About us
Bankwatch overview
Our
mission is to prevent the environmentally and socially harmful impacts of
international development finance, and to promote alternative solutions
and public participation.
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CEE Bankwatch Network is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) with member organisations currently from 12 countries across the central and eastern European region. We monitor the activities of the international financial institutions (IFIs) which operate in the region, and propose constructive alternatives to their policies and projects in the region.
CEE Bankwatch Network was formally set up in 1995 and has become one of the strongest networks of environmental NGOs in central and eastern Europe. Members of CEE Bankwatch Network are NGOs from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. Bankwatch is working to prevent negative environmental and social impacts of IFI projects, and promotes public participation and access to information about IFI activities across our region.
Our goals
- To create public awareness about International Financial Institutions activities in Central and Eastern European countries and their social and environmental impacts.
- To promote public participation in the decision making process about policies and projects of International Financial Institutions, on the local, national and regional levels.
- To help non-governmental environmental organisations and citizen groups to monitor what the International Financial Institutions are doing in the Central and Eastern Europe.
- To change or stop environmentally and socially destructive policies and projects of International Financial Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe, and promote alternatives.
- To cooperate with environmental citizen organisations in stopping destructive activities of Transnational Corporations and to limit their overall impacts on the environment in Central and Eastern Europe.
How we reach our goals
- Collecting and disseminating information about the activities of International Finance Institutions within the region, including a regular newsletter in each of the ten participating countries about what these institutions are doing.
- Building the capacity of national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to participate in environmental decision-making, including training, joint analysis of projects, and joint publication of analytical materials about the International Finance Institutions.
- Developing cooperative working relationships among Central and East European environmental activists, while utilizing western experience about International Finance Institutions.
- Preparing case studies of International Finance Institutions-funded projects, critiques of their policies, and proposals for more sustainable alternatives.
- Undertaking advocacy activities vis-à-vis the various International Finance Institutions, particularly in the areas of transportation, energy and forestry. Members of the CEE Bankwatch Network attend the annual meetings of the IFIs and are engaged in an ongoing critical dialogue with their staffs and Executive Directors at national, regional and international levels.
- Setting up working groups dealing with the transportation, energy and the Global Environment Facility. Working groups are producing case studies and country reviews.
Institutions we monitor
The CEE Bankwatch Network concentrates mostly on monitoring policies, projects and activities of the following international financial institutions (IFIs) :
Bankwatch also watches the relevant financial mechanisms of:
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Bankwatch keeps an eye on:
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Find even more details in the following documents:
- Bankwatch statute
- Bankwatch governance structure
- For more details on what Bankwatch is all about, check out our brochure
CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.
