STUNG by criticism that it -is environmentally insensitive, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a major funding institution, has decided to make public its environmental impact assessments before it signs the financial agreements for projects.

Under, the new guidelines approved by the IFC board recently, the environmental impact assessments of different projects Will be released at the financial institution's headquarters in Washington on the Internet, and :lso in the country where the proposed project is to come up. This will ensuri maximum public debate and also participation from NGOS on the project, feel the IFC officials.

"The revised disclosure policy represents a significant step forward in our effort to open a window on our decision-making process, take the views of the people affected by proposed investments into account and integrate environmental considerations more fully into our internal procedures," says Jannik Lindbaek, executive vice president, IFC.