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Panel Participates at the 2023 IAIA Conference in Malaysia

panel-participation-2023-IAIA

On May 10, 2023, the World Bank Inspection Panel, along with four other independent accountability mechanisms (IAMs) at representing international financial institutions(IFIs), participated in a session titled “Failing Forward: Top 5 Social & Environmental Complaints at IFIs and How to Avoid Them”  at the annual conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment(IAIA) in Kuching, Malaysia. The annual conference IAIA is a key event among impact assessment practitioners which brought together over 600 practitioners in impact assessment from around the world providing an opportunity for them to share knowledge and experiences on a wide range of topics related to impact assessment.

Birgit Kuba, Senior Investigations Officer at the Panel, presented key aspects of the Panel’s most recent advisory publication on Land Administration and Management as well as additional Panel case studies relating to environmental and social issues. The aim of the session was to highlight the key social and environmental complaints at IFIs and discuss ways to prevent them.  The participants discussed the environmental categorization of projects and related prevalence of complaints, challenges for communities in raising issues, including due to reprisals, and how project task teams can best support clients on environmental and social matters. The session was highly interactive, with participants sharing their experiences and knowledge on the topic.

The Inspection Panel plays an important role in ensuring that World Bank-financed projects operate in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. By highlighting the most common complaints and discussing ways to prevent them, the Panel and other IAMs help protect the rights of communities affected by IFI projects.