Consideration of the WCDs recommendations within procurement directives

Dam projects often instigate considerable controversy because of their social and environmental consequences. The World Commission on Dams (WCD) developed a participatory process outlining basic guidelines for socially and environmentally sound implementation projects, which are now considered standard worldwide.

adelphi’s study examined the policies of five major development banks (the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Inter-American Bank, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation) and two multilateral institutions (the OECD and the European Union for projects in the context of the Clean Development Mechanism). The aim of the study was to review how far the guideline standards of the respective financial institutions take into account the WCD’s recommendations. On the basis of these results, the study gave recommendations for each institution how to improve implementation of the WCD principles.