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| Budget realities behind the budget rhetoric |
Country Lenses (Philippines, India, and Bangladesh): the budget realities behind the rhetoric
Philippines. Flood control and reforestation receive dedicated appropriations across multiple agencies. The integrity risks intensify where national “big ticket” projects interface with local execution—especially if local maintenance budgets lag. Open postings of project “cards” at the barangay level, with price, dimensions, and O&M contacts, have shown promise when paired with citizen oversight and national audit follow-up—very much in the spirit of CoST’s multisector approach. (This aligns with the IPCC’s emphasis on inclusive governance for effective adaptation.) (IPCC, 2023; CoST).
Bangladesh. Coastal resilience programs mix embankment upgrades, polders, and cyclone shelters. Performance depends on the discipline of O&M funding and community committees with real authority. Char-land forestry (“chars” are newly emerged riverine landmasses) illustrates the interaction of tenure, capture, and survival incentives. When tenure is ambiguous and payments reward planting, rather than survival, funds can flow without protection (as per UNDP risk mapping).
India. Urban flooding in rapidly growing cities highlights the weakest links in drainage networks. Where open procurement data are available, journalists and civic tech groups can trace which links were never built or were value-engineered down. India’s scale means that even modest open- contracting improvements (more bidders, fewer direct awards, better contract -implementation data) can unlock significant savings for adaptation (OCP evidence; World Bank procurement notes).
A minimum viable Follow-the-Money toolkit for any district
1) Publish the plan. A single public page listing all climate-related projects with: unique IDs, locations, budgets, funding sources, tender links, and responsible officials. (World Bank; OCP).
2) Standardize the data. Use OCDS for contracting and OC4IDS for infrastructure delivery; require machine-readable EIAs and MEL. (OCP; CoST).
3) Open the market. Ban brand locking; cap non-essential experience criteria; require 21+ day bid windows, except in pre-declared emergencies. (OCP guidance).
4) Make quality testable. Mandatory third-party materials tests; publish test certificates and geotagged photos.
5) Protect O&M. Ring-fenced budgets with quarterly public execution reports; public maintenance calendars.
6) Verify outcomes, not just outputs. Publish flood-hours, shelter uptime, sapling survival. Invite universities and community groups to co-monitor the process.
7) Audit in the open. Random post-award audits; publish findings and corrective actions; blacklist firms for serious defects; disclose beneficial owners.
8) Shield witnesses. Safe, accessible whistleblower channels; public tracking IDs for complaints; annual integrity report.
9) Practice for crises. Pre-qualify emergency vendors; publish a crisis contracting log within 10 days of any disaster (ProZorro’s example shows transparency can survive a crisis) (wired.com).
10) Teach the checklist. Short, visual guides for citizens: How to read a tender, What an As-Built should include, How to spot a weak embankment.
Why openness changes incentives (the evidence so far)
When contracting is closed, a few insiders capture predictable rents. When open data and participation arrive, three shifts occur:
More competition → better prices and quality. Multiple studies and case syntheses from the Open Contracting Partnership demonstrate that disclosure, combined with civic and market use of data, reduces single-bid tenders and saves money (OCP impact/evidence).
Fewer information asymmetries. When the market can see plans early, genuine firms prepare bids; when citizens see contracts and milestones, supervision capture is harder (OGP open-contracting model). (World Economic Forum)
Faster learning. With machine-readable performance and MEL data, agencies see which designs and contractors actually withstand storms, which plantation models deliver survival, and which warning systems reach last-mile communities. The Infrastructure Transparency Index provides a benchmark for this culture of disclosure (CoST/ITI).
These changes do not require perfection; they require political will and plumbing—IDs, portals, and publishing habits.
The politics of plumbing: budget cycles, bottlenecks, and “quiet fixes”
Reformers often lose steam fighting headline-grabbing scandals while the underlying issues—such as IDs that link budget, contract, and asset—remain broken. Three quiet fixes unlock progress:
Unique project IDs carried from planning to As-Built to O&M.
Calendar discipline: align budgeting and tender windows to avoid rush-to-spend defects.
Multi-year O&M commitments: publish rolling maintenance plans (and what was actually done).
Because procurement routinely equals a double-digit share of GDP, these small-sounding fixes add up to billions (World Bank Open Knowledge Portal).
3.15 What to ask your leaders—tomorrow
- Will you publish all climate-related tenders and contracts this quarter in OCDS? If not, why not? (OCP).
- Will you geotag every project and post As-Built drawings and lab test certificates? (CoST).
- Will you commit to a 10-day disclosure rule for emergency contracts? (ProZorro shows it’s possible).
- Will you publish O&M plans and budgets for flood, shelter, and drainage assets prior to the storm season?
- Will you enable citizen MEL: flood hours, shelter uptime, and sapling survival—in machine-readable form?
If enough citizens ask these simple questions, budgets begin to resemble levees, not headlines.
Closing the loop
Following the money is not just an accounting hobby; it is a vital aspect of climate adaptation. When contracts are clear and specifications are enforced, people stay dry, roofs stay on, and mangroves thrive. When they aren’t, the poorest pay twice: first with taxes and loans, then with flooded homes. The IPCC states that the adaptation gap is widening; closing the integrity gap is one of the fastest ways to narrow it (IPCC, 2023).
In the following chapters, we will apply these principles to the worksite, examining procurement pitfalls (Chapter 4), concrete that crumbles (Chapter 5), the green mirage in forests and water (Chapter 6), and the politics of disaster (Chapter 7). But the roadmap won’t change: plan openly, buy openly, build to spec, maintain what you build, and measure what matters. That is what it means to follow the money.
To strengthen these efforts, it is also essential to build alliances. Activists are encouraged to connect with local media, technical experts, or watchdog groups. Collaboration elevates oversight and amplifies impact, ensuring that initiatives are not only transparent but also resilient and effective.
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