10 December 2004
[Esta carta en español]
November 11, 2004
President Enrique Iglesias
Inter-American Development Bank
1300 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20577
Re: Regional Consultation Process for the Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy
Dear President Iglesias:
We are writing to request that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) amend the public consultation process for the draft Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy to help ensure meaningful and effective stakeholder participation, particularly in borrower countries.
As you know, following the three-month electronic consultation, the regional consultations on the next draft were originally scheduled for September 2004. However, the draft has still not been publicly released and, we are told, will not be released until December. Presumably, this would push the Regional Consultation phase into next year. Evidently, however, the dates for the final revision and final approval for the Environment and Safeguards Compliance Policy is still scheduled for April 2005, which will result in a troubling and insufficient timeline for consultations and incorporation of public input.
We are very concerned that the period for public review and analysis of management’s Draft Policy prior to the regional consultations, which was short to begin with, has now been shortened even more. Further, as you are well aware, if the regional consultations in Latin America are scheduled during the end of the year holiday period, this would seriously hamper effective public participation.
Our concerns with this process parallel some of those we have already expressed regarding the Indigenous Peoples Policy and Energy Policy. In the case of Environment and Safeguards, we appreciate the fact that the consultation plan was made public and that provisions for regional consultations and feedback have been made. We also applaud the IDB’s initiative in naming a Blue Ribbon panel of notables to advise on the policy. It is our hope that the consultation process will complement the efforts of this very important panel. Therefore, we strongly urge the following modifications are made to the Regional Consultation Process:
- Hold At Least Three Regional Consultations in Latin America - Assuming the draft policy is indeed publicly available in December, ensure a recommended six weeks to two months for public review of the Draft prior to consultations. Two months review time would give groups participating in the process time to prepare for meaningful face-to-face consultations and make travel preparations. It is our understanding that because of budgetary reasons, the IDB has considered holding one large or three or four smaller consultations in Latin America. We do not believe that one large consultation meeting would be appropriate given the IDB’s and our stated objectives for the consultation process.
The period for final review and approval would have to be adjusted accordingly, without compromising the electronic public review period of the Final Draft Policy Document. This should also be considered as a final opportunity for public comment before Board Review, and should be at least three weeks. This means re-scheduling final approval for June 2005 (rather than April 2005). - Engage in proactive dissemination - The Bank should make use of its website, local media, Bank country offices, and NGO communication channels to draw attention to and widely distribute the Draft, along with clear instructions on the purpose, process, and the proposed agenda (open to suggestions) of the Regional Consultations.
- Institute interactive feedback mechanisms - Stakeholders need to see how their electronic input has been considered by the IDB. The Draft should be circulated with a summary of the suggestions made during the electronic consultation and explanation of why and how these were incorporated, modified, or rejected. This will allow for more knowledgeable input in the Regional Consultations by civil society, particularly for those stakeholders who are engaging for the first time in the process.
- Disseminate Summaries from the Regional Consultations - The IDB should also provide summaries of how the Management Review incorporated the suggestions from the Regional Consultations when it distributes the Final Draft Policy Document. Summaries should follow management’s final revisions for Board Review as well. The public needs to be able to follow and comment throughout the Final Revision Period.
- Include the consultation process as an item on the agenda of the Regional Consultations- Checking in on the consultation process will help to identify procedural problems and lead to consensual solutions regarding public participation.
- Establish a direct consultation mechanism between civil society and the new Panel of Experts chaired by former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit- Building in permanent, horizontal communication between civil society and this panel will benefit the consultation and implementation processes.
We strongly support the IDB’s efforts to improve its Environment and Safeguard Policy. It is vitally important that the IDB’s process for consulting with civil society is indeed participatory, transparent and sensitive to the logistical and financial capacity of civil society in borrower countries.
Thank you for taking the time to consider the above recommendations.
Sincerely,
cc:
IDB Board of Directors
Dennis Flannery, Executive Vice-President
Janine Ferretti, Chief, Sustainable Development Department
John Ferriter, Senior Public Information Officer, Office of the External Relations Advisor
ARGENTINA:
Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro, Biólogo.
Presidente de FUNAM (Fundación para la defensa del ambiente).
Casilla de Correo 83, Correo Central.
(5000) Córdoba, Argentina.
montenegro@funam.org.ar
Jorge Cappato
Coordinador nacional,
PROTEGER - Federación Amigos de la Tierra, Argentina
jorgecappato@arnet.com.ar
Dra. Anna Petra Roge de Marzolini
Presidenta Asociacion Ambientalista EcoLa Paz
Federacion Amigos de la Tierra Argentina
Berutti 812 (3190) La Paz, Entre Ríos
ARGENTINA
annapetra@cabledosse.com.ar
BRASIL:
Alcides Faria
Ecoa - Ecologia y Acción.
R. 14 de julho 3169
79002-333
Campo Grande - MS
Brasil
Phone/Fax - +55 67 324 3230
www.riosvivos.org.br
Magnólia Said
Esplar- Centro de Pesquisa e Assessoria
Coordinadora Executiva da Rede Brasil
magnolia@esplar.org.br
Elisangela Paim
Amigos da Terra/Brasil
soldatelli@cpovo.net
ITALIA:
Mailer Mattié, Associazione Culturale SELVAS.ORG. Osservatorio Indipendente Sulla Regione Andina de Milan.
mailermattie@yahoo.es
PARAGUAY:
Dra. Angela Vergara de Miranda
Coordinadora
Fedayim (Federación de Afectados por Yacyretá de Itapuá y Misiones)
Encarnación, Paraguay
angela_vdemiranda@yahoo.com.ar
Oscar Rivas, Elias Peña
Coordinación
Sobrevivencia
Asunción, Paraguay
MEXICO:
Ron Sawyer
Director Ejecutivo
SARAR TRANSFORMACIÓN, SC
Apartado Postal # 8, Tepoztlán
Morelos 62520 México
rsawyer@laneta.apc.org
Fernando Melo,
Trasparencia S.C
Mexico
fmelo569@prodigy.net.mx
NETHERLANDS:
Janneke Bruil
Coordinator- International Financial Institutions Program
Friends of the Earth International
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
www.foei.org
Henneke Brink
Nicole Walshe
Both ENDS
Nieuwe Keizersgracht
1018 VC Amsterdam
The Netherlands
nw@bothends.org
hb@bothends.org
NICARAGUA:
Roberto Stuart
Coordinador
SIMAS (Sistema Información Mesoamericano de Agricultura Sustentable
Managua, Nicaragua
fortalecimiento@simas.org.ni
Ma. Lourdes Garcia E.
Facilitadora, GPAE (Grupo para la Agricultura Ecológica)
Managua, Nicaragua
gpae@gpae.net
PERU:
Osver Polo Carrasco
Coordinador
Tierra Vida
Miembro de Accion Internacional - CONADES
Lima
Peru
tierravida21@yahoo.com
Jorge Manriquez
Confederacion de Nacionalidades
Amazonicas del Peru
CONAP
Las Anemonas 425,
Las Flores, Lima 36
PERU
conap@terra.com.pe
U.S.A.
Manish Bapna
Executive Director
Bank Information Center
Washington, D.C.
Aaron Goldzimer
Internacional Programs
Environmental Defense
Washington, D.C., USA
agoldzimer@environmentaldefense.org
Nadia Martinez
Research Fellow,
Institute for Policy Studies
Washington, D.C. USA
nmartinez@seen.org
Colleen Freeman
Policy Analyst, International Programs
Friends of the Earth-USA
CFreeman@foe.org
Atossa Soltani
Executive Director,
Amazon Watch, USA
atossa@amazonwatch.org