The Requesters object to the way the Project is being implemented, particularly in relation to disclosure of information activities, and the consultation and measurement methods utilized in the demarcation of the Ngabe territories in the Bocas del Toro province, the Parque Internacional (World Heritage Site), the Bosque Protector [Protector Forest] Palo Seco (tropical upland forest), and the Bastimentos National Marine Park. According to the Requesters, not only do the Project’s actions violate their human and land occupation rights, but also contravene to the conventions and international treaties to which Panama is a party as well as “the World Bank’s strategies and operational policies on indigenous peoples approved by the Bank’s Board on February 22, 2006.” The Requesters state that the Government rejected a proposal on how to deal with the “áreas anexas” (defined as such in Law No. 10 of 1997) and, as a result, it was not possible to demarcate these areas or territories that ”were left out” of the Comarca NgabeBugle. The Requesters claim that, upon a request from the communities of the “áreas anexas” and of the islands of the Boca del Toro province, local Bank staff agreed to meet with them in the PRONAT offices in the town of Changuinola. In this meeting, to which Government officials also participated, the Requesters expressed their concerns about the implementation of the PRONAT and what they consider “negligence and irregularities” directly affecting the land rights of the Ngabe communities of the Bocas del Toro province and the “áreas anexas”, which remain outside the limits of the Comarca Ngabe-Bugle. According to the Requesters, as a result of this meeting, Bank staff agreed to make an evaluation of the Project and address their concerns. The Requesters claim that during a follow-up visit that took place in January 2008, local Bank staff were informed that the communities were about to complain against irregularities in the implementation of PRONAT to the Bank’s “executive management” in Washington. In response, the Requesters state, they were then told to wait until a March 2, 2008 community meeting where local Bank staff would present an answer to their concerns. According to the Requesters nobody from the Bank attended the March meeting and until now they have yet to receive a response from the Bank. According to the Requesters, in 2001 the Government of Panama obtained Bank financing so that PRONAT could measure and demarcate the territories of the native peoples of the Bocas del Toro province. They claim, however, that “practically since that moment, this Program has violated the indigenous land rights, since PRONAT’s main objective is to title land and not to demarcate territories.” They also claim that the Project is restricting the areas recognized as indigenous peoples lands to those used for housing, excluding the areas that the communities use “for materials, medicines, craft items, workshops and other production activities” The Requesters argue that “the lack of territorial protection has allowed tourism, mining and hydroelectric enterprises to speculate with our land which is shamelessly given away by the national authorities by way of Law number 2 of 2006 on concession and titling of islands and coasts …” The Request also claim that the Bank-financed Project supported a new Bill of Law, approved by the National Assembly on December 3, 2008 as Law No. 72, which established collective land property in indigenous territories and specifically prohibited the creation of new “áreas anexas.” In the Requesters’ opinion, Law No. 72 “constitutes a flagrant and very serious violation of the sole and true aspiration of the communities of the ‘áreas anexas’, that is, the creation of a juridical framework that would respect the cultural and all forms of political life of the Ngabe-Bugle people.” The Requesters state that they “hold directly responsible” the Government and Government institutions for their problems but, at the same time, that they “are also disappointed with the World Bank, who has not enforced its operational policies on indigenous peoples,” adding that for this reason they are “requesting the Inspection Panel to carry out an in-depth and detailed investigation of all that has happened since the arrival of PRONAT in our territory.” The above claims may constitute non-compliance by the Bank with various provisions of the following operational Policies and Procedures: OD 4. 20 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 13.05 Project Supervision