[mgj-discuss] Fwd: Int'l day of action on the World Bank and large dams (14 March 2004)

[Soren Ambrose]

This international day of action is being promoted internationally as a  
sort of kick-off for the 60th anniversary events on the IMF/World Bank.

At this point I know of actions planned in Ghana, the Philippines,  
Pakistan, and possibly a few other places in Asia.

Would MGJ be interested in trying to pull something together at the  
World Bank, or some such place?

Maybe this can be discussed at Wednesday's meeting?

Soren

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Peter Bosshard <peter at irn.org>
> Date: Tue Jan 6, 2004  13:54:54 US/Eastern
> To: IFIex at topica.com, imfwb60 at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Int'l day of action on the World Bank and large dams (14  
> March 2004)
> Reply-To: peter at irn.org
>
>
> Dear all,
>
> As you know, 2004 will bring the 60th anniversary of the World Bank  
> and the IMF. NGOs are planning many campaigns to protest the  
> destructive projects and policies of these institutions.
>
> For several years, 14 March has been the international day of action  
> for rivers and against large dams. The “Rivers for Life” conference in  
> Thailand has agreed to make 14 March 2004 an international day of  
> action on the World Bank and large dams. There are many good reasons  
> for a strong NGO mobilization on 14 March:
>
> ·       Through its new Water Resources Sector Strategy (WRSS), the  
> World Bank plans to re-engage in so-called “high risk/high reward”  
> projects - in other words, in large dams. Recently, the Bank for  
> example announced it would start financing large dams again in India.
> ·       The World Bank claims it has learned lessons from the failures  
> of its earlier high-risk projects. The experiences with new high-risk  
> projects such as Bujagali in Uganda or Allain Duhangan (a hydropower  
> project proposed by IFC in India) contradict these claims. With Nam  
> Theun 2 in Laos, another critical large dam project is in the Bank’s  
> pipeline for 2004/05.
> ·       The WRSS continues to focus on privatization and private  
> sector participation in the water sector  in spite of the failure of  
> its earlier model projects such as the privatization of water supply  
> in Manila.
> ·       While the World Bank continues to promote high-risk projects  
> and privatization, the social and environmental legacy of many  
> previous projects and programs remains unresolved. A growing  
> international movement is calling for the reparation and restoration  
> of social and environmental damages of past Bank projects.
>
> We encourage you to organize actions and events on the World Bank and  
> large dams - be it on the legacy of past dam projects, the need for  
> reparation and restoration, the new Bank strategy to re-engage in  
> high-risk projects, or the impacts of privatising the water sector. As  
> always, groups are free to choose whatever topics and forms of action  
> they like, and it will make sense to focus on topics and forms that  
> make sense within your own context.
>
> Lots of information that will be useful for 14 March is available on  
> IRN’s website:
>
> . the new NGO report on the Bank’s high-risk strategy, Gambling with  
> People’s Lives  
> (http://www.irn.org/programs/finance/ 
> index.asp?id=030919.wbgambling.html),
> . a critique of the Bank’s new water sector strategy  
> (http://www.irn.org/new/0205.wrsscritiquea.pdf),
> . the Rasi Salai Declaration of the “Rivers for Life” conference  
> (http://www.irn.org/riversforlife/index.html),
> . information on earlier days of action  
> (http://www.irn.org/dayofaction/),
> . and lots of information on individual projects.
>
> We would be happy to help with advice and support on any other issues.
>
> Please inform us about your plans for 14 March. We would like to  
> exchange information about action ideas etc. among all interested  
> groups. We hope such ideas can also be discussed at upcoming NGO  
> meetings (for example in Penang), and at the World Social Forum in  
> Mumbai. We will keep you posted.
>
> Thank you for your interest.
>
> Peter Bosshard
> International Rivers Network


	Soren Ambrose
New Voices on Globalization /
   50 Years Is Enough Network
3628 12th St., N.E.
Washington, DC  20017  USA
office: +1-202-636-6097
mobile: +1-202-285-5836
soren at igc.org
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