April 1999, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
In 1988, the World Bank published Environmental Guidelines to provide technical advice and guidance to staff and consultants involved in pollution-related projects. In the years since then, there have been significant changes in technologies, in pollution management policies and practices, and in the activities and portfolio of the World Bank Group. This Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook has been prepared to update and replace the 1988 guidelines.
The Handbook is specifically designed to be used in the context of the World Bank Group’s environmental policies, as set out in Operational Policy (OP) 4.01, “Environmental Assessment,” and related documents.1 World Bank Group policy stresses the primacy of the project-specific or site-specific environmental assessment process in setting the requirements for environmental performance. The guidelines contained in this Handbook are therefore subject to interpretation in light of the results of the environmental assessment.
The guidelines apply to all Bank Group–funded projects approved in principle on or after July 1, 1998, unless the project sponsor can demonstrate that a significant investment has already been made (or that a legally binding agreement has been entered into) on the basis of the 1988 guidelines.
