GDP Center Publishes Book on Development Banks in the Amazon
Rebecca Ray, post-doctoral associate at the GDP Center and adjunct instructor at the Pardee School, is lead editor of Development Banks and Sustainable Development in the Andean Amazon (Routledge, 2020), together with Kevin Gallagher (GDP Center Director and Professor of Global Development Policy), and Cynthia A. Sanborn (Senior Professor of Political Science, University of the Pacific, Lima, Peru).
This book is the product of three years of collaborative research with economists, geographers, and political scientists across South America. The region is undergoing an infrastructure boom, fueled by lending from a growing body of development finance institutions, especially China’s policy banks. Each development bank and every country has a different set of environmental and social safeguards, creating a patchwork of protections and the potential for a race to the bottom as new lenders emerge and national planners seek out fast approvals.
Given the region’s wide array of indigenous and traditional cultures, its tremendous biodiversity, and the importance of the Amazon basin for the entire globe, it is crucial to pursue economic development in a way that is as inclusive and sustainable as possible. So now is the time to ask: to what extent are the environmental and social standards employed by banks and national governments effective in creating those outcomes?
Through seven in-depth case studies and regional statistical analysis, the authors explore the array of protections and their implementation across forest, mountain, and desert settings. The results show that safeguards – particularly legally protected consultation with affected indigenous communities – have brought a significant improvement in project-related deforestation. However, in none of the case studies were safeguards implemented adequately. Important work remains to be done in three main areas: fully accounting for expected environmental effects through comprehensive environmental impact assessments, incorporating the feedback of affected communities through meaningful stakeholder engagement, and ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the entire project process.
The team is working with the University of the Pacific press on a Spanish-language edition, and hoping to see it published later this year. The Spanish-language edition will also features a chapter by Assistant Professor Julie Klinger, now at the University of Delaware and earlier at the Pardee School, on community-based planning in ecotourism associated with the Amazon Fund in Brazil.
Development Banks and Sustainable Development in the Andean Amazon is available through Routledge Press. Click here for a table of contents.