MANILA: The Asian Development
Bank’s reputation will be put to a test as it begins with its
multi-stakeholder consultation on its Safeguard policies (Safeguards) at its
headquarters in Manila. Civil society has expressed its strong dissent over the
Bank’s second draft of the Safeguard Policy Statement, calling it as a
dilution of the existing Safeguards.
The Safeguards, which is the
Bank’s set of policies on environment, indigenous peoples and involuntary
resettlement, have been up for review since 2005. However, due to continuous
protest from civil society organizations across the world, the process has
dragged for more than three years.
"The second draft of the SPS is a
complete manifestation of the Bank’s intention to weaken its Safeguard
Policies, contrary to ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda’s pronouncements,
assuring civil society that the review will not result in the dilution of the
Safeguards," NGO Forum on ADB said in a statement. It said that Bank’s
move of coming up with its second SPS draft is dangerous since it will be
devolving its authority over its projects to its borrowing governments/clients
or the private sector.
With the 2nd SPS draft, the ADB is clearly
devolving its authority over its funded projects to borrowing governments and
private sector, as a result, passing on the accountability issues to them. "In
the midst of the financial crisis, the ADB is proposing significant
deregulation, significant decrease in transparency and reduced diligence for
highly risky alternative investments including the controversial off-shore
private equity funds,” Forum further said.
Stephanie Fried of
Environmental Defense said, "while the financial institutions all over the world
are improving their policies to increase transparency and safeguards measures,
the ADB is doing otherwise.”
The 2nd SPS draft includes the
replacement of clear terms for implementation and processing requirements with
vaguely worded. It also lacks integration of safeguard principles with
implementation measures and requirements from borrowers and clients. The Bank
even resorted in using less binding words in the draft like changing "must" to
"may" – a clear manifestation of providing its clients with an alternative
of not complying with its set safeguards standards.
The 2nd SPS draft
has also significantly reduced the period for the public to post their objection
and comments on private-sector-implemented projects financed by the ADB from 120
days to 60 days.
The Safeguards weakening will only create more
poverty, contrary to ADB’s pronouncement earlier this year that Asia will
be free from poverty by 2020. It added, that the 2nd draft “also implies
that President Kuroda has been unable to convince the ADB bureaucracy to uphold
and support his vision of the ADB – as elaborated in countless speeches
and in Strategy 2020 – as the leading regional development organization on
climate change and poverty alleviation.