What are International Financial
Institutions?
International financial institutions
(IFIs) use public (taxpayers') money to
undertake or support investments in other
countries. There are two categories of IFIs:
the multilateral development banks and the
export credit agencies.
The mission of most multilateral
development banks is 'poverty alleviation'
and as such they set the development agenda
for Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern
Europe. These institutions include the World
Bank Group, the
Asian Development Bank
,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, the
European Investment Bank
and the
Interamerican Development
Bank
.
Export credit
agencies
(ECAs) are industrial nation's
bilateral finance agencies. They are
established to facilitate and support exports
to and investments in other countries. ECAs
are now the world's biggest class of IFIs,
collectively exceeding in size the World Bank
Group.
What's wrong with IFIs?
Loans from IFIs have caused grave
environmental and social problems for
millions of people all over the world.
Ill-conceived programs and large-scale
development projects like hydroelectric dams,
roads and bridges, nuclear power plants,
mining and oil and gas exploitation have
often caused irreversible environmental
impacts, displaced entire communities, and
destroyed indigenous cultures. IFIs force a
neoliberal development model upon communities
all over the world, often without their
consent.
Do IFIs not care for people and the
environment?
In theory, IFIs are established to
generate economic growth, and contribute to
sustainable development and poverty
alleviation. Therefore, some IFIs adopted
safeguards: environmental and social
guidelines. However, these vary from
institution to institution. And the actual
practice is often far from complying with the
good intentions on paper. Export credit
agencies are lagging behind most. Their
mission could perhaps best be described as
'unsustainable development': to create jobs
in the country where they are from without
regard for the environmental and social
impacts.
what does the IFI programme of FoEI do
about it?
FoEI strives to protect the environment
and create sustainable societies. In that
context, the IFI programme is seeking changes
in the power balance in these institutions,
in the projects they finance and in the role
they play in the construction and maintenance
of the current economic world order. FoEI
exposes the increased role of development
banks in supporting the private sector;
campaigns against the privatization of public
services, calls for an end to the financing
of harmful
fossil fuel and
mining projects
, strives to enhance
civil society control
over the institutions, and works for the
recognition of the
ecological debt
.
Which FoE groups are part of the IFI
programme?
Friends of the Earth groups from all over
the world are active in the IFI programme,
including FoE
australia
,
Cameroon
,
Nigeria
,
Mali
,
Slovakia
,
Czech
Republic
,
Estonia
,
Lithuania
,
Colombia
,
england
,
Paraguay
,
papua
new guinea
,
Peru
,
Costa
Rica
,
Argentina
,
Sri
Lanka
,
Japan
,
Indonesia
,
France
,
Netherlands
and the
United States
.
The common activities of these groups take
place through meetings and conferences,
actions and protests, advocacy efforts and
joint publications. FoEI groups work together
in task groups on issues, for example:
ifi's out of fossil
fuel and mining
export credit
agencies
european investment
bank
asian development
bank
Who can I ask for more information?
Contact Janneke Bruil at the FoEI
secretariat at
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