Civil society recommendations for ADB Accountability Mechanism Policy Review
June 23, 2025
In April 2025, 29 civil society organisations, including Bankwatch, submitted recommendations for the Asian Development Bank’s Accountability Mechanism Policy.
Bypass: the hidden social toll of Georgia’s East-West Highway on its towns and villages
May 5, 2025
Supported by international development banks and promoted as a strategic corridor linking Asia to Europe, Georgia’s East-West highway is central to the country’s ambitions of becoming a regional transit hub. With a price tag of EUR 1.2 billion, much of which is financed through loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Investment Bank (EIB), and the World Bank (WB), the highway construction project was framed as a symbol of progress, promising speed, connectivity and economic growth.
Countering shrinking space: How multilateral development banks can empower civil society in the Western Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia
February 25, 2025
This report examines how multilateral development banks have failed to adequately protect civil society in the Caucasus, Western Balkans, and Central Asia.
Is this development? Public development banks must rethink their investments and put local communities first
September 4, 2023
On 4 to 6 September, the world’s public development banks will gather for the Finance in Common Summit in Cartagena, Colombia. They’ll be discussing key development issues – from climate change to infrastructure – issues that affect the lives of millions of people around the world. Bankwatch is on the ground to expose the adverse impacts of investments made by development banks and advocates for meaningful community participation in decision-making on development projects.
Civil society calls on public development banks to overhaul their approach to development
September 4, 2023
As a member of the Coalition for Human Rights in Development, Bankwatch has joined civil society organisations and human rights defenders from over 20 countries in calling for immediate and effective action from public development banks.
Tbilisi’s transport policy conundrums: between resolution and resistance
August 21, 2023
The efforts of Tbilisi City Hall, responsible for transport reform, are anything but commendable. Criticism is also apt for the international financial institutions that have invested significantly in Tbilisi’s transport planning overhaul, and that are therefore responsible for monitoring its progress and impact.
Asian Development Bank’s Draft Guidance Note on Large Hydropower – Collective Civil Society Response
March 13, 2023
In February 2023, the Asian Development Bank published the Guidance Note on Large Hydropower Plants, a document that is supposed to support staff engaged with borrowers and project proponents prior to – and post – approval of proposed assistance for la
A false start for wind energy in Uzbekistan?
December 1, 2022
This report analyses the current environmental assessments for four wind projects planned to be built in Uzbekistan and adds new evidence from visits to the sites, meetings with the companies and local communities, and expert advise from environmental organisations.
The real cost of hydropower plants in Central Asia and the Caucasus
July 12, 2022
International financial institutions’ support for hydropower in Central Asia and Caucasus is fuel for environmental damage and human rights violations.
Civil Society From Across the Asian Region Urge the ADB to Stop Financing False Climate and Energy Solutions
June 16, 2022
Civil society groups from across Asia are condemning the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Clean Energy Forum 2022, hosted from June 14-17th, as failing to provide a platform for discussion about real climate and energy solutions grounded in science and the lived realities of the region’s diverse communities. To highlight critical concerns about the ADB’s proposed and current energy investments, a range of events are being organized online and in person by community groups and their allies.
