58656 The Challenges and Goals Ahead heSVPs by Leandro V. Coronel 4 " T hey are colleagues of out- standing ability and experi- ence in the fields of international eco- nomics and development," said Bank President Barber Conable of the four ment, in tackling the debt problem, in Senior Vice Presidents (SVPs)-Moeen fighting poverty, and in resolving the A. Qureshi (Operations), Ernest Stem severe economic crisis in Africa and in (Finance), W. David Hopper (Policy, many other developing countries. The Planning and Research), and Willi A. Operations Complex must now pre- Wapenhans (Administration). On the pare programs to give substance to shoulders of these men now rests much these objectives." of the burden of carrying out the man- Mr. Qureshi also sees his move from date of the reorganized institution. Finance to Operations as a personal The Bank's reorganization, accord- challenge. Asked how he felt when ing to Mr. Conable, "will consolidate a asked to head the Operations Complex, variety of activities that have evolved in he said: "So far, my work has involved the Bank in recent years; it will stream- mobilizing resources for the Bank. line procedures; strengthen manage- Now, the challenge is to make sure rial accountability; use administration those resources are used well on the resources more efficiently; and posi- lending side. It's a constructive chal- tion the Bank to assist its member na- lenge, I welcome it." tions more creatively and dynami- "The first challenge for the Finance cally." Complex is to successfully conclude an agreement on the increase of the Challenges Ahead Bank's capital," according to Mr. How do the SVPs intend to carry out Stern, SVP, Finance, and from 1980 to their mandate? What are the chal- 1987 Senior Vice President, Opera- lenges that lie ahead for the Bank? The tions. A U.S. national, Mr. Stern has Bank's World interviewed them to find been with the Bank since 1972. out. "This [capital increase] is essential "The most important challenge is to for the Bank's expanded role in meet- translate the objectives set by the Pres- ing the challenges facing its borrow- ident into concrete action programs," ers," Mr. Stern added. "Also, we must said Mr. Qureshi, who will take up the ensure that the agreements reached for Operations post after being Senior Vice the Eighth Replenishment of IDA [IDA- President, Finance, since 1980, and af- 8] are successfully implemented to ter a career in IFC and in the IMF that maintain continuity in commitment au- started in 1958. Mr. Qureshi is from thority between the conclusion of IDA- Pakistan. 7 at the end of June this year and the "Mr. Conable outlined his objectives effectiveness of IDA-8. " at the last Annual Meetings," contin- "The essence of the Bank's reorgan- ued Mr. Qureshi. "In particular, he ization," Mr. Hopper said, "is the de- said the Bank must continue to assume centralization of the Operations Com- a leadership role in economic develop- plex, to enable the institution to be the past" is Mr. Hopper's immediate objective. He was referring to the inte- gration of the Economic Research Staff; the Operations Policy Staff; the Planning and Budgeting Department; and other parts of the Bank, including the International Relations Depart- ment and the Economic Development Institute, into the PPR Complex. "In- teraction among these units was rela- tively loose in the past. PPR must now come up with a cohesive working whole," said Mr. Hopper. "But ultimately, our success will de- pend on people. What you need is lead- ership that will encourage other lead- more rapidly responsive to the needs of on our services are also undergoing ers and staff in our effort to achieve our client countries and to be better able to change. The Bank's reorganization is goals," Mr. Hopper continued, and in- tailor its response to each specific in many ways designed to recognize dicated he might "borrow a leaf from need. Therefore, the chalilenge for the these changes. private industry" by forming "subject- PPR Complex is to develop a central "The challenge for us in the Admin- matter" working groups that will carry policy component that is meaningful in istration Complex is to work in a more out the work in PPR. the decentralized environment. decentralized structure. It will be a "Practical ones," Mr. Wapenhans "PPR must be closely relevant to different approach to providing ser- said about his immediate goals. "We Operations. We need to tailor our re- vices. But this decentralization will be need to provide as smooth a transition search to Operational activities and de- monitored for consistent application." as possible, especially with Personnel velop a situation where Operations What are the SVPs' immediate issues. We're putting in place a process staff would find it useful to bring their goals? that will encourage managers to give concerns to PPR. " Mr. Hopper, from "To try to implement the reorganiza- staff the opportunity to express prefer- Canada, will take up the position of tion as quickly as possible," said Mr. ences, to the extent possible, where SVP, Policy, Planning and Research, Qureshi. "It's a comprehensive reor- they want to go. But, of course, insti- (PPR) after being VP, South Asia Re- ganization; it involves pain and adjust- tutional concerns have to come first. gional Office, since he joined the Bank ment, but it holds promise for the fu- Managers will be responsible for select- in 1978. ture. Now we should get it behind us." ing their staff; but under the dear un- Besides ensuring a successful con- derstanding that qualifications, merit Excellent Track Record clusion of an increase in the Bank's and performance will be the main cri- "The overriding challenge is to en- capital and getting IDA-8 under way, teria. sure that the excellent track record of Mr. Stern said: "Building on the work Bank service to member countries- which has already been undertaken, Process Well in Hand estabbshed by a highly qualified, dedi- we must broaden and deepen our use "Also, we need to provide the new cated and motivated staff-will contin- of innovative capital market instru- organizational structure with the facil- ue," Mr. Wapenhans told The Bank'5 ments." He pointed out that the ities it requires. This process is well in World. Mr. Wapenhans, a German na- Bank's borrowing program in FY1988 hand. tional, has been promoted to SVP, Ad- is expected to reach $10-11 billion and "It's important to have continuity, ministration, after being Vice Presi- that this must be achieved in "highly to keep dislocations as few as possible. dent, Europe, Middle East and North differentiated, sophisticated and vola- The reorganization will establish a stur- Africa Regional Office, from 1984 to tile markets." Finally, Mr. Stern said, dy framework that will serve the Bank 1987. He came to the Bank in 1961 and "We must strengthen our capacity to for a long time to come. " has held several senior positions in the evaluate the impact of our financing Where do we go from here? Mr. institution. decisions on our borrowers and to ex- Qureshi sets the tone. In the interview "The environment in which we plicitly take these factors into account with The Bank'5 World, he said: "I work has changed and will continue to in our borrowing and investment pro- can't thInk of any other time when the change," Mr. Wapenhans said. "These grams." world needed the Bank more-for fi- are trying times in the evolution of the "Bringing together very disparate nancial support, policy advice, techni- global economy because of the need components in the Bank that did not cal assistance. So let's get on with the for adjustment. Similarly, the demands traditionally work closely together in business." 11 THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 3 Working on the Reorganization Study: 'We had many heated · f What Was it Like? debates. But we always succeeded in Task Force Tasks finding consensus. ' hock, pleasure, stimulation, mixed the Institutional Services Task Force S feelings. These were some of the reactions of four staff members when which reviewed the service levels and use of support functions within the - Willianl Cosgrove asked by Mr. Conable to serve in the Bank and IFC. Bank reorganization task forces. "It was quite a shock when Mr. Con- Mixed Feelings able himself called, " exclaims Lars "I came in with mixed feelings," Jeurling, Chief of the Financial Policy said Nicholas Hope, also a member of and Planning Division, Financial Policy the Policy, Planning and Research Task and Analysis Department. "But I was Force. "I had just moved to the East Force was a multicultural, multination- also pleased. It was an opportunity to Asia Projects Industrial Development al and multidisciplinary group which work on the reorganization study, so I and Finance Division [as Division was able to blend different perspectives prepared myself for it," says Mr. Jeur- Chief] . I knew it would be interesting and training in order to solve problems ling, a member of the Policy, Planning and stimulating to work in the task and do so in an objective and profes- and Research Task Force charged with force but, at the same time, I felt I sional way. " reviewing the Bank's methods for set- would be neglecting my new job. ting macroeconomic and sectoral poli- "I went with some degree of skepti- Heated Debates cies, and matters of institutional plan- cism," confesses Mr. Hope. "In the Other members had similar com- ning and budgeting. early stages I was concerned about the ments. "We had many heated de- potential for disruption. Also, I wasn't bates," revealed Mr. Cosgrove. "But Great Sense of Responsibility sure that we would come up with a we always succeeded in finding con- II My feelings were pleasure, honor better Bank. sensus." and a great sense of responsibility," "And with all the talk about the need 'IWe spent much of the time thinking said William Cosgrove, then Director for change, I wasn't sure the staff in and debating-both within our Task of the Personnel Management Depart- general felt this way. Later, I was im- Force and between Task Forces, " ac- ment and recently promoted to Vice pressed that many people did indeed cording to Mr. Jeurling. "But in the President, Personnel. think change was necessary; frankly, end it was very much a consensus. " "I was pleased to know that the that was a surprise." "We had very dissimilar people [in President was truly going to tackle the Lars Jeurling adds that his Task our Task Force] and yet our discus- issues. I do believe that many staff feel Force's staff interviews showed that an sions were remarkably amicable," said that various factors-which might be 'Ioverwhelming number of staff felt Mr. Hope. "There were no pro- summed up in the word Ibureau- change was needed. " nounced disagreements. " cracy' -prevent them from making the When the exercise got under way, What was the most difficult issue for contribution of which they feel cap- what was the experience like? David them? able. And I believe we can, as a group, Bock found it II extremely challenging liThe sense that the Bank had lost its produce much more high-quality work and stimulating." He is Director of the way," Nicholas Hope said, "when it than we have done. The untapped po- Financial Policy and Analysis Depart- came to providing strong leadership in tential is great. ment and served in the Operations Task world development. Something had to "I felt a great sense of responsibility Force which dealt with the delivery of be done to come up with a structure because I was aware that this was a services and products to Bank member that would generate new ideas for the unique opportunity for the Bank but, at countries, and the system of respond- institution; and to integrate our opera- the same time, could disrupt the nor- ing to borrowers' needs. tional, support, and policy analysis mal work of the institution and the "It was both exhausting and invigo- functions. " careers of many individuals," said Mr. rating, " Mr. Bock said. "Like so many For David Bock, who was in the Cosgrove, who served as chairman of other such efforts in the Bank, our Task Operations Task Force, it was "achiev- 4 THE BANK'S WORLD f MAY 1987 ing the right balance between the because of them we met our dead- "The experience has taught us that Country Departments and the Techni- lines. " the Bank should have the ability to be cal Department; in producing the right "We went through long hours and flexible in adjusting to the future and proportions of tasks and staff. " Lars hard work," Mr. Jeurling told The should use its own internal organiza- Jeurling struck the same note: "It was Bank's World, "and contrary to what tion as a strategic tool in accomplish- important that we ensure that both the other staff might have thought, it ing its objectives," according to David economic and technical sides of our wasn't glamorous at all. It was hard Bock. "And the Bank has to do a better operations could thrive in the new work." job at replenishing its human capital structure. " David Bock added: "Because we through a continuing program of train- All four men interviewed by The were asked to step back from the day- ing, career planning and focused devel- Bank's World gave high marks to their to-day work and reflect on what the opment of its staff." Lars J eurling says fellow task force members. (All task Bank was trying to do and how it the main lesson is that "we don't have force members were invited to share should go about its mission, I found all the solutions to the problems we their thoughts and experiences. But my own commitment to the institution face in our work and in serving our many of them were still immersed in being strengthened and renewed. The clients. However, we must use our the exercise, some were away, and Bank is a strongly 'value driven' orga- skills, experience and judgment to the others had to contend with work that nization, even though these values are fullest extent in trying to solve those had piled up during this special assign- not formally articulated anywhere. problems. But we need to be humble ment.) This fact also made the reorganization in approaching our tasks." Nicholas effort immensely easier, because there Hope adds: "We need vision and lead- "I was impressed by the dedication was such widespread commitment on ership in responding to our clients' the team members gave to their work, the part of Bank managers and staff to needs. " and their consistent balancing of the rekindling a sense of purpose and en- Asked if any of them had any un- needs of the institution with a caring hancing the Bank's effectiveness and usual episodes during their assign- for those who would be affected by efficiency. " ment, Mr. Hope said he discovered a their recommendations," Mr. Cos- "We should now get on with it," common occurrence among many of grove said. "And I was impressed by Lars Jeurling says. "We have a blue- his colleagues. "I discovered that many the team members' concern for one print for the future, implementation is of them had been waking up in the another as we went through what was the key. It's dangerous to sit back and middle of the night, mulling over the a difficult period for all of us." relax, there is more work to be done by problems in their assignments. I was Mr. Cosgrove has praise also for sup- everyone of us. And, if the Bank is to having the same experience, but all port staff who worked with the task succeed in playing its role in the world, along I thought I was the only one. It forces. "I don't know how the support there's no room for cynicism among was something of a relief to realize that staff members managed to maintain us. " the excitement and pressure of the job .l their equilibrium and sense of humor What lessons did they learn from were shared by us all." in the crunch periods, but they did and their assignment? - Leandro V. Coronel II THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 5 Earthquakes Send " ~. ".--. COLOMBIA Tremors Through 'I 1 Ecuador's Economy ECUADOR '--- ''--.~, _ logo Agrio , "" ........... • A Reconstruc ....~:a Loan in Record Time I [::=J DESTROYED by Marjorie Messiter r- - - , SEVERE DAMAGE L _ _ -' hen three earthquakes hit Ecua- week, LC 1 Loan Officers Christopher 16,000 were left homeless. Two thou- W dor on March 5 and 6, they ruptured the Trans-Ecuadorian oil Barham and Katherine Sierra, and mission leader Alain Barbu from the sand homeless will have to be resettled in other areas. pipeline which transports 99% of the Energy Department assembled in Qui- The pipeline rupture sent crude oil country's oil production. The pipeline to. They were joined a few days later into the Coca river. Mud flows seven is the republic's economic lifeline, and by Tom Hill, Counsel for Ecuador from meters high, traveling 12 to 18 miles an had to be repaired quickly to prevent the Legal Department, and several ex- hour, carried oil and debris far down- an economic disaster. The country is perts hired by the Energy Department. stream to the Napo River. losing close to $5 million for each day Robert Picciotto, Director, Latin Amer- The Napo flows through the Ama- oflost production. ica and the Caribbean Projects Depart- zon rain forest. A local environmental Oil propelled Ecuador into the ment, participated in the key discus- group, Fundacion Natura, has sent middle-income country category (per sions with high-level government offi- scientists to assess the impact on the capita income is $1,160) in the 1970s cials as Mr. Conable's representative. fragile ecosystem and the 10,000 and accounts now for 15% of the gross In less than two months, an $80 Amerindian people who depend on the domestic product and about half of the million reconstruction loan was on the river for their livelihood. The group's country's public finance revenues and table for Board approval. study, financed by the U.S. Agency for exports. International Development, is expect- Ecuador's President Leon Febres Assessing the Damage ed by the end of May and will be the Cordero telephoned Bank President The quakes occurred in remote, basis for an environmental action plan Barber Conable for help March 10. rugged mountain terrain about 50 which the Bank will monitor. Rainer Steckhan, Director, Latin miles northeast of Quito, the capital. The Bank -supported reconstruction America and Caribbean Programs De- The first two shocks measured 7 on the project has five objectives: reinstate oil partment I (LCl), immediately con- Richter Scale, the third 5.5. They fol- production as soon as possible, prevent vened coordination meetings with staff lowed a month of unusually heavy rain- long-term damage to production fields, from various Bank units and major fall and triggered massive landslides boost production to make up for lost donors active in Ecuador. and mud flows which not only knocked output, minimize environmental dam- Within two days, pipeline expert Jo- out a 20-mile section of the oil pipeline age, and enhance the government's seph Ristorcelli and highway engineer but also took out sections of a liquified ability to deal with future emergencies Sergio Miguel, both consultants and gas pipeline and a highway running in this geologically unstable area. former staff members, were in Ecua- parallel to the oil and gas lines. In the meantime, assistance has dor assessing the damage. Within a One thousand people died and come from neighboring Colombia and 6 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 Venezuela. Colombia agreed to provide the need to choose the best route The people who worked on the proj- an outlet for oil production by quickly through difficult terrain, and the ad- ect were able to keep to the truncated linking Ecuador's oil fields to its own justments in design which had to take schedule, thanks to good team work all pipeline network through a new 23- place. The only way to get people and along the line, says Mr. Barham. "The mile section. In early May, oil started equipment into some parts of the area Ecuadorian officials' were as hard-driv- flowing through Colombia to the coast. is by plane or helicopter. " ing as the Bank team. It helped, too, From there it is shipped back to the The pipeline is scheduled to be back having a Department Director [Mr. refinery at Esmeraldas on Ecuador's in operation by early August. To recoup Picciotto] with a businesslike yet infor- northwestern coast. lost production, oil extraction will be mal style in the field with the mission. gradually increased to. about 320,000 While we often worked until 1 a.m., Oil Swaps barrels a day. Within Ecuador, oil the camaraderie was great. Venezuela agreed to an oil swap prices are being raised to generate an- starting mid-March, providing Ecu- other $120 million in revenues in 1987 Trusted Technical Adviser ador with 12.5 million barrels of crude and to curtail consumption. "In this crisis, the Bank acted not for domestiC use and to meet commit- only as a project financier but also as ments to the country's major custom- Resettling Refugees the government's trusted technical ad- ers. The oil will be repaid in kind over Resettling refugees, minimizing the viser," says Mr. Barham. "This was seven months as soon as production is effects on indigenous people, rebuild- only possible because of the excellent reinstated. Nigeria also agreed to an oil ing housing and basic services, and working relationships which had been swap of 1.5 million barrels. cleaning up the rivers should be well built not only with Ecuador's core min- "The pipeline reconstruction part is under way by the end of November. istries but also with the technical agen- really just a straightforward engineer- The Bank is actively participating in cies concerned. When the crisis hit ing project," says Mr. Barham, "but it these activities under the reconstruc- Ecuador, we were ready to move. No is a special challenge because of the tion loan as well as through an ongoing other institution I know could have urgency of repair, the remote locale, housing project. done it. " II The Way We'll Work in the 1990s Time to Think about Thinking Computers by Marjorie Messiter "In computer technology, we are still at the stage of the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903 or of hand-cranked automobiles in the early 1920s. The real advances in the use of the Planning and Budgeting Depart- symposium, held in three half-day ses- computers are still to come, and it's not ment's Institutional and Financial Sys- sions. too soon to start thinking about how tems Unit (PBDIF), of which he is By the mid-1990s, we will make ex- they will affect us and the World Chief. The Leadgroup on Artificial In- tensive use of artificial intelligence Bank. " telligence, whose members include technologies, Mr. Deboeck predicts. So said Guido Deboeck at a sympo- staff from the Information, Technology Artificial intelligence, or AI, simply ;t sium in April on "Increasing Productiv- and Facilities Department and other means that computers wi1!l be able to ity with Expert Systems" sponsored by Bank departments, cosponsored the initiate human reasoning through ;.. THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 7 "if ... then" rules which we use all the Some of the best known examples of In many large organizations, expert time in our own lives. These AI technol- expert system applications are com- systems help to enhance the skills and ogies will provide us with more power- puterized diagnostic systems-used for decision-making of staff and manage- ful problem-solving tools. All of which diagnosing medical problems, mechan- ment. "For the last 40 years, we've should translate into productivity ical difficulties in locomotives or cars, been employing computers relatively I, gains-we'll be creating higher-quality or hardware failures in computers and unintelligently," says Mr. Deboeck. products at far lower costs. printers. A computer using an expert IINow tools are available to involve This productive power stems from system can tell you what or where the computers in reasoning and solving "knowledge-based" systems, as distin- problem is. complex problems. " guished from "data-based" systems, Banks and financial institutions use An expert system can initiate human now being developed under the general expert systems for foreign exchange reasoning by using rules and an infer- discipline of artificial intelligence. They arbitrage, search of personnel records, ence process mechanism. An expert include expert systems (which can sim- telex routing, troubleshooting com- draws conclusions based on insights ulate the knowledge of a human expert puter hardware networks, financial and rules of thumb learned through in a particular area), natural-language planning, and loan application and experience. (In computer parlance, processing (computers that understand credit analysis. these rules of thumb are called heuris- English), robotics, pattern recognition At American Express, an expert sys- tics.) When these rules of thumb, or vision systems, and speech recogni- tem assists 300 credit authorizers with which must be focused in a narrow tion and speech synthesis. access to 13 different databases decide field of knowledge, are combined with Expert systems are just one part of whether to approve credit. Wells Fargo data, the computer can draw infer- the artificial intelligence technologies Bank has recently decided to distribute ences-" if this condition is met ... then that are now emerging in commercial a system called" Mortgage Loan Advi- that hypothesis is true." applications, mainly in large corpora- sor" to all of its branches in order to Michael Pollock, a Management In- tions. enforce consistent credit policies. formation Analyst in PBDIF, explains 8 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 An expert system can perform a over to borrowers and used by them to significantly improve the project de- signs they submit. recognizable function and is capable of Can't the same objective be achieved through distribution of staff working papers, publications or training pro- explaining its reasoning on demand. This grams? Not as efficiently, Mr. Deboeck says. Books are a passive form of storing could be a boon to an institution like ours. knowledge. The information you want from a book may be in the text, but you have to draw it out, and it may not be in the form you need it. Training has an even more limited reach because teaching takes time, good trainers are heuristic rules this way: "They're all system could say "I don't know" or scarce, and travel costs and opportu- the things you don't learn in school- "maybe." nity costs to bring participants and the value judgments and approxima- An expert system can perform a rec- trainers together are high. As a training tions that give you a workable answer ognizable function and is capable of vehicle, expert systems offer enormous but not necessarily a scientific solution. explaining its reasoning on demand. economies of scale. A heuristic rule would be: if the tem- This ability to explain its reasoning pro- perature is above 80 degrees, it's hot. cess could be a boon to an institution Building Knowledge Bases A scientific rule would be: if it's 50 like ours. The expert system could Though the payoffs are years away, degrees Fahrenheit, then it's 10 de- serve as a repository of skills and expe- Mr. Deboeck thinks the time has come grees Celsius." rience and as a training aid. For exam- to start building knowledge bases using The number of rules that can be ple, if an employee who knows how to personal computers. "AI is at present included in an expert system can vary design a particular type of project at about the same stage as the aero- anywhere from a few to over 10,000; leaves the company, the employee space industry in the early 1900s. How- the cost of expert systems applications takes that experience with him or her. ever, while that industry moved slowly can likewise range from a few thou- But, if the experience were recorded in over the last 80 years, developments in sand to several thousand dollars. a knowledge-based program, the rea- AI are moving so fast that the stage of Expert system software allows a soning process would remain with the supersonic AI applications could be computer to reason inductively from institution for someone else to use. reached by 2000. " facts or assertions to conclusions And, more important, it could be made The key is to start with a simple (called forward chaining) or deductive- available to borrowing countries. project, working on low-risk applica- ly from hypotheses or outcomes to "With the use of AI techniques, the tions. inputs or conditions (backward chain- products that this institution could de- E.!. du Pont de Nemours, the chem- ing); or through a hybrid of these ap~ liver in the 1990s may be substantially ical company, has used a "let a thou- proaches. different from the products and ser- sand flowers bloom" approach with vices we deliver today," says Mr. De- small expert systems sprouting Allow User to Have a Say boeck. throughout the corporation. In less Unlike spreadsheets, expert systems He suggests that one day much of than a year Du Pont employees created allow a user to have a say in how they the data-gathering for project supervi- more than 300 expert systems at mini- operate because the user can control sion could be done by counterparts in mal risk-a few days, a few thousand the way knowledge is used and how developing countries using expert sys- dollars. By 1991 the company expects the reasoning process is implemented. tems, leaving Bank staff to do more to have 2,000 expert systems in use, You can create rules that trigger other global analyses and assessments of yielding a 10 percent increase in net rules, and rules that control the reason- whether programs and projects meet profits, or approximately $150 million. ing itself. (With Lotus 1-2-3, there is certain requirements. Why not try building an expert sys- only one way of computing the results If knowledge bases were to be devel- tem of your own? You'll need a person- of a model-left to right and top to oped on project design scheduling, fi- al computer and a "shell" (expert sys- bottom.) Also, some expert system nancial analysis, disbursement projec- tem software such as VP-Expert which rules might take into account uncer- tions, and procurement, say, for rural costs less than $100). The hardest part tainty or allow the program to make development or urban planning, incor- is developing the knowledge base, but assumptions or draw inferences from porating the expertise of all the disci- you don't have to know any computer unknown values. In short, the expert plines involved, they could be handed language or be a programmer. III THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 9 The World Bank's Environmental Action Agenda Barber Conable Bank President Barber B. Conable delivered a major speech measure of sustained political resolve that man applies more earlier this month in which he reaffirmed the institution's readily in destroying than in preserving life. leadership role in protecting tlze global environment. In the In measuring the influence of the World Bank against the speech to the World Resources Institute ill Washington, Mr. environmental challenge, I see how long a road there is to Conable announced specific steps tile Bank is laking in lhe travel from awakened environmental consciousness to effec- campaign for a sustainable environment. Here are excerpts: tive environmental action. The Bank has long been at the forefront of that march. II Environmental neglect," as I said to the Governors of Ours was the first international lending institution to set the World Bank seven months ago, "destroys assets explicit policies on limi~ing any harmful environmental con- vital not just to the quality of life but to life itself." Environ- sequences of development projects it suppm1ed. In the early mental planning, I would add, can make the most of nature's 19705, for example, a Bank-financed iron ore terminal was resources so that human resourcefulness can make the most built on a Brazilian beach under strict safeguards against of the future. pollution and with real respect for the site's natural beauty. I share the optimism of the recently released report of the Inevitably, the Bank has also stumbled. For instance, a World Commission on Environment and Development. With more recent Brazilian project, known as Polonoreste, was a its members I, too, "see ... the possibility for a new era of sobering example of an environmentally sound effort which economic growth ... based on policies that sustain and ex- went wrong. The Bank misread the human, institutional and pand the environmental resource base. " pbysical realities of the jungle and the frontier. A road whkh My optimism, like theirs, is tempered by caution. benefited small farmers also became a highway for logging In environmental affairs, as in many others, science has companies. Protective measures to shelter fragile land and outdistanced government. Yet many of the problems the tribal people were carefully planned. They were not, howev- world has come to recognize as urgent are still beyond man's er, executed with enough vigor. In some cases, the dynamics technical, as well as political, capacities. of the frontier got out of controL We know that we must stop the advance of the deserts. We do not yet know how. We know that population control is The Bank Must be a Positive Force essential to environmental protection. But, for all the prog- Polonoreste teaches many lessons. A basic truth is that ress of the past decades in family health and planning, ambitious environmenlal design requires realistic analysis of population growth in many of the poorest lands continues to the enforcement mechanisms in place and in prospect. When outrun resources. mistakes associated with the Polonoreste project became We know that we must save the tropical rain forests. But obvious in early 1985, the Bank interrupted payments as a neither developing nations nor inlernational institutions have way to encourage important corrective measures. We adequate alternatives for hungry people in search of food, learned not that we should avoid projects with environmen- and the land to grow it on. And researchers are only begin- tal implications, but rather that where institutional safe- ning to discover the potential of the forests to support settled guards are weak, the Bank must be a positive force Lo and wildlife together. strengthen them. Most broadly, we know of the planet-wide threat to the Brazil has now made progress in building safeguards for basic resources of air and water on which the survival of environmental protection. And the Bank is anxious to sup- earth depends. But common effort to save the global com- port Brazil's government in pursuing a National Environ- mons requires a degree of institutional coordination and a mental Pl'ogram that can become a model for other nations. 10 THEBANK'SWOALD I MAY 1987 For a second basic truth is that development cannot be cooperative effort by the nations of the Mediterranean and halted, only directed. And the Bank cannot influence prog· other intemational agencies to prepare a long·term cam· ress from the sidelines. It must be a part of the action. With paign to protect that sea and its coasts .... developing nations, we must go on learning by doing. If the . .. The World Bank acknowledges its special responsibili· World Bank has been a part of the problem in the past , it can ties in helping developing nations shape their growth. As an and will be a strong force in finding solutions for the future. advisor, a source of intellectual as weU as financial SUPPOlt, "Nothing so needs reforming, " Mark Twain observed, "as the Bank must be responsive and innovative. And as a lender, other people's habits." The Bank will begin by reforming its it must exert new persuasive influence to integrate better own. First, we are creating a lop-level Environment Depart- management of natural resources into development planning ment to help set the direction of Bank policy , planning and and investment. research work. It will take the lead in de\eloping strategies Fortunately, we are faJ' from alone. The Bank can profit to integrate environmental considerations into our overall from and contribute to the valuable work of our member lentling and policy activities. nations, the expert and detlicated efforts ofnon·governmen. At the same time, new offices in each of four regional tal organizations and the wide, continuing experience of technical departments will take on a dual role. They will other international agencies such as the United Nations function both as environmental watchdogs over Bank·sup· Environment Programs. ported projects, and as scouts and advocates for promising advances in resource management. In this process, they will Understanding the Problems and Opportunities routinely consult with environmental officials in developing We must start, however, with better knowledge of the countries, and will work to strengthen local institutions. The problems and the opportunities we face. To gain thaI under· establishment of these offices will increase significantly the stantling, the Bank wiD use our added staff resources in a number of staff directly involved in environmental programs. collaborative effort to assess environmental threats in the 30 These organizational changes do not just add layers of most vulnerable de\'eloping nations. That five·year process interference to head 0[[ errors o[ commission. The added will involve not just study but education, and not just in the staff will also help defme policy and develop initiatives to Bank but also with responsible developing country policy· promote growth and environmental protection together. makers. They will work to ensure that environmental awareness is We must reshape not just the Bank's outlook and activities integral to all the Bank's activities. but also the customs and ingrained attitudes of hundreds of millions of individuals and of their leaders. In doing so we Continue to Support Major Investments must remember another piece of Mark Twain's wisdom: The World Bank is a force [or development and will remain .. Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window, but so. We will continue to support major investments in energy coaxed downstairs a step at a time." and infrastructure, in industrialization and irrigation. n 'opical forests in Africa, Asia and Latin America also Our role in such projects, however, will include greater demand priotity attention .... The World Bank is the world's sensitivity to their long·term environmental effects. And we largest single source of financing for tropical forest conser· will put new emphasis both On correcting economic policy vation and development. Over the past decade World Bank incentives that promote environmental abuse, and on stimu· investments and technical assistance grants in forestry have lating the small·scale activities that can combat human and exceeded one billion dollars. We are ready to do more. environmental deprivation. Not only wiJI we strengthen the The Bank intends to more than double its annual level of Bank's long·standing policy of scrutinizing development funding for environmentally sound forestry projects from projects for their environmental impact and withholding $138 million this year to $350 million in fiscal 1989. At the support for those where safeguards are inadequate, but we July meeting in BeJlagio, Italy, sponsored jointly by the World wiD also institutionalize an approach to natural resource Resources Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Food management that puts a premium on conservation. and Agriculture Organisation, the United Nations Develop· As part of these philosophical and institutional changes, I ment Programme and the Bank, we will propose specific propose to allocate new resources to a number of new strategies for expanding priority work in forest management envimnrnental initi.atives. In partnership with member coun· and reforestation .... tries and with the rest of the development community, we I have given you only an introduction to the World Bank's wiD begin with an urgent, country·by·country assessment of environmental action agenda. Events, not speeches, will test the most severely threatened environments in developing its sweep and its impact. But I cannot end these remarks nations. We will promote a continent-wide initiative against without a note of combined caution and exhortation. the advance of the desert and the destruction of forests in While there is much we can do, no one knows beuer than I Africa. We wiil contribute to a global program to support I do the actual limits of the Bank's influence on the policies tropical forest conservation. And we will participate in a and practices of the developed and developing nations. No THE BANK 'S WORLD J MAY 1987 11 one knows better than you do the power of informed and expertise, your pressure and your imagination to make the aroused public opinion to command and redirect the atten- urgent work of environmental protection a coordinated cam- tion of decision makers. paign for a safer, Iicher, healthier world. The World Bank needs the help of environmental activists As ours is a common cause-the battle against global in every nation, in those where organized groups have poveJ1y is also the fight for a suitable environment- let us be already proven their effectiveness and in those where con- allies for progress on every front. There is a long campaign sciousness is only now dawning. We need your advice, your ahead. We cannot accept anything less than victory. II Alleviating Hunger in the World Timothy Thahane Timuthy T. T/w/zal1e, Vice President amI Secretary, deliv- To commiserate together on these wretched figures won't ered the keynote speech at a conference on \vorld hunger help any. How we can help is by gaining a better understand- held last month at Morgan State University, Baltimore, ing of the links in the chain of world hunger. Maryland. Here are excerpts: At the level of country policy, we need to distinguish two etween 340 million and 730 million people in the devel- different types of food shortage, or in the current jarg()n, B oping countries do not have sufficient income to obtain enough energy from their diet. This estimate excludes China, Hfood insecurity." First, there is chronic food insecurity, meaning a continuously inadequate diet caused by the inabil- it.y to acquire food. It affects households that are persistently for which no data are available. unable either to buy enough food or to produce their own. In relative terms, what this adds up to is that between 9% and 20% of the world population outside China do not have Second, there is transitory food insecurity, caused by a enough to eal. The 9% figure-equivalent to some 340 temporary decline in a household's access to food. It usually results from instability in food prices or in food production, million men, women and children-is based on satisfaction of the minimum calorie intake needed to prevent serious or from a decline in household incomes. risks and stunted growth in children. The 20% figure- People who are chronically short of food are not only more equivalent to about 730 million peopJe- retlects a calorie vulnerable to disease, they also suffer from a general lack of intake standard that would allow everyone not only to meet vigor, alertness and vitality. You couJd say that the econO- minimum requirements, but also to lead an active working mist's way of measuring this intolerable and dehumanizing life. state of affairs is in terms of the loss of natjonal income which Whatever the statistical niceties. there are at least three results from poor nutrition. From one point of view, it may quarters of a billion people in the world who do not have look easy to put it right- after ali, a 5 to 10% increase in a enough food and who are, as a result, undernourished by any country's food supplies would be enough, in most cases, to minimum standard of decency. A world where one person in· close blatant malnutrition gaps among the population at five or six has insufficient food to Supp0l1 an active life is not large. However, when you come to examine the problem a world we can be proud of. closer up, you often discover that the supply of food is not in The concentration of this undernourishment in two conti- itself tbe only obstacle to food secm·ity. In other words, nents is another facet of this tragedy. About one person in increased food supplie are neces 'ary, but not suft1cient, for two- both in Sub-Saharan A&ica and in South Asia- gets so reducing malnutrition. little energy from their diet th3t he or she cannot lead the This is particularly clear in the context of transitory food active working life whkh we take for granted in the indus- insecw'ity- in its most extreme fOnTIs, by the way, we just trialized countries. need a two yllable word to describe it- famine. It is too easy 12 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 to jump to the conclusion that it is a lack of food that production suggest a 30.0 increase last year, with food pro· "causes" famines. Actuany, this is not necessarily right, and duction keeping pace with population growth. Only a few is certainly an oversimplification. For one thing, wars, floods countries are expected to need exceptional emergency food and crop failures arc often an accessory cause. But more aid in 1986; 87. That is a dramatic tW'naround from a couple subtlv, the root of the problem mal' be a critical loss of of veal'S ago. income among groups of people who are already vel')' poor, What is perhaps even more heartening when we ask Whether it's a case of food prices going up or household whether this improved outlook is going to stick. or on the incomes going down, either way very poor people may be contrary is just a nash in the pan, is that there is now SQueezed out of the marketplacl'. widespread agreement among African governments on the The causes of food insecurity suggest that in the long term need for' economic and financial reforms, and the direction it can be tackled only by raising the rcal income of house· these reforms should take. Some 25 countries in Sub·Saha· holds so that they can afford to acquire enough food. This ran Africa, accounting for about three quarters of Africa's must be done in two ways: by giving the people who face population and gross domestic product, arc now implement- chronic food insecurity the opportunity to earn an adequate ing major programs of structural reforms, or at any rate arc income, and by ensuring an adequate food supply through very close to taking up that challenge. domestic production or imports. In the end, what this reallv suggests is that there is no Major Achievements in Contemporary History substitute for sound economic policy in forestalling famine The depth of these economic rcforn1s and the persistence and, more generallv, in raising levels of nutrition to a bel of African policymakers in implementing them must rank as where everyone is decently fed and has the energy for a major achievements in contemporary history_ Reform pro- decent day's work. By directing economic development to· grams in Africa now cover a wide array of measures designed wards the poorest, we can open up job opportWlilies for to devalue real exchange rates, increase agricultural incen- them and hence give them the purchasing power they need tives, strengthen budgetary and monetary restraint, refom1 to buy more food. It is also through soWld economic policy public enterprises, and reduce the size of public investment that we can foster the kind of environment where agriculture programs while improving the allocation of public funds to recovers and food output grows in response to national sound, high-priority programs. requirements; and where efficient infrastructure for food However, in countries undertaking such programs, the distribution and marketing exists. institutional and political difficulties, the social costs and the financial requirements to sustain the process are mounting. Sound Economic Policy There are signs that resistance to further relorms is harden- Finally, it is sound economic policy which in the end ing, especially in the face of stagnating or declining per capita generates the resources countries need to import food at consumption. world prices rather than to relv on food aid from the inter- The price of failure will be high . It is not as if the recent national community. Of course, food aid has its place in absence of crop failures in Africa and the widespread re- emergency situations, but it is not any kind of substitute for covery in national food supplies means thal the region has a national policy framework which promotes gro"th. I an1 turned the corner in all respects. Nothing could be further thinking particularly of growth that benefits the poor and from the truth. The years 1987 through 1990 are not going that promotes the development of a healthy rural sector, to be easy for many African countries. First, prices of most where production and distribution falls into line with eco- primary export commodities are likely to become even less nomic social needs. favorable. Second, export growth is likely to be weaker after Let me translate this to the situation in Africa. Essential!\' its recent recovery from a very low plateau. Third, for some it is this: while in recent years there have been dramatic countries, t he overhanging debt burden threatens to thwart instances of famine resulting from man·made or natural recovery efforts altogether. phenomena Africa has had more than its share of civil war What this means is that sustained recovery in Sub-Saharan and drought conditions- the underlying malnutrition prob· Africa will be possible only if there is an appropriate contino lem in Africa, as elsewhere, is structural. It reflects il!· uation of rigorous adjustment programs which are supported directed economic policies, and will be cured only by wen- by more foreign aid and by an improved international trading directed policies. environment. The marked but very belated increase in aid There is certainl~ one good piece of news from Sub- flows to Africa which we have noticed since 1985 must not Saharan Anica, and that is that famine has receded. The only be maintained, but must continue to grow. Frankly, drought that began in southern Africa in 1983 went on to Africa's courageous reform and development programs will affect more than 20 countries and 35 million people by 1985. fan far short of their goals unless the gap in fmancing I But fortunately, in both 1985 and 1986, more of Africa had requirements needed for sustained growth is met byaddi- adequate rainfall. The most recent figures for agricultural tional inflows of external assistance. II THE BANK 'S WOALD I MAY 1987 13 Trip Hailed as a 'High-level Seminar on the Road' An Irrigation Study Tour, Mexican Style by Leandro V. Coronel he visiting Bank staff were con- T vinced that much of what they had seen was worth spreading to other countries. They were touring irrigation projects in northwestern Mexico and were impressed. Now they feel the suc- cess of some of the Mexican irrigation schemes can be duplicated in other parts of the world. The group visited irrigation projects in Mexico Valley and Sonora and Sina- loa States for ten days last March. Led by tour leader Herve Plusquellec, an Irrigation Engineering Adviser in the Operations Policy Staff (OPS), the visi- tors consisted of 10 engineers, five A Mexican official, third from right, briefs Bank staff at a filtration site for drip irrigation in economists and one sociologist. They Hermosillo. represented the Bank's six Operations regions, the Operations Evaluation De- were already employing ingenious hy- example of irrigation's catalytic role in partment and OPS. The program in- draulic works built to supply water to the Mexican economy was illustrated cluded visits to dams; barrages; canals the cities and irrigation for their crops. to the Bank team in Sinaloa State. The and drains; research centers; and agro- Among the best known of the early 60-kilometer drive between Los Moch- industrial sites for packing fruits and Mexican irrigation schemes are the is and Guasave, the headquarters of vegetables, such as oranges and toma- "flowering fields" in Xochimilco, rem- two irrigation districts, was a contin- toes, for the domestic market and for nants of a vast system of floating gar- uous stretch of agro-industrial sites- export to the United States and Can- dens surrounding the Aztec capital of produce-packing centers, rice mills ada. Tenochtitlan, an island in the middle of and silos, edible oil production sites.) the shallow Lake Texcoco, which is Irrigation Plays Important Role Diversified and Intensive now Mexico City. Irrigation plays an important role in Five centuries of development result- The Bank staff, accompanied by of- the economic development of Mexico. ed in building nearly 2,700 storage and ficials of the Ministries of Agriculture One-third of the country's 18 million diversion dams and more than 100,000 and Finance, were taken to sites in the hectares of cultivated land is irrigated. kilometers of canals and drains. Irrigat- northwest region. Evening seminars, With six million hectares, the country ed agriculture currently accounts for organized to exchange information ranks sixth in the world in the amount half of the total value of Mexico's agri- and experiences with staff of local irri- ofland under irrigation, behind India, cultural production and 65% of agricul- gation districts, broke up close to mid- China, the United States, the Soviet tural exports. In 1985, the country's night. The program was diversified and Union and Pakistan. agricultural production had a value of intensive. Soon the guests and their Mexico has known irrigation for more than $17 billion and agricultural hosts became integrated, " with the II centuries. When the Spaniards arrived exports were worth about $2 billion, or guests getting accustomed to the Mex- in the country in 1519, the Mexicans 9% of total exports of $24 billion. (One ican way of having lunch at 4 p.m. and 14 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 dining late at night. The Mexican news rewarding for a sociologist to be out in media reported the Bank group's visit This kind of study the field together with a group of high- everyday. powered Bank engineers and econo- A visit to the Tula district, north of tour gives Bank mists. I felt that the professional ex- Mexico City, enabled the visitors to observe the world's largest irrigation . englneers an changes between us, while observing and commenting upon the Mexican ir- scheme based on the use of waste wa- rigation systems, worked out to every- ter. The scheme grew out of the need body's learning benefit. We were all to dispose of Mexico City's waste water opportunity to see able to discuss, in particular, how the and of the farmers' interest in intensi- technical infrastructure of irrigation is fying agricultural production. The visit how irrigation issues imbedded in the social fabric of rural also provided an opportunity to see one communities. Not too long ago, some of the country's 11,000 archeological are approached and Bank irrigation projects tended to be sites. Tula is said to be the capital of the concerned only with the physical side Toltecs who built the majestic Atlantis resolved in another of projects. We often underestimated statues. Close Cooperation . reglon. the importance of organizing farmers to operate irrigation systems. In Mexi- co's Sonora and Sinaloa States, they've Among the Bank group's observa- managed increasingly to link the tech- tions was the close cooperation among nical infrastructure to the social struc- irrigation districts, farmers, agro-in- ture. The Bank should promote an dustries and research centers. The Mr. Plusquellec believes that the increased role for water users' organi- group also noted that farmers in the Bank group's trip also has a beneficial zations in irrigation projects through- 220, ODD-hectare district of Rio Yaqui effect for Bank engineers. This kind of out the developing world." were fully in charge of the operation study tour gives them an opportunity and maintenance of the irrigation sys- to see how irrigation issues are ap- Considerable Interest tem except for two main canals. "The proached and resolved in another re- "We're rewriting our guidelines for farmers pay irrigation service fees, gion. "There is a great opportunity for cost recovery in irrigation, and the based on actual consumption, to their cross-fertilization," says Mr. Plusquel- Mexican experience is of considerable water user associations to cover oper- lec. interest," said Trent Bertrand, Chief of ation and maintenance costs," says Ar- Lang Seng Tay, an Irrigation Engi- the Economics and Policy Division, turo Cornejo, Project Officer in the neer in the East Asia and Pacific Proj- Agriculture and Rural Development Latin America and Caribbean Region. ects Department, agrees that Mexico is Department. 'Their irrigation projects "Water is supplied only to farmers a good place for other developing have many elements that need to be who keep their water accounts cur- country irrigation officials to visit. considered in other countries, such as rent. This way the operation and "Mexico has done well in irrigation, " monitoring the delivery of water and maintenance costs of the distribution he said. But he noted that compared to the system of charging users for the system are fully recovered from the his country assignment, China, where water." users. While these fees don't cover in- farmers own small land holdings, many On the return trip, eight of the Bank vestment costs, this is a step in the right Mexican farmers in the northwest own staff stopped in Phoenix, Arizona, to direction as far as cost-recovery is con- large, mechanized farms. "The situa- visit irrigation projects there. The Ari- cerned, particularly when compared tion in northwestern Mexico is not typ- zona projects were "a contrast with with many irrigation projects in other ical of most developing countries. But those in Mexico, " says Mr. Plusquellec, parts of the world. " the study tour was a good continuing noting the modern water control facil- According to Mr. Plusquellec, the education for me," said Mr. Tay who ities in that state. "But the water con- Rio Yaqui project-with nearly 100 wa- was visiting Mexico for the first time. trol techniques used in Arizona could ter user associations for areas ranging Jagdish Srivastava, a counterpart of serve as models to modernize part of from 70 to 7,500 hectares-is virtually Mr. Tay's in the South Asia Region, Mexico's irrigation systems and for its unique. It is a successful case of farmer was impressed by the Mexican proj- future projects. " participation in large-scale projects in ects, particularly their water distribu- In the past, Bank irrigation engi- Bank borrowing countries and should tion and control systems. "The tour neers toured projects in the United .i be publicized internationally. The pos- gave us a good opportunity to observe States. The Mexico trip, only the sec- sibility is being explored of organizing techniques in distribution and con- ond tour outside the U.S. after a 1985 short-term visits to Mexico to train trol," he said. visit to Morocco, was, according to one staff of irrigation agencies in other Michael Cernea, Sociology Adviser participant, a high-level "seminar on Bank member countries. in OPS, said: "It was professionally the road." Ell THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 15 Recollections of Richard Demuth ternal organization, policies and proce- and Robert L. Garner dures, and, perhaps most of all, of our reputation in the marketplace and the world community at large, were almost The Bank's First Loan: overwhelming. But to their everlasting credit, decisions were faced and taken, and gradually, over the months, the $250 Million to France Bank took on character, loans were made and bond issues floated, and a momentum was achieved which is with us to this day. the 15th anniversary issue of Bank May 1947, early in John J. Mc- I nCloy's term as President, the Bank Notes, a precursor of The Bank's World, and from an oral history inter- Requirements Were Immense "Perhaps the most courageous of approved its first loan-$250 million to finance a portion of France's foreign view conducted in August 1961 : the decisions was to make the first exchange needs for a long-term mod- "Nobody knew where to begin. We reconstruction loans of almost $500 ernization program. were inexperienced. We didn't know million to France, the Netherlands, With that loan, the Bank was com- what kinds of questions to ask, what Denmark and Luxembourg. In the win- mitting more than one-third of its loan- kind of investigation to make. We ter of 1947, the prospects that Western able funds held as of June 1, 1947. In hadn't developed the kind of project Europe would achieve economic viabil- 1986 dollars, the loan would be worth approach that we worked out later. ity were bleak indeed. The financial approximately $1.3 billion. Our European problems were very dif- requirements were immense and the The overall requirements included ferent from our development problems countries of Western Europe had prac- $106 million for equipment, $180 mil- at that time, of course, and the whole tically no foreign exchange reserves to lion for coal and petroleum products idea in fact of making national credit- help meet them. Indeed, the threat and $214 million for raw materials, worthiness studies hadn't yet been de- loomed large that the Western Euro- totaling $500 million. The equipment veloped. Just like any other new insti- pean economies would come to a included ships, freight cars, trucks, ra- tution in a new field, at that time we standstill for want of dollars to keep dio and electrical equipment, and coal were trying to struggle along finding essential food, fuel and raw material mining equipment. The list of raw ma- our way, and we had all these pres- imports flowing in. The Bank's recon- terials consisted of things such as fertil- sures to operate very quickly and make struction loans were an emergency izers, copper, tin, synthetic rubber, an- a lot of loans very quickly. measure to meet this situation, pend- imal fats and chemicals. "Mr. McCloy gave the Bank a broad ing a more adequate, long-term solu- vision and incisive approach that was tion. It took a bit of stretching for the Amount Pared in Half extremely salutary, and I think he management to conclude that repay- Though the requested loan amount probably made the most, the boldest ment prospects were reasonable; the was pared in half, the relative amounts moves the Bank has ever made in economic report on France, for exam- for each category remained the same. terms of its European reconstruction pie, laid its stress, not on financial re- At that time Richard Demuth, who loans. He realized that the Bank's rep- sources or specific export prospects, would later head the Technical Assis- utation was at a low ebb and action had but on the French collective will to I tance and Liaison Staff and who retired to be taken, so he ... decided to pro- recover.' The Bank's gamble paid off in 1973 as Director, Development Ser- ceed rapidly with a number of Euro- handsomely, however, for it won the vices Department and member of the pean loans. Nobody at that time had time necessary for the European Re- President's Council, was closely in- any assurance that our loans to Europe covery Program (the Marshall Plan) to volved with the negotiations. Mr. De- would be repaid, but there was a des- be formulated and put into effect (with muth was then an assistant to John J. perate situation there, when Lend- considerable assistance from the McCloy and Vice President Robert L. Lease was cut off and the Marshall Plan Bank's staff), with results which are Garner (later the first President of the had not yet been conceived, and the now familiar history. " International Finance Corporation). European economy was threatened. His recollections of the negotiations "The problems faced by the new The Way it Was are taken from an article written for vigorous young team of Messrs. Mc- Robert L. Garner, Mr. Demuth's su- Cloy and Garner, ably backed and sup- pervisor at the time, came to the Bank Mr. Demuth resides in Bethesda, Maryland, and as Vice President under John J. Mc- has on occasion provided legal services to the ported by Mr. Eugene Black as U.S. Staff Association. Mr. Garner died December 13, Executive Director, in terms of our re- Cloy and in 1956 became the President 1975 at 81. lations with members, of our own in- ofIFC. He wrote in an autobiography, 16 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 it was difficult for him to accept our policy to require specific certification as to the precise use to which every dollar of our loan would be applied and the provision of the negative pledge clause; that if France gave security for any other loan, our loan would be cov- ered likewise. There was no precedent for such requirements and he consid- ered that they were a derogation of the dignity of his country. The requirement for specific designation of the use of all the proceeds meant that every contract for purchase of equipment and mater- ials must be submitted and approved by the staff of the Bank against certi- fied bills of the suppliers. "Although most of the projects in- volved purchase of industrial and transport equipment, we did include France after World War II. Photo from World Bank Archives provisions to purchase a moderate amount of coal and oil. Perhaps our most violent controversy arose in re- "This Is the Way It Was" (available in talks with Jean Monnet and other gard to this coal. Baumgartner asked if the Joint Library): French officials regarding their pro- we were insisting that the French offi- "During the interim between [Eu- gram. We quickly concluded that the cials specify the particular furnace into gene] Meyer's resignation and the em- needs of France had high priority but which every lump of coal was to go. ployment of Jack McCloy as President, that the maximum we would consider With some amusement, I told him that it was natural that personnel of the for our first loan should be that would not be necessary but that Bank were in a state of confusion. It $250,000,000. I recall one ofthe first we did insist on being assured that the had made no loans, the leadership was decisions that our group made was that coal was supplied to productive enter- up in the air and no one could predict there would be a uniform rate of in- prises and not used for heating Paris whether it had any substantial fu- terest for all borrowers irrespective of night clubs. ture .... their importance or credit standing. "Of the loan applications, the one We tried to consider all important Finally, Loan is Signed from France was for $500,000,000. It items and prepared an agenda of the "We agreed to station a staff mem- was the only one that had a carefully points to be discussed in our negotia- ber in Paris to facilitate the necessary prepared document which had been tions. Within a few weeks we were approvals and the system which we set developed by Jean Monnet who was prepared to open talks with the French up has been followed consistently by probably the outstanding man of and they promptly sent over Wilfred the Bank . Despite all the difficulties, France following the war in economic Baumgartner, Governor of the Bank of we finally signed the loan in May 1947. and financial affairs .... France, as their negotiator. McCloy "The only violation we found with conducted one or two of the prelimi- regard to the French loan was that a Exhaustive Analysis nary discussions but requested that I small amount of fuel oil was diverted to "Walter Hill, whom Meyer had re- and my associates carry on the negotia- the Navy. The value of this diverted oil cruited from his job as one of the im- tions. was immediately repaid to the Bank. portant editors of the London Econo- "Baumgartner was a superbly capa- "The negotiation of this loan was mist, was given the task of studying the ble financial man and a skillful but certainly a valuable education for me, French program and prepared a fairly difficult negotiator. He was a fine type and I believe at the close of negotia- exhaustive analysis of it .... To work of French gentleman with a pleasing tions, Baumgartner and I had a mutual out appropriate policies and proce- personality but I realized he was under regard as well as respect for each ' j dures, I formed a small group whose great tension which was a natural out- other. most important members were Walter come of having lived under the Ger- "Once these procedures and condi- Hill, Chester McLain and Dick De- man occupation. With his pride deeply tions were accepted by France, the muth. hurt by the military and political disas- Bank had little objection from other "We sent Walter Hill to Paris for ters through which France had passed, borrowers. " III THE BANK 'S WORLD I MAY 1987 17 Around the Bank Close Consultation Bank President Barber Conable confers with IMF Managing Director Michel Cam- dessus at the April 10 meeting of the Devel- Courtyard Meeting opment Committee. The Committee called on the Bank and the IMF to increase aid for Staff members listen to Christopher Redfern, left, Chainnan of the Staff Association, discuss member countries and to expand their sup- the Bank's reorganization at a meeting April 23 at the Main Complex Courtyard. port for structural adjustment programs. "Fish-eye" photo by Michele lannacci Photo by Michele lannacci 'Follies' a Hit with Senior Citizens Dressed in their Sunday best, their Rita Criggar, who also directed the re- President Reagan, proclaiming Mayas faces bright with expectation, the el- cent hit, "How to Succeed in Business Older Americans Month, to Yosef Had- derly folk settled to enjoy Corporate II Without Really Trying" was at the ar, the Bank's Community Relations Follies," a special one-and-a-half-hour helm of "Follies." Officer. Newscaster J.C. Hayward of theatrical revue. The Duke Ellington Donna M. Alvarado, director of AC- WUSA-TV (Channel 9) was the host. A School of the Arts' BOO-seat auditorium TION, a U.S. government agency deal- video tape of "Follies" will be shown to was filled to capacity on this Friday, ing with social problems and vol un- senior citizens who were unable to at- May 1, at 10: 30 in the morning. teerism, presented a plaque signed by tend the show. - Morallina George II "Corporate Follies" featured talent- ed volunteers, employees from several private and public business organiza- tions in the Washington area. The free event was held to celebrate National Volunteer Week and Older Americans Month. It was cosponsored by the Community Relations Office in the In- formation and Public Affairs Depart- ment. Bank and IMF staff Jane Goldfrank, Agustin Alberti, Carl Blackwell, Keith Thomas, Leslie Shneier, Robin Bur- dick, Roxana E. Patino and Olivia N. The Alberti Flute Quintet: (left to right) Agustin Alberti, Nancy Zymelman, Keith Thomas, Mejia were among the performers. Carl Blackwell and Jane Goldfrank entertain senior citizens. Photo by Michele lannacci 18 THE BANK 'S WORLD / MAY 1987 Solo, taught about 15 Bank staff, including a 63-year-old man. Carol is one of his· youngest stu- dents, but her accomplishment is noth- SoHigh ing new in the Heron family. She's simply following in the footsteps of her late great-uncle Alfred Dunlap, her pa- ternal grandmother's brother who, at by Jill Roessner the age of 18, became the youngest transport pilot in the United States. small, used airplane in good con- That happened in April 1929. A dition costs about $10,000. Many people spend at least that much Cayo Heron has flown with her daughter and Mr. Follain once. It's not on a car. Maintaining a plane is about Jean-Luc Follain and Carol Heron after her an experience she plans to repeat. But solo flight. Photo by AI Heron as expensive as maintaining an auto- Mr. Follain dismisses her fears, point- mobile ("I spend more on my Honda ing out that flying small planes is like Civic," says Jean-Luc Follain, Informa- ter's first attempt at flying alone. "We sailing small boats. "It's not as comfy tion Center Supervisor, Records Man- want her to succeed in whatever she as being in a big ocean liner, but just as agement Division, Information, Tech- wants to do. If she wants to fly, I am safe," he claims. "Just think of the air nology and Facilities Department.) So, scared, but support her one hundred as being like the ocean .... " flying as a hobby, is not restricted to percent." This from Cayo, echoing her the affluent. husband's sentiments. When you meet Would Like to See Club Expand Admittedly, the Bank's Flying Club Carol, you understand her parents' at- Members of the Bank's Flying Club does not have as many members as, titude. own three planes, and Mr. Follain say, the Knitting Club, but that's prob- would like to see the club expand to ably because most of us prefer to re- Another Step Toward Career Goal include other aerial sports such as glid- main on terra firma and restrict our Carol Heron exudes confidence. ing, hang gliding and ballooning. activities aloft to being passengers on She's an energetic, vibrant young If that happens, Carol Heron will commercial airlines. But if you have woman, full of enthusiasm. She isn't probably try them all. She already the urge to pilot a small plane, you can learning to fly just for a lark; it is anoth- rides motorcycles, goes scuba diving join the Bank's Flying Club, take les- er step toward her career goal-to be- and skiing. And her interests are not sons, and, eventually, fly solo. That is come an astronaut. She went to a confined to sports; she also plays the why Bank's Worldjoined three Bank flying camp in Cumberland, Maryland, piano, guitar and drums. And she's an staff at Hyde Field in Clinton, Mary- last year and has also attended camp at A student who is sophomore class pres- land, on a wet day last month. the Space and Rocket Center in Hunts- ident, and has just been elected junior ville, Alabama, where would-be astro- class president. This is a young woman First Day She Could Fly nauts get a taste of what it's like in who knows what she wants and works Mr. Follain was there because he space. The young people attend lec- to achieve it. was the flight instructor. And Al and tures and undergo training at some of But on this particular day, the Cayo Heron (he's in the Energy De- the sites where actual astronaut train- weather doesn't cooperate. The rain partment, she's in Personnel) were ing takes place. They experience pours down relentlessly. Visibility is there because this was the day their weightlessness and other simulated poor; the winds are high. The instruc- daughter, Carol, was scheduled to fly space conditions in a module that tor and his pupil have been flying, but solo. In fact, this was the first day she pitches and rolls. They can even find Mr. Follain decides this is not the day could fly solo-her sixteenth birthday. out how it feels to take a walk in space. for Carol's first solo flight. She accepts There aren't any laws about the age But the training there is still a form of his decision with good grace. Everyone you must be to take flying lessons. make-believe and "this is more excit- is disappointed, but any other decision "You need to be big enough to see out ing-this is real life ," says Carol of her would have been irresponsible. of the windshield," observes Mr. Fol- flying lessons with Mr. Follain. Several attempts were made later, lain. Carol Heron took her first flight And indeed, it is. Jean-Luc Follain but conditions were still not right until, instruction when she was 11. But you believes that people learn by doing, so, finally, on Saturday, May 2, Carol cannot fly alone until you are 16. when his pupils are at the controls, Heron did make her first solo flight. In Considering the qualms most par- they are in control. He would only take a year, when she is 17, she will be ents have when their teenagers first over in an emergency, and if this eligible to get her pilot's license. drive a car alone, the Herons were means a rough ride or a bumpy land- And, after that? Not even the sky's the remarkably calm about their daugh- ing, it's all part oflearning to fly. He's limit. Ell THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 19 Others Say PlaJano You Say Banana, I Say Banano by John Alvey (Welcome to the exciting and ever- nomics, finance and administrative titles of ministries in those countries. changing world of terminology. In the matters but also all the sectors in which The third task is to keep up with Bank, most of us have to deal with the Bank carries out lending. It is im- new terminological developments. different languages. When we need as- portant that the translations be 100% This might be quite straightforward, sistance, we go to the Language Ser- correct as projects involve many mil- such as a country changing its name as, vices Division (LSD), General Services lions of dollars. for example, the Ivory Coast, which is Department. How do the experts there Inevitably, even the best and most now officially known as Cote d'Ivoire go about their work? To give you an experienced translator cannot be famil- in English and Spanish as well as in idea, we've adapted this arti~le from iar with all the technical subjects as French, or more complex, such as the remarks made by John Alvey, the well as with the various aspects of eco- names of new financial instruments or Bank's Terminologist, at a recent nomics and finance and in-house jar- computer processes. The fourth task is round table discussion at Georgetown gon. This is why the Bank, like many closely related to this and involves the University.) other major organizations, employs a dissemination of this information to the terminologist. The function of the ter- translators and interpreters. The main echnically speaking, the Bank, un- T like most of the United Nations family, has no official language, but minologist is to assist the translators (and interpreters) with the technical method used for this is a computerized terminology data bank. This data bank terminology they encounter in the was created on our Wang VS system, English is the working language and texts they have to translate. using database management software virtually all documents are drafted in provided by a local software vendor English. The need for translation has Four Main Functions and customized to our needs. As a grown over the years. As the former result, the database has exactly the There are four main functions car- French colonies gained their indepen- features we require. ried out by the Bank Terminologist. dence in the 1960s, they called for First, he has to assist translators with documents to be made available in Soft and Hard Disciplines day-to-day queries. This may involve a French and this was done. The Latin technical term in any of the fields cov- There are three special types of prob- American countries called for Spanish ered by the Bank, a local expression, lem we have here at the Bank. The first translations, and Arabic was added af- an abbreviation or the name of an or- is the problem of dealing with "soft" ter the oil crisis in the mid-1970s when ganization. Apart from his own re- disciplines, such as economics and fi- Arab countries became both major sources, he has access to LSD's own nance, where the terminology is less borrowers and lenders. Chinese was library, the various libraries in the precise. In the "harder" disciplines, added when China rejoined the Bank in Bank and the IMF, a number of remote such as chemistry, a translator knows 1981 . The Bank's Language Services databases, and other sources. His sec- that if he comes across a specialist term Division responded to the challenge by ond main task is to prepare appropriate he does not know, if it exists in his bringing in more in-house staff to trans- glossaries and other publications for target language there will generally be . late into these languages. the translators and interpreters. He one hard and fast trans[ation. If you also prepares lists of abbreviations have the term diphenylmethylene- Wide Range of Subjects from the various French- and Spanish- diamine in French, there is likely to be LSD consists of about 40 profession- speaking developing countries and the only one translation into English, als engaged in translating between En- glish on the one hand and French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese on the other. LSD also arranges translation ... but who Ciln say into any major language. The texts they are called on to translate cover a wide range of subjects-not only eco- Q'iphenylmeth"lenediamine.r 20 THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 namely diphenylmethylenediamine. You may think that some of these are Terminology Data Banks In economics and finance, however, so similar that it makes little difference terminology is much less precise. In and, in some cases, you may be right, Terminology data banks are in use accounting, for example, each country but when you are dealing with sums in throughout the world, and the Lan- has its own system. In English, there the millions of dollars, as we frequently guage Services Division (LSD) is are the British and American systems. are, it can make a lot of difference, linked directly to some of the largest. These differ from one another and, of often the difference between making a LSD's own data bank is unlike those course, differ substantially from the loan worthwhile and not. of other organizations in that the French systems. And each Latin Amer- In some cases, international agree- slators not only have direct ac- ican country has its own system. ment has reduced the problem. For cess to it from their own terminals but example, the French (though not all can themselves enter terms into the , Price Waterhoused' the African countries) have abandoned bank as well. The data bank is stored Some French-speaking countries use the concept of production interieure on the Division's Wang system and the French model, while others have brute in favor of the Anglo-American currently contains some 18,000 been "Price-Waterhoused," influenced concept of gross domestic product terms. Unknowingly, many Bank by the major American accounting and (produit interieur brut). (Gross staff have contributed to the data auditing firms such as Price Water- domestic product includes govern- bank by answering questions on house and Arthur Andersen, so that ment and household wages and sala- translations they have requested from they use a gallicized English. The same ries, which production interieure LSD. applies in Latin America where the brute-which has no English equiva- U.S. influence is even greater. This lent-does not.) The data bank consists of database management system (DBMS) soft- phenomenon occurs in both corporate Having no Equivalent ware, purchased from a local soft- and national accounts. Part of the This leads to the second problem, ware firm, customized to meet LSD's problem is that each national system needs. It's very simple and straight- has evolved in its own way, and though that of English terms having no equiv- alent in French and Spanish. In many forward and, being menu-driven, of- there have been some efforts to unify fers a list of options which appear on them, they have not always worked. fields, the English-speaking world, par- ticularly the U.S., leads the way and, the screen. The operator does not A prime example in this context is the term "equity." Apart from its legal whether we like it or not, in many have to memorize any codes. Transla- meaning, equity has various meanings fields, such as computers, terms are tors can enter and search for terms coined first in English and then trans- and abbreviations in English, French, in English. According to Kohler's Ac- Spanish and Portuguese. They can counting Dictionary, it can mean "any lated into other languages or, as often occurs, left in English. restrict their search by using a subject righ t or claim to assets," "an interest in property or in a business" or "com- classification and can also search for part of a word, for example, "reali" mon stock plus retained earnings." In practice, it is often used as a synonym which could give them "realise," for "capital" (which, in turn, has sev- "realize." "realization," "reality," eral meanings) or "capital stock" or financial "realistic," and so on. "net worth" (also known as "stock- futures The DBMS software comes with holders' equity") or "owners' equity." language that enables the Terminolo- And these are just the meanings in gist to write special programs. Pro- American English! In short, if you see grams allow him to produce bilingual the word "equity" in a text, you have /e8 or trilingual glossaries in a chosen to be careful as to its exact meaning if subject field (or a combination of two no definition is given. financial fields, such as rice and pests) in the Much More Precise futures form of an alphabetical listing by lan- guage, listings of abbreviations by French is much more precise, mak- country, a printout of new terms en- ing a very clear difference between tered into the system; a list of terms fonds propres, which is basically capi- entered by the translators that have tal stock plus reserves; capital social, The same holds true in finance. The not been checked by the Terminolo- which is capital stock; valeur nette, main international financial markets gist, and many others. A number of which is net worth; capitaux per- are New York, London and Tokyo. The these glossaries have appeared as manents, which is owners' equity plus first two, of course, use English exclu- Bank publications; those available to medium- and long-term debt; prise de sively, while the third uses English a staff are announced in the Weekly participation; patrimoine and so on. great deal. The English they use is of- Bulletin. THE BANK'S WORLD I MAY 1987 21 ten very inventive. Bonds from these than Spanish Spanish, so we say costa countries are often named after what for cost and never coste. For peanuts, are seen as key features of these coun- it is always mani unless we are refer- tries. American bonds are called Yan- cacahue.te ring only to Mexico or Spain. kee bonds, British ones Bulldog bonds VVhatAboutBananas? while the Japanese have Samurai and Sushi bonds. Names are frequently in- cacahoate But what about bananas? Some vented from acronyms, so that WINGS countries use the term banana, others and TIGRS and CATS abound in the banana and yet others phi.tano. The financial markets. Ask a French invest- whole situation is complicated by the ment banker what he calls "financial fact that, for some countries, banana futures" or "securitization" and he isjust the tree and not the fruit, while will tell you les financial futures or la for others it is either the fruit or the securitisation. This has even led to tree. Pldtano in some countries refers pseudo-French words like swapper to what we know as banana, while for (from swap) and the use of English others it is used only for the completely words like Ie spread when there is a separate fruit we know as plantain (a perfectly good French word (marge). big, green banana-like fruit). Once again we compromise and, unless we Non-standard French and Spanish The problem is much more acute in are translating a text referring to a Finally, there is the problem of non- Spanish where each country has its specific country that we know uses standard use of French and Spanish. As own terminology and does not look to banana or pldtano, we tend to use far as the French are concerned there Spain to set the lead. For example, banana. This problem seems to be is only one French and that is the peanut (or groundnut) has three Span- prevalent in the fruit and vegetable French sanctioned by the Academie ish names-cacahuete in Spain, caca- field- pineapple, potato/ sweet potato Fran9aise. We have few dealings with huate in Mexico and mani in the rest and other crops. But it also occurs in other French-speaking industrial coun- of Latin America. The problem of ter- other areas; for instance, "investor" tries, though we do make use of Cana- minology becomes particularly acute can be inversor or inversionista. dian terminology (which, incidentally, when you are translating a paper These problems will always remain often tends to be more purist than the which is meant to cover the whole of with us, but we hope to lessen their terminology used in France). Most of Latin America-which version of impact by keeping track of them and, the former French colonies (and Spanish do you use? The answer is you by working closely with translators and former Belgian colonies) tend to follow compromise. For a start, we always interpreters, be able to deal with them the French of France. use Latin American Spanish rather smoothly and efficiently. III Senior Staff Appointments KHURSHID AHMED, a Pakistani national, FAYEZUL H. CHOUDHURY was promoted was promoted to Chief, Asia Disbursement to Manager, IFC Accounting Unit, report- Division, Loan Department, effective May ing to the Vice President, Finance and Re- 1. Mr. Ahmed joined the Bank in 1972 as an sources Management, effective April 1. Mr. Operations Officer, Development Finance Choudhury, a Bangladeshi national, joined Companies Division, Asia Projects Depart- the Bank's Organization Planning Depart- ment. In 1973, he was assigned to Latin ment in 1985 as a Management Consultant. America and the Caribbean Country Pro- Previously, he was a Senior Manager with grams Department I, Division lA, as Loan Price Waterhouse, and worked with them in Officer. In 1975, he joined the Personnel Europe and Africa as a chartered accoun- Department, Staff Development Administration Division, as Senior tant and management consultant. Personnel Officer. In 1978, he was assigned to the East Asia and Pac.ific Country Programs Department, Division A, as Senior Loan Officer. In 1983, he was promoted to Deputy Chief, Energy Division, E~st Asia and Pacific Projects Department. 22 THE BANK·S WORLD I MAY 1987 MICHAEL P. COLLINSON was appointed JOHN W. LOWE was promoted to Mana- Scientific Adviser in the Consultative Group ger, Portfolio Operations Support Unit, IFC, on International Agricultural Research-Se- reporting directly to the Vice President, cretariat, effective April 1. Mr. Collinson, a Portfolio Operations, effective May 1. Mr. U.K. national, was employed by the Inter- Lowe, aU .S. national, joined the Bank in national Maize and Wheat Improvement 1970 through the Young Professionals Pro- Centre (CIMMYT) in 1975 as a regional gram . In 1972, he became an Investment economist and had spent the last ten years Officer, Capital Markets Department. He assisting national agricultural research ser- transferred to the Investment Promotion vices in Africa in instituting a farming and Special Projects Department in 1974 system-based approach to adaptive agricultural research. Previous- and, in 1977, to the Department of Investments, Latin America and ly, he was an agricultural economist with the Commonwealth Caribbean I. Mr. Lowe resigned from the Bank in 1978 to work with Development Corporation (CDC) of the United Kingdom . He had the investment banking firm, Lazard Freres, in New York. He also worked as a consultant on Bank projects in Asia and Africa and rejoined the Bank in 1982 as Senior Financial Analyst, Energy has written extensively on farming systems research. Department. Retirees WILLEM BUSSINK, Principal Economist, S. CLIFFORD HARDY, Procurement Advis- New Delhi Office, has retired after nearly er, Projects Policy Department, retired May 15 years in the Bank. Before joining the 1 after 28 years of service. He joined the Bank, Mr. Bussink, a Dutch national, had Bank in 1959 as a Highway Engineer and occupied senior positions in the Dutch Cen- was appointed Highway Division Chief in tral Planning Office and in Harvard Univer- 1967. In 1972, he joined Central Projects sity's Development Advisory Service. Dur- Staff and served as an Engineering Adviser ing most of his time in the Bank, Mr. Bus- for transportation, construction technology sink was a Senior Economist in the East and contracting. Before he joined the Bank, Asia Programs Department, concentrating he had worked as a bridge engineer in the on macroeconomic and poverty issues and, more recently, on Ministry of Development in Iraq and served as an officer in the structural adjustment. After completing his tour of duty in the British Royal Engineers during World War II. Mr. Hardy, aU .K. Bank's New Delhi Office, Mr. Bussink is staying on in India, under national, will remain in Washington working as part-time consultant Dutch auspices, continuing to work on Indian poverty issues which for the Bank, but plans to devote more time in the future developing were initiated during his Bank assignment. and managing his hill farm by Loch Ness in Scotland. CARLOS F. MENA, Senior Power Engi- neer, Energy Division, Western Africa Proj- ects Department, retired April 30. In his 13 New Staff Members years in the Bank, he worked on energy and power projects, the first eight years in Latin H . Alaoui·Abdellaoui YasuoFujii America and the Caribbean Region. Before Morocco Japan joining the Bank, he had served 20 years as Exec. Director's Asst./EDS/ 4/ 16 Capital Market Spec./fOK/4/ 1 a design engineer and construction mana- Charles S. Atwood Youssef S. Fuleihan ger in the private sector in the United States United States Lebanon and Latin America and, for four years, was Project Officer/ IFC/4/20 Agricultural Economist/EMP/4/1 a Power Specialist in the Inter-American Development Bank. Mr. Marc A. Babin Jacques Hallak Mena, aU .S. national, plans to remain in the Washington area. France France Investment Officer/ INV/ 4/ 20 Sr. Education Planner/ LCP/ 4/ 20 Michael P. Collinson Rajagopal S. Iyer United Kingdom India Scientific Adviser/ CGRI4/ 1 Management Consultant/OPD/ 4/ 8 Monique Delroisse Teresa Kelly Angelika R. Muller Jorge Mariano R~belo Belgium Philippines Germany Canada Secretary/ IFC/ 4/ 6 Secretary/ IFC/ 4/ 6 Secretary/ EMP/4/20 Transport Planner/WAP/4/ 15 Brigitte Duces Maher S. Mahmassani Hung Nguyen Judy Spann Belgium Lebanon France United States Mgmt. Systems Spec.IVPA/4/ 1 Attorney/ LEG/ 4/13 Operations Officer/WAP/4/20 Secretary/ IFC/ 4/ 2 7 Colette L. EI·Hamri Gisela Minke Antonio M. Pimenta·Neves United States United States Brazil Secretary/LOA/4/ 27 Secretary/ IFC/ 4/6 Sr. Public Affairs Specialist/4/30 THE BANK'S WORLD / MAY 1987 23 AnswerLine The purpose of this column is to fluorocarbons and all the other pol- carried out under the supervision of answer questions of broad interest lutants that can occur in building ma- the Information, Technology and Fa- concerning the World Bank/ IFC's terials, cabling, cleaning materials? cilities Department and MED as appro- policies and procedures. Because of And while we are talking about pol- priate. Andre Lebrun, M.D., Director, space limitations, only questions of lutants, when is the Bank going to Medical Department wide interest can be published. If you follow the u.s. Federal Government Question: I would like to know when have such a question, send it to: and other major organizations and the Bank will take a firm policy of no AnswerLine, The Bank's World, Room ban smoking in areas open to all smoking. I and many others I have D-839. staff? spoken to are tired of coughing, *** Answer: The Medical Department sneezing, and getting headaches Question: In an article in the The (MED) performs an annual environ- from the smoking of others in the Bank's World, some time ago, it was mental survey that encompasses all office. It is quite a large concern stated that the Bank had not found Bank facilities, both owned and leased. since the United States Surgeon Gen- any evidence of pollutants in Bank The survey work is done throughout eral said it's proven thatnon-smok- buildings, despite staff complaints of the year and is performed primarily ers can develop serious illness from headaches, nausea, etc. Were these during the work day. In addition, food secondhand smoke. New York State checks carried out in all Bank build- handling areas are monitored quarterly recently passed stem laws about ings? Were they carried out at differ- to ensure that there is no bacterial smoking in public areas. The time ent times of day (this is important)? contamination. The survey program is has come for the Bank to take a stand Were they carried out at different carried out for MED by specialized en- on this. times of year (this is particularly im- vironmental consultants. portant in Washington where rela- In the latest annual survey, the fol- Question: Is the Bank going to up- tively small quantities of allergenic lowing potential pollutants and con- date its no-smoking rules in keeping substances brought in on clothing taminants were monitored: carbon with the U.S. Federal Government's and shoes can cause serious prob- monoxide, total dust, asbestos, lead good example? lems for allergy-sufferers)? And have and bacterial content in drinking wa- Answer: We recently issued an FYI they carried out tests for all the pos- ter, radon, ozone levels from copy ma- on the smoking issue. As mentioned in sible pollutants, such as formalde- chines, and microbial contamination of that circular, we have been working hyde (a major component of building humidification systems. with the Staff Association and the Per- materials), asbestos (recently found, This survey is to acquire baseline sonnel Management Department and for example, in a cinema at 21 st and data and to identify potential problems have conducted a survey of a sample of Pennsylvania), radon (found in var- systematically before they affect some- staff to assess the extent of support for ious building materials as wen as in one's health or safety. MED has been further restrictions on smoking in the the ground), carbon dioxide (excess performing such surveys for the past Bank. While the Medical Department concentrations build up due to poor five years. does not set policy, we will initiate, for ventilation), numerous microorgan- Specific employee complaints that Management consideration, an appro- isms (which breed in heating/air come to the attention of MED are in- priate no-smoking proposal as reflect- conditioning ducts), dust and sus- vestigated promptly. Remedial action ed in the survey. Andre Lebrun, M.D., pended particles (allergenic), PCBs, recommended by the consultants is Director, Medical Department ;- . - - --, - - , - -- -- - --- ~ -.- . . - I _ _ • ____ _ The Bank's World, Vol. 6, NO.5. Published monthly in Washington , D.C., by the Information and Public Affairs Department of The World Bank for all employees and retirees of The World Bank/International Finance Corporation , 1818 H St. , N.W. , Room D-839 , Washington, D.C. 20433. Ellen Tillier, Editor; Leandro V. Coronel, Associate Editor; Marjorie Messiter and Jill Roessner, Assistant Editors; Morallina George, Editorial Assistant; Bill Fraser, Designer.