THE REQUEST
The Request for Inspection was submitted on December 19, 2022, by four Requesters who stated they are the leaders of four “Centrales Chiquitanos” (organizations of Chiquitano Indigenous People) in the Chiquitania region of eastern Bolivia. They engaged two local civil society organizations to represent them and authorized the Bank Information Center – a US-based nongovernmental organization – to provide them with support and advice during the Inspection Panel process. The Requesters and their representatives asked the Panel to keep their identities confidential.
The Requesters claimed Project activities threatened their land and livelihoods by creating opportunities for illegal activities and for settlers to move into their area. The Requesters alleged that the road upgrade had increased the rate of illegal occupation and presents a risk to indigenous land titling efforts underway or planned. They claimed the road exacerbated activities such as agribusiness expansion and deforestation, and that this, in turn, allegedly raised the rate of wildfires, which endangered their land and livelihoods. The Requesters alleged that the original Indigenous People’s Plan (IPP) neither mitigated adverse impacts nor granted them access to Project benefits. According to the Requesters, they have been discussing these issues with the Bank and the implementing agency since 2018, but it took three years of engagement for their inputs to be included in the revised IPP agreed in December 2021. While the Requesters considered this revised IPP “relatively strong” and “much improved” compared to the original IPP, they complained about its remaining shortcomings and its ineffective implementation. They alleged that although road construction started in 2019, most of the measures intended to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or compensate for adverse impacts and provide social and economic benefits to the indigenous peoples were yet to be implemented, four years later. The Request claimed the Chiquitanos were neither meaningfully consulted during the development of the original IPP nor informed about the negative impacts, risks, and benefits of the Project during the initial consultation. They believed that the Bank Policy on Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) was being “violated.” They alleged that the Project has lacked meaningful consultation. They also claimed that Project workers have engaged in sexual exploitation, abuse, and sexual harassment (SEA/SH), including that of indigenous girls. Furthermore, they said that the Project contractor’s hiring conditions did not guarantee the labor rights of the Chiquitanos working at Project sites.
MANAGEMENT RESPONSE
The Bank Management Response stated that the Request focuses largely on broader economic and demographic developments that were not caused by the Project. According to Management, it was highly unlikely that the harm to the Chiquitanos alleged in the Request could have occurred at so early a stage of the Project’s physical works. Management claimed the original IPP was “fully consistent” with the requirements of the Bank’s Indigenous Peoples Policy and was “the result of a process of free, prior, and informed consultation” that led to broad community support for the Project. Management stated that in 2018, at the request of the indigenous communities, a process to revise and update the IPP began. Management considered the revised IPP is “fully consistent with all requirements set out in OP 4.10.” Management added that given the high prevalence of gender-based violence in Bolivia, addressing SEA/SH had been recognized early in the Project design stage, for which reason Project documents included targeted measures to help prevent and respond to SEA/SH. Management acknowledged its awareness of labor-related issues and explained that it had requested the implementing agency to ensure that these issues are quickly resolved and a labor and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) audit is undertaken.
PANEL RECOMMENDATION/BOARD APPROVAL/REFERRAL TO DISPUTE RESOLUTION
After visiting Bolivia in March 2023, the Panel submitted its Report and Recommendation on March 17, 2023, recommending an Investigation to the Board. During its eligibility field visit, some community members in the villages the Panel visited raised concerns about what they claimed were unmitigated impacts on community water sources, road safety, and areas used for the extraction of road materials such as borrow pits. During this field visit, the Requesters and community members also raised concerns about land-take in relation to the right-of-way , lack of understanding on the compensation methodology and the basis of valuation. They claimed that some Project-affected persons (PAPs) that had not received or partially received compensation before the Project acquired their land. The Panel also heard complaints that insufficient knowledge and information-sharing had prevented the PAPs from meaningfully articulating more detailed concerns and priorities for the IPP. The Requesters and some of the impacted communities claimed that IPP implementation was slow, and that its measures were insufficient to achieve its stated objectives. The Panel heard of five cases of workers allegedly involved with girls younger than 18, including both romantic and transactional relationships. The Panel was also told that adult women in some communities engaged in transactional sex with workers. The Panel heard and noted the concerns raised around labor and working conditions, and acknowledged that Management had requested a labor and OHS audit for Project works. On March 31, 2023, the Board approved the Panel’s Recommendation to investigate.
As per the Inspection Panel and Accountability Mechanism Resolutions, following the Panel’s Recommendation, the Accountability Mechanism Secretary (AM Secretary) offered the Requesters and Borrower (the “Parties”) the opportunity to pursue dispute resolution. On May 12, 2023, the AM Secretary informed the Board, the Panel, and Management that no agreement had been reached to enter dispute resolution.
PANEL INVESTIGATION
Following the AM Secretary’s Notice of No Agreement to Pursue Dispute Resolution, the Panel commenced its Investigation in accordance with the Inspection Panel and Accountability Mechanism Resolutions. The Panel published its Investigation Plan on its website on May 16, 2023. Due to external circumstances, the Panel’s fact-finding field visit was delayed to September 2023. The Panel is expecting to submit it to the Board in February 2024. The Investigation Report will be made available on the Panel’s website following a Board meeting on the Management Action Plan responding to the findings of the Panel’s Report.
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