* Admissibility date reflects the date the case was officially registered. All other dates pertain to the date in which a stage was completed.
Case Description
In August 2022, the Complaint Mecanism received a complaint from a local cooperative. The complaint alleged poor consultation and information sharing about the negative environmental and social impact of two hydropower projects (Lom Pangar and Nachtigal) on 41 villages located between the two respective dams. In particular, the complainant stated that the assessments of the environmental and social impact only covered upstream effects of the Lom Pangar dam and not the downstream effects such as the impact on the health and livelihoods of sand miners and fishermen.
Given the parties’ openness to engage in a dialogue, the initial assessment report recommended a collaborative dispute resolution process as the way forward. We proposed to facilitate the dialogue between the parties with the help of a local facilitator. In November 2023, the complaint mechanism visited Cameroon to meet the complainant, the affected people, and the promoters of the two projects. During our visit, the promoter of the Lom Pangar project told us that it was withdrawing from the dispute resolution process.
The Complaint Mecanism finalized a compliance review for the Lom Pangar dam in December 2024 and concluded that the EIB services did not monitored the project sufficiently to ensure that the promoter finalises the environmental and social impact assessment of the downstream section of the Sanaga river, as requested by the environmental and social management documentation of the project. The Mechanism therefore recommends that the services of the Bank take, in good faith, all reasonable steps to ensure the proper implementation of the EIB's environmental and social standards applicable to the Lom Pangar project.