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Panel Issues Notice of Registration in Brazil Land Case

Brazil Piaui

The Inspection Panel on January 21, 2020, issued a Notice of Registration for a Request for Inspection of the Piauí Pillars of Growth and Social Inclusion Project in Brazil. 

The objectives of the project include land tenure regularization, reducing dropouts of students in public secondary education and increasing the participation of family farmers in rural productive value chains. The Request – submitted on December 6, 2019, by three members of communities in the Cerrado region of Piauí – alleges that local traditional communities have been left out of the land tenure regularization process under the project. The Requesters argue that the project promotes regularization mainly for agribusiness and large landowners whose farming practices destroy biodiversity, soil and water. They claim that the region has a history of land grabbing, which is being legitimized through the project. As a result, they argue, local traditional communities are losing their lands, crops and subsistence. The Requesters also claim lack of social assistance, public safety and access to education.

The Panel’s registration implies no judgment concerning the merits of the Request. Bank management must provide the Panel with a response to the issues raised in the Request by February 20, 2020. After receiving the response and engaging with other relevant stakeholders, the Panel will make a recommendation to the Board of Executive Directors as to whether the matter should be investigated.