On 16 February 2020, the IRM received a complaint which was submitted through its online Case Management System (CMS). The complainant(s) had made a request for confidentiality, and the IRM provided confidentiality in accordance with its Procedures and Guidelines (PGs). The complaint related to GCF funded project FP043, the Saïss Water Conservation Project, based in the Saïss Plain in Morocco.

In early 2019, the IRM concluded a preliminary inquiry into FP001, Peru. A preliminary inquiry is an early phase of an IRM self-initiated investigation. A self-initiated investigation is a proceeding initiated under para 12 of the IRM’s Terms of Reference (TOR) if the IRM receives information from a credible source that a GCF project or programme has or may negatively impact a community or person. In relation to FP001, the IRM concluded that there was prima facie evidence that the conditions set out in para 12 of the IRM’s TOR for initiating an investigation were met.

The IRM received this complaint in August 2020 but has suspended the complaint at the request of the complainant. Through discussions with the complainant it emerged that the primary goal of the complainant at this stage was to obtain more information about the GCF project, and upon receiving information about the GCF’s Information Disclosure Policy and the procedures for requesting information from the GCF Secretariat, the complainant requested that the complaint be suspended pending the outcome of the complainant utilizing the request for information processes.

In May 2020, the IRM received a complaint relating to FP084. The complaint was about the clearance of mangroves for the development of a housing scheme in Andhra Pradesh. The complainant(s) alleged that the GCF should have taken steps to stop the felling of mangroves because the GCF has a project in the state of Andhra Pradesh which claims to be conserving mangroves. In July 2020, the IRM declared the complaint ineligible because the felling of the mangroves for the housing scheme did not occur within the FP084 project area, nor was the felling conducted by the Accredited Entity.

The complaint was filed by Transparency International Bangladesh on behalf of the mayor and 427 residents of the Satkhira municipality. The complaint alleged that funds had not yet been disbursed on FP004, though it had been approved by the Board in 2015. The complaint asserted that the complainants had suffered loss and damage because of this delay. The IRM examined the complaint and obtained preliminary information from the Secretariat and the representative of the complainant, and after due consideration declared the complaint ineligible.