CIEL BRIEF

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) critiques the World Bank's proposed transition from Operational Directive (OD 4.30) to Operational Policy (OP 4.12) regarding involuntary resettlement. CIEL argues that the new policy relaxes standards for restoration of living conditions, prioritizes cash over land compensation, and removes protections for vulnerable groups and 'voluntary' settlers.

• The World Bank's proposed OP 4.12 represents a regression in standards for the living conditions of displaced persons. While internal and external recommendations suggest that resettlement should result in a clear improvement of living standards, the draft OP 4.12 states that displaced persons should be assisted to improve their livelihoods or "at least restore them, in real terms, to pre-displacement levels or to levels prevailing prior to beginning of project implementation, whichever is higher."
• The proposed policy shifts away from land-based resettlement strategies toward cash compensation. Despite evidence that cash is often inadequate to purchase replacement land—especially as prices rise due to project demand—the draft OP 4.12 suggests that if sufficient land is unavailable, "non land-based options built around opportunities for employment or self-employment should be provided in addition to cash compensation for land and other assets lost."
• The proposed policy eliminates protections for vulnerable groups who lack formal legal titles to land. Under the draft OP, only those with "formal legal rights to land" or "a claim to such legal rights" are eligible for compensation; those without such claims are "not entitled to compensation for loss of land under this policy."
• The draft OP 4.12 creates a distinction between "voluntarily" and "involuntarily" resettled people, denying policy protection and information disclosure requirements to those categorized as voluntary. CIEL argues this creates an incentive for governments to categorize forced resettlement as voluntary to avoid compliance, citing the China Western Poverty Reduction Project as an example where information on 58,000 "voluntary" settlers has not been released.
• The World Bank has historically failed to monitor borrower compliance with resettlement policies. A 1998 OED report found that borrower governments' "disinterest in [monitoring and evaluation] activity", is "undisguised and tolerated by the Bank."

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2000). CIEL BRIEF. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ResettlementBrief2.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. CIEL BRIEF. 2000. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ResettlementBrief2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=CIEL BRIEF |date=May 2000 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ResettlementBrief2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2000ciel, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{CIEL BRIEF}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2000}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ResettlementBrief2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }