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ADB and the Environment

A monitoring Framework for ADB’s Environment Policy

Some projects begin with a simple idea, a hunch if you like, and then look for a funding match. Others would come to be because there’s funding area for tapping. This book project is not quite one or the other. The story is a mix of both, and much more.

The new environment policy of the Asian Development Bank came out in 2003. It hardly needs saying the policy urgently calls for monitoring. Some of us in the Ngo Forum (particularly Bobet Carral, Jessica Rosien, and myself) wanted to see how the policy is doing to be implemented. Ahead of most, Jessica, for one, had been closely watching and giving input to the policy development even much earlier on.

Monitoring the new policy could be a program in itself, hopefully a funded one. We thought we needed some successful piloting ton push the monitoring idea across the whole network, The hope of course is that eventually monitoring could be an everyday practice of local communities affected by the ADB projects.

Sometime in late 2002 we stumbled on an opportunity. Our newfound friend, Kristina Kuvaja, Second Secretary of the Finnish Embassy in Manila told us that a small funding grant was available. She thought our monitoring idea was great and it sat well with a common concern among Nordic countries to see more accountability in the ADB operations. I had sensed that concern when we were invited (thanks to Kristina and her boss. Finland Ambassador Raimo Anttola) to a small sit-down dinner on 14 October in honor of the Norwegian State Secretary Olav Kjorven who’s also Norway’s representative to the ADB’s Board of Governors.

This book was not the main thing in our original proposal. For this one we owe so much to Mervi Kultamaa, Kristina’s successor. She welcomed and supported the idea of a book publication to reinforce our advocacy work. True enough, the rigorous work that went into this book gives further substance to the Forum’s critique. The monitoring guidelines can be used for building capacity within the network as well as in the local community. Anyhow it helps the Forum’s profile just to come out with one.

With this book the ADB watchers have an additional weapon in their hand, so to say. We recognize that the case studies presented can fairly make a statement only on previous ADB policies and guidelines. However, we also believe that lessons from project experience would give us a good basis for monitoring the new policy, to say nothing about whatever value these lessons may have to the ADB and member-countries who all pledged to deliver sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Isagani R. Serrano
Vice President, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement

June 18, 2004

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