MEDIA ADVISORY: WRI Experts Available for Interviews on World Bank and International Monetary Fund Meeting

WHAT:

Experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI) will participate in four panel discussions during the World Bank Group (WBG) and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey.

The panel discussions are part of the Civil Society Policy Forum, which will bring together bank staff, civil society representatives, government officials and academics to discuss important topics, such as integrating human rights into WBG operations; financing climate change adaptation in developing countries; financing forest conservation to combat global warming; and transforming transportation in cities. WRI experts appearing on these panels will be available for interviews.

WHEN:

October 3, 2009, 9:00a.m.-10:30am
Panel: Integrating Human Rights into the World Bank Group

October 5, 16:00-5:30p.m.
Panel: Climate Change, Finance and the Multilateral Development Banks

October 6, 11:30a.m.-1:00p.m
Panel: Financing Forest Conservation to Combat Global Warming: Keys to Success

October 7, 9:00a.m.-10:30a.m.
Panel: Transforming Transportation in Cities

WHERE:

Istanbul Congress Center (ICC)
CSO Center, floor 5B
Congress Valley, 34267 Harbiye, Sisli
Istanbul, Turkey

RSVP:  Jessica Forres, WRI media officer, +1(202) 729-7736, jforres@wri.org

PANEL DISCUSSIONS:

Integrating Human Rights into the World Bank Group
Date: Saturday, October 3, 9:00-10:30
Location: Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), CSO Center, floor 5B, CSO Room A
Organizers: World Resources Institute (WRI), Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Indian Law Resource Center (ILRC), and Centro de Derechos Humanos y Ambiente (CEDHA).
Speakers: Juan Martin Carballo, attorney at Centro de Derechos Humanos y Ambiente, Leonardo Crippa, attorney at Indian Law Resource Center, Kristen Genovese, attorney at Center for International Environmental Law, Kirk Herbertson, associate at WRI.
Description: The global financial crisis, climate change, and food shortages are driving millions of people into extreme poverty. As the WBG responds to these global crises, its legitimacy depends on avoiding harm to - and providing benefits for - the world’s most vulnerable people. There has been internal and external pressure on the WBG to integrate human rights into its operations. While human rights outcomes have been implicit in many of its operations, in many cases the WBG has had an inconsistent record. This panel will discuss the following issues:

• What is the value added of integrating human rights into the WBG’s operations?
• What are the gaps in the World Bank’s and IFC’s coverage of human rights?
• What are the obstacles for incorporating human rights into WBG policies and operations?
• What steps can be taken to clarify the WBG’s legal obligations under international human rights laws

Climate Chage, Finance and the Multilateral Development Banks
Date: Monday, October 5, 16:00-17:30
Location: Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), CSO Center, floor 5B, CSO Room A
Organizers: WRI, Bank Information Center (BIC), and the Heinrich Boell Foundation (HBF)
Speakers: Athena Ballesteros, a senior associate at WRI, Manish Bapna, managing director at WRI, Renato Redentor Constantino, executive director of NGO Forum on ADB, Ama Marston, policy officer at Bretton Woods Project, Liane Schalatek, associate director at Heinrich Boell Foundation, David Wheeler, senior fellow at Center for Global Development. Keynote and panel remarks to be given by Michele DeNevers, senior manager of the World Bank’s Environment Department, World Bank Group.
Description: In 2008, the WBG launched the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), a set of international investment instruments designed to provide interim, scaled-up funding to help developing countries in their efforts to mitigate increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change.  Funding for the CIF’s sunset once a new UNFCCC financial architecture is effective.   As the CIFs become operational over the coming year, the results of this program are likely to inform the post-2012 financial agreement. There are many lessons learned from the development and design of these so-called ‘live experiments’. One key challenge remains: What role should the WBG and the Regional Development Banks play in financing climate change in developing countries in a post-2012 agreement? The panel will discuss:

• What roles might the World Bank and Regional Development Banks play in facilitating, and monitoring international climate-related financial flows?
• What can the Bretton Woods institution do to help developing countries get the support and finance they need to address climate change as a development issue?
• What governance reforms might give the Bretton Woods institutions greater legitimacy as honest brokers in global efforts to address climate change?
• What organizational changes - including management structures and staff incentives - would prompt attention to the implications of climate change for development choices?
• What lessons can be taken from the recent experience with the World Bank-administered Climate Investment Funds?

Financing Forest Conservation to Combat Global Warming: Keys to Success
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 11:30a.m. - 1:00p.m.
Location: Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), CSO Center, floor 5B, CSO Room B
Organizers: Center for Global Development (CGD), WRI
Speakers:  Ulla Toernaes (Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark), Vinod Thomas (Director-General and Senior Vice-President, Independent Evaluation Group, WBG), Manish Bapna (Managing Director, World Resources Institute), Kenneth Chomitz (Senior Advisor, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank Group), David Wheeler (Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development), Dan Hammer (Center for Global Development), Robin Kraft (Center for Global Development).

Description: Forest clearing in developing countries accounts for about 20% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.  The Bali Action Plan seeks ways to reward countries for reducing these emissions through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD).  Effective implementation of REDD is an intense topic of discussion in the negotiations leading up to Copenhagen.  Many observers envision developed countries paying developing countries billions of dollars per year to keep their forests intact.  Substantial pilot efforts are already being sponsored by UN-REDD, the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), and the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative. Sustained international support for such enormous payment flows from developed countries to developing countries will hinge on the credibility of REDD programs.  The panel will discuss and illustrate three components that are key to a successful international agreement on forest conservation:

• Sustainable payment mechanisms and robust supporting institutions;
• Evidence-based evaluation of forest program impacts, illustrated by a global analysis of the impact of strictly protected areas, multiple use conservation areas, and indigenous areas on deforestation; and
• Transparent public monitoring of results; the rapidly-advancing potential for public oversight will be demonstrated using a new web-based system, FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action).
  

Transforming Transportation in Cities
Date: October 7, 9:00a.m.-10:30a.m.
Location: Istanbul Congress Center (ICC), CSO Center, floor 5B,Room A
Organizer: EMBARQ’s Center for Sustainable Transport and Center for Sustainable Transport for Turkey or SUM Turkiye, projects of WRI.
Speakers: The panel will be moderated by Dr. Nancy Kete, Director of EMBARQ, the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport. Invited panelists include Sibel Bulay, Director of SUM-Turkiye, a representative from the Asian Development Bank, which is leading the effort to mainstream transportation projects in the UNFCCC discussions, and a representative from the World Bank.
Description: Rapid urbanization and increasing rapid motorization rates in the developing world are resulting in congestion, pollution, noise, accidents, productivity losses, and degradation of the quality of life. Pioneering cities across the globe have discovered relatively low cost, highly effective strategies to tackle this suite of challenges in a financially sustainable way. Development banks, aid agencies, national policy makers and private investors all have a role in scaling up these proven strategies to a more sustainable urban transport sector. The panel will discuss successful pilot projects and how they can be taken to scale.