Safeguards in a Changing Landscape

The landscape of safeguards is in a state of transition. One significant trend is a growing emphasis on the use of national systems to meet safeguard needs.

This panel will look at opportunities and challenges associated with this changing geography. Speakers will touch on several elements of the shifting landscape, including the World Bank’s experiment with a country systems approach, the negotiations around REDD+ safeguards, and the emergence of China and Brazil as significant actors.

Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship of these developments to the use of national laws and institutions to protect people and the environment, and the search for proper balance between ownership and accountability for all actors involved.

Speakers:

• Henry Bazira, Water Governance Institute, Uganda
• Mark Grimsditch, consultant on China/Cambodia
• Bernadinus Steni, HuMa, Indonesia
• Roland Widmer, consultant on Brazil
• Stephen Litner, World Bank
• Gaia Larsen (TBC), World Resources Institute (chair)

Contact: Emily Norford (enorford@wri.org)