On January 23, 2026, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors (the “Board”) approved the recommendation of the Inspection Panel to investigate the Uganda: Investing in Forests and Protected Areas for Climate-Smart Development Project (the “Project”). The Project’s objective is to improve the sustainable management of forests and protected areas and increase benefits for communities from forests in targeted landscapes.

The Panel received a Request for Inspection on August 29, 2025, submitted by two individuals on behalf of themselves and other Batwa communities residing around four of the protected areas that are covered by the Project. The Request alleges that the Project is perpetuating “historical injustices” against the Batwa people by systematically excluding them from meaningful participation and proper consultations, claiming there was no proper indigenous representation.

According to the Request, the Batwa people were never allowed to come to the table to negotiate co-management arrangements and benefit-sharing that could provide sustainable livelihoods for Batwa communities, though the Project presents opportunities for co-management and benefit-sharing that could address decades of marginalization. The Request further alleges that Project-supported tourism exploits Batwa culture while excluding the Batwa from revenue-sharing, amounting to cultural exploitation and forced assimilation. It also raises concerns about intimidation and reprisals against Batwa representatives who assert their rights.

The Panel registered the Request on September 16, 2025, and Management submitted its response on December 1, 2025. Management asserted that the alleged harms stem largely from historical injustices predating the Project and are not caused or perpetuated by it. Management states that the Project has actively included Batwa communities through consultations, Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups Plans, and co-management arrangements, and that allegations related to exclusion, cultural exploitation, and tourism revenues are either unsubstantiated, unrelated to the Project, or within the remit of separate government schemes.

The Panel submitted its Report recommending an investigation after a Panel Team visited Uganda in November and December 2025, and again on January 9, 2026. The Panel determined a plausible link between the Requesters’ allegation respective the Project perpetuating the marginalization and exclusion of the Batwa in relation to their ancestral claim to access natural resources in the forests from which they were evicted. However, the Panel excluded from its recommendation to investigate claims related to compensation, land and restitution of historical evictions fall outside the Project’s scope and, thus, the Panel’s mandates, and it determined that the alleged harm associated with tourism-related revenue-sharing schemes is not directly linked to the Project.

Based on its assessment, the Panel recommends an investigation into the Bank’s compliance with its Environmental and Social Policy for Investment Project Financing and related standards, especially Environmental and Social Standards 7 and 10 of the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework, and the Directive on Addressing Risks and Impacts on Disadvantaged or Vulnerable Individuals or Groups.

Read the Panel’s full eligibility report here.