United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-09-08 monographic deposited born digital 82 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-98-192 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192 P0b002ee18038b3b3 f:ns98192 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192 NSIAD-98-192 Environmental monitoring Environmental impact statements Public relations International organizations International economic relations Foreign economic assistance Lending institutions Foreign policies Developing countries China Internet Chapter Report NSIAD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed certain aspects of the environmental assessment and information disclosure policies and practices of the multilateral development banks, focusing on the: (1) steps the banks have taken to ensure meaningful public consultation on the environmental implications of proposed projects and timely public access to relevant project documents; (2) quality of consultation that occurs on bank-supported projects and the documentation on the consultation that is provided to executive directors; and (3) extent to which the banks provide broad, timely public access to project information, including environmental assessment reports.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the multilateral development banks, led by the World Bank, have taken significant steps to ensure that meaningful public consultation takes place on the environmental implications of the projects they fund; (2) GAO believes, however, that the banks can take further steps to build on the progress that has been achieved by ensuring that executive directors receive complete and accurate documentation about the consultation practices that have been employed in developing proposed projects, and by more consistently providing the public with timely access to environmental information on these projects; (3) the banks have adopted guidelines that require sponsors to consult with the public in developing projects, and created systems to provide worldwide public access to information about these projects--including information on their environmental implications; (4) generally, public consultation on the projects that GAO reviewed was adequate or better, and bank intervention improved sponsor practices on nearly every project; (5) several factors contributed to the quality of consultation; (6) for example, good consultation was associated with projects employing community-based approaches to project development, as well as those having a high profile because of recent adverse publicity on similar projects; (7) also, in general, World Bank-supported projects received higher ratings than the projects supported by the other banks GAO reviewed; (8) nevertheless, consultation on 25 percent (11 of 44) of the projects, primarily projects supported by the International Finance Corporation or sponsored by the government of China, was less than adequate; (9) also, documentation given to the executive directors provided incomplete or inaccurate information about the consultation measures employed on many of the projects; and (10) the banks' Internet home pages were inconsistent in meeting their own guidelines for providing public information concerning project profiles and environmental assessment reports. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192.pdf GAO/NSIAD-98-192 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-192 Chapter Report GAO/NSIAD-98-192; Multilateral Development Banks: Public Consultation on Environmental Assessments; Environmental monitoring Environmental impact statements Public relations International organizations International economic relations Foreign economic assistance Lending institutions Foreign policies Developing countries China Internet Title 22 Section 262m-5 Title 22 Section 262m-7 22 U.S.C. 262m-5 22 U.S.C. 262m-7 Public Law 101-513 Public Law 105-118 S. Rept. 99-167