THE REQUEST
On June 20, 2023, a Request for Inspection was submitted by two individuals from Tanzania. The Requesters have asked the Inspection Panel to keep their identities confidential due to fear of retaliation. They have asked the Oakland Institute to be their advisor in the Panel process.
CASE DESCRIPTION
The Requesters allege that the Bank-financed Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) Project in Tanzania did not follow several World Bank policies and procedures. With respect to involuntary resettlement, the Requesters allege that communities in five villages (with an approximate population of 20,000) adjacent to Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA) were notified that they will be evicted. The Requesters allege that they face violence, retaliation and threats of retaliation, which has created a sense of constant fear among affected community members. The Requesters allege that over the past two years their cattle have been seized in large numbers to the detriment of pastoral livelihoods. They allege that the seizure of cattle has impacted several indigenous peoples groups, including Maasai, Sukuma, and Datoga pastoralists, who inhabit the Project area. They claim that the Bank failed to trigger its Indigenous Peoples Policy, causing irreparable harm to the identity, culture, and rights of the indigenous communities in the Project area, and that no free, prior, and informed consultations were conducted with the affected indigenous communities in the Project area. At the time of publishing this report, the Panel was reviewing the Request on its admissibility.
Learn more about the case here.