The World Bank Group’s new environmental and social protection policies — or safeguards — are a tale of (at least) two interpretations.
The bank’s board of executive directors approved the new safeguards policy Thursday, the culmination of a multiyear effort to update social and environmental protection policies in World Bank projects for the first time in two decades.
The consultation and revision process has been closely scrutinized. Civil society critics charge the World Bank’s new protection policies are riddled with loopholes that could allow countries to overlook harmful impacts from road construction, energy and dam projects, and other infrastructure investments. Optimists call the safeguards update a multilateralism success story that will improve country ownership of development projects.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
