The World Bank is starting a discussion list for Environmental
Sustainability. I find the views about development uncomfortable
but here is the info.
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"Electronic Discussion on the World Bank's Performance in
Promoting Environmental Sustainability"
The World Bank's Operations Evaluation Department (OED) invites
you to join an electronic discussion on the evaluation of the World
Bank Group's performance in promoting environmental sustainability
in development. The discussions will begin on July 6, 1999 and
will last for a period of four to six weeks. The objective is:
* to bring together representatives from NGOs, private sector,
international organizations and other stakeholders to discuss their
views on the Bank's performance in promoting environmental
sustainability in development;
* for the OED to obtain useful knowledge (relevant information
and evidence) for its evaluation; and
* to prepare the ground for the dissemination and assimilation
of the evaluation's findings by the Bank and other interested stakeholders.
In the late 1980s, following upon growing worldwide concerns
about the compatibility of economic development with environmental
sustainability, the World Bank greatly strengthened its efforts to
integrate environmental concerns into the mainstream of
developmental policymaking. This led to introduction of
environmental concerns into the development agenda; the design and
implementation of a great number and variety of environmental
products, including projects, policy guidance, research and
training; the formulation of widely accepted guidelines on
environmental matters; and the broadening of the Bank's reach
through its leadership role in the global environmental debate and
new partnerships with international and local organizations.
However, considering the magnitude of environmental issues, the
impact of the World Bank Group's programs on broad environmental
trends in the developing world has been limited, and the
achievements of various programs have been mixed. Serious issues
are still being raised about the Bank Group's performance in
living up to its commitment to environmental sustainability.
Information on this online discussions can be found in the
Development Forum discussion space on the World Bank's web site
http://www.worldbank.org/devforum/current-environment.html. The
conference will take the form of a moderated email discussion
list, archived by topic on the Development Forum site. A team of
moderators will review all messages for relevance before posting
them to the list. The moderators will also prepare regular
summaries of the discussion for posting both to the list and to the
Forum site.
We plan to prepare a synthesis report of the discussions based on
the responses. This report will form the basis for future work'
including workshops, short notes, and commissioned papers.
The conference is open to the public. However, the moderators
will strictly enforce both the general rules of decorum of the
Development Forum and the specific rule that contributions to this
conference should be directly addressed to the issues under
discussion. Our goal is to keep the discussion focused and
manageable so that we all can learn from it.
If you wish to participate, please send an email to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message, type the following: subscribe E-SUST
You will receive a welcome message confirming your subscription.
For further information, or if you have questions, contact:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
We look forward to your participation.
