Merger of the World Bank’s environment and infrastructure networks

Mainstreaming or undermining sustainability?While mainstreaming environmental and social sustainability into Bank operations has been a longstanding goal of internal reformers and external critics for the past 20 years, certain criteria have to be met before the latest development is celebrated. The World Bank plan to merge its environmental and social development units with the department that oversees large infrastructure investment could end up leaving the “wolf guarding the henhouse“. The new “Sustainable Development Network“ will have to be monitored closely to ensure that the Bank does not wrongly promote oil and gas projects, frequently the target of criticism about negative environmental and social impacts, as “development“ or “anti-poverty“ projects. Read the full article by Bruce Jenkins at Bank Information Center: http://www.bicusa.org/bicusa/issues/Mainstreaming_or_undermining_sustainability.pdf