The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued a consultation draft for its safeguard policy update, holding workshops in late 2007 and early 2008 as part of an ongoing process to enhance environmental and social safeguards of the projects it is supporting in Asia and the Pacific.
The structured consultation workshops with stakeholders will follow across Asia and Pacific with the first workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, scheduled for November 14 and 15.
Based on the consultations, a draft policy paper will be prepared, also to be web-posted for consultations. The final policy paper is expected to be submitted for the bank's board consideration in the third quarter of 2008.
The bank is updating all three of its safeguard policies - on involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and the environment - to improve their effectiveness and ensure they remain relevant to the changing needs of its developing member countries.
The update began in 2005 with independent evaluation studies of the safeguard policies completed in early 2007. The update process is expected to culminate in late 2008 with policies updated through extensive consultations.
The policy update is intended to improve clarity, coherence and consistency of bank's safeguard policies and strengthen results during project implementation. The update will also make policy implementation more adaptable in practice to match the bank's evolving range of lending products and innovative types of financing.
It will work towards greater harmonisation with safeguard practices across multilateral financial institutions and tailor safeguard approaches to different clients.