|
8 february 2001
world bank support for gateway project:
the beginning of the end for a holy
river
proposed world heritage site, holy to
millions, threatened by industrial
development
Washington, DC and Amman, Jordan --
Friends of the Earth urged the World Bank not
to approve a proposed $15 million loan for
the controversial and environmentally
destructive Jordan Gateway Project (JGP).
This project, which has been condemned by
Israeli, Jordanian, and international
environmental organizations, seeks to
establish an industrial estate bisecting the
Jordan River, in both Israel and Jordan. The
current site is on the banks of the Jordan
River, a proposed UN World Heritage Site.
Charles Lenchner, the US representative of
Friends of the Earth Middle East, called the
project "A disaster of Biblical proportions,
in that the World Bank is assisting private
developers to permanently alter the landscape
of one of the most revered landscapes in the
Biblical holy land." Critics of the JGP
accuse the World Bank of lending their
support to a project that will permanently
alter the unique character of the site,
preventing its planned development for
tourism potential.
The developers, a consortium of Israeli
and Jordanian businessmen and the Safra
banking group FIBI Holdings, have steadfastly
refused to reconsider their choice of site.
The site was chosen and construction begun
prior to environmental assessment and public
consultation. Although World Bank guidelines
and procedures generally require those steps
as part of the planning process, in this case
the World Bank decided to use the assessment
process to legitimize previous decisions
after the fact. Instead of participating in
the planning process, World Bank staff have
been assisting the private sponsors in
fending off environmental critics.
Yoav Sagi, a director of the Society for
the Protection of Nature in Israel, said that
if the loan is approved, the Jordan River
will be added to the list of environmental
disasters paid for by the World Bank. He also
said, "we have been fighting for preservation
of open spaces, smart growth, and the
protection of our natural and cultural
heritage against local developers. And we
have had to fight the World Bank, which
claims to be environmentally sensitive."
The Friends of the Earth US report
"Dubious Development: How the World Bank's
Private Arm Is Failing the Poor and the
Environment" (September 2000) details
examples of Bank lending for environmental
and human rights disasters, fueling climate
change, supporting welfare for multinational
corporations, and lending to known polluters
and human rights abusers.
According to Dr. Brent Blackwelder,
President of FoE US, "The World Bank's
behavior on the Jordan Gateway Project is
just the latest example of how they pretend
to follow their own procedures, while making
a mockery of the purpose underlying those
procedures. In this case the Bank abetted the
project sponsors in preventing a discussion
of the project's location. As a result, about
a third of the Jordan River in Israel will
become industrialized and commercialized. The
Bank is helping to vandalize an area revered
by millions all over the world."
Notes:
"The River Jordan and Its Sources: The
River Jordan and its sources represent a
self-sufficient ecosystem from its sources in
the north at the Dan, Hetzbani and Banias
springs until the Dead Sea in the south. In
addition to its endemic biosystems it is a
source of cultural heritage including sites
of traditional human settlement and land uses
while associated with events and living
traditions of outstanding universal
significance." from a brochure released by
the Israeli UNESCO Committee, proposing that
the Jordan River be recognized as a World
Heritage Site.
Project Description: The Jordan Gateway
Project is a proposed free trade zone and
industrial estate on both sides of the Jordan
River, in the northern third. The private
developers from Israel and Jordan claim that
their project will benefit the region and
provide jobs for 15,000 people. The World
Bank's private lending arm, the International
Finance Corporation (IFC), will vote on a $10
million loan for the project on February
8.
Impacts on a Holy River: The project site
is nine kilometers south of the border
crossing at Sheikh Hussein bridge, near the
Israeli town of Beit Shean. Like most of the
Jordan Valley adjacent to the river, the area
is virtually undeveloped, with the exception
of some farming activities on both sides of
the border. Although the site is ecologically
significant because of its flora and fauna,
the real importance of the area lies in the
past. The Jordan River is a Biblical site
featured in stories about Moses and Jesus.
Many pilgrims visit the region to be baptized
or to simply experience the wonder of being
in the Holy Land.
Lack of Env. Planning: The private Israeli
and Jordanian developers chose the site and
began construction without having first
performed an environmental assessment and
public consultation. After securing political
support from Israel, Jordan, and the United
States, the developers sought IFC financing.
The project was promoted as a symbol of peace
and economic cooperation between Israel and
Jordan, of such importance that environmental
questions were seen as irrelevant.
Opposition Widespread: Although the Middle
East is in turmoil at the moment, Israeli,
Jordanian, and Palestinian environmentalists
have come together to oppose this project,
and the impending World Bank loan. In
addition to Friends of the Earth Middle East,
made up of Israelis, Jordanians and
Palestinians, many other environmental NGO's
in the region have expressed their
opposition. This includes the Royal Society
for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan and
the Society for the Protection of Nature in
Israel, two of the largest nonprofit
organizations anywhere in the region.
Alternatives: Environmentalists have
proposed a number of alternatives. First of
all, neither the sponsors nor the Bank have
explained in economic terms why the project
must be alongside the Jordan River. Other
joint Israeli Jordanian economic enterprises
are expanding in the nearby city of Irbid,
and elsewhere in Jordan. The Israeli city of
Beit Shean has an entire industrial zone
lying empty, just a few miles from the
proposed site. However, if a convincing
analysis can be shown to support a site along
the river, then the best location would be in
the vicinity of the border crossing at Sheikh
Hussein bridge, since that area is already
built up, and will continue to develop as
trade and tourism expands.
Contact:
Charles Lenchner 202-783-7400
x205 mobile 202 *210-6874
|
