The jungle bungle
the ecodevelopment project that is proposed for seven protected areas in India in the pilot phase has been facing severe criticism from all quarters. This is being funded jointly by the World Bank (wb) (us $28 million in form of loans) and the Global Environment Facility (us $20 million in form of grants). The project hopes that by giving local communities, living in and around protected areas, some alternative sources of fuelwood and fodder and by encouraging them to be less dependent on the forest resource for their livelihood, a major part of the pressures faced by protected areas in India will be significantly reduced.
ngos and local communities have been expressing serious reservations about the project. The wb board of directors, however, in total disregard for these concerns went ahead to give their final approval to the project on September 5.
On September 27, the wb organised an ngo consultation meeting in New Delhi, ostensibly to reassure that there was actually little to get worked up about. The project design is flexible and process oriented to address all the concerns that they have been raising. Unfortunately for the wb, the ngos present were not convinced. At the onset, they made it clear to the task manager of the project, Jessica Mott, that they see little purpose to the meeting considering that the project has already been approved by the Bank. "If there is a possibility of actually stopping the disbursement of funds and having an honest and open reassessment of the project then there could be a constructive dialogue. Otherwise this meeting is futile', began one of the ngo participants.
How open the Bank is to criticisms was evident from the fact that even before the meetings with ngos, it held a