ESSD Page 1 of 6 IFC I MIGA I IDA I ICSID I WB External Site 23124 TrJAL t871t:. ;'.:. :. .>ii IRegions I Sectors I VPUs ESSD Networki The monthly newsletter of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network Vol 2 no 8, November 1999 Upcoming Events Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD/COP-3) The Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nation's Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD/COP- 3) is being held in Recife, Brazil, from November 15 to 26, to address the problem of land degradation and desertification through better land management and conservation of natural resources. The World Bank is an active partner in the implementation of the CCD as part of the global mechanism which is managed in collaboration with UNDP and IFAD. The World Bank will also host a workshop and launch two publications at COP-3. Contact: Hassan Hassan, ENV (x31376). "Greening Industry" publication launch and seminar Greening Industry, a DEC report, will be launched at a press conference at the World Bank, followed by a seminar, on November 22nd. The book explores the fact that most pollution in developing countries comes from industry, but that environmental protection agencies in developing countries are often stymied in their monitoring and enforcement of environmental standards by lack of funds, cronyism, corruption, or bureaucratic inertia. This lack of official enforcement has spurred a growing 'grassroots" environmental movement, where civil society, church leaders, the press, and other local leaders at the community level have banded together to become their own 'green' inspectors and enforcers. These groups grade local industry by their compliance or disregard for environmental regulations and use this information in public fora such as the media to embarrass local polluters into curbing their activities. Contacts: David Wheeler, DECRG (x33401) or David Shaman, DECRG (x33779). Those interested in attending the seminar must first register by filling out a registration form on the NIPR website at httGre:/www.worldbank.org/niprlgreeninclarecgister.htm or by emailing Yasmin D'Souza at ydsouza@worldbank.org. NGO-World Bank committee meeting rescheduled The NGO-World Bank Committee Meeting has been rescheduled to December 6-8, 1999. Topics to be discussed include the HIPC initiative, SAL/SECALs and civil society, the role of civil society in post-conflict situations, and a review of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Contacts: Christina Gamstorp, SDV (x37828) or Frances Moreno, SDVNG (x391 52). "Hotspots" launch Conservation International and CEMEX will launch their "Hotspots" book on the state of the world's biodiversity in the World Bank's Atrium, Monday, November 29th. The program includes speeches by CEMEX CEO, Armanda Garcia, Conservation International Chair and CEO Peter Seligman, Ian Johnson, http://essd.worldbank.org/essdIin.../7AF9D67246D2E6898525 6A62005 3E3A8?OpenDocumen 11/5/01 ESSD Page 2 of 6 and Conservation International's President and author of "Hotspots", Russ Mittermeier. Attendance at the launch of this very lush book is by invitation-only, but the accompanying photo exhibit, which includes a section on the World Bank's biodiversity activities, will remain in the Bank's MC entrance for a week. Contact: Gunars Platais, ENV (x32627). World BankNWWF launch In the spirit of partnership, the World Bank/WWF Alliance is in the process of establishing an Advisory Council made up of donors (governments and foundations) and selected individuals at the vanguard of forest conservation in their respective countries. These are individuals who can present perspectives of different key forest stakeholder groupings. The group will advise the Alliance on broad strategic work directions, research priorities, and opportunities for collaboration with other initiatives. Advisory Council meetings will provide an occasion for the heads of the World Bank and WWF to meet Alliance collaborators and donors, review Alliance progress, and agree on future priorities. The Advisory Council convenes for the first time December 2-3, with a luncheon hosted by Mr. Wolfensohn on December 2nd at which the Alliance annual report will be launched. Contact: Anita Gordon, LCSES (x31799). World BanklWWF high-level meeting It was agreed at last year's high-level meeting between Bank ESSD staff and senior management of the World Wildlife Fund that we should make it an annual fixture. This year's meeting is tentatively scheduled during the week of January 17th to January 21st. The purpose of the meeting is for each side to brief the other about cooperative ventures and to put on the agenda issues that would benefit from joint effort and reflection -- to make sure that all players understand the breadth and depth of our common agenda and to sign off on next steps. Last year the focus was on the Alliance, cooperation in the area of macro-economic analysis, and various specific issues -- fisheries, water, etc. This year's meeting will have a region-by-region approach to issues, with an update on the Alliance. Contact: Kristyn Ebro, ESSD/EXT (x82736). Workshop on funding for biodiversity in LAC The Bank, in collaboration with USAID and the Biodiversity Support Program, is finalizing a study of funding trends for biodiversity in the LAC region for the 1990's. The study helps characterize funding patterns by donor, country, project type, and ecoregion. The initial results will be discussed at a workshop with major donors -- multilateral, bilaterals, foundations -- to be held on December 13 - 14 in room JB1-080. The workshop is open to all interested Bank staff. Contacts: Gonzalo Castro, ENV (x31107) or Thomas Lovejoy, LCSES. Recent Happenings CGIAR international conference on biotechnology Biotechnology and its potential impact on agriculture in developing countries was the theme of an international conference held on October 21-22, 1999 at the World Bank in Washington, DC. The conference, "Ensuring Food Security, Protecting the Environment, Reducing Poverty in Developing Countries: Can Biotechnology Help?" was convened by the CGIAR in partnership with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The conference explored a diverse range of issues, covering the scientific, technological, environmental, ethical, economic, and social issues related to the use of modern biotechnology and the needs of small farmers and poor urban consumers in developing countries. For further information go to www.cgiar.org. Contact: Shirley Geer, CGIAR (x38930). CGIAR international Centers Week The critical role of scientific research in the worldwide fight to eliminate poverty was the principal theme of the CGIAR's International Centers Week (ICW99) October 25-29. Hundreds of scientists and researchers from around the world joined CGIAR members for the annual event. Building on the dynamic of the third System Review of the CGIAR, ICW99 focused on the CGIAR's vision, structure and leadership. The CGIAR's Technical Advisory Committee will lead an exercise to refine the CGIAR's vision and how it can best be realized. CGIAR Members welcomed a proposal from the World Bank's senior management that Ismail Serageldin will continue serving as Chairman for two more years. The Vice President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, Ian Johnson, has been identified as his successor. For further information go to http://www.cgiarorgl. Contact: Shirley Geer, CGIAR (x38930). http://essd.wor ... /7af9d67246d2e68985256a620053e3a8?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=3,2, 11/6/01 ESSD Page 3 of 6 Feeding the World 2020 A workshop entitled "Feeding the World to 2020", sponsored by FARM, was held at the World Bank on October 29th in response to the need to increase the amount of food by 50 percent to feed the additional 2 billion people expected by the year 2020. Experts from the Bank, Cornell University, the International Food Policy Research Institute, and the Humane Society discussed the relative merits of alternative solutions for feeding the burgeoning population. At issue was the crop production versus livestock production debate. Contact: Robert Goodland, ENV (x33203). Second World Bank study tour to Brazil The 2nd World Bank Study Tour to Brazil " Natural Resources Management by Rural Communities: The Brazilian Farmers Experience", October 22-31, was organized by RDV and SLRM in cooperation with The Brazilian Federation for Direct Planting into Crop Residues. The purpose was to demonstrate the benefits of the Zero Tillage System, which constitutes a fundamental revolution in agricultural production techniques. Participants visited farms of different sizes, ranging from a few hectares to several thousand, as well as agricultural research stations, training, and extension organizations in three southern Brazil states -- Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Contact: Christian Pieri, RDV (x30358). Third CEO ad hoc Forum on Forests On Monday, November 1, Mr. Wolfensohn convened the third CEOs ad hoc Forum on Forests in the Bank's Board Room. More than 25 CEOs and Presidents of international forest industry and environmental NGOs reviewed the reports of the 5 working groups established during earlier Forum meetings on issues such as: the mapping of extinction-prone ecoregions; the potential role of carbon offset markets to the world's forests; sustainable forest management initiatives in Russia and the Congo Basin; and protecting plantations. A positive review of the value of the Forum and its associated Working Group was followed by a discussion of its future. Mr. Wolfensohn has committed to chairing the next Forum meeting in a year's time, at which time an updated design for the Forum will be confirmed. Contact: Ken Newcombe, ENV (x36010). UN Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - 5th Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC/COP-5) held in Bonn, Germany, October 25 - November 5, marked the half way point in a two- year process to prepare for the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, which many Parties urged should happen in 2002. Parties called for the strengthening of capacity-building and to further revise and consolidate their views on the Kyoto mechanisms. COP-5 has significantly strengthened the Bank's climate change business, as private consultations indicated that the Prototype Carbon Fund, approved by the Bank's Board on July 20, can now proceed to a formal launch in mid-December. In a remarkably cooperative atmosphere, delegates decided to continue the AIJ pilot phase beyond the present decade, but left open the question of future emission credits from AIJ projects. Several donors are considering investing in a new World Bank AIJ program with a focus on Africa. Contact: Charles Feinstein, ENV (x32896). Environmental assessment capacity building in Africa AFTEI has taken the lead in the preparation of an assistance program for enhancing in-country environmental assessment (EA) capacity and intensifying the utilization of African consultants in EA preparation and supervision. The call for this initiative came from the Durban 1995 Conference of African Ministers of Environment (AMCEN). Over the past years, AFTE1 has worked with African stakeholders (notably the Nairobi meeting in July 98) and other donors to develop this strategy. Next steps include, a formalization of the cooperation between AFTE1, MNSRE (for the North African part), WBIEN, and LEGEN to move forward on this initiative; a donors roundtable in March 2000 in The Hague; an AMCEN meeting in Cairo in April 2000; and a technical meeting at IAIA Hong-Kong in June 2000. Contact: Arne Dalfelt, AFTE1 (x 88195). Conflict Prevention and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Donor (CPR) network meeting Staff from the Post-Conflict Unit (PCU) attended the Fifth Meeting of the Conflict Prevention and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Donor (CPR) Network hosted by UNICEF in New York, November 4-5. The meeting focused on: analytical framework and operational tools; vulnerability analysis, rights-based programming and humanitarian principles; options on prevention strategies; and country-specific working group sessions on Sierra Leone, East Timor, and Kosovo. UNICEF also hosted a meeting of the Global Peacebuilding Network (GPN) in New York, November 4-5. The GPN brings together 28 organizations to share information and build partnerships. The Bank was represented by Nat Colletta, Colin Scott, and Reza Firuzabadi. The idea for the network emerged from a meeting of multi- and bilateral post-conflict/ transition/emergency units hosted by the World Bank in Paris in April 1998. Contact: Frode Davanger, SDVPC (x31658). http://essd.wor. ../7af9d67246d2e68985256a620053e3a8?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=-3,2, 11/6/01 F,SSD Page 4 of6 Decentralized Environment Financing: Cross-Regional Workshop Examines Mexican Proposal Experts from Eastern Europe joined in a workshop jointly facilitated by the OECD Environmental Finance team and the Environmental Management and Decentralization Project (PROMAD) team of the World Bank, October 26-28. The workshop examined the proposed Mexican Environmental Fund design, which would decentralize financing to the state level. The fund would be a component of PROMAD, currently under preparation by Ina-Marlene Ruthenberg, Nadim Khouri and others. Participants from Eastern Europe, who have broad experience with such systems, made recommendations on important aspects of the fund---one of the first of its kind in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more details see the PROMAD workspace (click here). Contacts: Ina-Marlene Ruthenberg (ext. 39025), Bari Rabin (ext. 30752). Central America Land Registry Modernization Seminar Yields Regional Cooperation Protocol Officials at the October 20-22 Seminar on Land Registry Modernization in Central America signed a Cooperation Protocol to: a) strengthen interinstitutional communication and coordination; b) adopt modern technology to ensure legal security of tenure; c) promote integration between registry and cadastre; and d) form a Permanent Council of Property Registrars for Central America and Panama to facilitate mutual cooperation and assistance. The seminar was organized by Cora Shaw, Isabel Lavadenz and Frederic de Dinechin of LCSES, Jolyne Sanjak of USAID, and the Guatemalan Property Registry. Countries from outside the region are invited to attend the next seminar, planned for April or May 2000. Contact the organizers for more info. Calendars 'v Upcoming Training/Brown-Bags/SeminarslWorkshops November 17 Pollution Prevention Brown-Bag 12:00-1:00 pm Contact: Fernando Manibog, OEDST (x80402) Room MC 6-N300 November 17 The Effectiveness of Humanitarian Demining Programs Brown-Bag 12:30-2 pm Contact: Steven Holtzman, SDVPC (x33455) Room MC7-W150 _ X November 18 The Brazilian Media and the Environment; the Relevance of the South-Southj 12:30-1:30 pm Network under WBIEN's Sustainable Forestry Program Brown-Bag Room J6-044 lContact: Carlos Eduardo Bertao, WBIEN (x34117) November 22 Prospects for Peace and Regional Integration in the Balkans Seminar 2:15-4:15 pm rContact: Maria Fleitas, ECSSD (x85505) or Beaulah Noble, ECSSD (x33748) Room 15-321 November 22 Greening Industry: New Roles for Communities, Markets, and Governments 2-4 pm Seminar MC-12th Floor Gallery Contact: Yasmin D'Souza, DECRG (x31449) December 1-4 "Making Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer Sustainable: Nairobi, Kenya Combining Policy, Financing, and Institutions" Sustainable Financing Initiative Workshop December 6 Property Rights, Collective Action, and Technologies for Natural Resource 11 am -12:30 pm Management Seminar Room MC9-W1 50 Contact: Keiko Ashida, LCSES (x31339) X December 8-9 Economic & Engineering Evaluation of Alternative Strategies for Managing Sedimentation in Storage Reservoirs (RESCON) Workshop IContact: Alessandro Palmieri, RDV (x30357) _ December 13-14 ||Biodiversity Funding for LAC Workshop Room JB1-080 Contct Gonzalo Castro, ENV (x31107) http://essd.wor.../7af9d67246d2e68985256a620053e3a8?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=3,2, 11/6/01 EiSSD Page 5 of 6 W'Sector Weeks This coming year's sector weeks will be held: March 20-22 ENV* March 22-24 SDV March 28-31 RDV * March 22 JointEV/SDV field trip, with any interested RDV family member welcome to join. -ESSD Calendar 15-26 t{Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD/COP 3) Recife, Brazil Sponsor: United Nations 22 Greening of Industry publication launch and seminar Washington, DC Cntacts: David Wheeler, DECRG (x33401) or David Shaman, DECRG (x33779) IDe c em be r 2-3 World Bank-WWF Alliance Launch Washington, DC Contact: Anita Gordon, LCSES, x31799 6-8 NGO-World Bank Working Group (Rescheduled from Oct. 28-29) Contact: Christina Gamstorp, SDV (x37828) or Frances Moreno, SDVNG (x39152) GEF Council Meeting 8-10 Washington, DC Sponsor: The World Bank World Civil Society Conference 10-11 Montreal, Canada .Sponsor: The World Bank -- ESSD - SDV - NGO Unit [Jarnuary 24-28 World Clean Energy Conference Geneva, Switzerland Sponsor: IISD World Economic Forum 27-Feb. 2 Davos, Switzerland 8th International Drainage Workshop 31-Feb. 4 New Delhi, India Sponsor: The World Bank Fifth Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and http://essd.wor ... /7af9d67246d2e68985256a620053e3a8?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=3,2, 11/6/01 FSSD Page 6 of 6 |31-Feb. 4 ITechnological Advice Montreal, Canada ___________________ Sponsor: The World Bank __ February_ _______ 14-18 38th UN Commission on Social Development |New York, NYl ___ _ uSponsor: The United Nations M a r c h __ ________ 27-29 1DB Meetings New Orleans, LA __ jSponsor: The Inter-American Development Bank April I 27-29 1 8th UN Commission on Sustainable Development L New York, NY . ____. ____ LSponsor: The United Nations Contributors: Isabel Alegre, Mitos Benedicto, Bonnie Bradford, Fleur Canlas, James Cantrell, Robert Good/and, Anita Gordon, Johannes Heister, Ramachandra Jammi, Jaako Kangasniemi, Rita Klees, Kazuhide Kuroda, Gloria La Cava, Danielle Lucca, Robin Meams, Jean Roger Mercier, Kenneth Alewcombe, Christian Pieri, Roby Senderowitsch, Mariam Sherman, Fulvia Toppin, Pierre Werbrouck, Melissa Williams, Jian Xie "ESSentials" is the monthly internal electronic newsletter of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank Group. Its purpose is to unify the 800 network staff, including 100 in field offices and share important news on sustainable development with network staff and interested Bank colleagues. Please send ideas or articles to Kristyn Ebro, editor, MC4-1 19, x82736. To obtain prior issues of "ESSentials" or more information on ESSD, check our website: http:l/essd http://essd.wor.../7af9d67246d2e68985256a620053e3a8?OpenDocument&ExpandSection=3,2, 11/6/01