Around the world, millions of people are struggling to defend their lives and land from destructive projects imposed in the name of development. 

The Need for Development Justice

In today's world, international finance travels faster and farther than ever before.  Billions of dollars go toward financing initiatives declared as 'development projects' in Asia, Latin America and Africa.  But many of these projects--such as large dams, open-pit mines, coal-fired power plants, and agrofuel plantations--often have nothing to do with local people's own development needs and aspirations. Instead, far too often, people's homes, lands and livelihoods are destroyed to make way for a type of development that enriches corporate interests and corrupt officials--and in return, these projects leave local people with nothing more than new poverty and pollution. 

One of the most extreme injustices that occurs is the forced displacement of millions of people: Around the world, over 15 million people are forcibly uprooted every year. The devastating impacts of this 'development-induced displacement' end up creating massive new poverty and hardship among the very people whom development is supposed to uplift.

The institutions and banks that finance these projects are rarely held accountable for these impacts--even when the projects and impacts directly violate the institution's own policies and stated commitments.  This gap between rhetoric and reality can be life-threatening for people whose homes, land and livelihoods are endangered by these projects. People on the front lines of these struggles often seek international allies with whom they can work across borders to strategically demand accountability for these injustices--and create just and sustainable alternatives. 

IAP responds to the urgent need to create accountability in international development, to end unjust displacement and destruction of people's lives and environments, and to leverage positive change through targeting international finance.