World Bank Board Addresses Inspection Panel’s Investigation of the Honduras Land Administration Projec

Honduras: Improving Land Administration is Critical to Better Livelihoods, Economic Opportunities

WASHINGTON, October 26, 2007– The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today announced the results of the independent Inspection Panel (IP) investigation of the Honduras Land Administration Project and the Management’s Action plan which aims to ensure greater participation from indigenous communities.

The investigation was in response to a request from the Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (Fraternal Black Honduran Organization, OFRANEH) on behalf of some Garífuna communities in Honduras. The Board also approved Management’s Action Plan contained in the Bank’s official response to the Panel’s findings.

OFRANEH claimed that the Project failed to consult adequately with the people and organizations who are representatives of the affected Garífuna communities. The complaint also noted that the 2004 Property Law of Honduras does not comply with the Bank’s safeguard policy, and that the Project violated the Bank’s Environmental Assessment and Natural Habitats safeguard policies.

The President of the World Bank Group, Robert Zoellick, welcomed the Investigation Report of the Inspection Panel and the Management Report as important contributions to promoting the use of land titling programs to support equitable development and protect the rights of indigenous communities.

Furthermore, Jane Armitage, World Bank Country Director for Central Americaexplained during the proceedings: “The follow up to the Panel’s report will entail looking closely at the issue of the participation of these groups representing Indigenous Peoples in consultations that have implications for their land rights and livelihoods. It is particularly important to learn the lessons from this experience and work hard to apply them in the future.”

The Panel found that the Bank complied with its policies and procedures in important aspects: the preparation of an indigenous peoples plan, consultations during project preparation, the identification in the Environmental Assessment of overlap between protected areas and Ethnic Lands, and the development of a Process Framework for addressing such cases.

However, the Panel found that lack of continuous participation by the Requesters and other key Garífuna organizations cannot ensure genuine representation of the Garífuna people and is not in compliance with Bank policy on Indigenous Peoples. The Panel found that the consultation framework has the potential to divide the Garífuna people and weaken their efforts to register collective title of their ancestral lands. The Panel found that the Project sought to finance titling activities on Ethnic Lands in the absence of an adequate legal and regulatory framework, and was not adjusted to the changing legal framework.

At the Board meeting, the Panelrecognized: “the importance of regularizing land titles in Honduras and the complexity of doing so. However, a consultation mechanism, the regional mesa, was established under the Project that is outside the already established traditional institutions that represent the interests of the Garífuna people. The two major pan-Garífuna organizations—OFRANEH and ODECO— have not participated in this mechanism. The Panel found that the economically and politically vulnerable communities faced a choice of participating in a Project which they believed did not represent their interests, or attempting to opt out of the Project and face significant challenges from people seeking to occupy and claim their lands.”

Following the discussion at the Board, the Executive Directors endorsed the Action Plan presented by Management, which contains specific recommendations to enhance community participation, including strengthening of an Inter-Sectoral Commission for Protecting Land Rights of Garífuna and Miskito Communities. It was agreed that Management would provide a progress report on implementation of the Action Plan to the Board within twelve months and would consult with the Panel on issues relating to consultation.

The Project, with a total cost of US$38.9 million, aims to modernize land administration in Honduras by establishing an integrated and decentralized land administration system, composed of public and private entities, which provides users in the Project Area with accurate information on urban and rural land parcels and effective land administration services in a timely and cost-effective manner at the national level.