Andrew C. Revkin
International Herald Tribune
July 22, 2008

An internal World Bank evaluation of the lending giant’s environmental record gave the Bank a low rating for follow-through, the International Herald Tribune reports.Despite a commitment made in 2001 to environmental stewardship, evaluators found that the Bank’s environmental policy was in need of serious improvement after reviewing nearly 7,000 projects spanning 20 years. The evaluation report found that commitment to environmental issues had not been followed up with sufficient action and strongly recommended prioritizing environmental sustainability.

“They need to begin to see the inextricable link between sustaining environment and reducing poverty,” said Vinod Thomas, head of the evaluation group. “It is clear now from the Amazon to India that if environmental sustainability is not raised as a priority then all bets are off.”

Suggestions from the report include more consistent tracking of environmental aspects of World Bank projects from the planning stage through to in-the-field monitoring.

Korinna Horta, an Environmental Defence Fund economist, agreed with the report that there were contradictions between the Bank’s policies and its projects.

Horta said the promotion of livestock herds, soy bean fields and palm oil plantations by the Bank’s private sector arm were inconsistent with efforts by the Bank to avoid deforestation.

“Even now, the Bank does not have an appropriate accountability structure in place to ensure that its well-meaning environmental and social policies are actually implemented on the ground,” Horta said.