Murdoch researchers: David Annandale and John Bailey

Two Murdoch researchers, David Annandale and John Bailey, have recently completed a feasibility study of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) directed by the Asian Development Bank.

In light of the increasing concern over effects of rapid growth and economic change, the focus for environmental impacts has shifted to a macroeconomic scale in many countries over the past five years.

“Environmental impact assessment of specific project funding was first implemented about 20 years ago for the Asian Development Bank and it tends to work well,” said David Annandale.

“However, it has been recognised that grants and loans used to restructure economies by removing tariffs, encouraging international trade, or making policy changes, also have environmental impacts.”

By analysing the Asian Development Bank’s internal decision making processes, the researchers identified the potential environmental outcomes of the organisation’s funding of policy implementation, taking up more than half of the US$10 billion of funds used in the Asian region each year.

“What we were trying to do is establish a similar environmental assessment scheme for the structural adjustment of economies to the system used to assess the impact of roads or power plants,” said Annandale.

He said that this encompassing approach allowed countries to plan their growth in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Over a four month period, the Murdoch researchers undertook a detailed administrative review, including interviews with bank staff and a survey of the relevant literature, and feedback from a bank seminar in late 1999.

The resulting Comprehensive SEA System is tailored specifically to the Asian Development Bank, aiming to enable policy makers to improve administrative efficiency and address problems which cannot be dealt with on a project-by-project basis.

“The implications of this report are significant, with the potential to effectively develop a system that impacts on loans of billions of dollars each year,” said Annandale.