 |  | | | | |  | | | > Broadcast Quality
| | > Warren Evans, World Bank Director of Environment Sector, on the Bank's work in the environment (Eng) | | > John Wilton, World Bank vice president of Strategy, Finance, and Risk Management, on the nature of Development Marketplace projects (Eng) | | > Enrique Rueda-Sabater, World Bank Director in Corporate Strategy Group, on what's the Development Marketplace (Eng) | | > Enrique Rueda-Sabater, World Bank Director in Corporate Strategy Group, on Development Marketplace participants (Eng) | | > John Wilton, World Bank Vice President of Strategy, Finance, and Risk Management, on the Development Marketplace’s origins (Eng) | | > Enrique Rueda-Sabater, World Bank Director in Corporate Strategy Group, on what's the Development Marketplace (Sp) | | > Joelle Chassard, World Bank Manager in Corporate Strategy Group, on what's the Development Marketplace (Fr) | | > Joelle Chassard, World Bank Manager in Corporate Strategy Group, on the focus of Development Marketplace 2005 (Fr) |
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Media Contact:
In Washington: Sergio Jellinek
Telephone: 1-202-458-2841
Sjellinek@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, December 6, 2004 -- The World Bank’s Development Marketplace (DM) is looking to award $3 million for innovative, local projects that provide unique solutions to environmental challenges. The Development Marketplace 2005, “Innovations for Livelihoods in a Sustainable Environment,” reflects the World Bank’s determination to support local ideas that improve the lives of poor people while minimizing environmental degradation. Whether it’s protecting farms from elephant incursions by planting chili peppers in Africa, recycling discarded plastic into usable objects in Burkina Faso, or developing fly-fishing eco-tourism in Mongolia, the key word behind the competition is innovation. The Development Marketplace 2005, is open to anyone - civil society groups, social entrepreneurs, youth organizations, private foundations, academia, private sector corporations -- with a brilliant but unusual idea that may not get funded through traditional venues. The maximum award will be US$150,000 per proposal. “We all must do a better job of protecting our planet’s fragile environment,” says James D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President. “Despite progress in some areas, the way we have abused the Earth is alarming. Responsible management of natural resources is essential to reduce poverty, especially among marginalized groups who depend on the Earth for their livelihoods.” Proposals will be accepted until January 21, 2005 and should address one of these categories: o Renewable energy and energy efficiency at the community level o Innovative application of clean technologies in small enterprises o Biodiversity conservation o Environmental education and awareness o Protecting environmental health (air and water pollution, water supply and sanitation,
persistent organic pollutants (POPs) o Sustainable use of natural resources (land, agriculture, water, forests) Winners will be announced after World Environment Day on June 6, 2005 in Washington, DC. The Development Marketplace allows the World Bank, in partnership with donors such as the Global Environment Facility and MacArthur Foundation, to give seed money to turn creative ideas into viable projects. When last year’s competition was flooded with environmental proposals, the organizers decided to devote the entire next event to one theme – sustainable development. The Development Marketplace’s approach complements the World Bank’s work by focusing on grassroots initiatives and working directly with organizations that implement projects on the ground. “Most of the World Bank’s environment investments and technical assistance are larger, government- driven programs that are very important for natural resource management,” says Warren Evans, World Bank Director of Environment Sector. “The nature of Development Marketplace projects is different. They are much smaller, they directly reach people in need, and they don’t go through our or the government’s bureaucracy,” says John Wilton, Vice President, Strategy, Finance, and Risk Management, World Bank Group. “It’s an opportunity for the Bank to work with people closer to the ground who have practical, pragmatic ideas about how to solve problems in development. Hopefully ,we’ll be able to duplicate some of these ideas in Bank projects.” The Development Marketplace started in 1998 as an internal Bank competition to fund innovative ideas that were not picked up through the usual funding system. It has evolved into a global event that has awarded nearly $25 million for more than 500 projects over the last six years. In addition to the global competition, in 2005 the Development Marketplace will support nine smaller country-level competitions encompassing 14 countries, whose themes are aligned with the countries’ poverty reduction priorities. More information about the competition is available at www.developmentmarketplace.org in Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Or contact the Development Marketplace team at dminfo@worldbank.org. |
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