Catching the Boomerang: EM,The World Bank,and Excess Accountability: A Case Study of the Bujagali Falls Hydropower Project Uganda

The World Bank has shifted its accountability over the past two decades away from borrowing countries towards external groups, such as advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One conduit for this external accountability is the environmental impact assessment (EM) process. EIA has both theoretical and practical challenges when applied in developing countries, but is bound by Bank guidelines designed in developed countries. Using the Bujagali Falls Hydropower Project, Uganda as a case study, this paper will demonstrate that the increase in external accountability at the World Bank via EIA has a negative effect on governments and civil society in the South and on global governance.