Broadly speaking, environmental and social safeguards in the context of projects financed by international financial institutions constitute a set of environmental and social requirements that must be implemented from the design of investment projects through to their completion. The requirements include assessing the environmental and social risks and impacts of projects, defining instruments to help meet identified environmental and social obligations and mitigate negative impacts, as well as aspects related to project monitoring, increasing stakeholder participation, transparency, and governance, in order to drive prosperity in a sustainable manner, with benefits for the environment and people.