Archived press release

Wake Up Call on World Bank's 60th Anniversary

22 July 2004

Environment and development campaigners will call on the Department for International Development (DFID) to wake-up to its responsibilities for the World Bank, which is celebrating its 60^th anniversary today (Thurs, 22^nd July). DFID represents the UK as a major shareholder on the board of the World Bank, but is failing to ensure the Bank delivers sustainable development rather than environmental degradation and poverty.

With the help of free coffee and a giant alarm clock, campaigners from Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, People & Planet, Indigenous Peoples Links, Rising Tide, Platform Research and Forest Peoples Programme will ask DFID to wake up to the impacts of World Bank investments which they say fall short of the World Bank's mandate of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

The campaigners are calling on DFID to ensure the World Bank implements the findings of its Extractive Industries Review [1] which recommends a radical shake up of World Bank investments in oil, mining and gas. They will be joining groups from around the world marking the 60th Anniversary of the World Bank. The international day of action is a protest regarding the 60 years of the Bank's failed policies, misguided loans, unpayable debt, and investment in dubious development projects [2].

The final decision on the implementation of the Extractive Industries Review rests with the Bank's board, which includes Britain, but indications from the management suggest they do not want to see the review implemented, and will continue to invest billions of pounds in subsidising the oil, gas and mining industries. The World Bank is accountable to its shareholders and the UK, which has a significant share of influence, is represented on the Bank board by DFID (Department for International Development).

Friends of the Earth's International Financial Institutions Campaigner Hannah Ellis said:

"DFID must wake up to the World Bank's failure to deliver on sustainable development. It's time to shake up the World Bank and implementing the Extractive Industries Review is a crucial first step. The World Bank is a public institution, intended to alleviate poverty, but instead it is supporting damaging industries and putting corporate profit before people and the environment."

Jonathan Glennie, Senior Policy Officer at Christian Aid added:

"The World Bank's mission is poverty alleviation and its DFID's job to ensure the World Bank fulfils this role. The Extractive Industries Review, along with countless other reports, shows how the World Bank has failed the world's poor through its investments in oil, mining and gas. If DFID is serious about poverty alleviation, it's time DFID had a serious talk with the World Bank."

Notes

[1] The recommendations of the Extractive Industries Review include:

• Informed consent from local communities and indigenous peoples affected by extractive projects as a pre-condition for financing;
• Phasing out lending in support of oil and coal and to invest its scarce development resources in renewable energy by setting lending targets of increasing renewable energy lending by 20% a year;
• Ensuring the establishment of indigenous peoples' land rights as a condition for project finance;
• Ensuring that revenues of Bank-financed projects benefit all affected local groups;
• Requiring that freedom of association be present in Bank financed projects as a basic human/labour rights requirement;
• Ensuring that good governance structures are in place before project finance and implementation occurs;
• Protecting biodiversity through establishing "no go" areas for internationally recognized critical habitats;
• Requiring that submarine tailings disposal not be used in World Bank Group supported mining projects;
• Increasing revenue transparency and improving public disclosure about projects; and promoting overdue key institutional reforms to deal with the long documented "pressure to lend" in the World Bank that has resulted in weakening of implementation of key environmental and social protection policies.

For more information on the EIR, view www.eireview.org

[2] Environmental, development and human rights campaigners will all join in a global day of action `j-22' which is taking place in Rome, Santa Cruz, Washington andJakarta. For more information see www.foei.org/ifi/j22.html

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust