1. WRI is taking specific steps that are currently in process or are planned

WRI-Agreco will:

• Design a public consultation strategy and methodology to do a preliminary screening andassessment of social issues (to be incorporated in the guide for the evaluation of the conversionrequests);
• Design a communication strategy, and support its implementation by the government of DRC; and
• Conduct its own field verifications of the business plans, by accompanying the TWG in their field verifications, of the business plans (plans de relance) during which it will try to identify the mostimportant social/environmental problems through meetings with local authorities, civil societyrepresentatives and interviews with company staff and the local population. These plans are an integral part of the request for conversion (see Articles 2, 4 and 7).

2. WRI has made recommendations to the World Bank as well as other international donors

WRI has recommended that additional resources be invested in safeguarding the rights of indigenousand local people. Specifically, WRI recommended additional resources to:

• Reinforce the initial screening efforts by WRI-Agreco to identify and address any competingindigenous/community claims to existing forest titles; and
• Increase the participation of indigenous, community and environmental groups in the IMC by allowing the addition of local people representatives to the Commission (under the PD only onerepresentative of the local populations will be acting as a member in the IMC) and by providingfinancial support for their out-of-pocket costs of their participation.

Our concerns have been acknowledged and shared, resulting in commitments from the World Bankand other donors responding to these recommendations with some specific measures to address theseissues.

3. WRI has made recommendations to the government of DRC

WRI has also recommended to the government of DRC that if there are conflicts or serious problems with the social aspects attached to the titles that can not be resolved within the four month periodprescribed in the decree for the evaluation of the conversion requests, then the process of conversion of the concession area should be suspended until these issues are resolved. If the conflict is limited toa small geographic area of the concession, then in certain cases it may be possible to proceed with theconversion, but exploitation in the area that is in dispute must be prohibited until the dispute has been resolved.