THE AIIB OBSERVER
As the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) commences, the Forum Network recognizes this moment as a crucial opportunity to shed light on the critical issues of AIIB's transparency, accountability, and meaningful engagement. These concerns have been consistently at the forefront of our agenda in previous years.
In our unwavering commitment to advancing our mission, we introduce the 'AIIB Observer,' a newspaper tabloid designed to highlight the stories of communities directly impacted by AIIB-funded projects. Our central aim with this tabloid is to provide a platform for the voices that often remain unheard – the voices of community members who have shouldered the burdens imposed by AIIB's development vision. Through the 'AIIB Observer,' we endeavor to convey these communities' struggles, challenges, and unfortunate experiences to AIIB's leadership, the media, and the broader public.
Within the 'AIIB Observer pages,' you will discover a compelling collection of stories, each shedding light on a specific project. These stories encompass diverse regions and projects, including the Bhola IPP in Bangladesh, the Bangalore Metro Rail Project, the Cambodia PRASAC COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility, the Cambodia Emergency and Crisis Response Facility, the Everbright Infrastructure Investment Fund II, and the Unique Meghnaghat 584MW Combined Cycle Power Plant.
We firmly believe that the narratives showcased in the 'AIIB Observer' will serve as a potent instrument in furthering our advocacy efforts against the adverse consequences wrought by AIIB-funded initiatives.
NEW PUBLICATION OUT!
The latest addition to our ongoing AIIB Advocacy initiatives – 'ADB and AIIB Fossil Fuel and Gas Legacy in Asia' paper.
This report delves into the ADB and AIIB investments across pivotal Asian nations, including Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Developed through a collaborative effort with CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), the Center for Energy, Ecology & Development (CEED), and Indus Consortium.
This publication uncovers the far-reaching environmental and social consequences of the region's ADB and AIIB-funded fossil fuel projects. To enhance accessibility and impact, we have incorporated a series of visually engaging infographics that vividly illustrate AIIB's role in these regional fossil fuel initiatives.
Open Statement: Critical Questions to
ADB's Management during the
56th Annual Meeting
Mr. President, you are aware that the region has been hit severely economically by the Ukrainian war, as it was on the rebuilding path back from the pandemic. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh face severe budget shortfalls, rising inflation, fuel and electricity soaring prices, and food price hikes. The reserve banks are desperately looking for IMF bailouts to see through the near-term deficits. The ADB must refrain from adding further to this burden by supporting a development pathway that leads to import dependence and mega infrastructure-related social and environmental damage. The ADB cannot be an enabler for non-performing loans and white elephant infrastructure projects, which will further deepen the financial crisis and widen inequality. The ADB, therefore, must ensure responsible project selection, community-inclusive design and implementation to ensure the Asia Pacific region to not fall into deeper debt and financial crisis.
ADB’s Asia Clean Energy Forum 2023:
Techno-Fixes Distract From Real Solutions
As civil society organizations that have observed – and in some cases engaged – in the Asian Development Bank’s annual Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) over the years, we have taken note of ADB’s consistent framing of national, multinational and transnational corporations as the leaders in the field of energy transition, prioritization of large-scale infrastructure and promotion of speculative technologies that are ecologically, socially and economically untenable. We refuse to turn a blind eye to the reality that while the corporate actors provided with a platform at ACEF have been – and continue to be – implicated in exacerbating the climate crisis as well as social, economic and environmental injustice in the region (including Adani, Engie, Summit Corporation and Tata), ADB’s own role in advancing resource intensive mega-projects also has real social and environmental damages associated (including large hydropower, solar and wind parks and drilling for geothermal resources in the midst of thriving rural communities).
