Forum Annual Meeting kicks off

28 April, Bali – The NGO Forum on ADB officially opened its Forum annual meeting (FAM) today at the Palm Beach Hotel & Resort in Bali, Indonesia.
Over 70 participants representing different organizations from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, the United States, Australia, and the Netherlands attended the first day.

The first session dealt with big picture issues. Pieter Jansen of BothENDS talked about the ongoing financial crisis from the European perspective.   He compared the situation before the financial crisis and after the crash. He further said that the removal of controls over the financial sector has made the financial institutions masters of economy instead as its servants.
Stephanie Fried of the Environmental Defense Fund delved on private equity funds (PEF) which promotes secrecy in the middle of the global financial crisis. Though there is an international push for the re-regulation of financial architecture and an increase in transparency measures due to the global financial crisis, she said the ADB has proposed the further deregulation of risky investments and weakening of its Safeguards Policy. She said that PEFs are a key component of the ADB’s private sector development strategy.

Ahmed Swapan of Voice-Bangladesh presented the Paris Declaration and Aid Effectiveness. He also discussed the Accra Agenda for Action, putting emphasis on Article 20 which provides an enabling environment for CSOs to provide their contribution to development. Though it is a welcome initiative, there are still gaps in practice and reality. He posed the challenge to civil society to reduce such gap in implementation.
Prof. Muatar Khaidarova of the NGO Society and Law-Tajikistan presented the impact of the global economic crisis in Tajikistan. She said that the crisis has caused the developing economies to slow down. Adding that the most vulnerable populations are the first to fall victims of the crisis. She said Tajikistan is already facing significant challenges due to the reduction in remittances and drop in the price of the country’s major export commodities, such as aluminium and cotton.

The second half of the day was devoted to specific experiences by some members of the Forum with their engagement with the ADB. Hemantha Withanage of the Centre for Environmental Justice presented the case of the Southern Transport Development Project (STDP) in Sri Lanka. He shared the struggles of the local communities against the adverse impact of the ADB-funded road project on the environment and eventual involuntary resettlement of families to give way to its implementation.

Members of the Solidaritas Perempuan also presented case studies involving ADB-funded projects such as the Regional Road Development Project in Yogyakarta, BP Tangguh LNG Project, COREMAP, Citarum Water Project and the Lafarge SAI in Aceh.

The second day will be devoted to separate meetings by the regional working groups of the Forum. An in-depth discussion on climate change will also take place. Business meeting will commence on the last day of the FAM  which will run until 30 April 2009.

further contact : romil@forum-adb.org.