departments and Offices.)
Extended Mission in Papua New Guinea (See
Departments and Offices.)
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