hands off
Friends of the Earth asks the World Bank to stop funding oil, mining and gas projects at its September 2000 meeting in Prague
hands off!
foreword by ricardo navarro, chair, friends of the earth international
As 2003 drew to a close, the streets of Bolivia were crowded with people full of outrage and despair. They were protesting against the export of their national gas reserves. Bolivians are among the most impoverished people in the world, and many lack basic services like water and energy. Yet the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions are overseeing the privatization and exportation of the country's resources, leaving misery in their wake.
Uprisings like the one in Bolivia have been happening all over the world. Communities no longer accept the imposition of a development model that has proven beneficial predominantly to the world's transnational corporations. Large-scale oil, mining and gas operations have created misery among communities, ravaged the environment and are contributing to dangerous climate change. International Financial Institutions are playing a major role in supporting these industries and this devastation with public money.
In 2000, convinced that this vicious cycle needs to stop, I confronted World Bank President James Wolfensohn, on behalf of Friends of the Earth International, with the tragic impacts of the Bank's investments in oil, mining and gas. He responded that he would assess whether the Bank should have a future role in the sectors. This resulted in the Extractive Industries Review, which is coming to a close as this report is being published at the end of 2003. The Review recommends an end to World Bank financing of coal and oil, and greater involvement of communities in decision making. It is important that the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions adopt these recommendations, and in addition take firm steps towards a phase out of large scale mining.
Friends of the Earth International, in cooperation with communities on all continents, has a long history of campaigning on mining and financial flows. This publication is our own Extractive Industries Review. We think that the answer is crystal clear: International Financial Institutions need to phase out their investments in the harmful fossil fuel and mining sectors as quickly as possible. There has to be an end to the public subsidization of the corporate oil, mining and gas industries at the expense of people and the environment.
Communities around the world have proposed many alternatives that could take us towards equitable and sustainable societies, and we challenge the world's governments to redirect their support towards such initiatives. At the same time, we call upon people everywhere to think critically and creatively about what we really need to consume and produce.
Friends of the Earth International believes that it is time for International Financial Institutions and the countries that govern them to abandon their archaic orientation towards export-led growth and start respecting the diversity in the world. Phasing out investment in the extractive industries would be an important step towards achieving that goal
