Nenskra hydropower project: May 2019 update
May 14, 2019
Given the complexity of the Nenskra project and its immense impact on indigenous Svan communities and the country’s fiscal stability, the EBRD should take responsibility and not provide financial support until the project is properly assessed. Read mor
Indigenous communities in Georgia threatened by a major hydropower project financed with European public money
May 10, 2019
There are many reasons why the Nenskra hydropower plant in Georgia should not be built at all. The project is set to have devastating environmental and social impacts, and its economics are particularly shoddy.
Will the EBRD Make a Better Offer on Public Information Disclosure and Engagement?
March 28, 2019
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will soon conclude the revision of three policies central to the environmental and social governance of its projects: the Access to Information Policy, Environmental and Social Policy, and Project Accountability Policy. Together, these three documents will form the core of the institution’s protocols ensuring communities’ right to information, right to development, and right to remedy.
Milestone bank summit in Belgrade a step towards protecting Balkan rivers, but greater transparency still needed
March 1, 2019
For immediate release. Belgrade – The ‘Save the Blue Heart of Europe’ campaign [1] gave a cautious welcome to a first-of-its-kind summit between the financial sector and green activists, where a roundtable about the role of banks in the destruction of Balkan rivers by hydropower dams was centre stage.
The EBRD Country Strategy for Azerbaijan
February 26, 2019
As the EBRD reviews its Country Strategy for Azerbaijan, Civil society organisations approached the Board of Directors to share their concerns about the situation in the country and asked the Bank to be clear that funding should be linked to the perfor
ARCHIVED: Kresna gorge / Struma motorway, Bulgaria
February 25, 2019
The Struma motorway is tragically emblematic of an EU-funded project that has wrought havoc on European biodiversity and the wishes of local communities. In spite of two decades of protest by civil society and citizens, part of the Struma motorway section is planned directly through the Kresna gorge, a Natura 2000 site and Bulgaria’s richest biodiversity hotspot.
New investigation in Kresna gorge reveals another major breach of law
February 15, 2019
An independent investigation by a Bulgarian TV channel bTV discovered progressing construction works in the Kresna gorge area even though the official procurement procedure is still ongoing.
Changing lives and doing no harm
February 8, 2019
“We invest in changing lives” is the slogan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, whose investments in 2018 reached EUR 9.5 billion through 395 projects. Whether the change is for better depends on the bank’s environmental and human rights safeguards.
The EU’s bank downplayed climate risk in granting record loans to Europe’s largest fossil fuel project
February 7, 2019
Brussels – In a complaint lodged today with the European Investment Bank (EIB), civil society groups protest that the bank systematically underestimated the climate footprint of a fossil fuel mega project, the Southern Gas Corridor, which helped justify providing it with major financial support using EU public money.
Rural community engagement
January 30, 2019
The publication identifies positive practices to empower communities affected by environmental degradation to develop sustainable livelihood opportunities and protect themselves from harmful developments. Done in cooperation with partners of A Voice of
