Development banks

Villagers in Sri Lanka protest over the destruction of their homes by the Asian Development Bank's Southern Transport Development Project. They claim the bank has ignored their rights and failed to comply with its own policies. Photo: Green Movement, Sri Lanka

Development banks – among them the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other regional development banks – are the largest source of development finance in the world.

Lending tens of billions of dollars each year to developing countries allows development banks to have enormous influence over these countries' development objectives, their policies and also over specific projects which the banks support.

Operating at a global and international level, these banks have funded projects that have undermined people's human rights and have had detrimental outcomes for poor and marginalised communities.

Oxfam Australia supports people from these communities who are negatively affected by bank projects. We work together with non-government organisations to provide information about the development banks and to assist local people to have their voices heard. In particular, we seek to support farming and fishing communities that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and promote their right to have a say in development projects that affect them.

Our main strategy is to influence the Asian Development Bank, one of the most powerful institutions affecting the livelihoods and well-being of poor and marginalised communities in the Asia-Pacific region.

A citizens guide to the Mekong Region

Check out our new Citizen’s Guide to the Greater Mekong Subregion - Understanding the GMS Program and the role of the Asian Development Bank.

More than 15 years ago, the Asian Development Bank initiated the Greater Mekong Subregion Program. Since then the initiative has grown into a program that significantly shapes development in the Mekong region. But despite the size of the program, people in Mekong countries know little about it.

The Citizen’s Guide to the Greater Mekong Subregion will

help you understand what the GMS program is and what it does
show you that not all impacts of the GMS program are helpful to local communities
give you ideas on how you can get more information on the GMS program
give you ideas on how you can raise concerns about the GMS program with the Asian Development Bank

What Oxfam is doing

Oxfam Australia actively campaigns on development banks' impact on poor communities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Campaigning on problem projects

We monitor and campaign on projects where communities are experiencing adverse impacts and help them in seeking redress. We also work with other non-government organisations to support communities negatively affected by bank projects.

Lobbying for lasting change

We aim to create lasting changes in the banks' operations through monitoring policies and recommending improvements based on lessons learnt from project campaigns.

We also lobby the Australian Government over its contribution to development banks.

Building networks

We work with and support an international network of civil society organisations monitoring development banks.

Our collaborative approach gives us a strategic advantage: organisations based in Asian and Pacific countries can connect directly with communities affected by development projects while international organisations can lobby donor governments to ensure development banks design policies and projects in a responsible manner.

Our work is also complemented by the work of other Oxfam affiliates. Oxfam International targets the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in its campaign and advocacy work.

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