ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
ORGANIZATION
ACCOUNTABILITY
ADB supports projects in developing member countries that create economic and development impact, delivered through both public and private sector operations, advisory services, and knowledge support.
Safeguard Policy Review
A source for the latest important information on the environmental and social safeguard policy review, development, and consultation process.
Stakeholder Engagement
ADB is committed to ensuring meaningful consultations throughout the policy review process to build on and learn from experiences and inputs from stakeholders across many perspectives and backgrounds. The review will include a series of internal and external stakeholder consultations with member countries, development partners, governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, project affected people, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable groups. Public feedback is welcome, and everyone is encouraged to share their experiences in implementing the current policy and recommend areas for enhancement.
Objectives
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Promote diverse participation and an inclusive process
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Build interest and ownership in safeguards and update process
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Ensure active participation through open, safe, and iterative process
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Communicate process, content, and outcomes with clarity
Stakeholder engagement will be conducted in three phases:
- Phase 1: Launch the policy review; draft and share Stakeholders Engagement Plan, (SEP) preliminary information sessions
- Phase 2: Undertake stakeholder consultations on analytical and benchmarking studies and policy recommendations and their implications on policy revision.
- Phase 3: Disclose draft safeguards policy and the final stage of consultations
Phase 1: Initial Consultations and Stakeholder Outreach
June 2020 - May 2021
ADB conducted preliminary rounds of external outreach to discuss the consultation plan and deepen understanding of the needs of stakeholders. Mapping and analysis of stakeholder groups was carried out.
The draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) was disclosed and online preliminary information sessions (PIS) with civil society organizations (CSOs) and developing member countries (DMCs) were conducted, and dedicated communication channels were launched.
At the end of Phase 1, an updated SEP was published, which considered all feedback received during this period.
Completed Meetings
| Date | Meeting | Meeting Documents | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 May 2021 | Preliminary Information Session for Government stakeholders from DMCs of East & Southeast Asia and Pacific | ||
| 18 May 2021 | Preliminary Information Session for Government stakeholders from DMCs of Central and West Asia, and South Asia |
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| 13 April 2021 | Preliminary Information Sessions for civil society organizations North America and Europe | ||
| 12 April 2021 | Preliminary Information Sessions for civil society organizations in Asia and the Pacific |
Phase 2: Consultations on Studies, Experiences and Policy Directions
June 2021 – March 2023
Under Phase 2, 18 analytical studies and benchmarking studies with selected multilateral development banks were prepared on key topics like safeguard policy architecture, safeguard classification, use of country safeguard systems and cross cutting thematic issues The draft studies were shared on the website, and the key findings and recommendations were presented and discussed during consultations to seek feedback from stakeholders.
The consultations involved 145 consultation events, 10 in country consultations in developing member countries and project affected people’s consultations in 9 ADB supported projects The consultations engaged over 3,600 stakeholders from 56 member countries.
Regional consultations were organized along key thematic areas, as follows:
| Topic | Date | Resources | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Safeguards in Different Financing Modalities | 20 – 24 February 2023 (Completed) | |
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Safeguards in Private Sector Operations | 12 – 13 December 2022 (Completed) | |
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Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) | 6 – 7 June 2022 (Completed) | |
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Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) | 30 – 31 May 2022 (Completed) | |
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Gender and Safeguards | 24, 26 – 27 May 2022 (Completed) | |
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Climate Change | 17, 19 – 20 May 2022 (Completed) | |
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Country Safeguard Systems | 4 – 6 April 2022 (Completed) | |
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Safeguards in Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations and Small Island Developing States (FCAS/SIDS) | 29, 31 March 2022 (Completed) | |
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Environmental and Social Impacts and Risk Assessment | 21 – 23 March 2022 (Completed) | |
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Lessons from Accountability Mechanisms | 24 – 25, 28 February & 1 March 2022 (Completed) | |
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Stakeholder Engagement, Information Disclosure and Grievance Redress Mechanisms | 14, 17 – 19 January 2022 (Completed) | |
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Cultural Heritage | 10 – 11 January 2022 (Completed) | |
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Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management | 13 – 15 December 2021 (Completed) | |
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Land Acquisition, Land Use Restriction, and Involuntary Resettlement | 6 – 8 December 2021 (Completed) | |
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Community and Occupational Health and Safety | 2 – 3 December 2021 (Completed) | |
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Labor and Working Conditions | 29 November – 1 December 2021 (Completed) | |
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Resource Efficiency & Pollution Prevention | 25 – 26 November, 1 December 2021 (Completed) | |
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Indigenous Peoples | 22 – 24 November 2021 (Completed) | |
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Policy Architecture | 15 – 17 November 2021 (Completed) |
In-country consultations in 10 DMCs across the region discussed the recommended policy directions of the revised safeguard policy based on recommendations from analytical studies and feedback from stakeholders during regional consultations.
The consultations were conducted either in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format to ensure maximum participation from stakeholders while still managing risks and exposure to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Consultation Schedule
| Region | DMC | Consultation Date | Resources |
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| Central and West Asia |
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| East Asia |
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| South Asia |
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| Southeast Asia |
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| The Pacific |
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The consultations undertaken in 9 ADB supported projects were designed to understand the project affected peoples' experiences with safeguard implementation by identifying the challenges, good practices, and recommendations on how to strengthen safeguards The consultations paid attention to what worked and what could be improved in the policy requirements and implementation practices.
Consultation Schedule: Sovereign Projects
| Region | Project | Consultation Date |
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| Central and West Asia |
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| East Asia |
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| South Asia |
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| Southeast Asia |
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| The Pacific |
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Consultation Schedule: Nonsovereign Projects
| Region | Project | Consultation Date |
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| Central and West Asia |
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| Southeast Asia |
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Phase 3: Revision and Finalization of the Policy
December 2022 - March 2024
Feedback from stakeholders in Phase was consolidated, organized, and analyzed to ensure consideration of both recurrent themes and specific policy revisions.
The draft Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) was disclosed for public comments on 7 September 2023.
A new round of consultations and solicitation of public comments are being conducted to (i) widely disseminate the draft ESF to ADB’s stakeholders, (ii) solicit comments on the draft ESF, and (iii) create a space for dialogue and participation of stakeholders so that the policy revision and its future implementation can gain from varying views of its stakeholders.
Information sessions on consultation approach for the draft ESF (17-18 October 2023): discussed consultation plan documents, timeline, and how to provide feedback.
Regional consultations: face to face consultations with DMC government representatives and online consultation with CSOs.
| Regional Consultations | Date and Location | Participating Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Government Stakeholders from East and Southeast Asia | 22-23 January 2024 Manila, Philippines |
Cambodia, Indonesia, People’s Democratic Republic of Lao, Mongolia, Philippines, People’s Republic of China, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam |
| Government Stakeholders from South Asia | February 2024 (TBC) New Delhi, India |
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka |
| Government Stakeholders from Pacific | March 2024 (TBC) Nadi, Fiji |
Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu |
| Government Stakeholders from Central West Asia | April 2024 (TBC) Location to be confirmed |
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
CSO-focused regional consultations: The design is being developed in consultation with CSOs. These sessions are targeted to be organized in January to March 2024.
In-country consultations. These will be organized in selected 6-8 DMCs across the region to allow for more in-depth discussions of country level issues including challenges in the implementation of the ESF.
| DMC | Consultation Date |
|---|---|
| People’s Republic of China | 2-3 November 2023 |
| Pakistan | 4-5 December 2023 |
| Indonesia | 11-12 December 2023 |
| Philippines | 24-25 January 2024 |
| India | February 2024 (TBC) |
| Fiji | March 2024 (TBC) |
| Cambodia | March 2024 (TBC) |
Related
Where does your feedback go?
All comments and recommendations were summarized in Phase 2 stakeholder feedback report and are being considered into drafting and revising of the new safeguard policy.