On the eve of an important decision by the Board of the World Bank, ' Pygmy ' people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have issued a major challenge to the Bank about its plans to open up the world's second largest rainforest for massive industrial felling of timber.
Since 2002, the World Bank has taken a leading role in reforming DRC's forestry laws, starting the process of 'zoning' the forest into areas for timber felling and other uses, and encouraging foreign investment in the timber industry [1].
Thirteen organisations representing the various indigenous 'Pygmy' peoples of the Congo have now submitted a formal complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel, an official independent watchdog, because the Bank has failed to take into account the impact that its plans would have on people depending on the forest for their survival [2].
On Thursday December 8th, the Board of the World Bank will consider whether to approve more than 0 million in new funding for the government of DRC, some of it linked to 'development' of the country's rainforests [3].
The Rainforest Foundation and Friends of the Earth have written to the Board of the Bank, including the UK Government's Executive Director, calling on it to suspend any further funding for forestry and mining in DRC until there has been a thorough review of the Bank's activities in DRC's forests to date, and until the Inspection Panel has conducted an investigation [4] .
Simon Counsell, Director of the Rainforest Foundation, said:
"The World Bank is laying the basis for the destruction of Congo's rainforests, and it has breached many of its own internal safeguard policies in the process. It has set out a plan to 'zone' Congo's forests in which up to 600,000 square kilometres of rainforest could eventually be handed over to logging companies. The Board of the Bank now has the chance to avert a major environmental and humanitarian disaster, and should not provide any further funding for forestry in DRC until there has been a thorough investigation as to how Bank staff could act with such blatant disregard for both the environment and the rights of the millions of people living in Congo's forest ".
For further information:
Simon Counsell, Rainforest Foundation
T (office): +44 (0) 207 251 6345
T (Cell): +44 (0)7941 899 579
Notes:
[1] In 2002, the Bank provided funding for the government of DRC to develop a new set of laws regulating the use of the country's forests. In September 2003, the Board of the Bank also approved a project entitled 'Emergency Economic and Social Reconstruction and Support Project', which included million to start the process of 'zoning' DRC's forests, potentially opening up tens of millions of hectares for industrial logging. It is this latter project which is the main subject of the complaint by Congo's indigenous 'Pygmy' people, as Bank staff failed to 'trigger' the Bank's operational policy on indigenous people (OD 4.20) when developing the project.
[2] The complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel was registered by the Chair of the Panel on December 1st. An English summary of the complaint by the Chair of the Panel can be found on the Rainforest Foundation's website at:
A PDF file of the complaint can be found on the same page (click the pink link that says "Download this publication").
[3] The new Bank funding under consideration by the Bank Board on Thursday 8th December includes a project entitled 'Transitional Support for Economic Recovery'. This is 'development policy lending' which Bank documentation shows is to be linked to further implementation of the Bank's programme for development of DRC's forests.
