The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has set new rules to prevent and to mitigate the environmental damages its projects might bring, the regional development lender said Monday.

The Safeguard Policy Statement, approved by the bank's Board of Directors on Monday, contains new provisions on biodiversity conservation, community health and safety, physical cultural resources, the bank said in a press release.

It also introduces requirements for ADB's new and innovative financing modalities that were not covered by previous safeguards adopted more than a decade ago. Key features include emphasis on capacity development of borrowers and more attention to safeguard implementation and supervision, the ADB said.

"The new policy will enhance the effectiveness, sustainability and development impact of the projects we support, as well as strengthen more generally the safeguard systems of DMCs ( developing member countries) and develop their own capacity to fully manage environmental and social impacts and risks of development projects," said Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, ADB Vice- President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2009)