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Safeguards

ADB's safeguard policy aims to help developing member countries address environmental and social risks in development projects and minimize and mitigate, if not avoid, adverse project impacts on people and the environment.

In the Spotlight

Safeguard Policy Statement

Approved by ADB’s Board of Directors in July 2009, the Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) builds upon the three previous safeguard policies on the environment, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples, and brings them into a consolidated policy framework that enhances effectiveness and relevance. The SPS applies to all ADB-supported projects reviewed by ADB’s management after 20 January 2010. ADB works with borrowers to put policy principles and requirements into practice through project review and supervision, and capacity development support. The SPS also provides a platform for participation by affected people and other stakeholders in project design and implementation.

Available in:
  Operational Manual for the Safeguard Policy Statement

The SPS supersedes ADB's Involuntary Resettlement Policy (1995), Policy on Indigenous Peoples (1998), and Environment Policy (2002).  To obtain copies of these superseded policies, please contact the Safeguards Help Desk.

Safeguard Policy Review

Father and Child on a Bridge

ADB is conducting a comprehensive review and update of the 2009 SPS. In the 10 years of the policy’s implementation, ADB has improved the capacity of developing member countries and private sector clients to manage social and environmental risks. With the changing contexts in countries and regions, the SPS needs to be updated to remain relevant and robust in responding to evolving development needs.

Stakeholders, including civil society, are encouraged to participate in the consultations.

Country Safeguard Systems

ADB’s safeguard policy statement is the comprehensive articulation of ADB’s safeguard provisions in three areas: environment, involuntary resettlement, and indigenous peoples. Country safeguards systems are composed of the policies, practices, legal frameworks and institutions that a country puts in place to avoid, minimize or mitigate potentially adverse environmental and social impacts of development activities. ADB believes that the application of country safeguards systems to development projects reduces transaction costs, enhances country ownership and helps ensure long-term sustainability of development efforts.

Use of country safeguards systems is neither automatic nor mandatory. Country safeguards systems cannot be used on projects that ADB considers highly complex or sensitive.

  • Environment Safeguards

    Environment Safeguards

    Without committed efforts to safeguard the environment, pressure will continue to build on the region’s land, forests, water systems, wetlands, marine ecosystems, and other natural resources--assets many of the poor depend on for their livelihoods.

  • Involuntary Resettlement

    Involuntary Resettlement

    Involuntary resettlement under development projects can give rise to severe economic, social, and environmental risks, and result in long-term hardship and impoverishment of affected people if it is not managed well.

  • Indigenous Peoples

    Indigenous Peoples

    Nearly three-quarters of the world’s indigenous peoples live in Asia and the Pacific. Their rights are increasingly threatened by development programs that could encroach on areas they traditionally own, occupy, use, or view as ancestral domain.

What's New

Safeguards: Contacts

Bruno Carrasco
Bruno Carrasco

Director General, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department
Concurrently Chief Compliance Officer

Bruce Dunn
Bruce Dunn

Director, Safeguards Division

ADB Department Contacts

 
Central and West Asia Department

For queries related to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Jesper K. PETERSEN (Mr) Advisor and HeadPortfolio, Results, Safeguards & Gender Unit  Tel +63 2 8638 1738   E-mail
East Asia Department

For queries related to People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Republic of Korea; Mongolia; and Taipei,China

Mailene RADSTAKE (Ms) Principal Social Development Specialist (Safeguards)Office of the Director General  Tel +63 2 8632 5618  E-mail
South Asia Department

For queries related to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

Ricardo Carlos BARBA (Mr)Principal Safeguards SpecialistPortfolio, Results and Quality Control Unit  Tel +63 2 8638 1808   E-mail
Southeast Asia Department

For queries related to Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam

Meenakshi AJMERA (Ms)Principal Safeguards SpecialistOffice of the Director General  Tel +63 2 8638 1484   E-mail
Pacific Department

For queries related to Cook Islands, Republic of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu

Jean WILLIAMS (Ms)Principal Environment SpecialistPortfolio, Results and Quality Control Unit  Tel +63 2 8632-4444 local 5522  E-mail
Private Sector Operations Department
Mark KUNZER (Mr)DirectorPrivate Sector Transaction Support Division  Tel +63 2 8632 5688  E-mail

As of 8 December 2020