NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

WWN: "Forgive and Forget" Won't Fix Third World Debt
Date:
Tue, 17 Apr 2001

NEWS ADVISORY FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

"FORGIVE AND FORGET" WON'T FIX THIRD WORLD DEBT

When the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings open
in Washington, D.C., on April 29, 2001, officials will point proudly to
the roughly $20 billion in debt that they have promised to cancel since
their heavily-protested meetings last year. These promises take a step
in the right direction, concludes a new report from the Worldwatch
Institute, a Washington-based research organization. But even full
cancellation would only be a Band-Aid for a broken system.

"Before officials congratulate themselves they need to pay attention to
a wider problem-how to prevent this debt crisis from happening again,"
said David Malin Roodman, author of Still Waiting for the Jubilee:
Pragmatic Solutions for the Third World Debt Crisis. "Hundreds of
billions of dollars in unpayable loans still need to be written off. And
creditors have done little to change the lending practices that created
the debt problem in the first place."

Roodman calls for major reforms to prevent poorer countries from sinking
back into debt. On the borrower side, these include making governments
less corrupt and more accountable. On the creditor side, the reforms
include:

* Giving poor countries greater access to foreign exchange earnings by
lowering trade barriers in rich countries to allow more imports from the
poorest ones.
* Basing government contributions to the IMF and development banks on
how well these lenders reform management culture to reward employees for
results instead of loan-pushing.
* Ensuring that aid agencies, from the Japan International Cooperation
Agency to the World Bank, lend less and grant more to the poorest
nations.

In preparation for the World Bank/IMF meetings, and to discuss how the
Third World debt crisis can be ended once and for all, the Worldwatch
Institute has invited experts from the World Bank, Drop the Debt,
Environmental Defense, and the U.S. Congress, as well as the Ambassador
of Uganda, for a multi-sided debate on this controversial issue that
affects hundreds of millions of people.

-END-

WHO: David Roodman, Senior Researcher, Worldwatch Institute; Adrian
Lovett, Director of Drop the Debt; Axel van Trotsenburg, Director of the
HIPC Implementation Unit, World Bank; and Bruce Rich, Director of the
International Program, Environmental Defense. Invitations have also been
extended to the Ambassador of Uganda, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters
(D-CA).

WHAT: Debate: "What Will Bring the Third World Debt Crisis to a Lasting
End?" based on Worldwatch Paper 155: Still Waiting for the Jubilee:
Pragmatic Solutions for the Third World Debt Crisis

WHERE: Worldwatch Institute, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 8th Floor,
Washington DC

WHEN: Thursday, April 26, 2001, 11:30-2:00 EDT (lunch 11:30-12:30;
debate & discussion 12:30-2:00)

EMBARGO: Thursday, April 26, 2001 2:00 PM EDT

CONTACT: Leanne Mitchell (202) 452-1992 ext. 527 RSVP: Niki Clark
(202) 452-1992 Ext.517

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