What's New
Updated: 17 June 2008
Country Studies on Access to Land
The Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), together with LAND WATCH ASIA (LWA), organized a seminar on land reform at ADB headquarters on 11 June 2008. Participating NGO representatives presented six country studies, as well as a review of ADB’s initiatives on access to land. The country studies covered Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines. ANGOC is a regional NGO association of 21 national and regional NGO networks actively engaged in food security, agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture and rural development. LWA is a network of organizations that provides a mechanism for CSOs working towards better land rights for the rural poor in Asia. The meeting provided an opportunity for knowledge-sharing and awareness-raising on land issues in Southeast Asia and South Asia. About 40 NGO representatives and ADB staff participated in the seminar.
13th Poverty and Environment Partnership Meeting
ADB hosted the 13th Poverty and Environment Partnership (PEP) Meeting, 9-11 June 2008, in Manila. Sessions for the first day focused on the theme of "Poverty and Environment Linkages: Sharing Experience from the Field." The topic for the second day was: "Poverty, Climate Change, Environmental Finance, and Emerging Issues." Third third and final day was reserved for general PEP business and other meetings. The PEP is an informal network of practitioners from development agencies, international environmental NGOs, and others working on poverty reduction and the environment. PEP shares knowledge and operational experience in addressing poverty and the environment, and seeks to improve coordination and collaboration among partners.
Increasing Livelihood Opportunities in Nepal
Housewives like Leela Adhikari, in the district of Jhapa in eastern Nepal, are now able to contribute to household expenditures when they enrolled themselves to learn to weave the traditional Dhaka Nepali cloth. The training program provided by Sahara Nepal, a local NGO, enabled the women to sell table napkins and support their husbands. All this was made possible for Adhikari and others in the community, by ADB technical assistance (TA) for a pilot project to enhance the poverty reduction impact of road projects. The TA, financed by the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund, complements the ADB-funded Road Network Development Project that is upgrading Nepal’s strategic roads in 16 districts. Read more.
Panel discussion on civil society role in promoting clean energy
ADB organized a panel discussion on the critical role of civil society organizations in the design, implementation, and monitoring of clean energy policies and programs. The discussion was part of the Asia Clean Energy Forum, Policy and Finance Solutions for Energy Security and Climate Change held at ADB, 26-28 June 2007. The Forum promoted greater use of clean energy in Asia and the Pacific by providing an opportunity for project developers, the financial community, and policy makers to share knowledge and exchange best practices on clean energy policy, finance, and the scaling up of clean energy technology.
Panelists included the following civil society representatives:
- Jasper Inventor, Climate and Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace Philippines,
- Nyoman Iswarayoga, Program Manager, Yayasan Pelangi Indonesia,
- Smita Nakhooda, Associate, Institutions and Governance Program, World
Resources Institute,
- Nitin Pandit, President, International Institute for Energy Conservation.
ADB supports rural "left-behind" children in PRC
Widespread rural out-migration for employment in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), combined with restrictions on household relocation, has caused a phenomenon of "left-behind" children (LBC) of a scale and scope that is globally unprecedented: 22.9 million PRC children are estimated to be left behind by one or more parents migrating for external employment (often in distant urban areas). In many poorer rural localities, LBC account for on the order of half of all school-age children. Despite increasing recognition of the social implications, few solutions have been put forth to date.
ADB has provided modest support to the Qingshen County Women’s Federation (QCWF, a local NGO) in an innovative pilot test on education and care for children in Qingshen who are left-behind by migrant parents. ADB’s support comes through its partnership with the World Bank, State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development, Ministry of Civil Affairs, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and other partners in the PRC’s first-ever China Development Marketplace. QCWF was competitively selected for the "ADB Award" in February 2006. While ADB’s financial support has been modest (CNY250,000, excluding donation of some education materials, etc.), this links to broader ADB work in the PRC on building viable mechanisms for NGO-government partnerships. Read more.
Funding Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Fight Against Corruption – Winning Proposals
ADB, working with the Partnership for Transparency Fund, launched a technical assistance grant of US$150,000 to strengthen the role of civil society in the fight against corruption in the Pakistan, Philippines, and Mongolia. The call for proposals resulted in the submission of 15 project proposals from CSOs from the countries concerned. There were 3 proposals submitted from Pakistan, 7 from the Philippines and 5 from Mongolia.
Criteria applied for the selection of CSOs included:
- The CSO should be legally constituted and registered in the country, as required by local laws
- Presence of CSO by-laws that give it legal capacity to accept the funding to be provided under the proposed project
- Financial account maintained by the CSO that are audited annually by independent public auditors
- A demonstrated institutional capacity by the CSO to implement the initiative
- Viability of the initiative in terms of clear-cut achievable outcomes on a limited amount of time
- The proposed initiative should be able to help strengthen the voice and role of the civil society as a leader in the fight against corruption and for greater transparency in government operations, and
- The CSO should have adequate resources to bear its share of the costs, if any, associated with the initiative.
In addition, three other factors that had a bearing on the final selection of proposals were:
- the total availability of funds for the purpose
- a priority to selecting at least one proposal from each of the three participating countries, and
- types of activities allowed as per the project guidelines.
The grants have been awarded to 5 CSOs: 2 from the Philippines, 2 from Mongolia, and 1 from Pakistan. Read details of the selected proposals.
Il Sakong speaks on the economic development of the Republic of Korea
Il Sakong, Chairman and CEO of the Institute for Global Economics* based in the Republic of Korea, spoke on the country's "economic development and its major policy implications to others", during a forum with ADB staff on 17 November 2006. Global Economics is a private non-profit research institute based in Seoul and a key player in propelling economic growth in the country. View Mr. Sakong's presentation.
Senator Mechai Viravaidya speaks on the "privatization of poverty alleviation”
Noted social activist and Magsaysay Award winner, Senator Mechai Viravaidya, shared his experience and insights during a dialogue with ADB staff on 27 September. Mr. Mechai presented his views on the “privatization of poverty alleviation”, which involves business sector participation in poverty reduction initiatives. He believes that the best way to get people out of poverty is to take them to the marketplace by harnessing their business skills and offering them financial opportunities. In this respect, the poor’s business skills can be improved with help and support from the business/private sector. Mr. Mechai chairs the Population and Community Development Association of Thailand, a leading NGO in the country. View Mr. Mechai's presentation .
Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Arvind Kejriwal speaks on public accountability
Head of the Delhi-based Parivartan citizen's movement, Arvind Kejriwal has been named the winner of the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for emergent leadership for empowering New Delhi's poorest citizens to fight corruption . Mr. Kejriwal shared lessons learned when he spoke before ADB staff on 29 August, citing his experiences in fighting corruption by "holding government accountable to the people." In 2000, Mr. Kejriwal founded the NGO, Parivartan, meaning "change". The organization campaigned to make the tax department more transparent and less capricious leading to the department’s implementation of a five-point transparency plan. Through their campaigns at the electricity department, Parivartan also helped settle 2,500 grievances on behalf of individuals.
Public Consultation on the draft Partnership Framework between the Royal Government of Thailand and ADB 2007 - 2011
A public consultation was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 July between ADB, government counterparts and representatives from the
the private sector, academia, civil society and NGOs, to discuss the draft partnership framework between the Royal Government of Thailand and ADB. The consultations provided a forum for the ADB to share information, discuss and receive inputs on the draft framework. On 18 July, a staff member of the NGO and Civil Society Center consulted with with a wide range of Thai CSOs at the Thailand Resident Mission. The dialogue generated feedback and recommendations on how to better institutionalize the process for ADB-Government-CSO collaboration in the country.
Grant Projects to Fight HIV/AIDS in Asia
ADB launched a package of 11 grant projects totaling US$8.17 million to step up the fight against HIV/AIDS in Asia through a special grant fund established last year by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The projects will expand upon ADB's existing work on HIV/AIDS to develop stronger responses to the epidemic at the country and regional levels. In addition to the SIDA fund, donors replenishing ADB's concessional Asian Development Fund in 2004 earmarked 2% of ADF resources (about $140 million) for grant assistance targeting HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in eligible countries.
Strengthening Participation for Development Results: A Staff Guide to Consultation and Participation
This Guide has been developed in response to requests from ADB Management and Board Members to provide updated guidance on what constitutes “adequate consultation,” and how staff should use consultative and participatory techniques in ADB-assisted activities. It also responds to the recommendation of ADB’s Operations Evaluation Department to develop operational guidelines for participatory development.
Water for All: Independent panel's report - launched
The report of the independent panel chaired by Erna Witoelar was publicly launched at ADB's 39th Annual Meeting in Hyderabad, India on 4 May 2006. This marks the end of an unprecedented year-long process to review the implementation of the Water for All policy. The review was undertaken in a participatory, consultative, and transparent manner that included five in-country consultations and one regional consultation with civil society and the private sector. Civil society contributed as well to a survey and specific case studies involving ADB operations. Led by an independent panel of experts, the review recommends that ADB increase its investments and capacity in the sector, and catalyze broader inclusion of civil society in the decision-making processes governing the water sector.
Why NGOs play a key role in the fight against HIV/AIDS
Thirteen NGOs in ADB's 12 developing member countries received grants through the Cooperation Fund for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and Pacific, financed by the Government of Sweden. The NGOs began work in the first quarter of 2007, and continue to introduce modalities on reaching out to vulnerable groups or high-risk groups like sex workers and drug addicts. Support activities are also offered to people living with AIDS. Read more .
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