The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 03/22/2023 | Report No: ESRSA02458 Mar 22, 2023 Page 1 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Bangladesh SOUTH ASIA P178077 Project Name Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Education Investment Project 3/10/2023 8/29/2023 Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) People's Republic of Ministry of Youth and Sports Bangladesh Proposed Development Objective The project development objective is to (i) increase access to education, skills training and promote employability of Public Disclosure the NEET youth, especially for women, in selected rural areas, to accelerate reduction of share of NEET youth in Bangladesh, and (ii) in case of an Eligible Crises or Emergency, respond promptly and effectively to it. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 364.00 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 will contribute to reducing the share of NEET youth population in selected rural areas and help Bangladesh to establish a women-centric holistic system for addressing NEET youth challenges in accessing skills development, education and labor market opportunities for wage and self-employment. First, the project will create and facilitate access to relevant skills development as well as continuing or second-chance education for the eligible rural NEET youth, especially women, through establishing village- and union-based mobile and need-based training centers and facilitating access to alternative education services. The skills development facilities will be women- centric in terms of their convenient locations, safe and inclusive infrastructure and learning environment, flexible Mar 22, 2023 Page 2 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) course timings, free choice of trades, and gender of instructors. Second, the beneficiaries will receive trainings in enterprise development and SEB skill development, as well as support in access to seed financing, linkages with employers and the labor market, and employment. Third, the project will promote an enabling environment for economic engagement of NEET youth, especially female, by helping to (i) ease the social barriers through engagement of the communities in identifying and selecting beneficiaries, facilities, relevant trades and management of the training centers, awareness-raising campaigns and providing psychosocial supports; and (ii) enhance institutional capacity of state and non-state actors by enhancing outreach capacity, digitalization of management, strengthening seed financing mechanism and facilitating research and study capacity of the sector. The latter will result in informed planning, design, management and delivery of youth development programs. Both easing social norms and enhanced institutional capacity will contribute to sustainability of the interventions beyond the project life. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] The Project will be implemented nationwide, in selected rural regions of Bangladesh (Upazilas out of the large metropolitan cities). The exact subproject locations are unknown and will be determined during implementation. A total of 250 upazilas (out of 506) are selected based on following criteria: (a) vulnerable upazilas (Poverty-prone, hard- to-reach, tea garden, hill-tracts, natural disaster-prone and climate vulnerable areas); (b) upazilas with high share of NEET youth (as identified by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), General Economic Division (GED) and Directorate of Youth Development (DYD) surveys); and (c) high potential upazilas (upazilas with a relatively high share of NEET youth despite high overall employment rate, and upazilas adjacent to Export Processing Zones (EPZs), Public Disclosure Economic Zones (EZs) and designated Industrial Zones). Overall, Bangladesh, in general, is increasingly being exposed to climate change-related hazards. The location of the project would be spread over many sub-districts, which frequently suffer natural disasters including extreme precipitation, flooding, riverbank erosion and cyclonic storm. Education and training programs have been severely affected by flooding and storm. The potential risks to education/climate resilient training facilities covered by the project due to flooding would be significantly reduced by the design of these facilities and the inclusion of soft components (e.g., training and awareness programs), which take flood risk into account. A World Bank survey (2021) of the NEET and Non-NEET youth in Bangladesh found that, while poverty status does not play a significant role, there is a significant difference in age, education, marital status, asset index, and total time spent on household chores between NEET and non-NEET youths, especially female. NEET women tend to have significantly lower asset index and years of education, and a relatively higher proportion of them are married and spend more time doing household chores than working women. Importantly, relatively larger share of NEET youths is in the northern districts and hard-to-reach rural regions. The prevalence of traditional social norms implies that needing to travel outside of the village/locality significantly drops willingness and support for female youths to undertake training and participate in the labor force. Importantly, there are limited opportunities for the youth in Bangladesh to acquire Socio-Emotional and Behavioral (SEB) skills needed for finding and retaining a job. This opportunity is even more limited for the NEET youth, especially for those from the rural areas. The norm that women’s primary responsibility is to manage the household, provide childcare and elder care contributes to the steep drop-in female completion rates at the secondary and tertiary levels compared to primary schooling. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity Mar 22, 2023 Page 3 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) The Project will be implemented by the Department of Youth Development (DYD) under the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) partnering with different public and private sector agencies. DYD will partner with procured Service Providers from private sectors, and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Open University, Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) and Bangladesh Open University (BOU) from public sector. The project will enhance overall management, supervision and outreach capacity of DYD supporting agencies under MoYS like District Youth Centers (DYC), National Sports Council, and entities with longstanding experience with youth development, such as Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan (BKSP), and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Youth Development (SHNIYD) through an Implementation Development Grant (IDG). Project will involve diverse partners such as private industry groups, large NGOs and CSOs. The MoYS and its implementation partners, except LGED, have no prior experience of implementing World Bank financed projects. They are again, new to the World Bank ESF requirements and procedures. The DYD at the central level neither screens projects for IEE or ESIA as per regulatory provisions, nor obtain environmental clearance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment (DoE). However, LGED provides dedicated staff and consultants under PIUs to manage systematic E&S compliance in the projects with external finance. LGED has long experience of implementing infrastructure projects in Bangladesh following the E&S guidelines of the international finance institutions including the World Bank. Since, major construction/renovation of buildings will be carried out through LGED, lack of institutional capacity of the DYD would not have major inference on managing E&S risks and impact responding to the ESF requirements. A detailed assessment of the capacity of the implementing and partner agencies have been carried out during preparation. Project design has included outcome of the capacity risk assessments and related risks mitigation done as part of the ESMF preparation. Public Disclosure Institutional capacity for E&S risk management of the DYD, its partners and service providers will be strengthened for implementation, supervision and monitoring. DYD will create a Social, Environmental and Gender Cell (ESG Cell) within the PMU for the Project. The ESG Cell will be headed by a deputed focal point of DPD level appointed by the PD, and he/she will be responsible for implementation of the ESMF along with the LMP, SEP and SEA/SH Action Plan, and for compliance monitoring. Head of the ESG Cell will be technically supported by full-time consultants at the PMU consisting of one Environmental Specialist, one Social Development Specialist, one Gender and SEA/SH Specialist, and one Communications and Participation Specialist. ESG Cell consultants will manage, guide, supervise and monitor implementation of ESMF, SEP, LMP and SEA/SH Action Plan and ensure compliance with both World Bank and national regulatory requirements. The procured Service Provider at each division will have E&S staff responsible to look after the E&S compliance management and monitoring. The implementation partners at division level will also provide support for E&S management in subproject processing. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Moderate Environmental Risk Rating Moderate Overall environmental risks of the proposed project have been rated as Moderate, considering the scale of civil works and the capacity of the implementing agency and partners. The activities will include civil works including renovation reconstruction of existing training centers and office buildings except a new DYD HQ building in Dhaka. The main anticipated environmental risks and impacts of the project are within existing footprints, mostly related to Mar 22, 2023 Page 4 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) construction/renovation impacts such as noise, vibration, tree cutting, dust pollution and construction; solid waste including chemical/hazardous waste might also be generated from regular operation and maintenance activities of the constructed/renovated infrastructures, laboratory operation/demonstration farms, while e-waste may be generated under the digital management or from the relevant entrepreneurships/trades (e.g., repairing of refrigerator, etc.). These wastes if not appropriately disposed of has a potential to contaminate soil and water resources, thus would affect environmental/occupational health and safety. So, impacts are expected to be manageable, localized and reversible. However, while the works packages would be ready by the appraisal but exact locations and design of the activities for civil works will be determined during implementation. Hence, environmental risks and impacts of the activities to be undertaken will be known at the implementation level only. The risks will be mitigated through the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) prepared for the project, which will be detailed in the Operations Manual, incorporated in the Institutional Development Plan, and monitored throughout implementation. Environmental Screening, IEE and ESMP (where required) will be prepared prior to implementation of the relevant activities. Subproject activities with the substantial or high environmental risk and that will cause significant environmental impacts, including those that significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and impact of natural habitats and biodiversity will not be eligible for implementation under this project. Social Risk Rating Moderate The social risks of the proposed project have also been rated as Moderate. The proposed project will avoid any green field construction, thus avoiding involuntary displacement of people. A new building is to be constructed at the DYD HQ on its own existing land in Dhaka. It would undertake minor civil works for renovation of existing training centers, study centers, classrooms and offices, which could entail worksite related occupational health & safety issues and Life & Fire Safety risks for building occupants during construction and operation. The project will target the NEET youths Public Disclosure (15-29 years), majority of whom are women and girls in rural areas; wide range of training activities, and the approach of outreach to the vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities, transgender, tea-garden communities and ethnic minorities to enhance their employability and entrepreneurial skills and enabling gender-friendly environment. Labor influx at works sites will be low but presence of project workers including with the service providers interacting with NEET youth women could mean potential risks of gender-based violence (GBV). Social risk of elite capture and exclusion is also relevant as many of the households of the NEET youth will be poor and also from vulnerable and socially excluded groups including ethnic minorities. The risks of GBV may include sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and sexual harassment (SH) at project sites (works sites, study centers & training centers) and beneficiary areas. Again, the implementing agency and partner organizations are new to the requirements of ESF in identification, design and implementation of projects with finance from the World Bank. The project will mitigate the risks through capacity building for development and implementation of ESF instruments. 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 standard is relevant to the proposed project to clarify the process and responsibilities in identifying and managing the environmental and social risks and impacts associated with proposed activities. The project entails the development and provision of innovative training programs, literacy and education support on jobs and trades to Mar 22, 2023 Page 5 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) youths and school dropped out adolescents and youths through distance learning and non-formal means of schooling. It will support entrepreneurial skills training in collaboration with the local and national employers through shared-financing schemes for apprenticeship and internship programs for the project beneficiaries. Training programs will be conducted through training centers available with the DYD and rented in venues for Mobile Training Centers (MTCs) for the hard-to-reach and underserved NEET youth, particularly women from the rural areas. Small scale civil works will be carried out for renovation and refurbishment of existing training centers and setting up new training centers on rented in premises. The project is expected to endure by creating a conducive environment for the NEET youth by promoting social marketing through community engagement, awareness raising campaigns, group activities, promoting sports and cultural events, and support increased resilience through soft-skills and building coping techniques. The project will support capacity enhancement of the central and local level agencies to coordinate skill development activities, research and policy planning, design of innovative interventions, implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The main anticipated E&S risks and impacts of the project may be of the following nature: (a) poor labor and working environment; and Life & Fire Safety (L&FS) for building occupants, (b) occupational health and safety of project workers including induced risks regarding workplace and community health and safety; (c) noise, vibration, and dust pollution including waste (solid, liquid and e-waste) generation and management during renovation/rehabilitation works and during operation; (d) displacement of and/or adverse impacts on squatters living on some of the renovation sites, (e) induced risk of SEA/SH from project workers including the laborers employed in the civil works sites, and exposure by the female students, teachers and staffs to risks in skill development institutions/establishments under the project; (f) hiring of child labor for civil works; and (g) culturally inappropriate Public Disclosure benefits to the indigenous and other disadvantaged communities from the project. Given that the specific locations of the investments under the project will be defined during project implementation, E&S risks will be known at the implementation stage only. DYD has therefore developed an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) to guide assessment and management of the risks at the implementation level. The project will also adopt measures that promote inclusion, specifically targeting women/girls, indigenous/tribal people and other disadvantaged and vulnerable communities so that these particular groups benefit from the project's interventions equally. The ESMF includes a social inclusion and management framework (SIMF) for additional guidance on social inclusion. Outcome of the screening process will determine the level of detail of E&S assessment (ESA) i.e., E&S impact assessment (ESIA) and E&S management plan (ESMP). Thus, site-specific environmental and social assessment (ESA) and Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) will be prepared during implementation following the project ESMF requirements and procedures. The ESCP, LMP and SEP prepared by the borrower will be disclosed at Appraisal. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure This standard is relevant. Consultation with stakeholders and disclosure of information with them were adopted in the project preparation process including development of the E&S risks management instruments. Such consultation and information sharing will be continued in the project implementation period for beneficiary and community feedback to improve project delivery. Stakeholders identified including the beneficiaries, project proponents, implementation partners, service provider NGOs, IG and IDG recipients, communities, relevant experts and advocation groups. The target beneficiaries are the rural NEET youth largely women and their families inclusive of Mar 22, 2023 Page 6 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) community groups and vulnerabilities. The stakeholders at project management and youth training include officials at the MoYS, DYD, DYCs, NSC, BKSP (Bangladesh Sports Learning Institution), SHNIYD, LGED, BOU, BIDA, DTE, and elected representatives at the local government authorities at unions, upazilas and districts. Other stakeholders are active NGOs, social/youth clubs, self-help groups, universities, research organizations and registered youth organizations to be reached out through innovation funds and CGs to be mobilized with the service provider NGOs at the local level. The project implementation process will be all-inclusive engaging with communities and stakeholders of all groups and vulnerabilities including experts and advocacy organizations. LGED, in the project preparation process, has identified the stakeholders and prepared a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) illustrating methods, channels and timing of engagement, feedback and grievance redress mechanism synchronized with the Government's Central GRS to raise concerns about the Project. The GRS will set up mechanisms to be responsive to SEA/SH cases. The draft SEP agreed with the Bank will be disclosed before appraisal, and updated and redisclosed within 90 days of effectiveness. 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 This standard is relevant as the project involves civil works for small scale infrastructure rehabilitation and improvement in the training centers, study centers, classrooms and offices. Project workers will include direct workers with the DYD and its public sector implementation partners and contracted workers engaged by them individually or through firms, contractors and service providers. Community workers will be involved for involvement Public Disclosure of Community Groups (CGs) in oversight of training centres at the village, union, upazila and district level. The overall OHS risks for the workers are likely to be low for all civil and construction works packages except for the building at the DYD HQs and the number of direct and contracted workers may not be more than 100 at any point of time in one location. Labor influx considering individual works sites will therefore be low, however gender mix in project workers and the target group beneficiaries may expose the women and girls to GBV and SEA/SH risks. DYD has prepared a Labor Management Procedures (LMP) for guiding the PMU coordinating all the implementing partners and service providers. The consultants and contractors to be engaged by the PMU will develop and agree with the PMU, Labor Management Plans (including Codes of Conduct) following the project LMP proportionate to potential risks and impacts at works sites and beneficiary areas prior to mobilization. This plan will also include the assessment and required mitigation measures to ensure health and safety of the workers that may be exposed to health risks. Issues such as child labor, forced labor, gender and GBV/SEA/SH issues, OHS will be addressed in the bidding and contract documents. A worker-specific Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) has been included in the LMP for the workers to report any issues relating workplace safety and other concerns. OHS protections measures will also include COVID-19 prevention protocols. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management This standard is relevant as project activities during renovations may generate construction waste, dust, noise and air emissions related to exhaust from vehicles and machinery. Impacts related to civil works are expected to be limited, localized, and manageable with mitigation measures. Solid waste might also be generated from during regular operation and maintenance activities of the constructed/renovated infrastructures. Chemical/hazardous waste will Mar 22, 2023 Page 7 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) also be generated from different activities like laboratory operation/demonstration farms, while e-waste may be generated under the digital management or from the relevant entrepreneurships/trades (e.g., repairing of refrigerator, etc.) supported by the project. Besides, solid and chemical wastes would also be generated from the established laboratories of DYC. These wastes if not appropriately disposed of has a potential to contaminate soil and water resources, thus would affect community’s health. Standard lab and health safety protocol should be followed to dispose chemical/hazardous wastes (e.g., WHO’s Laboratory Safety Guideline) during operation period. The project will incorporate resource efficient design considerations in renovation activities and use of environment-friendly building materials (such as non-fire bricks). Site specific ESMP (C-ESMP) will identify feasible measures for efficient (a) energy use; (b) water usage and management to minimize water usage during construction/ renovation, conservation. The ESMF has provided checklists to assess and guideline to manage these impacts as per national laws and in compliance with this ESS and good international industry practices. Subproject activities that will have associate significant environmental impacts, including those that significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions will not be eligible for the EARN project. ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is relevant as the project involves civil works in settlement areas in urban and rural areas with resultant movement of workers to and from the works sites. During renovation, minor civil works and few vehicles movement in populated areas could expose communities to lower degree of health and safety risks, however, a separate vehicle movement safety procedure is unlikely to be necessary. Given the size of civil works, labor influx at works sites will likely be low. Adequate engineering, health and safety measures will be adopted to avoid any issue on community Public Disclosure health and safety. The project ESMF covers applicable local Life and Fire Safety (L&FS) regulations and good international practices, and guidance on how to assess and mitigate such risks in the existing training centers, study centers, classrooms and offices to be renovated / enhanced, including evacuation drills and emergency preparedness and response. It will also require contractors to install a safety system around the construction sites and a Community Health & Safety Plan, including procedures on incident investigation and reporting, recording and reporting of non-conformance, emergency preparedness and community awareness raising activities. All schemes and sub-schemes including civil construction, renovation, repair buildings and sheds, installation of water supply & sanitation facilities, shall be inspected by Implementation Partners, Service Providers and respective representatives of ESG Cell to assess any risks or hazards associated. After inspection, the competent professionals from ESG Cell shall certify which shall reflect on the risk of adverse consequences posed by the nature and use of the structural elements and the natural conditions of the area. ESG Cell - shall put in place quality management systems to anticipate and minimize any risks and impacts that may have on community health and safety including communicable diseases/COVID-19, traffic management and safety on roads to the sites. However, given the project implementation approach, gender mix of target group beneficiaries and the GBV trend in the country, the project may induce substantial risks of GBV/SEA/SH at project sites and beneficiary areas. Potential risks to the communities at and around the project sites may be induced due to weak implementation of contingency plans at the local level, workers codes of conduct (CoC), poor public awareness, and lack of information and capacity of the implementation partners and contracted service providers. Policy and procedures to address such issues has been included in the ESMF and LMP. The PMU will prepare SEA/SH Action Plan to combat risks of SEA and SH with prevention and mitigation measures following the WBG EHS guidelines and SEA/SH guidance note. Mar 22, 2023 Page 8 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement This standards is not relevant. The project will avoid land acquisition and involuntary displacement of people. DYD will be using the existing training centers, Union based training centers, existing study centers and organize mobile training centers in rented in premises at selected locations. No green field site will be taken and no new construction will be allowed under the project except for one building possibly within the existing land of the DYD at its HQs. Only small scale renovation and refurbishment works will be allowed to ready the designated study centers, class rooms and training centers within existing footprints. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources This standard is not relevant, since the sub-projects’ activities will be executed within the existing premises of the DYD, so the project will have no such impact on biodiversity or habitat or designated protected area, except some homestead tree cutting at the old YTC campuses. However, impact of these tree felling/vegetation clearing would be minor and mitigable with replantation at 1:5 ratio. Subproject activities that will have associate significant environmental impacts, including impact of natural habitats and biodiversity will not be eligible for the EARN project. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities This standard is relevant to the project. The project will cover ethnic minority populations in the plain and hill tract areas, some of whom are characterized as indigenous peoples as per this standard. None of these peoples will be adversely affected rather benefitted from the project interventions. The project will design and implement focused Public Disclosure approaches in selection and targeting NEET youth from the underserved communities including the ethnic minority populations recognized nationally as tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities. DYD has included a Social Inclusion and Management Framework (SIMF) in the Project ESMF to guide selection and targeting of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities including the small ethnic minorities, maybe with indigenous status per this standard. Traditional grievance resolution system available with the indigenous peoples will be accommodated in the project grievance redress mechanism (GRM) per this ESS. ESS8 Cultural Heritage The project will avoid activities and locations near culturally sensitive areas. Although large scale soil excavation is not expected or planned, however, chance find procedure will be in place as good practice. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries This standard is not relevant to the project. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No Mar 22, 2023 Page 9 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) 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: Borrower's framework is not being considered. IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Syed Rashed Al-Zayed Title: Senior Economist Telephone No: 5764+4335 Email: salzayed@worldbank.org Contact: Mokhlesur Rahman Title: Senior Operations Officer Telephone No: 5764+4351 Email: mrahman2@worldbank.org Public Disclosure Contact: Sabah Moyeen Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Telephone No: 5764+4313 Email: smoyeen@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: People's Republic of Bangladesh Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Youth and Sports 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): Syed Rashed Al-Zayed, Mokhlesur Rahman, Sabah Moyeen Mar 22, 2023 Page 10 of 11 The World Bank Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET Youth (P178077) Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Christophe Crepin Cleared on 23-Jan-2023 at 08:07:34 EST Public Disclosure Mar 22, 2023 Page 11 of 11