SPOTL IGHT
Toward stronger institutions What distinguished the workshop was the emphasis on institutional strengthening, not just compliance. Delegates explored how safeguards can be embedded into agency checklists, bidding documents and grievance systems. AfDB and OPEC Fund teams will travel to participating countries to help ministries refine tools and procedures, ensuring lessons from Vienna translate into practice. Looking ahead While the three-day workshop was ambitious, all participants viewed it as just the beginning. By end of 2026, a community of practice spanning West, Central, North and East Africa will be in place. Issa Maman-Sani, AfDB, said: “Normalizing safeguards has brought greater efficiency. This collaboration with the OPEC Fund is an excellent start.” Rofikat Odetoro, Director of the Environmental Assessment Department at the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria, added: “We often tell ourselves we don’t have quality professionals. I beg to differ. With the right training and support, we will build the expertise we need.” OPEC Fund Vice President Alomar concluded: “We have distilled decades of field experience into practical guidance you can deploy the next morning – not in six months.”
MAURITANIA
Who are vulnerable groups?
A New Legal Landscape • Recent laws (2018–2024) cover: – Air pollution (2018) – Biosafety (2022) – Solid waste (2023) – Hydrogen economy (2024) – Urban planning (2024) • Wide sector coverage: agriculture, mining, oil & gas, fisheries. • National DECE (Environmental Evaluation & Control Directorate) issues permits. “Mauritania’s new laws show how African countries adapt to emerging challenges.”
The AfDB’s Integrated Safeguards System (ISS), Operational Safeguard (OS7) expands protection beyond “Indigenous Peoples” to a broader set of groups that may be disproportionately affected by projects: • Female-headed households • Youth and children • Persons with disabilities • The elderly • Rural minorities, highly vulnerable rural minorities • Groups marginalized by ethnicity, religion, language, sexual orientation or gender identity • Those dependent on land/natural resources at risk of losing access. Why it matters Vulnerable groups often face multiple risks at once: poverty, discrimination, limited access to services and are less able to cope or recover from project impacts. OS7 ensures that they participate equitably in development and share in its benefits.
We must reconcile development imperatives with forest preservation. Safeguards are not just for operations – they apply before, during and after projects.
Vulnerability is context- specific. Safeguards help ensure no one is left behind.
Davy Onomori, National Climate Council, Gabon
In conclusion The Vienna workshop on environmental and social safeguards was more than a training event. It was a call to action, a recognition that sustainable development in Africa depends not only on infrastructure and finance but also on the institutions, people and systems that safeguard them. By combining the OPEC Fund’s convening power with AfDB’s continental leadership, the initiative demonstrates what partnership can achieve: building capacity, fostering dialogue and laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient national systems. As Africa pursues ambitious development goals while protecting its people and ecosystems such partnerships will be indispensable. The journey has only begun, but the destination is clear: a future where safeguards are not obstacles but enablers of sustainable growth.
The participants of the E&S workshop in the atrium of the OPEC Fund’s Headquarters
35
Powered by FlippingBook