Bank Information Center: Monitoring the projects and policies of the World Bank, IMF and other international financial institutions


Home ResourcesWhat's New What’s New The latest updates, articles, resources, and other content from throughout this site. RSS Update \| 9 January 2009 Global crisis is good news for IFIs in Latin America While the international financial institutions report sharp lending increases due to the global financial crisis, concerns over lack of transparency and accountability remain. Read more Press Clipping \| 1 January 2009 Land conflicts continue in Rondonia The state of Rondonia, Brazil is subject to ongoing land conflicts between large land owners, small farmers and the state. The proposed hydroelectric dams on the Madeira River and the promise of jobs will only accelerate uncontrolled migration to the region. Weak governance results in frequent, violent confrontations over natural resource use. Read more Update \| 31 December 2008 Bachelet: Unasur to create infrastructure council in April - Regional Government representatives from the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) plan to establish an infrastructure council in April 2009, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told BNamericas. The council is expected to be created at the next Unasur meeting, scheduled for April 20 next year, when Bachelet will also leave her post as the organization's pro tempore president. Read more Press Clipping \| 29 December 2008 CAF lends $US 300 mn. for Peru Southern Interoceanic Highway Read more Press Clipping \| 29 December 2008 World Bank to train Brazilian state governments to capture FDI A new agreement between Brazil, the World Bank and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies is intended to train Brazilian state governments on reforms to local regulatory and licensing frameworks to facilitate great foreign direct investment in infrastructure projects. Read more Update \| 29 December 2008 New book by INESC - Financing for Megaprojects A new book of articles edited by Ricardo Verdum of the Brazilian Instituto de Estudio Socioeconomicos (Inesc) explores the trends in financing for megaprojects in South America. The book highlights the shifting balance between IFIs such as the World Bank, the IDB and CAF toward new institutions such as BNDES, as well as the competition between IIRSA and UNASUR. The book emphasizes the urgency for greater transparency and accountability in information and decision making about large, high risk infrastructure in the region. Read more Update \| 27 December 2008 IDB finances Meerzog-Albina highway in Suriname Read more Update \| 26 December 2008 Colombia issues environmental license for Pasto Mocoa highway The $200 million road project in Putumayo, Colombia is an anchor project for the IIRSA Amazonas Corridor and will unlock commercial traffic between the ports of Tumaco and Belem, as well as between Bogota and Quito. Read more Press Clipping \| 24 December 2008 Madeira dam operator responsible for massive fish kill The Madeira Energy S/A (Mesa) business consortium, responsible for the construction of the Santo Antônio 3,100 MW hydroelectric dam, the first of several mega-dams planned for the Madeira in the Brazilian state of Rondônia, was fined R$ 7,7 million ($US 3.3 million) by the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (Ibama) as a penalty for their responsibility in the ecological accidente that resulted in the death of 11 tons of fish. Read more Press Clipping \| 24 December 2008 IHT: Guyana lacks funds for important roads to Brazil, Venezuela The Inter American Development Bank set aside more than $900,000 to conduct a feasibility study into the road linking Guyana with Brazil. Read more Update \| 23 December 2008 IFC pledges to increase commitment as mining sector is hit by economic downturn and low demand Meanwhile, IFC mining investments in Guinea face uncertainty after the government revoked half of the IFC-backed Simandou concession, and over the future of the massive Guinea Alumina Project as Guinea's president dies. Read more Update \| 23 December 2008 Update on Oct. 30 Madeira bilateral technical commission meeting The October meeting between the Brazilian and Bolivian bilerateral technical commission on the Madeira Hydroelectric Dam and related projects focused on new technical research related to the cross-border health effects of the project. Read more Press Clipping \| 23 December 2008 CAF approves US$300mn for Interoceánica Sur highway - Peru The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) has approved a US$300mn loan to Peru for additional works on the Interoceánica Sur highway, the financial entity reported in a release. Read more Update \| 22 December 2008 Banks step back from two hydroelectric projects in Madeira River The financial crisis and environmental risks have affected the willingness of banks to finance the mega-hydroelectric project which would cost R$21 billion. Santander and Banif are facing difficulties in attaining funds for San Antonio Dam; and Itau has already given up on Jirau and San Antonio. Read more Update \| 22 December 2008 The Peruvian regions of Huanuco, Ucayali and Ancash express intent to form a "macro-region" together The presidents of Huanuco, Ucayali and Ancash signed a letter of commitment on the issue of forming a single region together. The deciding referendum will take place in November 2009 Read more Update \| 22 December 2008 IDB Increases Infrastructure Integration Subsidy IDB replenishment of a popular subsidy for the preparation of high risk infrastructure projects in Latin America anticipates the increased funding of infrastructure to stimulate the economy. Read more Update \| 22 December 2008 Read more Update \| 22 December 2008 IDB supports study to improve border crossings - Colombia, Ecuador IDB has approved a technical cooperation donation of US$400,000 to support a study to improve the infrastructure and operation of border crossings between Colombia and Ecuador, the entity reported in a release. Read more Update \| 19 December 2008 $5 billion in World Bank loans in the works for South Africa’s power utility African Development Bank also contributing record loans to address power shortage. Read more Update \| 19 December 2008 IFC convenes conference to encourage greater mining investment in the MENA region Meanwhile, the IFC’s advisory services in revising the region's mining policies reinforce concerns over the lack of transparency of these types of operations. Read more Update \| 19 December 2008 Perucámaras highlights prioritization of national projects to address the crisis It is important for the President of the Council of Ministers, Yehuda Simon, to meet with employers' associations and hear their suggestions, since the implementation of the "Anticrisis Plan" requires the participation of both the public and private sectors, said Guillermo Vega Alvear, president of Perucámaras, who participated in the morning meeting with the Premier. Read more Update \| 18 December 2008 West African Gas Pipeline comes online at last Meanwhile, people displaced by the project finally receive monetary compensation, nearly four years after being impoverished through a resettlement process that denied them the option of the land compensation they were entitled to. Read more Update \| 16 December 2008 Zambia dam among IFC’s first casualties of the financial crisis Plummeting copper prices have caused investors to shy away from the $1.5 billion Kafue Lower Gorge Dam, which is designed exclusively for use by foreign mining companies. Read more Update \| 16 December 2008 Stakeholders convened in Cairo to debate contentious issues surrounding the West Delta project Concerned parties threaten to file a court case against the Egyptian government if they do not receive satisfactory answers. Read more Update \| 16 December 2008 Bangladesh: Overwhelming thumbs-down given to UK mining project A Mines and Communities (MAC) article spotlights two independent reports critical of the Phulbari coal mining project in northwest Bangladesh. Read more Update \| 19 December 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week Read more Update \| 15 December 2008 Andean Indigenous proposal on IIRSA Open letter regarding the South American Regional Infrastructure Integration Initiative (IIRSA), to the politicians in charge (South American governments) and its financiers (CAF, BNDES, European Union, Fonplata, Santander) Read more Update \| 11 December 2008 Phulbari Coal Project: critique of environment plans sets off alarms The Phulbari Coal Project threatens numerous dangers and potential damages, ranging from the degradation of a major agricultural region in Bangladesh to pollution of the world's largest wetlands. The project's Summary Environmental Impact Assessment, and its full Environmental and Social Impact Assessment are replete with vague assurances, issuing many promises of future mitigation measures. Read more Update \| 10 December 2008 World Bank: culprit in increased hunger? Free market policies as part of the Structural Adjustment Programs that the World Bank attached to their aid throughout the 1980s are partially to blame for increased world hunger. Read more Update \| 11 December 2008 Over 160 CSOs issue joint statement calling for UN climate fund Civil society groups argue that the fund is essential to any new global climate agreement involving the large-scale transfer of financial resources to help poorer nations reduce emissions that cause global climate change. Read more Update \| 8 December 2008 ADB watchdog submits critique on Safeguards Review Network charges that poor quality of 2nd draft implies that President Kuroda has been unable to convince the ADB bureaucracy to uphold and support his vision of the ADB as the leading regional development organization on poverty alleviation and climate change. Read more Update \| 8 December 2008 As Yemen suffers from water crisis, Bank support for water sector hinges on private sector solutions A recent meeting between the World Bank and the Yemeni Planning Minister focused on preliminary negotiations on a proposed water sector project. However, the central question remains whether the Bank is ensuring water access for the poor. Read more Update \| 12 December 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week Read more Update \| 4 December 2008 BIC comments on ADB safeguards 2nd draft The 2nd draft, contrary to Asian Development Bank President Kuroda’s standard-setting public assertions that no weakening of the policy would occur, represents a significant dilution of the Bank’s existing safeguards. Read more Press Release \| 3 December 2008 Uganda dam slammed by World Bank appeals body Bujagali deal full of risk for one of world’s poorest countries. Read more Press Release \| 1 December 2008 Indonesian groups urge ADB to pull out from Citarum water program A network of West Java and Jakarta civil society organizations have uncovered serious flaws in the design of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Integrated Water Resource Management Investment Project (ICWRMIP) and are urging the ADB's Board of Directors to pull out from investing into the proposed project unless a "significant, meaningful, strongly and broadly supported re-assessment of the entire program is undertaken." Read more Update \| 5 December 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week Read more Press Release \| 21 November 2008 Six months after audit report, IFC remains out of compliance at Karachaganak Six months after CAO found the IFC out of compliance with its own environmental and social norms in Karachaganak, no relief for local residents. No serious effort was made by either the KPO- a consortium of oil companies or IFC to mend the situation. Read more Update \| 25 November 2008 Civil Society and IDB workshop: Strategic Environmental Assessments and sustainable development Civil society organizations (CSOs) from 10 South American countries have invited the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to engage in dialogue about the use and misuse of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) in a two-day workshop to be held in Bogota, Colombia (Dec. 2 and 3, 2008). The workshop will feature presentations on the IDB's progress in developing a strategic decision making system that includes clearer rules for SEAs. CSOs will present lessons learned and recommendations for more effective use of SEAs drawn from a decade of experience with high risk infrastructure projects. Read more Update \| 20 November 2008 Sun Vithespongse Represents: Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Fiji, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Tonga, Vietnam Read more Update \| 20 November 2008 Abdulrahman M. Almofadhi Read more Update \| 20 November 2008 Dante Contreras G. Represents: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Uraguay Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 James Hagan Represents: Australia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 Rudolf Jan Treffers Represents: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Romania, Ukraine Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 Toga Gayewea McIntosh Represents: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 Jorge H. Botero Represents: Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Philippines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 Sid Ahmed Dib Represents: Algeria, Afghanistan, Ghana, Islamic Republic of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia Read more Update \| 19 November 2008 Ambroise Fayolle Read more Update \| 18 November 2008 Susanna Moorehead Read more Update \| 18 November 2008 Toru Shikibu Read more Update \| 18 November 2008 Eli Whitney Debevoise II Read more Update \| 18 November 2008 New EBRD policy comes into effect EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy came into effect on November 12, 2008. Projects approved past this date will have to meet higher diligence standards. Read more Update \| 21 November 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week Read more Update \| 17 November 2008 ADB evaluation finds low returns on private equity fund investments Internal ADB evaluation finds unsatisfactory returns, lack of focus for selection, weak safeguards. Read more Update \| 17 November 2008 Pessimism over ADB's draft of social and environmental lending criteria ADB consults with civil society organizanizations this week on their social and environmental lending criteria. Critics worry that the strategy will not reduce poverty in the region. Read more Update \| 21 November 2008 Directors of IIRSA reject petition for participation of civil society The President of the Directors of IIRSA and current Director of the Ministry of Planning of Colombia, Carolina Renteria, reported on Monday, November 10 the decision to reject a hearing on IIRSA requested by 20 civil society organizations from 8 countries. The CSOs submitted a proposal to create mechanisms to ensure the participation of civil society in the planning process of integration within the framework of IIRSA, in addition to other potential integration processes as well as for the implementation of Strategic Environmental Studies (SEA) for groups of IIRSA projects. Read more Update \| 14 November 2008 BICECA Monthly Bulletin - November 2008 In this edition you will find the following articles: 1) Change and Continuity for the BICECA website; 2) Colombia: Pasto Mocoa Highway - IDB Commitment to Sustainability under Scrutiny; 3) Perú: The restoration of the rights of indigenous peoples has a long way to go; 4) Ecuador: Big Push for Manta-Manaos Corridor. Read more Update \| 14 November 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week. Read more Update \| 11 November 2008 BIC releases brief on World Bank's climate change policy in South Asia The brief details the World Bank's climate change policy, different carbon funds, and the World Bank's climate change mitigation and adaptation work in South Asia. Read more Update \| 7 November 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week. Read more Update \| 5 November 2008 Sociedad civil pide audiencia con CDE/IIRSA Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil suman esfuerzos para pedir una Audiencia con el Comité de Dirección Ejecutiva del IIRSA (CDE IIRSA) en pos de lograr mayor participación en la planificación de integración de la región y la aplicación de Estudios Ambientales Estratégicos para grupos de proyectos IIRSA. Read more Update \| 3 November 2008 As WB Group committments in MENA region surpassed $3bn in 2008, questions about effectiveness remain The World Bank Group is adhering to its pledge for greater engagement in the Middle East and North Africa. However, data on the development impacts on the poor are lacking, while other data suggest that many Bank projects in the region are at risk. Read more Update \| 31 October 2008 Weekly roundup: IFIs in the news Read all the headlines concerning the international financial institutions from the past week. Read more Update \| 30 October 2008 Corruption and lack of transparency in Tajik extractives industry Talco, a major aluminum mining company controlled by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, is being investigated by the IMF to address issues of extreme mismanagement of funds and lack of openness. Read more Press Release \| 18 November 2008 IMF and World Bank need to bolster transparency measures in the extractive industries A newly released joint report between Bank Information Center (BIC) and Global Witness critically assesses the World Bank Group's and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) success in increasing transparency in extractive industries in resource-rich countries. Read more Press Release \| 29 October 2008 Nuevo y antidemocrático “Consenso de Washington” no resolverá la crisis global, declaran mas que 630 grupos de 104 países Una coalición de 630 organizaciones pertenecientes a 104 países ha emitido una declaración reclamando una respuesta que sea verdaderamente global a la crisis mundial, y formulan varios principios para conseguirlo. Read more Press Release \| 29 October 2008 New undemocratic “Washington Consensus” won’t fix global crisis, state over 630 groups from 104 countries A coalition of 630 organizations from 104 countries have issued a statement demanding a truly global response to the global crisis and laying out a set of principles for doing so. Read more Update \| 28 October 2008 The IMF is back in business In the wake of the global financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is experiencing a resurgence as the world’s "financial crisis firefighter." The upcoming G20 financial summit has placed the IMF as the central institution in charge of “crisis management” and reform of the international financial architecture. While there is much talk of “overhauling” the IMF through fundamental reforms, the same leaders who say this are also talking about broadening the scope of the IMF’s power and influence. Undoubtedly empowered by the contagion of financial meltdown in middle-income countries, the IMF is now scurrying around the globe signing new multi-billion dollar loan deals with a spate of new countries, most notably the Eastern European “Baltic tiger” countries. Read more Update \| 28 October 2008 El BID financia una refinería de petróleo en Colombia Este megaproyecto de $800 millones destaca una vez mas que las grandes inversiones en energía no-renovable y “sucia” parecieran ensombrecer y contradecir las relativamente mas pequenas y dispersas actividades del BID dedicados a frenar el cambio climatico. Read more Press Release \| 27 October 2008 Six months after audit report IFC remains out of compliance at Karachaganak Six months after the Office of Compliance, Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) found the IFC out of compliance with its own regulations for toxic emissions at the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field in western Kazakhstan, the case remains open with the CAO because the IFC has failed to bring into compliance significant failures in the IFC’s environmental monitoring of activities at the Karachaganak field. Read more Update \| 27 October 2008 Investigation clears Strauss-Kahn The Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cleared Managing Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn of abuse of power. Read more Update \| 27 October 2008 IFC payment disclosures revisited The International Finance Corporation's (IFC) website on extractive industries government payment disclosure has made progress, but certain gaps in data availability remain. Read more Update \| 24 October 2008 Urgent Action: Global sign-on statment on the proposed "Global Summit" to reform the international financial system Sign-on to the civil society letter, BY OCTOBER 28, supporting the fundamental and far-reaching transformation of the international financial and economic system. The letter supports the major international conference convened by the UN to review the international financial and monetary archite