Board Discusses Panel’s Investigation Report on Tanzania REGROW Project; Approves Management Action Plan
On April 1, 2025, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors discussed the Inspection Panel’s investigation report related to the World Bank-financed Tanzania: Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) Project. The Inspection Panel conducted the investigation in response to two Requests for Inspection received on June 20, 2023, and May 3, 2024, respectively. The Requests were submitted by two individuals from the Project area who requested confidentiality due to fear of retaliation. The Board also approved the Bank Management’s Action Plan (MAP) to address the findings of the Panel’s Investigation Report.
The Requesters had alleged that the Bank-financed Project in Tanzania did not adhere to several World Bank policies and procedures. They claimed that communities in five villages, with an approximate population of 21,000, in Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA) were notified of impending evictions. The Requesters alleged that they faced violence and threats of retaliation, which created a pervasive sense of fear among the affected community members. The Requests stated that the Project provided direct material and institutional support to Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA), one of the Project’s lead implementing agencies, for the management of RUNAPA, including equipment used for patrols. The Requesters allege that TANAPA rangers restricted access to grazing land in the Park, at times by use of excessive force, and seized community members’ cattle in large numbers, to the detriment of pastoralists and their livelihoods.
On July 20, 2023, after conducting its due diligence, the Panel registered the first Request. Bank Management submitted its first response to the Panel on August 21, 2023, followed by a second response on June 27, 2024. A Panel team visited Tanzania from August 21 to September 2, 2023, and met with Project stakeholders including officials from the Government of Tanzania, TANAPA, the Requesters, and local communities. The Panel submitted its Report and Recommendation to the Board on September 19, 2023, in which it recommended carrying out an investigation into (i) the Bank’s review of and due diligence on the capacity and processes of TANAPA (ii) whether risks to communities were identified in project documents and appropriate mitigation measures put in place, and (iii) the Bank’s supervision of TANAPA. On November 15, 2023, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a recommendation from the Inspection Panel to investigate the Project. The Requesters and the Borrowers were offered the option of dispute resolution but the two parties did not agree to pursue this option.
The Panel’s investigation found that the Project adequately defined the Project area to cover the four parks benefiting from Project support. The Panel’s investigation also found that the Project did not comply with World Bank’s policies on Involuntary Resettlement, Investment Project Financing and Environmental Assessments and that this non-compliance contributed to the harm experienced by the Project-affected communities. In conducting its due diligence, Management did not recognize that, first, based on the Tanzania’s park management legislation people residing in and/or accessing parks and other protected areas without authorization could face involuntary physical and economic resettlement. Furthermore, the Project did not sufficiently assess the legal framework and the capacity of TANAPA and did not recognize that its support to an agency with a law enforcement mandate would invariably have implications for the livelihoods and the well-being of communities residing within park boundaries and accessing park resources for the purpose of sustaining livelihoods.
On February 28, 2025, the Bank Management submitted its Report and Recommendation, including a MAP aimed at addressing the findings of the Panel’s investigation. The Board approved the MAP on April 1, 2025.
At the Board meeting, the Chairperson of the Inspection Panel stated, “This investigation yields critical lessons for the Bank’s approach to supporting conservation and other projects that require physical resettlement and restrict access to legally designated parks, especially where unauthorized physical and economic presence is prohibited, and the Project is implemented through a law enforcement agency. Management has acknowledged its compliance failures and has undertaken to implement actions approved by the Executive Directors of the Bank to redress the harms caused, which the Panel’s investigation found. The Inspection Panel pays tribute to the courage of the Requesters in approaching the Panel with the harms that they suffered.”
As a reassurance tool, the Panel will submit to the Board for approval the recommendation for verification of the MAP implementation. Furthermore, the Bank Management will submit annual progress reports on the implementation of the Board-approved MAP, which will be published on the Panel’s website on the case page. Learn more