Civil Society Having its Say in Update of ADB's Safeguards Policy

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Representatives of civil society organizations, including local and international nongovernment organizations, have submitted their comments and suggestions for ADB's safeguard policy update.

The comments were sent through email and formal letters in response to an invitation for comments on a discussion note posted on ADB's web site in October 2005. The comments suggest ways to undertake the consultation process and highlight the importance of international best practice and accountability in safeguard implementation. The comments will be taken into account during the policy update which extends till November 2007 when a safeguard policy statement will be submitted for consideration of ADB’s Board.

“We are grateful for the keen interest shown by many stakeholders at this early stage,” says Nessim Ahmad, Director of ADB's Environment and Social Safeguard Division. “We look forward to close consultation with all interested parties as we go forward with this important policy update.”

ADB’s environmental and social safeguard policies seek to avoid, minimize, and mitigate negative environmental impacts, social costs to third parties, and marginalization of vulnerable groups. The safeguard polices include the Environment Policy, the Indigenous Peoples Policy, and Involuntary Resettlement Policy. These policies are a cornerstone of ADB’s support to sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Over the last decade or so, the Asia and the Pacific region has been dramatically transformed. Many developing countries in the region have become active players in the globalized economy, and have developed varying policies, frameworks and capacities for safeguard implementation. At the same time, ADB has diversified its lending products beyond the primarily project-based approaches for which the safeguards were originally adopted. There is also a growing consensus on the need for harmonization across multilateral development banks, strengthened country capacities and improved development impact.

Against this backdrop, the policy update is being undertaken to strengthen the effectiveness of the safeguard policies and ensure that they remain relevant to changing client needs and to new lending products. The update will seek to:

• more clearly articulate safeguard requirements, including better integration of these policies to improve coherence and consistency
• identify mechanisms to balance a front-loaded procedural approach with one focused more on achieving results during implementation
• devise ways to enhance the flexibility in application of the policies to better match lending modalities and frameworks/capacities in DMCs
• identify internal process and resource allocation improvements.

“The safeguard policy update will not compromise on the objectives of ADB’s safeguard policies, rather it will strengthen the delivery of safeguard results on the ground”, affirms Bindu Lohani, ADB’s Chief Compliance Officer and Director General for ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department.

Consistent with the NGO suggestions received, ADB's Operations Evaluation Department (OED), which reports directly to the Board of Directors, is undertaking an independent evaluation of ADB’s safeguard policies as an input to the policy update.

A series of structured regional and country consultations are planned in fourth quarter 2006 and will involve a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, civil society representatives, NGOs, development partners, and private sector institutions across the region.

For further details please see http://www.adb.org/Safeguards/policy.asp.

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