IFC Performance Standard 5 (PS5), Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement, is one of the eight environmental and social Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation. It applies when a project acquires land or restricts its use and people are displaced as a result, either physically (they lose their home) or economically (they lose assets or income).
Its main requirements are:
- Avoid displacement where possible, and otherwise keep it to a minimum by considering other project designs.
- Do not carry out forced evictions.
- Compensate for lost assets at full replacement cost, and pay before the land is taken.
- Disclose information, consult affected people and let them take part in decisions, with a grievance mechanism open from the start.
- Improve, or at least restore, the livelihoods and standards of living of displaced people.
- Give physically displaced people adequate housing with security of tenure at the resettlement site.
A project that moves people prepares a resettlement action plan (RAP). A project that affects only land, assets or income prepares a livelihood restoration plan (LRP). Many lenders outside the World Bank Group also apply PS5 through their own policies.