CIEL/International Rivers Network Letter to James Wolfensohn

 

February 22, 2001

Mr. James Wolfensohn, President
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433

Dear President Wolfensohn:

We are writing to express serious reservations with the ongoing revisions to the World Bank's resettlement policy. While World Bank staff have stated that this process will not lead to substantive changes in the policy and that there is no need for ongoing public transparency, we are aware that major substantive changes have been made to the draft policy that have the effect of weakening the rights of persons who lose their homes or livelihoods as a result of Bank-financed projects. Because there are significant substantive changes, the policy should be fully evaluated by both the interested outside public and the Board, so that there can be a full understanding of the implications of the proposed changes.

It is a fact that millions of people have been forced from their lands or suffered from lost livelihoods as a result of World Bank projects; perhaps tens of millions have suffered the devastating consequences of failed resettlement. Internal Bank studies have consistently shown poor performance and compliance problems regarding the Involuntary Resettlement policy, problems which translate on the ground into impoverishment and increasing disillusionment with the World Bank by project-affected people. Changes thus far in the revision process will have the effect of curtailing the rights of project-affected people and significantly weakening the existing policy.

Such setbacks are especially untenable given the clear direction recently given by the World Commission on Dams, whose final report calls for more protections to ensure that displaced people are not left worse off by development projects. As a sponsor of the World Commission on Dams, any revision of the World Bank's resettlement policy must be informed by the recommendations in the Commission's Report. These recommendations are based on a recognition of the rights of affected people and an assessment of risks to those rights. A decision-making process which upholds these two principles must be reflected in a policy that requires negotiated agreements with affected communities. Such an approach not only protects the interests of affected people and thereby lessens the risk of conflict, it also reduces overall project costs.

The following is a brief summary of some of the most problematic aspects of the revised draft policy, though there are also many other areas of concern:

Weakening of Protections for Vulnerable Groups

We understand that the revised policy as currently drafted will lead to the further disempowerment of people lacking legal title to land. The existing OD notes that "Vulnerable groups at particular risk are indigenous people, the landless and semi-landless, and households headed by females who, though displaced, may not be protected through  national land compensation legislation. The resettlement plan must include land allocation or culturally acceptable alternative income-generating strategies to protect the livelihood of these people." 

In contrast, the draft OP does not recognize the vulnerability of those who are not protected by national land compensation legislation. Only those who have "formal legal rights to land" or "a claim to such legal rights" are allowed compensation for loss of land or other assets taken for project purposes. Those who do not have a claim to legal rights under the national land legislation are "not entitled to compensation for loss of land under this policy"; they are entitled only to undefined "resettlement assistance." In fact, those who lack land title are characterized in the Bank's draft policy as "occupying land in violation of the laws of the country." This is unnecessarily pejorative. It also fails to recognize the reality of land titling issues in many countries, where the poor and dispossessed face massive hurdles to gaining legal title to land that they have traditionally occupied.

This change signals a serious reversal in the protection afforded to the most vulnerable populations who are displaced by Bank-financed projects. This change will be especially damaging for ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. The World Commission on Dams report has noted that "failing to give compensation to those lacking legal title will disproportionately affect indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, as they may lack citizenship, tenancy, or land tenure papers." The WCD report also notes that "The rights of indigenous peoples are often poorly enshrined in the national legal framework, and consequently their entitlements have lacked effective protection." Both the World Commission on Dams and the Inter-American Development Bank recognize the special importance of land to indigenous communities, and both have called for the prior informed consent of indigenous peoples before they can be resettled.

The Bank is falling behind emerging international standards that recognize the unique position of indigenous peoples in the context of resettlement. We urge that the damaging changes noted above be removed, allowing the language of the current OD to stand. We further call on the Bank to adopt a standard of prior informed consent for indigenous communities and ethnic minorities, drawing on the language reflected in the IDB policy and the recommendations of the WCD.

Direct/Indirect Impacts

We also understand that the draft OP introduces a new standard on impacts, and says that only "direct" social and economic impacts are covered. The consequences of limiting the policy to direct impacts could be enormous. The draft policy fails to define direct or indirect impacts. Regardless of definition, it is unwise and unjustifiable for the Bank to remove its responsibility to compensate for the indirect impacts on land and livelihood associated with Bank-financed projects. This will have the effect of further externalizing the costs of projects, and will increase the suffering of locally affected communities. Again, the Bank is backsliding when compared to the WCD, which specifies that "Impact assessment includes all people in the reservoir, upstream, downstream and in catchment areas whose properties, livelihoods and non-material resources are affected. It also includes those affected by dam-related infrastructure such as canals, transmission lines and resettlement developments." 

"Voluntary" Resettlers

Another major problem with the current draft is the lack of protections for people classified as "voluntary" resettlers. The existing draft "clarifies" for the first time that the policy protections do not apply to people who are "voluntarily" resettled as a result of Bank-financed activities. There is no definition of voluntary. Recent experience, such as with the EcoDevelopment project in India and the China Western Poverty Reduction Project, should raise serious concern about the degree of "voluntariness" in certain projects as well as questions about adverse social and economic impacts. If resettlement is categorized as "voluntary," under the draft policy there are no substantive or procedural protections for the local population. Voluntary resettlers affected by Bank-financed projects will have no right to informed participation or consultation. There will be no requirement for information disclosure to local communities or the InfoShop, no assurance that resettlers will have their standards of living improved, no grievance mechanisms, no reporting requirements, no oversight or monitoring.

This policy dichotomy is not justified, and in fact creates perverse incentives for project planners to characterize resettlement as voluntary and thereby avoid all of the policy protections. To guard against the abuse of this categorization, and to ensure that the local people have participatory and substantive rights, the OP should be adjusted to provide a comparable policy framework which at a minimum (1) defines "voluntary resettlement"; (2) defines the standards that World Bank staff must apply to determine whether or not a resettlement program is truly voluntary; (3) establishes that voluntary resettlers are entitled to development benefits and that their standards of living should be improved (see further comments below); (4) provides the standards for Bank supervision and monitoring throughout project implementation; and (5) requires the public release of information of documents relating to voluntary resettlement, including the resettlement plan, to both affected populations (in their language) and in the World Bank InfoShop prior to appraisal. A framework of rights for voluntary resettlement is also a necessary prerequisite for moving away from the failed model of forcible eviction and towards a model of negotiated settlements with local communities.

Improvement/Restoration of Livelihoods

Management has rejected public comments from across the spectrum -- implementing agencies, anthropologists, NGOs, economists -- that the Bank should abandon the restoration of income standard in favor of a more development-based objective of improving the lifestyles/livelihoods of project-affected people. It is clear that a restoration benchmark equals stagnation at best, and impoverishment at worst. The OP should support improvement as the benchmark. The World Bank claims to promote the right to development. At the very least, that right should be afforded to the millions of people whose homes and livelihoods are adversely affected by Bank-financed projects. The "improvement" standard would also be consistent with both the principle reflected in the policy that resettlement should be considered in the context of sustainable development, and the principle in the WCD guidelines which states that "adversely affected people are recognized as first among the beneficiaries of the project."

People Affected by Protected Areas

The draft OP proposes a different process for those people whose livelihoods are adversely impacted by World Bank projects in conservation areas. In such cases, the communities are not to be consulted until project implementation, rather than during project preparation. Likewise, those whose livelihoods are affected by protected areas are not assured the same basic protections in the OP as involuntary resettlers, such as being informed about their options and rights, being consulted about alternatives, provided with prompt compensation, ensured the timely sharing of information, infrastructural support, and provision of alternative livelihoods. Instead, these people are only offered assurances that the borrower, without any obligation to consult with the affected peoples, will provide a "draft process framework" during project appraisal, and, during project implementation, a plan "acceptable to the Bank" (but not necessarily to the peoples themselves) intended to "at least" restore their livelihoods "in real terms." The artificial distinction being drawn by the World Bank appears intended to 'panel proof' the World Bank against further complaints to the Inspection Panel such as that made about the 'Ecodevelopment' project in India.

This kind of discrimination is unacceptable on both moral and legal grounds. Experience shows that the distinction the policy seeks to draw between forced displacement and involuntarily "restricted access" is both unfair and unfounded. Detailed studies of peoples affected by protected areas show how imposed restrictions on their livelihoods and effective loss of their lands may inevitably force people to relocate because their lives become unviable. Frequently, peoples whose lands are designated as protected areas come from ethnic minorities, pastoral nomads and marginalized forest-dwelling groups, whose traditional systems of land use depend on their mobility over, and access to, large areas. Very often these peoples' rights to their territories are not recognized by national laws. These peoples deserve the same consideration and concern as those whose lands and livelihoods are expropriated by any other imposed developments. 

Conclusion

There have been many attempts by NGOs to engage constructively in the revision process, but these attempts have been met with a general failure on the part of Bank staff to respond to our concerns or to abide by the original commitment to transparency and participation. In addition to failing to post the matrix of public comments/Bank responses as promised, management has consistently refused to respond to correspondence about substantive issues including the issue of voluntary resettlement and the WCD process. This has seriously eroded the credibility of the process. There is a wealth of expertise and concern from people outside the Bank regarding the Bank's resettlement policy and practice. This outside expertise should be included in the debate around the revisions to the resettlement policy. Instead, the process has been closed and non-responsive.

We are deeply concerned that the policy as currently drafted will result in the further disempowerment and risk of impoverishment of the people who make the deepest sacrifices in the name of development. We believe that the policy revisions reflected in the most recent draft constitute a significant weakening of the policy. We call on you to use your good offices to prevent this flawed policy from going to the Board, to bring transparency to this process by allowing civil society to review and comment on the next stages of policy revision, and to develop a process to incorporate the findings of the WCD report. Rather than weakening the policy, the revision process should be designed to ensure that the changes to the policy reflect the lessons of experience and emerging principles of international law and institutions.

Thank you for your time and attention. We feel that this policy is critically important to the success or failure of World Bank projects, and we hope that you can provide guidance and leadership in a situation that is becoming increasingly divisive.

Sincerely,


Dana Clark and Juliette Majot
Center for International Environmental Law  and International Rivers Network
1416 Peralta Avenue 1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94702 Berkeley, CA 94703

cc: Members of the Board of Executive Directors
Ian Johnson, Vice President, ESSD
Joanne Salop, Managing Director, OPS
Shengman Zhang, Managing Director
Robert Picciotto, OED
Maninder Gill, Coordinator, Resettlement Thematic Group
Carolyn Reynolds, External Affairs

On behalf of the following 125 organizations and 33 distinguished individuals from 26 countries:

Argentina

Jorge Cappato
Fundacion PROTEGER / Rios Vivos

Australia

Melanie Gillbank
AID/WATCH

Domenica Settle
Friends of the Earth Australia.

Geoff Evans
Mineral Policy Institute

Bangladesh

Pär Lindqvist
The Swallows India-Bangladesh section

Brazil

Maurício Galinkin
Fundação CEBRAC, Brasilia

Sadi Baron
Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB)

Kusum Verônica Toledo
SPVS - Sociedade de Pesquisa em Vida Selvagem e Educação Ambiental, Curitiba

Kênia Itacaramby
Ministério Público Federal

Bolivia

Rosa Maria Ruiz
Fundación Eco Bolivia

Cameroon

Edith Abilogo
Bubinga

Robinson Djeukam
Cameroonian Association of Environmental Lawyers

Samuel Nguiffo
Center for Environment & Development

Benoit Ndamdeu
Friends of the Earth Cameroon

Koueda Koung Jean
Global Village Cameroon

Francois Abessolo
Oilwatch Cameroon

Canada

Thubten Samdup, President
Canada Tibet Committee, National Office

Lidia Pavez-Diaz
Centre for Socialist Education, Vancouver

Pamela Foster
Halifax Initiative Coalition

Kevan Hudson
The Ogoni Solidarity Network (OSN), Vancouver, BC

John Bennett
Sierra Club of Canada

Rev. Russell Daye
United Church of Canada

France

Helene Connor
HELIO International

Germany

Dr. Manfred Westermayer
Asocio de Verduloj Esperantistaj (AVE)
Association of Greens using Esperanto

Michael Musil
BUND-Westerwald

Julia Ratzmann
Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Bavaria

Stephan Doempke
People and Nature e.V.

Dario Jana
Red Internacional de Apoyo al Pueblo Pehuenche - RIAP

Heffa Schuecking
Urgewald

Miriam Walther
W E E D (World Economy, Ecology & Development)

Carsten Hübner, MP (Member of the PDS parliamentary group in the German Bundestag and Spokesperson on international solidarity and human rights)

Dr Hannelore Küchler, B.A.soc.,
Dipl.Soziologin
freie Wissenschaftsjournalistin

India

Mashood.P.K.
Association For India's Development
Bangalore Chapter

Shankar Gopalakrishnan
Bard College Student Action Collective

Bela Bhatia
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies

Bina Stanis
Chotanagpur Adivasi Sewa Samiti

Gulab Prajapati
Chotanagpur Paryavaran Chetna Kendra

Bineet Mundu
Delhi Forum

Leo Saldanha
Environment Support Group, Bangalore

Subramanya Sastry
Friends of River Narmada

Sharachchandra Lele
Institute for Social & Economic Change, Nagarabhavi, Bangalore

Nityand Jayaraman
Independent Journalist

Ishwar Soren
Jharkhand Society

Ajay Kumar
Kaimut Kshetra Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti

Ashish Kothari
Kalpavriksh Environment Support Group

Ganesh Ganjhu
Koyla Kshetra Visthapin Manch

Kumar Nochur
The Maha Vishnu Seva Foundation

B.T. Venkalish, Xavier Dias
Mines, Minerals & PEOPLE

Madhu Kohli, Roma
National Forum of Forest Workers & Forest People

Sujit Patwardhan
Hon. Secretary, Parisar, Yamuna

Ira Roy
SACHETAN

Himanshu Thakkar
South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People

Ashish Fernandes
Sanctuary Magazine

Indonesia

Budi Kruniawan
West Sumatera Peasant Farmers Union

Anto Sangaji
Yayasan Tanah Merdeka

Italy

Daniela Colombo
AIDOS (Associazione Italiana Donne per lo Sviluppo)

Laura Radiconcini
Amici della Terra (Friends of the Earth Italy)

Antonio Peratoner
Rete Radié Resch of International Solidarity

Dr. Roberto Romizi
Associazione Medici per l'Ambiente - International Society of Doctors for the Environment

Japan

Tokihavu Okazaki
Friends of the Earth-Japan

Sonoko Kawakami
Japan NGO Network on Indonesia (JANNI)

Masahito Ujiie
National Dam Opposition Network-Japan

Miki Furuya
World Wildlife Fund Japan

Malaysia

S.M Mohammed Idris
Friends of the Earth Malaysia and Consumers' Association of Penang

Antares (Kit Leee)
MAGICK RIVER

Dr Kua Kia Soong
SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia)

Sam Hui
SOS Selangor (Save Our Sungai Selangor)

Chee Yoke Ling
Third World Network

Mexico

David Barkin
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana / Unidad Xochimilco

Jacinta Palerm Viqueira
Colegio de Postgraduados

Scott Robinson
Universidad Metropolitana

The Netherlands

Sjef Langeveld
Both ENDS

Janneke Bruil
Friends of the Earth - International

Han van Putten
Habitat International Coalition

Karen Brouwer
Transnational Institute

Norway

Ingrid Nesheim
FIVAS

Tore Braend
Norges Naturvernforbund/Friends of the Earth Norway

Jorn Stave
NorWatch/Future in Our Hands

Pakistan

Aly Ercelawn and Muhammad Nauman
creed alliance, Karachi

Naeem Iqbal
Pakistan Network of Rivers Dams and People

Philippines

Joan Carling
Cordillera Peoples Alliance

Takahiro Nanri
NGO Forum on the ADB

Ramon F. Sales
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement

Taiwan

Chang Cheng-Yang
Meinung People's Association

Spain

AEMS-RIOS CON VIDA
1998 National Environmental Award, Madrid

Sri Lanka

Hemantha Withanage
Environment Foundation

Sweden

Klas Ronnback
Miljoforbundet Jordens Vanner (Friends of the earth Sweden)

Göran Eklöf
Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

Switzerland

Gertrud Ochsner
Aktion Finanzplatz Schweiz (Independent Network Monitoring the Swiss Financial System)

Peter Bosshard
Berne Declaration

Marina Widmer
Frauenrat für Aussenpolitik (Women's Network for Foreign Policies)

Brigitte Anderegg
SOLIFONDS

United Kingdom

Alex Wilks
Bretton Woods Project

Matilda Lee
Fondation de Sauve

Dr. Marcus Colchester
Forest Peoples Programme

Kate Geary
Ilisu Dam Campaign

Dr. Shirwan Al Mufti
Kurdish Aid Wales (KAW) U.K.

Kerim Yilidiz
Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP)

Rachel Roche
People and Planet

Angie Zelter
Reforest the Earth

Chris Woodford
UK Rivers Network


USA

Atossa Soltani
Amazon Watch

Tom Dickerman
American Hydrogen Association

Rebecca Fontaine 
Amnesty International - University of North Carolina at Asheville Chapter

Shailabh Nagar
Association for India's Development (AID), State College Chapter

Ravishankar Arunachalam
Association for India's Development, Texas

Martha London
BankBusters, Boston

Kay Treakle
Bank Information Center

Richard Kamp
Border Ecology Project

Prashant Inamti
Boston Global Action Network

Ernest Goitein and Claire Feder
Californians for Radioactive Safeguards

Barbara Grant
Central Vermont Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Vivian Stockman
Concerned Citizens' Coalition, Spencer, West Virginia

Charles Wyrostok
Concerned Citizens Coalition, Roane, Calhoun & Gilmer Counties, West Virginia

Ann Oestreich
Congregation Justice Committee-Sisters of the Holy Cross

Amit Srivastava
Corporate Watch

Vickery J. Prongay
Earth Day Network

Dan Silver
Endangered Habitats League

Bruce Rich
Environmental Defense

Soren Ambrose
50 Years Is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice

Juliette Beck
Global Exchange

Kevin Murray
Grassroots International

Dorinda Moreno
Hitec Aztec Communications Network

Bhuchung K. Tsering
International Campaign for Tibet

Pat Rasmussen
Leavenworth Audubon Adopt-a-Forest

Josh Schrei
Milarepa Fund

Roy Morrison
N.H. Consumers Utility Cooperative

Diana Bohn
Nicaragua Center for Community Action

Katherine Hoyt
Nicaragua Network

Ravi Khanna, Director
1world communication

Doug Norlen
Pacific Environment

Elizabeth Solomon
Planet Vox

Allison Dinsmore
RESULTS Philadelphia

Han Shan
The Ruckus Society

Marty Bergoffen
Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project

John Hocevar
Students for a Free Tibet

Cecilia R. Vinas
Swarthmore Presbyterian Church

Maria Lya Ramos
Washington Peace Center

Steve Milwaukee
Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign

Professor Angana P. Chatterji
Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Brad T. Clark
Colorado State University, Department of Political Science

Rory DePaolis, PhD
James Madison University

Rev. Deacon Arthur C. Donart, Ph. D.
Social Justice & Peace Commission
Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace Catholic Parish

Rev. James E. Flynn (ret.)
St. Lawrence Catholic Church

Jonathan Fox
Professor of Social Science and Chair, Latin American and Latino Studies
University of California, Santa Cruz

John Gershman
Foreign Policy in Focus

Jerry Hembd
Connecticut College

Prof. Ghislaine Hermanuz
The City College of New York

Professor Nancy Holmstrom
Rutgers University

Renee Victoria Hoyos
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
University of California, Davis

Becca Jensen
George Washington University

Patricia Krommer CSJ
Humanitarian Law Project, IED, Inc. UN

Professor Peter Marcuse
Columbia University

Dr. Joan P. Mencher
Lehman College of City University of New York

Jon Nissenbaum
Dept. of Linguistics, Harvard University

Ryan Preston
Harvard University

Kevin Reynolds
Basta! Magazine, Buffalo, NY

Amy Stix
University of Montana, Environmental Studies Dept.
Missoula, MT

Maureen H. Turnbull
Political Science Association at Metropolitan State College of Denver

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