AIIB must adopt proper safeguards, experts warn

At a symposium titled “Shared Solutions: Safeguarding Develop-ment in the Mekong Region” held recently in Bangkok, Mark Grimsditch, Mekong regional coordinator of Inclusive Development International, said the AIIB needed to ensure that potential environmental and social impacts from the projects it was financially supporting were avoided or mitigated. 

“In countries with underdeveloped legal and regulatory frameworks and weak governance systems, safeguards provide vital protection for local people and the environment. Even when strong safeguards are in place, things can still go wrong. So it is essential that strong grievance mechanisms are in place,” he said.

Grimsditch said that according to information from several AIIB members, a consultation on draft environmental and social safeguards would take place this month, although this had not been formally announced and no draft policy had been released yet.

He said AIIB needed to embrace meaningful engagement with civil society in the development of safeguards and in future monitoring of projects. 

“So far the development of AIIB has moved quickly. It is unclear what space will be provided for civil-society consultation as the bank develops or after it becomes operational,” he said.

 

Bank to fully reflect all views 

The AIIB is expected to be operational by the end of this year. Its first president, Jin Liqun, vowed that the bank would fully reflect the views, voices and values of all its shareholders.

Titi Soentoro, policy adviser to Aksi!, called for measures to protect forest degradation, pollution, land grabs, loss of diversity, loss of livelihood, forced eviction and human-rights violations, among other things.

“All parties concerned need to pay full respect of human rights and women’s rights. They must not only avoid involuntary resettlement and forced eviction but also enhance livelihoods of all displaced persons and improve their standards of living,” she said.

Soentoro added that meaningful consultation with affected people was required. There should also be a mechanism to receive complaints and solve problems. She also stressed the importance of information disclosure. 

“Information about the project, including social and environmental safeguard issues, should be available in a timely manner, in an accessible place, and in a form and language understandable to affected people and other stakeholders,” she said.

Soentoro stressed that sustainable development goals would be hampered without rigorous safeguard standards.

Yu Xiaogong, director of Green Watershed, said potential risks could only be managed through collective safeguard policies and standards. “The question is if AIIB is green and clean enough. It is really important to strike a balance between China’s individual [will] and hosts’ common values. Worshipping money and power versus human and Earth rights? And GDP versus social equality and inclusive development?” he said.

He said the bank should have in place transparent operations and include public participation in its safeguard-policy formulation and decision-making process. This is in light of challenges that include meeting every member state’s needs, the needs of investors and of communities affected by projects, China’s diplomatic and business needs, and environmental issues.

“AIIB needs to follow the principle of free, prior, informed consent or objection,” said the expert.