18. World Bank

Abstract

After the revised Performance Standards of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) became effective on 1 January, the World Bank started a process to review and update its eight core environmental and social safeguard policies: Operational Policy (OP) 4.01 on Environmental Assessment; OP 4.04 on Natural Habitats; OP 4.09 on Pest Management; OP 4.10 on Indigenous Peoples; OP 4.11 on Physical Cultural Resources; OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement; OP 4.36 on Forests; OP 4.37 on Safety of Dams; and OP 4.00 on Piloting the Use of Borrower Systems for Environmental and Social Safeguards. The Committee on Development Effectiveness of the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors endorsed the three-phase approach for the review process on 10 October. The World Bank has publicly noted that its safeguard policies embody the core value of the institution and are the cornerstone of its efforts to protect people and the environment and to ensure sustainable development outcomes. The 2010 evaluation of the safeguard policies, carried out by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), showed that the policies have been effective in preventing and mitigating harm, particularly in high-risk projects. However, it also identified the need to adapt the policies to new development challenges. The confluence of internal and external factors (for example, vulnerability of the global commons, changing borrower profiles, the growing role of the private sector, and changing bank operations) requires a review and update of the current policies. The IEG findings provide points of reference for the review: the importance of (1) increasing social coverage in light of community and gender impact, health, and safety; (2) enhancing the use of country systems and increasing emphasis on strengthening country institutions; (3) strengthening the approach used for projects that make use of environmental and social management frameworks; and (4) improving systems and instruments for accountability and grievance redress.