In a press release late 1/25/2010 the World Bank decided to terminate its Technical Advisory Panel(TAP) under its Forest Carbon Partnership Facility division. The panel was made up of short term consultants of which Janette Bulkan a Guyanese and an outspoken critic of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy initiative and REDD was a member.
This move by the World Bank comes at a time when Bulkan is being criticized by the Government of
Guyana for being uneducated about the issues surrounding Guyana’s forestry initiatives.
Agriculture Minister of Guyana Robert Persaud, wrote to the World Bank in late November 2009 requesting the Janette Bulkan be removed from the panel that reviews Readiness Preparation Proposals (R-PPs) because she never objected to a map shown at the last meeting in October 2009 where Suriname displayed a map which included part of Guyana’s territory as belonging them. Additionally, the Minister claims that Bulkan writes articles that are highly inaccurate, filled with distortions and unsubstantiated allegations, hence, she is unfit to serve on the TAP panel.
In defense, Bulkan has made public that she was not present at the October meeting in Washington, so it was impossible to object to any inaccuracies presented. Baiganchoka.com received a copy of the participant’s list on 1/25/2010 which confirmed that Janette Bulkan was not present at the meeting in question.
The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) was set up by the world bank to review R-PPs and make recommendations to support funding through REDD to developing countries with high forest covers and initiatives in place to protect these forests from future degradation.
While i find this decision by the world Bank to be very disturbing, the release below clearly specifies that services from the entire TAP panel will no longer be necessary, hence, Bulkan was not singled out neither did the move come in response to the Agriculture Minister’s letter to the bank.
The decision to terminate the present TAP panel is clearly due to an evolving process adopted by the World Bank. Each round of TAP review of Readiness Preparation Idea Notes (R-PINs) and subsequent R-PPs over the past year and a half has utilized a different ad hoc TAP group of experts, depending on the expertise required for the mix of country submissions being reviewed.
Bulkan holds a doctorate from Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is now the Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow in international environmental human rights at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, USA. To learn more about Janette Bulkan, visit westindianencyclopedia.com.
Sent by: Benoit Bosquet/Person/World Bank
01/25/2010 10:04 PM
Subject Reorganization of FCPF TAP Process
Dear ad hoc Technical Advisory Panel members:
I write to thank you for your service as short-term consultants contributing to the ad hoc Technical Advisory Panels (TAP) supporting assessment of submitted Readiness Preparation Proposals (R-PPs) by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’s Participants Committee during its meetings in Montreux in June 2009, and in Washington, D.C., in October 2009. Your insights and reviews contributed significantly to the TAP R-PP review process for the R-PPs from Guyana, Indonesia, and Panama, and the draft R-PPs from Ghana and Suriname. If you have not completed a request for payment, please do so now, using the standard form provided to you earlier.
Each round of TAP review of Readiness Preparation Idea Notes (R-PINs) and subsequent R-PPs over the past year and a half has utilized a different ad hoc TAP group of experts, depending on the expertise required for the mix of country submissions being reviewed. The TAP review process will continue to evolve to adapt to the larger number of R-PPs being submitted for assessment by the PC at its March and June 2010, meetings, as well as to the TAP process experience to date.
The PC discussed the TAP review process and composition in October 2009, and also noted the PC’s interest in enhancing its early assessment of submitted R-PPs. An email communication was sent to PC members on November 18, 2009, summarizing the discussion in October and the proposed R-PP review process to be followed on a pilot basis for the March 2010 round of reviews. The next set of ad hoc TAPs is expected to adapt to the larger number of R-PPs under consideration by having several teams review three to four R-PPs each to facilitate a comparative and consistent review. The PC is organizing its own assessment process now as well.
Most of you have short-term consultant contracts with the World Bank for potential TAP work through the end of June 2010, although a few of you were issued contracts early in 2009 through October 2009. If your services are needed again in that period for work specific to a country or for more general technical assistance, we may contact you. Thank you again for your service, and your contributions to the evolution of the FCPF.
Sincerely,
Jo
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