It
was released at the opening of a three-day meeting of
the World Bank's independent Extractive Industries Review,
taking place in Lisbon.
According to Janneke Bruil of Friends of the Earth International,
"It is very significant that the harmful and dangerous
effects of investments in oil, mining and gas are acknowledged
by the World Bank, whose investments are supposed to alleviate
poverty."
Among
the recommendations given by the organization and other
participants in the review is that the bank must stop
financing coal and oil projects in developing countries,
as well as protect the human rights of the local population,
who should consent to any project prior to its beginning.
The
report will be officially presented to World Bank President
James Wolfensohn at the end of this month. The bank will
decide whether to follow recommendations from the EIR
in March (Friends of the Earth International release,
Dec. 11).
In
related news, the World Bank announced Tuesday its formal
endorsement of the Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative, launched in September 2002 by British Prime
Minister Tony Blair at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg.
The
initiative would create a transparent process in which
institutions and civil society would have access to information
regarding the amount and destination of revenues from
oil, gas and mining companies to the countries.
"We
believe this step will both underscore and expand the
leadership role that the Bank Group has had in fostering
transparency, ensuring accountability, and contributing
to sustainable development impact," said Rashad Kaldany,
director of the World Bank's Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemicals
Department (World Bank release, Dec. 9).
Copyright, National Journal Group, Year.
