The Environment and International Law Unit of the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency provides advice to the Bank on all environmental and international legal and policy issues related to Bank-financed, implemented and/or supported projects. We review projects to help determine whether: - projects are in compliance with the Bank’s safeguard policies;
- there is need to assist countries to prepare new environmental laws and regulations; and
- projects are in compliance with relevant international conventions, and whether they need environmental legal covenants.
We also: - review Bank-wide papers related to environmental issues, operational policies (OPs) and procedures concerning environmental and social issues and the Environmental Assessment Sourcebook;
- provide advice on Trust Fund related operational work including the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Prototype Carbon Fund (PCF), the Rainforest Trust Fund, the Montreal Protocol, the Mediterranean Environment Technical Assistance Program (METAP); and
- provide seminars and training workshops both within and outside the Bank.
Our work implements the Bank’s development agenda by ensuring that the Bank complies with the national and international legal aspects of sustainable resource use, that the Bank applies and updates its operational policies to make them more responsive to social and environmental concerns, and that it provides technical assistance to clients on environmentally responsive legal frameworks. A number of initiatives in the Legal Vice Presidency demonstrate the critical link between the Legal Vice Presidency’s environmental law work and the Bank’s objective of poverty reduction.
Operational Policies
We have been actively involved in the conversion and revision process of various environmental and social safeguard policies. These include OP 4.11 on Cultural Property, OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement, OP. 4.20 on Indigenous Peoples, and OP 4.01 on Environmental Assessment (EA). Our involvement has entailed reviewing the policies, participating in working groups inside and outside the Bank, conducting broad consultations with Bank staff and stakeholders, preparing issues papers, and participation in the drafting of the final policies. With respect to OP 4.01, this work has led to a clarification that the Bank requires an EA for all operations financed by Bank loans or guarantees and for all components of a project, regardless of the source of financing.
The Global Environment Facility
We continue to provide legal support to the operations of the GEF. This includes mainstreaming GEF operations and framing the relationships between the Bank and other multilateral and bilateral development agencies to implement GEF projects. Specific significant legal issues in FY 1999 included an analysis of intellectual property issues raised in GEF financed activities, and the development of the legal documentation for the Medium-Size Grant Projects, designed particularly to allow NGO access to GEF grant resources.
IFC and Private Sector Challenges
We have worked closely with IFC and other multilateral financial institutions to address all environmental policy and legal issues posed by private sector involvement in development projects. Also, we have collaborated with the environmental unit of the Africa region in a capacity building project to assist four African countries to address environmental, legal and policy issues dealing with mining operations.
Technical Assistance
A major aspect of our work is to provide advice to borrowing countries on the development of legislation designed to reduce pollution, enhance the protection of the environment, and promote sustainable use of natural resources. We have assisted in the preparation of laws and regulations by aiding in the drafting of appropriate terms of reference, reviewing the work of legal consultants, supervising, reviewing and commenting on draft legislation. This assistance has covered a wide range of subjects which include: - regulations on the sale and use of pesticides in the agricultural sector,
- regulations on environmental liability and privatization,
- legislation on protected areas,
- forest use related regulations,
- waste management,
- environmental impact assessment regulations and guidelines,
- water resources management,
- pollution control-related regulations,
- sustainable fisheries management, and
- institutional aspects of environmental protection and natural resources conservation including the establishment of trust funds.
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Training
A number of training activities to enhance environmental management in Bank-financed projects have been carried out in the Bank. Courses that were delivered by the Legal Department to Bank staff include Institutional Frameworks for Environment Management, which focused on institutions, various types of environmental management, co-management initiatives with the private sector and civil society, as well as how institutions adapt to the international environmental agenda. We also collaborated with South Asia division of the Legal Vice Presidency to host a training session on the Legal and Policy Perspectives Regarding Groundwater. We also speak regularly at international legal conferences.
The Prototype Carbon Fund
The importance of dealing with the problem of climate change was reaffirmed in 1999 when the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Buenos Aires andquot;Plan of Action.andquot; In order to support the Bank’s work on the Prototype Carbon Fund, the Legal Department has provided advice on the emerging regulatory framework of the UNFCCC and drafted complex legal documentation to establish the PCF.
The principal objective of the PCF is to demonstrate how project-based emission reductions transactions under the UNFCCC can promote and contribute to the sustainable development of the Bank’s borrowing countries. The Bank will invite interested borrowing countries to participate in the PCF Host Country Committee. This Committee is intended to provide guidance on the operations of the PCF and generally on issues affecting sustainable development. Borrowing countries that host a PCF project will also attend a technical training program designed to enhance their capacity to benefit from the investment opportunities presented by the Kyoto Protocol. Future work on the Prototype Carbon Fund will include the development of agreements to execute PCF projects and participation in training activities designed to enhance the capacity of borrowing countries to implement the UNFCCC. Last Updated: May 4, 2004 back to top |
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