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Gonzalo Castro de la Mata Re-Elected as Panel Chairman

​The members of the Inspection Panel have unanimously re-electedGonzalo Castro de la Matato serve as chairman of the Panel for another year beginning on November 1.

Dr. Castro de la Mata first became chairman on November 1, 2014. He was appointed to the Panel in December 2013 for a non-renewable term of five years.

In the current fiscal year, the Panel completed investigations into cases in Uganda and Kosovo, and the Board approved the management action plan in response to the Panel investigation related to the resettlement of a Maasai community in Kenya that was agreed through a mediation process. In response to the Uganda case, the World Bank created a Global Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Task Force to develop recommendations on how to prevent and address GBV in Bank projects.

Additionally, the Panel released the second and third reports in its series highlighting lessons that have emerged from its 23-year caseload. The third report, on lessons fromcases related to environmental assessment issues, was released at last week’s International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group Spring Meetings.

“I am honored to continue to lead the Panel as chairman, and look forward to working with my Panel colleagues and staff to promote accountability at the World Bank” Dr. Castro de la Mata said.

A U.S. and Peruvian national, Dr. Castro de la Mata brings to the Panel more than 20 years of international development experience. His career has included positions across the private sector, government, and civil society. His early career included key roles at the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund, and Wetlands for the Americas. Later, as chair of an independent advisory panel in the Camisea Project for the Export-Import Bank of the US, he demonstrated his thorough knowledge and appreciation for the nuances of each stage of a project cycle, from policy creation to implementation. He previously served as founder and chairman, Ecosystem Services, LLC.

Dr. Castro de la Mata earned a Ph.D. in ecology and population biology from the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.A. and B.A. from the Cayetano Heredia Universidad in Peru.