The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 04/04/2023 | Report No: ESRSA02698 Apr 04, 2023 Page 1 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Turkiye EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA P179217 Project Name Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Urban, Resilience and Investment Project 3/27/2023 5/18/2023 Land Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Republic of Türkiye, General Directorate for Land Ministry of Treasury and Registry and Cadastre Finance (TKGM) Proposed Development Objective Public Disclosure To improve the accuracy and accessibility of land administration information in Türkiye. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 84.78 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 will support the further updating of Türkiye’s cadastre in digital format, and complete the process of establishing an accurate cadastre nationwide. The project will further develop an accurate and comprehensive buildings inventory for almost all urban areas in the country through an innovative approach – the creation of 3D City Models – by scaling up the Amasya province pilot activities. The complexity of urban areas means that a two-dimensional cadastre and land registration system no longer adequately serves the needs of land administration and urban renewal. As a result of 3D city modelling, public bodies and others will be able to access accurate information about buildings and property units in them as they actually exist, contributing accurate datasets to the NSDI on parcels, land rights and obligations, land uses, and public restrictions. City models of this nature are Apr 04, 2023 Page 2 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) needed to prepare modern cities for sustainable development, climate change impacts and resilience to disaster events, urban transformation, and economic growth. Furthermore, the project will support TKGM in its mandate to develop a property value information center and mass appraisal systems for property valuation, which will enable Türkiye to increase the yield from property taxes and relieve fiscal pressure on local and national governments. It will also make a major contribution to the development of a transparent and efficient property market by making market data more widely available to market participants. This in turn is expected to stimulate investment and enhance economic growth. The integration and interoperability of land administration and geospatial information that will also be supported will enable the development of systems that are customer-oriented and respond to the data needs of a variety of public and private stakeholders. The proposed interventions are in line with the priorities of the 11th National Development Plan and international best practices. The proposed project is also aligned with the World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Türkiye for FY18–FY21, which was extended to cover the FY22–23 period, contributing to Focus Area 3: Sustainability, including improved sustainability and resilience of cities. The proposed project will contribute to improving the seismic and broader disaster resilience of municipal buildings and infrastructure, by generating and making available accurate information about structures on the ground and their location. The project will generate new and improve existing land and building data along with the integrated spatial data management systems that are key for developing a more efficient property valuation system and more integrated spatial planning, making Türkiye better prepared to respond to natural disasters, helping to raise additional revenues, and supporting Türkiye’s ambitious climate agenda. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, Public Disclosure environmental, social] The project will include (i) mapping surveys, (ii) geospatial and ariel analysis, (iii) preparation of technical and legislative analyses and reports, and (iv) trainings and knowledge transfer activities. The project will cover major urban areas (approximately 40,000 km2, almost all urban areas in the country) in all 81 provinces in Türkiye. The components mainly include analytical work, capacity building and training except the geodesic studies under Component A which include surveys and measurements as field activities. Contractors will be involved in the project to carry out geodesic studies and measurements at the site for updating cadastral information. Site studies for the 3D data modelling will take place in urban areas while the studies for cadastre updates will take place both in urban and rural areas. In Turkiye, cities have made major contributions to the country’s substantial economic growth and development over the past few decades. However, rapid urbanization has left a legacy of illegal/informal development and pressures on infrastructure, and of a countryside with problems of land resources under pressure from climatic factors and depopulation. As urban population increased, cities have sprawled with informal housing, and challenges associated with quality of service and long-term financial and environmental sustainability of cities have emerged. In addition, observed and anticipated climate change impacts, such as more intense precipitation, drought, extreme heat, and rising sea levels, are expected to increase the frequency and severity of disasters and put pressure on energy consumption, especially in urban areas. These challenges require timely and accurate information that is georeferenced and accessible, and integrated management systems to identify vulnerabilities, the people and activities most at risk, to plan for, mitigate and respond to natural hazard events and the consequences of climate change, and to improve the economy. Apr 04, 2023 Page 3 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) Contextual risks relate to unresolved disputes among landowners leading to potential conflicts and non-inclusion of vulnerable groups in the cadastre update processes and other project activities. To manage complaints and disputes, TKGM has a well-functioning objection mechanism that allows landowners to object to the results of cadastre update studies performed on their lands. The objections are mostly resolved at the first stage while some of them are transferred to Cadastre Courts or Court of First Instance. TKGM has a notification procedure as per national legislation that includes informing the landowners and Mukhtars at the beginning of the cadastre update process with announcements to be made 15 days before the site study via local media, newspaper advertisement and other local public announcements. TKGM also holds an informative meeting in the affected settlements prior to the site study to inform the landowners on the purpose and content of the activities to be performed at the site, the potential impacts of these activities on lands and landowners, the objection mechanism, and how their objections will be handled. All landowners are invited and encouraged to present during the measurement studies on their parcels. At least one TKGM personnel, three legal experts, and one mukhtar attend the site studies as required by law. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity The General Directorate for Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) is the Contracting Authority for the Project. The Contracting Authority will be responsible for tendering, contracting, administration, overall project supervision, review and final approval of the reports, financial management including payments of project activities. TKGM will act as Project Implementation Unit (PIU) serving as the main implementing agency and will be responsible for: (i) procurement for the consulting services; (ii) supervision, review, and approval of all project deliverables; (iii) Public Disclosure financial management, (iv) environmental and social risk management; (v) project monitoring and reporting and (vi) support the awareness raising and knowledge development among land administration and land management stakeholders in Türkiye. The TKGM has experience on the WB Safeguards Policies as they have been implementing Land Registration and Cadastre Modernization Project (P106284), and with the an intial experience with the WB Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), as it is one of the implementing agencies for the Turkiye Resilient Landscape Integration Project (P172562). TKGM will assign or hire one E&S specialist during implementation who will be responsible for ensuring that ESF as well as the commitments of the SEP and ESCP are delivered upon. Specifically, in TKGM, the departments which will be involved in the project implementation are Department of Cadastre, Department of Land Registry, Department of Mapping, Department of Real Estate Valuation and Department of Information Technologies. The other institutions which will take part in the implementation of the project are municipal authorities, the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Population and Citizenship (MAKS address system), the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Directorate General of GIS. Environmental protection in Türkiye is governed by Environmental Law 2872 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change (MoEUCC). According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulation based on the above law, the project activities are exempted from an EIA. In terms of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations, government agencies are subject to national law on OHS of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The main legislatve act on OHS is the Law No. 6331 which governs workplace environments and industries (both public and private) as well as all classes of employees including part- Apr 04, 2023 Page 4 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) time workers, interns, and apprentices. The legislation is comprehensive and is generally applicable across all sectors and many industries. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security Institute (ISS) has a Labor Inspectorate that enforces the law and conduct regular OHS and labor audits. Other related applicable Laws are Law No. 5510 SSI which relates to personnel insurance, and Law No. 4857 which relates to personnel rights. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Moderate Environmental Risk Rating Low The environmental risk is rated as Low. The project will mostly include desk-based studies such as mass valuation modelling, collection of required data for mass valuation system, extracting and analyzing property value data, determining their values and presenting value maps, modernizing Real Estate Cadastre and Registration and E- Archiving, etc. The project will not support any civil works. The geodesic studies under the scope of the project include surveys and measurements as field activities by use of theodolite, total station, etc., and will not lead to activities which can potentially bear environmental risks. The environmental and OHS risks of the geodesic field activities are easily mitigable with the national environmental and OHS legal framework, as well as with the consideration of the WB EHSGs as appropriate. Therefore, the potential adverse environmental risks and impacts are likely to be minimal or negligible in this scope. Social Risk Rating Moderate Public Disclosure The social risk rating for the Project is classified as Moderate. The Project activities do not involve the acquisition of land or any change to existing property rights. Since there will be no civil works within the scope of the Project, the potential risks to community health and safety, livelihoods, labor rights and working conditions, or cultural heritage are therefore limited. The social risks are related to any unresolved disputes that may exist between landowners leading to potential conflicts and non-inclusion of vulnerable groups in the cadaster update processes and other project activities. For the resolution of existing disputes on land borders, TKGM makes efforts to find any evidence on past records and documents and consults with witnesses. Most of the disputes are resolved this way as experienced from the parent project, but some cases result in the complainant going to court for resolution. TKGM has a well- functioning objection mechanism that allows landowners to object to the results of cadastre update studies performed on their lands and also has a notification procedure as per national legislation that includes informing the landowners and Mukhtars at the beginning of the cadaster update process with announcements to be made 15 days before the site study and an informative meeting in the affected settlements to be held prior to the site study. Potential risks in the urban context with occupying buildings/units found to be irregular/illegal as part of the building inventory studies are assessed. TKGM will not carry out formal registration of informal properties but will record them in their system, which will only allow the Government to get an understanding of the type of irregularities and illegalities. TKGM will not identify the formal/informal users of the buildings, only the building features on the lands will be identified and registered. The data will only serve Government to develop new regulations/policies which are also not yet known/defined and will not be known in the short or medium term as well. On the other hand, the project is anticipated to result in a wide range of benefits being introduced to the public at large. Some of the advantages of the cadastre renewal process are considered as (i) indisputable parcel boundaries and no more problems with neighbors, (ii) buying, selling, and renting on indisputable sizes, (iii) no need to pay private experts to Apr 04, 2023 Page 5 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) measure the parcels in case of any transaction regarding land (selling, buying, renting, providing as collateral, using for attachment proceedings, etc.) and (iv) improved accuracy in paying service providers for agricultural operations (tractor and combine operators). The development of mass valuation modeling systems is expected to increase the transparency of the real estate market by collecting the data in the real estate market in a system, making the data explainable and updating the values. The market with increased transparency is expected to be more functional and preferable to all stakeholders (investors, property owners, government, legal authorities, and financial institutions). 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: This ESS is relevant for the project. Project activities involve creating 3D data models, updating and modernization of cadastral data collection systems, real estate valuation and establishment of a valuation data system, capacity building/training. These activities will have a minimal physical and social footprint. The project is not expected to create adverse impacts on the physical and social environment as most of the activities to be implemented will be desk-based studies. Most of the components include analytical work, capacity building and training except the geodesic studies which include surveys and measurements as field activities. Contractors will be involved in the project to carry out geodesic studies and measurements at the site for updating cadastral information. Site studies for the 3D data modeling will take place in urban areas while the studies for cadastre updates will take place both in Public Disclosure urban and rural areas. The studies will not involve machinery or equipment that could pose health and safety risks or impacts on the environment. The Contractor personnel will be accompanied by TKGM personnel at the site as well as settlement heads and legal experts. Considering the characteristics of the studies to be carried out at the site, the project activities are not expected to create risks related to occupational health and safety and environmental aspects. The overall environmental and social risk is classified as Moderate. Labor risk is low as the activities will be carried out by civil servants, and technical consultants who will be hired following Bank procurement procedures, health and safety risks are limited as there will be no civil works, and any potential measurements would take place within a limited space. Social risks are limited to unresolved disputes among landowners that may lead to potential conflicts and the potential for the non-inclusion of vulnerable groups in the cadaster update processes and other project activities. For the resolution of existing disputes on land borders, TKGM makes efforts to find any evidence on past records and documents and consults with witnesses. Most of the disputes are resolved this way as experienced from the parent project, but some cases remain unresolved and get to court.TKGM has a well-functioning objection mechanism that allows landowners to object to the results of cadastre update studies performed on their lands and also has a notification procedure as per national legislation that includes informing the landowners and Mukhtars at the beginning of the cadaster update process with announcements to be made 15 days before the site study and an informative meeting in the affected settlements to be held prior to the site study. Apr 04, 2023 Page 6 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) Potential risks in the urban context with occupying buildings/units found to be irregular/illegal as part of the building inventory studies are assessed. TKGM will not carry out formal registration of informal properties but will record them in their system, which will only allow the Government to get an understanding of the type of irregularities and illegalities. TKGM will not identify the formal/informal users of the buildings, only the building features on the lands will be identified and registered. The data will only serve Government to develop new regulations/policies which are also not yet known/defined and will not be known in the short or medium term as well. The digitalization and modernization of land registry and cadastre works are expected to increase the accuracy and speed of the transactions and lead to significant progress in the implementation of real estate policies and increase the efficiency of the real estate market. It is expected that the renewal of the cadastral maps will eliminate the difficulties faced by the property owners and other relevant institutions in practice, since the existing maps are insufficient due to technical reasons, lose their application quality, and do not show the boundaries on the ground realistically. The cadastral renovation which seeks to update and rectify outdated and erroneous cadastral information is also expected to improve records and remedies deficiencies in ownership documentation, which has the positive social impact of ensuring that owners can more easily document ownership of better-defined plots and benefit from secondary effects of improved records, such as access to credit. Within the scope of the cadastral renovation, parcel information that has been made with old measurement techniques and has lost the consistency of the field map is updated digitally by using new technologies. In these studies, although the current use (on-site boundaries) of the parcel for the owner does not change, there may be an increase or decrease in the area information numerically after the renewal process. The change in numerical data on the title deed does not affect the current land use, so only landowners will be affected by the cadastre renovation activities, whilst the formal/informal users will not be affected as their usage practices will remain the same. Public Disclosure To manage engagement-related risks, a standalone SEP was developed. The SEP captures the engagement methods to be followed for vulnerable groups to be affected by project activities which would ensure their participation in the project, the mechanisms in place to address complaints and disputes about project activities, and the measures to be implemented to strengthen these mechanisms such as being responsive to SEA/SH related grievances, anonymous grievances etc. To manage the remaining E&S risks and impacts, the Borrower will implement the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), which was prepared to set out the necessary actions, with timeframes and responsibilities to ensure that the project is compliant with the relevant ESSs. The TKGM will disclose the draft SEP prior to the completion of appraisal, and hold consultations on the SEP before negotiations. The E&S aspects will be incorporated into the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the studies and any other analytical products, in order to ensure that the planning process includes adequate consideration of potential environmental and social implications and that the advice provided through the project activities for addressing those implications is consistent with the ESS 1 - 10. ToRs for project studies and Project Operational Manual (POM) documents will integrate environmental and social requirements of ESF, including those related to ESS2, as well as the World Bank Group (WBG) General Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines (EHSG). ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Apr 04, 2023 Page 7 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) The TKGM has prepared a Stakeholder Engagement Plan, which outlines the general principles and strategy to identify key stakeholders and plans for an engagement process per ESS10 and presents modalities of engagement that are tailored to the needs and characteristics of each stakeholder group defined under each project component. The TKGM will disclose the draft SEP prior to the completion of appraisal, and hold consultations on the SEP before negotiations. The TKGM will disclose an updated Stakeholder Engagement Plan which includes a summary of consultations. Key stakeholders have been identified as: relevant departments of TKGM, Contractors, landowners including vulnerable groups (women landowners/property owners who are pregnant or who have small children, people with disabilities, elderly, and those with low levels of literacy), owners of properties that will be subject to 3D city modelling studies, financial institutions, Capital Markets Board (SPK), Real Propery Information Center (GABIM), surveying engineering offices, universities, municipalities, mukhtars, NGOs, private sector investors, etc. The SEP presents modalities of engagement that are tailored to the needs and characteristics of each stakeholder group, including universal access and different levels of literacy. The TKGM will ensure that all consultations are inclusive and accessible (both in format and location) and through channels that are suitable in the local context and culturally appropriate. On the national level, The Government of Türkiye has a centralized feedback mechanism CIMER (Alo 150) which is accessible to all citizens and allows people to ask for information, ask for requests, make suggestions, and convey their complaints and/or compliments. CIMER then channels these concerns to relevant responsible ministries and agencies. Experience with previous WB funded projects indicated that citizens use this feedback mechanism to raise a wide range of concerns. TKGM already has a detailed legal procedure for objections to cadastre renewal works. The Public Disclosure information on the objection procedure is both disclosed on TKGM’s website and disseminated during the consultations in affected settlements prior to site studies. TKGM’s website has a specific section on “Information Requests” which is designed for raising information requests only, other complaints/ requests or concerns are directed to the MoEUCC’s hotline “Alo 181”. The existing grievance mechanism of TKGM will be utilized for the project purposes as well as national level GMs such as CIMER and Ministry level call center, as defined in SEP. A separate grievance mechanism for the project would not be efficient as it would carry out some risks to get affected people confused regarding which mechanism to apply and miss the deadlines for submitting their formal objections as per the national procedure. TKGM will assign/hire an E&S Expert in the PIU who will be responsible for the implementation of project activities in line with WB ESSs and the ES instruments prepared for the project (ESCP and SEP). This E&S expert will be also responsible for managing project level grievances, recording and reporting the functioning of grievance mechanism to the Bank. The SEP also describes the workers' GRM. For the current employees of the Ministry that will be involved in the Project, the Civil Servants Code and its relevant regulation provide a grievance procedure for civil servants. According to Article 21 of Law No. 657 (Civil Servants Law); Civil servants have the right to file a complaint and file a lawsuit against their institutions. Appeals and complaints (letter of application, petition etc.) are made by submitting the complaints to the next superior in the hierarchy after the employee’s direct superior. The employees that will be engaged externally to carry out survey works will be able to raise their workplace grievances to the TKGM’s grievance mechanism as defined in SEP. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts Apr 04, 2023 Page 8 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions It is expected that project workers will include direct workers (PIU staff and consultants engaged by PIU) and contracted workers (employees of firms carrying out studies and assessments). The TKGM employees who will be assigned to PIU are civil servants. Civil servants involved in project operations, regardless of whether they work full time or part time, will continue to work under terms and conditions of their existing contracts or appointments in the public sector. ESS2 provisions on occupational health and safety, and prohibition of child and forced labor shall apply to civil servants engaged in the project. It is expected that contracted workers will be employees of technical consulting firms who will carry out site surveys and measurements. Community workers will not be engaged in the project, and the category of primary supply workers will also not be relevant in this project. Project labor risk is considered as low as there will be no activities within the scope of the project that could pose significant occupational health and safety risks. Project workers will be civil servants and consultants engaged in project activities who will be hired following the Bank’s procurement guidelines. Türkiye’s national labor law is overall consistent with and meets the requirement of the ESS2 relevant to the project. Turkish Labor Code (No. 4857) is to large extent consistent with the ESS 2. Türkiye ratified all the four Core ILO Conventions and OHS ILO Conventions. The main gap with ESS2 is related to the requirement for the grievance mechanism for workers. While the national legislation provides for Labor Courts to raise labor rights concerns, the Labor Code does not include specific requirements for workplace grievance mechanism. Law on OHS (No. 6331) governs workplace environments and industries (both public and private) and all categories of employees including Public Disclosure part-time workers, interns, and apprentices. The legislation is comprehensive and is generally applicable across all sectors and many industries. The OHS law does not require an employer to prepare an overarching OHS plan except for construction activities. Law is consistent with the requirements of the ESS 2. The labor issues are addressed through the Borrower’s commitment in the ESCP. ESCP describes the requirements with regard to statutory laws governing labor-related issues in Turkey and ESS2. The policies that will be followed for direct and contracted workers are defined with relevant implementation arrangements. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management This standard is not currently relevant. Site surveys involve the mobilization of survey equipment (theodolite, total station, etc.). Other environmental risks may materialize from incidents and accidents during the survey works, such as spills from vehicles. These incidents are rare and protocols for the management and remediation of such events would follow established protocols. Any residual risk to the environment is negligible. All remaining studies are largely desk based, that do not require the use of large equipment or do not interact directly with the environment. ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is not currently relevant. The site surveys are not expected to pose any health and safety risks for nearby communities. SEA/SH related risks are assessed as low and measures to address these are covered in the ESCP and SEP. Apr 04, 2023 Page 9 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement This standard is not relevant. The studies to be carried out within the scope of the Project will not result in risks and impacts associated with land acquisition, restrictions of land use and involuntary resettlement. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources The standard is not currently relevant because the project activities during site surveys, will not include soil removal, clearance of vegetation and biodiversity loss or fragmentation, and impacts on critical habitats and living natural resources. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities This standard is not relevant as there are no indigenous groups in Türkiye who meet the definition of this standard. ESS8 Cultural Heritage This standard is not currently relevant. Although some of the lands selected for surveys under the project may overlap with areas registered as cultural heritage/cultural assets, there will not be any impact of survey works for obtaining cadastral data including access restrictions to cultural heritage sites. Public Disclosure ESS9 Financial Intermediaries No financial intermediaries are expected to be part of project implementation. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No B.3. Reliance on Borrower’s policy, legal and institutional framework, relevant to the Project risks and impacts Is this project being prepared for use of Borrower Framework? No Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: None at this stage. IV. CONTACT POINTS Apr 04, 2023 Page 10 of 11 The World Bank Land administration infrastructure for green and sustainable development (P179217) World Bank Contact: Anna Corsi Title: Senior Land Administration Specialist Telephone No: +1-202-458-2871 Email: acorsi@worldbank.org Contact: Ahmet Kindap Title: Senior Urban Specialist Telephone No: 5242+8356 / 90-312-4598356 Email: akindap@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Republic of Türkiye Borrower: Ministry of Treasury and Finance Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: General Directorate for Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Public Disclosure Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Anna Corsi, Ahmet Kindap Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Varalakshmi Vemuru Cleared on 04-Apr-2023 at 08:42:29 EDT Apr 04, 2023 Page 11 of 11