Suggestion to World Bank :
Dear Sir or Madam;
This letter is the Green Front of Iran's reply to your e-mail invitation. We would like to thank the World Bank for granting us consultative status. We regret the delay in our response. We would be happy to supply you with any further information or answer any question you may have.
We are happy to hold consultative status with the World Bank. After accepting your invitation, we asked for more time in order to prepare our formal position regarding World Bank activities and policies. Here we would like to give you an update on the preparation of this text.
The following is a short summary of group work conducted by our experts; it consists of 3 parts: an introduction , viewpoints and suggestions . The style of part II ( viewpoints ) may be in a radical mode which is in fact a reflection of the prevailing doctrine and it may not be necessarily the formal position of our organization . The third part is in fact the organization's views and ideas which is in the form of suggestions . We hope you will find it useful .
Introduction :
Let us reflect upon some points made by Henry Moore Genta ( the former U.S. Minister of the Treasury ) in a speech in June 1944 in the presence delegations from all over the world : “ … the global economy will be prosperous and each nation will be able to fulfill its potentialities in peace … and will enjoy from its development in a world which has unlimited natural resources, let us face our future opportunities by believing in each other and a common future … a future that these people had many wars to see it free. “
Today, 55 years after this idealistic speech, Moore Genta's views are seen as contrary to present realities . The regretful situation of the global ecology has proven how misguided the idea of unlimited natural resources is . Environmental degradation presents the most pressing challenge facing humanity. Today, 55 years after the beginnings of the economic activities of WB and IMF, no one believes the promises of improvement living standards, peace and development any more made by these two monetary institutions.
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Viewpoints :
Ladies and Gentlemen, honored board of directors of the WB and IMF: Today, at the beginning of the third millennium, it is time for the world's monetary organizations to cease the moment by implementing reforms with a firm grip on past experiences and a realistic outlook for the future. As the crucial initial step, it is imperative for these institutions to account for the views and ideas originating from the developing nations. The following manifestation of concerns and criticisms of the World Bank policies can be viewed as representative of a consensus built by experts from the developing countries:
1- By supporting corrupted political elements and encouraging unsuitable economic development, the WB and IMF are perceived as allies of non-democratic governments in the third world and hence blamed for the misfortunes of their people.
2- The future for billions of people around the world who are under the burden of the most basic humanitarian needs looks grim due to the enormous weight of the debt owed by their governments.
3– Effectively the burden of repayments rests with the same people who had no part in taking or utilizing the loans.
4– There are people whose lives are directly affected by WB's decisions . The true owners, who have never been heard nor consulted with, are mostly left with the aftermath of the deterioration of their local economies. On the basis of their local cultures and traditions, and with no outside interference, such economies could reach relative stability within several years.
5– The poor people of the third world consider the wrong circulation (poverty – environmental destruction – poverty ) which is based on the poverty – stricken masses as an insult to themselves and in order to reject such a theory they refer to its main 5 deficiencies:
a– Such a viewpoint is presumptive, assuming that a poor man destructs the environment inevitably and vice versa.
b– Logically, this theory cannot encompass the idea that poor people are able to have a sustainable livelihood.
c– This viewpoint assumes that poor people are responsible for the environmental destructions. Therefore, the identity of the truly responsible party(s) would be safeguarded.
d– Based on this idea the relationship between poverty and environmental deterioration is a global problem and its solution is dependant on global intervention . Such a concept establishes the third world as responsible for environmental annihilation. Meanwhile, without any reference to the role of the first world's political and economic dominance in deepening poverty in the third world, this concept promotes the role of the first world as the sole problem solver.
e– This theory considers the destruction of the environment as a natural consequence of poverty, therefore denying the existence of any relationship between poverty and its historical roots.
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6– People cannot be expected to partake cooperatively in the implementation of environmental protection programs and poverty adjustment projects without participating in the policy making process.
7– Most of the projects, specially rural developmental ones, are designed without consulting the ultimate inhabitants. These projects are modeled on the basis of research performed in larger metropolitans without effective consideration given to the specific ecology and anthropology of a region. Such implementations will not only fail to be beneficial, but could potentially cause irreversible damages to the culture and identity of these regions.
8– There is a general apprehension about global economy and a unipolar world. A wise African proverb in the political literature which reads: “when there is a fight between two elephants they only destroy the grass under their feet, but when there is peace there will be no more grass.
