A workshop on Indigenous peoples, forests and the World Bank: policies and practice was held in Washington on 9-10 May to discuss nine case studies, presented by indigenous peoples, of their communities’ experiences with World Bank projects. This also served to feed into the Bank’s ongoing review of its policy towards indigenous peoples. The case studies were from Panama, Bolivia, Guyana, Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda, India and the Philippines spanning forestry, eco-development, protected areas, oil and gas, and community development.
This complemented the series of consultations held by the Bank in late 1998 in Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and India. Recommendations centred on: identification, land and natural resource management, participation, compensation, self-determination and indigenous development, and compliance. The World Bank is due to hold another round of consultations later this year.
