Investigation Report:
Transitional Support for Economic RecoveryGrant (TSERO) and Emergency Economic and SocialReunification Support Project (EESRSP)

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) i s one of the world’s largest countries, has greatnatural resource wealth, yet i s one of the world’s poorest countries. Forests cover aboutsixty percent of the country (or about 134 million hectares). Together with forests inneighboring countries, they form the Central African Rain Forest, the second largesttropical forest in the world after the Amazon.

The matters raised in the Request for Inspection relate to the closed, broad-leaved rainforest in DRC, which i s estimated to cover 86 million hectares. These forest lands are the home and source of livelihood and cultural identity of many people, including large numbers of Pygmy peoples who have depended on the forests for millennia. The forests are also, in many other ways, an invaluable resource. The present Report presents the findings of the Inspection Panel in response to a Request for Inspection of two Bank-financed operations involving DRC forests and forest concessions. The claims in the Request, Bank Management Response, and the findings of the Panel, are summarized below.

Downolad

• Report(PDF 15.6 MB) | Annexes and Maps(PDF 13 MB)
• Management Response: English| French(PDF 662 KB)
• Management Action Plan: English| French(PDF 220 KB)

• Distribution of Pygmies(PDF 868 KB)
• Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Forest Zoning Pilot Area(PDF 860 KB)