"I have made my passion a vocation. Every day, I think how lucky I am to be able to work in a respectful relationship with nature," says Mohamed Adnene Bezzaouia. A keen trekker and hiker since youth, Adnene is now Senior Environmental Officer at the African Development Bank.
"Trekking is a state of mind, a desire to discover and share unforgettable moments with others. It is discovering the world by adapting to the conditions, facilitating encounters that respect people and their environments," explains Adnene, whose values naturally led him to move towards the development profession.
His career path involved working in several institutions that promote inclusive, green growth in Africa to improve people's lives in safe, sustainable environments. Wherever he worked, he was attentive to the actions set in place to manage the potential social and environmental impacts of projects. This is the fundamental purpose of the African Development Bank Group's Integrated Safeguards System, one of the cornerstones of its safeguarding strategy.
Years ago, working as a consultant for a major development organization, environmental expert Adnene was assigned to an African country to assess the environmental and social impact of a road project initially planned to cross hundreds of hectares of virgin forest and risking protected species and people's cultural heritage.
"As always in our profession, we were faced with a dilemma: on the one hand, we needed to support project managers for the swift and effective deployment of operations, and on the other, to ensure that operations respected the environment and population in the project area. It is all about finding the mid-point, the point of equilibrium," Adnene continued.
To eliminate misunderstandings in this type of situation requires an attitude of advice and support rather than control and inspection. In this case, convincing stakeholders of the need for a road that bypassed the forest was difficult, as the alternative would lead to delays and additional costs that could jeopardize the success of the project. It was all about detailed negotiations that included how to balance competing demands. Adnene succeeded in satisfying all stakeholders - the developer, public authorities, environmental NGOs and the population. The road was built on the edge of the forest.
At the African Development Bank, the Results Measurement Framework, designed to measure and increase the Bank's impact on development, is a key indicator of operations' social and environmental footprints. In practice, it is a matter of finding the approach that balances the interests of all stakeholders - including the public and private donors - so that a project is as sustainable and inclusive as possible. There are three watchwords: consult, anticipate and operate - all working in the interests of the people and their environment.
Faced by the effects of climate change, Africa must meet the challenge of environmentally friendly development. At last December's COP15 on Biodiversity in Canada, the African Development Bank used a report launched with the Worldwide Fund for Nature to highlight the vital role of multilateral development banks to achieve biodiversity goals: offering advisory services, building capacity, conducting market research, and building relationships with other relevant partners. Adnene supports these proposals, saying that "preservation of the environment is everyone's business. Through their actions, everyone contributes every day in their own way."
