A World Bank conference this July in Padang, Papua New Guinea, discussed “mining and the community in South-East Asia” but many NGOs known to represent mine-affected people were not invited.
World Bank Group
IFI governance
News
Oxfam Guide examines participation
An Oxfam publication by Tricia Feeney provides a very useful analysis of approaches to participation in development projects.
Infrastructure
News
Experts criticise Chad-Cameroon Oil Plans
Critical findings from a World Bank environmental team have set back the planned approval of World Bank support for the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline.
Knowledge
News
London seminars to assess Stiglitz “consensus”
The Centre for Economic Policy for Southern Africa (CEPSA) at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London is in October launching a lecture series “Addressing the Post-Washington Consensus”.
IFI governance
News
“New” IFC strategy fails to address key issues
In 1997 the IFC commissioned a welcome review of its objectives following pressure from NGOs and some Executive Directors who argued that it emphasised deal-making in response to the private sector at the expense of any clear focus on poverty alleviation or environmental protection.
Knowledge
News
Discussions proposed on economic growth
The Bretton Woods Project has been working with Both ENDS and other organisations to discuss a possible meeting to discuss the fundamental way that the World Bank/IMF measure development: economic growth.
IFI governance
News
New IFC chief appointed from private sector
The IFC has just announced who will replace its Executive Vice President, Jannik Lindbaek, who is retiring because of ill health at the end of the year.
IFI governance
News
SAPRI initiative meetings
Civil society groups in Hungary, Uganda, Ghana and Ecuador met World Bank representatives at national conferences to begin the investigative stage of the Structural Adjustment Programme Review Initiative (SAPRI).
Land
News
Oil campaign
Indonesian NGOs are setting up a major new campaign against the expansion of large-scale oil palm plantations in their country.
Knowledge
News
Official report critiques Bank poverty strategy
A new report, commissioned by the Government of Norway, reveals that the World Bank has a long way to go in clarifying and operationalising its poverty reduction objectives.
Knowledge
News
Controversy over knowledge development report
Drafting the 1998 World Development Report has proved so controversial that one of its co-authors resigned and the Board asked for changes which delayed its print schedule.
IFI governance
News
Towards a partnership Bank?
A refreshing new World Bank discussion paper frankly recognises that aid agencies are not cooperating effectively, and that mechanisms such as Consultative Groups and the Bank’s internal culture need to change.
Featured briefings
16 October 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2024
16 October 2024
The lost call for international financial architecture reform in the G20
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
16 October 2024
Sustainable development requires sustainable finance: why local currency financing is part of the solution
Multilateral development banks can reduce their dependence on hard currency lending and make local currency financing a central element of their developmental mandate.