The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) Environmental and Social Review Summary Concept Stage (ESRS Concept Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 02/25/2019 | Report No: ESRSC00268 Mar 09, 2019 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Tajikistan EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA P168052 Project Name Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Social, Urban, Rural and Investment Project 4/24/2019 6/20/2019 Resilience Global Practice Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Ministry of Finance National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan Proposed Development Objective(s) The development objective is to improve socio-economic inclusion of targeted vulnerable communities, and young Public Disclosure men and women. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 37.00 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The proposed project is part of the Risk Mitigation Regime (RMR) included in the upcoming World Bank CPF for the Republic of Tajikistan for the period FY19-23. The RMR allocation—during the IDA-18 cycle—is in the amount of US$87 million to finance policy reforms and interventions for preventive support aimed at addressing FCV risks that have constrained development progress in Tajikistan. The proposed project will contribute to RMR objectives by strengthening resilience at the individual, community and local government levels to mitigate fragility risks. At the individual level, the project will provide psycho-social support, soft skills (including critical thinking skills), and support for youth self-employment and micro- entrepreneurship. At the community level, proposed interventions include the provision of locally-identified infrastructure and the empowerment of youth to lead development initiatives. At the Mar 09, 2019 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) local government level, these interventions include strengthening the capacity of jamoat administrations and community-level institutions, including mahalla committees, to engage with citizens, and to deliver services efficiently, fairly and in response to community’s needs. Geographically, the proposed project will target Khatlon and Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBA) regions, the regions with the highest levels of absolute and relative poverty measures, respectively, and which face fragility risks due to the proximity to unstable parts of Afghanistan, large youth populations, disparities in service delivery outcomes, and legacies of violent conflict. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Project location(s) and salient characteristics relevant to the ES assessment [geographic, environmental, social] D.1. Project location(s) and salient characteristics relevant to the ES assessment [geographic, environmental, social] Tajikistan is a small landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, bordering Afghanistan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan. Mountains cover more than 90% of the country rendering accessibility difficult. The project’s regions -Khatlon and GBAO- are home to interesting endemic flora and fauna, including some protected species like the snow leopard; protected areas, like the Tajik National Park in GBAO’s Pamir Mountains (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); and a rich cultural tradition. However, natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, avalanches and heavy snowfalls are quite common. Khatlon is known for cotton production and related medium sized industry. Most of 8.7 million people belong to the Tajik ethnic group, however, GBOA, despite its sparse population, has a linguistic diversity. Key social capital lies in the strong grassroot cohesive communities and community organizations such as Mahalla committees. Geographically, the regions share a porous and unstable border of 1,300 km to the south with Afghanistan, a hotspot for drug trafficking. Khatlon and GBAO account for the highest level of absolute and relative poverty measures. Unemployment of the youth and vulnerable peoples is quite high, which represents a source of Public Disclosure instability and a potential threat for the country as a whole. The economy is dependent predominantly on remittances and associated with this are very high percentage of female headed households. All these have resulted in extremism and clashes with the authorities. Thus, the proposed project regions are fragile and conflict-ridden owing to both internal as well as external forces. The salient environmental and social characteristics for the project thus include: (i) fragility due to natural hazards and climate change; (ii) high degree of diversity in terms of linguistic, religious as well as political orientations; (iii) interregional as well as rural-urban disparities; (iv) cross border illicit trade and skirmishes; and (iv) low income and employment opportunities. The final selection of districts for proposed project activities within the two regions is yet to be made. Component 1 will be designed and implemented with measures to ensure that sub-grant financed investments deliver sustainable benefits to communities and local governments. Component 2 addresses livelihood of youth. Given the characteristics and the components, ESS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 will be relevant, details are enumerated in later sections. The final implementation arrangements for the components, including grant and sub-grant criteria as well as management and monitoring mechanisms, will be developed during the project design stage. Additionally,. aAs a starting point, subprojects must be aligned with Jamoat and district development plans to be eligible for financing. Subproject designs and implementation arrangements will build on existing local institutions (e.g. water users associations) and apply appropriate technical designs that are disaster resilient. Communities and Jamoat administrations will receive capacity building support to prepare appropriately designed and funded operations and maintenance plans as a precondition for subproject approval. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity The National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan (NSIFT), which is expected to be the implementing agency for the project, has been functioning for 20 years as an implementing agency for local level development projects. NSIFT has its own staffing and organizational charter (and is supported with premises and utilities by the State Budget). It has Mar 09, 2019 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) implemented several donor financed projects including the Bank’s P044202 and P082977 Poverty Alleviation Projects and is currently implementing “Community Funds for the Promotion of Basic Education and Rehabilitation of Community Infrastructure” financed by KfW. The NSIFT is the designated implementing agency for the social development components of P165313 - CASA-1000 Community Support Project (CSP), which include similar design features to the proposed project with respect to community and local-level approaches. NSIFT currently has two offices in the Khatlon region and is in the process of opening an office in Khorog, GBAO. Its local presence will allow the NSIFT to work in close coordination with the offices of the Khatlon and GBOA Governors’ offices, as well as with other local structures to ensure local ownership, good results on the ground, and sustainability of interventions. NSIFT will carry out day to day project management and all necessary coordination with oblasts and districts. While the exact implementation arrangement will be finalized during preparation, regional offices of NSIFT may directly plan and implement social and environmental risk management. As this is the first project NSIFT preparing under the Bank’s new Environment and Social Framework (ESF), the client’s capacity to deliver an ESF based project is limited; therefore, capacity building for the client including jamoats and contractors will be included in the ESMF as well in other environmental and social instruments to be prepared during preparation and implementation. II. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial Environmental Risk Rating Moderate The Environmental Risk Rating is "Moderate". The project will finance small scale infrastructure works that will be Public Disclosure mostly community based activities and environmental issues (and impacts thereof) are not expected to be significant. The risk is rated "Moderate" given the remoteness of GBAO and Khatlon project areas where current capacity for addressing the relevant ESSes is expected to be low, and the limited capacity and experience of NSIFT in the application of the Bank’s ESF. The physical works envisaged under both components 1 and 2 are of small to medium scale and the associated environmental impacts are expected to be temporary, predictable, and easily mitigable. The proposed project activities are not expected to be located in environmentally sensitive areas; however, as the final districts for project activities have not been identified, there remains the potential for proximity to sensitive areas, particularly in GBAO. The proposed activities are not expected to generate serious adverse effects to human health and the environment. Social Risk Rating Substantial Social Risk Rating is Substantial as project areas are intrinsically diverse regions and are exposed to common conflict and fragility risks which will have a bearing on the project outcomes. The border vulnerability and the absence of sustainable job opportunities and income-generating activities has led to unemployment and poverty which has proven to be a key push factor incentivizing individuals to join extremist groups. Certain segments are particularly exposed to such risks- women and youth. The project areas are thus characterized by : (i) geographical- inter regional and international/ cross border risks; (ii) economic risks – high rate of unemployment in particular among youth and significant dependency of household income on remittances which is vulnerable to external economic conditions and fluctuations; (iii) social risks – ceertain sections could get excluded either due to inherent structural deficencies and/ or due to elite capture; and (iv) institutional risks – inadequate capacity of NSIFT in ESS application. While the first two risks remain external to the project, the remaining needs to be addressed. Success of which will depend upon the project's ability to reach and work with the local communities viz., nature and effectiveness of the social Mar 09, 2019 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) intermediation services. For this, project proposes to enlist the services of NGOs, but, details of the same are still being worked out. Lastly, the project, by design, will avoid undertaking any such activity which will result in physical and/ economic displacement. Nor any structures will be destroyed. Yet, there are remote chances of acquisition of ‘lands’ and hence carry resettlement related risks as well. Though the social risks are identifiable and could be mitigated, as the details about social intermediation services are still being worked out and effectiveness of the same will become known during implementation only, risk at this stage is rated substantial. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: The environment and social risks are both rated as substantial. The risk level is substantial due to the fragile social conditions, the remoteness and number of planned activities, and inexperience of the client delivering ESF. Risk will be reassessed at appraisal once activities are better defined. Towards addressing the risks, following instruments will need to be prepared: (i) Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF): (ii) Social Assessment based Inclusion Plan; (iii) Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP); (iv) Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) ; and (v) Labor Management Procedures (LMP). The client will prepare and disclose an ESMF since the project is financing a broad range of small and medium scale activities, most of which will not be identified until implementation begins. The ESMF will cover applicable ESF Standards and the World Bank Group’s Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines. Public Disclosure The ESMF will have checklists for determining where and when site specific Environment and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs)/Management Plans (ESMPs) will be necessary .The ESMF will also contain generic ESMP checklists for each type of small scale constuction envisaged by the project, namely local roads improvement and maintenance, maintenance of water resources and water supply networks, waste disposal, and other investments that improve local living conditions, including those related to social infrastructure. Project areas are fragile and conflict ridden, yet also highly fertile (in Khatlon) and potentially attractive to visit (in GBAO). The people are a potential asset as the youth in Tajikistan’s labor force could be productively engaged. Finally, both regions offer high potential for on and off farm development which can be particularly beneficial to women. However, risks of exclusion and elite capture pose major threats which needs to be mitigated. But, currently, fullest picture of the social profile of direct beneficiaries and their capacity to interface with the project is not known. Given this situation, the client will need to prepare a Social Assessment that includes: (i) stakeholder identification/mapping; (ii) stakeholder analysis of expectations, concerns, and issues; (iii) assessments of positive and negative impacts; and (iv) a social management plan to mitigate the negative impacts and enhance positive benefits. SA will also throw light on institutional and implementation arrangements to ensure effective out reach which could include development of inclusive IEC and capacity support and capacity building. Further, a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) will also be developed during the preparation. Documentation and information available and reviewed as part of E&S screening are as follows: 1. “Tajikistan: Country Economic Update, Spring 2018.” World Bank, Washington, DC. 2. OECD State of Fragility Report, 2018. 3. Tajikistan Risk and Resilience Assessment, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017. 4. Jobs Diagnostic Tajikistan, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017. 5. Dodwell, Brian, Daniel Milton, and Don Rassler. The Caliphates Global Workforce: An Inside Look at the Islamic States Foreign Fighter Paper Trail. United States Military Academy Combating Terrorism Center West Point United States, 2016. Toktomushev, Kemel. "Promoting Social Cohesion and Conflict Mitigation: Understanding Conflict in the Cross-Border Areas of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan." (2017). 6. Mar 09, 2019 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) Government of Tajikistan. State Committee of National Security, presentation to Parliamentary Session on “Prevention of youth involvement in terrorist organization and implementation of the Law in the Republic of Tajikistan”, November 7, 2018. http://saidomardum.tj/ma-lisi-ol/peshgirii-albi-avonon-ba-tashkiloti-terrorist-vazifai- omeai-sha-rvand-niz-ast/ https://eurasianet.org/s/tajikistan-former-students-of-islam-return-to-nothing 7. World Bank. 2017. “REDUCING MULTI-HAZARD RISKS ACROSS TAJIKISTAN: Protecting Communities Through Quality Infrastructure. 8. Hofmann, E. T. 2017. “Who Goes to Russia? Understanding Gendered Migration Patterns.” Eurasian Geography and Economics 58 (1): 1−22. 9. Tajikistan Country Gender Assessment, ADB, 2016. 10. National Gender Profile of Agricultural and Rural Livelihoods – Tajikistan, FAO, 2016. 11. Project Appraisal Document, ESMF, RPF, CASA-1000 Community Support Project, unpublished working draft. Areas where reliance on the Borrower’s E&S Framework may be considered: Given the substantial environment and social risk of the project, Borrower's E&S Framework will not be used for the Project as a whole or for any of its parts. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Project preparation has made preliminary attempts at mapping the stakeholders. Individuals and groups likely to be affected (direct beneficiaries) have been identified. They include: farmers, farming, local communities, women, youth, traders, workers, contractors and transporters. Mapping of other interested parties such as government agencies/ authorities, rival / extremist groups, NGOs and CSOs needs to be done fully. Given the highly diverse stakeholder profile and that their expectations and orientation as well as capacity to interface with the project are different, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) will need to be developed. This will enable the project to identify Public Disclosure elaborately different stakeholders and provide an approach towards reaching each of the sub groups. SEP will also identify impediments, if any, at reaching out to stakeholders as well as reflect/ build capacity of the client in engaging with stakeholders. A draft of the SEP will be prepared by the client, disclosed publicly as early as possible and begin implementation during the project preparation itself. SEP will be updated as preparation advances. The client will also develop and put in place a Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) to enable stakeholders air their concerns/ comments/ suggestions, if any. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions Project could encompass the following categories of workers: direct workers, contracted workers, community workers, and primary supply workers. Direct workers could be either government civil servants or those deployed as ‘technical consultants’ by the project. The former will be governed by a set of civil services code, the latter by mutually agreed contracts. Community workers are quite likely as there could be community based civil works, details will be identified during preparation. Primary supply workers also need to be identified. And contract workers will be employed as deemed appropriate by contractors, sub contractors, and other intermediaries, details of which will be known as and when activities' implementation begins. The project proposes some small/ medium scale infrastructure as decided by the local communities. So, contractors are expected to be from the local vicinity. The expectation is that the majority of labor will be locally hired with the exception of a few skilled workers. Risk of child/ forced labor is considered to be limited. The client will prepare a labor management procedure which will set out Mar 09, 2019 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) details for preparing the labor management plans. Provisions will be made to train and hire as many as possible from local communities where the activities are taking place. The ESMF will include sections on Environment Health and Safety (EHS) including specific instruments that will need to be prepared either by the client or the contractor prior to commencement of works (ESH checklists, codes of conduct; safety training etc.). Civil works contracts will incorporate social and environmental mitigation measures based on the WBG EHS Guidelines and the ESMF; other referenced plans e.g. Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), RPF etc. as well as specific language referencing the prioritization of the hiring of unskilled local labor. All civil works contracts will include industry standard Codes of Conduct that include measures to prevent Gender Based Violence/Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (GBN/SEA). A locally based Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) specifically for direct and contracted workers will also be provided. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management The ESMF will include sections on resource efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management. Assessment of risks and impacts and proposed mitigation measures related to relevant requirements of ESS3, including raw materials, water use, air pollution, hazardous materials, and hazardous waste will be included within scope of the ESMF and ESMPs as relevant. ESS4 Community Health and Safety Though relevant, community health and safety may not be critical, as the local communities will be in the forefront of decision making as well as in implementing the activities, communities will carry out participatory needs assessment Public Disclosure and engage in participatory decision-making processes to prepare sub-projects that address their needs. The Project will ensure that Jamoat and Mahalla committees are accountable for resource management and responsive to the preferences and needs of community members, including vulnerable groups, including those of youth and women. The ESMF will include assessment of work related health risks; works and road safety; HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases; excessive noise and dust levels, site safety awareness and access restrictions; and labor influx. Fencing will be installed around all construction sites and areas where there is a risk to community health and safety. Community organizations (Mahalla ) will be empowered to undertake social audit/ monitoring from time to time which will cover CHS as well. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement The project by design will avoid activities that may involve physical/ economic displacement and/ or loss of structures. Being small scale activities and that they are community driven, flexibility in terms of design and location shall be available and hence no resettlement is envisaged. However, there could be some isolated instances wherein lands need to be acquired involuntarily. Towards addressing such a situation, the client will prepare a Resettlement Policy Framework, seek approval from the Bank and disclose the same. RPF will lay bare the next steps on preparing and implementing resettlement action plans (RAP). The framework shall clarify resettlement principles, organizational arrangements, and design criteria to be applied to subprojects or project components to be prepared during project implementation. Once the subproject or individual project components are defined and the necessary information becomes available, such a framework will be expanded into a specific resettlement action. Project activities that will cause physical and/or economic displacement will not commence until such specific plans have been finalized and approved by the Bank. Mar 09, 2019 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources The activities envisaged by the project are small in scale and expected to be carried out in existing towns and villages; therefore, the standard is not currently relevant. The standard will be reassessed during preparation as a clearer picture of potential sub-projects is developed. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities Based on the screening against ESS 7, this ESS is not considered relevant to the project. ESS8 Cultural Heritage Tajikistan is home to one UNESCO World Heritage Site (the Tajik National Park in the Pamir Mountains in the GBAO) as well as nine candidate sites. Although the small scale activities envisaged are not expected to have direct physical impact on the heritage monuments, indirect impacts from project financed activities will be closely looked at and mitigation measures provided during the preparation of ESMF. The ESMF will include a section on protection of Cultural Heritage as well as proper "chance find" procedures to be included in site specific ESIA/ESMPs and checklists. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries Public Disclosure This standard is not currently relevant as no financial intermediaries are party to the project implementation modality. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No III. WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DUE DILIGENCE A. Is a common approach being considered? No Financing Partners There are no other financing partners B. Proposed Measures, Actions and Timing (Borrower’s commitments) Actions to be completed prior to Bank Board Approval: Mar 09, 2019 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) 1. Prepare an Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) acceptable to the Bank that includes relevant Environment and Social Standards as well as information on Tajikistan’s unique flora, fauna, and cultural heritage. The ESMF will detail selection criteria for sub-activities as well as criteria and timing for preparing site specific ESIA/ESMPs; 2. Conduct a Social Assessment to inform project design and draw mitigatory measures to manage social risks, minimize adverse impacts and enhance positive benefits; 3. Develop a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF); 4. Develop a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and implement at the earliest; and 5. Develop Labor Management Procedures (LMP). Possible issues to be addressed in the Borrower Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP): 1. Environment and social screening of project activities based on the ESMF, including need to prepare site specific ESIA/ESMPs; 2. Application of the RPF to project activities, including the need to prepare site specific Resettlement Action Plans; and 3. Continued stakeholder engagement throughout project implementation and beyond project closure. 4. Preparation and implementation of Labor Management Plans (LMP). Public Disclosure C. Timing Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage ESRS 28-Feb-2019 IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: John Bryant Collier Title: Senior Environmental Specialist Telephone No: 473-8551 Email: jcollier@worldbank.org Contact: Suryanarayana Satish Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Telephone No: 5775+236 / 7 Email: ssatish@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Ministry of Finance Implementing Agency(ies) Mar 09, 2019 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Tajikistan Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Program (P168052) Implementing Agency: National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Gloria La Cava, Robert Wrobel Safeguards Advisor ESSA Nina Chee (SAESSA) Cleared on 06-Mar-2019 at 15:34:12 Practice Manager Susan S. Shen (PMGR) Concurred on 09-Mar-2019 at 08:22:26 Public Disclosure Mar 09, 2019 Page 10 of 10