monday, 19 march 2001
world bank replies petition on regional
pipeline
The World Bank has admitted providing
technical support for the West Africa Gas
Pipeline project (WAGP) between 1995-1999. In
a response to a petition signed by over 135
organisations from 26 countries on WAGP to
the President of the Bank, Mr James
Wolfensohn, the Bank however said it
currently has no commitment to support the
project beyond funding the technical
assistance to the governments of Ghana, Togo
and Benin, which expired two years ago. The
Bank's Africa Region Sector Director
(Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure)
Praful Patel in a March 1 letter written on
behalf of the World Bank President did not
however rule out future funding. According to
Patel, "discussions are continuing among the
sponsors and the four governments on the
conditions under which the project would be
feasible. The World Bank Group is maintaining
contacts with the principal parties. For the
Bank to be in a position to consider further
this project, it would have to be satisfied
that it is technically, economically and
financially viable and complies with the
Bank's safeguard policies and fiduciary
requirements." The World Bank letter added
that: "The responsibility for preparing
environmental assessments, resettlement
plans, indigenous people's plans and other
documentation rests with the project
developers. They are fully aware that any
form of World Bank Group support would
depend, among other things, on compliance
with Bank policies, including an analysis of
alternatives: and environmental and social
management plans to diminish adverse effects
identified by the environmental and social
analyses. These plans would also need to
adhere to the Bank's guidelines."
The Bank further said that it is
"committed to public consultation and
disclosure of environmental and social
information and would, should it consider
supporting the project, engage with borrowers
in a full and open consultation process in
all four countries."
On concerns over WAGP exacerbating human
rights violations and communal conflicts, the
Bank expressed commitment to open and
responsive systems of governance. Patel
suggested the need for "open public
consultations during the preparation of the
projects that we (the Bank) support so as to
ensure that they do not undermine the welfare
of the affected populations." Reacting to the
letter from the World Bank, the Director of
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the
Earth-Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Nnimmo Bassey
observed that there is a contradiction in the
Bank's position that it has no commitment to
support WAGP when the Bank is working with
the countries involved to develop a fiscal
framework for the project. He said that
support for a project by the Bank is not
limited to financing.
Bassey stressed that World Bank guidelines
do not guarantee responsible development and
protection of community livelihoods in
projects supported by the Bank. He cited the
case of the World Bank supported oil
exploitation in Chad where "so-called
guidelines and safeguard measures of the
World Bank did not prevent the Chadian regime
from expending initial revenue from the oil
project on the purchase of arms". According
to the ERA/FoE-Nigeria Director, the reality
is that once the World Bank gives out money
for a project "there is little the Bank can
do to halt the destruction, deprivation and
conflicts that the project will unleash".
Similarly, Mr Isaac Osuoka, Coordinator of
the Oilwatch Africa Network, ERA/ FoE-Nigeria
noted that in the case of WAGP, project
development is going on with infrastructure
being upgraded in Escravos, with attendant
impacts. "It would not be possible for the
Bank to come in at the late hour and expect
compliance to its policies and guidelines",
Osuoka observed.
He called on the Bank to heed the call of
the Friends of the Earth International
network and numerous civil society
organisations around the world for the World
Bank and other international creditor
institutions to stop supporting oil, mining
and gas projects "which bring environmental
degradation, mass impoverishment, conflicts
and increase the debt burden on impoverished
countries". In a petition to the World Bank
dated December 18, 2000, NGOs and social
movements around the world expressed serious
concerns that the West African Gas Pipeline
project would aggravate environmental
devastation, human rights violations,
communal conflicts and impoverishment of the
communities in the gas fields and pipeline
route. They therefore called on the World
Bank to discontinue any support for the WAGP
until: 1) The Nigerian state, which is a part
of the West African Gas Pipeline Consortium,
addresses the issues of access to land,
resource control, livelihoods and
self-determination for communities and
peoples of the Niger Delta area; 2) The
Nigerian central government discontinues its
programme of militarisation of the oil-
bearing Niger Delta area and create a
condition for democratic participation; 3)
Chevron and the Nigerian government address
the fears of the local communities. These
fears as articulated by the people themselves
include: the absence of an all-inclusive
Environmental Impact Assessment, the grave
environmental devastation that will result
from the project including deforestation,
explosions, the fragmentation of habitats and
wildlife corridors and the blocking of water
bodies, cultural dislocation as well as
economic impoverishment. The WAGP is
conceived as a 12-30 inch, 500mile
(800-kilometre) onshore and offshore pipeline
to transport natural gas from the Niger Delta
to special consumers in Benin Republic, Togo
and Ghana. A consortium comprising Chevron
Nigeria Limited (CNL), Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Petroleum
Development Corporation (SPDC), Ghana
National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC),
Societe Benioise de Gaz S.A (SOBEGAZ) and
Societe Togolaise de Gaz (SOTOGAZ), has
concluded plans to establish the West African
Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) to 'construct,
maintain and operate the pipeline'. Chevron
is designated Managing Sponsor.
DOIFIE OLA
Head of Campaigns
(For further information, please contact
Doifie OLA on: Tel/Fax +234-1-4932606;
E-mail:
DISERA@infoweb.abs.net
)
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