WASHINGTON, April 02, 2025 - Yesterday, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors considered a Management Report and Recommendation, including a Management Action Plan (MAP), that supports livelihoods and water resource management activities for communities living in and around Ruaha National Park (RUNAPA). The MAP includes preparation of two new community-driven operations which, aligned with the recent World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework with Tanzania, aim to provide dedicated support to poor and vulnerable communities through livelihoods development, climate resilience efforts, and social service provision.
The MAP responds to an investigation of the Tanzania Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW) Project, which aimed to improve management of natural resources and tourism assets in priority areas in southern Tanzania and to increase access to alternative livelihood activities for selected communities.
The Project was financed through a US$150 million IDA credit and was implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT) and the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA).
On July 20, 2023, two individuals residing in the Project Area submitted a Request for Inspection to the Bank's Inspection Panel, an independent mechanism for people and communities who believe they have been, or are likely to be, adversely affected by a World Bank-funded project. The complaint alleged that TANAPA had threatened to evict residents from villages within RUNAPA, used excessive force, and seized cattle. While the Panel investigation was ongoing, the same individuals submitted a second request with additional information on May 3, 2024, indicating the imminent planned eviction of households within the park and escalating cattle and farm equipment seizure. On April 18, 2024, the Bank suspended disbursements under the Project due to the Government of Tanzania's non-compliance with resettlement-related obligations. Since then, the Government clarified that it has no intention of resettling communities from RUNAPA in the foreseeable future. This was followed by the Government's decision to cancel the Project in November 2024.
The Panel's investigation found non-compliance on adequately identifying and addressing risks related to the potential resettlement of communities remaining inside the project area; park access restrictions and conflicts resulting from the enforcement of park access restrictions had not been fully identified or mitigated. As a result, the relevant safeguards instruments were not applied in a timely manner.
"We regret that the REGROW project preparation and supervision did not sufficiently account for project risks, resulting in inadequate mitigation measures to address adverse impacts. This oversight led to the Bank overlooking critical information during implementation," said Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director of Operations. "The Management Action Plan will support community livelihood activities and social services including legal aid information to access the justice system. It will also strengthen grievance redress mechanisms to ensure that individuals affected by the Project can voice their concerns safely and confidentially. We remain committed to ongoing and open engagement with all those impacted by the project, as well as other key stakeholders. Finally, we are taking on board the important lessons from this case to improve how we prepare and supervise projects, monitor and manage risks, and support sustainable and inclusive conservation moving forward."
The World Bank made extensive efforts to consult the affected communities in and around the Park on the MAP before it was approved. The Government of Tanzania has committed to implementing the MAP, and the World Bank will support and supervise its implementation.
"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," said Inspection Panel Chair Ibrahim Pam.
The Board recognized the importance of the Project to Tanzania's development objectives and stressed the need to learn from the implementation challenges that have led to the Panel investigation. Executive Directors specifically welcomed the actions taken by Bank Management and the Government of Tanzania to address issues of concern before the Board meeting, as well as the Bank's commitment to learn from this experience.
Management will report to the Board on the progress in implementing the Action Plan annually.
For a full copy of the Inspection Panel Report and Management Report and Recommendation, please visit: https://www.inspectionpanel.org
