Residents affected by the World Bank project file an official objection

Tanzanian residents filed an official complaint with the World Bank. They claim that despite losing their livelihoods and suffering human rights violations as a result of environmental programs funded by the World Bank, the bank is still failing to provide adequate relief.

What is even more serious is the residents' complaint that human rights violations continue despite the World Bank's guarantee. The Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank, submitted a formal complaint on behalf of affected community members to the World Bank's Grievance Redress Service last month. The victims reportedly remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

Tragedy of the $100 million REGROW project

The crux of the problem is the World Bank's 'Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW)' project. This project provided $100 million (approximately KRW 145 billion) in funding to expand environmental protection areas and revitalize the tourism industry in Tanzania, East Africa.

However, as suspicions were raised that Tanzanian wildlife managers who participated in the project had committed serious human rights violations, including forced evictions, sexual assaults, and extrajudicial killings, the World Bank canceled the project in November 2024. The World Bank's own investigation also acknowledged that "there were major failures on the part of the bank during the project planning and supervision process, which resulted in serious damage."

Damage claims continue even after announcement of action plan

In April 2025, the World Bank announced an 'Action Plan' to provide relief to affected communities. The plan included ensuring an end to forced resettlement, ensuring the continuation of agricultural and pastoral activities, and livelihood support for local communities.

But the Auckland Institute claimed that despite the World Bank's promises, Tanzanian park rangers killed two more local residents and "continue to terrorize communities". Livelihood restrictions are still in place. It also criticized the World Bank's efforts to support victims, saying it "failed to provide adequate relief," a claim that is also supported by findings from UN special rapporteurs and working groups.

The conflict between development finance and human rights: history repeats itself

This incident has brought to the surface again the long-standing debate over the environmental and social responsibilities of international development finance institutions. Multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, have been criticized for problems such as environmental destruction and forced migration of indigenous people while providing funds to large-scale projects in developing countries for decades.

In the 1990s, following the controversy over the large-scale migration of residents for the Narmada Dam project in India, the World Bank strengthened its environmental and social safeguard policies. In 2018, the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) was introduced to further clarify the human rights protection obligations of project implementing countries. However, the REGROW incident shows that this institutional mechanism did not work properly in the field.

In particular, criticism has been raised consistently that the 'fortress conservation' method used in the name of environmental conservation in Africa violates the rights of local residents. This is because there are repeated cases of indigenous peoples and local farmers who have lived in the area for generations being forcibly driven out in the process of expanding protected areas.

Contradictory actions of the Tanzanian government

The Tanzanian government, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, announced it would evict residents from five villages, according to the Auckland Institute. This directly contradicts the World Bank's promises. It is estimated that "tens of thousands" of residents will be affected if this resettlement plan is implemented.

President Hassan has solidified his power base through elections last year that raised suspicions of widespread human rights violations, raising concerns in the international community.

Future outlook [AI analysis]

There is a possibility that this objection will lead to a change in the World Bank's policy. This is because the World Bank has considerable influence as Tanzania's largest aid donor. “The World Bank has the tools and influence to end this damage and repair the destruction of lives for which it is responsible,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Auckland Institute.

However, there are likely to be limits to the World Bank's direct intervention in the internal policies of sovereign countries. Historically, multilateral development banks have preferred to require policy changes as a condition for loans, but there are structural limitations that make it difficult to provide effective relief without the cooperation of the recipient country's government.

Depending on how this issue develops in the future, there is a possibility that new standards for the human rights responsibilities of international development finance institutions will be established. The involvement of UN special rapporteurs and continued monitoring by international civil society is expected to put pressure on both the Tanzanian government and the World Bank. However, it is likely that it will take a considerable amount of time to provide actual compensation and protection to the affected residents, and the international community's continued attention is needed to prevent additional damage in the process.