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The World Bank
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NGOs letter to World Bank The World Bank's Forest Policy Implementation Review and Strategy process (FPIRS) is entering its final stages. After having received input from numerous stakeholders throughout the world, the Bank suddenly appears to be less willing to share its draft new policy for meaningful input from all those engaged in the process, before presenting the policy to the Bank's Board of Executive Directors for its final approval. This situation has generated great concern among a large number of NGOs. After learning that the World Bank would not release its draft strategy and policy until it has already been sent to Senior Management, some 84 NGOs wrote to the World Bank's Vice President Ian Johnson: Mr. Ian Johnson January 30, 2001 Dear Mr. Johnson, We are writing to you as NGOs which have taken a long-term interest in the World Bank’s Forest Policy. In addition, many of us have invested considerable time and effort by participating in the World Bank’s regional consultations which took place between February and May 2000. The release in January 2000 of the OED report on how the 1991 Forest Policy Paper (now renamed Forest Strategy) had been implemented over the past decade and the broadly based process of regional consultations were promising steps towards a strengthened new Forest Policy. However, the follow-up to these positive steps raises disturbing questions about the World Bank’s good faith in seriously consulting with civil society organizations. There has been little feedback and communication from the World Bank on the Forest Policy once the regional consultations were completed. The World Bank established a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) which includes staff from the World Bank, bilateral aid agencies and a few NGO representatives to provide strategic guidance to the future World Bank Forest Policy and Strategy. After the first meeting of the TAG in June 2000, the World Bank posted a note about the consultation process on the web (6/9/2000) which committed the Bank to prepare a draft Forest strategy document which would be widely disseminated and discussed with stakeholders, including the TAG, before being presented to World Bank management. This promise appears to have been broken. On Christmas eve, a draft discussion strategy paper was sent to members of the TAG for their January meeting with the request not to make it public. The second meeting of the TAG was completed on January 10, 2001 and the TAG was disbanded. It was only after strong concerns were voiced by NGOs as well as IUCN at a meeting with the World Bank’s Environment Department on January 16, 2001 that the draft discussion document on a strategy was placed on the World Bank’s website. However, we have not been given any assurances that revisions to the Forest Policy and Strategy will be made publicly available before their presentation to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. At present, it is even unclear if World Bank staff is preparing a non-binding Forest Strategy or a new cross-sectoral Operational Policy on Forests. We strongly believe that the Bank has a responsibility to share the draft policy and strategy with the public and to proactively seek public comment. While posting documentation on the web with a request for comments is a positive step, this process of consultation is insufficient. The effective implementation of the World Bank’s Forest Policy depends on the active engagement of all interested parties. Achievement of the World Bank’s stated goals of combating deforestation and alleviating poverty requires broad civil society support. The OED study recommended the establishment of a strong cross-sectoral Forest Policy expanded to all forest types and called on the World Bank to modify its internal incentive framework to ensure that complex aspects of operations affecting forests are adequately addressed. We fully support these recommendations and request that the World Bank share a draft Forest Policy with the public as well as a strategy on how to implement the new Forest Policy based on a change in internal incentives. Sincerely, Hemmo Muntingh Maurício Galinkin Pamela Foster Hildebrando Vélez Mardiste Peep Julien LeFrancois Theodor Rathgeber Barbara Unmüßig Lambert Okrah Bruil Janneke Gudrun Henne Mauricio Leonelli Uzo Egbuche Odigha Odigha Muhammad Nauman Alexander Arbachakov Alexander Yumakaev Valentin Zabortsev Oxana Barkalova Anatoly Lebedev Konstantin Kozlov Yuri Shirokov Devyatkin Gennady Olga Yakovleva Alexey Toropov Peter Bosshard Saskia Ozinga Marcus Colchester Larry Lohmann Ricardo Carrere Roberto Bissio Kay Treakle Claudia Saladin Ned Daly Korinna Horta Andrea Durbin Nancy Alexander Doug Norlen Randy Hayes Laurie Parise Alyson Ewald Doug Hellinger For further information please contact: Korinna Horta, Environmental Defense, 1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 1016, Washington, D.C. 20009, USA; fax 202 234 6049; e-mail khorta@environmentaldefense.org Marcus Colchester, Forest Peoples Program, Unit 1C, Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Mareton-in-Marsh, GL56 9NQ, England; Fax 44 1608 652878; e-mail marcus@fppwrm.gn.apc.org Ricardo Carrere, World Rainforest Movement International Secretariat, Maldonado 1858 CP 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay; fax 598 2 408 0762; e-mail rcarrere@chasque.apc.org
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World Rainforest Movement
Maldonado 1858 - 11200 Montevideo - Uruguay
tel: 598 2 413 2989 / fax: 598 2 410 0985
wrm@wrm.org.uy
