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:
- In the first phase, ADB launched the review, and shared the initial Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP) which outlined the consultation and communication approaches. After the initial round of consultations and outreach, the SEP was updated to reflect stakeholder insights and issues.
- During the second phase, ADB will conduct a series of stakeholder consultations based on key analytical studies, and their implications on policy revision.
- The final stage of consultations will seek to solicit comments on the working paper for revision and finalization of the safeguard policy.
Phase 1: Initial Consultations and Stakeholder Outreach
June 2020 - May 2021
Under Phase 1, ADB conducted preliminary rounds of external outreach to discuss the consultation plan, and help deepen understanding of the needs of stakeholders. ADB established the SPS review approach, and drafted and shared the initial Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) with external stakeholders.
During this period, the mapping and analysis of stakeholder groups, and online preliminary information sessions (PIS) with civil society organizations 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.
Further information on the meetings, dates, and processes for Phases 2 and 3 will be posted as schedules are finalized.
Completed Meetings
| Date | Meeting | Meeting Documents | Resources |
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| 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
Phase 2 will draw on the findings of different analytical studies on key topics like safeguard policy architecture, safeguard classification, use of country safeguard systems and cross-cutting thematic issues. Study reports will be shared on the webpage and key findings will be presented during consultations to seek feedback from stakeholders. Consultations will be organized with stakeholders enabling them to make contributions based on their primary expertise.
Regional consultations are 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 stakeholder consultations will inform and discuss with stakeholders the recommended policy directions of the revised safeguard policy. It will focus on a set of proposed Environmental and Social Policy Standards based on recommendations from analytical studies and feedback from stakeholders during regional consultations.
The consultations began in August 2022 and will run until the first quarter of 2023.
The consultations are conducted either in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid format to ensure maximum participation from stakeholders while still managing risks and exposure.
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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Consultations with project affected people (PAPs) will provide deeper understanding of the views and experiences of individuals and communities who received direct or indirect impacts from completed or ongoing ADB projects.
PAPs consultations will pay attention to what worked and what needs to be improved based on stakeholder experiences in the implementation of the 2009 Safeguard Policy Statement.
The results of PAPs consultations—summary reports, substantive feedback and policy takeaways—will complement the analytical studies, regional and in-country consultations to strengthen ADB's revised safeguard policy.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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
Under Phase 3, recommendations from Phase 2 will be consolidated, organized, and analyzed to ensure consideration of both recurrent themes and specific policy revisions. Once recommendations have been identified and refined, a draft of the Working Paper for the Revised Safeguard Policy (W-Paper) will be developed and broadly shared with internal and external stakeholders for further comments.
Phase 3 stakeholder engagement will involve the following:
| Milestone | Timeline |
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| Expected Disclosure of the Draft Environmental and Social Framework on ADB website | By end of April 2023 (to be confirmed) |
| Disclosure of the Draft Policy Paper (W-Paper with the Environmental and Social Framework) on ADB website for 60 days | July 2023 |
| Public comment on the Draft Policy Paper (W-Paper with Environment and Social Framework) | July-November 2023 (to be confirmed) |
| Disclosure of the Final Policy Paper | March 2024 |
Feedback received will be considered in a final Policy Paper (R-Paper), which will be drafted and submitted to the ADB Board for consideration. The R-Paper will be disclosed publicly on the SPS review and update webpage, upon circulation to the ADB Board, and following ADB’s Access to Information Policy (2018).
Message from the Managing Director General
Managing Director General Woochong Um encourages stakeholders, including civil society, to take part in the consultation opportunities during the review of ADB's environmental and social safeguard policy.