THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP) MOLDOVA HIGHER EDUCATION PROJECT (P167790) ENVIRONMENTAL and SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP) November 2019 1|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP) ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN 1. The Government of Moldova will implement the Higher Education Project (the Project), with the involvement of the following Ministries: Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and Ministry of Finance. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter the Bank) has agreed to provide financing for the Project. 2. The Government of Moldova will implement material measures and actions so that the Project is implemented in accordance with the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs). This Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) sets out material measures and actions, any specific documents or plans, as well as the timing for each of these. 3. The Government of Moldova will also comply with the provisions of any other E&S documents required under the ESF and referred to in this ESCP, such as Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP), Resettlement Action Plans (RAP), Indigenous Peoples Plans (IPPs), and Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEP), and the timelines specified in those E&S documents. 4. The Government of Moldova is responsible for compliance with all requirements of the ESCP even when implementation of specific measures and actions is conducted by the Ministries referenced in 1. above. 5. Implementation of the material measures and actions set out in this ESCP will be monitored and reported to the Bank by the Government of Moldova as required by the ESCP and the conditions of the legal agreement, and the Bank will monitor and assess progress and completion of the material measures and actions throughout implementation of the Project. 6. As agreed by the Bank and the Government of Moldova, this ESCP may be revised from time to time during Project implementation, to reflect adaptive management of Project changes and unforeseen circumstances or in response to assessment of Project performance conducted under the ESCP itself. In such circumstances, the Government of Moldova will agree to the changes with the Bank and will update the ESCP to reflect such changes. Agreement on changes to the ESCP will be documented through the exchange of letters signed between the Bank and the Government of Moldova. The Government of Moldova will promptly disclose the updated ESCP. 7. Where Project changes, unforeseen circumstances, or Project performance result in changes to the risks and impacts during Project implementation, the Government of Moldova shall provide additional funds, if needed, to implement actions and measures to address such risks and impacts, which may include environmental or labor risks. 2|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP): VERSION 1.0 – November 2019 MATERIAL MEASURES AND ACTIONS TIMEFRAME RESPONSIBILE ENTITY/AUTHORITY MONITORING AND REPORTING A REGULAR REPORTING Bi-annual, throughout Project MoECR Prepare and submit regular monitoring reports on environmental and implementation. Coordinate with the WB social performance of the Project, including but not limited to the ISR Report. implementation of the ESCP. B INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS Notify the Bank within 48 hours after MoECR Promptly notify the Bank of any incident or accident related to the learning of the incident or accident. Project which has, or is likely to have, a significant adverse effect on the environment, the affected communities, the public, grant recipients or A report would be provided within a workers. Provide sufficient detail regarding the incident or accident, timeframe acceptable to the Bank, as indicating immediate measures taken or that are planned to be taken to requested address it, and any information provided by any contractor and supervising entity, as appropriate. Subsequently, as per the Bank’s request, prepare a report on the incident or accident and propose any measures to prevent its recurrence. ESS 1: ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RISKS AND IMPACTS 1.1 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Three months after World Bank Board MoECR Establish an organizational structure with qualified staff to support approval management of risks including environmental and social specialist responsible for ensuring full compliance with the ESF and relevant instruments. Maintain as necessary throughout Project implementation. On-going throughout project implementation 1.2 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT ESMF already prepared. MoECR Prepare an ESMF to identify and assess the environmental and social risks and impacts of the Project and appropriate mitigation measures and for preparing adequate Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) including its disclosure and public consultations. 3|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP): VERSION 1.0 – November 2019 MATERIAL MEASURES AND ACTIONS TIMEFRAME RESPONSIBILE ENTITY/AUTHORITY 1.3 MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS Preparation of each ESMP Checklist will be MoECR Prepare according to the ESMF, disclose, discuss with stakeholders, mandated by the outcome of the finalize to the World Bank’s satisfaction and prior to tendering of works, Environmental and Social Screening, as set and cause implementation of site-specific ESMPs. forth in the ESMF. As indicated by the ESMF, the ESMP will need to be completed with disclosure and public consultations prior to the launching of the works Develop and implement procedures for managing service providers contacting. (Labor Management Procedures). LMP already prepared Maintain procedures throughout Project implementation (August 2025) Develop and implement Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). Draft SEP acceptable to the Bank has been prepared. SEP will be consulted with stakeholders by Appraisal completion, end November 2019. SEP will be applied throughout Project Implementation (August 2025) 1.5 MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTORS Prior to the preparation of procurement MoECR Incorporate the relevant aspects of the ESCP, including the ESMF and documents. the Labor Management Procedures, into the ESHS specifications of the Supervise contractors throughout Project procurement documents with contractors. Thereafter ensure that the implementation. contractors comply with the ESHS specifications of their respective contracts. ESS 2: LABOR AND WORKING CONDITIONS 2.1 LABOR MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES MoECR Implement the Labor Management Procedures (LMP) that have been Throughout Project implementation. developed for the Project. 4|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP): VERSION 1.0 – November 2019 MATERIAL MEASURES AND ACTIONS TIMEFRAME RESPONSIBILE ENTITY/AUTHORITY 2.2 GRIEVANCE MECHANISM FOR PROJECT WORKERS Grievance mechanism operational prior to MoECR Establish, maintain, and operate grievance mechanisms for relevant engaging Project workers and maintained types of Project workers (direct and contracted), as described in the LMP throughout Project implementation. and consistent with ESS2. Ongoing throughout project PIU shall monitor number of received complaints. implementation 2.3 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS) MEASURES Ongoing throughout project MoECR Where assessed as necessary, implement measures of protection at implementation work and safety for jobs with increased risk of injury and damage to OHS measures are to be specified in each health, as well as organization of training for workers in such jobs, of the site specific ESMPs/ESMP Checklists, where determined to be necessary by the Ensure that all Contractors adopt and implement OHS measures as Environmental and Social Screening. detailed in ESMF/ESMPs. ESS 3: RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT [the relevance of ESS3 is established during the ESA process. ESS3 may require the adoption of specific measures to cover energy, water and raw materials use, management of air pollution, hazardous and nonhazardous wastes, chemicals and hazardous materials and pesticides. Depending on the project, these measures may be set out in an E&S document (e.g. ESMP) already mentioned in the section under ESS1 above or as a stand-alone document or a separate action. Indicate whether ESS3-related measures are covered under an existing document or as stand-alone actions. See examples below]. 3.1 RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION AND Throughout Project implementation MoECR MANAGEMENT: Develop and implement measures and actions to manage water, waste and hazardous materials and energy efficiency, which shall be set out in the ESMF/site-specific ESMPs. ESS 4: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SAFETY [the relevance of ESS4 is established during the ESA process. As with ESS3, ESS4 may require the adoption of specific measures that may be set out in an E&S document (e.g. ESMP) already mentioned in the section under ESS1 above or as a stand-alone document or a separate action. Indicate whether ESS4-related measures are covered under an existing document or as stand-alone actions. See examples below]. 4.1 COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SAFETY: Develop and implement Throughout Project implementation MoECR measures and action to assess and manage specific risks and impacts to the community (students, educational staff and other people) arising from Project activities, which shall be set out in the ESMF including in relation to Project workers and any risks of labor influx. 5|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP): VERSION 1.0 – November 2019 4.2 COMMUNITY AWARENESS: Conduct community capacity Throughout Project implementation MoECR building to heighten awareness of risks and to mitigate impacts as outlined in the SEP, training section of the POM, and the Project’s annual Training Plan. ESS 5: LAND ACQUISITION, RESTRICTIONS ON LAND USE AND INVOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT [the relevance of ESS5 is established during the ESA process. If during Project preparation, it is determined that resettlement documents need to be prepared, this should be reflected in the ESCP. See examples below] Currently not relevant to the project ESS 6: BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF LIVING NATURAL RESOURCES [the relevance of ESS6 is established during the ESA process. As with other ESSs, ESS6 may require the adoption of specific measures that may be set out in an E&S document (e.g. ESMP) already mentioned in the section under ESS1 above or as a stand-alone document or a separate action. Indicate whether ESS6-related measures are covered under an existing document or as stand-alone actions. See examples below]. Currently not relevant to the project ESS 7: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES/SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED TRADITIONAL LOCAL COMMUNITIES [See examples of possible actions below, if determined that ESS7 is relevant]. Currently not relevant to the project ESS 8: CULTURAL HERITAGE [the relevance of ESS6 is established during the ESA process. As with other ESSs, ESS6 may require the adoption of specific measures that may be set out in an E&S document (e.g. ESMP) already mentioned in the section under ESS1 above or as a stand-alone document or a separate action. Indicate whether ESS8- related measures are covered under an existing document or as stand-alone actions. See examples below]. Currently not relevant to the project. ESS 9: FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES [This standard is only relevant for Projects involving Financial Intermediaries (FIs). See below a couple of examples of actions that should be considered when FIs are involved.] Currently not relevant to the project ESS 10: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE 10.1 SEP IMPLEMENTATION Throughout Project implementation with a MoECR reporting frequency of at least every six months on implementation of SEP activities. 6|Page THE WORLD BANK - ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN (ESCP): VERSION 1.0 – November 2019 10.2 PROJECT GRIEVANCE MECHANISM: MoECR CAPACITY SUPPORT (TRAINING) CS1 Training will be required for MoECR staff and stakeholders on: Three months after World Bank Board • stakeholder mapping and engagement approval followed by a minimum one • specific aspects of environmental and social assessment annual refresher training 7|Page