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FOREST
CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA: Landowners Make World Bank Inspection Panel Claim
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Forest
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http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation
Portal
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Conservation Links
12/12/01
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY by Forests.org
Landowners
in the Kiunga-Aiambak area of Western Province, Papua New
Guinea,
have lodged a claim with the World Bank Inspection Panel
regarding
the Bank's failure to adhere to policy and commitments
regarding
rainforest conservation. This is an
internationally
significant
news story. The World Bank Inspection
Panel provides an
independent
forum for people directly affected by a World Bank funded
project
to raise their concerns. The current
economic loan program
from
the World Bank to the government of PNG includes a moratorium on
new
logging as a condition for the loans.
Illegal logging and the
Kiunga-Aiambak
road project, despite loan commitments to end such
activities,
have strongly affected landowners.
Landowners claim that
they
have suffered economic, social, environmental and cultural loss
as a
result of the illegal logging on their land.
Despite having
been
brought to the attention of the government and the World Bank,
nothing
has been done so far to stop the illegal logging operations.
The
World Bank and government have allowed the moratorium to lapse,
and are
preparing to make the final loan payment very shortly. The
World
Bank has not followed its policies nor held the government of
PNG
accountable for meeting its forest conservation commitments under
the
loan.
Landowners
are calling for an end to illegal logging in the Kiunga-
Aiambak
area and a continued moratorium on new logging. Forests.org
wholeheartedly
supports their claims. How can you
help?
* Circulate the press release below to
media, particularly in PNG,
Australia
and international economic/financial press.
This is a
story
worthy of international news attention.
Feel free to direct
media
to Forests.org for interviews.
* Respond to Forests.org's action alert in
solidarity with PNG
landowner
demands at http://forests.org/emailaction/png.htm
* Additional materials; including the full
claim, executive
summary
and cover letter to the World Bank can be found at the Papua
New
Guinea Rainforest Conservation Portal at
http://forests.org/pngforest.html
g.b.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Center
for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc (CELCOR)
Papua
New Guinea
Phone:
675 + 3234509
Email:
celcor@datec.com.pg
December
7, 2001
Press
Release
KIUNGA-AIAMBAK
LANDOWNERS LODGE CLAIM WITH INSPECTION PANEL
Port
Moresby
The
Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc. (CELCOR)
representing
landowners in the Kiunga-Aiambak area of Western
Province
lodged a claim with the World Bank Inspection Panel on 3rd
December
2001. The claim was registered by the Inspection Panel on
7th
December 2001. CELCOR is a public interest law NGO based in Port
Moresby.
The Inspection Panel claim was lodged under the instructions
from
over 300 landowners affected by the Kiunga Aiambak road project
and
illegal logging in the area.
The
landowners affected by illegal logging and the Kiunga-Aiambak
road
project decided to pursue this matter with the World Bank
Inspection
Panel because they have lost their land and forests
through
bad forest governance during the currency of the Governance
Promotion
Adjustment Loan by the Bank to the government of
Papua
New Guinea. The landowners claim that
they have suffered
economic,
social, environmental and cultural loss as a result of the
illegal
logging on their land. Their concern has been brought to the
attention
of the government and the World Bank but nothing has been
done so
far to stop the illegal logging operations on their land.
The
expropriation of the landowners forest by the State and the
logging
company have caused and will continue to cause, grave
economic,
social, environmental and cultural loss to the claimants.
"We
feel that the Bank is not doing enough to address the governance
problem
so far as the forest industry is concerned. This has caused
irreversible
harm to the claimants land and forests", said Damien
Ase,
Executive Director of CELCOR.
The
landowners have claimed that the World Banks disbursement of the
second
tranche of the Governance Promotion Adjustment Loan without;
*
maintaining the moratorium on new logging concessions,
* fully
implementing the findings of the partial review including
requirements
seeking remediation of illegal logging and,
*
requiring a full review of existing concessions, constitutes:
- a
violation of the contractual provision of the Governance
Promotion
Adjustment Loan by loaning to the State who with bad faith
defaults
to implement its own promises,
- it
also constitutes a violation of the World Banks Operational
Directors
13:05 on supervision because of poor judgement and
imprudent
lending to a borrower who condones illegal logging
practices,
-
furthermore, the landowners claim that the World Bank inaction is a
violation
of its operation policy on forestry (OP 4.36) as the action
of the
State shows that it did not implement, follow, adhere to or is
committed
to sustainable forest management, conservation oriented
forest
protection or good forest practices.
The PNG
government failed to fulfil the loan conditions. It did not
demonstrate
good faith on every single conditionality aimed at
improving
forest governance imposed by the Bank on the Governance
Adjustment
Programme Loan which also called the Structural Adjustment
Loan
(SAL).
The
landowners are calling on the World Bank to suspend the second
tranche
of the loan and fulfil its responsibility as a major lender
to:
* stop
illegal logging in the Kiunga-Aiambak area.
*
Maintain the moratorium on new logging concessions until there is
transparency
and effective forest sector reform.
"It
is high time institutions such as the World Bank act accordingly
and
follow their approved operational policies to deal with
governance
issue and to help PNG to achieve its constitutional ideal
of fair
and equitable society and sustainable development for all.
Sustainable
economic and social goals will not be achieved until
there
is transparency and accountability at all levels of
government",
said Mr. Ase.
The
landowners sought the assistance of CELCOR to lodge their claim
with
the Inspection Panel because the State and the World Bank have
failed
to address their concerns about the impacts of illegal logging
on
their land and to stop the illegal logging operation. They have
used
the Inspection Panel as a last avenue because the World Bank
staff
have been unresponsive to their concerns.
The
World Bank Inspection panel was created in 1993 as part of an
effort
to bring greater public accountability to World Bank lending.
The
Inspection Panel provides an innovative and independent forum for
those
people directly affected by a World Bank funded project to
raise
concerns about the problems in the project. Two or more local
people
can bring a claim to the Panel asking for an independent
analysis
of the Banks role in the project. This is the first time
such a
claim has been lodged by landowners in Papua New Guinea.
For
further information or comments regarding the claim, contact
Damien
Ase at CELCOR on phone: 3234509 or email: celcor@datec.com.pg.
Port
Moresby, 7th December 2001.
Center
for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc
CELCOR
P.O.
Box 4373,
BOROKO
National
Capital
District
Papua
New Guinea
Phone:
675 + 3234509
Fax: 675 + 3112106
Email:
celcor@datec.com.pg
Suite
1, Level1, Malangan
Haus,
Boroko, Port Moresby
###RELAYED
TEXT ENDS###
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