Water

Results of ADB Water Week 2004
Water for the Poor: Setting the Rules and Finding the Money
ADB Headquarters, Manila, Philippines
26-30 January 2004

ADB / NGO Dialogue

At the 3^rd World Water Forum in Kyoto in March 2003, interest was expressed by ADB and NGOs to develop a structured dialogue on water issues and use the ADB Water Week as a next opportunity to advance the dialogue. NGOs were requested to send recommendations to ADB, however few recommendations were received after the Kyoto meeting, and few NGO leaders were available to attend ADB Water Week on 26-30 January 2004. Within these constraints, a brief dialogue session was organized on the first day of ADB Water Week on 26 January 2004 aiming to reach a further understanding on the structure and substance of the proposed dialogue process.

The session was well attended by about 60 participants, and the participating NGOs raised a range of issues relating to ADB-NGO dialogue at the project, country, and regional level. A number of media and academic and research organizations also joined the meeting. ADB's team was led by Vice-President Geert van der Linden, who emphasized ADB's commitment to developing an effective dialogue process. WaterAid's Director Ravi Narayanan reflected NGO perspectives in his opening remarks.

Geert van der Linden underlined opportunities for ADB-NGO dialogue in three contexts: (i) the review of the water policy; (ii) the translation of policy into country strategies; and (iii) in the design and implementation of projects.

Ravi Narayanan endorsed these opportunities for dialogue. He advocated to lower expectations and aim for incremental improvement in ADB-NGO dialogue and collaboration. He suggested that ADB consider issues of participation, process, and timing for dialogue, and approach NGOs who are active in ADB's developing member countries to join the dialogue. He also suggested that ADB make use of existing NGO networks in a cascading approach for dissemination and consultation. He acknowledged the wide variety of interests and views in the NGO community, and encouraged that NGOs take responsibility by committing themselves to the consultation process.

A number of issues emerged from the dialogue session. First, ADB should further announce and explain its intentions and proposed agenda for the dialogue process. Second, NGOs should consider taking more responsibility to committing themselves to a dialogue process including the organization of preparatory meetings amongst interested NGOs, as needed, to agree on common positions for the dialogue. Third, a joint core group may be helpful in the further development of the dialogue process. And fourth, dialogue protocols can be considered at each level, including (i) who will participate; (ii) the process of interaction; (iii) the timetable for the NGOs to join dialogue; (iv) how to resolve differences; and (v) how NGOs can contribute feedback.

During the Dialogue session, many other valuable comments were made by participants, as shown in the minutes, and these will be taken into account by ADB in preparing further dialogues. While the meeting did not reach a conclusive set of agreements, both sides expressed an interest to continue and improve the dialogue process. A reservation was, however, expressed by the representative of the NGO Forum on ADB, who questioned whether there was an adequate basis to engage in such dialogue with ADB at all.