Although the World Bank's mandate is poverty alleviation, it often provides financial support to projects that have significant social and environmental impacts.   Bank-financed projects can involve significant social and environmental costs, such as displacement of local communities, threats to indigenous peoples, and the destruction or degradation of the environment. In response to NGO and donor country pressure, the Bank eventually established a series of policies and procedures that sought to offset some of the environmental and social risks which can be viewed at the World Bank's website.

As of spring 2001, the following policies are under review at the World Bank Group:  Involuntary Resettlement, Information Disclosure (version en français), Indigenous Peoples and Forestry.  For further information on the Indigenous Peoples and Forestry policy revisions, please proceed to the Bank Information Center's website.

The IFC and MIGA have only recently begun to adopt their own set of environmental and social policies. Click on the link to proceed to IFC's and MIGA's Policies.