World Bank anniversary

Sixty years after the World Bank was established, the institution is celebrating a rather unhappy anniversary this month. The institution, which is supposed to help people climb out of poverty, has left a trail of misery on the planet. Most recent proof of the bank's persistent unwillingness to change lies in its unwillingness to commit to real reforms as recommended by its own "Extractive Industries Review (EIR)".

This groundbreaking three-year review concluded that the World Bank must put in place many new changes in order to deliver on its mandate of poverty alleviation. At the end of this month, the World Bank board will meet for a crucial discussion on whether it will take the necessary steps. Our government is a member of this board.

The most comprehensive and global review to date on the impacts of public investments in oil, gas and mining on developing economies, the EIR concluded that oil, gas and mining projects funded by the World Bank Group have not contributed to poverty alleviation. In fact, the EIR process revealed a number of instances in which these projects actually exacerbated poverty for local communities and societies as a whole.

In certain sectors, such as oil and coal, the bank should stop financing these projects altogether. Academic studies and even World Bank reports found that countries that rely primarily on extractive industries tend to have higher levels of poverty, conflict and corruption than countries that have more diversified economies.

In addition, large-scale oil, mining and gas operations often disrupt local communities, threaten indigenous people's survival and ravage the environment. They contribute to dangerous climate change, of which the poor again suffer most directly. Moreover, large multinational oil, gas and mining corporations do not need the World Bank; they can easily find money on private markets.

The upcoming decision on this report is an opportunity for the World Bank to turn the tide and put in place safeguards and changes to protect the poor and most vulnerable from the negative impacts of these projects, and importantly, ensure that locally affected communities have a say in these projects.

The EIR recommends that the World Bank ask for the consent of affected communities before embarking on any oil, mining or gas projects.

LONGGENA GINTING Executive Director of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) Jakarta