Indigenous Peoples fall backwards in the Realigned IDB
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
by Andrea Verdasco & Vince McElhinny
With the realignment of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Indigenous Peoples and Community Development Unit was repackaged into a new Gender and Diversity Unit. This shows a weakening commitment to the Indigenous Peoples work.
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Free Trade in the agenda for IDB Spring Annual Meeting
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
by Jorge L. Arrizurieta
The Inter-American Development Bank will be hosting its Annual Meeting in Miami and the issue of Free Trade Agreements will be at the top of the list.
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Terna CEO says group to take part in 3 Brazilian bids this year
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
by AFX News Limited
Terna SpA CEO Flavio Cattaneo said the group will take part in at least three bids for grid operations in Brazil in 2008.
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Bank of the South launched
Thursday, December 13, 2007
by BIC
Seven South American leaders launched the Bank of the South (Banco del Sur) on Sunday, touting it as the continent's alternative to U.S.-backed lenders.
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Soy in the Amazon
Monday, December 10, 2007
by Pat Joseph
The annual destruction of the Amazon rainforest is tallied every August and announced to a world sadly accustomed to the idea that its greatest tropical forest is being wiped off the face of the Earth.
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Começa leilão da usina de Santo Antônio
Monday, December 10, 2007
by Leonardo Goy, Wellington Bahnemann, Gerusa Marques
Começou por volta das 12h35 o leilão da hidrelétrica de Santo Antônio, no Rio Madeira (RO), organizado na sede da Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (Aneel), em Brasília. Na primeira etapa, os investidores farão uma proposta única para o preço da energia que será produzida pela usina. Nenhum dos três consórcios inscritos terá como saber qual foi o lance oferecido pelos demais interessados.
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Second Latin American Congress of National Parks and Protected Areas
Monday, December 03, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
The second Latin American Congress of National Parks and Protected Areas held in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina was the largest gathering of environmental organizations working in Latin America since the last Congress in 1997, held in Santa Marta.
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Ecuadorian airline receives $62 million loan from the IADB
Thursday, November 29, 2007
by Lesley Wroughton for Reuters
The IADB approved on Thursday a $62 million loan for a commercial airline in Ecuador.
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Bank of the South
Thursday, November 29, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
Eight countries are planning to inaugurate the Bank of the South on December 5, 2007 in Caracas. Joining ALBA countries (Venezuela, Bolivia), Ecuador Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, Colombia decided two weeks ago that it too would join the initiative. Peru and Chile have so far remained silent.
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European Commission and Inter-American Development Bank sign Memorandum of Understanding
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
by Edu BOURSE
The European Commission and Inter-American Development Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 19th in Brussels to strengthen their cooperation in the Latin American region.
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Human rights organization in Brasil investigates human right violations from Madeira project
Monday, November 19, 2007
by DhESCA Brasil
The National Report plans a mission to Rondonia to investigate the human rights violations from the Madeira Complex.
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A Changed World?
Friday, November 02, 2007
by Marcela Sanchez
In 2006, Bolivia broke with the International Monetary Fund and signaled its desire for independence. Now this week the Andean nation becomes the first country ever to withdraw from the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, a World Bank body that referees contract disagreements between foreign investors and host countries.
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A Bank of their Own: Latin America Casting off Washington's Shackles
Friday, November 02, 2007
by Mark Weisbrot
"The bank, which will be officially launched on Dec. 5, will make development loans to its member countries, with a focus on regional economic integration.(...) The Inter-American Development Bank, which focuses entirely on Latin America, devotes only about 2 percent of its lending to regional integration." That was Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil - not Washington's nemesis, Hugo Chavez -speaking in the Republic of Congo just two weeks ago.
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Inter-American Development Bank to increase infrastructure investment
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
by Bank Information Center
Announcement shows the growing internal pressure at the institution to push lending for major energy initiatives.
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The Bank of the South: An Alternative to IMF and World Bank Dominance
Monday, October 29, 2007
by Stephen Lendman
In July, 2004, the IMF and World Bank commemorated the 60th anniversary of their founding at Bretton Woods, NH to provide a financial framework of assistance for the postwar world after the expected defeat of Germany and Japan.
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High financial risks dispersed throughout Rio Madeira Dam Project
Thursday, October 25, 2007
by Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira
Study by Amigos da Terra warns investors: Methodology is based on credit rating agencies approach.
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Brazil plans oil and gas exploration in Amazons
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
by Peak Oil News
Brazil plans to spend some $35.5 million on oil and gas exploration in the northern Amazonian state of Acre, on the border with Bolivia, the official Agencia Brasil news agency reported.The goal of the project, undertaken by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), is to determine the region's potential for oil and gas production, according to the Spanish News agency EFE
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Chavez's Plan for Development Bank Moves Ahead
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
by Alexei Barrionuevo
The idea by Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s president, to create a Bank of the South to finance regional development projects is moving forward, aided by the tacit approval of Brazil, which has South America’s largest economy.
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IFC, IDB and BNDES create new fund for infrastructure in Brazil
Friday, October 19, 2007
by IFC
The IFC, IDB and BNDES signed an agreement on October 19th to create a $3.99 million private sector participation trust fund to invest in infrastructure projects in Brazil.
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South America chokes as Amazon burns
Monday, October 08, 2007
by Daniel Howden and Jules Steven, The Independent
The Amazon region is endangered of disappearing as vast areas of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay are wrapped in smoke. Roberto Smeraldi, from Friends of the Earth Brazil, said the current situation was out of control. He was very clear as to who is to blame “…they are mainly the results of expanding cattle ranching.”
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Venezuelan funding to Latin America
Monday, August 27, 2007
by Bank Information Center
The President of Venezuela, Mr. Hugo Chavez has pledged more than $8.8 billion in aid, financing and energy funding in Latin America and the Caribbean so far in 2007
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Discontent, Confusion, Non-Transparency: How to Become Relevant in Latin America : A look into the makeover of Latin America’s largest development bank leaves much to be desired—and answered
Monday, July 30, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
In this brief:
- Timeline
- “We are not relevant in Brazil”: Senior staff appointments
- Bank Staff Association discontent
- Social and environmental safeguards
- Development effectiveness – is there a development strategy?
- Civil society participation – the new bottom of the priority list
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IMF’s challenge in Latin America
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
The Europeans will likely select French socialist, Dominique Strauss-Kahn to replace Rodrigo de Rato as the Managing Director of the IMF, very much in the same, closed and undemocratic fashion that the U.S. handpicked Robert Zoellick to replace Paul Wolfowitz at the helm of the World Bank. Few Latin American countries have contested the IMF or the World Bank Presidential selection process, with the exception of some mild finger pointing by Brazil.
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Brazil approves a preliminary license for the construction of the mega-project Rio Madeira
Monday, July 09, 2007
by Various Sources
IBAMA approves preliminary license for the construction of the mega-project Rio Madeira after the denial of the license by the same agency. The license moved forward and its now open for bidding. One of the interested parties and feasible bidders will be, Odebrecht SA and Camargo Correa SA, as reported by an IBAMA official.
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Brazilian Government Moves to Dam Principal Amazon Tributary: IRC Americas Program Report
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Glenn Switkes
In recent weeks, the Brazilian government has turned to the difficult task of building giant hydroelectric dams in the Amazon River. The project presents President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with a major contradiction—between his ambitious economic development plan based on large-scale infrastructure, and the enormous social and environmental costs of the dams.
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Brazilian Government Moves to Dam Principal Amazon Tributary
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Glenn Switkes
In recent weeks, the Brazilian government has turned to the difficult task of building giant hydroelectric dams in the Amazon River. The project presents President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with a major contradiction—between his ambitious economic development plan based on large-scale infrastructure, and the enormous social and environmental costs of the dams.
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Both Sides Say Project Is Pivotal Issue for Brazil
Monday, June 11, 2007
by LARRY ROHTER PORTO VELHO, NY Times
The eternal tension between Brazil’s need for economic growth and the damage that can cause to the environment are nowhere more visible than here in this corner of the western Amazon region.
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Letter to President Moreno: First it was the WB and Wolfowitz now the IDB and Moreno
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
by Kaos in the Network
The IDB Employees Association sent this letter dated June 6 to Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank. It describes a critical situation within the bank, which, despite the possible personal motivation of some of the employees, threatens to be similar to that of the World Bank.
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Financing unaccountable infrastructure in South America: IIRSA and its relationship with the CAF and the EIB
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
by Agustín Furey
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Brazilian Organizations send letter to World Bank Director for Brazil
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
by BIC
On May 28, 2007 some Brazilian organizations have sent a letter to the World Bank Director for Brazil, John Briscoe. The matter of this letter is the World Bank Technical Cooperation Agreement with the Mines and Energy Ministry and the Madeira River Hydroelectric Project.
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Response by the World Bank Director for Brazil to Brazilian organizations (in Portuguese)
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
by
World Bank response to the Brazilian organizations to their letter on May 18, 2007.
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BIC launches new webpages on the Andean Development Corporation (Corporación Andina de Fomento) and Bank of the South (Banco del Sur)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
by
These new pages reflect the expanding focus of BIC's Latin America Program. Both pages are in Spanish.
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Update on Banco del Sur: Reflection of Declining IFI Relevance in Latin America: Document about Banco del Sur, Bank Information Center.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
The announcements of the inauguration of the first Latin American office of the planned Bank of the South and the adhesion of three new member countries have come as a direct challenge to the Northern based IFIs struggling to remain relevant to the region. The advances of Banco del Sur, closely aligned with discussions on regional energy policy and the larger project of building a Union of South American Nations, has also tested the South America rhetoric of integration proclaimed most recently at the Cochabamba Summit last December, 2007. This note provides a brief update and analysis of these recent announcements about Banco del Sur, focusing on the implications for the ongoing crises of relevance in Latin America confronting the IMF, World Bank and IDB, as well as the challenges for deeper South American integration.
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Neighboring countries may request suspension of projects on the Madeira
Thursday, April 26, 2007
by Mariane Gusan
Peru and Bolivia may request an injunction in Brazilian court if there is any threat to their territories caused by projects on the Madeira River
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New Press Release: IDB Governors approve debt relief for Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
by
The IDB has published a press released about the decisions on the debt relief for the five poorest countries of Latin America. The total amount is US$4.390 millions.
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BIC's presentation of the BICECA project and database to the Moore Foundation
Thursday, March 08, 2007
by Sandra Schwartz
The Bank Information Center would like to share a power point presentation on the International Financial Institutions and the Andes-Amazon region. This presentation offers analysis on the World Bank and the IDB, IIRSA and BICECA.
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Brazil ‘must lift barriers’ to new infrastructre
Monday, March 05, 2007
by Bank Information Center
A recent report of the World Bank is encouraging Brazil to remove their regulatory barriers to private sector investment. This has to be done in order to improve the shortage of investment on infrastructure in the country.
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Brazil offers Bolivia “a gift” – but at what cost?: Madeira River Complex
Friday, March 02, 2007
by Glenn Switkes
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the state electric utility Furnas and construction conglomerate Odebrecht have drawn up plans for the most ambitious of IIRSA’s 335 projects – under which the Amazon’s principal tributary would be converted into a series of great lakes for hydroelectricity, in the process converting the rivers into a 4,200 km-long barge channel that will hasten the conversion of Amazonia into a vast soy plantation...
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Chavez, Kirchner Announce Regional Development Bank
Friday, February 23, 2007
by
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and visiting Argentine counterpart Nestor Kirchner announced the forthcoming creation of the Banco del Sur, a regionally controlled multilateral lender intended to end South America's dependency on institutions based in rich countries
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Talking Points #6: The Proposed South American Integrated Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA) Project: From the Americas Program at the IRC
Thursday, February 22, 2007
by Americas Program, International Relations Council
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Civil Society Letter Restates Demand for Greater Transparency at the CAF
Monday, February 19, 2007
by
The Civil Society addresses again to the CAF after of the answer of this institution, received the 2nd of January of 2007. Unfortunatelly the answer from the CAF did not contain the required documents by the representative organizations of the Civil Society. So, organized again this the representatives of these institutions address the CAF one more time, asking for attention to their demands.
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IDB Readies 2007 Annual Meeting in Guatemala
Friday, February 16, 2007
by Seth Nickinson
The IDB has announced that it will hold its 48th Annual Meeting in Guatemala City, Guatemala between March 14-20. The official agenda is not yet known, but participants are speculating that the hot issues at the 2007 Annual Meeting will be announcements about the heralded IDB realignment, Camisea, and HIPC debt relief.
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IDB Restructuring: What Does It Mean?: Risks and Opportunities Based on Currently Available Information
Friday, February 16, 2007
by Seth Nickinson, with Bank Information Center
An overview of the "why" and "what" of the recently announced IDB reorganization and realignment. Analyzes the risks and opportunities based on the best information BIC has obtained through extensive interviews with IDB staff and leadership.
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III Continental Summit of Indigenous Pueblos and Nations of Abya Yala: Declaration of the Organizing Committee of the III Continental Summit of Indigenous Pueblos and Nations of Abya Yala
Friday, February 16, 2007
by Bank Information Center
The leadership of the continent of Abya Yala, both men and women, gathered within the framework of the Continental Encounter of Indigenous Pueblos and Nations of Abya Yala in La Paz Bolivia on the 10th of October 2006, in the process of analysis, discussion, and agreement regarding the preparations for the III Continental Summit of Indigenous Pueblos and Nations of Abya Yala to be realized from the 26th to the 30th of March 2007, in the territory of the Pueblo Maya in Guatemala, in accord with the consensus agreement of the II Indigenous Summit held in Quito, Ecuador in 2004.
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IDB 2007 Civil Society Meeting in San José, Costa Rica - A Step Backwards?: Summary and analysis of the IDB annual Civil Society Consultation held in Costa Rica on February 7, 2007.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
For the seventh consecutive year, the IDB has invited civil society leaders to discuss topics of mutual interest. The 2007 encounter was limited to a one-day meeting in San José, Costa Rica on February 7, 2007. Among those who listened to President Moreno discuss the significance of the Bank's relationship with civil society since the last meeting in Campinas, Brazil in 2006, some of the 64 people who attended this year qualified the San José meeting as a step backwards in this relationship. Both the IDB and civil society maintain their respective interest in deepened engagement, yet 2007 was disappointing as a missed opportunity. Profound questions exist about the value added of future meetings unless structural changes are considered.
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Two Key Summits in Bolivia Suggest a New Paradigm for IIRSA: Second Summit of the South American Community of Nations and Social Summit for the Integration of the Pueblos
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
by Vince McElhinny
Update on two important Summits -- one official, and one organized by civil society -- that took place between the 5th and 12th of December, 2006, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and their implications for IIRSA and the model of regional integration.
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Brazil's Lula rules out energy and gas shortages
Sunday, January 07, 2007
by Reuters
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sought on Wednesday to play down gas shortages in Rio de Janeiro, saying that the country's energy supplies were guaranteed until 2012.
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Big dreams, big decisions : Massive projects planned for Latin America demand strong environmental measures
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
by By Bruce Babbit
When visionaries, entrepreneurs and engineers get together, the very face of continents can change. So it was in the early days of this country, when a network of gleaming rails sped a new nation to its manifest destiny. Now our neighbors to the south are embarking on projects of a similarly continental magnitude. The landscape and the lives of millions of people will be transformed on an unprecedented scale.
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World Bank finds way to bypass restrictions in lending for infrastructure to Sub-National entities: An review of the Sub-National Development Program
Thursday, May 25, 2006
by Aldo Caliari, Center of Concern
The Sub-National Development Program being proposed by the World Bank Group is an effort aimed at boosting direct engagement at the state/municipal level. Other arguments provided are along the lines of the increased responsibility of sub-national authorities for providing public goods and their limited financial (and related technical) capability to fulfill this role. The nub of the projected program is the provision of technical assistance and financing for sub-national entities without sovereign guarantees, and preferably in local currency.
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No One Home? Or is IIRSA just Sleeping?: A BICECA Review of the Official IIRSA Website
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
by Mattias Chesley, Bank Information Center
Informed, public debate on IIRSA is fundamental to sustainable, democratic and equitable regional and local development. Up to date knowledge regarding the IIRSA decisions and the status of IIRSA projects is critical for this debate.
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Joseph Stiglitz: Moving Towards a Post-Washington Consensus
Thursday, April 06, 2006
by Lyra Spang, CEDHA
In a presentation today as part of the ongoing seminar “Finance in Latin America and the Role of Development Banks”, Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winning economist and noted author of influential books such as The Race to the Bottom, examined the concept of sustainable development and took the Washington Consensus to task
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Restructuring the IDB’s Midlife Crisis: Time to guarantee modernization or to modernize guarantees?
Monday, March 27, 2006
by Bank Information Center
It is rumored that the new president of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Alberto Moreno will unveil a bold plan for re-structuring the institution at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the IDB, April 3-5 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
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Memo to the IDB President Moreno : CCRM Shortcomings
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
by Bank Information Center y otras organizaciones amigas
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has embarked on a wholesale reform of its compliance mechanism, guided by the Board of Governor’s desire to increase the transparency, accountability and effectiveness of the Bank’s performance. The reform of the IDB mechanism is long overdue, but the proposal suffers from grave deficiencies that compromise the independence and effectiveness of the proposed mechanism (CCRM).
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The Brazil-Peru Trans-Oceanic Highway: Project Summary
Friday, December 30, 2005
by Kenn Rapp, Bank Information Center
The Trans-Oceanic Highway is one of the key projects of the Peru-Brazil-Bolivia axis of the IIRSA initiative. The project entails the construction and renovation of a total of 2603 kilometers of roads connecting the Amazonian state of Acre, Brazil with the port cities of Ilo, Matarani and San Juan de Marcona in the southern coast of Peru. The Brazilian section of the highway has been partially built.
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The Peru-Brazil Inter-Oceanic Highway
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
by Michael Valqui, WWF-Peru
Inhabitants and public officials of Madre de Dios –an isolated region of Southeastern Peru bordering the departments of Acre, Brazil and Pando, Bolivia—have long dreamed of a road that would bring them out of their isolation. The Inter-Oceanic Highway (also called trans-oceanic or bi-oceanic) extends from Puerto Velho, Brazil to the Peruvian coast. The Highway constitutes one of the key projects in IIRSA’s Peru-Brazil-Bolivia axis, and will attempt to advance the development of ten Southern Peruvian regions and two Brazilian states.
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The South American Gas Pipeline: An Introduction
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
by Paula Granada, CEDHA
The Northeastern Gas Pipeline (NGP) from the MERCOSUR-Chile axis in hub number five was one of IIRSA’s 31 primary initiatives. The project’s main purpose was to transport reserves located in Bolivia and Northeastern Argentina to meet Argentina’s consumer market demand, as well as to export gas to Chile.
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The World Bank’s role in IIRSA
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
by Paulina Novo, Bank Information Center
Although until now the World Bank (WB) has not formally been part of IIRSA, the institution can — and in fact does — support its projects. Throughout the last year, IIRSA’s Executive Committee president, Roberto Salinas from Paraguay, visited the World Bank seeking financial support for the initiative. His visit sparked a series of speculations about WB participation in IIRSA.
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The IDB’s “Sustainability Framework”
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
by Aarón Goldzimmer, Environmental Defense
The Inter-American Development Bank has proposed a “Sustainability Framework” document that may serve as a tool for evaluating sustainable development proposals. With this proposal, the IDB seeks to anticipate the possible social and environmental impacts that might emerge from IIRSA’s regional infrastructure integration project.
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Madeira River Complex : Opportunism in the name of Integration
Thursday, December 01, 2005
by Glenn Switkes, Red Internacional de Ríos, glenns@superig.com.br
Brazil´s Amazonian state of Rondônia is best known for the disastrous Polonoroeste colonization Project, financed by the World Bank, which accelerated the transformation of the region in the 1980’s from tropical rainforests into an environmental and social nightmare.
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