Papua New Guinea

On December 8, 2009, the Inspection Panel received a request for inspection related to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Smallholder Agriculture Development Project financ... Show More + ed by the International Development Association (IDA). The request was submitted by the Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights (CELCOR), an non-government organization (NGO) from PNG, acting as a representative of the Ahora/Kakandetta Pressure Group, affected customary land owners from the Oro province and affected smallholders in one of the three project areas. The requesters state that they have suffered, and are likely to suffer, serious harm from the design and implementation of the project. The panel registered the request on December 17, 2009; management received an extension from International Development Association's (IDA) Board of Executive Directors and submitted its response on February 8, 2010. In its response, management notes that the project includes adequate measures to minimize and manage risks of deforestation of areas of high conservation value. Management indicates that a thorough screening mechanism has been put in place to ensure that no planting takes place in critical habitats and primary forest areas. The panel notes that there are conflicting assertions and differing views on issues of harm and compliance with policies and procedures raised in the request for inspection, as evidenced by the various statements made in the request, in the management response, and in the panel's meetings with affected people and with Bank staff. In order to ascertain compliance or lack thereof with Bank policies and procedures in the design and implementation of the project, the panel must conduct an appropriate review of all relevant facts and applicable policies and procedures. This can be done only in the course of an investigation. Show Less -

The Governance Promotion Adjustment Loan (GPAL) for Papua New Guinea is examined in the Inspection Panel Report and Recommendation and Request for Inspection. The G... Show More + PAL made to Papua New Guinea is US$90 million, released over 3 years with the intention of aiding the stabilization and structural reform efforts of the government. The Request, submitted by the Center of Environmental Law and Community Rights, Inc (CELCOR) claims that the Management plans to release the last amount of the loan money despite the fact that the Government has not complied with disbursement conditions related to forestry management. The Panel finds that the Bank's actions were in compliance with the policies and procedures set forth and that adverse effects suffered by the Requesters were in no way related to the GPAL. Show Less -

This request for inspection comes from landowners who seek the assistance of the Inspection Panel because they have lost their land and forests during the currency ... Show More + of the Governance Promotion Adjustment Loan by the World Bank to Papua New Guinea. The Requesters claim that the Papua New Guinea government and logging industry participants failed to fulfill or demonstrate good faith on conditionalitys aimed at improving forest governance, imposed by the Bank on the Structural Adjustment Programme Loan (SAL.) The Requesters claim that the submission deals with significant instances of social, cultural, ecological and economic harm and that the disbursement of the second tranche without requiring a full review of the contractual provisions of the loan constitutes a violation of the contractual provisions of the SAL by loaning to a borrower defaults to implement its own promises. Examples set out in the claim indicating the development objectives of the governance loan have not been met and are unlikely to be met, if the disbursement of the second tranche is completed. The Requesters ask the Inspection Panel to address the need that arises from this claim. The Requesters ask that there be a moratorium on new concessions in the forests of Papua New Guinea to allow a respite for reform, that landowners be compensated for their losses, and the institutional reform processes put in place firmly. Show Less -