| May 25, 2004—The World Bank Group was recognized as a leader in the field of environment and social impact assessments, for setting global standards and successfully applying its expertise worldwide. This honor was bestowed by the 24th annual International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Conference recently held in Vancouver, Canada. The conference – the largest IAIA conference ever, with over 850 participants – also emphasized that incorporating environment and social impact assessment at the outset improves the quality of project decision-making and management.  | | Jean-Roger Mercier was recognized with the IAIA Rose-Hulman Award |
During the Conference, ESSD’s Jean-Roger Mercier was recognized with the IAIA Rose-Hulman Award – an honor given to an IAIA member for “major contributions to the field of impact assessment over a sustained period”. Mercier was selected for: - his outstanding contribution to the field of Impact Assessment and to the IAIA;
- his establishment and “nurturing leadership” of the Washington, DC, branch of IAIA;
- his active role in IAIA’03 Marrakech Conference;
- his support in sharing knowledge on Bank practices of interest to IAIA; and
- his active contribution to the development of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the Bank’s lending and analytical work.
“In your career, Jean-Roger, you have been a leader in promoting impact assessment in the European Union, in the UK, and in Africa, as well as in IAIA,” said the 2004 Awards Committee Chair Hussein Abaza, from Egypt and head of the Trade and Environment Unit for UNEP. “For these reasons, the Committee has chosen to honor you with the 2004 Rose-Hulman Award.” To share its knowledge and experience with participants, the Bank hosted a day-long seminar just before the IAIA Conference – a comprehensive and practical overview of how the Bank Group assists developing countries in carrying out “state-of-the-art” Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) on the projects that it funds. The “World Bank Group Day” shared the three most significant lessons learned in its ESIA work: - The importance of transparency and accountability in its application;
- The essential link between policy and operations; and
- The essential role of staff and client country representative training and knowledge management as a way of sustaining capacity over time.
 | | Stephen Lintner, Sr. Adviser, Quality Assurance and Compliance Unit |
“We are not in a formalized community of practice, such as accounting or medicine,” said Stephen Lintner, Senior Adviser of the Bank’s Quality Assurance and Compliance Unit (QACU), “which puts us in a position with both strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are that this allows us to be innovative, and the weaknesses are that there is the potential to make mistakes.” The theme of this year’s IAIA conference was “Whose Business Is It? – Impact Assessment for Industrial Development.” According to the IAIA President, Richard Morgan, “If impact assessment is to be effective in helping society to move closer to the goal of sustainable development, business needs to be viewed as a partner in the process, alongside the public sector, communities, individuals, and interest groups.” The conference pointed out that globally, the increased role of the private sector in shaping the world economy has important ramifications on human society and the environment, and is having a profound effect on the field of impact assessment. Impact assessment has matured greatly, according to the IAIA, and now operates well beyond its originally local, project-oriented focus – undertaken not only at local scales, but also at regional, national, international, and even global scales. It is also being used more strategically, and is now being applied to policies, programs, and plans; to complex regional development scenarios; and even to whole economic sectors. Aboriginal or indigenous peoples, NGOs, locally-affected individuals, and a variety of other stakeholders are playing increasingly important roles in impact assessment.  | The Bank Group hosted a day-long seminar just before the IAIA Conference to share its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) knowledge and experience. |
The conference included an abundance of fora focusing on impact assessment and its relation to such issues as international trade; the oil and gas sector; fisheries, agriculture, and forestry; the electricity sector; biodiversity; and infrastructure development. Concurrent sessions included corporate social responsibility; tourism and recreation and impact assessment; stakeholder involvement and risk management; and public participation. For more information on the conference, please see the IAIA website. |
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