James Wolfensohn
President
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433
USA

Fax: + 1 202 522 3031

Dear Mr Wolfensohn,

Flawed Forest Strategy

We are writing to express our concerns that the World Bank is about to adopt a new ‘Forest Strategy’, which itself has serious weaknesses, without the Board or civil society groups being given a chance to examine the new ‘Forest Policy’ which will underpin it.

We understand that the draft Forest Strategy is to be submitted to CODE next month and will be submitted to the Board in early July, giving barely one month for civil society groups to examine the proposed strategy, assuming that it is made public at all. No information has been made available on when the Forest Policy is to be distributed, though it is known that the new policy will once again permit World Bank financing of logging in old growth forests – something the previous policy proscribed.

In our view :

·        Discussions of the Forest Strategy should be delayed until a discussion draft of the revised Forest Policy is first made available so that the two can be assessed at the same time. It is dangerous and illogical that the two documents are being treated separately. 

·        Likewise the draft Forest Strategy should not be sent to CODE for approval until the linked Forest Policy is ready and has been publicly assessed.

·        The revised Forest Policy should contain clear safeguards that:

o       secure the rights of forest dwellers (including but not only indigenous peoples);

o       establish adequate participatory mechanisms for the involvement of Major Groups in national forest programs and PROFOR activities and other Bank interventions at the national level

o       provide clear operational guidance to Bank staff to ensure that non-forest sector lending does not damage forests or forest peoples

o       proscribe World Bank Group financing of logging in old growth forests.

We attach a memorandum setting out these concerns in more detail.

Yours sincerely