[sustran] GEF Transport Paper: Update

[Institute for Transportation and Development Policy]

An update on the GEF Transport paper "Draft Operational Program No. 11:
Promoting Sustainable Transport Infrastructure."  

I have spoken to Mr. Ken King, of the GEF Secretariat, who is one of the
senior people responsible for the redrafting of this document, which is to
outline what the GEF will fund in the transport sector.  

He explained that the Draft Operational Program was pulled together by Mr.
Ahuja, and it was discussed informally at a luncheon in D.C. and was
circulated among some technical people, but that it has not even gone to the
GEF Council and it is not yet, despite proclamations to the contrary, on the
World Wide Web. 

He expects that the process of developing the final recommentations will
take eleven months, (until next November), but rapid progress will be made
in January - March of next year, so there is still plenty of time for us to
make some input, and to establish a formal review procedure.   His view was
that the document was still too preliminary for highly detailed comments on
the draft to be of much use.  He also stressed that in terms of what the GEF
ultimately does, it will have to fit closely within the confines of overall
GEF objectives and criteria, and that these criteria have something to do
with the currently limited nature of the draft's recommendations.  We need
to familiarize ourselves as much as possible with the current criteria.  (we
have old documents on this which we will reference, but if anyone has new
info, please pass it on) 

Proposed Follow Up: 

Brian Williams will be in New York next week and is in possession of the
draft document.  I suggest I draft a letter under Brian's unofficial
supervision  responding to their draft in the constructive manner outlined
above, circulate it for further comment among those interested, put specific
response time-limits for comment, and draft a joint final document with as
many signators as possible.  The letter should be constructive and
non-hostile, as they have been very willing to be cooperative and
consultative in response to my inquiries, (my frustration on this score was
the result of many of them being in Kyoto-fair enough) and should focus on
the technical merits of what they are proposing to the greatest extent
possible.  It should also speak generally and not only about the draft
letter which is highly provisional at this time, and indicate where we'd
like to see it go.   Our draft will have long quotes from the original so
that those of you without the original document (since its not on the WEB, I
guess that's everyone except Brian and Tomas of CEEC bankwatch-remarkable
since U.S. govt cant even get hold of it) will have a good idea as to the
flavor of the document. 

Further, Ken King suggested to me that several of us concerned about the
redrafting of this document could meet and discuss its broad outlines.  I
suggested the week of January 12 - January 16th in Washington, as there will
be a significant number of us in Washington at that time for the
Transportation Research Board's annual meeting.  We will then discuss the
issues raised in the letter at that time, and use the occassion to set up
some sort of broader consultative process, encouraging them to send their
drafts to the sustran discuss list, to ceec bankwatch, etc. 

I suggest that we try and encourage the following people to attend the
meeting: Tommy Seamans of the U.S. Department of Treasury (I will call him:
he is responsible for GEF and supervises the U.S. govt position regarding
all GEF matters; his presence or Mark Rentchler will force the Bank to take
us seriously and set up a broader consultative process); EDF's Michael
Replogle or Bruce Rich, IIEC's Chris Zegras or Julia Philpott or whoever
else is available from there, ITDP (me), perhaps Larry Williams of Sierra
Club, Dr. Setty Pendakur (ITDP's President), and whoever else is interested
that is likely to be in Washington at that time, please let me know. It
should not be too many people, but should also be sufficient numbers that we
are taken seriously.  We will also encourage that John Flora and Paul
Guitink and a couple others from inside the Bank attend.  The Bank will
probably send a half dozen people, but we will confirm about who will attend
after they tell me (sometime after 12/17 when their staff will have returned
from Kyoto). 

After that meeting, we will send a summary of the meeting to the lists and
discuss where to go from there. 

I was also told by Ms. Noreen Beg of the World Bank's GEF staff that the
World Bank was also drafting its own proposed guidelines as to how the World
Bank's transport lending can help realize GEF objectives.  This document is
being sent to me, and the same process could be used to comment
simultaneously on this draft, which may also be important. 



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