Water

Proposed Revision in ADB's Water Policy
Regarding Large Water Resources Projects
Comments from Clients and Stakeholders

Dear President Chino,

We, representatives of 34 NGOs from 18 countries, are writing to express our concern with the proposed revision to ADB’s Water Policy regarding Large Water Resources Projects and to encourage you to push for modifications to the text that would bring the policy in line with World Commission on Dams (WCD) recommendations. The proposed new text significantly waters down the spirit and intention of the original policy prescription and undermines the ADB’s commitment to the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams (WCD). The revision would contradict the international trend towards recognition of a rights-based approach to development, and the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

In a letter from Mr. A. Seki, former Director General of the Bank’s Regional and Sustainable Development, to IRN dated 9 July 2002, Mr. Seki stated the following:

“We are still benefiting from the recommendations of the WCD when developing or revising our relevant policies and practices. An earlier example was the Water Policy… Please note that actions to implement the Water Policy are being taken, supported by the Water Fund. ADB will consider the specific concerns of IRN in the implementation of the Water Policy with regard to specific projects. When the Water Policy implementation is reviewed in 2005, ADB will consider the generic concerns of IRN in any update.”

Given the Bank’s commitment to consider the WCD recommendations in any update to the Water Policy, we were surprised and disappointed to see a proposed change to the Water Policy that actually weakens the policy’s stipulations in relation to gaining public acceptance and brings it substantially out of line with WCD recommendations. In addition, we were surprised to see that the interim review of ADB’s Water Policy Implementation fails to mention the WCD even once.

Therefore, we would like to recommend, in line with ADB’s previous commitments to incorporate WCD recommendations into its safeguard policies[1], that the proposed paragraph be modified as follows to bring it in compliance with World Commission on Dams guidelines. In addition, we expect that the 2005 revision of the Bank’s Water Policy will look at ways of incorporating other WCD strategic priorities into the Water Policy, as promised by Mr. Seki. We suggest the following language modification to the disputed paragraph:

“ADB will adopt a cautious approach to large water resources projects – particularly those involving dams and storage – given the record of environmental and social hazards associated with such projects. All such projects will need to be justified in the public interest, and decision-making process and mechanisms should be used that enable informed participation by all groups of people, and result in the demonstrable public acceptance of key decisions. Where projects affect indigenous and tribal peoples, such processes are guided by their free, prior and informed consent.”

This proposed language comes directly from the WCD’s Strategic Priority 1 on Gaining Public Acceptance. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition by the international community that free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and other forms of public acceptance are important principles of development policy[2]. Evidence demonstrates that only such a rights-based approach will allow affected communities to negotiate satisfactory outcomes of development projects.

For your reference, we enclose Mr. Seki’s letter to International Rivers Network of 9 July 2002, as well as IRN’s original letter to President Chino analyzing the ADB’s response to the WCD and suggesting changes to ADB policies to bring them in line with WCD recommendations.

We hope you will push for this proposed revision when the policy comes to the Board in July, and we hope you will ensure that the 2005 Water Policy revision will look at ways of further incorporating WCD guidelines into the policy.