The World Bank Yangtze River Revitalization Program (P171644) China: Water Saving and Low-Carbon Paddy Rice Program (P178796) Environmental and Social Systems Assessment （draft） World Bank The World Bank March 2023 Yangtze River Revitalization Program (P171644) Official Use Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 GOVERNMENT PROGRAM.................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 THE PFORR PROGRAM BOUNDARY .................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.3 PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION AGENCIES........................................................................................................................................... 6 3. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL EFFECT ....................................................................................................... 7 3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCREENING ............................................................................................................................................. 7 3.2 E&S ASSESSMENT SCOPE ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.3 E&S BENEFITS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 3.4 POTENTIAL E&S RISK AND IMPACTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 3.4.1 Direct impacts ............................................................................................................................................................................. 10 3.4.2 Indirect Impacts .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.4.3 Downstream E&S impacts of soft/TA activities ............................................................................................................... 12 3.4.3 Accumulative E&S effects ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.5 E&S ASSESSMENT AND RISK RATING ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 3.5.1 Likely E&S effects ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 3.5.2 E&S contextual risks ................................................................................................................................................................... 14 3.5.3 Institutional capacity and complexity risks........................................................................................................................ 15 3.5.4 Political and reputational risks................................................................................................................................................ 15 3.5.5 Overall Risk .................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................... 16 4.1 GENERAL PRINCIPLES ......................................................................................................................................................................... 16 4.2 ECO-ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ..................................................................................................... 19 4.2.1 Applicable Legal Framework ................................................................................................................................................ 20 4.2.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures .................................................................................................................... 22 4.2.3 Institutional organization and performance ....................................................................................................................... 23 4.2.4 Brief summary .............................................................................................................................................................................. 24 4.3 EIA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM .................................................................................................................................................................... 24 4.3.1 Applicable legal framework ...................................................................................................................................................... 24 4.3.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures ................................................................................................................ 26 4.3.3 Institutional organization and performance ................................................................................................................... 29 4.3.4 Brief summary ........................................................................................................................................................................... 30 4.4 WATER AND SOIL CONSERVATION ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 4.4.1 Applicable Legal Framework ............................................................................................................................................... 30 4.4.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures ............................................................................................................... 31 4.4.3 Institutional organization and performance .................................................................................................................. 32 4.4.4 Brief summary ........................................................................................................................................................................... 33 4.5 AGRICULTURAL NPS POLLUTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM .................................................................................................................. 33 4.5.1 Sub-system for managing nutrients and fertilizer use ................................................................................................... 35 4.5.2 Sub-system for managing rice crop pests and pesticides use ..................................................................................... 37 4.5.3 Sub-system for managing other environmental concerns in rice production ....................................................... 42 4.6 HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................................ 46 4.6.1 Public and Occupational Health and Safety Management ................................................................................... 46 4.6.2 Local endemic schistosomiasis management .................................................................................................................... 49 4.6.3 Brief summary .......................................................................................................................................................................... 51 2 Official Use 4.7 CONSISTENCY WITH THE BANK PRINCIPLES......................................................................................................................................... 51 5. SOCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ASSESSMENT .......................................................................................................... 54 5.1 CORRELATION ANALYSIS WITH THE BANK’S PRINCIPLES ........................................................................................................................ 54 5.2 ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL REGULATIONS AND POLICIES .......................................................................................................................... 58 5.2.1 Core Principle #1: Sustainable social risks management system ................................................................................ 58 5.2.2 Core Principle #2: Cultural heritage management system ............................................................................................ 62 5.2.3 Core Principle #3: Public and worker safety management system............................................................................. 62 5.2.4 Core Principle #4: Involuntary resettlement management system ............................................................................. 64 5.2.5 Core Principle #5: Management system for ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups ....................................... 66 5.2.6 Core Principle #6: Social conflict management system .................................................................................................. 69 5.3 ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL MANAGEMENT MECHANISM AND CAPACITY................................................................................................ 69 5.3.1 SOCIAL RISK ASSESSMENT MANAGEMENT AGENCIES ........................................................................................................................... 70 5.3.2 CULTURAL RELIC PROTECTION AGENCIES............................................................................................................................................. 71 5.3.3 LAND ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY .................................................................................................................................................... 71 5.3.4 PUBLIC AND WORKER HEALTH AND SAFETY, AND EMERGENCY ENGAGEMENT AGENCIES................................................................ 75 5.3.5 ETHNIC MINORITY AFFAIRS MANAGEMENT AGENCIES ......................................................................................................................... 77 5.3.6 VULNERABLE GROUP PROTECTION AGENCIES....................................................................................................................................... 78 5.4 ASSESSMENT OF THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................................................ 79 5.4.1 CORE PRINCIPLE #1: SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL RISKS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ........................................................................................ 79 5.4.2 CORE PRINCIPLE 2: CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ...................................................................................................... 91 5.4.3 CORE PRINCIPLE 3: PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ........................................................................................ 92 5.4.4 CORE PRINCIPLE 4: INVOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM....................................................................................... 94 5.4.5 CORE PRINCIPLE #5: MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES AND VULNERABLE GROUPS ............................................... 96 5.5 ANALYSIS OF CONSISTENCY BETWEEN CHINA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE WORLD BANK POLICIES ......................................... 99 6. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND GRIEVANCE EEDRESS MECHANISM ..................................................................... 101 6.1 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION........................................................................................................................................................................... 101 6.1.1 Initial public participation ........................................................................................................................................................ 101 6.1.2 Public consultation on the ESSA ........................................................................................................................................... 102 6.2 GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM ........................................................................................................................................................ 103 7. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND ACTION PLANS.............................................................................. 105 7.1 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 105 7.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................................... 106 7.3 ACTION PLANS......................................................................................................................................................................................... 107 8. MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING ............................................................................................................................ 108 8.1 THE BORROWER ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 109 8.2 THE BANK ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 109 APPENDIX 1. GOVERNMENT PROGRAM, INITIAL E&S SCREENING AND PFORR PROGRAM BOUNDARY ...... 111 APPENDIX 2: E&S RISKS/IMPACTS ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................. 117 APPENDIX 3: COMPARISON WITH THE BANK PFORR POLICY AND DIRECTIVE....................................................... 122 APPENDIX 4: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................. 144 APPENDIX 5: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 146 APPENDIX 6: FEEDBACK OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE ESSA .......................................................................... 148 APPENDIX 7 FIELD VISIT RECORDS .................................................................................................................................... 149 3 Official Use APPENDIX 8: GENERIC E&S MITIGATION MEASURES ..................................................................................................... 156 Abbreviations and Acronyms ARABs Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureaus AWD Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Technology CAB Civil Affairs Bureau CGs County Governments COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CPC Communist Party of China CPCG County Program Coordinating Group CPMO County Program Management Office DLI Disbursement-linked Indicator DPF Disabled Persons’ Federation DRCs Development and Reform Commissions EEBs Ecology and Environment Bureaus EHS Environment, Health and Safety EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMBs Emergency Management Bureaus EMS Environmental Management System EPL Environmental Protection Law ERL Environmental Protection Redlines ERAB Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau ESIA Environment and Social Impact Assessment ESSA Environmental and Social Systems Assessment FALU Facility Agriculture Land Use FGBs Forest and Grassland Bureaus GHG Green House Gas GIIP Good International Industriy Practice GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism HCs Health Commissions HSFC High-Standard Farmland Construction HSFCP High-Standard Farmland Construction Plan IA Implementing Agency I&D Irrigation and Drainage IPF Investment Project Financing IPM Integrated Pest Management GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism LAR Land Acquisition and Resettlement LMRT Land Management Right Transfer MARA Minstry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs MEE Minstry of Ecology and Environment M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MHURD Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development MRV Measuring, Reporting and Verification NCG National Central Government NDRC National Development and Reform Commission NFGA National Forest and Grassland Administration NHC National Health Commission 4 Official Use NRBs Natural Resources Bureaus NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRRA National Rural Revitalization Administration NPC National People's Congress NPS Non-point Sources OHS Occupational Health and Safety O&M Operation and Maintenance PGD Provincial Government Department PforR Program-for-Results PIU Program Implementation Unit PLA Persons affected by Land Acquisition PLAC Political and Legal Affairs Committee CPMO County Program Management Office PPE Personal Protective Equipment PPMO Provincial Program Management Office SC State Council SPCAs Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control Agencies SSRA Social Stability Risk Assessment TA Technical Assistance WRBs Water Resources Bureaus WSC Water and Soil Conservation WUA water user association 5 Official Use 1. Introduction Background 1. In order to promote green growth and decarbonization in the agricultural sector and systematically address the issues of high GHG emission and pollution, low resource use efficiency and concerns over sustainability of agricultural production and related support services, a series of green growth strategies were developed. The overall strategy is made concrete and implementable by a series of plans and implementation guidelines in specific areas, including the National High-Standard Farmland Construction Plan (HSFCP, 2021-2030). Released in 2021, the HSFCP sets out the phased nationwide farmland development and grain production targets now through 2030 and supports their achievement with approaches to balance higher yield with better resources conservation, agricultural pollution reduction, climate change mitigation. It is planned to develop high-standard farmland, promote agricultural and rural modernization, implement the strictest system for protecting cultivated land, continuously improve the quality of cultivated land and grain production capacity, realize intensive and economical use of land and water resources, promote the formation of green production approaches and promote sustainable agricultural development. 2. As one of the 13 major grain-producing areas in China, Hunan Province ranks the first and second in terms of rice cultivation area and yield, and has accordingly formulated the "Hunan Provincial High-Standard Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030)" (refer as the government program hereinafter) . Through reviewing the achievements and experience of Hunan Province in implementing the construction of high-standard farmland since 2014, the government program, which effectively connected with the relevant national and provincial plans, proposed the general requirements, objectives to be achieved, standards, layout, main tasks and key demonstration projects for the provincial-wide construction of high standard farmland. It is an important basis for guiding all municipalities (prefectures), counties (cities, districts) in the province to carry out high-standard farmland construction in an orderly manner. 3. To support the national and Hunan Provincial strategies, the State Council approved The Water Saving and Low Carbon Paddy Rice Program for World Bank financing in 2022. With the program development objectives (PDO) to support Hunan Provincial High-Quality Farmland Construction Plan (HSFCP, 2021-2030) in demonstration counties of Hunan province to promote low-carbon and resilient rice production in Hunan province of China during 2023-2028. The PforR Program is subject to Program-for-Result (PforR) modality, including three results areas (RAs), Namely RA1–strengthening management system for sustainable development impact at scale, RA2–reducing GHG emissions for low-carbon development, and RA3-improving irrigation and drainage services for resilient rice production. RA1 will be implemented mainly at the Provincial level, while RA2 and RA3 will be implemented at county level, covering 6 demonstration counties distributed in 5 municipalities of Hunan. Objective and Tasks of the ESSA 4. This Environmental and Social Systems Assessment (ESSA) is prepared as an instrument to address the environmental and social (E&S) risks and impacts of the PforR Program using national and local E&S legal frameworks and management systems. In the ESSA, the applicable national and local E&S frameworks and systems have been reviewed and assessed, compliance with the Bank’s PforR core principles and requirements has been analyzed, and actions and recommendations have been proposed to fill the gaps to improve the implementation performance of the systems. The main tasks of the ESSA follow:  Identify, screen and assess the potential E&S impacts and risks of the PforR activities.  Identify and assess the applicable national and local E&S policies and regulations. 1 Official Use  Assess the implementation procedures, institutional settings and personnel arrangements of the Hunan provincial and local E&S management systems.  Assess the institutional capacity and performance of E&S management authorities.  Propose recommendations and actions to improve the performance of the E&S management systems as required by China's regulations and the Bank’s core principles. Procedures and Methodologies of the ESSA 5. The responsibility for carrying out the ESSA process and preparing the ESSA Report rests with World Bank, principally through the task team. In practice, the Bank team relies heavily on the borrower (and counterpart implementing entities) to provide much of the background materials that describe the applicable E&S management systems. In addition, the borrower plays an essential role in informing the World Bank team about system performance, capacity constraints, and current practices. In most case, the Bank and the borrower collaborate closely on the organization of formal stakeholders’ engagement and public consultation events at the various phases of PforR Program cycle. 6. In recent years, the Bank has been supporting China with several programs for results, including Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and Pollution Control Program, Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Jiangxi, Hunan), Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Hubei) and Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program (Guangxi, Guizhou)，Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program (Hubei, Hunan). Hunan is one of the demonstration provinces in Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program and Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program. ESSA conducted or being conducted for the said programs included detailed information as well as assessment of some E&S management systems that are overlap with this PforR Program, therefore, such information and assessment are referred in this ESSA report and verified through E&S team due diligence to reflect the feature of the Program and actual conditions of the demonstration counties. 7. At the Identification stage, the ESSA team conducted the risk screening in two steps: applying the exclusion criteria to eliminate activities that are not eligible for PforR financing; and completing the preliminary risk rating process. At the Preparation and Appraisal stages, the ESSA team carried out a comprehensive ESSA in accordance with the agreed scope of work by assessing the E&S benefits, impacts and risks of the PforR activities, assessing the domestic E&S management systems in terms of applicable legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, and implementation performance, and proposing recommendations and actions to fill the gaps between the E&S systems and the Bank’s PforR policies. Appropriate consultations with key stakeholders has taken place on the draft ESSA report to agree on the recommended actions which have be incorporated into the PAP, and the final ESSA has be disclosed on the Bank and governments’ websites. The government websites discosure was dated on March 7th, 2023 at website （http://ari.hunan.gov.cn/agi/xxgk/tzgg/20230307_29266839.html）. 8. Focused counties virtually interviewed for in-depth investigation: To ensure a successful assessment, the ESSA team conducted information collection and stakeholder engagement by various means and carried out virtual interviews with the 4 focused counties/district (Lukou district, Ningyuan County, Louxing District, Dingcheng District) out of the 6 demonstration counties （Lukou district, Jiahe County, Qiyang County, Ningyuan County, Louxing District, Dingcheng District, Hanshou County） of Hunan Province. Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the time window for field visit is limited, and other demonstration counties adopted questionnaire survey and virtual meetings to collect information. The selection of the focused counties for the virtual interviews for more in-depth investigation took into account the following main factors: i) geographic coverage and distribution to cover different types of rice cultivation, ii) inclusion of representative areas of ethnic minority towns (e.g. Ningyuan County was listed as a key county before it withdrew from the Program for It has four ethnic minority townships), and iii) inclusion of proposed demonstration counties for larger-scale high standard farmland construction and water-saving irrigation, piloting carbon trading and water right trading; 2 Official Use • Secondary information collection and analysis: Secondary information like documents provided by provincial and county levels government authorities, online public data, and published literatures and books were collected and analyzed to understand the legal framework, institutional arrangements and implementation procedures of national and provincial E&S management systems related to the PforR. Due to the COVID-19 challenge, the E&S team is restricted to pay more field visits, data collection are heavily rely on virtual interview with relevant government authorities and local villagers supplemented by field mission during Feb. 2023. Lots of secondary date from other recent Bank-finance Programs are referred to. • Primary information collection and analysis: Primary information was obtained in multiple ways, including questionnaire, virtual consultation and interview, as well as field visit. During December 2022, the ESSA team conducted a series of virtual meetings with governmental agencies at provincial and county levels, particularly with the four focused counties (Lukou District, Ningyuan County, Louxing District, and Dingcheng District) for in-depth investigation to understand the management mechanisms of the E&S systems. During February 2023 face- to-face discussion relevant governmental agencies at provincial and 6 county levels for supplementary investigation and data collection. In-depth discussion with 9 representatives of farmers or farmer cooperative organizations (FCOs) from villages visited were carried out to get more clear understanding of the Program impacts on them and their opinions on the Program activities. Meanwhile visits to the sites of typical activities (e.g., HSFC, irrigation service, returning straw to the rice field and straw multi-purpose utilization facility) in Ningyuang county and Lukou district and discussion with the farmer cooperative organization (FCOs), water user associations, female farmer representatives, some enterprise engaged on eco- agriculture production were also conducted to learn the actual implementation effectiveness of the E&S systems. In addition, questionnaire survey has been done to the whole 6 demonstration counties to get more evidence for the E&S systems assessment. • Whole process stakeholders’ engagement: Throughout the PforR cycle since the identification till the ESSA preparation, the ESSA team kept communicating with a variety of stakeholders at each step, during which information were provided by provincial authorities and focused interviewed counties, information of the Bank's other similar projects in recent years, online public information, relevant literature, and domestic laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, plans, programs on E&S management. During the preparation of this report, the ESSA team interviewed various relevant government departments at the provincial and county levels, and consulted different representatives of potentially affected community/village leaders and residents by means of virtual conferences, etc. over 300 people are consulted with about 30% of females participated. • ESSA consultation: Soon after the the first version of the draft ESSA was drafted, it was circulated through PPMO to relevant provincial and county government authorities in very early February 2023. During February 15-21, 2023, meaningful consultation on the drafted ESSA report was conducted with government authorities at the provincial level and all the 6Program counties. Written feedbacks on the drafted ESSA report were also made avaialbe to the E&S team. The feedback has been incorporated into the ESSA reports and the activities about data collection and consultation are listed in Appendix 6. 2. Program Description 2.1 Government Program 9. Government Program. The government program which the proposed PforR Program will support is the “Hunan Provincial High-Standard Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030)� (HPHSFCP) issued 3 Official Use by the Hunan provincial government. This Plan is a high priority government program in implementing the government’s strategy for improving food security, climate mitigation and resilience of irrigated agriculture, in the case of Hunan the focus is on rice production as 83% (or 45.27 million mu) of the total 54.32 million mu (15 mu =1 ha) farmland in Hunan province is for rice production. The key issues to be addressed include land and water use efficiency, climate vulnerability and high GHG (especially methane or CH4) emission and environmental pollution from rice cultivation. The program aims to achieve the target of completing 47.50 million mu (or 3.17 million ha) and 58.55 million mu (or 3.90 million ha) by 2025 and 2030 respectively of high-standard farmland which is well connected, climate resilient, water-efficient and environmental-friendly with stable and high production capacity. The program has eight major takes: e.g. land levelling and consolidation, soil improvement, farmland I&D system, on-farm access roads, on-farm windbreak and eco-environmental protection, farm power supply facility, agricultural technological extension and service, and management and utilization. This province- wide program has six broad themes, including (a) strengthening agricultural resources protection and use efficiency and improving production infrastructure to increase production capacity; (b) improving irrigation and drainage systems and water management; (c) reducing agricultural NPS pollution and uplifting the production environment; (d) enhancing ecological protection and restoration for sustainable production; (e) promoting green and low-carbon technologies and practices for mitigating climate impacts; and (f) improving institutions and capacity for O&M and sustainable services. (typical activities are presented in Appendix 1): 2.2 The PforR Program Boundary 10. PforR Program Boundary. The proposed PforR is conceived as a provincial program. Based on the program proposal of Hunan province and the discussions between the Bank and Hunan authorities, the Program boundary will include physical and non-physical activities in the six demonstration or program counties (distributed in five municipalities) under RAs 2 and 3, as well as non- physical or soft activities under RA1 which are mostly at the provincial level. The agreed Program boundary after environmental and social risk screening (excluding the high E&S risk activities) is shown in Appendix 1. 11. Bank Financing: The Bank is to provide a total IBRD loan of US$250 million over a 5-year period from 2023 to 2028 to support relevant activities under the prioritized Hunan Provincial HSFCP which contribute significantly to green, efficient and resilient irrigated rice production. Boundary of the governmental program of Hunan Province and the PforR Program is shown in Appendix 1，those activities with high E&S risk are excluded through the Program E&S risk screening (referring to section 3.1 of this report). 12. Geographic Coverage: The PforR Program is conceived as a provincial program in Hunan Province. 6 demonstration counties (or districts) distributed in 5 municipalities have been selected. These counties are: Lukou District of Zhuzhou Municipality, Jiahe County of Chenzhou Municipality, Qiyang City of Yongzhou municipality, Louxing District of Loudi Municipality, Dingcheng District and Hanshou County of Changde Municipality. The first 4 counties belong to hilly region with relative gentle slope in Xiang-River Basin and the last 2 counties are closer to the Dongting Lake shore with flat terrain where the river network is dense. 13. Program development objective (PDO). The proposed Program Development Objective (PDO) is to support low-carbon and climate resilient rice production in Hunan province of China. The following outcome indicators will be used to measure the progress towards achievement of the Program development objective: (a) Number of new/revised policies, standards and guiding documents; (b) Net GHG emissions reduction in demonstration counties; and (c) Beneficiary farmers reached with improved irrigation and drainage services in demonstration counties (of whom women). 14. Result areas: The proposed PforR Program will include three Results Areas (RAs): RA1 activities will be implemented largely at the provincial level, while RA2 and RA3 activities will be implemented at the demonstration county level. 4 Official Use RA1- Strengthening government management system for sustainable development impacts at scale. The RA1 aims at improving management system for water saving and low- carbon rice production. RA2 - Reducing GHG emission for low-carbon development. The RA2 aims at net GHG reduction in demonstration counties. RA3 – Improving irrigation and drainage service for resilient rice production. The RA3 aims at beneficiaries achieved with improved irrigation service in demonstration counties. 15. Typical activities and expected outcomes：The typical activities within the PforR boundary are selected with low to medium E&S risks from Hunan Provincial HSFCP (2021-2030) activities, grouped in the PforR three result areas. Their intermediate outcomes with disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs) are presented in Table Error! Reference source not found.. Table 2-1 The PforR Activities, Outputs and DLIs Typical Activities Main Outputs DLIs RA1 - Strengthening management system for sustainable development impacts at scale; 1） Developming and issuing a provincial 1） Provincial incentive policy issued DLI1: Strengthened enabling incentive policy 2） Strategy and implementation environment for water-saving 2） Developing and issuing a provincial plan developed and issued and low-carbon rice strategy and implementation plan 3） Technical standards for water- production (Description) 3） Developing and issuing technical saving and low carbon rice standards for water-saving and low production developed and issued. DLI2: Agriculture and water carbon rice 4） Water-saving irrigation quota sector coordinating 4） Issuing a provincial guiding document issued mechanism established on water right trading trading. 5） Guiding document on water use 5） Revising and；issuing provincial water- right trading issued saving irrigation quota for rice 6） MRV system adopted and applied production to track rice GHG and support 6） Adopting a provincial MRV stalndard to carbon trading track rice GHG reduction and support 7） Agricultural and water sector carbon trading. coordinating mechanism 7） Establishing agricultural and water established sector coordinating mechanism at county level RA2 –Reducing GHG emission for low-carbon development 1） Constructing /upgrading high standard 1） Increase in new/updated high DLI3：Number of farmers farmlands in demonstration counties standard farmlands trained o (with famele farmers 2） Training farmers on the low-carbon rice 2） Number of farmers trained (with trained) (Number) cultivation techniques female farmers trained) 3） Adopting alternate wetting & drying 3） Area of rice field adopting AWD DLI4: Area of rice field (AWD) and deep returning of straw in and deep returning of straw adopting AWD and deep rice production 4） Area of rice field adopting returning of straw 4） Appling organic fertilizer improved fertilizer and straw (ha) 5） Piloting carbon trading management 5） Number of counties piloted carbon trading RA3 – Improving irrigation and drainage service for resilient rice production 1） Implementing agricultural water tariff 1) Number of counties completed DLI5: No. of counties reform irrigation water tariff reform completed irrigation water 2） Supporting sustainable irrigation and 2) Rice production area with tariff reform (Number) drainage services sustainable irrigation and 3） Strengthening the capacity of farmer drainage service DLI6: Rice production area cooperative organizations (FCOs) for 3) Irrigation areas managed by with sustainable irrigation and 5 Official Use Typical Activities Main Outputs DLIs O&M FCOs (with women in drainage services (1,000ha) 4） Piloting water use right trading or buy- management team) back 4) Number of counties piloted water right traded or buy-back. 16. In general, the activities to be supported by the proposed PforR under the three result areas include: (a) physical works (e.g., land levelling, soil improvement, on-farm access roads, on-farm windbreak, on-farm irrigation1 and drainage system, water-saving irrigation facilities, village-to-township level small sized water storing ponds and ungated weirs, returning crop straw to rice field, etc.); (b) agricultural technologies promotion and extension for water-saving and low-carbon rice production (e.g., test-based formula fertilization, green pests management and integrated water-nutrient management, chemical fertilizer and pesticide use reduction and efficiency improvement, alternating wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation, etc.); and (c) non-physical or soft activities (e.g., improving relevant management systems, policy, standards and organize capacity building; providing trainings on low- carbon technologies and management practices, carrying out carbon trading, water right trading pilot at county level, etc.). 17. The timeline for the PforR is 2023 ~2028, with 2021 the baseline year against which outcomes are measured. 2.3 Program implementation agencies 18. This provincial PforR Program will be implemented by Hunan province. At the provincial level, a provincial program coordination group (PPCG), headed by the vice governor in charge of agriculture, comprised senior officials from PDARA, PDRC, PDOF, PDWR and PDEE, etc. as members, will be set up to provide policy guidance and high-level coordination. DARA will be the lead implementation agency for the Program while other departments are expected to contribute to the implementation of some soft activities. A provincial program management office (PPMO) hosted and led by the DARA, with focal points from related sector departments, will be established to assist the PPCG and be responsible for day-to-day coordination of the Program implementation at the provincial level and for supervision and support of implementation of county level activities. A technical assistance team has been appointed to support the operation of the PPMO. In additional a cross-sectoral expert panel is to be established at the provincial level to provide in-depth expert advice to the Program preparation and implementation. 19. At the county level, a county program coordination group (CPCG) headed by responsible county leader and comprised senior officials from related sector departments will be established and a county PMO (CPMO) with a technical support team set up in each of the six demonstration counties. The agricultural and rural affairs section will be the lead implementing agency at the county level while other agencies are expected to contribute to the implementation of some soft activities. Counties with dedicated County Program Management Offices (CPMOs) will be responsible for implementing the Program activities in the demonstration counties，they will also be responsible under the coordination of CPCG, for ensuring the PAP recommended by ESSA be taken. 20. Hunan province has experiences in implementing international financing institutes’ loan- financed projects/programs, such as the World Bank-financed Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program for Result, the World Bank-financed Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program for Results Program for Results and other WB financed Hunan Integrated Management of Agricultural Land Pollution Project. The key relevant agencies (such as PDARA, PDEE PDWR, PDOF at the provincial level were deeply involved in several World Bank funded projects/programs, staff of these departments have gained and are gaining experiences in managing E&S risks. Particularly the 1 In China, farmland irrigation system is generally classified as: the main canals, branch canals, lateral canals, field canals and sublaterals. The high standard farmland construction focus on the on-farm irrigation canals with relatively small size, including mainly the field canals, sutlaterals and partially lateral canals. 6 Official Use Bank-funded Hunan Integrated Management of Agricultural Land Pollution Project (categorized as A for environment), the PPMO is also seated at PDARA, who assigned staff responsible for E&S management and overseeing the external environmental monitoring teams. 3. Potential Environment and Social Effect 3.1 Environmental and Social Screening 21. Purpose: During the PforR concept, identification and the ESSA preparation, the Bank's core principles and requirements on E&S screening have been fully considered, and screening has been conducted to the government program activities to (1) identify and exclude the activities with significant E&S risks/impacts; and (2) define the scope of activities to carry out ESSA. 22. Exclusionary principles: Following the PforR Policy and Directive, activities that are “judged to be likely to have significant adverse impacts that are sensitive, diverse, or unprecedented on the environment and/or affected people are not eligible for financing and are excluded from the Program.� More specifically, following criteria are applicable to exclude activities with significant E&S impacts: • Significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats or critical cultural heritage sites; • Air, water, or soil contamination leading to significant adverse impacts on the health or safety of individuals, communities, or ecosystems; • Workplace conditions that expose workers to significant risks to health and personal safety; • Land acquisition and/or resettlement of a scale or nature that will have significant adverse impacts on affected people, or the use of forced evictions; • Large-scale changes in land use or access to land and/or natural resources (e.g. ecological resettlement); • Adverse E&S impacts covering large geographical areas, e.g. large-scale water (surface and groundwater) resource infrastructure, including large dams, or activities involving the allocation or conveyance of water, including inter-basin water transfers or activities resulting in significant changes to water quality or availability2 • Significant cumulative, induced, or indirect impacts; • Activities that involve the use of forced or child labor; • Marginalization of, discrimination against, or conflict within or among, social (including ethnic and racial) groups; • Activities that would (a) have adverse impacts on land and natural resources subject to traditional ownership or under customary use or occupation; (b) cause relocation of ethnic minority groups from land and natural resources that are subject to traditional ownership or under customary use or occupation; or (c) have significant impacts on ethnic minority cultural heritage; 23. Excluded activities: Given that the high standard farmland is to be constructed under pre- conditions that the farmland areas are accessible to the existing water irrigation sources and backbone irrigation facilities (such as reserves, main cannels, branch cannels, etc.), as set out in the Implementation Plan of Hunan on Managing Farmland Construction Projects, the construction of large- scale infrastructure such as main canals, branch cannels, reservoirs and large barrages are not within the scope of the government program. When reviewing planned activities under the government’s programs, with virtual interviews with the 3 focused counties of the Program areas, in considering the 2 Para. 16 of Bank Guidance Program-for-Results Financing Environmental and Social Systems Assessment (September 18, 2020) 7 Official Use likely significant impacts, following types of activities will also be excluded: 1) Activities with potentially significant E&S impacts that are classified as Class A (Environmental Impact Assessment Report category) according to the National Catalogue for the Classified Management of the Environmental Impact Assessment of Construction Projects 2) Activities significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats (for example, activities within the scope of environmentally sensitive area3, particularly within the scope of ecological protection redline4 (ERL) for building small scale storage ponds and ungated weirs for irrigation, etc.); 3) activities that would be conducted in areas with significant legacy pollution; 4) Exploitation of groundwater for paddy field irrigation that would involve the physical conveyance or allocation of water with the potential to result in significant changes to water quality, water availability and local aquatic ecosystem; 5) Activities that would involve land use or acquisition for non-agriculture facilities; 6) Acquisition of any basic farmland (which requires State Council approval); 7) Land pooling or consolidation activities that would lead to relocation or acquisition/redistribution of land use rights for a large number of populations (for instance, government-initiated programs to merge farmland blocks to achieve the relative concentration of cultivated land blocks) 8) Activities that would have significant adverse impacts to ethnic minorities; 3.2 E&S Assessment Scope 24. Physical activities under the PforR: After excluding the above-mentioned activities, the main physical activities that the PforR will support include: 1) promote AWD and irrigated water and nutrient management, 2) implement test-based fertilization to reduce chemical fertilizer used, 3) support use of low-carbon paddy varieties and utilization of product wastes, 4) implement land improvement and soil & water conservation, 5) build on-farm bio-ditches, 6) improve on-farm I&D system and small village-to- county level water storing ponds, ungated weirs for irrigation, 7) support land levelling and agronomic water-saving measures, and 8) support on-farm windbreak construction, etc. These physical activities involve construction works and application & extension of agricultural technologies that would produce certain direct and/or indirect E&S impacts during construction and operation, but would not involve new construction and/or significant expansion of large infrastructure and are not expected to induce high E&S risks. 25. Non-physical soft activities under the PforR: Policy studies, capacity building, information sharing and M&E, carbon trading and water right trading, and other TA activities will also be supported 3Environmentally sensitive areas, as defined in the Construction Project EIA Classification Catalogue, refer to the protection areas established legally at various levels, and areas that are particularly sensitive to certain types of pollution factor(s) or ecological impact factor(s), mainly including 1) national parks, natural reserves, famous scenic spots, world culture and nature heritage sites, special marine protection areas, drinking water source protection zones; 2) other areas subject to control requirements of ecological redlines, including permanent basic farmland, basic grassland, natural parks (forest parks, geological parks, ocean parks, etc.) critical wetland, natural forests, important wildlife habitats, natural spawning feeding, wintering, migrating grounds/corridors of important aquatic life, natural fishery ground, key areas identified for soil erosion prevention and control, desertified areas, enclosed and semi-enclosed sea areas; and 3) areas with residence, medical and health care, culture and education, scientific research and administrative offices as the main functions and cultural heritage conservation units 4 Ecological Protection Redline: refers to the area within the scope of ecological space and has special important ecological function that must be mandatorily and strictly protected. Ecological space is a territorial space with natural attributes and mainly functions to provide ecological service or ecological products. Natural protected areas (e.g. national park, natural reserves, and natural parks) and other areas with relatively important ecological service functions or fragile ecosystems are defined within the scope of Ecological Protection Redlines. 8 Official Use by the PforR, including: 1)improve relevant management regulations, implementation rules and standards, 2)provide policy guidance and technical support, 3) organize relevant training, 4) strengthen the investment result M&E system, 5) support information sharing and good practice replication efforts; 7) pilot carbon trading in demonstration counties, 8) famers cooperation organizations (FCOs) participation in irrigation service management and 8) conduct water right trading, carbon trading at county level, etc.. Implementation of the soft activities would have minimal or no direct adverse E&S impacts, but implementation of the outputs of some soft activities may induce indirect E&S effects. 26. Associated/linked facilities/activities: As per the Bank's PforR ESSA Guidance, associated (or linked) activities refer to activities that would be required to meet the PforR objectives but that are not explicitly defined as PforR activities or included in the expenditure framework. Although farmland irrigation needs the support of associated/linked facilities such as dams, reservoirs, main and branch canals, given that the high-standard farmland is to be constructed under pre-conditions that the farmland areas are accessible to the existing water sources and main irrigation system (such as main and branch canals), as set out in the Implementation Plan of Hunan Province on Managing Farmland Construction Projects, the construction of such associated/linked facilities are not the components of the government program. Therefore, The PforR will not involve any associated or linked activities/facilities defined by the Bank’s PforR ESSA Guidance. 27. Regarding the safety of existing reservoir dams involved in water-saving irrigation activities, a reference is made to the due diligence results of similar Bank financed projects/programs. China has a sound dam safety management system, including laws and regulations at the national and Hunan Provincial levels, such as the Water Law, Regulations on Reservoir Dam Safety Management, and Measures for Dam Registration, as well as implementation details at the local level. Reservoir operation and maintenance manual, emergency responsive preparedness plan, instrument plan and other management documents have been prepared for each reservoir as per the requirements of laws and regulations that are strictly observed and implemented. All reservoir dams are regularly reinforced or upgraded. Except for some small reservoirs operated by the village level, other reservoirs have set up special reservoir management units and are staffed with sufficient operation and maintenance personnel. 3.3 E&S Benefits 28. As the PforR Program is to support the development of water-saving, low-carbon and climate resilient rice production in Hunan Province of China, the PforR Program, is expected to have significant environmental and social benefits, including enhanced protection of cultivated land to ensure food security, increased water and soil resources utilization efficiency to promote the development of resource-saving agriculture, improved agricultural ecological environment, reduced agricultural NPS pollution (including reduced impact on atmospheric pollution due to avoidance of rice straws’ open burning), enhanced potentiality of soil in carbon sequestration through improved fertility, contributing to the reduction of GHG (methane gas, CO2 and N2O) emission and thus greatly contributing to China’s green agriculture development, raising people’s awareness and capacity for agriculture green development, and generating substantial global public goods and climate resilience, etc. 3.4 Potential E&S Risk and Impacts 29. The PforR activities will also generate certain negative E&S impacts, but are not expected to be significant given that all typical physical activities are the on-farm activities and ecological sensitive areas are avoided when selection of farmland for high standard construction, and the civil works are limited and small-scale where the incremental effects are likely to be small; mitigation measures (as listed in Appendix 8 of the report) for such on-farm activities are known and effective with proper management practice during construction. A general description of E&S risks and impact is provided in the following sections while the E&S impact assessment of typical PforR activities is given in Appendix 2. 9 Official Use 3.4.1 Direct impacts 30. The civil work under the PforR, such as land levelling, soil improvement, water and soil conservation, the on-farm I&D system, on-farm bio-ditches, etc., and application & extension of water- saving and low-carbon agronomic technologies, appropriate returning crop straws to rice field are expected to have certain direct E&S impacts. During rice production, certain adverse E&S impact will be expected if land tillage, nutrients and fertilization, crop pests and use of pesticides are not properly managed. 31. Major Environmental Impacts ⚫ Environmental Pollution: (1) during the construction, civil work construction will generate nuisance of dust, noise and spoil material from excavation, material handling and transportation, etc. Exhaust from construction vehicles may also cause certain air pollution in the construction site. These pollution are short-termed, site-specific and can be effectively mitigated with good construction management practice (such as water-spraying on construction sites, covering of bulk materials and transportation trucks, use of low noise equipment/method, no nighttime construction etc.). （2） during operation, the rice production will have potential impact of water, air, soil pollution caused by agricultural non-point sources (NPS), (such as paddy field runoff containing water & soil pollutants due to application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers for pests control and soil fertilization), fugitive air emission due to mishandling of agricultural wastes (such as open burning of straw, crushing and/or composting of agricultural wastes), which potentially pollute on water bodies, soil and air and food quality. The paddy field itself is likely to directly impact on biodiversity and agricultural eco-environment, and is prone to release GHG gases (e.g. methane, and nitrous oxide), soil gleization. These adverse impacts are expected to be significantly reduced with the activities supported by this PforR, such as water-saving irrigation, soil improvement, fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement, integrated water and fertilizer management, farmland eco-ditch construction, returning crop straw to rice field and so on. ⚫ Ecological impact: (1) During the Design: The physical activities under the PforR Program are mainly located in existing irrigated farmland dominated by artificial ecosystems. Following the exclusionary principles, activities with negative impact on environmentally sensitive areas such as natural habitats and drinking water sources have been excluded. In the EIA of specific activities, the ecological protection redlines system will be strictly implemented, and the site selection of the high standard farmland construction will be strictly examined by government departments. So it's not a threat to important ecosystems. (2) During the Construction: Civil works construction involve foundation excavation, topsoil stripping and stacking, temporary stacking of earthwork for transferring, and stacking of sand and stone materials. These activities will change the in-situ surface structure, destroy vegetation and lead to the reduction of soil ability to resistant to the erosion. If no protective measures are taken, vegetation may be destroyed, habitat disturbed resulting in soil erosion. Through the implementation of good construction management measures, the temporary soil erosion impact can be effectively reduced and surface structure, vegetation will be restored after the completion of civil works. (3) During Operation: water & soil erosion may occur from degraded soil structure and fertility due to improper use of ploughing machinery or technology in the interval between crops and poor management of nutrient and fertilization, etc. Overall, the construction and operation of the Program activities will hardly have adverse effects on the natural ecosystem. On the contrary, the quality of the regional ecosystem will be improved by the implementation measures for plant 10 Official Use protection, water conservation and soil conservation, as well as the extension of other agricultural technologies, etc. ⚫ Health and safety risks: (1) During Construction: There are potential health and safety risks in excavation, and driving machinery and vehicles, etc. (2) During Operation stage: In the process of rice production, there are potential physical damage caused by falling down and inappropriate operation of agricultural machinery, biological damage caused by biting of stinging and poisonous animals or vector mosquitoes, and chemical damage caused by exposure to chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other chemical harmful pesticides. In addition, among the 6 demonstration counties, Dingcheng District and Hanshou County were endemic areas of schistosomiasis in Hunan Province. It is likely to affect the health and safety of construction workers and farming operators related to water, however, these risks are predictable and can be avoided or mitigated using known and demonstrated techniques, management, and/or training measures. 32. Major Social Impacts ⚫ Labor impacts: Such construction activities as land levelling, on-farm access roads, farmland windbreak, water and soil conservation, farmland bio-ditches, etc., may involve the employment of small-scale workers ⚫ Community impacts: The implementation of the PforR Program activities are focused on the rice field, mostly located in the community, civil works construction may involve the inflow of a small number of external personnel (such as 5-10 external designers and construction workers. during the construction, safety may have certain impact on local communities. ⚫ Land use impacts：It is understood through the virtual interview that there would be nearly no need for permanent land acquisition to implement the PforR Program activities. But on rare occasions, some land-use implications are still possible: such facilities as the on-farm access roads, on-farm irrigation and drainage systems, and water-storing ponds for irrigation, etc., are to be improved on the existing basis without the needs of land acquisition, while some new or extended facilities may require certain scale of land adjustment inside the village (normally within about 100 mu). After the adjustment, the small pieces of cultivated land will be connected and consolidated, the boundary of them will also be adjusted. ⚫ Livelihood impacts: Although small-scale land use has limited livelihood impacts, they should still be identified and managed. Chemical fertilizer use and pesticide use reduction and efficiency improvement, returning rice straw to the rice field, application of organic fertilizers may require the adjustment of farmers’ daily production and living behavior with slight impacts. The risks can be managed through relevant policies support and provision of related trainings. The reform on comprehensive agricultural water pricing will increase the cost of farmers’ in rice production, saying CNY 10/mu, this impact is very small. Farmers are ensured to participate in the process of water pricing. ⚫ Impacts on ethnic minorities: Out of the 6 demonstration counties, there is only 1 ethnic minority township in Dingcheng District. Hunan Province and each Program participating county have policies in place to support the development of ethnic minorities, which ensures it will not exclude ethnic minorities from the beneficiary population based on their special history, culture and traditions. There are even offering much more preferential financial and policy support for minority areas in certain projects as compared to other regions. When the physical activities are to be taken place in ethnic minority areas, it is considered meaningful consultation with minority residents should be carried out when it is in design, construction and maintenance, so as to avoid or reduce negative impacts on them, and respect their cultures and customs. 11 Official Use 3.4.2 Indirect Impacts 33. From an environmental prospective, in addition to returning straw to the rice field to be supported under the PforR Program, rice production will induce such activities as collection, transferring and disposal of extra straw and other non-crop solid wastes, and generate indirect environmental impact. For instance, the rice straw, after the implementation of banning on open burning, majority them are returned to the rice field in-situ when harvesting, some of them are to be comprehensively recycled for multi-purpose utilization, e.g., ex-situ composting and further processing into organic fertilizer, some straw are used as livestock’s feeder, base material for mushroom cultivation, bio-mass fuels. The construction of such new facilities for multi-purpose utilization of rice straw and their operation would implies land occupation, labor inputs and indirectly generate potential environmental pollution. The collection, transferring and disposal of other solid waste (e.g., used agricultural mulch, chemical fertilizer and pesticide packaging waste, etc.) will also implies a certain indirect environmental, health and safety impacts. From the social prospective, land levelling may change the existing land natural boundary, which may give concerns of farmers with land contract rights about the valid right of their contract. The land transfer relationship before and after the construction of high-standard farmland and the level of the transfer rent may change due to the improvement of production conditions, leading to disputes between transferees on issues such as the right to use and transfer price. Water pricing reform will implies that farmers doubt about going from free to pay for water. A lot of explanations are needed to promote the understanding and acceptance of farmers who have long been used to free water. 34. The Bank team conducted virtual interviews with 3 focused counties in December 2022 and paid site visits and due diligence to selected straw recycling facilities in February 2023. It is noticed that, in most cases when paddy field are accessible by agricultural machinery for rice harvesting, rice straw are used to return to the field in-situ, small proportion of rice straw are used as livestock feeders (the consumption volume is limited due to higher requirement on the quality of straw without getting wet and mold). Rice straw from scattered cultivated land with quality unsuitable to livestock feeders are hauled to nearby power station or waste-to-energy incinerator for using as bio-mass fuels. Recently, county government authorities are encouraging enterprises to apply for financial assistance granted by higher levels of governments to construct crop straw recycling and processing infrastructure for multi-purpose utilization (such as organic fertilizers, charcoal, livestock feeder, fuels of bio-mass power plants or cement processing plants). The construction of these new recycling and processing facilities will be in strict accordance with the current national and Hunan provincial relevant legal framework requirements and procedures on EIA and pollution prevention, pollution treatment facilities will be designed, installed and operated simultaneously with the main facilities and subject to regulatory management of EEBs or other relevant authorities. For example, the Bank team visited an organic fertilizer plant in Ningyuan County before pre-appraisal , which was operated one year ago, producing marketable organic fertilizer with crop residues as raw material. It is noted that EIA report of the construction of this plant are approved by the county EEB. Dust control facilities are installed. Liquid from fermentation were further processed into water soluble organize fertilizer. No wastewater are discharged. The due diligence investigation reveals that the domestic E&S management systems for these facilities/activities are well- established and can properly manage the E&S impacts of these facilities/activities, and the overall E&S risks are controllable. 3.4.3 Downstream E&S impacts of soft/TA activities 35. The soft/TA activities under the PforR Program (e.g., development/revision of policy, strategy and implementation plan, standards, guiding documents, strengthening technology extension service institution, carbon trading and water right trading, etc.) will be helpful to strengthen the capacity of project implementation units, improve the efficiency of rice field production, and improve environment. Except that the soft/TA activities will involve some labor issues, outdoor surveys and cross-sector coordination, the implementation of them will have minimal or no direct adverse E&S impacts. However, once the outputs of some soft/TA activities (e.g., development/revision and issuance of policy, strategy 12 Official Use and implementation plan, standards, guiding documents), once they become effective, they may trigger downstream investments (e.g., rice straw recycling pattern, irrigation water management pattern, etc.), which might induce indirect E&S impacts (see Error! Reference source not found.). In general, the soft/TA activities under the PforR are not likely to create high downstream E&S risks but it is required that (i) the TORs for the TA activities should clearly state the requirements of carrying out E&S assessment and stakeholder engagement during the TA implementation; (ii) stakeholder engagement should be conducted during the TA implementation; and (iii) E&S impacts assessment should be included in the TA outputs with mitigation measures recommended. 3.4.3 Accumulative E&S effects 36. During the implementation, different types of activities under the PforR (including such physical works as water and soil conservation, land levelling, etc., and non-physical soft activities, other investments under the Hunan government programs (such as high standard farmland construction, uplifting the appearance of villages, control of agricultural NPS pollution, rural infrastructure development, engineering measures for water & soil conservation, etc.) and other relevant projects/programs in the region (such as the World Bank financed Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration PforR for Jiangxi and Hunan, the World Bank financed Hunan Integrated Management of Agricultural Land Pollution Project, the World Bank financed Green Agricultural and Rural Revitalization Program for Hubei and Hunan, etc.) may be implemented in parallel or alternately with each other. This might cause certain synergistic effects or cumulative impacts on the natural or social environment of a larger region of Hunan province positively, without significantly increase the regional negative cumulative effects. 37. From environmental prospective, the High Standard Farmland Construction (HSFC) to be supported by the Program is to upgrade facilities (mainly the on-farm access road, on-farm irrigation/drainage canal) on existing farmlands that have been operated for many years. Since 2015, government campaigns on “Zero growth� of chemical fertilizer use and pesticides use have been implemented. To support the these campaigns, the Program will support the test-based formula fertilization, returning straw to the rice field and promoting organic fertilizer application, application and extension of integrated pest management technology through unified prevention and control service provided by specialized organizations to further reduce the use of chemical fertilizer use and pesticides use and their efficiency improvement, so as to reduce agricultural NPS pollution and improve environment. Therefore the Program activities will not result in the incremental use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. With the reduced NPS pollution load and improve soil fertility, plus water-saving, one of the key activities of the Program, the Program will results in reduced water consumption and imporved water quality. In addition, the integrated pest management through unified prevention and control service provided by specialized organizations, improvement of on-farm biodiversity and ecological environment are also expected, which have been proved by Bank-finance Guangdong Non-point Agri. Pollution Control Project. 38. From social prespective, firstly, the land use for these activities or projects, must follow local land use master plans, which can ensure that the time-specific land use must be managed as required and not be carried out disorderly. Secondly, these activities/projects will be carried out in different counties or districts, so it is unlikely to have many development and construction activities going on at the same time in the same place, and their site-specific E&S impacts are unlikely to become significantly cumulative (e.g., synergistic dust, noise, wastewater, solid waste, vegetation disturbance, interference of migrant workers to local communities, price changes, etc.). Thirdly, based on the PforR nature and the E&S exclusion criteria, the PforR activities will not be carried out in environmental or social sensitive areas. Instead, the PforR activities are all small-scale and on-farm activities for the purpose of protecting the environment and will not add regional-level negative cumulative E&S impacts. Finally, together with the government program activities and other relevant projects as mentioned above, the PforR will generate cumulative net benefits, i.e., promotion of low-carbon agricultural production, improvement of 13 Official Use agricultural eco-environment and improvement of regional social economy in Hunan Province. 3.5 E&S Assessment and Risk Rating 39. Risk criteria: Following the E&S exclusion procedure, the ESSA team assessed the E&S risks/impacts of the PforR activities, using four criteria: 1) likely E&S effects; 2) E&S contextual risks; 3) institutional capacity and complexity risks; and 4) political and reputational risks. All activities involved in the PforR have been analyzed against the above four criteria, which concludes that these activities have different levels of E&S risks, a few of them have potential High risks and need to be excluded, while others have moderate, or low risks and can be mitigated through proper E&S management measures. The following sections will provide general E&S assessment and risk screening and the details are presented in Error! Reference source not found.. 3.5.1 Likely E&S effects 40. To achieve the PDO, the PforR Program designed a series activities, including protection of cultivated land quality to ensure food security, soil improvement and water conservation to enhance soil fertility, saving water and water resources, reducing agricultural NPS, enhancing carbon sequestration potentiality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, etc. It will have obviously positive E&$ benefits to the region of demonstration counties of Hunan Province. The Program will not only greatly improve the eco-environment of the counties areas and Hunan, but also will bring about demonstration effect at scale, in terms of optimizing the water irrigation management in rice production for reducing methane GHG emission, promoting the use of low-carbon varieties, greener and higher efficient cultivation technologies, uplifting nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency for minimizing N2O GHG emission. It will greatly contribute to China for promoting green agricultural development, and implementation of actions to achieve the “dual carbon� goal announced by China. However, the activities of the PforR will have certain adverse E&S impacts covering 6 demonstration counties/cities of in Hunan provinces during the implementation, although the adverse E&S impacts are predictable and can be avoided or mitigated by applying known and proven techniques and management measures under the domestic E&S management systems. 41. Therefore, the overall rating of the likely E&S effects is Moderate. 3.5.2 E&S contextual risks 42. Except that those non-physical soft activities will result in the application of the results to rice production at scale, the civil works construction, regular operation and maintenance of the physical facilities and extension of agricultural technologies under the PforR will take place in the existing farmland I&D canals/ditches in rural areas, instead of natural or critical habitats. Such activates of HSFC on polluted farmland and it remediation were excluded from the PforR Program. Considering China’s strict management mechanisms about nature reserves and ecological protection redlines and the environmental exclusionary principles under this ESSA, the PforR activities are unlikely to take place in ecological sensitive areas. Some civil works construction (e.g. land levelling and consolidation, soil improvement, on-farm I&D ditches, small scale water storing ponds and undated weirs, on-farm windbreak, on-farm access roads, etc.) may involve small scale land occupation, while most of such activities will be taken place at existing ones without the needs of land acquisition. Under the policy provisions and the current management mechanism, application will be made by BRARs for adjusting land quota to adjust the land distribution within a limited geographic scope (e.g. within the village) and make up as much as occupied (namely “balance in and out�) without reduction of cultivated land. The impact of land is small. The application and extension of agricultural technologies (e.g. ADW technology, test-based fertilization technology, integrated water and fertilizer management technology etc.) that are 14 Official Use benefit to water-saving, low-carbon rice production will be taken place in existing cultivated farmland. Although benefits of stakeholders have to be considered to implement such activities as water pricing reform, water right trading, improving irritation and drainage service, for the purpose of effectively managing potential soil risk, there is a need to conduct various stakeholders’ identification, the analysis of their opinions, stakeholders communication mechanisms and plans are to be developed to promote FCOs participation in irrigation service. 43. Therefore, the overall rating of the E&S contextual risks is Moderate. 3.5.3 Institutional capacity and complexity risks 44. The E&S risks/impacts management will involve some government authorities, such as development and reform commission (DRCs), finance bureaus (FBs), agriculture and rural affairs bureaus (ARABs), water resources bureaus (WRBs) of ecology and environment bureaus (EEBs), natural resources bureaus (NRBs), forest and grassland bureaus (FGBs), emergency management bureaus (EMBs), health commissions (HCs), etc. These authorities perform regular E&S management as per national/local laws and regulations with sufficient institutional organization, staffing, and budgets, and they will fulfill their responsibilities for implementing the PforR and managing the related E&S issues under the guidance of national and provincial governments and the coordination of the PPMOs. The PforR activities are distributed in 6 counties under 5 municipalities of Hunan Province covering a number of sectors, so strong coordination and cooperation among the related authorities are necessary to well manage the activities and the associated E&S impacts. Hunan Province has established an inter- department agencies Program Steering Group, a PPMO supported by experts’ panel at provincial and county levels to strengthen coordination vertically and horizontally among government authorities and advisory function. Meanwhile, all relevant sector authorities must implement activities in accordance with their respective responsibilities under the guidance of the government's program. 45. Therefore, the overall rating of the institutional capacity and complexity risks is Moderate. 3.5.4 Political and reputational risks 46. The PforR will help contributing the demonstration role of Hunan Province in water-saving irrigation, low-carbon rice production and reduction of agricultural NPS pollution. The objectives of the PforR are consistent with national and local policies and plans with high political security. Local people will largely benefit from the PforR and will make efforts to support it. There will be minimal or no political risk to the PforR, which has been demonstrated by a variety of similar projects that were implemented in the past. 47. Therefore, the overall rating of the political and reputational risks is Low 3.5.5 Overall Risk 48. As a conclusion, the overall rating of the E&S risks associated with the PforR is Moderate. 15 Official Use 4. Environmental Management System Assessment 4.1 General Principles 49. The Bank’s PforR ESSA Guidance provides six core principles for E&S system assessment, of which the first three are associated with environmental management systems (EMSs): Core Principle #1 is about environmental assessment and management. Program EMSs are designed to promote environmental sustainability in the program design; avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts; and promote informed decision-making relating to a program’s environmental effects (social impact assessment and management will be described in Chapter 5). Core Principle #2 is about natural habitat protection. Program EMSs are designed to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts on natural habitats resulting from the program (physical cultural heritage protection will be described in Chapter 5). Core Principle #3 is about health and safety management. Program EMSs are designed to protect public and worker safety against the potential risks associated with exposure to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, and otherwise dangerous materials under the program (other items on health and safety will be described in Chapter 5). 50. Corresponding to these principles, China also has a sound eco-environmental protection management system, including ⚫ A comprehensive eco-environmental management system, under the legal framework with the Environmental Protection Law (EPL) as the fundamental law, supported by a series of specific laws & regulation covering environmental impact assessment, resources & ecological conservation/protection, water and soil conservation (WSC), pollution prevention and control, a special chapter on agricultural resource and agro-environmental protection under Agricultural Law, clean production promotion and other fields. These laws & regulation empower various authouties, led by EEBs and assisted by multi-sectoral authorities to regulatory manage these environment issues. ⚫ Occupational Health and Safety management system, under a comprehensive set of laws, regulation, standards and guidelines, which is similar to or even more complex than environmental protection and pollution control system. 51. Since the promulgation of its first Environmental Protection Law in 1979 (trial) and its amendment in 2014, which establishes the legitimate position of environmental protection as national strategy, China has gradually established and improved a comprehensive environmental management legal framework, with the environmental protection law as the fundamental comprehensive law, consisting more than 80 specific laws, 120 departmental bylaws, more than 1,000 technical guidelines and standards at national level and numerous local regulations and implementation plans covering marine environment, wetland protection, clean production promotion, environmental impact assessment (EIA), water and soil conservation (WSC) pollution control, natural environment and biodiversity conservation, resource protection and utilization, and special geographic areas/watershed protection. China has also signed a series of international conventions on environmental protection, including those on climate change. Articles on resources conservation and environmental protection in other governmental bylaws, such as a chapter on agricultural resource and agro-environmental protection are included in Agricultural Law (2nd amended in December, 2012). In general, this legal framework can be roughly grouped into three categories: (1) laws and regulations issued by National People’s Congress and/or the State Council (NPC&SC); (2) administrative regulations, standards and technical guidelines issued by various ministries; (3) regulations, polices and standards issued by local people’s congress and local government. 52. These legislations have basically put in place a legal system for ecological and environmental 16 Official Use protection, pollution prevention and control, resource protection and management, WSC, energy management, circular economy promotion and ecologicala civilization construction as the mainstay and established following environmental protection management systems that are continuously improved and run under an institutional structure led by EEBs supported by multi-sectoral authorities: ⚫ Environmental monitoring system: Monitoring data is the basic data for objective evaluation of environmental baselines and the results of implementing environmental management; ⚫ EIA system: As an important system in China's environmental protection legal system, EIA is a mandatory legal system that determines whether a construction project can be carried out. It is also the first gate of environmental management to implement the principle of prevention and control over incremental pollution; ⚫ Pollutant discharge permitting system: A management system for fixed pollution sources, polluters shall discharge their pollution in accordance with the pollutants discharge permit requirements. Discharge pollutants are not allowed without holding pollutant discharge permits; ⚫ Total loads control and regional limited system: The total loads control of key pollutants is a pollution control method and system that distributes pollutant discharge indicators to a certain region and controls the amount of pollutant discharge within prescribed limits. ⚫ Joint prevention and control system: A coordination mechanism established to prevent and control environmental pollution and damage ecology on focus areas across administrative areas and across watersheds; ⚫ Ecological protection redlines (ERL) system: The core system for ecological protection and the guarantee line for ecological security; ⚫ Government responsibility system：Strengthening government's responsibility for environmental protection to establish a backhand mechanism and encourage local governments to properly strike a balance between economic development and environmental protection; ⚫ Information disclosure and public participation system: Information disclosure and public participation, as social supervision mechanisms, are conducive to solving social conflicts at the source; ⚫ Environmental protection regulatory and "three simultaneous5" system of construction project: In order to prevent the construction project from causing damage to the ecological environment, the environmental protection facilities in the construction project that are legally required to prepare EIA documents shall be designed, constructed and put into operation simultaneously with the main facilities of the project; ⚫ WSC management system and the “three Simultaneousness� system ：To prevent soil erosion and ecological damage caused by construction projects, China has established a water and soil conservation (WSC) system under the management of WRBs. For any productive construction project that may lead to soil erosion, the responsible PIU should prepare a WSC scheme and submit it to the corresponding WRBs for approval. For any construction project that is subject to WSC scheme, the related WSC works, must be designed, constructed, and put into operation simultaneously with the main facilities of the project; ⚫ Environmental public interest litigation system: An important weapon for environmental protection. Social organizations and procuratorial organs that meet the conditions may file lawsuits in court against acts that pollute the environment, destroy the ecology and harm the social and public interests; 5The “three Simultaneousness� refers to the environmental protection facilities shall be designed, constructed, and put into use simultaneously with the main facilities 17 Official Use ⚫ Legal liability system: Increased penalties to illegal acts that pollute environment and damage ecology. ⚫ Other systems: In addition, there are systems for planning, standards, ecological and environmental taxation and charging, ecological compensation, emergency response to ecological and environmental emergencies, soil pollution risk management and remediation, and classification and levelled protection of wildlife, and so on. 53. In addition, in agricultural eco-environmental protection and crop production sector, there are also a series of basic systems, such as the traditional rotation system for crops plantation, and corresponding cultivated land tillage system, improved seed breeding system, fertilization system, irrigation system, plants conservation system. Recently, to advance green agricultural development, MARA and relevant authorities are working on: ⚫ establishing agricultural ecological compensation mechanism to gradually compensate to the comprehensive recycling of livestock and poultry manure and crops straw, the application of bio-pesticide, bio-fertilizer and organic manure; ⚫ establishing agricultural & rural pollution control system to strengthen the abatement on pollution from farming and rural communities; ⚫ creating sound incentives to attract multiple investors engaged in rural eco-environmental protection; ⚫ establishing green ecological oriented agricultural subsidy system and giving priority of central government investment in rural and agriculture sector; ⚫ promoting conservation of agricultural resources, including arable land, fresh water, farming bio-resources, which are the foundation for agricultural development, by speeding up the development of water-saving agriculture, strengthening the protection and improvement of cultivated land quality, strengthening the protection of farming bio-resources, strengthening the collection and protection of germplasm resources, and preventing invasion species, etc. 54. Based on environmental and social screening as described in Chapter 3, and following the Bank’s core principles and China’s environmental management requirements, the Bank’s ESSA team classified the domestic EMSs that handle the environmental issues related to the activities under the PforR into five groups: (i) eco-environment conservation system, (ii) EIA management system, (iii) WSC management system, (iv) agricultural NPS pollution management system, and (v) environmental safety and health management system. The legal and regulatory framework, management mechanism, institutional arrangement, and implementation performance for each system are reviewed, assessed, and compared with the Bank’s core principles to identify any gaps to address during the PforR implementation. The EMSs that will serve the PforR activities are listed in Table 4-1. Table 4-1 Domestic EMSs Applicable to the PforR phase Potential impacts form typical activities Bank core Domestic EMSs Responsible principles authorities Design site selection might trigger the local - Natural - Eco-environment - EEBs ecological protection redlines habitat conservation - NRBs protection management - ARABs system - FGBs Construction - Such civil works ad land levelling, on-farm - Environmental - EIA management - EEBs access roads, village-to-township water storing assessment system - WRBs pond for irrigation, ungated weirs, and on-farm and - WSC management - ARABs I&D facilities will generate temporal and limited management system - HCs adverse environmental impact, such as - Health and - Health and safety - EMBs nuisance dust, noise, traffic disturbance, etc., safety management - The Program will preventing irrigated management farmland from water and soil loss through implementing land levelling, soil improvement, 18 Official Use on-farm windbreak activities to conserve water & soil recourse and use efficiency while enhancing farmland productivity. However, the civil works construction might cause water and soil erosion due to destroyed vegetation, topsoil stripping, earthworks and backfilling, temporal stockpiling of construction materials, and from borrow pits, etc., - workers’ health and safety risks during civil works construction; Water-related civil works construction in endemic areas of schistosomiasis (mainly in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District located) may affect the health and safety of construction workers Operation -Agricultural NPS pollution in rice production - Environmental - Agricultural NPS - EEBs including water pollution from farmland runoff assessment pollution - ARABs due to illness management of nutrients and and management - WRBs over-fertilization, soil and water (surface and management system (nutrient & - HCs ground) pollution due to illness management of - Health and fertilizer - EMBs rice pests and overuse of pesticides, potential safety management, crop polluting to water, soil, air and quality of rice management pests & pesticides products due to mishandling of rice straw management, other (such as open burning, crushing or composting environmental before returning to the field). In addition, concerns paddy field is prone to soil gleizlation, irrigating management in rice paddy field will release GHG of methane and production) nitrous oxide. - Agricultural eco- - Rice production has the potential to have environment impact on biodiversity and ecosystems, such conservation as water usage and pollution, introduction of management invasive species, inappropriate cultivation - WSC management techniques, etc. system - Inappropriate machinery or tillage associated - Health and safety with rice production, insufficient or excessive management use of fertilizers and failure to correct changes in soil pH may result in soil degradation, soil hardening and/or soil erosion. - health and safety impact during rice production, including physical injuring caused by slips, falls, agronomics hazards from manual handling, biological hazard caused by contacting with venomous stinging insects and disease vectors, etc., and chemical hazard due to exposure to hazardous products such as pesticide and herbicide. Schistosomiasis, a kind of local endemic disease in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District may likely to have impact on the health and safety of construction workers and farming operators related to water 4.2 Eco-environment Conservation Management System 55. The physical works on high standard farmland construction and water-saving irrigation activities under the PforR may relate to local natural ecosystem and trigger ecological protection redlines and cause site-specific soil erosion during construction；Rice production has the potential to have impact on biodiversity and ecosystems, including water usage and pollution, agro-biodiversity conservation. So the ESSA team 19 Official Use conducted investigation to the relevant management systems. 4.2.1 Applicable Legal Framework 56. Wetland Protection Law (issued by NPC&SC in 2022): This law is to strengthen the protection of wetland, maintain wetland ecological function and its biodiversity, safeguard ecological security and promote the construction of ecological civilization. Wetlands are classified into important wetlands and general wetlands for better management in China. Except for national major projects, no other project is allowed to occupy national important wetlands. All construction projects are required to avoid wetlands in site or route selection, while if wetlands cannot be avoided, efforts should be made to minimize occupation and proper measures should be taken to mitigate the adverse impacts on the ecological functions of the wetlands. If site or route selection cannot avoid national important wetlands, comments must be sought from the national FGB. If provincial important wetlands or general wetlands are involved, comments must be sought from the FGBs at or above county level. 57. Wild Animal Protection Law (NPC issued in 1988, 4th amended in 2022): If a construction project may have adverse impacts on nature reserves or wild animals’ migration routes, the EEB that is in charge of reviewing and approving EIA for a construction project, should seek opinions of the same- level wildlife protection authorities. Any illegal hunting of wild animals and destruction of natural habitats are prohibited. 58. Wild Plants Protection Regulations (SC issued in 1996 and amended in 2017): If a construction project may have adverse impacts on growing environment of national or local protected wild plants, the PIU must ensure the impacts be assessed appropriately in the EIA. Any entities or individuals are prohibited to illegally collect wild plants or damage their growing environment. Hunan Province also has the corresponding Regulations on the Protection of Wild Animal and Plant Resources (promulgated by the People's Congress of Hunan Province in 1988 and revised for the sixth time in 2020). 59. Nature Reserve Regulations (SC issued in 1994 and 2nd amended in 2017): A nature reserve must be set up to protect an important habitat. No one is allowed to enter core zones of nature reserves (except for approved scientific research activities). No production facility is allowed to be built in core and buffer zones of nature reserves. No production facility that may pollute the environment or destroy natural resources or landscape is allowed to be built in experimental zones 60. Agricultural Law (NPC issued in 1993 and 2nd amended in December 2012)：To develop agriculture and rural economy, natural resources such as land, water, forests, grasslands, wild animals and plants must be rationally utilized. Ecological agriculture shall be developed for improving the ecological environment. 61. Guiding Opinions on Establishing a System of Natural Protected Areas with National Parks as the Mainstay (SC issued in 2019): The aim is to build a Chinese special system of natural protected areas with national parks as the mainstay. In accordance with the natural ecosystem of authenticity, integrity, systematisms and inherent law, nature protected areas are classified into three categories based on the ecological value and significance in the order of protection intensity: e.g., national parks, then nature reserves, and natural parks. 62. Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization (SC issued in 2015)： It is required to strictly safeguard ecological protection redlines (ERL), and delineate ERL in key ecological function areas, sensitive and vulnerable areas to ensure that ecological functions are not reduced, their size is not reduced, and their nature is not changed. Subsequently, the Chinese government issued the Technical Guidelines on Delineating ERL, the Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Management and Control of the Red Lines for Resources, Environment and Ecology, 20 Official Use and the Technical Guidelines on the Preparation of the "Three Lines and One Order6", and so on. 63. Opinions on Further Strengthening Biodiversity Conservation (Central Committee of CPC& SC issued in 2021): On the basis of the current system of protected natural areas with national parks as the mainstay, China will continue to promote the baseline survey and assessment of priority regions and national strategic regions for biodiversity conservation, and build a national biodiversity monitoring network and a relatively stable spatial framework for biodiversity conservation. China will speed up the establishment and improvement of laws & regulations for biodiversity conservation, incorporate biodiversity conservation into mid-term, long-term plans of all sectors and all levels of government, formulate and improve policies and institutions related to biodiversity conservation, build a complete monitoring system for biodiversity conservation, improve biosafety management, innovate mechanisms for sustainable use of biodiversity, and strengthen enforcement, supervision and inspection of relevant laws & regulations. China will deepen international cooperation and exchanges, comprehensively and promote public participation in biodiversity conservation, and improve safeguard measures for biodiversity conservation. 64. Guiding Opinions on Delineation and Implementation of Three Control Lines in Territorial Spatial Planning (SC issued in 2019): The three control lines in terms of ecological protection redlines, permanent basic farmlands, and urban development boundaries should be delineated and implemented in an integrated way. A national territorial spatial basic information platform should be established and improved to realize cross-sectoral information sharing and monitor the implementation of the three control lines. Occupying any ecological protection redlines or permanent basic farmlands is subject to approval by the State Council. 65. Opinions on Delineation and Strictly Safeguard Ecological Protection Redlines (Central Committee of CPC, SC issued in 2017): It aims to protect important ecological space by setting up redlines to ensure non-degradation of ecological functions, non-reduction of ecological space, non- changes of ecological property, and to protect the country’s ecological safety and promote sustainable economic and social development. In principle, the ecological protection redlines should be regarded and managed as the areas within which developments are prohibited. 66. Circular on Strengthening Management of Ecological Protection Redlines (Trial) (MNR, MEE, NFGA jointly issued in August, 2022): The ERL will be strictly managed and controlled through: (1) enhanced data sharing, e.g., the ERP scheme approved by the State Council is incorporated into “one map� of national land spatial planning, connected with the ERL environmental monitoring platform under MEE for information sharing; (2) intensified regulatory management, e.g., the NRBs at all levels shall work together with relevant authorities to strengthen oversight and inspection of the implementation of BPR. NRBs at all levels shall strictly control and supervise the territorial and spatial use regulation, EEBs at all levels should conduct ecological and environmental supervision on the ERL, FGBs at all levels should focus on the supervision and administration of natural protected areas; (3) controlled strictly adjustment procedures, e.g., once the ERL has been delineated, it is strictly prohibited to be adjusted without approval. Based on the monitoring of the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, the evaluation on the importance of ecological conservation and the implementation of the territorial and spatial planning shall be carried out once in five years, provincial level government may work out partial adjustment on the ERL scheme, incorporate them into the revised plans for the territorial and spatial planning that are subject to the approval of The State Council, and send a copy to MEE. 67. To conserve agricultural biodiversity, in addition to laws and regulation mentioned above, China has promulgated Seed law, Measures for Management of Agricultural Seed Substance Resources, implemented a series of programs for conserving agricultural biodiversity, such as China's biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan, Outline of the National Plan for Conservation and Utilization of biological species Resources, National Medium-and long-term Development Plan for the Protection and Utilization of Crop germplasm Resources (2015-2030), etc. In the construction of the natural protected 6 "Three lines and one order" refers to the red line for ecological protection, the bottom line for environmental quality, the top line for resource utilization and the list for ecological and environmental access 21 Official Use areas system, a multi-level agrobiodiversity conservation system is also established, which combines the original habitat protection sites of agricultural wild plants and the ex-situ conservation of germplasm banks and germplasm nurseries; Efforts are made in increase diversity of flora, fauna and microorganisms in agroecosystems through the reduction of pesticides and chemical fertilizer use, recycling and reusing of livestock and poultry manure, crop residues, agricultural mulch for agricultural NPS pollution reduction. 68. EIA Technical Guidelines - Ecological Impacts (HJ19-2022 sector standard issued by MEE): Efforts should be made to avoid occupation of any ecological sensitive areas when selecting site or alignment for a construction project. Ecological impacts at different stages should be identified, predicted, and evaluated. Feasibility of the project should be determined by taking consideration the ecological impacts. Ecological protection measures should be proposed in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy of avoidance, reduce, restoration, and compensation. 4.2.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures 69. Mechanism of nature protected areas: Following the instruction of Guiding Opinions on Establishing a System of Natural Protected Areas with National Parks as the mainstay, China is accelerating the establishment of a system of protected natural areas with national parks as the mainstay, and step up efforts to protect the natural ecosystem. In order to promote functions optimization and system restructuring, the various types of existing natural protected areas 7 , are comprehensively assessed and reclassified based on their nature, value, and significance, to form a nature protected areas system composed of national parks, nature reserves, and natural parks. Almost all the natural protected areas are delineated within the scope of ERL and strictly protected. National parks and nature reserves have core zones and ordinary zone. Human activity is prohibited in core zone and restricted in ordinary zones. Natural parks are managed as ordinary zones in principle. To deepen institutional reform, the National Forest and Grassland Bureau was established based on original National Forest Bureau and its counterpart (FGBs) at all levels who integrated responsibility of supervision and management on natural protected areas distributed originally to various government authorities to preform integrated management on natural protected areas. 70. Mechanism of ecological protection redlines：ERL mechanism is an important institutional innovation in ecological and environmental protection in China. Government authorities such as NRBs, EEBs and FGBs integrate and reorganize the areas that have important ecological functions (such as water conservation, biodiversity conservation, water and soil conservation, wind prevention and sand fixation, and coastal protection, etc.) and the areas that are extremely sensitive or vulnerable (e.g., soil erosion, soil desertification, rock desertification, and coastal erosion, etc.) and have them be delineated within the scope of ecological protection redlines. All provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have completed the delineation of their respective ERL schemes. After the approval of the ELR by the State Council, the Provincial Governments promulgated the ERP schemes for implementation. The nation-wide ERL covers all the national biodiversity protection ecological functional areas, ecological vulnerable areas and released biodiversity key areas: about 90% of critical ecosystem types and 74% of wildlife are within the scope of ERL and well-protected. Development & productive construction activities outside the core protection areas of the natural protected areas within the ERL, are prohibited, in principle, only the limited, managed, controlled, normalized human activities without destruction to ecological function, under the premise of complying with laws and regulations can be allowable. An ERL regulatory system is being established. In addition to above-mentioned Circular on Strengthening Management of Ecological Protection Redlines (Trial), recently MEE issued Measures for Ecological and Environmental Supervision on ERL (Trial), ERL Indicators System (trial), and Technical Specification 7 Existing natural protected areas include nature reserves, scenic areas, geological parks, forest parks, ocean parks, wetland parks, glacier parks, meadow parks, desert parks, meadow scenic areas, aquatic germplasm resource conservation areas, wild plant habitat conservation areas, nature mini-reserves, and key wild animal habitats, etc. 22 Official Use for the Supervision of ERL – Protection Effectiveness Assessment (trial) and so on. For reviewing and approval a proposed construction project, NRBs take the lead in checking whether selected site is within the scopes of ERL on not when pre-examine PIUs’ application for land use. PIUs should seek opinions of FGBs and EEBs to confirm that the project sites do not occupy any ecological protection redlines before NRBs completing the pre-examination of land use application and report to the corresponding government for approval. 71. Control mechanism of ecological-sensitive area under EIA system: Any kinds of ecological and/or environmental sensitive areas should be avoided in site selection of a construction project following the requirements on ecological protection redlines, territorial spatial planning, and ecological environment zoning. As per requirement of the Technical Guidelines for EIA – for Ecological Impact, when preparing the EIA documents, ecological impacts during construction, operation and decommissioning shall be identified, predicted and assessed properly and ecological protection measures should be proposed in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy of avoidance, reduce, restoration, and compensation to justify ecological feasibility of the said construction project. When reviewing and approval the EIA documents on a construction project, EEBs will require a written explanatory note from the correspondent NRB at county level for inquiring whether the selected site/alignment of a construction project is against the ERL, usually together with indicative figures showing relationship between the selected site/alignment and the scope of ERL be attached in the annexes. Such written explanatory note will be one of the important bases for decision-making. 4.2.3 Institutional organization and performance 72. FGBs: Regulatory management of nature protected areas is the responsibility of FGBs. There are grass-root management agencies responsible for day-to-day management and protection of natural proected areas. County level FGBs usually have wildlife conservation sections or forest management sections (4-7 staff members) responsible for planning and managing the nature conservation sites and conserving and monitoring the natural resources within the jurisdiction. They also undertake regular inspections on natural protected areas with the assistance of the forest service centers, township forest stations, state-owned forest farms, etc. As per the the Notice on Strengthening the management of Farmland Windbreak Construction issued by the National FGB, MNR, MARA, the roles of farmland windbreak maintenance are made clearer: the construction of windbreak on the forest land will be the responsibility of county level FGBs; the construction of windbreak on non-forest land, the county government will define the entities who are responsible for taking measures and allocating funds for management and protection of constructed windbreak, in accordance with relevant provisions of laws and regulations. 73. NRBs: leading the oversight and inspection of the implementation of ERL, together with relevant government authorities, is the responsibility of NRBs and particularly regulate territorial and spatial use. As of the end of 2020, all provinces in China have completed delineation of local ERL and started to put them into application. After being agreed by the State Council, Hunan Provincial Government has issued Circular on "Hunan Ecological Protection Redlines" in 2018. The delineated ERL area covers 4.28 km2, accounting for 20.23% of the Provincial territorial area. Afterward, the ERL scheme of Hunan were adjusted and optimized as per the requirement of Notice on Revising and Reporting the Results of Assessment and Adjustment of the ERL and Integrated Optimization Plan for Nature Protected Areas, issued at National level and forwarded jointly by NRB, EEB, and NGB of Hunan Province. County level NRBs usually have territorial spatial planning section (2-7 staff) responsible for regulating territorial and spatial use. NRBs usually use ArcGIS systems to precisely position and manage ecological redlines. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources monitors nationwide land changes using special satellites. Once any project site is found against ERL, the responsible FGBs would be asked to carry out immediate field investigation and correction actions and might receive punishment. The ecological redlines system has been running well. 23 Official Use 74. EEBs: Management of nature protected areas and control over ERL will depend on close cooperation of EEBs. Illegal construction of mines, roads, or dams in nature protected areas will be subject to administration and punishment from EEBs. County EEBs usually have EIA divisions (2-5 staff members). They support NRBs in delineating ecological redlines; review project siting and related redlines by consulting with NRBs in EIA reviewing and approval; and examine the ecological impact assessment based on the site ecological survey and mitigation measures included in the EIA, etc. The EIA documents to be submitted to EEBs for approval should include an annex of a note from NRB on whether or not the selected project site is against the ERL. This mechanism has been implemented very well in the EIA process of construction projects. 75. ARABs: The county level ARABs are the PIUs of high standard farmland construction. Guided by the Hunan Provincial HSFCP and instructions of ARABs from higher levels on the annual target of HSFC, they are responsible for preparing proposal on sith selection for annual HSFC project. Following principles are followed in the site selection, (1) site shall have irrigation water source assurance and irrigation and drainage backbone engineering conditions, (2) the construction of high-standard farmland in the core and buffer areas of nature reserves shall be prohibited, (3) areas with slopes greater than 25 degrees shall not be constructed in principle, as set out in the Implementation Plan of Hunan Province on Managing Farmland Construction. They consult with NRBs at the same level to check if the candidate of the selected site is against ERL. When reviewing and approval the preliminary design documents of the annual high standard farmland construction project, which incorporated the proposal on selection of site, the ARABs at municipal level further emphasize that the construction of high- standard farmland in the core and buffer zones of nature reserves shall be prohibited. In this way, any occupation of natural protected areas and/or natural habitat that are within the scope of ERL are avoided. Environmentally sensitive areas vulnerable to soil erosion are avoided. During the Program implementation, the CPCG will coordinate the above mentioned governmental agencies to continue safeguard the ERL and instruct them to follow-up. 4.2.4 Brief summary 76. The proposed activities including land levelling, soil improvement, on-farm access roads on- farm I&D system, water-saving facilities and agricultural technological extension and application etc. under the PforR will be implemented on-farm in areas that have been disturbed by human beings, Therefore, the PforR activities are unlikely to occupy any nature reserves or critical natural habitats. Meanwhile, the environmental exclusionary principles set forth in this ESSA have excluded activities that might affect any environmental sensitive areas (e.g., ecological protection redlines) from the PforR scope. China has established an effective management system for ecological protection in terms of established legal framework, rational institutional arrangement, sufficient staffing, and sound implementation mechanism. The system is in compliance with the Bank’s PforR core principles and equivalent to the Bank’s Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Guidelines for Annual Crop Production by covering good international industry practices (GIIP) in conserving agricultural eco- environment, and is capable to prevent the PforR activities from seriously affecting natural habitats and promote sustainable ecological conservation. 4.3 EIA Management System 4.3.1 Applicable legal framework 77. Based on the “Environmental Impact Assessment Law� and combined with a series of relevant regulations, standards and guidelines, China has established a comprehensive EIA and follow-up management system for construction projects, including EIA, "Three Simultaneousness", environmental acceptance check for construction completion, etc. This system is under development towards a project life-cycle environmental management for construction projects. 24 Official Use 78. Environmental Impact Assessment Law (SC approved in 2002 and 2nd amended in 2018): It’s required that when preparing government programs/plans 8 and construction projects, potential environmental impacts should be early identified, screened, and assessed, mitigation measures should be recommended, and follow-up monitoring and supervision should be conducted. It also stipulates basic requirements on EIA classification, EIA approval hierarchy, and ban from construction without EIA approval, etc. Entities, experts, and individuals are encouraged to participate in public consultation on an EIA. EIA must be objective, open and fair and comprehensively consider the possible impacts of planning or construction projects on various environmental factors and the ecosystem they constitute to 79. Construction Project Environmental Protection Management Regulations (SC issued in 1998, amended in 2017): It reinforces the requirements on EIA screening and classification, EIA approval hierarchy, “Three Simultaneousness�, and environmental acceptance check for construction completion, etc. 80. Measures of Public Consultation in EIA (2018 Amendment): If a construction project or a government program is likely to have potential significant impacts on the environment, it is required to carry out public consultation during preparing EIA report. 81. Construction Project EIA Follow-up Supervision Regulations (trial, 2015): From EIA preparation till project commissioning, EEBs should oversee whether mitigation measures are implemented as per EIA instruments and approval documents. After the project becomes operational, EEBs should check whether relevant environmental regulations are complied with and whether post EIAs are conducted. 82. Regulations on Environmental Acceptance Check for Construction Completion (2017): The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) is responsible for undertaking environmental acceptance check for construction completion, preparing an investigation or monitoring report, and disclosing it to the public. The project is not allowed to start commissioning until proper mitigation measures and pollution control facilities are put in place with a pollutant discharge permit obtained following relevant requirements. The project should not start formal operation until the mitigation measures and/or the pollution control facilities have passed the environmental acceptance check. 83. Construction Project EIA Classification Catalogue (2021): Criteria are given for classifying environmental impacts of 173 types of projects in 55 sectors into three levels (Class A – high and significant, requiring preparation of EIA report; Class B – small to moderate, requiring the preparation of EIA form; and Class C – minor, requiring registratration by filling in a form), based on project nature, project scale, and contextual environment. 84. Mechanism of Information Disclosure for Construction Project EIA (2015): PIUs are required to disclose environmental information including EIA reports/forms and project progress (before, during and after the construction) throughout the project life cycle from site selection, construction, to operation for Project classified as class A and/or B as per Construction Project EIA Classification Catalogue. EEBs should disclose information about EIA instruments approval and supervision findings throughout the project life cycle. 85. EIA Technical Guidelines: China has developed more than 20 sets of EIA technical guidelines, including the General Guidelines and a series of specific guidelines on different environmental factors such as surface water, groundwater, soil, air, noise, and ecology and on different industries such as water engineering, hydropower, coal, pharmacy, and steel, etc. The General Guidelines provides fundamental guidance on the preparation EIA preparation documents (namely, the EIA report and EIA form) in terms of alternatives analysis, positive and negative impact assessment, long-term and short- term impact assessment, direct and indirect impact assessment, cumulative impact assessment, mitigation measures, cost estimate, and environmental management and monitoring plans, etc. 8 These refer to land use plans; plans to develop and utilized aregion, a river basin, and a sea area; as well as special plans for industry, agriculture, stockbreeding, forestry, energy, water resources, traffic, urban construction, tourism, and natural resource development. 25 Official Use 86. Guidance on Ecology and Environment Zoning Management under the "Three Lines and One List"9 Mechanism (Trial, 2021): It requires that ecological functions be kept from degrading by applying ecological protection redlines; the environment be protected from deteriorating by holding the environmental quality bottom lines; natural resources be conserved by keeping the top lines (e.g. threshold); any activities that are in violation of the environmental negative list will be stopped from construction, which is so called the implementation of “three lines and one list� ecological environment zoning control requirement�. The "Three Lines and One List" mechanism provides a strong spatial oversight basis for implementing strategic EIAs, program EIAs, and project EIAs and other environmental assignments. 87. Management Measures on Environmental Impact Registration and Endorsement (MEE, issued in 2016): The PIU shall fill in the environmental impact registration form for county EEB’s endorsement for construction projects with minor environmental impact as pre requirement of Construction Project EIA Classification Catalogue, construction project. The registration can be made on an online Filing Management System established and publicized by MEE. The PIU shall login the entity’s real information and submit the filled in environmental impact registration form at the said online system. 88. Measures on Environmental Complaints (MEE issued in 2006, amended in 2021). This measure is promulgated in accordance with Regulations on Complaint Letters and Visits and relevant environmental legislations to standardize the forms and channels of environmental complaints and visits, the acceptance of environmental complaints and visits, the handling and supervision of environmental complaints and visits. The administrative head is required to assume responsibility for environmental complaints and visits. 89. Local Regulations: Under the national environmental legal and regulatory framework, Hunan provincial governments have developed corresponding local stricter regulations and measures, such as Hunan Environmental Protection Regulation (Provincial people’s congress issued in 1994, 4th amended in 2019), Opinion of Hunan People’s Government on Implementing Ecology and Environment Zoning Management under the “Three Lines and One List� Mechanism (2020) , Notice of Hunan Provincial DEE on Printing and Distributing Provisions on the Approval Procedure of EIA Documents of Construction Projects (2019), Notice of Hunan Provincial DEE on Printing and Distributing Hunan Province Construction Project EIA Documents Administrative Approval Notification and Commitment System Management Measures (Trial) (2020), etc. These documents provide detailed procedures and requirements on project siting, EIA approval by EEBs at different levels, and other related issues. 4.3.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures 90. Environmental impact screening and classification: to implement the EIA system, China has established a detailed and comprehensive catalogue for screening environmental impacts and classifying EIA processes proportional to project nature, location, scale, environmental context, etc. Environmental impacts of construction projects are classified into three levels, namely Class A – high and significant impacts, Class B – small to moderate impacts, and Class C - minor impacts. Correspondingly, the EIA instruments are divided into three categories, namely EIA report (Class A), EIA form (Class B), and EIA registration (Class C). With the environmental exclusion, the PforR will not include any Class A projects; then the physical works to be supported by the PforR such as land levelling, soil improvement, on-farm access roads, on-farm irrigation and drainage and water-saving facilities, village-to-township level water storage pond or ungated weirs for irrigation, on-farm windbreak under 9 “Three lines and one list� refers to the redlines of ecological protection, the bottom line of environmental quality, the top line (threshold) of resource utilization and the one environmental negative list (e.g, the environmental access criteria for strengthen pollution control) on the bases of environmental carrying capacity. It is an important work in promoting the delicacy management of ecological and environmental protection, strengthening the control of territorial and spatial environment, and promoting green and high-quality development. 26 Official Use the umbrella of high standard farmland construction belong to Class C, EIA registration for EEBs endorsement, without the need to go through EIA process due to the expected minor impacts on environment (as indicated in Table 4-2); Only in the case the farmland construction is located in areas that are designated to be the focus zones for water and soil erosion conservation and focus zones for water and soil erosion rehabilitation, EIA form is required. This section only gives an initial analysis of EIA classification related to the PforR activities and specific types of EIA instruments applicable to each construction activities will be determined by local EEBs during the PforR implementation. Table 4-2 EIA Classification for the Key Physical Activities under the PforR Domestic EIA classification PforR Likely EIA category of Category A: Category B: Category C: activities Detailed sector the PforR EIA report EIA form EIA registration Usually, no EIA is to be Involve Rice • Agricultural carried, only EIA none environmental others production products base registration for sensitive area endorsement is required. On-farm windbreak neither belong to economic forest On-farm Economic forest raw material forest none others nor raw material forest windbreak base base base. No EIA is to be carried out. Pre-conditions for high standard farmland Others (excluding construction is accessible Works in irrigation Works involving high standard to and assurance of water district (excluding environmental farmland, dripping none sources and connected to water sources sensitive areas or water-saving backbone irrigation works) irrigation works) facilities. No EIA is to be carried out for on-farm I&D and water-saving facilities Interbasin water transfer, large and High standard farmland medium-sized river construction in Hunan water diversion, small itself does not involve sized river water water diversion works and diversion if volume of Irrigation and Water diversion any interbasin water diverted water is others none drainage works transfer activities, as set higher than one system out in the Implementation quarter of natural Plan of Hunan on annual runoff; works Managing Farmland that involve Construction Projects environmental sensitive areas. Daily water intake of others 10,000 cubic meters Exploitation of Groundwater and above; works that none groundwater activities are mining involve environmental excluded from the PforR sensitive areas. River and lake others rehabilitation Works involving No EIA is to be carried out (excluding rural environmental none for rural water storing pond water ponds and sensitive areas. and canals. canals) 91. EIA preparation: PIUs are responsible for the quality and conclusions of EIA instruments for their projects, and the agencies engaged to prepare the EIAs also have certain responsibilities. Under 27 Official Use the national EIA engineer qualification system, chief technical personnel that are in charge of preparing EIA instruments must be certified EIA engineers who have passed the national exam and gotten related certifications. 92. EIA technical review: In principle, EIA instruments should go through a technical review before approval. Technical review of EIA report for a Class A project is usually undertaken by a panel of at least 3 independent experts who will be randomly selected from EEBs’ expert database. EIA forms for Class B projects can be reviewed by either an expert panel or by staff of EEBs. 93. EIA approval: EIA report and EIA form should be submitted to competent EEBs for approval, while a simple EIA registration can be done online by PIUs themselves. EIA instruments (reports and forms) are approved by EEBs at different levels proportional to nature and scale of the corresponding projects, magnitude of the environmental impacts, and sensitivity of the environmental context, etc. 94. Public consultation and information disclosure: In EIA process, PIUs (or under the assistance of EIA agencies) should carry out public consultation as required or needed, generally through interviews, meetings, questionnaires, etc. The PforR activities do not include Class A projects that are subject to mandatory public consultation. While for Class B projects, public consultation is not compulsory, but local EEBs would usually suggest the PIUs to conduct proper public consultation. In addition, it’s legally required that EIA documents and approval comments be disclosed to the public for all construction projects requiring the preparation of EIA report or EIA form. 95. Environmental ‘Three Simultaneousness’: Design, construction, and operation of a pollution control facility that is to support a construction project must be carried out simultaneously with the project main parts. The project design report must include a specific chapter to specify mitigation measures, pollution control facilities, and necessary cost estimates. To ensure the pollution control facilities be built properly as designed, the PIU is responsible for including the physical works of pollution control facilities into civil works contracts and ensuring construction/installing schedule and budget to be sufficient. The PIU is also responsible for implementing other mitigation measures that are recommended in the EIA instruments and approval documents. The project is not allowed to start operation until all pollution control facilities and mitigation measures have passed the environmental acceptance check for construction completion. 96. Environmental management during construction: PIUs are responsible for implementing proper measures to mitigate environmental impacts during construction. As per China’s “Standard Construction Bidding Regulations�, a bidding document should include an environmental protection chapter to include the mitigation measures that are recommended in the approved EIA instruments. A standard civil work contract will also include an environmental protection chapter to clarify the contractor’s duties on environmental management such as implementing the mitigation measures. After the contract is signed, the contractor should develop construction implementation programs which should include environmental management plans that are reviewed and agreed upon by the PIU and supervision engineer prior to construction commissioning. During construction, the PIU and supervision engineer will oversee the implementation of the environmental management plans. 97. Environmental acceptance check for construction completion: When construction of a project is completed, the PIU (or under the assistance of qualified agencies) should carry out a specific check for environmental acceptance, by undertaking tests/investigations, preparing an environmental acceptance check report, and seeking relevant experts’ comments. The PIU should disclose the environmental acceptance check report within 5 working days once the report is completed and keep it open to the public for at least 20 working days. Within 5 working days after the disclosure, the PIU should log into the national platform for environmental acceptance check to upload the project description, the review comments on the environmental acceptance check, and other basic information etc. This information will be disclosed to the public by EEBs who will supervise the procedures of the environmental acceptance check. 98. EIA Follow-up supervision: The follow-up supervision during EIA is to check whether EEBs have justly fulfilled their duties in EIA approval, whether technical review agencies have provided rational 28 Official Use review comments on the EIA, whether EIA agencies have done accurate EIA based on true data and in a reliable way, and whether PIUs have gone through proper EIA procedures and conducting public consultation as required. The follow-up supervision after EIA is to check whether EEBs have fulfilled their duties in “Three Simultaneousness� supervision and whether PIUs have implemented the “Three Simultaneousness� and other environmental management measures as required in the stages of design, construction, environmental acceptance check, and operation. 4.3.3 Institutional organization and performance 99. EEBs are responsible for project EIA and follow-up management. The EIA and Pollution Control Department under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) is responsible for overseeing EIAs and project life cycle environmental management at national level. Hunan Provincial DEE issued a Notice on Approval Procedures of EIA Documents for Construction Projects, which stipulated procedures of applications, acceptance, appraisal, review (including the key points and requirements for review), announcement and approval, term of validity, supervision and management of EIA document for construction project. There are EIA management or administrative approval divisions/sections staffed with competent personnel under EED at provincial level and EEBs at municipal and county levels to be responsible for EIA management. 100. According to Construction Project EIA Classification Catalogue (2021), the typical physical activities under the PforR Program for high standard farmland construction almost belong to Class C, only an environmental impact registration form is to be filled in for county EEB’s endorsement. There is no need to prepare EIA documents that are subject to approval of EEBs. 101. When interviewing, physically and virtually, with Hunan Provincial DARA and ARABs of the 6 demonstration counties, the Bank team understood that as per requirement of the Implementation Plan of Hunan Province on Managing Farmland Construction Projects issued by Hunan DARA, high standard farmland construction projects shall go through procedures of developing annual plan, project preparatory, application for approval as planned, implementation, completion acceptance, supervision and evaluation. Of these procedures, the ARAB at county level is responsible for project preparatory work based on instructions of ARABs from higher levels, including the site selection through field survey and consultations with villages and farmers for developing annual implementation scheme, recruiting qualified design consultants for developing preliminary design. This simplified preparatory procedures without feasibility studies requires that the design documents shall include a subsection on environmental management to address potential adverse impacts identified, normally dong in the feasibility study stage. The preliminary design documents, are pre-reviewed by relevant government agencies at county level, then submitted to the corresponding municipal ARAB for review and approval. Meanwhile, the county ARAB, as the PIU, fill in the environmental impact form at the on-line registration platform for EEB endorsement, in accordance with the Administrative Measures for the Registration Form of Environmental Impact of Construction Projects issued by MEE in 2016, and accept EEB’s supervision (as example of the online registration form is shown in Figure 1 of Appendix 7 of this report). 102. Information on EIA instruments and pollutant discharge are open to the public through various online platforms such as the EIA Information Disclosure, the Pollutant Discharge Permit Management, and the Pollution Source Monitoring Center, etc. In addition, the MEE has other channels such as the National Ecological and Environmental Complaint and Reporting Platform, the minster’s mailbox, the 12369 Environmental Hotline, the 12369 WeChat account, and the 12345 Government Service Hotline for the public to report environmental complaints, track feedback, and voice their opinions. The role of public in social supervision of environmental issue of construction project can be fully played. 103. However, the Bank team found that environmental management measures included in the preliminary design documents of the high standard farmland construction projects varies considerably in the contents and depth among the 6 counties due to the lack of specific and standardized subsections on E&S managment. There are rooms for further improvement to have the design documents be 29 Official Use standardized in terms of environmental management and implementation of mitigation measures that can be included into the bidding documents and contracts for robust actions taken by contractors. During the Program implementation, the CPCG will coordinate the above mentioned governmental agencies to participate in the pre-review of the preliminary design documents to ensure the environmental management measured are included, and instruct them to follow-up. 4.3.4 Brief summary 104. The EIA and follow-up supervision system, covering EIA, environmental acceptance check for construction completion, and pollutant monitoring etc. has been implemented in China for several decades and has kept improving towards project life cycle management. It is found through virtual interview that typical activities of the PforR Program will have minor environmental impacts that can be predicted, minimized and mitigated in the sub-sections on environmental management of preliminary design for high standard farmland construction, while the PIU is required to make online environmental impacts registration for EEBs endorsement in, stead of preparation of EIA documents. The system is deemed satisfactory and basically complies with the Bank’s core principles. The Bank E&S team recommend that all demonstration counties can follow the existing simplified procedures for preparing the high-standard farmland construction projects, the preliminary design documents of the PforR activities shall set out specific subsections on environmental management to identify and assess adverse environmental risks, further optimize the design, and propose mitigation measures. Appendix 8 of this report provide generic mitigation measures for addressing potential adverse environmental impacts of main activities under the PforR program. During the Program implementation, a program implementation plan (PIP) is to be developed, which will include a detailed environmental code of conduct (ECOP). These mitigation measures and ECOP with estimated cost shall be included into the bidding documents for contractors to take specific actions. 4.4 Water and Soil Conservation 105. To prevent soil erosion and ecological damage caused by construction projects, China has established a water and soil conservation (WSC) system under the management of WRBs which is in parallel with EIA process for construction projects. The ESSA team, therefore, conducted investigation to the WSC system. 4.4.1 Applicable Legal Framework 106. Water and Soil Conservation Law (SC issued in 1991, amended in 2010 and implemented since 2021): To prevent and control water and soil erosion, it is stipulated that cultivation of crops on steep slopes above 25 degrees is prohibited. Selection of site/alignment of productive construction project shall avoid the focused areas for soil prevention and rehabilitation. If it cannot be avoided, the prevention and control standards shall be upgraded by prioritizing the construction process to minimize surface disturbance and vegetation damage and effectively control loss of water and soil. For any construction project located at mountainous or hilly or sandstorm areas or other areas prone to soil erosion as determined by soil WSC Plan, the responsible PIU should prepare a WSC scheme and submit it to the corresponding WRBs for approval. For any construction project that is subject to WSC scheme preparation, the related WSC works must be designed, constructed, and put into operation simultaneously with the project main parts. Once the construction is completed, the WSC works must be checked for acceptance. The project is not allowed to put into operation if the check is not conducted or accepted. 107. Agricultural Law (SC issued in 1993, 2nd amended in 2012): It is stipulated in Article 58 that farmers and agricultural production organizations shall conserve cultivated land, utilize chemical 30 Official Use fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural mulch rationally, increase the use of organic fertilizers, adopt advanced technologies, protect and improve soil fertility, and prevent farmland from pollution, damage and fertility declining. 108. Regulations on Preparation and Approval of Water and Soil Conservation Schemes (MWR issued in 1995, 2nd amended in 2017): Any entities or individuals engaged in constructive development activities that may cause soil erosion must prepare and submit WSC schemes for their development activities. WSC schemes are classified to WSC report and WSC form. The related entities or individuals are responsible for the preparation of the WSC schemes. A construction project is not allowed to start construction until its WSC scheme has been approved by WRBs. 109. Measures for Construction Projects Water and Soil Conservation Supervision (MRW issued in 1995, amended in 2022, to be implemented staring from March 2023): PIUs are responsible for WSC check. They should independently carry out the WSC check and have the check reports produced and registered before the projects are put into operation or the construction acceptance is done. After the check results show that the WSC works are qualified for acceptance, the responsible WRBs should disclose the check reports to the public on their official websites or other websites known to the public in a timely manner for at least 20 working days. 110. Water and Soil Conservation - Guidelines on Technical Control (GB/T16453): This series of guidelines include six specific technical guidelines, targeting to different type of soil issues such as slope land, wasteland, gullies, small-scale water works, wind and sand control, and slope disintegration. The guidelines provide technical details on water and soil conservation measures under different situations. 111. Water and Soil Conservation - Guidelines on Check for Acceptance (GB/T15773-2008): It specifies the conditions, organizations, contents, procedures, and outcomes of three types of WSC checks, namely single work check, phase-based check, and completion check. 112. Guidelines on Water and Soil Conservation Works Design (GB51018-2014): It’s required to conduct appropriate investigation, survey, and experiment when designing WSC works based on the collected data about geology, landscape, meteorology, hydrology, soil, vegetation, soil erosion, and social and economic conditions, etc. 113. In addition, there are other national and local guidelines such as the “Water and Soil Conservation - General Guidelines on Planning� (GB/T15772-2008), the “Technical Guidelines on Comprehensive Management of Water and Soil Conservation� (SL534-2013), the “Technical Guidelines on Ecological and Clean Small River Basins Development� (SL534-2013), the “Guidelines on Water and Soil Conservation Monitoring for Construction Projects� (trial, 2015). “Hunan Provincial Measures to Implementing Water and Soil Conservation Law� (1994)� stipulated that such construction projects as railways development, roads development, water engineering project, etc., shall prepared WSC scheme included in the EIA reports . 4.4.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures 114. Classified management : All construction projects that are subject to WSC schemes preparation should finish the WSC reporting and approval procedures as required: (i) a project with land acquisition/occupation over 5 ha, or earthwork or stonework over 50,000 m3 is subject to preparation of a WSC report; (ii) a project with land acquisition/occupation below 5 ha but over 0.5 ha, or earthwork or stonework below 50,000 m3 but over 1,000 m3 is subject to preparation of a WSC form; and (3) a project with land acquisition/occupation below 0.5 ha, or earthwork or stonework below 1,000 m3 is exempted from preparation of WSC schemes, but the responsible entity or individual should take measures to prevent soil erosion. 115. Approval: For a project that is subject to approval by central government, the WSC reports should go to national or provincial WRB for approval. For a project that is subject to approval by local 31 Official Use governments, the WSC reports should be approved by the same level WRBs, while WSC forms should be approved by county level WRBs. 116. Check for acceptance: PIUs should ensure their contractors implement WSC measures and facilities following the design schemes and should organize WSC supervision during the construction. Prior to the project operation or completion acceptance, PIUs should ensure the WSC monitoring devices are in place, carry out WSC check for acceptance, report to and get feedback from local WRBs, and disclose relevant information to the public as required. 117. Monitoring: PIUs should monitor the disturbed land, borrow pits, spoil pits, soil erosion potentials, and WSC measures associated with their construction projects, and report the monitoring results to the WRBs who approved the WSC schemes in a timely manner. 118. Supervision and inspection: WRBs are responsible for overseeing the WSC performance of construction projects, in terms of the compliance of the WSC plans, and the implementation of the WSC check, etc. The supervision and inspection are carried out by means of remote sensing, on-site survey. Random sampling of inspection targets at the annual rate of at least 10%, random selection of inspectors shall be implemented and the regulatory information shall disclosed in a timely manner. 4.4.3 Institutional organization and performance 119. County level WRBs are the key authorities involved in WSC plans’ approval and supervision associated with the PforR activities. The virtual interviews with the focused counties reveals that county level WRBs have WSC & water resources sections (4-6 staff members) responsible for approving WSC schemes for construction projects that are subject to approval by local governments, as well as allocation of resources (staff and budget) for maintenance of large sized farmland I&D facilities, provision of advisory to FCOs or water users association (WUAs) for the maintenance of small sized I&D facilities. They also participate in the pre-review on the preliminary design documents of the HSFC project before being submitted to the corresponding municipal ARABs for review and approval. 120. Under county level ARABs, there are cultivated land protection section and farmland construction and reclamation sections responsible for inclusive of such WSC works as building earth banks in paddy field, terracing slope farmland, improving soil structure, establishing on-farm windbreak, construction small water storage pond into high standard farmland construction project, promoting application and extension of such agricultural technologies as zero tillage, minimal tillage, crop rotation that are beneficial to WSC during rice production. When preparing the annual scheme for high standard farmland construction, which include site selection, the principle of “non-construction of high standard farmland at area with slope greater than 25 degrees� are followed to avoid selecting vulnerable sites prone to soil erosion. 121. Information obtained from the virtual interviews with the 3 focused counties reveals that the high standard farmland construction project in Hunan is exampled from preparation of WSC schemes, in view of the great positive effects on prevention and control of soil and water loss with increased use and efficiency of water and soil resources, effective reduction of soil erosion intensity to be brought about by high standard farmland construction, and in considering the very limited land occupation and volume of earthwork or stonework of high standard farmland construction in each village. A simplified procedures for the preparation of high standard farmland construction project were adopted, in which measures for preventing and controlling water and soil erosion are included. However, the Bank team found that WSC measures included in the preliminary design documents of the high standard farmland construction projects varies considerably in the contents and depth among the 6 counties. Particularly measures on prevention and control of water and soil loss during water works construction (e.g., small sized water storing pond, ungated weirs, on-farm I&D canals, etc.,) to be included in the preliminary design documents shall be further improved and standardized. During the Program implementation, the CPCG will coordinate the above mentioned governmental agencies to participate in the pre-review of the preliminary design document to ensure the preliminary design document for the Program activities 32 Official Use include water & soil conservation measures, and instruct them to follow-up. 4.4.4 Brief summary 122. China and Hunan Province have established an effective WSC management system that is in compliance with WBGs’ Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Guidelines for Annual Crop Production by covering good international industry practices (GIIP) in conserving water and soil. The system is operated under a well-staffed operationable mechanism what is qualified to manage the WSC work and help improve ecological environment under the PforR. It is consistent with the core principles of the Bank. However, there is still room for further improvement in the implementation of high-standard farmland construction projects. The Bank E&S team recommend that during the implementation of the PforR Program, all demonstration counties can follow the existing simplified procedures for preparing the high-standard farmland construction projects, the preliminary design documents of the PforR activities shall set out specific subsections on environmental management, which shall include measures to prevent and control water and soil loss in accordance with natural condition, the layout, land occupation. Reference can be made to Appendix 8 of this report that provide generic mitigation measures for addressing potential adverse environmental impacts of main activities under the PforR program. These mitigation measures with estimated cost shall be included into the bidding documents for contractors to take specific actions. 4.5 Agricultural NPS Pollution Management System 123. The main activities under the PforR Program focuses on irrigated farmland in the construction of high standard farmland. The rice production will involve the use of chemical fertilizers to keep stable or increased yield, the use of pesticides for managing rice pests, rice straw disposal and/or recycling, discharge of rice field runoff containing such pollutants as nutrients and other pollutants, which impose potential risks of agricultural NPS pollution and safe use of pesticides. Compared with point source pollution that are fixed and traceable (such as pollution from industrial enterprises), agricultural NPS pollution has a wider temporal and spatial scope with greater uncertainty, more complex composition and process, and is more difficult to control and regulate by simply referring to pollutants discharge permitting system applicable to fixed point pollution sources. With deepening of China’s ecological civilization construction and advancing of green agricultural development concept, China is speeding up the establishment of agricultural and rural ecological environment protection system, including agricultural NPS pollution, integrated prevention and control of crop pests and safety management of pesticide use. 124. On the basis of the National Environmental Protection Law and the Agricultural Law, combined with a series of relevant regulations, standards and standards, China has gradually established and improved a set of agricultural eco-environmental protection management systems. Since 2015, the government has launched an initiative to abate NPS pollution in agriculture, and put forward the goal of "one control, two reduction and three reduction" by 2020, (e.g., bringing total volume of agricultural water into control, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides, basically recycling and reutilizing livestock manure, crop residues, and agricultural mulch). In 2017, the government further focused on key areas to have launched several major actions for green agricultural development, such as the replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers, crops residues recycling and disposal, agricultural mulch recycling, and the protection of aquatic organisms with a focus on the Yangtze River. 125. Provisions on agricultural eco-environmental protection in Environmental Protection Law: (1) People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the protection of the agricultural environment, promote the use of new technologies for agricultural environmental protection, strengthen the monitoring and early warning of agricultural pollution sources, and coordinate the measures taken by the relevant authorities to prevent and control soil pollution and land desertification; (2) people’s 33 Official Use governments at county and town/township level shall improve the level of public services for rural environmental protection and promote comprehensive improvement of the rural environment; (3) efforts shall be made to Prevent and control vegetation from damage, soil from erosion, water from eutrophication, water source from depletion, species from extinction and other ecological imbalance, and to promote the integrated crops pests management. 126. Provisions on ecological environmental protection in Agricultural Law: To develop agriculture and rural economy, natural resources such as land, water, forests, grasslands, wild animals and plants must be rationally utilized and protected. Eco-agriculture development is encouraged to protect and improve eco-environment. Farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations shall maintain cultivated land, rationally use chemical fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural mulch, increase the use of organic fertilizers, adopt advanced technologies, protect and improve soil fertility, and prevent pollution, damage and decline of agricultural land. ARABs at all levels shall guide farmers and agricultural production and operation organizations to adopt biological measures or to use pesticides with high efficiency, low toxicity and low residue and veterinary drugs to prevent and control animal and plant diseases, insects, weeds and rodents. Crops residues after harvest of agricultural products shall be comprehensively utilized and properly disposed of to prevent environmental pollution and ecological damage. 127. Regulations of Hunan Province on Agricultural Environmental Protection (Hunan Provincial PC issued in 2002, amended in 2013): The competent departments of environmental protection administration of the people's governments (e.g. the EEBs) at or above the county level shall exercise unified supervision and administration over the environmental protection work in their respective administrative areas. ARABs at or above county level shall be responsible for the daily work of specific supervision and administration of agricultural environmental protection. ARABs shall strengthen the protection of cultivated land quality. The use of pesticides shall comply with state regulations on the safe use of pesticides to prevent pollution of water, soil and agricultural products, and encourage the use of biotechnology to control crop pests. ARABs shall strengthen guidance on comprehensive utilization of crop residues, promote the comprehensive utilization technologies of straw returning to the field, straw feed development, straw gasification, straw microbial composting, etc. It is forbidden to discharge directly polluted water that are non-compliance with water quality standards for farmland irrigation into farmland or fishery waters. 128. Hunan Provincial Implementation Plan for Comprehensive Control of Agricultural NPS Pollution in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) during the 14-5 FYP (Hunan Provincial leading group for promotion of YREB development, issued in 2022): In order to adapt to the development of the Yangtze River Economic belt, in accordance with the requirements of ecological and environmental protection, such as total pollution loads control & reduction of Dongting Lake, the government will further strengthen control measures and continue to promote the comprehensive treatment of agricultural NPS pollution. Priority measures include: reduction of chemical fertilizer use and efficiency improvement, comprehensive abatement of nitrogen and phosphorus and other pollutants from agricultural NPS, promotion crop residues recycling and comprehensive utilization technologies, establishment of agricultural NPS pollution monitoring and other technical support system, etc. 129. In responding to the call of Action Plan on Chemical Fertilizer Reduction by 2025, Action on Chemical Pesticides Reduction by 2025 (both was issued in 2015 by MARA, and Action Plan for Tackling Agricultural and Rural Pollution (2021-2025) issued jointly by MEE and other ministries in 2022, Hunan Provincial DEE Hunan Provincial Action Plan for Battling Against Agricultural and Rural Pollution (2022- 2025). In order to achieve the goal of initial control of agricultural NPS pollution and continuous improvement of rural ecological environment by 2025, the key tasks formulated in the said plan include: promoting the reduction of chemical fertilizers and pesticides uses and their efficiency improvement and other tasks to strengthen the prevention and control of pollution from crops production. 130. In addition, relevant to the protection of farming crops and agro-biodiversity, there are national and provincial laws and regulations, e.g., Biosafety Law, Regulations of Hunan Province on the Protection of Wild Animal and Plant Resources, Regulations of Hunan Province on the Management of 34 Official Use Invasive Species, Regulations of Hunan Province on the Protection of Wetlands, etc. 131. To address the potential environmental risks from activities under of the PforR, especially the potential agricultural NPS pollution in the rice production, several sub-systems are involved in managing the risks, including the management of nutrients and fertilizers in rice production, the management of rice pests and pesticide use, the management of other environmental matters in rice production. Their legal framework, implementation management mechanism, management agencies involved and capacity are described as follows. 4.5.1 Sub-system for managing nutrients and fertilizer use 4.5.1.1 Applicable Legal Framework 132. In addition to water, rice production requires nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur, iron, manganese, silicon and other nutrients. In order to ensure the high and stable yield of rice production, a large amount of chemical fertilizer is applied during the production process. Chemical fertilizer itself is not a toxic or harmful chemical, the main problem is that excessive application can lead to soil degradation and agricultural NPS pollution. The main laws and regulations relating to nutrient and fertilizer management include: ⚫ Agricultural Law (amended2012): The production and management of fertilizers shall be subject to a registration or licensing system in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations. It requires to make rational use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural mulch, to increase the use of organic fertilizers, to prevent agricultural land from pollution, damage and prevent fertility from declining. ⚫ Fertilizer Registration Management Measures (Amended in 2017): The registration and management system for fertilizer products shall be implemented. Unregistered fertilizer products shall not be imported, produced, sold or used, nor shall they be advertised. Before applying for fertilizer registration, producers conduct standardized field tests in China and pass the evaluation of the fertilizer chemistry, the fertilizer efficiency and safety organized by MARA. If the registered fertilizer is proved to be harmful to people, livestock and crops within the validity period of the registration, shall be deliberated by the fertilizer registration and evaluation committee and announced to be restricted or prohibited form use by MARA. ⚫ Action Plan on Zero Growth of Chemical Fertilizer Use by 2020 (2015) : The plan sets the goal of zero growth of chemical fertilizer use for major crops by 2020 in view of excessive and blind application of chemical fertilizer. It also puts forward action plans such as promoting soil tested formula fertilization, improving fertilization methods, promoting the use of efficient slow-release fertilizers, and increasing organic fertilizer application, etc. ⚫ Technical Guidelines for Environmental Safety of Chemical Fertilizer Use (2010): The guidelines set forth the principles, control technical measures and management measures for the environmentally safe use of chemical fertilizers, focusing on reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, their loss and NPS pollution. 133. In addition, there are a large number of industrial and sectoral laws and regulations covering the rational use of chemical fertilizers and the reduction of environmental pollution, including: the Environmental Protection Law, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law on the Extension of Agricultural Technology, the Law on the Protection of Marine Environment, the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products and so on. 4.5.1.2 Implementation Mechanism and Procedures 134. Fertilizers registration: MARA is responsible for nation-wide fertilizer registration review, issuance of registration certificate, publicity, and regulatory management of fertilizers. ARABs at local levels are required to assist MARA to keep filling of registered fertilizers within their jurisdiction and 35 Official Use ARABs at county levels are responsible for supervision of fertilizers used within their jurisdiction. As per requirement of Fertilizer Registration Management Measures, only the registered fertilizers can be produced. Chemical fertilizer producing and selling activities are not subject to permitting requirements like pesticides; instead, they are produced and sold in a market-based manner. Producers and sellers manage their activities in line with market rules; and farmers are responsible for safe use of fertilizers. 135. Approaches on nutrient management and chemical fertilizer use reduction and efficiency improvement: BRARs at all levels issued guidelines on scientific fertilization of major crops and/or set up teams of fertilizer experts to provide technical guidance on managing nutrient and fertilizer use reduction and efficiency improvement. Main approaches includes: (1) advancing test-based fertilization with formula constantly improved; (2) planting green manures to promote energy-saving an low-carbon agricultural development; (3) replacing chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer or mixture of the two; (4) promoting returning straw to the field to maximize the substitution and reduction of potassium fertilizer; (5) optimizing composition of fertilizers by means of application of special formula fertilizers (e.g., alkaline fertilizer (applicable to Hunan where soil is dominated by acidic red soil), water-soluble fertilizer, and soil conditioner, etc., selected rationally according to soil, role, nutrient demand of crops, and local ecosystem; (6) improving fertilization methods, such as water integrated water & fertilizer management, deeper mechanical fertilization, foliar fertilization, etc.; (7) emphasizing on provision of technical training, etc. 136. Fertilizer packages management: they are subject to integrated management considering: (1) Scope of management: All packages of chemical, organic, microbiological and water-soluble fertilizers should be properly managed; (2) Responsible entities: Fertilizer producers, sellers and users should take the lead in fertilizer packages recycling. Fertilizer producers and sellers should set up specific facilities to keep collected fertilizer packages. Farming service agencies, marketing cooperatives, and recycling enterprises are encouraged to participate in collection and recycling of fertilizer packages. (3) Recycling approaches: reusable packages should be collected by users, recycled by sellers, and utilized by professional enterprises; and non-reusable packages can enter local rural solid waste systems or pesticide packages management systems; (4) Source reduction: Fertilizer producers are encouraged to use large-volume recyclable packages, and recoverable reused packages; (5) Social services: It’s promoting socialized fertilizer formulation and application services, providing large-volume package of fertilizers to large-scale sellers, and encouraging unified fertilization service to large pieces of farmland etc. 4.5.1.3 Institutional organization and performance 137. In recent years, Chinese government has been making great efforts to reduce chemical fertilizer use. Following the national “Chemical Fertilizer Use Zero Growth Action Plan� commenced in 2015, each province worked hard on implementing the Action Plan and reached the expected objectives. In 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development (MHURD), the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), and the National Rural Revitalization Administration (NRRA) jointly issued the “Action Plans for Tackling Agricultural and Rural Pollution Control� (2021-2025). Accordingly, Hunan province issued the “Implementation Plans for Agricultural and Rural Pollution Control� (2021-2025). It requires that the coverage of applying test-based precision fertilization technology should stay more than 90% by 2025. 138. In each focused interviewed county/district of Hunan, there is a Crop Farming Section who take over function of original soil & fertilization station), or Cultivated Land Protection Section (staffed with 6~11 personnel) supported by or an agricultural integrated service center (2 staff), or an agricultural integrated service center around 12 staff in case there is no crop farming section) under the county ARAB, who are in charge of chemical fertilizer reduction. The section and/or the service centre, among the others, are responsible for developing annual implementation scheme for chemical fertilizer use reduction and efficiency improvement, providing test-based formula service and technical guidance, 36 Official Use circulating fertilization knowledge booklets and formulas applicable to various crops regularly based on test results, organizing relevant trainings, conducting survey to farmer for statistic calculation on chemical fertilizer use reduction effectiveness, summarizing annual work result for further improvement. For example, It is recorded in 2022’s annual summary of the Cultivated Land Protection Section under Lukou District BRAR on chemical fertilizer use reduction and efficiency improvement that the coverage of applying test-based formula fertilization technology in 2022 reaches to 90%, a total of 9 rounds of fertilizer reduction technical training were organized in the whole district, 3460 fertilization cards were circulated, scientific fertilization technology advisory services were provided by relying on the local agricultural technological extension platform……. As the result, chemical fertilizer use in 2022 is reduced by 102 tons as compared with that of 2021. The utilization rate of chemical fertilizer in crops is over 40 percent. 4.5.1.4 Brief summary 139. China, and Hunan Province have a sound system on nutrient management and chemical fertilizer use reduction and efficiency improvement management in terms of regulatory framework and institutional arrangement. This system is found equivalent to the WBG’s General EHS Guidelines, and the EHS Guidelines for annual crop production. It include GIIP in terms of nutrient management and fertilizers. It can provide sustainable service on chemical fertilizer reduction and NPS pollution control and complies with the Bank’s core principles. 4.5.2 Sub-system for managing rice crop pests and pesticides use 140. In the rice production, pests10 management will seriously affect the yield and quality of rice products. For managing pests, the use of pesticides11 is an important means to control rice pests. Pesticides are toxic (divided into three categories: high toxicity, medium toxicity and low toxicity). If they are lost to the environment, they will cause serious environmental pollution, such as pollution of the air and water environment, soil structure degradation, increase the resistance of bacteria and pests to pesticides, kill beneficial organisms, poison wildlife and livestock, and cause harm to human health. In China, a set of management systems for managing crop pests and pesticide safety covering the whole process of production, marketing and use of pesticides has been put in place. 4.5.2.1 Applicable legal framework 141. Laws and regulations at national level ⚫ Regulations on Crop Pests Prevention and Control (SC issued in 2020): The prevention and control of crop diseases and pests is guided by the principle of prevention first followed by comprehensive control. The government shall take the leadership and local authorities shall take responsibility within its jurisdiction to apply green prevention and control approaches supported by scientific and technological technologies to manage pesticides in the manner that are classified. Information technology and biotechnology should be applied to promote intelligent and green control crop pests. The use of green technologies, advanced spraying equipment and safe and efficient pesticides should be encouraged. Government encourage and support specialized pest control service organizations through government purchase of services and encourages them to 10 Crop pests here refer to diseases, insects, grass, rats and other harmful organisms that farm to crops and their products 11Pesticides in china, refer to a substance or a mixture of several substances and their preparations that are used for the prevention and control of diseases, insects, grasses, rats and other harmful organisms that are harmful to agriculture and forestry, as well as for the purposeful regulation of the growth of plants and insects by chemical synthesis or derived from biological or other natural substance 37 Official Use use green prevention and control technologies. ⚫ Measures for the Administration of Specialized Services for the Control of Crop Pests (MRAR issued in 2021) （which substitute Measures for the Administration of Specialized Services for the Unified Control of Crop Pests issued by Ministry of Agriculture in 2011: ARABs at or above county levels shall strengthen the management of specialized service12 organizations for the prevention and control of crop pests, provide them with technical training, guidance and service for specialized pests prevention and control to standardizes their service behavior. Field operators of specialized service organizations shall be able to correctly identify crop diseases and insect pests in the service area with knowledge on correct scope, methods, intervals of various pesticides applications, as well as the knowledge of safety protection in field operations. Field operators of specialized service organizations shall correctly use the application machinery and related articles for crop pests control, and shall provide specialized services for the prevention and control of pests by taking comprehensive measures (such as agricultural, physical, biological and chemical measures), and apply pesticides scientifically in accordance with the relevant regulations on the safe use of pesticides. ⚫ Technical Guidelines for Green Agricultural Development (2018-2030) issued by MRAR in 2018): In order to build a technical system supporting the green development of agriculture, vigorously promote the construction of ecological civilization and the green development of agriculture， the Guideline proposed a number of important tasks related to the development of green inputs, including research and development of green production technology, development of green value-added technology, etc., in terms of research and development focus, integrated demonstration, promotion and application. The important tasks include the application and extension of environmental-friendly high-efficient fertilizer, pesticides and biological agents, technologies on agricultural non-point source pollution control, fertilizer and pesticide uses reduction and efficiency improvement and agricultural waste recycling, etc. ⚫ Pesticide Management Regulations (SC issued in 1997, 2nd amended in 2022): Pesticide producers and sellers have responsibility for the safety and quality of their pesticide products and should accept government and public supervision. Government should encourage and support the research, production and use of safe, efficient and economical pesticides, promotes the specialized use of pesticides, and promotes the upgrading of the pesticide industry. Government should promote biological and physical approaches in pest control and encourage to use advanced spray equipment to reduce pesticide use. Pesticide producers and sellers are subject to pesticide registration and permitting requirements. Pesticide users are asked to follow specifications when applying pesticides. ARABs should regularly oversee pesticide production, sale, and use. Pesticide users shall protect the environment, beneficial organisms and rare species, and shall not discard pesticides, pesticide packages or clean application instruments in drinking water source protection areas or river courses. ⚫ Action Plan on Zero Growth of Pesticides Use by 2020 (2015): In order to address the issue of high production cost, pesticides residue of products exceeding applicable standard, environmental pollution due to excessive application and unscientific application of pesticides, the Plan set up the goals on green prevention and control, unified control and scientific application of pesticides and strive to achieve zero growth of total pesticide use. ⚫ Management Measures on Recycling and Disposal of Pesticides Packaging Waste (MARA, MEE issued jointly in 2020): pesticide producers and operators are required to perform the corresponding pesticide packaging waste recycling obligations in accordance with the principle of "who produces, manages, and who recycling", and take effective measures to guide pesticide users to return pesticide packaging waste in time. 12 Specialized control service for crop pest refers to behavior that specialized control service organizations provide crop pests control services for agricultural producers and operators 38 Official Use 142. Laws and regulations at Hunan Province and local level ⚫ Regulation of Hunan Province on Plant Protection (Hunan provincial people’s congress, issued in 2006): Plant protection follows the principle of prevention first and comprehensive management, and adheres to the principle of attaching equal importance to the control of agricultural biohazards, the protection of agricultural ecological environment and the guarantee of the quality and safety of agricultural products. Agricultural producers and business operators shall be supported to use agricultural control, biological control, physical control and other non- chemical control technologies to prevent and control agricultural pests. When adopting chemical control technologies, agricultural producers and traders shall use high-efficiency, low-toxicity and low-residue pesticides. The use of pesticides prohibited by the national government shall be prohibited. 143. Other regulatory documents on pesticide management are also in place, such as the “Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law�, the “Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law�, the “Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Law�, the “Food Safety Law�, the “Pesticide Registration Measures�, the “Pesticide Production Permitting Management Measures�, the “Pesticide Selling Permitting Management Measures�, the “Guidelines on Pesticide Safe Use�, and the� Technical Guidelines on Environmental Safety of Pesticide Use�, etc. In addition, the MARA keeps updating the “Prohibited/restricted Pesticides Catalogue� and releases it to guide farmers in pesticide use. Since 2011, DARA of Hunan Province has published the Recommended Varieties/Catalogue of Scientific Use of Pesticides for Pest Control of Major Crops, and has formulated and released the fourth revised by 2020 (as illustrated in Figure 3 of Appendix 7 of this report). These laws and regulations and the recommended catalogue put forward requirements on safe use of pesticides and constitute the legal framework for pesticide management. In recent years, China has been promoting zero growth in pesticide use, and a national “Pesticide Use Zero Growth Action Plan� became effective in 2015 following. Hunan Province and localities developed provincial and local level action plans, took actions to have reached the expected targets. 4.5.2.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures 144. Approaches on pests management and pesticide use reduction and efficiency improvement: Integrated pest management (IPM) is encouraged to push pesticide reduction using combined or multiple tactics: (1) forecast and notification precisely to boost pesticide reduction and efficiency improvement; (2) improvement of technique and use of new pesticide application devices: for example, using drones to increase spraying efficiency; (3) selection of pesticides to vigorously promote high-efficiency, low-toxicity, and low residue pesticides by following the latest Recommended Catalogue of Scientific Use of Pesticides for Pest Control of Major Crops published by Hunan Provincial DRAR; (4) green pest control: combining multiple ways such as agronomic methods (e.g., ploughing), ecological methods (e.g., improving soil environment, removing weeds), physical methods (e.g., pest killer lamps, food or sexual attractants, insect nets, sticky colored boards), biological methods (e.g., ladybirds against aphids, microorganisms, and other biological pesticides); (5) promotion and increasing the coverage of specialized organization to provide prevention and control service, and (6) strengthening publicity and training. 145. Pesticide registration: Government implements a pesticide registration system, which is applicable to the producers, foreign enterprise that export pesticide to China and researchers for new types of pesticide. The agency in charge of pesticide verification under MARA shall be responsible for the specific work of pesticide registration. Applier for pesticide registration shall have its pesticide tested by competent agencies certified by MARA in accordance with provisions specified by MARA and the registration test shall be endorsed by ARAB at provincial level in the province where the registration test is carried out. The pesticide registration certificate shall contain such items as name, dosage form, active ingredient and its content, toxicity, scope of use, method of use and dosage, holder of the registration certificate, registration certificate number and validity period of the pesticide. 39 Official Use 146. Producer management: Government implements a licensing system for pesticide production. Pesticide producer must be the holder of pesticide production license and should apply for a registration certificate for each pesticide product that provides basic information such as the pesticide name, ingredients, toxicity, scope of application, usage and dose, valid period, certificate holder, reference number, etc. A pesticide product must pass a quality test and obtain a qualification certificate before entering the market. The pesticide label should give key information of the product. Pesticide producer should keep sale records for at least two years and recycle pesticide packages as per government requirements. 147. Seller management: Government implements a licensing system for pesticide selling, sellers must hold pesticide management licenses issued by ARAB at or above the county level and be staffed with professional education background or 56-hour on-the-job training certifications in the field of agriculture, plant protection, pesticide, or other related subjects. Pesticide seller should have suitable selling and storage spaces and facilities, have proper systems and regulations on recording, safety management, emergency response, storage management, waste recovery and disposal, technical instruction, etc. Pesticide seller should not buy pesticides from any producer who doesn’t have a pesticide production permit or from any pesticide seller who doesn’t have a pesticide selling permit and should not process or sub-package any pesticides. Pesticide seller should explain the scope, method, dose, requirement, and precautions about pesticide application to buyers and recycle pesticide packages. 148. User management: Pesticide user should strictly follow the specifications on pesticide application scope, function, dose, methods, and precautions and should not apply pesticide beyond the specifications. Users are not allowed to use any prohibited pesticides and apply any pesticides in drinking water source protection areas, or dump pesticides or pesticide packages in drinking water source protection areas or rivers. 149. Pesticide packages: According to the latest “Hazardous waste exemption List� under the latest Hazardous Waste Catalogue, pesticide packages are exempted from hazardous waste if they are collected, transported, and disposed of as required. However, they should following procedures for proper management: (1) Scope of management: All waste pesticide packages including bottles, cans, buckets, and bags that have contacted with pesticides or still contain pesticide residues, should be properly managed. (2) Responsible entities: Pesticide producers, sellers, and users should take the lead in pesticide packages recycling. Pesticide producers and sellers should set up specific facilities to keep collected pesticide packages and guide pesticide users to return pesticide packages timely; pesticide users should collect pesticide packages, return them to pesticide sellers or waste collection entities in a timely manner, and are not allowed to discard them casually. (3) Recycling approaches: Recycling sites should be set up at pesticide producers, sellers, large cropping farms, large pesticide users, farmers cooperatives, and village committees. In principle, one collection site should be set up in each village, one transfer site in each township, and one centralized storage site in each county. Rural solid waste system can be utilized for pesticide packages transfer. Different ways of recycling are encouraged such as using pesticide packages to generate power or to make manhole covers or pipes. The pesticide packages without recycling values should be properly disposed by landfilling or incineration. (4) Recycling costs: They should be borne by pesticide producers or sellers, or by local county fiscal budgets when it’s difficult to identify pesticide producers or sellers; (5) Reduction at source: Pesticide producers are encouraged to use large-volume recyclable packages (e.g. water soluble high-molecular materials, or degradable materials) and avoid aluminum packaging materials. (6) Social services: Industry associations are encouraged to provide coordination, technical guidance and services in pesticide packages recycling, and professional agencies are encouraged to provide services in collection, recycling and disposal of pesticide packages. 40 Official Use 4.5.2.3 Institutional organization and performance 150. ARABs are responsible for overseeing pesticide producing, selling, and using. Once an application for pesticide registration is received, the provincial ARAB will make a pre-review and the MARA will approve the application and issue the registration certificate to the applier. The pesticide production license shall be approved by the provincial ARAB, and pesticide selling license shall be approved by ARAB at or above county level. The provincial ARAB also issues authorization certificates to the specialized organizations who provide unified service for the prevention and control of crop pests. To implement the action plan on pesticide use reduction and efficiency improvement, ARAB at county level shall work out annual implementation schemes, including tasks and targets, key technical approaches and focused area. At the end of each year, the county ARAB shall summarize their work performed. 151. In Hunan Province, there is a Pesticide Regulatory Section, or Plantation Management Section, or Integrated Agriculture Service Center under each county ARAB (2~12 staff), technically supported by plant protection inspection station, responsible for overseeing the safe production, selling and use of pesticide for controlling crop pests within the correspondent jurisdiction. Agricultural law enforcement team (around 20 staff) under ARAB is responsible for supervision and inspection of pesticide selling permits, quality of pesticide products, and safety management of pesticide. Agricultural technology extension station, plant protection station are responsible for providing technical trainings on crop pests forecast, prevention and control technology. There are also third parties, a group of specialized organizations for unified prevention and control of crop pests available in each county. 152. For example, Dingcheng District has vigorously promoted green prevention and control of crop pests since 2016, and realized zero growth of chemical pesticide input in the same year. The District ARAB, and its plant protection station signed service contracts with the specialized organizations through government purchase of services procedures for crop pests prevention and control. A WeChat Group connecting the District ABAR, the plant protection station, the specialized organizations and crop farmers was established, where information on the monitoring and forecasting result of crop pest are promptly reported and released. In the meantime, posting information are also practiced (as illustrated in Figure4-5 of Appendix of this report). In 2022, the crop pests control area provided by specialized organizations has reached 1.08 million mu (out of the sown area of 1.50 million mu, and the cultivated area of 1.17 million mu), covering 72.5% of the grain crop area. The District is in the leading position of the Hunan province and has been awarded the honor of National Green Crop Pests Control Outstanding Demonstration District. There are 7 specialized organizations authorized by ARAB of Hunan province to provide pesticides application services through nearly 20 zoning service stations (usually 4,000 mu/service station). The specialized organizations have set up special application rules and regulations and operation manual, which are posted on the wall (see Figure 2 of Appendix 7 of this report). 153. The management of pesticide packaging waste in China is still in the initial stage, Collection, storage and processing facilities and operation management system are also gradually under construction. Pilot works were commenced in 2017 in Hunan Province, followed by selected demonstration counties (including Dingcheng and Hanshou) for recycling. To date, 24329 tanks made of concrete with impermeable function and 399 transfer stations are provincial-wide distributed. Dingcheng District has a larger-scale transfer station with sorting function, capable of transferring different types of agricultural wastes, including pesticides packaging waste. Pesticide packaging waste recycling rate in 2022 was 54.2%. According to the provision of Management Measures on Recycling and Disposal of Pesticide Packaging waste and based on experiences obtained from pilot and demonstration works, ARABs and EEBs are working on implementation scheme to gradually promote the construction of pesticide packaging waste recycling system. At present, sanitary landfill and incineration in the domestic solid waste disposal sites/plants are the main ways of pesticide packaging waste in Hunan. 41 Official Use 4.5.2.4 Brief summary 154. China and Hunan Province have appropriate regulatory framework, institutional organization, staffing, and funding on green pests management and pesticides use reduction and efficiency improvement. This system is found to be equivalent to the WBG’s General EHS Guidelines, and the EHS Guidelines for Annual Crop Production. It include GIIP in terms of pests management, pesticides use and management. They have made significant achievements in the past, and their experience and capacity are demonstrated to be sufficient to serve the PforR. The system is compliant with the Bank’s core principles. 4.5.3 Sub-system for managing other environmental concerns in rice production 155. Hunan is a large agricultural province and an important agricultural product supply base in China. In the process of rice crop production, in addition to the potential environmental impacts to be brought about by the PforR Program and the corresponding environment management systems assessed in the previous sections, the following environmental concerns will arise: ⚫ Soil degradation and fertility declining: Soil degradation may result from unsuitable management techniques such as use of inappropriate machinery or earthworks associated with annual crop preparation; Soil fertility declining may result from unsuitable management on nutrient and fertilization and inappropriate returning straw to the field (reflected as soil water logging, acidity, gleization, impoverishment in the 7 demonstration counties of Hunan Province); ⚫ Potential environmental pollution from rice straw and other solid waste: In the era of low agricultural production with low rice yield and low rice straw volume, rice straw used to be used as bedding for livestock and poultry, livestock forage, partially piled up for composting, and largely used as rural living fuel, resulting the loss of nutrients (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, organic matter, etc.,) and pollution to environment. In the new era of higher agricultural productivity with higher rice yield and higher straw volume, the question is on how to recycle straw without creating incremental pollution. Other non-crop solid wastes, such as pesticides and fertilizer packaging, can have negative impacts on health, safety and environment; ⚫ Low water resources use efficiency and potential water environmental pollution: Rice production depends on a largely water resources for irrigation water, and poor management of water quality and water quality will lead to low water utilization rate, affect rice quality and pollution of water environment; ⚫ Air quality impact and GHG emission: combustion of rice straw from the disposal or destruction of rice straw, operation of mechanized equipment may result in atmospheric emissions including carbon dioxide (CO2) GHG emission. Over application of nitrogen fertilizer may result in the GHG emission of nitrous oxide (N2O), and ammonia gas to impact air quality. The inundated paddy field will create anaerobic condition where methanogenic bacteria act on organic matter in soil to emit GHG methane gas. 156. In response to these environmental concerns, the Bank's E&S team conducted a due diligence on the relevant conservation and management systems. 157. Soil conservation and soil fertility uplifting management: It will be the main tasks of Hunan Provincial HSFCP (2021-2030) and main activities to be supported by the PforR Program to prevent and control soil degradation, conserve soil, uplift soil fertility through land levelling, establishing earth-banks in paddy field, and to address waterlogging, soil gleization, soil acidity, soil impoverishment by means of soil improvement. Furthermore, planting green manure, additional application of organic fertilizer, returning rice straw to rice field have been widely practiced in Hunan. Another main activity under Hunan Provincial HSFCP (2021-2030) to be supported by the PforR Program is construction of on-farm windbreak to prevent farmland from water and soil losses. Hunan Provincial HSFCP (2021- 42 Official Use 2030) set up standards for land levelling and consolidation, soil improvement (e.g., thickness of effective tillage layer for paddy field shall be greater than 18 cm, soil organic matter content in paddy field shall be more than 25g/kg, soil pH shall be maintained between 6.0 and 7.5), the width of on-farm access roads, on-farm windbreak and eco-environmental protection. The high standard farmland construction and the implementation of the PforR Program activity will lay a good foundation of soil conservation management. There are Farmland Constriction Management Divisions/Sections under ARABs at all levels. At the county level, the Farmland Constriction Management Section has at least 5 staff by each who are responsible for inclusive of above-mentioned soil conservation activities/measures into the design by the design consultants. 158. Rice straw and non-agricultural solid waste management: ⚫ First: Banning on open burning of crop residues: China is imposing the strictest ever ban on the open burning of crop residues in recent years for strict air pollution control. In according with the national Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution of Hunan Province, in order to reduce air pollution and CO2 GHG emission, the government encourage and support the use of advanced and applicable technologies for comprehensive utilization of crop residues, it is prohibited to burn straw, fallen leaves, garbage and other substances that produce smoke and dust pollution in the open air in areas densely populated, around airports and near traffic arteries. Governments at various levels of Hunan Province developed their respective Implementation Plans for Blue Sky Protection Campaign which call for actions taken by ARABs at county level to oversee the implementation of crop straw open burning management. For example, the ban on straw open burning has been implemented to cover the whole zones of Lukou District. The Agricultural Environmental Protection Section (4 staff) under the District ARAB are responsible for preparing annual scheme on implementing the ban on straw open burning, issuing the notification during busy farming seasons, carrying out supervision by means of on-site inspection, remote sensing plus video monitoring, camera and others. When necessary, they will working together with the law enforcement teams of county government, and/or county EEB to carry work joint supervision and inspection. ⚫ Second, returning straw to paddy field: directed by the law & regulation, relevant plans and policies, the 4 focused & interviewed counties of Hunan Province practiced returning rice straw to the paddy fields which are connected and accessible by agricultural machineries. The harvesting machinery are installed with crushing device to crush the rice straw soon after rice harvesting for returning straw to the field on site. The returned rice straw are ploughed mechanically into soil for further composting to increase organic matter and other nutrient content of soil. In some counties, rice straw are mixed with livestock manure and used as crop base fertilizer. The Plantation Management Section or Agricultural Resources Protection and Agro-environmental monitoring station under each county ARAB is staffed and takes responsibility of supervision the implementation of straw returning to the field. One of the typical activities under the PforR program is to support the application technology on straw crushing, dry tillage and deeply returning to the field, so that the factors that are not conducive to soil improvement, fertility improvement and emission reduction of methane GHG due to excessive returning to the water-inundated field can be avoided. ⚫ Third, multi-purpose utilization of crop residue: recycling and multi-purpose utilization of straw is in its early stage and directed by the law & regulation, relevant plans and policies. Enterprises are encouraged by local government to apply financial assistance from high level of governments to build facilities for straw recycling. Multi-purpose utilization approaches include: use crop straw as livestock feed, as culture base for mushroom cultivation, as building materials, as bio-mass fuels, etc. The Plantation Management Section or Agricultural Resource Protection and Environmental Monitoring Station under each county level ARAB is responsible for promoting crop straw returning to the field. ⚫ The other non-crop solid waste (e.g., chemical fertilizer and pesticide packaging, agricultural 43 Official Use mulch, etc.): as discussed in section 4.5.1 and 4.5.2, the other non-crop solid waste are one of the important tasks under ARABs and EEBs program for control agricultural NPS pollution. On the basis of pilot and demonstration works, implementation plans are being developed and actions are being taken to establish collection, transfer and disposal system. In accordance with relevant laws and regulations, these waste are disposed of harmlessly or recycled for muiti- purpose utilization. For example, collection tanks are being built at farming production bases and villages and marketing service stations. Transfer stations are being built at or above township levels. These tanks and stations are designed and built to be suitable to the local conditions with impermeability. At the site allowable, all types of non-crop solid wastes can be collected at one site with sorting function. Plastic material of wastes normally are recycled and processed into reworked plastics. Others with not means of utilization are hauled to the sanitary landfills or incineration plants for disposal together with domestic solid waste. 159. Water Management：Water management in rice production aims to conserve the quantity and quality of water resources while optimizing rice yield. ⚫ Water-saving irrigation management: in responding to the National Implementation Plan on Water-saving (jointly issued by NDRC and MWR in 2019) and in accordance with Management Measures of Water Conservation in Hunan Province (issued by Hunan Provincial Government in 2019), Hunan Provincial WRB issued the “Dual Control Targets in terms of Total Water Use and Intensity during the 14th FYP Period. The targets requires that the provincial-wide effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water13 reach to 0.57. Accordingly, WRBs at local levels worked out Construction Plans of Water-Saving Society, which include construction contents of water-saving in crop cultivation sector, i.e., full consideration shall be given to the carrying capacity of water resources to arrange reasonably irrigated farming and dry farming, prioritize crop structure, promote water-saving irrigation. High-efficiency water-saving irrigation and high-standard farmland shall be planned and implemented simultaneously. Metering facilities are to be installed for water-saving. Such agricultural water-saving technologies as returning soil humidity, rain harvesting for irrigation, and measuring soil humidity for water- saving are to be applied and extended. Small sized water storing pond by means of rain harvesting are included as one of activities in the high standard farmland construction. ⚫ Water source quality management: In order to implement the Environmental Protection Law, the Soil Pollution Control Law and the Water Pollution Control and strengthen regulatory management on the quality of irrigation water for safeguarding quality of cultivated land, groundwater and agricultural products, MEE and the State Administration for Market Regulation set up Water Quality Standard for Farming Irrigation (first issued in 1985, 3rd amended in 2021), which stipulated requirement on water quality, monitoring and supervision for farming irrigation. Indicators of the amended Water Quality Standard for Farming Irrigation include BOD, pH, TSS, and other basic control indicators (such as COD, heavy metals, fecal coliforms), and selected control indicators (such as pesticides and other organic pollutants) by referring to the similar standards of international organizations, FAO, USA, Canada and other countries. The said standard cleared that the EEBs at all levels shall lead and work together with ARABs at all levels to supervise the implementation of the standard. The Bank team was informed by the 3 focused & interviewed counties that there is a Water Quality Monitoring Station (around 8 staff) under each ARAB at county level responsible for monitoring water quality of water source for farming irrigation and rural people & livestock drinking. Once the quality of water sources for irrigation and drinking was monitored to be polluted with some pollutants exceeding the standard (very often total phosphorus, the TP exceeded Class III of Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB3838-2002)14), team resources from 13 Effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water refers to the ratio of the actual effective use water to the total water intake of the channel head of an irrigated farland, excluding deep percolation and on-farm losses during an irrigation period. 14 According to the environmental functions and protection objectives of surface water areas, environmental quality standards for surface water are classified into five categories in China, corresponding to five functions of water areas. The standard values of the corresponding categories were implemented for different functional categories. Among them, Class III is mainly suitable for the second level of centralized 44 Official Use other sectors of the county WRB will be mobilized to troubleshoot the issue and take corrective actions. On the other hand, surface water quality are also monitored by another team under the river chief system15. The two teams’ efforts are complementary to each other for taking corrective actions. Surface water quality are also regularly monitored at sections widely distributed in the Program area by EEBs at all levels. Inter-government agencies will jointly supervise the corrective actions if surface water quality were monitored by WRB and EEBs to be polluted. ⚫ Construction bio-ditches: A bio-ditches technical measures for collection and pre-treatment of farming runoff is widely promoted in China, including the Program areas in Hunan. The bio- diches are established based on the existing irrigation and drainage canals are modified by planting grasses/weeds on slope, trees along the banks, macrophytes inside the canals/ponds modified by barrages (as illustrated in Figure 4 of Appendix 7 of this report). This end-up treatment technology is being improved to increased purification efficiency with low operation and maintenance cost, applicable to the on-farm and rural areas. In the Program area of Hunan Province, bio-ditches were established according to the local conditions. Once the bio- ditches are established, they are hand over to the village where the bio-ditches serve for, like the on-farm I&D system. The operation and maintained of them are done by water users association or FCOs. ⚫ The PforR Program will help improve I&D service for resilient rice production through the implementation of various activities, such as carrying out comprehensive agricultural water pricing reform at the county level, strengthening irrigation and drainage services at the county level, promoting participation of FCOs in irrigation management, strengthening agricultural and water sector coordination for HSFC related planning and implementation, and undertaking water use right trading pilot at the county level. 160. GHG emission management: MARA and NDRC jointly issued The Implementation Plan For Agricultural and Rural Emission Reduction and Carbon Sequestration in 2022, which proposed 10 actions, i.e., energy-saving and emission reduction in crop production, low-carbon and emission reduction in livestock production, emission reduction and carbon sequestration in fishery production, green and energy-saving in agricultural machinery, uplifting farmland carbon sequestration, recycling crop residues, renewable energy alternatives, renovation in technical support, and monitoring system establishment. It is noticed through virtual interview with Hunan Provincial EED that the impact of carbon emission has been included into the scope of EIA in Hunan, though not applicable to the agricultural sector at present stage. The PforR Program is design to achieve the PDO outcome indicator of net GHG emissions reduction in demonstration counties through the implementation series of activities, i.e., investing in high standard farmland construction in demonstration counties, organizing farmer training on low-carbon rice cultivation technology, promoting adaptation of AWD irrigation technology, supporting efficient fertilizer application and appropriate returning crop straw to rice field, conducting carbon trading in selected counties. The PforR Program itself is an attempt by the agricultural sector to reduce GHG emissions in rice production. It has a demonstration significance in China and other rice production countries. 161. In summary, China and Hunan Province have established a sound regulatory framework in managing soil conservation & fertility improvement, rice straw and other non-agricultural solid wastes and water. The management system based on the regulatory framework with rational institutional arrangement, sufficient staffing, and sound implementation mechanism is effectively functioning. The system for managing GHG emission in agricultural sector will be greatly improved through the implementation of this PforR Program. This system is in compliance with the Bank’s PforR core surface water source protection area, fish and shrimp overwintering grounds, migration channels, aquaculture areas and other fishery waters and swimming areas; Class V is mainly suitable for agricultural water areas with general landscape requirements. 15 River chief system refers to the system in which the general river chiefs are, and the river chiefs are set up in all the sections of the river branches, who are responsible for organizing within an administrative jurisdiction, leading and coordinating the river management and protection work such as water resource protection, water shoreline management, water pollution prevention and control, water environment treatment and water ecological restoration, and supervising the relevant government departments to perform their duties according to law. 45 Official Use principles and equivalent to the WBG’s EHS Guidelines for Annual Crop Production by covering good international industry practices (GIIP). They have made significant achievements in the past, and their experience and capacity are demonstrated to be sufficient to serve the PforR Program 4.6 Health and Safety Management System 162. During the construction of high standard farmland and rice production, there may be the following risks affecting public health and occupational safety and health：(1) physical hazards including operational and workplace hazards (e.g. slips, trips, and falls resulting in sprains, strains, and fractures; ergonomics hazards from manual handling, lifting weights, or repetitive movements; sharp and moving objects in the workplace; and over-exposure to noise, vibration, and extreme or adverse weather conditions) ; Accidents may occur in the use of machines and vehicles, etc.; Many agricultural jobs can expose workers to dust, including, for example, cleaning silos, dryers, and grain hoppers, and threshing and milling feed grain; (2) biological hazard, including contact with venomous animals, such as stinging insects, spiders, scorpions, snakes, disease vectors (e.g., mosquitoes, ticks), and with certain wild mammals; and (3) chemical hazard due to exposure to hazardous products, including pesticides and herbicides. In addition, 2 out of 6 the Program demonstration counties are located in local endemic schistosomiasis area, where construction workers and farming operators related to water might be exposed to the risk of being infected by schistosomiasis under very special circumstances like flooding. This section assesses the management system of protecting public and workers’ occupational health and safety from exposure to hazardous substances or dangerous situation. They include pesticide used in rice production and risks of construction workers and farming operators related to water being infected by schistosomiasis etc. For managing other potential health and safety risks in construction and operation of the facilities under the PforR, China has established specific OHS systems as discussed in Chapter 5. 4.6.1 Public and Occupational Health and Safety Management 4.6.1.1 Applicable legal framework 163. Pesticide Management Regulations (2022 Amendment): Pesticide sellers should isolate the pesticide selling and storage places from drinking water sources, living areas, and other goods and equip protective facilities appropriate to the pesticides that they are managing. Pesticide users should abide by national regulations on safe use and storage of pesticides and take necessary PPE while applying pesticide. 164. Construction Projects Occupational Diseases and Hazardous Risk Classification Catalogue (NHC issued in 2021): Twelve types of risks involving in 84 sectors and 281 activities are listed in the catalogue. The Catalogue classified occupational diseases and hazardous risk into two categories: e.g. servre-level and normal level. Risks from Cereal cultivation activity under agricultural sector is defined as normal-level. 165. Occupational Diseases Classification and Catalogue (2013): The catalogue lists ten categories (e.g., respiratory, dermal, chemical poisoning, physical factor, etc.) and 132 sub-categories of occupational diseases. Accordingly, application of pesticide may cause occupational disease due to organophosphorus poisoning and chlordimeform poisoning. 166. Guidance Manual for Safety Operation in Confined Spaces (MEM issued in 2020): It provides guidance on identifying risks of poisoning, oxygen deficiency, firing, and explosion, etc. in different confined spaces above ground, underground, or in enclosed equipment and suggests mitigation measures. 167. In September 2022, Hunan issued the “Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control Regulations� (2022), emphasizing that employers are the responsible entities for prevention and control 46 Official Use of occupational diseases, and they need to develop preventive regulations and operation procedures, invest in disease prevention devices, identify potential risks, and provide on-job trainings to workers, etc. 168. To regulate the safety of pesticide use, a number of guidelines have been put in place, including: ⚫ Guideline for Safety Application of Pesticides (GB/T8321-2002: issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, in accordance with China, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) and reference to other countries existing maximum residue limit for pesticides (MRI) values. The guideline is to guide the scientific, rational and safe use of pesticides, effectively prevent and control crop diseases and pests damage, and ensure that pesticide residues in agricultural products do not exceed the prescribed limit standards ⚫ General Guidelines for Pesticide Safe Use (NYT 1276-2007) provides guidance on pesticide selection, purchase, preparation, application, personal safety, post-application safety, waste disposal and emergency response; ⚫ Safety Regulations for Storage, Transportation, Sale and Use of Pesticides (GB12475-2006) specifies requirements for toxic prevention measures for storage, transportation, sale and use of pesticides; ⚫ Guidelines for Safety Application of Pesticide for Forest Use (LY/T2648-2016) provides safety guidance of pesticide use specifically for forestry sector, including safety protection measures for persons and disposal of pesticide wastes. ⚫ List of Forbidden and Restrictive Use Pesticide: MRAR maintains a dynamic list of pesticides and for restrictive use, which is updated periodically. 4.6.1.2 Implementation mechanism and procedures 169. Pesticide management: As discussed in Section 4.5.2 on subsystem of rice crop pests and pesticides use reduction and efficiency improvement management, in China, a set of management systems for managing crop pests and pesticide safety covering the whole process of production, marketing and use of pesticides has been put in place. The greener and integrated pest management approaches, e.g. physical or biological technologies are prioritized to substitute the use of chemical pesticide. The low-toxic, high-efficient pesticide are recommended. Pesticide producers are required to register their pesticide products and obtain production permits. Pesticide sellers are required to obtain selling permits. Pesticide users should abide by regulations on safe use and storage of pesticides and use necessary PPE (face masks, goggles, gloves, etc.) to avoid accidents in application of pesticides. 170. Confined space risks management: Farmers or planters for rive production may involve entry into confined spaces (e.g. processing bins and silos, product storage bins, water tanks, inadequately ventilated buildings, areas treated with pesticides, etc.) Workers must follow relevant operation programs to prevent toxic gas poisoning, oxygen deficiency, burning, explosion, and other accidents. 4.6.1.3 Institutional organization and performance 171. In principle, BEMs and HCs are responsible for broad coordination and instruction on health and safety management involved in production, construction are responsible for the implementation of risk mitigation measures under the guidance of relevant sectoral authorities (e.g., ARABs, EEBs). ARABs would direct farmers or professional service organizations for unified prevention and control or crop pests to store and apply pesticides safely and wear PPE to avoid poisoning the public or themselves. 172. According to the above legal framework, safety management has become a top priority in project construction and facility operation management, and a complete practical system has been established for whole-process implementation and regulation. The main practices include: 47 Official Use Design stage:  The design agency should consider construction safety and protection needs, and the project proponent should determine the budget for safety measures.  The project proponent should organize experts to review safety risks before construction.  “Three simultaneousness� for occupational health facilities, i.e., design, construction and operation of occupational health facilities simultaneously with main project. Construction stage:  The principal of the project proponent shall be shall take overall responsibility for the construction quality and safety of the agency. The project proponent shall establish a sound work safety responsibility system, a work safety education and training system, and rules and regulations on work safety, perform regular and special safety inspections, and keep inspection records properly.  The project proponent shall establish a work safety management agency, and be provided with qualified management staff.  Operators shall receive work safety education and training before going to a new job or a new construction site.  Special operators must receive special safety training, and be qualified before going to work.  Before construction, the technical staff of the project proponent responsible for project management shall explain the technical requirements to the construction team and staff in detail.  The project proponent shall set up conspicuous safety warning signs at positions with potential risks, such as construction site entrances, lifting machinery, scaffolding, tunnel openings, foundation pit edges, and depositories of explosives, and hazardous gases and liquids.  The project proponent shall set up the office, living and operating areas of the construction site separately, maintain a safe distance, and ensure that the health and safety requirements are met.  The project proponent shall provide personal protective equipment to operators, emergency rescue facilities, and notify safety operation protocols for hazardous jobs.  The principal, project leaders, and full-time work safety management staff of the project proponent should go to work after passing an examination by the relevant authority only.  The project proponent shall offer work safety education and training to the management and operating staff at least annually, and anyone who does not pass the examination shall not go to work.  The supervision agency and supervising engineer shall perform supervision in accordance with the applicable laws, regulations and compulsory standards. Operation stage:  The production and operation entity must establish a sound work safety responsibility system, and relevant rules, regulations and protocols, appoint staff responsible, and ensure required financial inputs.  The production and operation entity shall inspect its own work safety, and eliminate potential risks timely.  The production and operation entity shall prepare its emergency rescue plan, and conduct drills regularly. 48 Official Use  The principal and work safety management staff must have work safety knowledge and management capacity required for production and operation activities.  Workers shall receive work safety education and training before going to work, and special operators must receive special safety training, and be qualified before going to work.  The production and operation entity must provide personal protective equipment complying with the national or industrial standard to workers, educate them on proper use, and supervise the proper use thereof.  The operation entity shall establish occupational health records for its employees. 4.6.2 Local endemic schistosomiasis management 173. The disease caused by Schistosoma japonicum is schistosomiasis, which is a natural focus disease, parasitic disease, endemic disease and infectious disease. Schistosomiasis has been endemic in China for at least 2000 years and was once endemic in 12 provinces along and south of the Yangtze River basin. Hunan used to be one of the worst affected provinces. The cases are distributed in Dongting lakeside and its surrounding areas. Since the 1950s, the prevention and control of schistosomiasis has accumulated more than 70 years of successful experience and remarkable achievements. At present, some areas of Hunan Province, including Hanshou County and Dingcheng District located in Dongting lakeside area) are schistosomiasis endemic area. As of 2020, entire Hunan Province has met the criteria for interruption of schistosomiasis transmission. Land areas protected and inside the lake embankment, reappearance of snail to induce susceptible zones after flooding may occur, though probability is very low, and therefore impact the health and safety of construction workers and farming operators related to water. 4.6.2.1 Applicable legal framework 174. Laws and regulations at National level include:  Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (issued in 1989, amended in 2020): the Government implements the policy of prevention and control of infectious diseases, combining prevention and control, classified management, relying on science and relying on the people. Schistosomiasis is classified as a group B infectious disease.  Regulations on Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (issued in 2006, amended in 2019) : All governments located in the same water system or the same relatively independent geographical environment for schistosomiasis control shall carry out joint schistosomiasis control and prevention. Relevant departments and institutions shall be organized to implement the following schistosomiasis control measures simultaneously: (1) Engineering measures related to schistosomiasis control should be adopted in the construction projects of agriculture, veterinary medicine, water conservancy and forestry sectors; (2) Screening, treatment and management of schistosomiasis in humans and livestock; (3) Epidemiological investigation and epidemic surveillance shall be carried out, (4) The distribution of Oncomelania hupensis snails was investigated, and snails were killed by molluscicides; (5) Prevent the non-harmlessly treated feces from accessing to the water, and (6) other applicable measures 175. Hunan Provincal Regulation on Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control (issued in 1999, amended in 2006): Prevention and control of schistosomiasis shall follow the principle of prevention first, combined with control, classified and integrated management, joint prevention from and control over infection to people and livestock simultaneously, focusing on strengthened the management of the source of infection. Governments of counties located in the Dongting lakeside endmic areas with water bodies connected shall establish mechanism of inter-department joint prevention and control of 49 Official Use schistosomiasis to implement measures on schistosomiasis prevention and control simultaneously. The cost of measues shall be included into the budget of engineering works of agricultural, water conservation, foresty sectors. 4.6.2.2 Implementation mechanism and procedurs 176. Inter-department joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis mechanism: Counties in the endemic area, the multi-sectoral cooperation has been formed to provide a strong synergy for the comprehensive prevention and control of schistosomiasis, under the leadership of the county coordination leading group. Hunan Province has closely integrated the schistosomiasis control work with the promotion of ecological civilization and the rural revitalization, and has coordinated the resources of all relevant departments to carry out monitoring, assessment and investigation. In the villages and snail habitats in the endemic areas, the measures of improving water sanitation, ploughing and reclamation, hardening ditches, mollusciciding and ecological snail control were implemented, and the snail habitats were reconstructed, and the schistosomiasis control measures were implemented simultaneously. 4.6.2.3 Institutional organization and performance 177. There are coordinating leading groups for schistosomiasis prevention & control at the provincial and county levels, with members from the health, natural resources, transportation, water resources, agriculture, rural areas and forestry sectors related to schistosomiasis control. The coordinating leading group is responsible for the operation of joint prevention and control mechanism. 178. The schistosomiasis prevention and control section under HCs at county level is responsible for operational management and technical guidance on schistosomiasis prevention and control section. A network for schistosomiasis prevention and control was established in endemic area: schistosomiasis prevention and control agencies (SPCAs) at county and township are responsible for providing service to a number of villages, including control snail, molluscacide, Schistosomiasis examination and chemotherapy, health education and other preventive work. Staff assigned at township health center (or epidemic prevention staff served as the schistosomiasis control staff) to assist SPCA for providing service. Village clinic performs the duties related to schistosomiasis control with rural doctors responsible for the schistosomiasis control work. Althought the infection rate is current very low, there are 58 SPCAs in the endemic areas of Hunan. For example in Hanshou County, there is one SPCA at county level and 3 primary SPCAs at township level. Responsibility of SPCAs include: survey on snail habitat and people infection annually, whenever snail habitats are found, mollusciciding is carried out once or twice a year; participating in the formulation of plan on schistosomiasis prevention and control; publicity the knowledge of schistosomiasis prevention, etc. There are also special hospitals for schistosomiasis in the endemic areas, which are mainly responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of past patients. 179. Other relevant departments in the endemic areas, the ARABs are responsible for adjusting the planting structure, replacing paddy fields with dry fields, and building biogas digesters (reducing fecal emissions); the WRBs are responsible for lake and river management and irrigation and channel renovation; the FGBs are responsible for afforestation; the NRBs are responsible for land improvement and so on. 180. In the 21st century, Hunan Province has implemented the National Mid-term and Long-term Plan for Schistosomiasis Control (2004-2015) and Provincial-ministerial Joint Integrated Schistosomiasis Control Project (2010-2014), now is implementing Schistosomiasis elimination Program in Hunan Province (2016-2025). With effort made for many years, the endemic indicators of schistosomiasis, which has a long history of transmission, wide scope and great harm, have reached the lowest level in history. By 2020, transmission interruption of schistosomiasis had been achieved at the county level in Hunan Province. It is planned that all schistosomiasis-endemic counties (cities, districts, fields) in Hunan Province reached the criteria of schistosomiasis elimination. For the 50 Official Use construction works related to water, there are known preventive measures, the main including: wearing protective equipment (including clothing coated with protective medication), oral preventive medicines, etc. For the treatment of schistosomiasis, there are also known and safe medicines and therapies. In Dingcheng District and Hanshou County, the infection rate of schistosomiasis dropped to the lowest level in history. The infection rate of schistosomiasis in humans and livestock is reported to be zero. Although the transmission of schistosomiasis has been interrupted in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District, the reemergence of Oncomelania hupensis snails and the rebound of schistosomiasis cannot be excluded after flooding. There is a risk of schistosomiasis infection among the construction workers and farming operators related to water. 4.6.3 Brief summary 181. China and Hunan have corresponding regulations, procedures, organization, and capacity on health and safety management associated with the PforR; and the system is found equivalent to the WBG’s General EHS Guidelines, and the EHS Guidelines for Annual Crop Production. To further consolidate the achievements of schistosomiasis control and prevent the rebounding of the epidemic， in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District, the existing mechanism of inter-departiments joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis shall be integrated into the Program activities to safeguard health and safety of construction workers & farming operators related to water in the endemic area. 4.7 Consistency with the Bank Principles 182. After assessing the five EMSs, namely the the ecoenvironment protection system, the EIA management system, the WSC management system, the agricultural NPS pollution management system, and the health & safety management system, the consistency with the Bank's core principles and elements is analyzed in this section with details presented in Error! Reference source not found.. Principle #1 - EIA and management: Program environmental management systems are designed to promote environmental sustainability in the Program design; avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts; and promote informed decision-making related to a program’s environmental effects. Other aspects are analyzed in Chapter 5. 183. China has established a complete legal framework on environmental managemen. Governed by the Environmental Protection Law, numerous environmental management laws, bylaws, technical guidelines, standards, mechanisms, and procedures on conserving natural ecosystem, EIA and pollution control constitute a comprehensive legal framework. Based the legal framework, series implementation mechanisms are established to guide the assessment of environmental impact and subsequently managing environmental risks of the PforR activities. Specifically, in the agricultural plantation sector, the Environmental Protection Law has set forth articles on agro-environmental protection, and the Agricultural Law has set forth articles on conserving ecological resources and environmental protection. The Regulation on Crop Pests Prevention and Control, Regulation on Pesticide Management, the Regulation on Plant Protection in Hunan Province, and other relevant management measures, technical guidelines, standards are put in place to manage agricultural NPS pollution. 184. The EIA management system requires to conduct environmental screening and classification at the early stage of construction project design and EIA. EIA instruments will include alternatives analysis, impacts assessment, mitigation measures, management responsibilities and budgets, public consultation, information disclosure, monitoring plans, etc. In recent years, China has been promoting environmental management reform to change from focusing on EIA approval to strengthening follow-up inspection and progressing to project life-cycle environmental management. The Band team was informed by stakeholders that when selecting sites for HSFC, following principles are followed: (1) site shall have irrigation water source assurance and irrigation and drainage backbone engineering conditions, (2) the construction of high-standard farmland in the core and buffer areas of nature reserves, 51 Official Use and on polluted farmland shall be prohibited, (3) areas with slopes greater than 25 degrees shall not be constructed in principle, as set out in the Implementation Plan of Hunan Province on Managing Farmland Construction. Because of small adverse environmental impacts and according to classified EIA management mechanism for construction project, the HSFC projects in Hunan Province have been subjected to EIA registration (at the designated on-line platform) for EEBs endorsement without processing separately EIA. 185. To address the gap fund when assessing EIA management system for managing HSFC project in Huana, It is recommended that specific and standardized subjections on environmental management be included in the design documents to screen and assess environmental risks, further optimize the design, and propose proper mitigation measures with cost estimated that shall be included into the bidding documents and civil works/farming contracts. rinciple #2 - Natural habitate protection: Program environmental management systems are designed to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts on natural habitats resulting from the Program. Program activities that involve the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats are not eligible for PforR financing. Other aspects are analyzed in Chapter 5. 186. China has brought critical or natural habitats into the scope of ERL. Ecological factors (including critical habitats and biodiversity) are important sensitive receptors to be identified and assessed in EIA, and ecological impact assessment is one of the important components of EIA. It’s compulsory that EIA must strictly follow the requirements of ecological protection redlines. Foe new constructive project, site selection must be subject to approval by NRBs, EEBs, FGBs, and other related authorities, so the relationship between project site and natural habitats or other environmental sensitive areas will be identified in the early stage of project preparation. 187. The main activities under this PforR will be located at existing cultivated land in agricultural production area, connected with irrigation water sources by main irrigation canals and branch canals. The Program areas belong to highly modified artificial ecosystem, or have been disturbed by human activities. The principle of “prohibiting HSFC in the core and buffer areas of nature preserves� are followed when selection sites for HSFC. Any activities that may impact natural habitat will be excluded from the PforR, as stated in the exclusion principles. Therefore, the PforR will not have adverse impact on important biodiversity. In order to mitigate the impact of soil erosion on artificial agricultural ecosystem, better managing the local area’s water environment for uplifting eco-environment quality, there is a room to improve management capacity in conserving water and soil. It is recommended that specific and standardized subjections on soil conservation be included in the design documents, further optimize the design, and propose proper mitigation measures with cost estimated that shall be included into the bidding documents and civil works/farming contracts Principle #3 - Health and safety: Program environmental management systems are designed to protect public and worker safety against the potential risks associated with exposure to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, and otherwise dangerous materials under the PforR. Other aspects are analyzed in Chapter 5. 188. China has established a comprehensive health and safety management system under a series set of laws, regulation, standards and guidelines, which is similar to or even more complex than environmental protection and pollution control system. Laws and regulations related to agriculture plantation sector include Pesticide Management Regulations, Construction Projects Occupational Diseases and Hazardous Risk Classification Catalogue, Occupational Diseases Classification and Catalogue, a number of guidelines on the safe use of pesticides. Technical guidelines for environmental safety of chemical fertilizer use. In the endemic areas schistosomiasis, of laws and regulations related to local endemic schistosomiasis include Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, Regulations on Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control. These laws and regulation constituted a legal framework and implementation mechanisms to manage health and safety issues from the Program activities. Risks from Cereal cultivation activity under agricultural sector is defined as normal-level according to Construction Projects Occupational Diseases and Hazardous Risk Classification 52 Official Use Catalogue. 189. For HSFC, Know practical measures on safety management are to be taken during the design, constriction. During the rice production, in order to manage safe use of pesticides, Integrated pesticide management are promoted to minimize the use of toxic pesticides. ARABs at county level purchase specialized organizations for providing unified service on the prevention and control of crop pest. The specialized organization, compared with small farming households, have stricter safety regulations and preventive equipment, which can minimize the safety risks of small farmers' access to and exposure to pesticides. China’s more than 70 years of successful experience in schistosomiasis prevention and control can effectively manage risks of snails to the public and workers/operators related to water. There is a mechanism of inter-department joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis to mobilize resources for agriculture, water conservancy, forestry, land resources and transportation sectors for schistosomiasis prevention and control. In order to consolidate the achievements of schistosomiasis control and avoid the rebound of the epidemic, it is recommendation: The existing mechanism of inter- department joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis shall be integrated into the Program activities to safeguard health and safety of construction workers & farming operators related to water in the endemic area of Hanshou County and Dingcheng District. 190. Conclusion: The comparison concludes that China’s EMSs in terms of legal framework, management mechanism, and institutional arrangement are well established, and the implementation performance are demonstrated substantially satisfactory. In general, the EMSs are consistent with the Bank’s PforR ESSA Guidance, the core principles, and the EHS guidelines (including the general guidelines and guidelines for annual crop production) and are qualified to manage the environmental issues associated with the PforR activities, particularly on the construction of high standard farmland and water-saving, low-cabon rice production management. A generic E&S mitigation measures for managing potential E&S risks related to the PforR activities is also attached in Appendix 8 for reference of relevant agencies of Hunnan Province. The environmental action plans have been recommended in the ESSA (as presented in Chapter 7) to fill the gaps identified in the due diligence investigation, and the EMSs are expected to be improved through the implementation of the PforR. 53 Official Use 5. Social Management System Assessment 191. The Bank’s PforR ESSA Guidance lays down a set of principles and elements for assessing the borrower’s E&S systems systematically. This chapter identifies and analyzes China’s corresponding social management systems, and assess the relevant social management regulations, management mechanisms and capacity, and implementation performance based on the types of social risks and impacts, and against the six core principles and 13 elements stipulated in the Guidance and propose recommendations and an action plan for the identified gaps. 192. Chapter 3 identifies and analyzes the potential social risks and impacts of the Program from different perspectives, such as direct, indirect, induced, and cumulative impacts from the Program, as well as downstream E&S risks and impacts. In general, physical activities under the Program are mainly farmland works related to high-standard farmland construction (HSFC), which are small-scale, do not involve land acquisition and demolition, and will not result in a massive influx of construction workers. The potential social impacts and risks of the Program fall into the following types: comprehensive social impacts (such as farmer coordination and dispute resolution during the implementation of the Program), worker and community health and safety, land sporadically used and temporarily occupied for the Program, slight impacts on livelihoods, non-inclusiveness impacts on ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups, and the less likely accidental discovery of tangible cultural heritage. 193. The social risks management is achieved in China from the national to local levels by formulating and implementing a series of laws and policies and establishing and running appropriate management agencies and mechanisms. Social management systems consist of laws and regulations, management agencies and mechanisms, and management practices. In China’s social management systems, different social risks and impacts are managed by corresponding government agencies (see Table 5-1). 5.1 Correlation Analysis with the Bank’s Principles 194. Generally, all the six core principles of PforR ESSA are relevant to the Program social management system. See Table 5-1 for a correlation analysis between China’s social management systems and the Bank policy. Table 5-1 Correlation Analysis between the Chinese Social Management System and the Bank Policy Social impacts Bank policy China’s social impacts and risks management system and risks principle Relevant social laws and regulations Social management agencies Comprehensive Principle Notice of the National Development and Reform State: National social impacts, #1: social Commission on Issuing the Measures for the Social Development and e.g., social impacts and Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Reform Commission conflict, risks Investment Projects (2021 Amendment) (NDRC); fairness, assessment Notice of the General Office of the National Hunan: transparency and Development and Reform Commission on Issuing  Leading management the Outline for the Preparation of the Chapter on authorities: system the Social Stability Risk Analysis of Major Fixed provincial DRC, Asset Investment Projects and Assessment Report provincial, municipal Principle (Interim) (NDRCOI [2013] No.428) and county political #6: social Implementation Measures for Risk Assessment of and legal affairs conflict Social Stability for Major Decisions (Items) of the committees (PLAC), Judicial and Administrative System of Hunan public complaints Province (Trial) (2012.9.20) and proposals Implementation Opinions on Strengthening the Risk bureaus (PCPB); Assessment of Social Stability of Major Decisions  Assessors: under New Circumstances (XBF [2021] No. 27) municipal and (2021.12) county competent Interim Regulations on Major Administrative authorities (e.g., Decision-Making Procedures (2019.9.1) irrigation facility 54 Official Use Social impacts Bank policy China’s social impacts and risks management system and risks principle Relevant social laws and regulations Social management agencies Regulations on Letters and Visits (2022.2.25) authorities, county Regulation on Guaranteeing Wage Payment for WRBs and Migrant Workers (2020.1.7) appointed third Notice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural parties Affairs General Office on the Training of High-  Registration quality Farmers in 2022 (2022.4.15) authorities: Specifications for Education and Training of High- provincial (cross- quality Farmers in Hunan Province (Trial) (XNF regional/cross- [2020] No. 48) departmental Notice of the General Office of the People's projects), or Government of Hunan Province on Further municipal and Regulating Rural Land Management Right Transfer county PLACs to Effectively Safeguard the Lawful Rights and  Decision-making Interests of Farmers (XB [2013] No. 52, 2013.10) authorities: Hunan Province Rural Land Management Right municipal and Transfer Market Operation Regulations (Trial) county executive (Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of meetings of CPC Hunan Province, 2016.11) and government Organic Law of the Villagers' Committees of the leaders People's Republic of China (December 2018  Implementing Amendment) agencies: Model Rules for Rural Collective Economic assessors and Organizations (Trial) 2020 11 entrusted operating agencies  Supervising agencies: municipal and county governments and their grass-root agencies (e.g., township governments, village committees) Tangible Cultural Relics Protection Law (2017 Amendment) State: National cultural Principle Regulations for the Implementation of the Cultural Cultural Heritage heritage #2: cultural Relics Protection Law (2017) Administration heritage Hunan: provincial, conservation municipal and county cultural relic protection authorities Public and Principle Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China Public and workers’ worker safety #3: labor (2021.1) security and Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China State: Ministry of occupational (2021.6) Emergency health Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Management Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases Hunan: emergency (2018.12) management Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of department at Occupational Diseases for Employers (2010.8) provincial, municipal Occupational Health and Safety Management and county level, Systems—Requirements with Guidance for Use production and (2018.3) operation entities, Classification and Catalogue of Occupational associations, work Diseases (2013) safety technical 55 Official Use Social impacts Bank policy China’s social impacts and risks management system and risks principle Relevant social laws and regulations Social management agencies Catalogue for the Classified Management of Health of Occupational Disease Hazards and Risks of communities, the Construction Projects (2021.3.12) public, and Special Rules on the Labor Protection of Female occupational groups Employees (Decree No.619 of the State Council) (2012.5) State: National HC; Notice on the Issuance of the National Plan for Hunan: provincial, Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control municipal and county (2021-2025) (NHC [2021] No. 39) HCs, occupational Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance diseases prevention (2010.12.20) and treatment Basic Norms for Work Safety Standardization of agencies, occupational Enterprises (2017.4) health technical Implementation Measures for Regulations on Labor service agencies, Protection of Female Employees of Hunan occupational health Province (2020.3.8) inspection and Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious diagnosis agencies Diseases (2020) Labor management Emergency Response Law of the People’s State: Ministry of Republic of China (2007.11.1) Human Resources and Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Social Security, All- Geological Disasters (2004.3.1) China Federation of Regulations on the Defense against Meteorological Trade Unions Disasters (2010.4.1) Hunan: provincial, municipal and county Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on federations of trade Flood Control (2005.7.15) unions; and industrial Law of the People’s Republic of China on unions; trade unions of Protecting against and Mitigating Earthquake enterprises and public Disasters (2009.5.1) institutions Land Principle Measures for the Administration of the Pre- Land acquisition acquisition, #4: land examination on the Use of Land for Construction State: Ministry of restriction on acquisition, Projects (2017) Natural Resources land use and livelihood Land Administration Law (2020.1) (MNR) resettlement restoration Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Hunan: provincial, and public Administration Law (2021 Amendment) municipal and county participation Guidelines on Improving the Compensation and governments, and Resettlement System for Land Acquisition (MLR natural resources [2004] No.238) authorities Notice on Doing a Good Job in Employment Urban house Training and Social Security for Land-expropriated demolition Farmers (SCO [2006] No.29) Municipal and county Notice of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, governments, housing and the Ministry of Land and Resources on Doing a and urban-rural Substantially Good Job in Social Security for Land- development bureaus expropriated Farmers (MLSS [2007] No.14) (HURDBs), house Notice of MNR and MARA on Issues concerning demolition agencies Facility Agriculture Land Use Management (MNRP Rural house [2019] No.4) demolition Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the CPC agriculture and rural Central Committee and the State Council on the affairs authorities, Overall Delineation and Implementation of the natural resources Three Control Lines in National Spatial Planning authorities, township (TZ [2019] No. 48) 56 Official Use Social impacts Bank policy China’s social impacts and risks management system and risks principle Relevant social laws and regulations Social management agencies Notice of MNR, MARA and NFGA on Issues governments, village concerning Strict Control of Cultivated Land Usage committees (MNRP [2021] No.166) Facility agriculture Guidelines on Simple Examination and Approval of land use (FALU): Village Construction Projects issued by the State: MNR, MARA National Development and Reform Commission Hunan: provincial, and Other Ministries and Commissions (FGNJ municipal and county [2020] No. 1337) natural resources Measures for the Administration of the Land authorities, agriculture Management Right Transfer of Rural Land and rural affairs (2021.1.26) authorities, township Notice of MNR, MEE and NFGA on Strengthening governments the Management of Ecological Protection Red Line Land management (Trial) (MNR [2022] 142) right transfer Notice of Hunan Provincial People's Government (LMRT): on Adjustment of Compensation Standards for Hunan: provincial, Land Acquisition in Hunan Province (XZBF [2021] municipal and county No.3) agriculture and rural Notice of Hunan Provincial Natural Resources affairs authorities, Department and the Department of Agriculture and township governments Rural Affairs of Hunan Province on Improving the Livelihood Management of Facility Agricultural Land Use restoration (XNRP [2020] No.3) State: Ministry of Several Opinions of Hunan Provincial Development Human Resources and and Reform Commission, Natural Resources Social Security Department, and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Hunan: provincial, Department on Simplifying and Optimizing the municipal and county Management of Small Rural Construction Projects human resources and (Trial) (XFGNG [2021] No. 140) social security authorities, county and township Implementation Opinions of Hunan Provincial governments, Communist Party Committee and People's community Government on Strengthening the Protection of committees, village Cultivated Land and Improving the Balance committees between Occupation and Replenishment （2020.7.30） Constitution (2018 Amendment) Ethnic minorities Principle #5: Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional State: National Ethnic Ethnic ethnic National Autonomy (2001 Amendment) Affairs Commission minorities and minorities Several Provisions of the State Council on the Hunan: provincial, vulnerable and Implementation of the Regional National Autonomy municipal and county groups vulnerable Law (2005.5) ethnic affairs groups Notice of the State Council on Issuing the 13th departments Five-year Plan for Promoting the Development of Women Minority Areas and Smaller Ethnic Minorities (SC State: All-China [2016] No.79) Women’s Federation The 14th Five-Year Development Plan of Hunan Hunan: women’s Province on Ethnic Work (2021) federations at different Law of the People's Republic of China on the levels Protection of Women's Rights and Interests Children (2018.10.26 Amendment) Functional authorities Law of the People's Republic of China on the of governments at or Protection of Minors (2020.10.17) above the county level, 57 Official Use Social impacts Bank policy China’s social impacts and risks management system and risks principle Relevant social laws and regulations Social management agencies Opinions on Reforming and Improving the Social township Assistance System (ZBF [2020] No.18) governments, sub- Implementation Measures of Hunan Province for district offices, the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women community (2006.10.1) committees, village Guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and the committees State Council on the Three-year Poverty Alleviation Action (2018.6.15) The 14th Five-Year Plan of Hunan Province for the Development of Civil Affairs (2021.8.31) Plan of Hunan Province for Women's Development (2021-2025) (2021.9.16) Plan of Hunan Province for Children's Development (2021-2025) (2021.9.16) Implementation Opinions of Hunan Provincial General Office of the CPC Central Committee and Government on the Reform and Improvement of the Social Assistance System (XBF [2020] No.25) Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalization of Hunan Province (2018-2022) (2018.9) 5.2 Assessment of Social Regulations and Policies 195. China’s legal framework consists of the following: 1) laws and regulations promulgated by the National People’s Congress and the State Council; 2) regulations, standards and technical specifications promulgated by ministries and commissions; and 3) regulations promulgated by local people’s congresses and governments. In general, regulations, standards and policies on land acquisition and resettlement (LAR), ethnic minority development, labor rights, public participation and consultation, grievance redress, etc. have been promulgated and implemented at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels to systematically manage potential social risks and impacts in the Program lifecycle. 196. Appendix 3 compares the Bank policy with the applicable social management regulations. This section compares the relevant social management regulations with the Bank policy based on the core principles and elements, then identifies gaps in social regulations and policies where applicable and proposes actions and recommendations for improvement. 5.2.1 Core Principle #1: Sustainable social risks management system16 197. Core Principle #1 includes two elements, both are relevant to social regulations and policies. The consistency is analyzed as follows. Element 1: The legal framework and management agencies can direct social assessment adequately at the Program level 198. Social stability risk assessment (SSRA): The Chinese government uses SSRA as a tool to systematically manage the social risks and impacts that may be involved in major projects, policies and reforms, and prevents, mitigates and manages social impacts actively by establishing and implementing a whole SSRA system, so as to promote scientific decision-making and achieve the sustainable 16Chapter 5 of this report quotes the information related to social system analysis in the core principles and elements in the PforR ESSA Guidance for a consistent comparative analysis. 58 Official Use development of the Program and society. SSRA is required for making major administrative decisions and adjusting procedures at or above the county level. • National development and reform committee (NDRC) promulgated the Interim Measures for the Social Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects in 2012, stating that the project organization shall investigate and analyze social stability risks when conducting preparatory work, collect opinions from relevant people, identify risks, risk possibilities and risk impacts, and propose prevention and mitigation measures, and social stability risk ratings after such measures are taken. • The General Office of the State Council promulgated the Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim) in 2012, requiring that an SSRA shall be conducted on major decisions, projects and policies. • The Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim) promulgated by the General Office of the State Council in 2012 was succeeded by the Implementation Measures for Risk Assessment of Social Stability for Major Decisions (Items) of the Judicial and Administrative System of Hunan Province (Trial), specifying requirements for the implementation of SSRA in Hunan Province. In December 2021, it was superseded by the Implementation Opinions on Strengthening the Risk Assessment of Social Stability of Major Decisions under New Circumstances (XBF [2021] No. 27), which particularly stipulates the contents, methods, procedures, management and the use of results of SSRA for major decisions in Hunan Province. • The Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-making Procedures promulgated by the State Council in May 2019 came into force on September 1, 2019. It stipulates that where the implementation of major administrative decisions may adversely affect social stability, public security, the decision-making entity or other entities responsible for risk assessment shall conduct the assessment of the risk controllability of the draft decision. The results of risk assessment should be used as an important basis for major administrative decisions. If the decision-making authority believes that the risk is controllable, it can make a decision; if it believes that the risk is uncontrollable, it can make a decision after taking measures such as adjusting the draft decision to ensure that the risk is controllable. • In February 2020, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council released the Opinions on Strengthening Social Stability Risk Assessment for Major Decisions under New Circumstances, requiring that an SSRA shall be carried out on major decisions including those on major construction projects. It specifies the contents, methods, procedures and management of SSRA, and application of SSRA results, and underlines that the contents of SSRA are integral to the Program's feasibility study and application reports. • The Land Administration Law (effective from January 1, 2020) requires that an SSRA shall be conducted before land acquisition and house demolition. 199. Assessment: SSRA is an important procedural requirement in project application and feasibility study. Relevant policies, mechanisms, standards, and management procedures have been formulated and implemented at the national and Hunan provincial level to regulate SSRA. It is learned through the due diligence and assessment that the provincial, municipal and county authorities involved in the Program take the SSRA seriously, and the conclusions and risk ratings of SSRA are the key reference for the governments in their decision-making. Therefore, the social regulations and policies are generally consistent with Element 1. Element 2: Incorporate recognized elements of good practice in E&S assessment and management, including six aspects. 200. According to the social risk screening results (Appendix 2), the consistency analysis of social impact assessment is shown in Element 1. The consistency of the other five aspects of Element 2 is 59 Official Use analyzed below. i.Early screening: During site selection and feasibility study of related projects, the relevant authorities (e.g., NRB, cultural heritage bureau) are required to be coordinated to conduct a joint survey, and risks and impacts screening. For example, the Measures for the Administration of the Pre-review on the Use of Land for Construction Projects (2017), and the Land Administration Law (effective from January 1, 2020) require that screening be conducted so that the construction project complies with the land utilization plan and avoids any acquisition of basic farmland. The Cultural Relics Protection Law (2014 Amendment) requires that a cultural relic survey shall be conducted before project site selection to minimize impacts on cultural relics. The Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Geological Disasters (2004) require that the project area shall not be selected in disaster areas, and related disaster prevention and control requirements should be defined through a geological disaster assessment to reduce public security risks if any project is to be constructed in the areas liable to geological disasters. In terms of the small rural construction projects which involve new construction land, the project owner should obtain the land pre-examination and site selection approval from county level natural resources department first. 17 ii.Alternatives: Options should be compared and analyzed during project site selection and feasibility study. The Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China, and the Decision of the State Council on Establishing Administrative License for Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary to Be Retained require that the feasibility study of a project shall compare E&S impacts of different options to avoid or minimize local negative E&S impacts. The Notice of the General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission on Issuing the Outline for the Preparation of the Chapter on the Social Stability Risk Analysis of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects and Assessment Report (Interim) (2013) also stipulates that the project implementation units (PIUs) and assessment agencies shall obtain the support of the local governments and related departments, grass-root organizations, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), etc. for the proposed project in terms of planning, land acquisition, house demolition, compensation, resettlement, environmental protection, etc., thereby selecting an option with acceptable social stability risks. iii.Developing measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate social impacts: The Notice on Issuing the Outline for the Preparation of the Chapter on the Social Stability Risk Analysis of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects and Assessment Report (Interim) (2013) requires that plans and measures shall be proposed to prevent and mitigate risks. According to the Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim), if the assessment report thinks that a high risk is present, a decision of non- implementation shall be made, or a decision be made after the plan is adjusted or the risk level reduced; if a medium risk is present, a decision of implementation shall be made after effective risk prevention and mitigation measures are taken; if a low risk is present, a decision of implementation may be made, but actions in terms of explanation and persuasion to the people affected shall be conducted, and appeals of relevant people handled properly. SSRA shall also address the legitimacy, rationality, feasibility and controllability of the proposed activities, and require that an appropriate contingency plan be developed. iv.Clear articulation of institutional responsibilities and resources to support implementation of plans: The Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim) requires assessment of whether relevant compensation, resettlement or assistance measures proposed are reasonable, fair, and timely, 17 It refers to rural living environment improvement construction projects, such as household garbage and sewage treatment, toilet manure treatment, and village appearance improvement, as well as rural water supply and drainage, roads, cultural and sport sites etc. according to the Guidelines on Simple Examination and Approval of Village Construction Projects issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Ministries and Commissions (FGNJ [2020] No. 1337) 60 Official Use and whether appropriate manpower, material and financial resources are available. v.Public participation, information disclosure, and grievance redress mechanism (GRM): The SSRA policies of the State and Hunan Province require that public consultation be conducted with all stakeholders involved in a plan to collect their opinions and suggestions, including advice, needs and directions of public opinion on the proposed project from mass media (including online, mobile and other emerging media). The Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-Making Procedures stipulates that the decision-making entity shall fully solicit opinions in the form widely available for public participation. Opinions may be solicited in such forms as symposiums, hearings, field visits, written solicitation of opinions from the public, questionnaires, and opinion polls, etc. If any matter subject to decision-making involves the interests of certain groups, the decision-making entity shall communicate and consult with the representatives of the relevant people's organizations, social organizations, and the masses, and fully listen to the opinions and suggestions of the relevant groups. If public opinions are solicited for a matter subject to decision-making, the decision-making entity shall disclose the draft decision and its explanation, and the mode and period of solicitation of public opinions by publicly available means, such as government website, new media, newspapers, radio and TV, etc. The period of solicitation of public opinions is usually not less than 30 days. In terms of small rural construction projects, it is stipulated in the Guidelines on Simple Examination and Approval of Village Construction Projects (FGNJ [2020] No. 1337) issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and Other Ministries and Commissions in 2020 that villagers’ participation in decision making process should be guaranteed through adopting group discussions and in-door surveys to listen to villagers’ opinions and respecting their decisions. On this basis, it is encouraged to adopt the mode of “discussion by village committees - information disclosure- approval by villager representatives� to conduct project selection, construction and management, so as to fully guarantee the public’s right to know, to participate, to make decisions and to supervise. 201. According to the survey, the activities supported by the Program do not involve land acquisition and demolition, nor do they directly support land management right transfer and large-scale land pooling and consolidation. The issues that may cause social risks are as follows: (1) small projects, such as roads and ditches in fields, require the agreement of village/group residents to provide land; (2) Land leveling a;nd farmland works may involve the adjustment of the boundary of land parcels owned by a small number of farmers; (3) Due to the improvement of growing conditions after the implementation of the Program, the farmers concerned may request the adjustment of the rent of land of which the management right is transferred and the transfer duration. In this regard, the pertinent documents provide specific, detailed rules for dealing with relevant situations. The Well-facilitated Farmland Construction - General Rules (GBT30600-2022) stipulates that before high-standard farmland construction begins, the current land ownership shall be ascertained, and the cultivated land approved for a project shall not be subject to dispute. If high-standard farmland construction involves the adjustment of land ownership, the will of the rights holder shall be fully respected. After high-standard farmland construction is completed, land rights shall be confirmed in accordance with the law, land registration shall be updated, a valid certificate of land rights shall be issued, and the cadastral archives shall be updated in time. After high-standard farmland construction is completed, the type of land shall be identified based on the reality and corresponding registration information shall be changed accordingly. Moreover, the relevant procedures shall be improved. According to the Measures for the Administration of the Land Management Right Transfer of Rural Land revised on March 1, 2021 and implemented, in case of any controversy or dispute over land management right transfer(LMRT), the parties concerned may resolve the controversy or dispute through negotiation in accordance with the transfer contract, or request the relevant village committees and the township (town) governments to mediate. If the parties are unwilling to negotiate or mediate, or the negotiation or mediation fails, they may apply to a rural land contract arbitration agency for arbitration or directly file suit in the people's court. 202. Assessment: Social impacts are basically assessed and managed through regulations in 61 Official Use terms of SSRA in China and Hunan Province, and the SSRA procedures are implemented in accordance with the existing laws and regulations for major projects and decisions. The Program supports physical construction activities, all of which are small farmland works and may involve risks such as the adjustment of land boundary, and the transfer of and change in management rights. Regulations, such as the Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-Making Procedures, the Well-facilitated Farmland Construction - General Rules, and the Measures for the Administration of the Land Management Right Transfer of Rural Land, require impact early-stage screening and option comparison, and define the system of management of major social risks, including the responsible organizations, handling process, public participation, and grievance redress. Therefore, the social regulations and policies are generally consistent with Element 2. 5.2.2 Core Principle #2: Cultural heritage management system 203. Elements 3 and 4 under Core Principle #2 define management requirements for natural habitats, which were discussed in Section 3. Only the consistency with Element 5 is assessed here. Element 5: Take into account potential adverse effects on tangible cultural heritage and provide adequate measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate such effects. 204. Cultural relic protection: The Program activities involve small civil works, such as the construction of field roads and village-level irrigation facilities for high-standard farmland construction. According to the social impact screening (Appendix 2), the Program is unlikely to affect any tangible cultural heritage, because the Program activities have been carried out within the general range of farmland, and the tangible cultural heritage within the range has long been identified and protected by competent authorities. China has established and implemented a sound cultural relic protection law to assess and manage potential impacts of construction activities on cultural heritage. The Cultural Relics Protection Law requires that no construction works or operations such as blasting, drilling and digging are allowed within the area of historical and cultural protection site. The site selected for a construction project shall be away from immovable cultural relics as far as possible. If a construction project is to be implemented, it should be approved by the cultural relic authority firstly, and then by the urban-rural construction planning authority. Within the area of a protected cultural relic, it is not allowed to build any facilities that may pollute the relic and its surroundings, or to carry out any activities that may affect its safety and environment. Any such facilities shall be disposed of within a specific time limit. Before launching a large-scale infrastructure construction project, the construction company shall first apply to the provincial cultural relic authority for arranging an organization engaged in archaeological excavation to conduct archeological investigation at places where cultural relics may be buried underground within the project area. 205. Assessment: The Cultural Relics Protection Law and the Regulations for the Implementation of the Cultural Relics Protection Law give full consideration to potential impacts on cultural relics to protect cultural relics from being affected by construction. The regulations of China and Hunan Province on tangible cultural heritage protection are consistent with Element 5. 5.2.3 Core Principle #3: Public and worker safety management system 206. Element 7 under Core Principle #3 defines requirements for toxic and hazardous substances, and pest control related to environmental system analysis. The consistency with the public security and labor safety requirements in Elements 6 and 8 is assessed here. Element 6: Promote adequate community, individual, and worker health, safety, and security through the safe design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Program activities; or, in carrying out activities that may be dependent on existing infrastructure, incorporate safety measures, inspections, or remedial works as appropriate. 207. Worker safety and community health and safety management: Program activities inevitably 62 Official Use involve health and safety risks of workers, including the occupational health management (safety protection during construction, agricultural machinery operation safety, irrigation ditch safety protection) of high-standard farmland construction contractors for their employees, the health and safety management for technicians and farmers during the promotion and use of green agricultural technology (health protection during the use of pesticides, safety in the use of electric utilities), etc. China has established and implemented a system to manage worker safety and community health and safety: • The Labor Law (2018 Amendment) and the Civil Code provide for child labor, discrimination, and forced labor. For example, employers shall not recruit minors (under 16 years); special protection shall be given to female and underage (16-18 years) workers; workers shall not be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic group, race, gender or religion; women shall enjoy the same employment rights as men; forced labor shall be prohibited. • The Work Safety Law (2014 Amendment) requires that production and operation entities must establish a sound work safety responsibility system and relevant rules and regulations, and improve work conditions to ensure work safety. It also requires that reporting information be disclosed to the public for public supervision. • The Civil Code requires that work safety and health facilities of construction, reconstruction and expansion works shall be designed, constructed and put into operation along with these works. • The Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance (2010 Amendment) requires that all employers in China shall participate in work-related insurance system in line with the law and purchase work-related injury insurance for all employees. • The Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements with Guidance for Use promulgated in 2020 requires that enterprises shall identify and control potential occupational health and safety hazards systematically, and eliminate safety accidents at the beginning, thereby protecting worker health and safety. • The Basic Norms for Work Safety Standardization of Enterprises implemented on April 1, 2017 stipulates the principles and general requirements for the establishment, maintenance and evaluation of the work safety standardization management system of enterprises, as well as the core technical requirements of 8 systems: objectives and responsibilities, institutionalized management, education and training, on-site management, safety risk control and hidden danger identification and solution, emergency management, accident management, and continuous improvement. It provides a basic institutional framework for labor safety and the impact of production on community health and safety. 208. Assessment: A whole set of regulations on worker and community health and safety has been established in China and Hunan Province to fully safeguard labor rights and community health and safety. The regulations also require that appropriate safety measures, inspections or remedial works be taken during design, construction and operation to ensure community, personal and worker safety. For the small farmland works involved in the Program, worker safety and community health and safety is safeguarded based on the conscientious implementation of the basic norms for work safety standardization of enterprises. The regulations on public and labor safety and community health and safety are basically consistent with Element 6. Element 8: Include adequate measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate community, individual, and worker risks when the PforR Program activities are located in areas prone to natural hazards such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or other severe weather or affected by climate events. 209. Disaster safety management mechanisms: The Program is located in Hunan, and may involve areas prone to natural disasters, such as floods, lightning and landslides. During implementation, the flow of migrant workers may lead to disease spreading (e.g., COVID-19). For urban-rural planning and major project construction, the Regulations on the Defense against Meteorological Disasters requires that governments at or above the county level shall fully consider meteorological factors and natural 63 Official Use disasters, and propose measures to avoid or mitigate disasters. In addition, the Regulations on the Defense against Meteorological Disasters requires that lightning protectors of newly constructed, reconstructed or expanded buildings (structures), places and facilities shall be designed, constructed and put into operation along with these works. The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Flood Control make systematic arrangements for floods in terms of organization, flood prevention preparation and implementation, rescue, follow-up work, funding, reward and punishment, etc. The Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Geological Disasters make systematic arrangements for the investigation, prevention and management of geological disasters, such as prevention, emergency response, governance and legal liabilities. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protecting against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters requires that newly constructed, reconstructed or expanded construction works shall meet seismic design requirements, and makes specific provisions on seismic safety assessment and earthquake protection. According to the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (April 2020), governments at or above the county level shall develop and implement infectious disease prevention and control plans, and establish a prevention, treatment and supervision management system; news media shall conduct public welfare publicity on infectious disease prevention and control, and public health education. According to the Notice on Targeted Health Management and Orderly People Flow (Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism (ZF [2020] No.203) promulgated by the National HC, all localities shall define prevention and control ranges precisely based on pandemic risk rating and take comprehensive measures such as restriction of people flow, nucleic acid testing and health monitoring. For medium- to high-risk areas, entry into the project area, and people gathering shall be avoided where possible, and people entering the project area may flow freely only if their body temperatures are normal and proper personal protection measures are taken. Entry into medium- to high-risk areas shall be avoided if not necessary. 210. Assessment: The regulations on natural disaster prevention and control measures are consistent with Element 8. 5.2.4 Core Principle #4: Involuntary resettlement management system 211. In recent years, the World Bank has supported multiple PforR programs in China, such as the Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and Restoration and Environmental Pollution Control Demonstration Program, the Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Jiangxi and Hunan), the Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program (Hubei), the Green Agriculture and Rural Revitalization Program (Guangxi and Guizhou), and the Green Agriculture and Rural Revitalization Program (Hubei and Hunan). From 2021 to 2022, Hunan Province also participated, as a paragon, in the Green Agriculture and Rural Revitalization Program and the Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program. Prior to the implementation of each of these programs, the World Bank conducted an environmental and social systems assessment (ESSA) in accordance with the World Bank’s PforR ESSA Guidance. In light of the impact of land acquisition and resettlement involved in different programs, relevant ESSAs have included the systematic evaluation of the involuntary resettlement management system in China and Hunan Province. 212. For example, the Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program implemented in Hunan Province was approved by the WB Board of Executive Directors in April 2022. Its ESSA report assessed the compliance of the Hunan Involuntary Resettlement Management System with the World Bank requirements in six areas in accordance with Element 9 under Core Principle #4 of the Bank's PforR ESSA Guidance. These six areas are: (i) avoidance and mitigation of negative impacts associated with land acquisition; (ii) identification and management of economic and social impacts resulting from land acquisition or loss of natural resources; (iii) full payment of compensation and transition subsidy based on the replacement price before land is used for the Program; (iv) policy arrangements for livelihood restoration; (v) policy arrangements for infrastructure restoration; and (vi) information disclosure, public participation, and informed decision-making. The assessment concludes that the regulations on involuntary resettlement management in China and Hunan Province are generally consistent with the requirements of Core Principle #4 and Element 9. 64 Official Use 213. The regulations and policies on involuntary resettlement management in China are formulated and promulgated by the national and provincial governments. Interviews with relevant government departments and a review of relevant regulations during the preparation for the Program indicated that the counties/districts involved in the Program and other areas in Hunan Province adopted a consistent regulation and policy system on land acquisition and demolition. Therefore, the findings of the previous PforR Program in Hunan Province regarding involuntary resettlement management system strongly support this assessment of the PforR Program. The survey and assessment confirm that the Program- related activities do not involve land acquisition and demolition, and the activities that involve large-scale land acquisition and occupation are clearly excluded, so the Program will not have an obvious impact in terms of involuntary resettlement. There may be a very small amount of land involved in the Program activities: 1) small land occupation for farmland works (e.g. land occupied for small pump stations, and land for construction of field roads, ecological ditches, and protection works); 2) temporary use of land during construction; 3) adjustment of the boundary of a small amount of land and the land management right transfer(LMRT) caused by the improvement of growing conditions may be involved after high- standard farmland construction. As LMRT and land boundary adjustment are villagers' voluntary actions, they are not considered to be the involuntary resettlement impact. However, they involve the adjustment of the nexus of interests between farmers, so they may also affect the Program if they are not handled properly, which is also taken into account in the analysis. Therefore, based on the findings of the existing PforR Program's assessment of the involuntary resettlement management system in Hunan Province, this ESSA report only points out the relevant regulations and policies of China and Hunan Province for the above four types of land use-related activities, indicating that the existing involuntary resettlement management system effectively covers these activities. • Land for farmland works: land for construction of field roads, ecological ditches, and protection works involved in high-standard farmland construction. The Notice of MNR, MARA and NFGA on Issues concerning Strict Control of Cultivated Land Usage (MNRP [2021] No.166) requires that the annual "balance in and out" shall be carried out for any conversion of cultivated land to other agricultural land and agricultural facilities construction land (i.e. the conversion of cultivated land to other agricultural land such as forest land, grassland, and garden plot, as well as land for construction of agricultural facilities), and the same amount and quality of cultivated land shall be made up by means of the consolidation of forest land, grassland, garden plot, and other agricultural land as well as agricultural facilities construction land into cultivated land. Compensation for sporadically occupied small land is usually negotiated and adjusted within villagers' groups. If compensation is required, compensation shall be made by reference to land acquisition standards. The block comprehensive land price of Hunan Province, which is updated every three years, provides a regulatory and policy reference for compensation for such land occupied. The latest Notice of Hunan Provincial People's Government on Adjustment of Compensation Standards for Land Acquisition in Hunan Province (XZBF [2021] No.3) was issued in 2021. • Temporary use of land: The Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China set out clear requirements for the management of temporary use of land and its restoration after use. Article 20 of the Regulations stipulates that temporary use of land shall be approved by the departments of natural resources of the people's governments at or above the county level, and the term of temporary use of land shall generally not exceed two years; the land user shall complete land reclamation within one year from the expiration of the term of temporary use of land to make it available for use, and the original land conditions for growing crops shall be restored for occupied cultivated land. The compensation prices determined based on the land compensation standards published by Hunan Province serve as a reference for compensation for temporary use of land. Compensation for temporary use of land is generally negotiated between land users and farmers. • Land boundary adjustment and land management right transfer (LMRT): For the adjustment of land boundary and the corresponding change of contract right and management right that 65 Official Use may be caused by land leveling for high-standard farmland construction, the Well-facilitated Farmland Construction - General Rules (GBT30600-2022) stipulates that before high-standard farmland construction begins, the current land ownership shall be ascertained, and the cultivated land approved for a project shall not be subject to dispute. If high-standard farmland construction involves the adjustment of land ownership and land boundary, the will of the rights holder shall be fully respected. After high-standard farmland construction is completed, land rights shall be confirmed in accordance with the law, land registration shall be updated, a valid certificate of land rights shall be issued, and the cadastral archives shall be updated in time. After high-standard farmland construction is completed, the type of land shall be identified based on the reality and corresponding registration information shall be changed accordingly. Moreover, the relevant procedures shall be improved. The Program does not directly support LMRT-related activities. It will improve land quality and value, indirectly accelerate farmers' voluntary LMRT, and improve LMRT income. The impact on LMRT before and after high- standard farmland construction can also be effectively managed in accordance with the Measures for the Administration of the Land Management Right Transfer of Rural Land revised and implemented as of March 1, 2021. The Measures contain detailed provisions on the object, manner, and duration of LMRT, as well as on the handling of disputes or controversies over LMRT. LMRT is managed through a standardized contract. The model contract is prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 214. Assessment: China and Hunan Province have established a complete legal framework and policy system for involuntary resettlement management. The Program only has a minor impact on land use. Impacts related to small land occupation for farmland works, temporary use of land, relevant land boundary adjustment, and land management right transfer can be effectively managed in accordance with the existing regulations and policies of China and Hunan Province. In general, the relevant regulations and policies are consistent with the requirements of Core Principle #4 and Element 9. 5.2.5 Core Principle #5: Management system for ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups 215. The three elements under Core Principle #5 are related to the social regulations system of the Program. Consistency is analyzed below. Element 10: Undertake meaningful consultations if the ethnic minorities are potentially affected (positively or negatively), to determine whether there is broad community support for the PforR Program activities. 216. Policy requirements for ethnic minority consultation: Hunan is a multi-ethnic province with many ethnic minorities. According to the seventh national census in 2020, there were 6.6852 million ethnic minority people in Hunan Province, accounting for 10.06% of the total population. Among them, the Tujia and Miao ethnic groups were more concentrated in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Yuanjiang River and Zishui River Basin. The Program area includes one ethnic minority township (about 9,300 people) in Dingcheng District. China’s Constitution stipulates that all ethnic groups of China are equal. The Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy stipulates, in dealing with special issues concerning the various nationalities within its area, the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area must conduct full consultation with their representatives and respect their opinions; the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall guarantee that citizens of the various nationalities in the area enjoy the rights of citizens prescribed in the Constitution and shall educate them in the need to perform their duties as citizens. On this legal basis, when minority residents are affected similarly by land acquisition and house demolition, they will not only enjoy the same rights as citizens, but also be subject to free, prior and informed consultation in a culturally appropriate manner organized by local governments when necessary. In addition, … the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area shall make independent arrangements for local capital construction projects in the light of local financial, physical and other conditions within the framework of national plans. When developing resources or carrying out construction in a national autonomy area, the state shall protect its interests, make arrangements favorable to its economic 66 Official Use development, and local minority residents’ production and livelihoods. 217. Assessment: Comprehensive ethnic minority development policies have been established in China and Hunan to respect minority opinions, ensure ethnic equality, and respect minority customs, and are consistent with Core Principle #5 and Element 10. Element 11: Ensure that ethnic minorities can participate in devising opportunities to benefit from exploitation of customary resources and indigenous knowledge, the latter to include the consent of ethnic minorities. 218. Policy basis for ethnic minority development: The Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy stipulates, when developing resources or carrying out construction in a national autonomy area, the state shall protect its interests, make arrangements favorable to its economic development, take care of local minority residents’ production and livelihoods, and include major ecological balance and environmental protection projects in the local national economic and social development plan. From the perspective of public consultation, the Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-Making Procedures stipulates that prior public participation shall be conducted when developing major economic and social development plans, and determining major local infrastructure projects, and it also makes systematic provisions on the schedule, form, process, recording, etc. of public participation. Based on the above regulations, the five-year development plan for ethnic minority programs has been prepared in Hunan Province. The 14th Five-Year Plan of Hunan Province for Ethnic Affairs was promulgated in December 2021, putting forward six specific indicators, namely, social and economic development, people’s livelihood improvement, ecological development, rural revitalization, national community consciousness, and ethnic unity and development, along with 42 key projects. 219. Assessment: Both central and Hunan governments make top-down systematic planning and arrangement in ethnic minority development to create job opportunities for minority residents and improve their living standard and it’s required to conduct prior public consultation for relevant plans and projects in accordance with the Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-making Procedures. This is consistent with Core Principle #5 and Element 11.During the online interview and field investigation, the assessment team confirmed that the Program activities will be mainly carried out in the area where the farmland was located, and rarely involved the minority population. Even if some activities involved minority groups, these activities were beneficial to them, and would not have a negative impact on the minority population. Element 12: Give attention to groups vulnerable to hardship or discrimination, including, as relevant, the poor, the disabled, women and children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, racial groups, or other marginalized groups; and if necessary, take special measures to promote equitable access to PforR Program benefits. 220. Poverty and poverty reduction systems: China has achieved an all-round poverty alleviation in 2020 and currently main focus on those who are at risk of returning to poverty due to various reasons, like households who just have been out of poverty, general farmers, and those in difficulties due to sudden increasing of rigid expenditure or reduction of income caused by emergencies. Correspondingly, the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Reforming and Improving the Social Assistance System (ZBF [2020] No. 18) in August 2020, requiring to develop the social assistance system in a coordinated manner to consolidate our achievements in poverty alleviation, and safeguarding the bottom line of people’s basic livelihood. Minimum living subsidy shall be provided to the family whose per capita income of family members living together is lower than the local minimum standard of living security and conforms to the provisions on property status. Assistance and support subsidies for persons in extreme poverty shall be provided to elderly people, disabled people and minors in urban and rural areas who are unable to work, have no source of income, and cannot appoint the obligatory persons to support and raise them, or whose statutory obligatory persons are incapable of performing their obligations. At the same time, corresponding medical, housing, education, employment and other special social assistance shall be provided according to the actual 67 Official Use needs. For example, special social assistance such as medical care, housing, education and employment or other necessary assistance measures shall be provided to low-income families that do not qualify for subsistence allowances or extreme poverty aid and families that have serious difficulties in basic living due to high essential expenditures. Emergency social assistance shall be provided to families or individuals suffering from emergencies, accidental injuries, or serious diseases, or public health emergencies such as infectious diseases, or other special reasons that lead to temporary difficulties in basic life, as well as people who temporarily get into difficulties or are homeless. In case of natural disasters, assistance shall be given to the victims. On such basis, provincial implementation opinions were promulgated in Hunan Province. Urban and rural MLS standards and subsidy standards for extreme poor people of Hunan are set every year by local governments at or above the county level and vary from place to place. In 2022, the average urban MLS standard is 618 yuan per month per person, and the average rural MLS standard 5,557 yuan per annum per person, the subsidy for extreme poor people in urban and rural areas is 9,640yuan/person/year and 7,224yuan/person/year respectively in Hunan Province. 221. The 14th Five-Year Plan of Civil Affairs of Hunan Province (2021.9.13) specifies the tasks of development and puts forward the focuses of work in nine areas, namely, social assistance, elderly care services, children's welfare, grassroots-level social governance, basic social services, social organization development, philanthropy and social work, regional name management services, "five modernizations" of new Hunan civil affairs. The Plan requires that by 2025: the annual growth rate of MLS in urban and rural areas shall be no lower than that of per capita consumer spending of the previous year; the MLS standard in rural areas accounts for more than 75% of that in urban areas; living subsidies are provided to all financially-challenged disabled people; nursing care allowances are offered to all severely disabled people; trans-provincial marriage registration is fully achieved; all vagrants and beggars with known identity information are returned to their homes; nonprofit cremains burying (storage) facilities are available in all counties; at least 60% of beds in elderly care institutions meet requirements for nursing care; comprehensive elderly care institutions are accessible in 60% of townships (sub-districts); minor protection centers are available in 50% of townships (sub-districts); the number of social service professionals stands at 90,000; volunteer service centers account for 80% of comprehensive community service facilities; area of comprehensive community service facilities accessible by every 100 residents tops 43 square meters; and the number of full-time employees of social organizations reaches 370,000. 222. Protection of women’s rights and interests: As for gender equality and women’s development, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests (2018 Amendment) requires that women’s lawful rights and interests shall be protected, and gender equality promoted, and the state shall ensure that women enjoy the same labor rights and social security rights as men. For example, this law stipulates that woman enjoy the same rights as men in rural land contracting, distribution of the income of collective economic organizations, compensation for land expropriation or land requisition, and the utilization of homesteads, etc. No organization or individual is allowed to infringe on women’s rights in the rural collective economic organizations on the grounds that they are un-married, married, divorced or widowed. In September 2022, the State Council promulgated the Outline for Women's Development in China (2021-2030), setting the following goals: gender equality is practically put in place as a basic state policy to advance innovation in and improvement of systems and mechanisms of promoting gender equality and women’s all-round development; women have equal access to a full range of life-cycle health services, with their health being improved continuously; women enjoy the same rights of education as men, with their quality and ability being improved continuously; women enjoy the same rights as men in economic affairs, with their financial status being improved steadily; women enjoy the same political rights as men, with their participation in the management of state and economic, cultural and social affairs being gradually improved. women enjoy equal access to multi-level and sustainable social security schemes, with their benefits being steadily improved; the system of laws and policies supporting family development is improved, with the new trend toward socialist family values being widely promoted; the concept of gender equality enjoys greater support, creating a more favorable environment for women's development; a more sound legal framework is 68 Official Use established to effectively safeguard legitimate rights and interests of women; and women's sense of gain, happiness and security is increased significantly. 223. The Plan of Hunan Province for Women’s Development (2021-2025) (2021.9.16) sets 80 targets and proposes 95 policies and measures in eight areas, namely, health, education, economy, participation in decision making and administration, social security, family development, environment, and law. 224. Child protection: The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors (2020 Amendment) stipulates that minors shall enjoy all rights equally in accordance with the law, regardless of the nationality, race, gender, household registration, occupation, religious belief, education level, family status, physical and mental health of them or their parents or other guardians. The law makes detailed provisions on family, school, social, network, government and judicial protection for the minors. The Plan of Hunan Province for Children’s Development (2021-2025) (2021.9.16) sets 74 targets and proposes 88 policies and measures in seven areas, namely, health, safety, education, welfare, family, environment, and legal protection. 225. Assessment: Based on the above analysis, there are systematic plans, measures and institutional arrangements on the development and rights and interests protection of vulnerable groups, women and children in China and Hunan, ensuring that all relevant groups participate in the project equally and benefit from projects fairly. Therefore, the policies on vulnerable groups and women are consistent with Core Principle #5 and Element 12. 5.2.6 Core Principle #6: Social conflict management system 226. Element 13 requires that conflict risks be considered, including distributional equity and cultural sensitiveness, and is not related to the Program in general. In addition, based on the analysis of Core Principle #1 and Element 1, China manages social risks and impacts comprehensively through social stability risk analysis. Therefore, the Program will not exacerbate local social conflict. 5.3 Assessment of Social Management Mechanism and Capacity 227. Elements 1 and 2 under Core Principle #1 in the PforR ESSA Guidance propose principled requirements for the responsibilities and capacity of the social agencies of the PIUs. The capacity of such agencies is measured by corresponding core principles. The following two areas will be assessed: whether the relevant organizations have a legal basis on which corresponding measures are taken to manage social risks (Element 1), and whether the relevant organizations have clearly defined their responsibilities and properly allocated resources to support the implementation of relevant plans (Aspect V under Element 2). 228. The provincial, municipal and county authorities in Hunan Province have established clear management agencies for different social risks, which have been provided with qualified staff. This section analyzes the organizational setup of the social management system, and assesses if the organizational settings are rational and needs improvement. It is discussed through two levels: first, the organizational settings of each social management system; second, the rationality and capacity of each social management system against the requirements at Elements 1 and 2 under Core Principle #1. Where gaps are identified, actions and recommendation will be proposed. This section will assess the roles and responsibilities of each administrative agency, working regulations/procedures, staffing, cross- departmental coordination, etc. According to the assessment, the structure and function of social management organization of relevant government departments at the provincial and county levels in Hunan are similar, except that the number of staffers differs due to regional differences. The functions and staffing of social management organizations at all levels should be defined through pertinent official documents and procedures in order to secure the necessary human resources and other resources to complete the relevant work. For different social risks, the corresponding organizations or their capacity are assessed and analyzed in this section. Table 4-1 in Appendix 4 sets out detailed stakeholder analysis 69 Official Use conclusions, including the responsibilities of different government authorities involved in different types of activities. 5.3.1 Social risk assessment management agencies18 • Provincial DRC: approving major fixed asset investment projects based on social stability risks and other documents relevant (attaching the SSRA report when applying for project approval). • Provincial PLAC: coordinating, supervising and directing SSRA. Instructing decision- makers and assessors to convene different political and legal affairs committees and authorities for cross-regional / departmental projects. • County(district) government: conducting county-wide social stability risk assessment, decision-making, implementation and supervision, and the SSRA report is discussed and adopted by the executive meeting of the municipal and county CPC committee. • County (district) PLACs: reviewing and registering the SSRA report, and supervising the work of the assessor. • Agricultural authorities: conducting or appointing an independent appraisal agency to conduct SSRA, and being responsible for or supervising the implementation of risk prevention and mitigation measures. • Independent appraisal agency: attending SSRA training and examinations organized by the NDRC, and getting registered at the provincial PLAC in advance. • Township governments: being cooperative in the implementation of SSRA and risk prevention and mitigation measures • Village committees: participating in the implementation of SSRA and risk prevention and mitigation measures 229. For example, the PLAC of Lukou District of Zhuzhou in Hubei Province has established a social stability maintenance office, which is responsible for directing assessors to conduct SSRA on major decisions and construction projects, providing policy advice and guidance, and supervising assessors to ensure that they implement risk prevention and mitigation measures as required in the SSRA reports; coordinating and handling major issues which may affect social stability, preventing and resolving social conflicts and incidents with potential social stability risks; investigating conflicts that affect social stability, regularly analyzing social stability situations and stability maintenance evaluation mechanism, studying and proposing countermeasures. Assessors and third-party institutions shall carry out SSRA for major decisions as required, and accurately classify the risk levels of projects. Assessors shall review the SSRA report and procedures strictly, issue a letter of application for record after confirming the risk assessment results, sign it by the person in charge of the local unit and submit it to the PLAC of the Municipal Party Committee for record. After reviewing the content of SSRA, the PLAC of the Municipal Party Committee shall keep a record and issue a letter of confirmation. 230. Assessment: The state and local regulations clearly stipulate responsibilities for the agencies concerned and their manning quotas, and the relevant provincial authorities (Provincial PLAC) require that staff concerned should receive relevant training. In addition, budgets should be sufficient during SSRA to ensure that relevant measures can be implemented. For the implementation of social risk control measures for activities involved in the Program, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has developed a risk elimination mechanism in the project application, comparison, and review. 18This section summarizes the responsibilities of the relevant agencies related to the Program's social risk management, which may not be all responsibilities of the government authorities concerned. 70 Official Use Therefore, the social stability risk assessment and management mechanisms of Hunan Province and relevant counties are effective and consistent with the Bank policy. 5.3.2 Cultural relic protection agencies • Provincial culture and tourism department: coordinating and directing cultural relic investigation, protection and utilization, archeology, and major project implementation through the cultural relic protection division. • Municipal/county (district) government: responsible for the territorial management of cultural relic safety. • Municipal/county cultural relic authority: coordinating and directing cultural relic protection, conducting administrative law enforcement for cultural relics, assisting the competent authority in reviewing projects involving cultural relic protection, supporting the superior cultural relic and archeological authority in conducting cultural relic investigation and exploration, and archeological excavation. Where site selection unavoidably involves any place where cultural relics are buried, the provincial cultural heritage bureau shall cause the archeological excavation agency to conduct cultural relic investigation and exploration at the expense of the project owner. • Municipal/county development and reform commission: organizing feasibility study review for construction projects, and ensuring that the project design does not affect cultural relics in collaboration with the concerned cultural relic authority. • Planning division of natural resources authority: assisting the cultural relic authority in defining the range of cultural relic protection and construction control area during local planning and project site selection. 231. Assessment: For potential adverse impacts on tangible cultural heritage, state and local regulations are available to avoid or minimize such impacts. The existing state and local authorities are able to manage cultural relic risks effectively, consistent with Core Principle #2. 5.3.3 Land administration authority ◼ Land use approval agencies: • MNR: reviewing project-specific impact on basic farmland and ecological conservation redlines. • Provincial NRBs: reviewing project-specific permanent requisition of collective land (except those within the basic farmland and ecological conservation redlines); • Municipal and county NRBs: accepting land use applications for construction projects, directing the PIUs in preparing necessary land approval documents, and submitting such documents to the competent government. • Government at and above the county level: approving land use within the scope of its jurisdiction. ◼ Land acquisition related agencies: • County or above NRBs or land acquisition authority: implementing the applicable laws and regulations, drafting the local land utilization plan, directing land users to submit land use application materials, and reviewing and submitting such materials; establishing a leading group for land acquisition compensation and resettlement; authorizing the land acquisition department to take the lead, and local township governments and communities 71 Official Use to cooperate with the third party to carry out SSRA and survey and mapping, especially land status survey, door-to-door visits, policy publicity, resettlement measures discussion, grievance handling, etc.; making a pre-announcement on land acquisition; drafting a compensation and resettlement plan; organizing public hearings on land acquisition and house demolition; signing land acquisition compensation and resettlement agreements with affected persons or entities; making land acquisition announcement, and conducting land acquisition, compensation and resettlement after obtaining approval. • Township government and village committee: participating in and supporting land acquisition, especially DMS, door-to-door visit, policies publicity and communication, resettlement measures discussion, and grievance redress, etc. • Municipal and county HRSSBs: ensuring that those with a per capita cultivated area below the specified level after land acquisition are eligible for social security. To be covered by social security programs, the application is usually raised by the land-expropriated farmers, discussed by the rural collective economic organization, verified by township government or sub-district office and disclosed for seven days, followed by the review by the natural resources department in conjunction with the public security department and subject to the approval by the local government. After that, the subsidy funds will be allocated by the local finance bureau, with the registration procedures being completed by HRSSB. Land-expropriated farmers may choose basic endowment insurance for urban workers, or basic endowment insurance for urban and rural residents. • County/district ARABs: supervising the LMRT contracts and the performance thereof within the scope of its jurisdiction. • Third-party appraisal agency: a qualified appraisal agency will be appointed by the affected village or community under the direction of the natural resources authority to appraise the value of affected assets and assess any social stability risks arising from land acquisition and house demolition. • Finance bureau: preparing and providing necessary budgetary funds according to the land acquisition compensation budget submitted by the natural resources authority and land users in specific public benefits-oriented project. • Audit bureau: auditing the costs of land acquisition, house demolition and resettlement regularly according to the statutory process and giving opinions. 232. Laws and regulations on land acquisition are stipulated by the central and provincial government authorities, and implemented by the county/district governments in light of local realities, so county/district land acquisition authorities function and are organized similarly. For example, the Land Acquisition and House Demolition Center of the NRB of Lukou District , Hunan Province is responsible for collective land acquisition. It is a section-level secondary public institution with 20 staff members. Regarding to land and attachment acquisition for a specific project, the Land Acquisition and House Demolition Center establishes a land acquisition management team jointly with the competent authority, township government and village committee. The PIU entrusts the land acquisition task to NRB first, then the NRB issues a land acquisition announcement, conducts the DMS and appraisal, starts the SSRA, discloses the DMS results, and verifies all complaints received and discloses the results thereof. The land compensation and resettlement plan would also be disclosed at the stage. After that, negotiation on and signing of the agreement on proposed land acquisition can be initiated. When all the above activities are completed, relevant documents are submitted to the provincial NRB for approval. Upon approval, the PIU disburses funds for land acquisition compensation to the district finance bureau, and funds for endowment insurance to HRSSB according to the compensation agreement so that the affected households are compensated, and the HRSSB will complete endowment insurance related procedures for the affected households as required and as agreed. ◼ Facility agriculture land use (FALU) 72 Official Use • National and provincial NRBs, and ARABs: regulating FALU by various technical means; • Municipal NRBs, and ARABs: supervising and guiding the management of FALU, establishing and improving the inspection system, implementing the supervision of FALU, and submitting FALU registration records to the provincial authority annually; • County NRBs, and ARABs: responsible for routine FALU supervision, guiding the site selection of facilities in accordance with the requirements of economical and intensive use of land, identifying whether the tillage layer is destroyed, examining land restoration and reporting the records to the competent prefecture (municipal) authorities quarterly. The natural resources authorities, upon receipt of the approval documents and relevant records of the FALU from the township governments, shall timely review and upload the relevant information to the FALU regulation platform, carry out the annual survey on the change of FALU according to regulations. The ARABs at the county level should strengthen the guidance on FALU. Any unavoidable occupation of general farmland for any facility agriculture should be incorporated into the annual plan of maintaining balance of cultivated land of the county and can only be implemented after the plan is approved. • Township governments: organizing rural collective economic organizations and operators to determine the location and area of land used for facility agriculture properly based on the facility construction plan and under the guidance of NRBs and ARABs at the county level in accordance with the national spatial planning and land use planning, agricultural development planning, village development planning, as well as policies on natural resources, agriculture, and forestry, etc., provided that cultivated land is protected and land is used rationally; organizing rural collective economic organizations and operators to conduct site selection, complete LMRT, and sign land use agreement; tracking the whole process of FALU; supervising the land restoration and hand-over process; disclosing the information of FALU; and submitting the records to the NRB and ARAB at the county level on a monthly basis. The plan of maintaining balance of cultivated land should be developed by the township government if any contracted cultivated land is changed to other types of land like forest land. After the plan is approved, instructions are given to the parties to the LMRT contract to re-sign the or update land contract and relevant certificates. • Rural collective economic organization: monitoring whether the operators conduct FALU and fulfill the responsibility of land restoration in accordance with the agreement, and disclosing the information of FALU on the bulletin board in the village. 233. All county/district have basically the same administrative management structure and responsibilities for the agricultural land for facilities. Taking the surveyin Ningyuan before the pre- appraisal as an example, in Ningyuan County, the second planning office (2 staff members) and national land spatial planning office (3 staff members) of the NRB are responsible for routine FALU management. The land user submits the site selection application to the township government or sub-district office where FALU is incurred. The township government or sub-district office conducts site investigation, land area mapping and determine the location and scope of FALU with 5 working days in accordance with the national land spatial planning, rural development planning, and village development planning and on the premise of protecting cultivated land, using land intensively and complying with the FALU policies. Upon the preliminary examination and verification by the township government or sub-district office, the NRB at the county level will work with the relevant departments to conduct the on-site inspection and joint review. After the joint review, the township government will guide the agricultural production operator in signing the agreement and completing the application form for FALU, make a disclosure on the bulletin board of the township/village for no less than 10 days. Upon expiration of the period of disclosure, the township government issues a notice of filing. After filing is completed, the township natural resources authority will upload the relevant information to the database within 5 working days and submit the records to county NRB and ARAB on or before the 23rd day of each month. The township government or sub-district office is primarily responsible for post-approval supervision. 73 Official Use ◼ Land management right transfer (LMRT) • MARA: directing nationwide LMRT and LMRT contract management. • ARABs (rural management authorities) at or above the county level: establishing sound operating rules, conducting policy inquiry, information disclosure, contract signing, transaction attestation, equity appraisal, financing guarantee, file management and other services in relation to LMRT; establishing a shared rural land contracting information platform for at the national, provincial, municipal and county level in accordance with unified standards and technical specifications, improving mechanism of signing LMRT contracts online, managing LMRT in a standardized manner, and using information technology to facilitate LMRT; directing the work of township rural land contracting management authorities; encouraging transferees to engage more in grain production; encouraging enterprises and other players in the private sector to develop modern cultivation and stockbreeding suitable for large-scale operation and providing guidance required therefor; guiding the transferee in developing appropriately scaled-up operations in light of the natural and economic conditions, the transfer of rural labor force, the level of agricultural mechanization and other factors; establishing a hierarchical qualification and project review system and a risk prevention system for LMRT in the private sector according to law; strengthening in-process and post-event regulation, and correcting and punishing illegal acts timely; • Township governments: responsible for LMRT and LMRT contract management, including providing a sample contract to both parties and guide them in contract signing; correcting illegal provisions in the contract timely; establishing LMRT ledger to timely and accurately record the transfer status; and keeping LMRT records and documents properly. • Village committee: responsible for the negotiation on LMRT, guiding and supervising the parties involved in LMRT so that the standard contracts and documents are signed as required, establishing a ledger for LMRT in the village, recording the transfer status in a timely and accurate manner and reporting relevant information to the superior authority; keeping LMRT records and documents properly; participating in the signing of LMRT contracts in the capacity of the representative of the owners of collective land or a third party, as the case may be; acting as a transferee receiving the land management right from the rural household and then transferring the right to a third-party agricultural production operator from time to time. 234. Assessment: China has established a sophisticated organizational structure for land acquisition, and FALU and LMRT management, with management measures being clearly defined. It's stipulated that the county-level NRB plays the leading role and that the township, village and community authorities make concerted efforts in line with their explicitly defined responsibilities. The Land Administration Law requires that land acquisition compensation and resettlement in projects shall be completed beforehand, and that the finance and audit bureaus shall secure and review the budget regularly. In addition, according to the survey result, the competent authorities implement or participate in land acquisition or occupation, FALU, LMRT, compensation and resettlement for several different types of projects every year, and they have rich experience in implementing and managing land acquisition and compensation, consistent with Core Principle #4. ◼ Livelihood restoration • Livelihood restoration measures are flexible, including agricultural resettlement, reemployment, shares resettlement with assets, relocation, and social security arrangement, involving different management agencies. Specifically, agricultural resettlement is usually conducted by the village collective economic organization, which may decide to allocate undistributed collective land to households affected by land acquisition, or conduct land reallocation if no undistributed collective land is available; reemployment is chosen by affected households based on their own needs, where free training and employment 74 Official Use support are provided by the county labor and employment authority; shares resettlement is determined by the PIU in consultation with affected households; relocation is requested by the affected households for new land farming at other areas, and decided by local governments after assessment and consulting with the host village collective economic organizations; social security for land-expropriated farmers is implemented by the county human resources and social security authority with the support of the township government and village/community committee. 235. Assessment: Livelihood restoration is part of LAR. Different livelihood restoration measures involve different implementing agencies, such as village collectives, social security authorities, employment authorities, and enterprises, which have clearly defined responsibilities. Public finance supports the implementation of these measures. In addition, different livelihood restoration measures have different funding sources. For example, in terms of shares resettlement, dividends are determined according to the agreement reached between the land user and the village committee or villagers. Livelihood restoration measures can be well implemented in practice due to rich experience and sound regulations on measures, organizational structures and fund arrangements, consistent with Element 9 under Core Principle #4. 5.3.4 Public and worker health and safety, and emergency engagement agencies 1) Worker health and safety • National Health Commission: preparing, adjusting and disclosing classes and catalogs of occupational diseases, and supervising national occupational disease prevention and treatment. • Provincial Health Commission (HC): formulating and implementing policies and standards related to occupational health and radiological health, carrying out monitoring of key occupational diseases, special investigations, occupational health risk assessment and health management of occupational groups, and coordinating the prevention and control of occupational diseases. • Provincial Diseases Prevention and Control Hospitals: developing and implementing provincial occupational disease prevention and control work plan and implementation plan, providing technical guidance, training and quality control for the province's prevention and control work. • Municipal/County HCs: supervising, managing and implementing the work related to local occupational health prevention and treatment, and ensuring that workers enjoy occupational health and safety rights according to law. • Municipal/County HRSSBs: managing work-related injury insurance, establishing a tripartite mechanism in labor relations with trade unions and enterprises to solve relevant major issues. • Occupational health inspection agency: obtaining a practicing license, completing registration procedures with the provincial health commission, employing medical workers like licensed physician and nurses qualified for carrying out the occupational health inspections as registered; ensuring that at least one licensed physician with occupational disease diagnosis qualification is employed. • Trade union: directing workers and employers in entering into and performing employment contracts, and establishing a collective bargaining mechanism to protect the lawful rights and interests of workers. 75 Official Use • Women’s federation: women's federation at or above the county level is responsible for women and children affairs and coordinating competent authorities to protect women’s rights and interests. • Emergency management agency: responsible for managing emergencies related to work safety and natural disasters and other emergencies, and carrying out all-round disaster prevention, mitigation and relief work. • Township government: responsible for routine work and inspection in relation to public safety, workers' health and safety and emergency rescue within the scope of its jurisdiction. 236. HCs of different counties/cities have a similar organizational structure. For example, in Lukou District, Hunan Province, three organizations under the health commission are responsible for health management: 1) occupational health office of Health Commission; 2) health supervision and law enforcement bureau; 3) disease prevention and control center. At the same time, occupational health examination agencies are set up in the township health centers of Lukou Town and Zhuting Town where some key enterprises involved in occupational hazards are located. In addition, there are part-time law enforcement personnel at township level: one health supervisor and one occupational health administrator at the health center. • Occupational health office (2 staff members): developing and implementing policies and standards related to occupational health and radiological health in the county; carrying out key occupational disease monitoring, special investigation, occupational health risk assessment and health management for occupational groups, and coordinating the prevention and control of occupational diseases. • Health supervision and law enforcement bureau (39 staff members): checking the implementation status of occupational health management measures of local enterprises, mainly focusing on whether they conduct test (assessment) on the occupational-disease- inductive factors in the workplace, whether they carry out occupational health examination for workers before, during and after employment, whether they make declaration in the national toxic and hazardous factor declaration system, whether they prepare and urge workers to use standard protective equipment and whether they take measures to minimize the occupational- disease-inductive factors. • Disease prevention and control center (78 staff members): classifying corporate hazards into five categories (pneumoconiosis, chemical, biological, physical and radioactive factors), and checking enterprises with occupational health risks once or twice every year. 2) Safety Management • Production/operation entity: the key leader, e.g., the legal person, is fully responsible for its work safety, and the trade union supervises work safety. • Hazardous material production/operation/storage agency: setting up a work safety management organization, or appointing full-time work safety staff. • Emergency management authority: instructing local departments to respond to emergencies involving work safety and natural disasters, and to work on comprehensive disaster prevention, reduction and response, and being responsible for the comprehensive supervision and administration of work safety. 237. In Hunan Province, a work safety mechanism is in place, featuring the leadership of production and operation entities, participation by workers, supervision by the government and public, and self- discipline across the sector. Safety education covers all people, and work safety training are provided to each level of government official. 3) Natural disaster emergency management 76 Official Use • Provincial disaster reduction commission: it is the natural disaster rescue and response agency of the provincial government, established at the provincial emergency management department, with members being the provincial emergency management department, finance department, and other competent authorities, such as the ARABs, WRBs, NRBs, HURDBs, EEBs, statistics bureau, meteorological bureau, earthquake bureau, HCs, broadcast and television bureau, red cross, communication bureau, and fire brigade. The provincial disaster early warning and response system is launched based on assessment, and after it is launched, the provincial disaster reduction commission starts its working mechanism immediately to organize and coordinate emergency warning and response activities, such as post-disaster relief and reconstruction, including transitional living assistance, winter and spring relief, recovery and reconstruction of damaged houses, etc. • Municipal/county emergency management bureau: when a natural disaster occurs, the local disaster early warning and response system is started based on assessment. For natural disasters that may affect several areas, the provincial disaster reduction office will make an analysis and assessment based on the disaster monitoring and forecast information provided by relevant departments and the natural, demographic, social and economic conditions of relevant areas, and decide to launch a provincial-level disaster early warning and response. • Township government and village committee: organizing and implementing natural disaster emergency rescue work within the scope of its jurisdiction. 238. Assessment: For natural disaster management, Hunan Province has defined departmental responsibilities, and can manage sudden natural disasters effectively, consistent with Element 8 under Core Principle #3. 5.3.5 Ethnic minority affairs management agencies • Provincial ethnic affairs authorities: coordinating and promoting relevant departments to perform their duties related to ethnic affairs, promoting the implementation and integration of ethnic policies in economic, social and other related fields; formulating special plans for ethnic minorities affairs and supervising the implementation thereof, participating in drafting development plans for ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas in economic and social fields, promoting the establishment and improvement of a comprehensive evaluation and monitoring system for the development of ethnic minority affairs, driving the use of information technology in ethnic minority service systems and ethnic minority affairs management; studying the problems of economic and social development of ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas and developing special policy suggestions, participating in the coordination of scientific and technological development, and economic and technological cooperation in ethnic minority areas, participating in the development of plans for the talent development of ethnic minorities, and assisting relevant departments in the training, education and employment of ethnic minority officials. • Municipal/prefecture ethnic affairs authorities: implementing policies, laws and regulations, and provincial and municipal/prefecture decisions on ethnic and religious work; drafting local regulations and rules on ethnic and religious affairs; formulating relevant policies and plans on ethnic and religious affairs, and supervising their implementation; directing and improving the institutional construction for the implementation of national regional autonomy to protect the lawful rights and interests of minority residents; drafting development plans for minority officials and talents, and studying, managing and directing relevant policy advice. 77 Official Use • County ethnic affairs authorities: identifying municipal/county minority population, applying for ethnic minority development projects, cultivating minority officials and developing the annual targets for minority officials training. 239. Assessment: Departmental responsibilities for economic and social development, and minority official training in minority areas have been defined at the provincial, municipal/prefecture and county levels, consistent with Core Principle #5. 5.3.6 Vulnerable group protection agencies 240. Rural revitalization bureaus, women’s federations, and civil affairs bureaus have been established to develop policies and plans to promote poverty reduction and help vulnerable groups at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels, plan and manage low-income people assistance, women and children’s development, and management of the disabled, left-behind old people and minors in a unified manner. All authorities have appropriate staff and budgets, and evaluation mechanism for their performance. • Civil affairs bureau: managing affairs related to old people and left-behind (distressed) minors needing assistance, including survey, statistics, filing and recording; establishing a local management mechanism for left-behind (distressed) minors and a local old-age care mechanism, and securing funds. • Women’s federation: helping women play a unique role in production and life, and protecting the lawful rights and interests of women and children, providing assistance to aggrieved women and children, building family civilization, etc. • Disabled persons’ federation (DPF): protecting the civil rights of the disabled, collecting their opinions, understanding their needs, providing service to them, mobilizing the public to understand, respect, care for and support them, eliminating discrimination and obstacles, assisting the government in developing outlines for disabled persons’ programs, supporting them in areas like rehabilitation, education, employment, poverty reduction, rights protection, culture, sports, social security, IT application, disability prevention, and improving the environment and conditions for their access to social life. • Rural revitalization bureau: strengthening poverty alleviation outcomes, and preventing re-impoverishment or additional impoverishment. • Township government and village/community committee: a supervisor of left-behind (distressed) minors is appointed at the township level and a director for minors affairs is assigned at the village/community committee level; a regional old age care service center and a women’s federation office are established at the township level, and an old age care service station and women’s federation chairman mechanism are established in each village/community. 241. In each county, the elderly care service section, children’s welfare section, or elderly care and children welfare section are responsible for work on left-behind old people and minors, with 2-6 staff members. For example, in Lukou District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, a leading group for the protection of minors was established to take care of minors and left-behind children in rural areas. Each township (village) made organizational arrangements to ensure that routine work of protecting and taking care of rural left-behind and distressed children proceeds normally. Lukou District has 8 supervisors and 139 directors for children, with each township (village) being equipped with one supervisor and each village/community having one director. All of them are assigned with clearly defined job duties. The district civil affairs bureau secures financial input, and has established a well-equipped special office to ensure normal performance of routine work. In 2021, living subsidy of over RMB 120,000 was disbursed to orphans. Since 2020, the basic living subsidy system for de facto orphans has been fully launched, with basic living subsidy of RMB 808,000 being disbursed to de facto orphans from 78 Official Use January 2020 to December 2021. 242. In each county or city, the RRB, with about 20 staff members, is usually responsible for consolidating and expanding the efforts to effectively link the achievements in poverty alleviation with rural revitalization. What's more, a coordination agency like poverty alleviation leading group or rural revitalization strategic headquarters composed of leaders of relevant authorities is established under each county/municipal government, and it holds coordination meetings irregularly. In each county/district, a rural revitalization strategic headquarters was established with the county /district government as the leader and other industrial administration departments, associations and enterprises as members. Under this headquarters, a sub-headquarters of consolidating poverty alleviation achievement was established to manage the data quality in national information platform and use of provincial platform, dynamically monitor and prevent people from returning to poverty, establish a sound rapid detection and response mechanism for people who are easy to return to poverty or be pushed into poverty. It also manages in a grid manner, provides timely support in line with the hierarchical classification, procedures and policies, and implements various supporting policies on education, health care, housing, MLS, safe drinking water, employment support, financial support and following-up assistance for relocated impoverished residents, so as to achieve early detection, early intervention and early assistance, continue to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation, and prevent returning to poverty. 243. Assessment: Competent authorities are established to manage different vulnerable groups in China, such as RRBs for poverty issues, DPF for disabled people, civil affairs bureaus for the left-behind old people and minors, and women’s federations for women. These authorities are flexibly staffed, may engage extra staff as necessary in additional to their regular staff and are secured with funds. Therefore, the central and local governments have clearly defined responsibilities in the rights protection of vulnerable groups, and their management capacity complies with Core Principle #5. 5.4 Assessment of the Social Effects of Implementation 244. The assessment of social effects of implementation is mainly based on systematic data collected in the 6 counties/districts involved in the Program and in-depth survey in 3 key counties/districts. The key counties/districts were selected in light of their geographical and economic conditions and representativeness in ethnic autonomous counties in Hunan Province so as to reveal major social features of such areas. The assessment systematically examines social risk management of previous similar projects and the actual outcome of their implementation and social risk management. During the site survey, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the key counties visited to cross-examine their attitudes toward and satisfaction with the implementation of related activities. During social risk assessment, special attention was paid to analyzing the implementation of policies consistent with the World Bank's principles to assess whether the objectives set out in the core principles and elements can be met. Therefore, this section provides analysis and assessment against the six core principles and elements of social relevance. Appendix 7 of this report provides massive data and typical images acquired during the survey, fully showing the social effects of implementation of the program activities. 5.4.1 Core Principle #1: Sustainable social risks management system 5.4.1.1 Element 1: Operate within an adequate legal and regulatory framework to guide E&S impact assessments, mitigation, management, and monitoring at the PforR Program level. 245. Out of the PforR supported activities, some activities, e.g., reduction of pesticide and chemical fertilizers, green agriculture, smart agriculture, return of crop straw as mulch, and promotion of water- saving irrigation techniques, do not involve civil work or land use. Implementation of such activities does not lead to any direct economic loss, but raise the farmers' awareness of environment protection, water conservation and emission reduction, and gradually change their bad habits or practice in production and living, which requires the improvement of production and living skills and competences. Therefore, 79 Official Use systematic training system has been established across the provincial, municipal and county levels. In addition, serials of technical support and guiding policies are also available to promote the improvement and positive changes. 5.4.1.1.1 Education and training: ⚫ Farm training mechanism: i. Overall planning: it is a long-term strategy for the Chinese central and local governments to use training programs help farms increase income, improve agricultural production techniques, protect environment and improve health and safety. It is uniformly deployed and arranged by the MARA and all provincial, municipal and county governments, carried out in all counties and districts every year, and assessed as a part of routine performance assessment of the agriculture and rural affairs departments. For example, in April 2022, MARA issued the Notice on Training of the High-caliber Farmers in 2022, putting forward the work ideas, main tasks, special actions and work requirements for the training of high-caliber farmers nationwide in 2022. Accordingly, the annual work plans were developed by integrating the requirements of MARA and local situation. In June 2022, the general office of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hunan Province issued the notice on the Plan of Hunan Province of Implementing the "Lead Goose" Program on Training Leading Talents in Rural Revitalization in 2022. ii. Institutional setup: the county/district ARABs are responsible for providing farmers with training locally by assigning the task to dedicated departments such as the Leading Group for Training High-caliber Farmers in some counties and the Office of the Leading Group for Training New-type Professional Farmers in townships of Qiyang County, Hunan Province. iii. Budget: farmers do no need to pay for the training, including the cost on meals and dormitory during the training. The budget of training is mainly covered by the special finance support of the central and provincial governments. For example, the budget for farmer training in Qiyang County was RMB 4000 per person (operating and management training) and RMB 2000 per person (professional production and skills training) in 2022. In 2020, special fund of RMB 300000 was disbursed for farmer training in Lukou District in 2020 and 2021 respectively. iv. Application: farmers who intend to join the training can file an application with the village committees/community offices, or through the official website or APPs of local agriculture and rural departments. For example, people can join the training through the website of China Rural Distant Education Network (www.ngx.net.cn) or APPs on the agricultural technology and education cloud platform of Hunan Province. v. Teachers: all the teachers must be selected from the list of teachers issued by the MARA. Priority is given to those who are recommended by government departments. All teachers should be those with required certificates (i.e., teacher qualification certificate, or public officers' valid certificates of professional ranks or titles as approved by their employers). At least half of teachers in a class should have qualification of provincial or higher level (including qualified teachers from higher general or vocational schools). ⚫ Content of training: the content of training is updated to keep up with the rural economic, social and ecological conditions and the trend of the times. For example, the Skills Training for Rural Entrepreneurial Leaders in 2003 was launched to help farmers increase income, while the focus of the training has been shifted to high quality development as a result of improved production and living conditions and enhanced environmental protection awareness. The Plan of Hunan Province of Implementing the "Lead Goose" Program on Training Leading Talents in Rural Revitalization in 2022 requires that efforts shall be made to give play to the leading role of new-type farmers in engaging more people in agricultural development and driving farmers to fulfill environmental and social responsibilities in agricultural development. Figures 1-3 of Appendix 7 show flexible training programs offered to improve productive skills of farmers. 80 Official Use ⚫ Outcomes of educational and training programs: educational and training programs generated fruitful results. For example, Dingcheng District determined to train 400 high-caliber farmers in in 2021, including 200 farmers receiving the new-type agricultural management training, 100 farmers receiving the agricultural machinery operation training, and 100 farmers receiving the new rural entrepreneurial leaders training. Among them, 400 trainees were qualified as the new-type professional farmers. In Lukou District, third-party professional agencies have been appointed to offer high-caliber/new-type farmer training programs, with 200 farmers (including the paddy rice and fruit growers, new-type rural entrepreneurs, and drone operators) being training annually. 5.4.1.1.2 Technical support: ⚫ Technical support from the government: dedicates offices are established under county ARABs to take charge of in-field training and guidance. Such offices include the country/municipal ARAB's comprehensive agricultural service centers (soil and fertilizer stations, and plant protection stations). In addition, each township government also arranged 1-2 representatives from the agricultural service center to inspect the villages and fields within the scope of its jurisdiction and provide technical guidance and support, which usually happens during the sowing season from November to February and the fields management period from April to August. Support provided involves agricultural technology, environmentally friendly farming pattern, and reduced use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. All people engaged in agricultural production operations have access to such support. For example, the assement team learned from the investigation before the pre-appraisal that,the ARAB of Ningyuan County advocated the "Internet plus safe grain" production model, with Hubei's first safe grain production base being established in the S&T demonstration park of over 10000mu in Zhoujiaba, Wanjing Town. What's more, technologies of returning corn straw to farmland as mulch, trapping and killing pests by using solar frequency-vibrancy pest-killing lamp, and developing a rice-duck ecosystem are promoted to biologically eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Internet-based remote monitoring system is used to acquire data, images and videos about soil and meteorological conditions of the S&T park and paddy fields online, making it possible to check the growth of paddy rice and other environmental parameters of paddy fields and thus use data analysis to directly support fields management. In 2020, the production base produced 5500 tons of high-quality paddy rice out of paddy fields of 11000mu. The price of high-quality paddy rice like Yexiangyou reached RMB 195 per picul, RMB 60 per picul higher than that of general hybrid rice. Jiuyi Sumi, a rice brand of Ningyuan Haofangxin Rice Co., Ltd., was sold at the price of RMB 33.6/kg, 8 times higher than that of general rice. Since 2019, the production base has made experimental efforts to develop rural complexes and leisure agriculture programs. In 2020, rice varieties of 61.8mu were grown to form colorful drawings of the red flag, the Chinese characters “fendou fengshou� and the logo of the Jiuyi Mountains, producing 10000kg colored rice and 20000kg high-quality rice and generating income of RMB 90000. Yongzhou City also held the Farmers' Harvest Festival, attracting 50000 tourists and generating revenue of over RMB 10 million. Haofangxin Rice Co., Ltd. developed the "enterprise-base-farmer" model to offer order-driven one-on-one assistance to 1035 registered poverty-stricken residents from 236 households of 14 villages including Zhoujiaba and Tianxin, increasing their annual income to over RMB 10000 per household. Refer to Figures 10-12 in Appendix 7 for information about paddy rice grown in Zhoujiaba, Ningyuan County in an environmentally friendly way. ⚫ Guidance from agricultural cooperatives: according to the survey, the agricultural mode of “cooperative (enterprise) plus farmer� has been extensively promoted in Hunan Province. The cooperative uses LMRT to acquire land, and works with dozens or tens of farmers to carry out planting or breeding in accordance with the plans and standards of the cooperative, with the agricultural produce being purchased and uniformly sold by the cooperative. In order to improve 81 Official Use the quality, reputation and price of the products, the cooperative always leads the farmers in conducting environmentally friendly planting and breeding. For example, Hunan Lukou Zhuting Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., an enterprise engaged in comprehensive agricultural development integrating planting, breeding, agricultural product proceeding, agricultural technology promotion and training, acquired land of 1080mu from 256 households through LMRT at the price of RMB 550/mu/year. Every year, the company pays the rent to farmers in cash no later than March 1st. The land was mainly used for planting vegetables, fruits, watermelons, rapeseed, high-quality rice, and rice seedlings. Now the company employs 15 farmers who were original owners of the land, and they received a monthly salary of RMB 2800- RMB 3600. The company also helped over 50 households mainly by providing the venue for technical training of farmers, organizing technical training sessions, and inviting professors from institutions of higher education on agriculture and professional technicians from the district ARAB to provide lectures on the spot. ⚫ Application of technology in agriculture: scientific and technological support has created favorable conditions for farmers to transform and improve their methods of agricultural production operations. For example, Hunan Province has established the "Hunan mobile soil testing and formulated fertilization system". Since 2022, the users can input parameters in relation to the type of plants planned to be grown and anticipated output, and the APP will automatically determine the position of the land, and generate the latest results of soil testing and formulated fertilization and the best fertilization scheme. Refer to Fig.13 in Appendix 7 for information about the training on the use of the soil testing and formulated fertilization system in Caoping Town, Dingcheng District. 5.4.1.1.3 Guiding policy and demonstration: ⚫ Return of crop straw to the farmland as mulch: In 2021 and 2022, the MARA successively issued the notice on comprehensive utilization of crop straw, implemented the action and strategy of comprehensive utilization of crop straw as fertilizer, forage and fuel for energy production. 300 counties and 600 demonstration bases for comprehensive utilization of crop straw have been established nationwide, achieving a rate of comprehensive utilization of crop straw of over 86% in the country. In 2021, Hunan Province carried out experimental project of comprehensive straw utilization in 10 counties and cities across the province, including Dingcheng District in the PforR program. In Dingcheng District, straw mainly comes from crops like paddy rice, oilseed rape and cotton. In 2021, Dingcheng District had about 610300 tons of collectable crop straw, including 412200 tons of rice straw (67.54% of collectable crop straw). According to the survey, the crop straw is generally crushed and returned to the fields after the crops are harvested. The assessment team learned before the pre-appraisal that,in Ningyuan County, to direct the return of crop straw to the farmland as mulch, efforts are made to apply technology and provide guidance during the process of paddy rice harvesting. For example, each harvester is additionally equipped with a rice straw crushing device worth RMB 3000 free of charge (with the cost being borne by the ARAB) to ensure that crop straw is returned extensively. ⚫ Green pest control, soil testing and formulated fertilization: in 2022, Lukou District developed the Implementing Plan for the Reduction of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides in Lukou District of Zhuzhou City in 2022, the Work Plan on the Increase of Yield by Enhancing Unified and Green Pest Control and Reducing Pest-induced Crop Loss and the Use of Chemical Pesticides, and the Guidelines on Scientific Application of Fertilizers in Lukou District of Zhuzhou City in 2022. In addition to efforts to promote the use of new pesticide application equipment and drones for crop protection, three agencies in Lukou District conducted unified pest control in farmland of 278000 mu, and green pest control was provided for farmland of 140000 mu (or 240000 mu if the number of times of such efforts is considered). Soil testing and formulated fertilization were provided for 542100 mu farmland of major plants like paddy rice, 82 Official Use vegetables and citrus, with 3363 tons of formulated fertilizers and 4305 tons of commercial organic fertilizers being used. 6 fertilizer efficiency tests were conducted and 80 soil samples were collected and tested for proposing targeted plans of applying organic fertilizers and medium-and-trace-element fertilizers. Besides, 11 training sessions on the techniques of applying pesticides and fertilizers were provided to 700 persons, 5000 technical manuals for fertilizer and pesticide reduction were printed and distributed to large planters, cooperatives, and unified pest control agencies. Refer to Fig.14 in Appendix 7 for various efforts to promote and publicize techniques of reducing the use of chemical fertilizers in Dingcheng District. 5.4.1.1.4 Water-saving irrigation 246. High standard farmland construction (HSFC) in Hunan Province requires both the improvement of agricultural irrigation facilities and the fine management of water use in agriculture, including the gradual implementation of the water quota system, the water pricing reform, and the promotion of water rights trading. ⚫ Water quota: Water quota requires a differentiated pricing system for water within and beyond the fixed quota assigned to water users. It encourages the users to save water by providing water conservation rewards and allowing the transfer of unused balance of quota between the users. The government or authorized water administration authorities or competent authorities of irrigated areas may buy the balance of quota back (i.e., water rights trading), and the balance of quota may be transferred across regions and industries. ⚫ Water pricing reform: Water pricing reform in rural areas of Hunan Province follows the following principles: (1) The water price consists of two parts, i.e., the price of water from state- owned water conservancy projects and price of water from tail-end canals. The difference between the actual water price and the water-supply cost (cost of water supplied to the end user) is subsidized by the government; (2) The determination of the actual water price must fully consider the farmers' willingness and ability to pay, i.e., the actual water price, whether the price of tail-end canal water or other price, must be affordable for the farmers; (3) The actual water price should be differentiated and it depends on the input and output of crops and water use characteristics; (4) The rate at which water is charged increases with the volume of water used, and rewards and punishments are used to encourage the user to save water and avoid going above the quota, in an effort to make the water pricing policy more binding. Efforts should be made to make the actual water price keep up with the operation and maintenance cost step by step if the water quota is followed, and active actions are required to increase the rate at which water is charged if the water quota is surpassed. The department designated by the local government is in charge of determining the cost and price of water used in agriculture. The cost involved in determining the price of water used in agriculture is determined by the DRC. The basic procedures are as follows: (1) Notification: the users are informed by means of telephone, WeChat or other channels to submit relevant information for determining the cost in accordance with the Measures on Supervision and Examination of the Costs involved in Determining Government-set Prices. (2) Field survey: the pricing audit team conducts field surveys to make verification; (3) Cost determination: The cost is initially determined according to the cost items and data and reported to the competent authority, which is the basis of the conclusion on cost determination. The conclusion is disclosed to the users and the users are asked to give their opinions; (4) Report release: The initial conclusion is improved according the users' opinions, and the cost determination report is released. According to the survey in Wangshui Irrigated Area, Dingcheng District, the base price of tail-end canal water is RMB 0.062/m3; if the volume of water used is no more than 50 m3/mu above the quota, the price of water above the quota is RMB 0.074/m3; if water used is 50 m3/mu-100m3/mu above the quota, the price of water above the quota is RMB 0.093/m3; if water used is 100 m3/mu-100 m3/mu higher than the quota, the price of water above the quota is RMB 0.112/m3. As to water used for planting paddy rice, the buy-back price is RMB 0.074/m3 if the volume of water saved is 50m3 or less, RMB 0.093/m3 if 83 Official Use the volume of water saved is 50m3-100m3, and RMB 0.112/m3 if the volume of water saved is 100m3-150m3. In Shigongqiao Irrigated Area, the price of tail-end canal water is RMB 0.06/m3, and about RMB 15 needs to be paid for 1 mu paddy field requiring about 250m3 water. . According to the interview with the ARABs and farmers' representatives , water price paid by farmers is insignificant when compared with net income from land (i.e., RMB 600/mu for food crops, and RMB 2000/mu for cash crops), and the pricing policy keeps up with environmental protection and sustainable and healthy agricultural development requirements. ⚫ Public participation: Water price charged is mainly used for the repair and maintenance of canal systems and equipment purchase in irrigated areas, and the competitive bidding process is implemented. The process of measuring water use, determining water rate and water price, and collecting and using charges collected is made public and open to public supervision. Refer to Fig.15 of Appendix 7 for disclosure of the conclusion of cost determination in Banshan Reservoir Irrigated Area, Ningyuan County. Refer to Fig.16 in Appendix 7 for information about the water user association (WUA) of Huaqiao Village, Louxing District. It's responsible for facility maintenance and irrigation water management for farmland of 648 households in the village. ⚫ Rewarding and water rights trading: The government encourages rural entities or households using water to actively use efficient water-saving irrigation techniques (e.g., sprinkling irrigation, drip irrigation, and tube-well irrigation) and water-fertilizer, water-pesticide integration technologies and facilities to save water, or to replace water-intensive food crops with drought-tolerant high-yield ones. The government also provide a reward of RMB 2/mu for each 10% reduction in water use within the quota, and will promote the trading and transfer of the unused balance of quota in certain areas. ⚫ Institutional setup: The survey in sample counties shows that the stakeholders in water use in agriculture include the water pricing administration authority, project owner, farmers’ water use cooperation organizations, and agricultural production operators. Among them, the county government is responsible for water pricing administration, and it establishes a dedicated management agency like the Office of Leading Group for Experimental Comprehensive Water Pricing Reform in Agriculture to determine the water quota for the users, routine facility maintenance, and water use and water conservation records management. The water conservancy department is responsible for the construction and improvement of key projects in large and medium-sized irrigated areas and their water metering facilities, operating, maintaining and supervising farmland water conservancy projects, directing the establishment and development of farmers' water use organizations in line with regulations, controlling the total volume of water use in agriculture and quota management, and strengthening water management. The ARAB is responsible for the management of farmland water conservancy projects, providing metering facilities according to the actual conditions, and directing the adjustment and optimization of crop structure and the development of water-efficient agriculture. 247. WUAs and public participation in water-saving irrigation ⚫ According to the survey in the sample counties, to control total water use in agriculture, the localities are required to develop a breakdown of water use indicators for the water management organizations, farmers' water use cooperation organizations, agricultural parks and large farmers in townships and villages. Water user association (WUA) is the village-level water use management organization led by the local village committee and joined by the villagers' representatives and large farmers. It's mainly responsible for construction and maintenance of water supply projects, water use management, water metering, collecting of water price, technical consulting on water use, information disclosure, acceptance and handling the users' complaints. The opinions of WUAs matter for the cost determination of irrigated areas. Reducing water price requires the control of the cost of irrigated areas without compromising construction, management and routine maintenance of water supply facilities, and water quota monitoring of concerned areas. In this regard, WUA is the most pertinent grass-roots 84 Official Use organization. Refer to Fig.19 in Appendix 7 for the articles of association of WUA of Renhe Dam Irrigated Area, Ningyuan County. 248. The Program activities do not involve large-scale land acquisition, and only HSFC activities, such as the construction of head ditches, sublateral canals, field ditches and farm tracks, may require the occupation of a small amount of rural collective land. Land acquisition for this regard is small. Thus, to maintain the balance of cultivated land as required by the state and Hunan Province, the following measures are taken: firstly, during the process of HSFC, irrigation canals and ditches are improved to reduce the area of the interception surface and enlarge the area of farmland so that the area of cultivated land remains unchanged and even increases; secondly, in the villages involved in the Program, applications are filed with the local NRB for reclamation of land abandoned or changed to woodland for years to compensate the cultivated land used for HSFC and reduce the risk of leading to the reduction of the area of cultivated land as a result of Program activities. For example, in 2020 in Lukou District, 5658m farm tracks (3.0m-3.5m in width) were built during HSFC, and except for 377m newly built farm tracks, the remaining farm tracks were built by reconstructing the original subgrade. In 2021, 5980m farm tracks (3.0m-3.5m in width) were built during HSFC in Lukou District, and except for 1965 newly built farm tracks in consolidated farmland, the remaining farm tracks were built by reconstructing the original subgrade. Land used for construction of farm tracks and other newly occupied land were compensated by cultivated land created from HSFC in the local village to maintain the balance of cultivated land. 249. HSFC involves the interests of rural collectives, rural households and transferees of land use management right. Particularly, LMRT related HSFC requires appropriate arrangement of interests of stakeholders. In general, the rural collectives enjoy the ownership of the farmland, and the rural households have the right to contract and manage the land, and their right to manage the land may be transferred to others according to law from time to time. It's the separation of the three rights in relation to rural land in China and Hunan Province. LMRT is common in this Program, for example, Lukou District had 221000 mu cultivated land for LMRT as of 2022, accounting for 68.8% of all cultivated land. The counties have developed the methods and measures for HSFC. For example, Lukou District issued the Measures for Administration of Land Management Right Transfer in Rural Areas of Lukou District in Zhuzhou City (L.Z.B.F.[2022]No.16), requiring the townships to help the farmland construction section complete the organization, consultation and communication before, during and after program activities, and effectively communicate with the rural migrant workers via telephone, WeChat and other channels so that the opinions and suggestions of different stakeholders are fully heard and considered. Before the implementation of HSFC, land adjustment and LMRT have been conducted in townships, sub- districts and villages as required, and village committees are responsible for providing coordination whenever LMRT proposals are rejected by farmers. The result is considered as an important basis for approval of site selection and program application. 250. Assessment: Hunan Province has developed adequate policies and made institutional and staff-related arrangements to screen, assess and manage social stability risks. According to the result of data examination in 6 sample counties/districts and survey in 3 key counties/districts, the PforR Program activities have overall limited social impacts. HSFC, a government-funded and public benefit- oriented project for improving agricultural production conditions and capacity (e.g., Hunan provincial government invests no less than RMB 1600/mu for HSFC from 2021 to 2022), does not add to the burden of farmers. After it's completed, farmers are expected to receive an additional income of RMB 200/mu/year. Thus, HSFC enjoyed great popularity among the farmers and has low potential social risks. The undergoing water pricing reform also promotes environmentally friendly, green and sustainable development of paddy rice production and is widely recognized by the farmers. They have created a strong basis for achieving good results in the Program implementation. 251. During the Program implementation, Hunan Province did not separately conduct SSRA for HSFC which is widely recognized by the farmers and associated with overall low social risks, and social risk management was not included in the initial design documents of the Program. However, after investigation, the assessment team believes that some Program activities do have SSR-inductive 85 Official Use factors, for example: (1) HSFC may lead to social risks because the natural boundaries of land may be changed after land consolidation, so farmers may be concerned about their interests and disputes may arise if the problem is not properly handled. Furthermore, the rent of land involved in LMRT may change before and after HSFC, leading to disputes between the parties of LMRT. (2) The water pricing reform does make water use chargeable, despite the fact that the additional burden (about RMB10/mu) caused to the users is significantly lowered down by fiscal subsidy. As the farmers are used to using water for free, timely communication and response to the concerns of the farmers are needed to help them understand and accept the water pricing reform gradually. 252. China and Hunan Province have developed relevant policies, regulations and procedures to clarify the requirements, principles and process of dealing with potential risks in the Program, and related government departments (e.g., ARAB’s farmland construction section), the project owner and the designer have made adequate institutional and staff related arrangements to communicate, coordinate and handle LMRT, land boundary adjustment, water price adjustment and other relevant issues incurred during the implementation of Program activities. However, such process and measures were not shown in the initial design documents of related Program activities. 253. Recommendation: 1) The relevant chapters shall be created in the initial design documents of HSFC to identify social risks, and develop proper measures as required by law to avoid and manage possible social impacts and risks associated with the Program implementation; 2) For the technical assistance programs (e.g., water pricing reform in agriculture, and experimental water rights trading/buyback programs) developed and implemented according to the policy/plan, where there are downstream risks, the research outline should clearly require identification and analysis of downstream social risks and impacts. Full communication and consultation with farmers and other stakeholders should be conducted during the study, trial and implementation of the plan, and appropriate measures should be developed in the research results to manage the risks, with specific supporting measures being developed for the vulnerable groups. 5.4.1.2 Element 2: Adoption of good practices in social assessment and management process 254. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hunan Province has formulated detailed management measures for the construction of high-standard farmland, made clear arrangements on various aspects of high-standard farmland construction, established the principle of unified organization and hierarchical management, and reasonably divided the management authority and responsibilities of provincial, municipal and county agricultural and rural authorities. The competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the people's government of the province shall guide the provincial rural construction work, lead the development of the provincial rural construction policy and planning, propose the provincial annual rural construction task program, approve the annual implementation plan, organize the completion of the construction tasks assigned by the central government, establishing a pool of experts for evaluating provincial farmland construction projects, approving the preliminary design documents, organizing the completion acceptance, supervision and inspection of the Program, determining the management responsibilities of the agricultural and rural sectors at all levels of the province in farmland construction, and managing the province's farmland construction projects. The competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the municipal people's government is responsible for guiding the construction of farmland in this region, undertaking the responsibilities delegated by the competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the provincial people's government regarding the preliminary inspection of farmland construction projects in this region, the evaluation and approval of the preliminary design of projects, the completion acceptance and evaluation of projects, the establishment of municipal project banks and municipal pools of experts for the evaluation of farmland construction projects, the supervision and inspection of farmland construction projects in this region and the statistical summary, etc. The competent department of agriculture and rural affairs under the people's government at the county level is responsible for the construction of farmland in the region, formulating plans for the construction of farmland in the county, establishing project banks, organizing the preparation of preliminary project design documents and implementation plans, organizing the declaration implementation, preliminary acceptance and self-evaluation of projects, 86 Official Use implementing supervisory responsibilities and carrying out daily supervision, etc. The division and implementation of responsibilities and competencies ensure the good results of the project implementation. i. Early screening of potential impacts: For the establishment of high-standard farmland construction projects, a combination of top-down and bottom-up screening and risk exclusion mechanisms were implemented. For example, in Lukou District, the Proposal for Site Selection of High-standard Farmland Construction Projects in Lukou District in 2022 clearly stipulates that the high-standard farmland construction in Lukou District in 2022 follows the principle of "four constructions and four non-constructions" and checks at the beginning of the Program approval procedure. The principle of "Four Constructions" is to select the Program villages from the district-level High-standard Farmland Construction Planning (2011-2020) approved by the province; give priority to the construction of high- standard farmland in the "Two Zones" (grain production functional areas and important agricultural product protection areas) and permanent basic farmland protection areas; give priority to the construction of high-standard farmland in areas with high enthusiasm of cadres and the masses, strong financing and labor capacity, and good work foundation; and support the construction of high-standard farmland after the fallow and restoration of contaminated cultivated land in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan area. The principle of "Four Non-constructions" is no high-standard farmland will be constructed in the area (1) where high-standard farmland has been constructed from 2011 to 2021, the construction has been recorded and no construction area is available; (2) where the concentrated contiguous area for a single project is less than 1000mu; (3) where the slope is larger than 25 degree; (4) where the soil contamination is severe. Figures 20-23 in Annex 7 show the project application, consultation with villagers, comparison and review. ii. Alternatives. Project applications during the construction of high standard farmland are subject to a rigorous proposal selection process based on public participation and on-site verification. For example, the selection procedure for the high-standard farmland construction projects in Lukou district is as follows: first, the township organizes a meeting with the secretaries of each village to notify the projects, and the secretaries of each village then discuss with the villagers about the projects, usually by holding a village committee. They discuss the construction contents, form a village collective opinion and form a formal application, which is verified by and reported through the township departments. The scale of projects declared at the village level is generally higher than that of construction tasks, the township department will compare the projects reported by the villages in verifying the documents submitted by the villages, according to the management measures for the construction of high-standard farmland. The basis of comparison and selection includes five aspects: 1) The project meets the relevant planning requirements of land space, high- standard farmland construction, agricultural and rural modernization, etc.; 2) There is a clear regional scope, and the plots are relatively concentrated and contiguous, which has great potential to increase yield; 3) The water source in the project area is guaranteed, there is drainage outlet, and the backbone irrigation and drainage works are basically available.; 4) The masses in the project area strongly demand the construction of the project and are highly enthusiasm with the project, and the construction project is approved by the villagers' representative meeting or the village committee; 5) The project meets other conditions stipulated by the state and the province. After comparison and selection, the township departments shall report the eligible projects to the County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Farmland Construction Unit under the County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shall organize on-site verification. iii. Developing measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate social impacts. High-standard farmland construction projects are public welfare projects with low social risks. For the social impacts that may be involved, the methods of avoidance in advance and consultation in the process are generally adopted to avoid, reduce and mitigate social impacts. For example, to achieve 87 Official Use the expected economic and social benefits, high-standard farmland construction projects must be agreed with all stakeholders, as more than 60% of the agricultural land in the project area is in circulation. Therefore, the practice is that the leaders in charge of agriculture in the people's governments of townships and sub-districts and village secretaries are responsible for consulting and communicating with farmers/transferees/village collectives and other subjects involved in high-standard farmland construction. Under the current policy, land which has been left fallow for a long period of time will be collectively owned, and farmers will generally sublet all land to others before going out to seek work and employment. Before the implementation of the Program, townships and sub-districts will organize village secretaries to hold meetings on the project application and construction mobilization. Village cadres will also organize village committees and villagers' congresses to inform them about the project application and construction mobilization. Before the start of construction, the areas involved in the construction of the Program will be marked with red lines and flags. If there are any objections from stakeholders, there will be explanation and discussion with them in time. Rural migrant workers will be contacted by telephone for opinions. A fundamental principle is that only projects that have been approved by consensus can be reported to superiors. This ensures that social impacts are effectively avoided, reduced and mitigated. iv. Public involvement, information disclosure and grievance redress mechanism (GRM). During the survey in the sample counties/districts, the natural resources department of each county introduced in detail the process of permanent land acquisition and the management process of land for agricultural facilities undertaken by the department, and sorted out the information disclosure and public participation mechanisms included in the two systems. The land acquisition process all strictly follows the process of survey and review of the physical quantity of land affected by land acquisition under the Land Management Law, the results of the physical quantity survey and the compensation plan for land acquisition and the land acquisition announcement shall be announced in the affected communities. The former two shall be publicized in the affected communities for at least 30 days. For the use of land for agricultural facilities, land use units need to consult the village community and township government in the start-up phase. After reaching a preliminary agreement, they should seek advice from the agricultural and rural affairs bureau, the forestry department, the transportation department, the department in charge of scenic spots (if involved), the natural resources bureau, the cultural relics management department and other departments of the county. After all of them are approved, a public announcement will be made in the village community where the land is located, and the announcement period shall not be less than 10 days. If there is no objection at the end of the announcement period, the village community organization can sign a land use agreement with the operator. At the specific Program level, in addition to the above public complaint channels, the Program's evaluation documents, such as stability assessment and EIA, contain requirements for information disclosure, public participation and grievance redress mechanisms, and specific monitoring and oversight mechanisms are in place. Figures 24- 26 in Annex 7 show the villagers' involvement in the implementation process. v. The O&M mechanism after the project formation. A complete set of proven systems and methods have generally been formed in various places. The Standard for High Standard Farmland Construction in Hunan Province (DB43/T 876-2014) stipulates that the main body responsible for high-standard farmland assets and management is the township people's government and the village collective economic organization, and the person responsible for management is the agricultural enterprise, cooperative, large planters, family farm (forest), farmers or farmers' association and other business entities. After the completion and acceptance of high-standard farmland construction projects, in accordance with the principles of "paying equal attention to construction and management" and "whoever benefits and use it shall be responsible for management", the assets shall be transferred 88 Official Use and registered in a timely manner. After the high standard farmland facilities are handed over to the main body responsible for the management, the main body responsible for the management shall timely determine the person responsible for management and sign the management agreement to clearly define the management responsibility and standards, perform the duties and implement the specific management measures. For example, in Lukou District, after the completion of the high-standard farmland construction project and after it has been accepted as having the conditions for transferring to local department for operation and management, the Lukou District Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs handed over the high-standard farmland construction project works in accordance with the relevant requirements of the "Measures for the Management of Farmland Construction Projects" and the "Measures of Hunan Province for the Implementation of Farmland Construction Projects" (X.N.F.[2020] No. 61), and the main body responsible for the management is the town government and the village collective economic organizations. The management responsibility is performed by leasing and contracting according to the principle of "whoever benefits shall be responsible for management". The project management fund will be allocated according to the specific realities of each town/village. Figure 27 in Annex 7 is the handover and management agreement of the completed high- standard farmland construction project in Ningyuan County, which specifies the responsibilities and obligations of the unit handing over the project and the unit receiving the project. 255. In general, the survey found that in the process of establishing and implementing high-standard farmland construction projects, all districts and counties generally followed the procedures of risk screening, Program screening, comparison and selection, conducted extensive public consultation, and genuinely implemented this kind of people-benefiting Program. For example, the staff in Ningyuan County who are specifically responsible for the high-standard farmland construction project summarized the process as follows: Firstly, actively start the project application. In the early stage of project planning and design, Lukou District, in accordance with the core idea of "from the masses, to the masses", called on all townships (sub-districts) and villages in the county that meet the standards for the high standard farmland construction to hold meetings according to the actual situation, discuss the construction contents initially, and submit applications and commitments to the townships (sub-districts) where they are located. Secondly, determine the implementation location of the Program. After the Program was reviewed and agreed by the township (sub-district), it is reported to the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for review. After receiving the application, the County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs immediately organized a review team to review all the villages that apply for the high standard farmland construction in accordance with the construction regulations in the documents of the Provincial Department, examine whether they meet the standards, conduct field surveys, sift out the implementation sites that temporarily do not meet the policy requirement and have difficulties in terms of construction environment and determine the site for the implementation of the annual project. After the initial screening, the Party Group of the Bureau then selected the best of the annual project implementation sites identified by the review team and reported to the Party Committee and the government of the county for approval and informed the townships (sub-districts) and villages of the results. Thirdly, determine the implementation contents of the Program. The survey and design unit and the County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development would further refine the construction content of the villages where the Program is implemented. When surveying and designing, the secretary of each village must be present to mark and survey the construction content according to the results of the discussion at the previous meetings of the village Party Committees and the village committees. Every ditch and every wide roads for agricultural machinery must be measured in the field. For the construction of every culvert and pipe, discussions must be held with the cadres of the village Party Committees and the village committees to practice the concept of serving the people in every subtle aspect and the determination to build a project for the people. Townships (subdistricts) and villages shall hold villagers' congresses and party members' congresses in the villages according to the route of high-standard 89 Official Use farmland construction, and vote to pass the resolution on the construction of high-standard farmland construction projects for publicity. 256. In addition, each unit shall accept the daily guidance and supervision of ecological and environmental protection, natural resources, labor and employment, health, finance, audit and other departments during the Program preparation, construction and operation management stages to ensure the implementation of environmental and social management measures. For example, the People's Government of Lukou District has set up an engineering headquarters for high-standard farmland construction projects, with the deputy district head in charge of agriculture of the People's Government of Lukou District as the commander-in-chief, and the Development and Reform Bureau, the Audit Bureau, the Finance Bureau, the Natural Resources Bureau, the Public Security Sub-Bureau, the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the towns involved in the Program as member units Under the headquarters an office has been set up and the director of the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in charge of the Program assumes the position of the Office Director who iresponsible for all-round organization and dispatching and coordination of major issues in the whole process. Under the unified leadership of the Headquarters, a Program management system for construction has been formulated, and the legal person responsible system, bidding and tendering system, Program supervision system and contract management system are strictly implemented to manage the Program construction in accordance with the standard Program management procedures. First, it implements a system of legal person responsibility for the Program. The Director of the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Lukou District was clearly identified as the first responsible person for the Program and took overall charge of the Program construction. Second, a Program bidding system is in place. The construction work of high-standard farmland was bid openly by an entrusted bidding agent in accordance with the bidding scheme determined by the bidding approval document of the Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Third, a supervision system for Program construction is in place. Well-qualified companies are entrusted to supervise the quality of high-standard farmland construction works and are responsible for the quality and progress of the works. Fourth, a Program contract management system is in place. In the process of Program implementation, the construction unit sign contracts with all units responsible for engineering survey, design, bidding agency, construction, supervision, etc. to standardize the content and format, which are filed by the relevant departments. Fifth, a public announcement is implemented. The announcement system is implemented for all projects to accept effective supervision from all levels of society, increase transparency, prevent "black-box" operation and eliminate corruption. 257. In the survey in Hunan counties/districts, it was confirmed that the government departments around the province fully followed the regulations on letters and visits and have a complete set of well- developed grievance redress mechanisms. For example, Lukou District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province developed the community grievance mechanism consisting of four levels: grievance redress by the PIU concerned directly; grievance redress by the village or community committee, grievance address by the township government or sub-district office, and grievance redress by the county office for letters and visits, or via the hotline/mailbox of the county head. The process involves information collection, initiation of relevant procedures within 7 days, and completion and feedback of grievance redress within 2 months. In addition, residents can resolve disputes through civil actions in the courts. In general, the grievance redress mechanism is a standardized and effective mechanism. 258. The construction of high standard farmland has achieved obvious socio-economic benefits in various counties in Hunan Province. For example, in Lukou District, in 2020, 25,700 mu of high-standard farmland was built in 16 administrative villages in 4 towns of Lukou District, namely Longmen Town, Zhuting Town, Nanzhou Town and Lukou Town. The average grade of cultivated land quality before the implementation of the high standard farmland Program area is 4.77, and the average grade of cultivated land quality after the implementation is 4.27. Compared with the pre-construction period, the quality of cultivated land has been improved by an average of 0.50 grade due to the high-standard farmland construction. The completion report of the Program confirmed that through the renovation of water conservancy facilities and the adjustment of farming system, the yield of grain crops increased by 101.2 kg/mu, the yield of cotton economic crops increased by 34 kg/mu, and the yield of rapeseed increased 90 Official Use by 24 kg/mu. According to the market unit price of grains in 2019, the unit price of rice was about 2.76 yuan/kg, the unit price of seed cotton was 6.1 yuan/kg, and the unit price of rapeseed was 4.2 yuan/kg. After the implementation of the Program, grain yield increased by 2.446 million kilograms, cotton yield increased by 132,600 kilograms, rapeseed yield increased by 538,800 kilograms, and the output value of planting industry increased by 9.864 million yuan. 259. Assessment: A survey of Hunan Province and the Program counties concerned showed that the construction projects in general have gone through the assessment, design and approval process as required. In the preparation stage, projects have generally undergone environmental and social impacts and risks screening process and public consultation. For most projects, environmental and social impact assessments were conducted in a dedicated section of the feasibility study, and for some projects, a dedicated social stability risk assessment has been conducted. The Implementation Measures for the Management of Farmland Construction Projects in Hunan Province stipulates that high-standard farmland construction projects must be consistent with that as indicated on the layout drawings of county-level farmland construction projects and in the project library, while the filed project documents should be of feasibility study depth. During the on-site survey and consultation process, the assessment team conducted an in-depth survey and assessment of the entire organization and implementation process of high-standard farmland projects by provincial and county-level departments of agriculture and rural affairs. The assessment team found that based on the people-benefiting attributes of the high-standard farmland construction projects and that the projects should meet the requirements for being filed in the county-level high-standard farmland construction project libraries. After the project is assigned by the provincial government, reported by the county-level government (after screening, comparison and review) and approved by the prefecture-level municipality, it directly enters the preliminary design process. However, the preliminary design documents generally do not involve social risk assessment, and issues such as public consultations at the township and village levels in the project application, selection and screening process to avoid and mitigate social risks are not well documented and archived. 260. Recommendations: Relevant chapters in the preliminary design documents for the high- standard farmland construction should contain improved social risk avoidance and management measures based on the results of public consultations. Township and village levels should record and archive the public consultations in the process of project application, selection, screening, design and implementation. 5.4.2 Core principle 2: Cultural heritage management system 5.4.2.1 Element 5: Take into account potential adverse effects on tangible cultural heritage and provide adequate measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate such effects. 261. As confirmed by the cultural relic protection authorities and natural resources of sample counties, opinions of the cultural relic management authorities were consulted and followed during development and update of local land use plans, including the information of relics distribution in the region and the results were incorporated into the local land use plans. At the land pre-examination and site selection stages, the Program site selection complies with the overall local land use planning, which ensures that no other construction works or blasting, drilling, excavation and other operations are carried out within the area of protected cultural relics as required by the Cultural Relics Protection Law. The Program appraisal is joined by experts from the cultural relics protection authority at the invitation of the local development and reform commission. If cultural relics are discovered during the construction of the Program, the construction contractor will report to the provincial administrative department of cultural relics according to the Cultural Relics Protection Law and organize archaeological excavation units to conduct archaeological investigation and exploration of the buried cultural relics within the scope of the Program. For example, Figure 28 in Annex 7 is a heritage review approval for a pumping Program within Ningyuan County. It reflects the heritage management process for the Program in the site selection phase. 91 Official Use 262. Assessment: In each aspect of the Program, the culture bureau and BERA were able to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts on heritage resources in accordance with the requirements of the Cultural Relics Protection Law. For unavoidable impacts, strict protection schemes should be developed and implemented after approval. 5.4.3 Core principle 3: Public and worker safety management system 5.4.3.1 Element 6: Promote adequate community, individual, and worker health, safety, and security through the safe design, construction, operation, and maintenance of Program activities; or, in carrying out activities that may be dependent on existing infrastructure, incorporate safety measures, inspections, or remedial works as appropriate. 263. As described in Sections 5.2 and 5.3, governments at all levels have established labor management systems, including relevant laws and regulations and corresponding labor management agencies. A survey of key counties/districts shows that the labor management system is basically operating effectively. The survey results also show that no child labor (under the age of 16 years old) was found in the enterprises or establishments. 264. Occupational health management: The Program involves construction and operation management activities including construction of high-standard farmland, straw recycling and resourceful treatment, etc. From the survey in the sample counties, it is known that in accordance with the requirements of construction Program management, the potential construction safety risks during construction and operation are analyzed and the corresponding management measures are formulated in a special chapter of the feasibility study report during the assessment phase in preparation for construction, and the feasibility study reports of some larger projects also contain a pre-assessment of factors of occupational disease hazards for workers during the construction and operation periods, and management measures are formulated. In terms of operation and management, the relevant facility enterprises have provided medical checkups, personal protective equipment, and occupational health and safety training for their employees in accordance with the requirements of occupational health management. In addition, the health department organizes annual spot checks. Human resources and social security departments and health departments jointly assess whether the occupational health and safety measures are in place in the relevant enterprises, the implementation of the "three simultaneous", monitoring of occupational disease hazards in the relevant facilities, etc. and urge enterprises to address and rectify the problems found in the inspection. Figures 23-24 in Annex 7 are the employment contracts signed between the Program construction unit and its employees as well as the safety and occupational health management system. 265. Labor dispute resolution mechanism: Three levels of labor dispute resolution mechanisms have been set up from enterprises to the county government, namely, the internal labor dispute complaint mechanism in enterprises, the labor dispute mediation center under the township government, and the labor mediation center under the county government. In case of labor disputes, employees can either apply for mediation and arbitration, file a lawsuit in court, or negotiate a settlement. The main channel of resolution reported by most counties is labor mediation. For example, the People's Government of Lukou District has established the Labor Dispute Arbitration Committee of Lukou District in accordance with the law, and set up the Labor Dispute Arbitration Court under it, which is located in the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security. Its main responsibilities are: to prevent, mediate and arbitrate labor disputes; undertake mediation and arbitration of labor disputes; establish a labor dispute prevention mechanism, guide employers to standardize their human resource management system in accordance with the law, and establish grassroots mediation organizations. The Arbitration Committee has labor dispute mediation centers in each township and sub-district. Mediation and arbitration institutions at all levels received 117 cases in 2020 and 126 cases in 2021. The activities of this Program involves are small-scale engineering and other activities. The disputes and controversies that may arise are mainly solved by relying on the mediation of construction enterprises and rural grassroots organizations while following the general dispute resolution mechanism. Only in cases where grassroots 92 Official Use mediation does not work, do we resort to county-level mediation and arbitration mechanisms. 266. In addition, labor departments in the region say that labor unions and the human resources management of each unit are also usually the channels for resolving labor safety and HR disputes in companies, and that unions can help employees fight for their rights and interests in terms of access to safety training, health checks, work environment and living needs. By confirming with local human resources departments, the labor dispute resolution mechanism is basically the same: in case of labor disputes, employees can seek help from the labor department's labor security inspection and enforcement agencies, or they can directly resort to labor dispute arbitration. The labor security supervision and enforcement agency will investigate whether to file a case within 5 working days after receiving the complaint, and conclude the case within 60 working days for cases that meet the acceptance principle (e.g. the illegal act occurred within 2 years, etc.), and 90 working days for complicated cases upon approval. If the employee is not satisfied with the result, he/she can resort to labor dispute arbitration within 6 months. For labor disputes, the limitation period for applying for arbitration is one year. Labor dispute arbitration includes both mediation and arbitration. Usually, mediation is recommended. If a mediation agreement is reached within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application for mediation by the labor dispute mediation organization, the parties shall sign a mediation agreement. If no mediation agreement is reached within 15 days, the parties may apply for arbitration according to law. The arbitral tribunal shall decide the case within 45 days from the date of acceptance of the arbitration application by the arbitration committee. If the complexity of the case requires an extension, it may be extended with written notice to the parties upon approval of the Director of the Arbitration Committee, but the extension period shall not exceed 15 days. If the arbitral award is not made after the deadline, the parties may file a lawsuit to the people's court on the labor dispute. The results include pre-case mediation, case acceptance, inadmissibility. In case of inadmissibility, a written explanation should be provided to the applicant. 267. Women employees' rights and interests: It was learned from the county/district women's federations during the survey that the women's federation participates in the annual supervision and inspection of enterprises by the county/district labor and health departments to inspect the protection of women's rights and interests. In addition, enterprises follow the requirements of laws and regulations on protection of women workers' rights and interests and the rules and regulations of the enterprises, such as observing equality between men and women and equal pay for equal work. They also formulate special preferential policies for women, such as physical checkups for screening two cancers for women workers, listening to women workers' opinions when arranging positions, not arranging pregnant women to work in positions with heavy physical workload or poor working environment, and providing maternity leave benefits in accordance with the law. 268. Community health and safety: From what we learned from the survey, as for green agricultural development activities that are directly related to community health and safety, production and operation units establish and implement safety, emergency and health management systems as required. Operators receive professional training, use standard production safety risk prevention supplies, and relevant government departments provide supervision and guidance through random and special inspections to ensure community health and safety. This section is described in the Environmental Systems Assessment section of Chapter 4. The impact of high-standard farmland construction activities on community health and safety is generally ensured through the following efforts: 1) Construction units set up separate camps and implement closed-off management; 2) construction units develop a safety and occupational health responsibility system and strictly enforce it; 3) activities and facilities that may have an impact on community safety are marked with signs and protected with protective measures. Figures 30-31 in Annex 7 are the safety production system developed and implemented by Changde Shunan Construction Co., Ltd. for the second bid section of the 2022 high-standard farmland construction Program in Dingcheng District. 269. Assessment: Overall, the units and departments involved in the Program activities have all set up relevant organs, appointed sufficient personnel and allocated adequate fund, manage and health ans safety of the public and labor and effectively implement the relevant measures and requirements in 93 Official Use accordance with the national laws and regulations. Good results have been achieved. 5.4.3.2 Element 8: Include adequate measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate community, individual, and worker risks when the PforR Program activities are located in areas prone to natural hazards such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or other severe weather or affected by climate events. 270. Project and enterprise management: the survey shows that the state and Hunan Province have developed a set of construction Program management processes; in the Program appraisal phase, geological hazards are analyzed in a special chapter in the appraisal reports such as feasibility studies or Program construction design plans, or geological hazard assessments are specifically conducted to identify the impact and risk of potential natural disasters on the Program during the construction and operation phases, and management plans are developed. When entering into construction contracts prior to construction, the responsibilities and obligations of the construction units in managing the health and safety of the community and employees are indicated with reference to the findings of the feasibility study and special assessment. Various safety management positions and responsible persons, including safety supervisors, are set up according to the formulated safety management plan during construction to implement construction site health and safety management; and monitoring mechanisms are developed to ensure that the personnel safety and health management measures at the construction site are implemented in accordance with the requirements of the formulated management plan. During the Program operation, each unit has developed various forms of regulations or Staff Management Manuals and infectious disease outbreak management mechanisms in accordance with relevant assessment findings and management plans, and has implemented relevant training, registration, and supervision systems. The requirements and process diagrams for epidemic management of employees are posted in the public areas of each unit. 271. Government administration: In the prevention and control of infectious diseases, the county and district governments, health committees and authorities have made great efforts, introducing each year various special management systems and strictly supervising the implementation in relevant units within their jurisdictions. For example, since 2020, the government of Lukou District has issued six documents on the control of COVID-19 through the health department, such as the "Notice on Strengthening Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures". The government has been strengthening and adjusting precise prevention and control measures according to the development of the epidemic, ensuring that the measures of "preventing inbound cases and domestic resurgence" are implemented and put into practice. The management responsibility will be implemented to the main leaders of townships and village communities. These grassroots government organizations organize grid-based 24/7 management of subordinate units and enterprises, self-employed businesses and residents within the administrative scope, such as vaccination and registration and management of migrants. 272. Assessment: During the design, construction and operation phases of the Program, the relevant government, enterprises and owners will all establish effective management systems and deploy relevant institutions and personnel to identify and prevent natural disasters and infectious diseases in accordance with regulatory requirements. 5.4.4 Core principle 4: Involuntary resettlement management system 273. In terms of involuntary resettlement impacts, as large-scale land acquisition is ruled out and no demolition activities are involved, the Program will only have minor impacts in terms of land use. The possible land use impacts involved are as follows: 1) permanent occupation of very small areas of sporadic land by field works, such as facilities such as drainage and irrigation stations involved in the construction of high-standard farmland; land for field roads, field irrigation and drainage facilities, high- efficiency water-saving irrigation facilities, green agriculture and smart agriculture production facilities, and ecological interception ditches for farmland. This type of land is occupied as land for agricultural 94 Official Use facilities as filed, while the areas of cultivated land are "balanced" through reclamation in the Program area as required. 2) Temporary land during construction. 3) Land boundary adjustment and transfer of management rights. Therefore, the impact of this Program in terms of land use is very minor. For the impact involving land use methods, different management measures are taken in practice in various places according to different land use methods. ⚫ Use of sporadic land by field works: it will be compensated through negotiation with village collectives and farmers with reference to the land acquisition policy. The comprehensive land price of the area in Hunan Province, which is updated every three years, provides a regulatory and policy reference for the compensation of such sites. These few and occasionally occurred compensations can usually be solved by simple negotiation between the land use unit and the village collective and farmers. The land for field roads, ecological ditches and protection land during the construction of high-standard farmland are land for agricultural facilities of which the nature as agricultural land is not changed. Therefore, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration issued the Notice on Issues Concerning Strict Cultivated Land Use Control (Z.R.Z.F. [2021] No. 166). This document stipulates that county-level people's governments are responsible for the overall arrangement and daily supervision of the conversion of general cultivated land into other agricultural land and land for construction of agricultural facilities within the county and maintains the areas of cultivated land and the areas of permanent basic farmland as determined by the plans in their administrative scope. The county-level people's governments are responsible for organizing the preparation of the overall annual cultivated land "balancing" plan which shall clarify the scale, layout and timing of the conversion of cultivated land to forest land, grassland, garden land and other agricultural land and land for the construction of agricultural facilities and the annual implementation of the "balancing" arrangements, and organizing to implement the plan. The Ministry of Natural Resources will regularly carry out dynamic monitoring and supervision of cultivated land by means of law enforcement supervision via satellite film to identify and deal with problems in a timely manner. At the end of each year, the results of the annual land change survey will be used to inspect the implementation of the "balancing" of cultivated land in various places. The results of the inspection will be considered in assessment of the fulfillment of cultivated land protection goals by the provincial government. ⚫ Temporary land: The temporary land for the Program is negotiated between the land unit and the farmer. The compensation policy is determined with reference to the price and the duration of temporary use determined by the compensation standard for land acquisition. In accordance with the Land Management Law, the village committee and the natural resources department monitor whether the use of the land is in compliance with the policy and whether the original production conditions of the cultivated land are restored at the end of the period of use. ⚫ Land boundary adjustment and transfer: For the impact on land transfer before and after the high-standard farmland construction, local governments effectively manage it according to the "Measures for the Administration of Rural Land Management Rights Transfer", which is newly revised and effective from March 1, 2021. These measures have detailed provisions on the object, manner, duration, and handling of disputes or controversies over land management right transfer(LMRT). The land management right transfer(LMRT) is managed by way of a standardized contract. The model text of the contract is developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. For example, Lukou District promulgated the "Measures for the Management of Rural Land Management Right Transfer(LMRT) in Lukou District" in August 2022 (see Figure 32 in Annex 7). This document makes detailed provisions on the principles and methods, conditions and procedures, contracts and filing, related responsibilities, disputes and handling of various aspects of land management right 95 Official Use transfer (LMRT). Similar documents have also been issued and implemented in other counties/districts in the Program area. 274. Assessment: No land acquisition and demolition impacts, and only some minor land use impacts from field works, are expected from the Program. In response to several types of possible land use impacts, effective management and supervision systems have been developed in various regions based on existing regulations and policies, and the practical effects are consistent with the Bank's policy and principles. 5.4.5 Core Principle #5: Management system for ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups 5.4.5.1 Element 10: Undertake meaningful consultations if the ethnic minorities are potentially affected (positively or negatively), to determine whether there is broad community support for the PforR Program activities. 275. The Program affects a small number of ethnic minority gathering areas in Dingcheng District of Hunan Province , with a population of 9,300. Since the minority population is basically located in a relatively remote mountainous area, the Program activities are mainly carried out in a large area of farmland, and they are basically not involved, so there will be no adverse impact on the production and life of the minority. 276. During the survey, the ethnic affairs management departments of Dingcheng District in Hunan Province elaborated that the affairs involving ethnic minorities in the Program are managed in two ways. On the one hand, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant ethnic affairs management laws and regulations, the representatives of affected ethnic minorities are fully consulted on special issues to ensure that their opinions are respected. The organ of self-government in the national autonomous area is also responsible for safeguarding minority citizens' constitutional rights. On the other hand, public consultations are carried out in accordance with the relevant requirements for assessment of general construction projects. The counties have drawn up development plans based on the local development characteristics of ethnic minority areas every five years and have implemented projects for the development and cultural preservation of ethnic areas. This time, the ESSA team took the ethnic minority factor into consideration in the site selection of the field survey site and investigated the ethnic work in Dingcheng District. The team learned that the ethnic affairs management department under the district government is the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs (BERA). According to the introduction of the district BERA, economic development projects in minority areas are usually organized by villages and towns according to their own development needs, and various forms of public consultation are organized by village cadres every year, such as "villagers' meetings," "house talks," and "courtyard meetings“ which are in line with local folk customs and popular forms of communication, to collect residents' opinions from the bottom up. After receiving the application, the local township government will submit an application for construction to the BERA or other functional departments. After listening to the reports of grassroots units, the BERA and other functional departments will organize on-site inspections and reviews, and then, according to the necessity and urgency of the projects reported by various regions, report the list of projects summarized in batches to the higher levels and apply for project funds for implementation. This shows that the Program construction is based on the needs of minority areas and the opinions of minority areas have been fully listened to and respected. So it has the support of a wide range of minority residents. In terms of the management of specific individual projects, projects in minority areas follow existing management mechanisms, such as pre-Program feasibility studies, social stability risk assessments and other demonstration processes. These assessments and demonstrations have included systematic public consultations, and are therefore able to ensure that minorities are respected. 277. Assessment: Through knowledge of provincial and county-level management practices, the existing minority affairs management system ensures adequate consultation and communication with minority residents. When implementing projects in minority areas, the rights and interests of minorities 96 Official Use can be fully respected at the legal and implementation levels, including guaranteeing the minorities' right to be informed in advance. The effective operation of these management systems ensures that the Program receives broad support from residents of ethnic minority areas. Thus, the social practice effects are consistent with the bank policy. 5.4.5.2 Element 11: Ensure that ethnic minorities can participate in devising opportunities to benefit from exploitation of customary resources and indigenous knowledge, the latter to include the consent of ethnic minorities. 278. According to the investigations before pre-appraisal in Ningyuan County and Dingcheng District in Hunan Province, local minority groups and Han people shows almost no difference in language, manners and customs and no tangible cultural heritage of special concern is found. However, the central government, local province and cities and counties have arranged minority development funds for minority areas every year. In Ningyuan County, for example, it received 750,000 yuan of special funds for ethnic minority work from the provincial government in 2021. With these funds, it built street lights in Chaluo Village of Jiuyishan Yao Nationality Township, Yao Culture Exhibition Hall in Fenghuang Village, a road hardening Program in Shrimp Park Natural Village in Paishanao Village of Mianhuaping Yao Nationality Township, a drinking water Program in Shuiwei Migrant Group in Shuangyuan Village of Tongmuluo Yao Nationality Township, and villages with ethnic minority characteristics in Daba Village of Wulongshan Yao Nationality Township in Wulongshan. With 800,000 yuan of subsidies from the central government to promote rural revitalization, Ningyuan County supported the collective economy of Niuyaling Village, Jiulong Village and Zijiang Village in Jiuyishan Yao Nationality Township and Paishanao Village in Mianhuaping Yao Nationality Township. All these funds were spent on projects for exploring special agricultural products, special tourism products, upgrading infrastructure and developing collective economy in minority areas. 279. Assessment: Despite varying material and non-material cultures in ethnic minority areas involved in the Program, plans and relevant protective projects are put in place every year to protect the cultures of ethnic minorities. This Program will promote and support local systematic minority development planning and will bring more development opportunities to the residents of minority areas. 5.4.5.3 Element 12: Give attention to groups vulnerable to hardship or discrimination, including, as relevant, the poor, the disabled, women and children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, racial groups, or other marginalized groups; and if necessary, take special measures to promote equitable access to PforR Program benefits. 280. According to the requirements of laws and regulations, protection of women's rights and interests is a management element that is implemented by all departments and units. It is mainly implemented through the women's federations at all levels and the departments of women's affairs management within enterprises and units. Both the governments at all levels, women's federations and the internal management of business units have arranged projects and funds for the protection of women's rights and interests and women's development every year. Also for the propaganda of women's rights, family, children, development, health and gender equality, local women's federations have set up the Department of Rights and Interests, the Department of Family and Children, the Department of Women's Development, the Department of Organization Building and Liaison, and the Department of Propaganda. County-level women's federations also provide guidance on the institutional set-up and division of responsibilities of each grassroots women's federation. For example, the Ningyuan County Women's Federation currently has eight staff members. In 2021, it received 206 marriage counseling visits and mediated 182 cases. On the WeChat public number of "Ningyuan Women's Voice", 6 micro- classes on law popularization for women have been launched to popularize the Civil Code, the Law Against Domestic Violence and anti-drug knowledge among women, allowing them to learn relevant laws and regulations online. At the same time, a prize knowledge quiz was held for women in the county on the public WeChat number of "Ningyuan Women's Voice", with a total of 10,000 people participating 97 Official Use in the competition. In 2021, 11,062 women of low income in urban areas and eligible women in rural areas were provided with free medical checkups. Women's health insurance was vigorously promoted, and more than 13,000 people were insured with women's health insurance. A variety of employment skills training tailored to the needs of women, including 6 sessions of baby-sitting, 6 sessions of elderly caregivers, 6 sessions of tea masters, 6 sessions of western-style pastry chefs, and a total of 12 sessions of women's innovation and entrepreneurship in e-commerce were held. A total of more than 2,800 people were trained. More than 10,000 copies of recruitment information of enterprises were distributed, providing more than 5,000 jobs for the women. 281. Orphans, left-behind minors and the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income people, and people in special hardship are mainly managed through the civil affairs department and the disability association department. These departments are responsible for statistics of and assistance to this type of people in their administrative areas. For this group of people, the government has arranged special financial funds every year to ensure that the rights and interests of this group of people are protected. For example, the government of Lukou District, Zhuzhou City has set up a leading group for the protection of minors in Lukou District, Zhuzhou City and has clearly detailed the division of responsibilities and tasks of member units. For left-behind minors, Lukou District has 8 supervisors and 139 directors for children, with each township (village) being equipped with one supervisor and each village/community having one director. In 2022, a total of 9 orphans, 69 de facto unsupported children and 399 rural left-behind children in the district have been included in the national child welfare system. The basic living expenses for orphans in the district were raised from 950 yuan to 1,090 yuan, and a total of more than 120,000 yuan of living allowance for orphans was paid in 2021. Since 2020, the basic living subsidy system for de facto orphans has been fully launched, with basic living subsidy of 808,000 yuan being disbursed to de facto orphans from January 2020 to December 2021. 282. The survey shows that the main management department responsible for consolidating and expanding the results of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization at all levels is the rural revitalization department at all levels. All county-level rural revitalization bureaus have established very complete databases of poor people and families. Although localities have been lifted out of poverty in 2020, local governments still track and record information such as the names of people and households that have been lifted out of poverty in each village, and their status. Meanwhile, the government insists on the "four non-removals" for each household out of poverty, that is, no removal of responsibility, no removal of policy, no removal of help, no removal of supervision. For example, after completing the task of poverty alleviation in 2020, Qiyang City continues to consolidate the results of poverty alleviation. At the end of 2021, 363 households in unstable poverty alleviation conditions with 931 people, 253 marginal poverty-prone households with 655 people, and 489 households in sudden and serious difficulties with 1,153 people were identified through follow-up monitoring and records. For these people in need of help, Qiyang City Rural Revitalization Bureau insists on following the management system of poverty alleviation to 1) ensure that the organizational system of city, township and village poverty alleviation remains unchanged, with the mayor as the team leader, 2) implement policies, including central and provincial funds implementation policies, education and medical help policies; 3) continue to implement help measures, continuously select and assign first secretary and task force in villages, and carry out targeted help and guidance. 4) Strengthen supervision, enhance monitoring of the households that are in unstable poverty alleviation, marginal households prone to poverty and households with sudden and serious difficulties, establish a ledger and arrange a person to be responsible for it, and follow up and supervise the situation of each household on a regular basis. Overall, the government is to use the five- year transition period to consolidate and expand the results of poverty alleviation, and help farmers out of poverty and move toward self-sufficiency and self-improvement through orderly adjustment and smooth transition. 283. Assessment: Women's development and rights and interests can be fully protected through women's federations, women workers' work agencies in enterprises, and grassroots women's organizations. For the left-behind minors and the elderly, the government has established a relevant database mainly through the civil affairs department, and timely provide assistance to them together with each township and village/community. National and local governments have established complete 98 Official Use institutional mechanisms from policies to budgets to institutional arrangements to give support to poor families. Not only can the legal rights of poor households be guaranteed in various projects, but also the support and development issues of poor households can be effectively managed. 5.5 Analysis of consistency between China management system and the World Bank policies 284. Through the comparative analysis of the social management system of China and Hunan Province and the policies of the World Bank, the EESA report makes the following conclusions on the consistency of the social management system related to the Program activities and the policies of the World Bank (see appendix 3 for detailed comparative analysis): ⚫ Core principle 1: sustainable social risk management system China and Hunan Province have formulated and implemented relevant policies, mechanisms, standards and management procedures to standardize social stability risk assessment. National and local laws and regulations have given clear responsibilities to relevant institutions and set staffing. The project supports entity construction activities, all of which are small-scale field projects. Relevant national and Hunan regulations and policies require early impact screening, scheme comparison and selection, and clarify the management system of major social risks, including responsible institutions, handling processes, public participation and complaint handling, which are generally consistent with core principle 1. High-standard farmland projects are generally welcomed by farmers and have low overall social risk. Hunan Province does not require such projects to carry out a separate social stability risk assessment, and the project preliminary design documents generally do not involve social risk management. However, the assessment team confirmed through investigation that some of the contents of the project activities do have potential factors to induce social risks. In view of the potential risks, China and Hunan have established relevant policies, procedures and procedures to specify the requirements, principles and procedures for dealing with relevant situations. Relevant government departments (such as the Agricultural and Rural Bureau's Farmland Construction Unit, etc.), owners and design units have also set up corresponding institutions and allocated sufficient personnel to communicate, coordinate and deal with issues related to land transfer, boundary adjustment, water price adjustment, etc. during the implementation of the project, However, these processes and measures are not reflected in the preliminary design documents of most such projects in advance. ⚫ Core principle 2 Cultural relics resource management system The Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics and the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics have fully considered the potential impact on cultural relics resources to ensure that cultural relics are not affected by the construction of the project. The existing national and local institutions can effectively manage the cultural relics risks involved in the project. ⚫ Core principle 3: public and labor safety management system China and Hunan Province have established and implemented a set of laws and regulations on the health and safety of workers and communities, equipped with corresponding institutions and resources, which can fully protect the rights and interests of workers and the health and safety of communities. ⚫ Core principle 4: involuntary migration management system China and Hunan Province have formulated and formed a complete legal framework and policy 99 Official Use system for the management of involuntary resettlement, and have established a set of mature land acquisition, facility agricultural land, and land management right transfer management institutions, with corresponding institutional arrangements for each management measure. The project has only slight impact on land use. In view of the impact of a small amount of land occupation, temporary land use, relevant land boundary adjustment, land transfer and other related aspects of the field project, effective management has been carried out from the country to Hunan Province in accordance with existing laws and regulations. ⚫ Core principle 5 Management system of ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups China and Hunan Province have systematic management plans, measures and corresponding institutional arrangements to ensure the equal participation of relevant groups and the equitable benefit from the development of the project. 285. Conclusion of consistency: The domestic social management system related to the Program is relatively complete in terms of legal framework, management system, and the implementation performance is also relatively satisfactory. Generally, it conforms to the core principles and key elements of the World Bank's PforR environmental and social guidelines, and can meet the needs of social management under the Program. In view of the potential social risks that need to be paid attention to under the Program activities, the ESSA report puts forward action recommendations in Chapter 7. 100 Official Use 6. Public Participation and Grievance Eedress Mechanism 6.1 Public Participation 286. Extensive and in-depth stakeholder engagement is a requirement of World Bank policy and an important basis for the formation of this ESSA report. In conducting the environmental and social impact assessment process, the assessment team identifies the various Program stakeholders from several different perspectives, including Program impact, degree of impact, and interest in the Program. The main stakeholders of the Project include government authorities at all levels, villages and communities, Program implementation and operation agencies, water user associations, women's federations and other social organizations, affected people, etc. The results of the identification of stakeholders for the Project are presented in Annex 4. During the preparation and revision of this assessment report, the assessment team has carried out a large number of consultation activities in Hunan Province and relevant counties and districts, including the consultation meeting on the ESSA report held with relevant provincial government departments in Hunan Province and relevant departments in the counties and districts involved in the Program in February 2023. 287. The ways of public participation in the formation and improvement of this report have the following characteristics: 1) Public involvement at all levels have been carried out: The assessment team had extensive and in-depth communication with relevant provincial departments, relevant departments of county and district governments, township and village managers. In particular, the assessment team conducted direct interviews and exchanges with the construction contractor of the high-standard farmland construction project, the village committee, the village planters, the villages' water user association, and the villagers and have obtained rich first-hand materials. 2) All issues concerned are discussed in public participation: The assessment activities covered all the issues that the World Bank's environmental and social assessment needs to focus on in the project support activities. 3) Various forms of public participation are conducted: according to the information collection methods and the needs of epidemic prevention and control, the public participation in the assessment activities is carried out by means of Internet literature collection, online meetings, on-site interviews, WeChat videos, follow-up via telephone, etc. 6.1.1 Initial public participation 288. In the Program preparation stage, the World Bank Program team and the environmental and social team introduced the relevant regulations, environmental and social policies, implementation management methods, operational procedures and preparation of evaluation documents of the World Bank PforR loan instruments to the government departments at all levels in Hunan Province from November 2022 to January 2023. Before the first draft of the report was formed, 10 interviews were held. Annex 5 recorded in detail the list of interviews conducted by government departments at all levels in Hunan Province and the units participating in the interviews. The total number of interviewees exceeded 120, of which more than 30% were female interviewees. 289. In February 2023, public consultations have been carried out in Hunan Province and relevant counties for targeted improvement of this report (see Annex 6 for the list). Two weeks before the public consultations, the draft of the report has been distributed to the relevant provincial and county-level governments, departments, institutions and villages and other stakeholders (improvement after pre- assessment). Consultations were held with provincial government departments, including the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, the Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture and 101 Official Use Rural Affairs, the Department of Water Resources, the Department of Ecology and Environment, the Department of Natural Resources, the Women's Federation, the Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and other departments and bureaus. County-level departments visited the Program-located districts and counties, and communicated with county-level government departments of Louxing, and Lukou by telephone and WeChat. In various forms of talks, the communication targets included government authorities, relevant organizations (such as water users associations and rural cooperatives), cadres of village committees and villagers' representatives. County-level departments visited the site of typical activities such as high-standard farmland construction, green agriculture and smart agriculture development. The main examination and interviews for public participation include: ⚫ Responsibilities and institutional set-up of each department; ⚫ Current industry key policies and regulations; ⚫ Basic practices and policy provisions for application, approval, implementation and acceptance of high-standard farmland construction projects; ⚫ Progress, effects and problems in the implementation of high-standard farmland construction projects; ⚫ Enterprise size of the Program construction unit, worker recruitment methods, welfare benefits for workers, safety and technical training, major occupational health hazards and inspections, safety protection facilities and equipment in place, approval of land for facilities, environmental assessment, stability assessment, safety assessment, land disaster and management, etc.; ⚫ Current status of rural water price reform, establishment and operation of rural water user association（WUA); ⚫ Rural green agriculture and smart agriculture development; ⚫ The situation, problems and suggestions of water-saving irrigation technology promotion for farmers; ⚫ Use and effect of chemical and organic fertilizers in rural areas. 6.1.2 Public consultation on the ESSA 290. According to the World Bank's planning loan policy, this report will be released to the provincial and county government departments of Hunan Province in early February 2023 after the completion of the draft. The provincial project office will send the first draft of this report to all relevant provincial government departments, project county implementation units and relevant government departments at the project county level, and timely collect written feedback and submit it to the World Bank's environmental and social team. Subsequently, the provincial project office organized the ESSA consultation meeting between the provincial and county government departments and the World Bank team on February 16-21, 2023. In addition, consultation and consultation were conducted at the township and village levels on the assessment and recommended actions of the report. The number of departments at all levels and villagers participating in the consultation exceeded 180, including more than 30% of female participants. The assessment team revised and improved the ESSA according to the opinions of the public consultation. See Annex VI for detailed records. In the process of public consultation , the main opinions and suggestions of relevant provincial departments and stakeholders at county, township and village levels on ESSA are as follows: ⚫ During the preparation and implementation of the high-standard farmland construction project, strengthen the communication and coordination between departments, take the farmland construction, green development, community safety and health into consideration, and give full play to the comprehensive social benefits of the project. For example, in the process of construction of high-standard farmland, facilities such as recycling tanks for agricultural 102 Official Use production wastes and pesticide packaging materials in the field will be constructed simultaneously. In areas with schistosomiasis epidemic hazards in Dingcheng District and Hanshou County, schistosomiasis prevention and control measures are integrated in the design and construction plan. Similarly, in areas with rodent and grass damage, the opinions of relevant management departments should also be consulted and corresponding measures should be taken. ⚫ The time of formulation and implementation of several local laws and regulations in the first draft of the report is inaccurate, and the implementation of individual policies has made new progress. These statements should be consistent with the actual situation. ⚫ In the process of village-level consultations and interviews, large grain farmers and retail farmers generally reflected that the construction of high-standard farmland is a project benefiting the farmers, which was warmly welcomed by farmers. They generally put forward that the construction of high-standard farmland should be based on local conditions, and the construction content should be determined according to the local physical and geographical conditions and the current situation of farmland. In particular, the construction and improvement of field irrigation and drainage facilities should be taken as the center to enhance the productivity and resilience of rice production under the conditions of climate change. ⚫ In the process of villagers' consultation, they also understood the water price reform and water rights trading, and proposed that the formulation and implementation of the water price reform plan should fully consider the differentiated demand for water use in different seasons of agricultural production and different farming contents, and formulate a reasonable reform plan to make the policy operational and achieve the expected objectives. 6.2 Grievance Redress Mechanism 291. Current grievance redress mechanism. It usually consists of two types, one being a community grievance redress mechanism, and the other being enterprise grievance redress mechanism. The community grievance mechanism consists of three levels: grievance redress by the PIU concerned directly; grievance redress by the village or community committee in collaboration with the grassroots departments, which shall usually be completed in two weeks; and grievance redress by the county/city office for letters and visits, or via the hotline/mailbox of the county head/mayor. The process involves information collection, initiation of relevant procedures within 7 days, and completion and feedback of grievance redress within 2 months. In addition, residents can resolve disputes through civil actions in the courts. Enterprise grievance redress mechanism includes two aspects: the first is employee grievance. Labor disputes are mainly solved by the three levels of labor dispute resolution mechanisms which are the internal labor dispute complaint mechanism in enterprises, the labor dispute mediation center under the township government, and the labor mediation center under the county government. The internal grievance is mainly solved through the mailbox/factory manager's mailbox, or through the enterprise union. Those that cannot be resolved within the enterprise are addressed through the government labor dispute mediation mechanism. Employees may also seek direct labor arbitration to resolve their disputes. The second is external liaison department set by the enterprises to appoint a contact person to receive the complaints and suggestions from the society on the enterprises. There are also multiple channels for environmental complaints, such as the "National Ecological and Environmental Complaint and Reporting Platform", the minister's mailbox, the 12369 environmental complaint hotline, and the mayor's hotline, which facilitate the public to make environmental complaints and reports, track inquiries, and express their opinions. The public is given full play to social supervision of the environmental management of construction projects. 292. Grievance redress mechanism assessment: As a rule, this Program involves activities with minor risks, which are mainly resolved through the existing village/community grievance redress mechanism and communication mechanism. We learned from interviews with village committees and village representatives that, overall, the village/community grievance redress mechanism is relatively 103 Official Use mature. The villagers are familiar with the relevant mechanism and can generally make good use of the mechanisms to solve the problems in the high-standard farmland construction projects and very few of them resorted to the civil litigation. The enterprise's employee grievance redress mechanism is well managed and capable of resolving employees' grievances. 104 Official Use 7. Conclusions, Recommendations, and Action Plans 7.1 Conclusions 293. This Program aims to promote low-carbon resilient rice production in some areas of Hunan Province. The Program promotes the transition to green, resilient and inclusive rice production in Hunan Province by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting food security, improving water and resource efficiency, and reducing agricultural non-point source pollution. Implementation of the Program will result in broad and significant environmental and social (E&S) benefits. During the preparation process, activities that may have highenvironmental and social risks have been excluded through environmental and social screening, and conducted further screening and assessing concluded there are no Program activities with substantial risk. Possible environmental impacts and risks of the Program include environmental pollution, ecological impacts, health and safety impacts during the construction and operation periods.Social impacts and risks include comprehensive social risks such as coordination with farmers, land boundary adjustment and dispute resolution involved in the construction process, public and labor safety risks that may be involved in small-scale construction activities, sporadic and temporary land occupation for field works, and non-inclusive risks related to ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups. Overall, these adverse impacts are temporary and small in scale, and can be effectively mitigated and managed by existing E&S management systems at the national, Hunan provincial and local levels, as well as by existing institutions at the provincial and demonstration county levels. The environmental and social risk level of the Program is determined to be medium. 294. The Program environmental and social management system assessment concludes that since 2020, Hunan Province has prepared and is implementing the World Bank-supported Green Agriculture and Rural Revitalization Project and the Yangtze River Protection and Ecological Restoration Program. Hunan Province has established a comprehensive and effective environmental and social management system to identify, evaluate, mitigate, manage and monitor the environmental and social impacts and risks of various activities in related fields. The system has: 1) a complete legal system: corresponding laws and regulations, policies, standards and technical guidelines have been formulated and issued at both national and local levels; 2) a clear implementation mechanism: there are clear administrative procedures, institutional arrangements and functional divisions for environmental and social risk and impact management, with professional staff and financial resources in place at all levels; 3) good implementation and management results: the examination of past typical cases in several key survey counties/areas shows that environmental and social risk and impact management measures can be effectively implemented and have good implementation results. This assessment concludes that the environmental and social management system applied to the Program is generally consistent with the requirements of the Bank's results-based lending policy. 295. The results of the environmental and social systems assessment also indicate that there is room for improvement and areas requiring special attention in environmental and social management with respect to the specific characteristics of the Program's support activities in the following areas: 1) The Dongting Lake lakeside area in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District involved in the Program have historically been schistosomiasis epidemic areas. Although the two areas have reached the standard of schistosomiasis transmission interruption through joint prevention and control, there is an objective possibility that snails will reappear and schistosomiasis will rebound after the flood. The Program activities are located inside the embankment, and the probability of schistosomiasis transmission is very low. Compared with the activities outside the embankment, the role of the joint prevention and control mechanism of schistosomiasis is relatively neglected, so there is a potential risk of schistosomiasis infection among construction workers and farmers involved in water. Therefore, it is very necessary to integrate the existing joint prevention and control mechanism of schistosomiasis into the activities of the project to effectively guarantee the health and safety of water workers and water agricultural operators. 105 Official Use 2) The assessment team believes that: some of the construction works involved in the high- standard farmland construction inevitably generate dust, machinery and transport noise and waste, and the exhaust gases emitted by construction machinery cause some pollution to the air of the construction site. Foundation excavation, topsoil stripping and stacking, transport and temporary stockpiling of soils, and stockpiling of sand and gravel materials change the surface structure in situ, resulting in reduced soil and water resistance and water retention capacity. If protective measures are not taken, vegetation may be damaged, habitats disturbed, and soil erosion caused. Although the impact of such pollution and soil erosion is small, in short-term and limited to the construction site, and can be predicted and mitigated, these adverse environmental impacts might be partially ignored due to simplified program preparation without coordination among the relevant government agencies. Therefore there is a need to strengthen coordination amount the relevant government agencies. The Bank team also found that environmental management measures included in the preliminary design documents of the high standard farmland construction projects varies considerably in the contents and depth among the 7 counties due to the lack of a specific and standardized section on E&S managment. There are rooms for further improvement, through the strong coordination of CPCG, to have the design documents be standardized in terms of environmental and social management and implementation of mitigation measures that can be included into the bidding documents and contracts for robust actions taken by contractors and oversighted by relevant governmental agencies. 3) There may be some aspects of high standard farmland construction activities that may induce social risks. For example, land leveling may change the natural boundaries of the original land, for which farmers with contracting rights may have concerns about the survival of their rights. As a result, disputes may arise. Furthermore, the relationship of land transfer before and after the construction of high-standard farmland and the level of transfer rent may change due to the improvement of production conditions, creating disputes between the transferor and the transferee. The assessment team found that based on the people- benefiting attributes of the high-standard farmland construction projects and that the projects should meet the requirements for being filed in the county-level high-standard farmland construction project libraries. After the Program is assigned by the provincial government, reported by the county-level government (after screening, comparison and review) and approved by the prefecture-level municipality, it directly enters the preliminary design process. However, the preliminary design documents generally do not involve social risk assessment, and issues such as public consultations at the township and village levels in the project application, selection and screening process to avoid and mitigate social risks are not well documented and archived. In this regard, targeted enhancements are needed during the implementation of the PforR Program. 4) Agricultural water tariff reform in the Program area has been initiated and is scheduled to be completed by 2025. Under the current "two-part" water pricing system, the actual price of water borne by farmers is extremely low (e.g. about RMB 0.06 per cubic meter in Dingcheng District), and in some areas farmers actually use water for free. Farmers still lack understanding and experience of future water price reform measures such as quota water use and progressive charges for excess water use. The reform of water price makes farmers have to pay for water instead of free water, which may create doubts. Although the actual charge to farmers is low (about 10 yuan per mu) because of the financial subsidy, farmers who have long been accustomed to free water do not fully understand this reform and will experience a psychological process to accept the implementation of reform measures. 7.2 Recommendations 296. Against the above-mentioned E&S issues, following recommendations have been proposed: 106 Official Use 1) The existing mechanism of inter-departmental joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis shall be mainstreamed into the Program activities to safeguard health and safety of construction workers & farming operators related to water in the endemic area of Hanshou County and Dingcheng District. 2) In conjunction with the preparation procedures and industry norms for high standard farmland construction projects, special chapters covering (1) environmental management, (2) soil and water conservation and (3) social risk assessment should be added to the preliminary design documents for thisProgram activities to standardize the identification of adverse environmental and social impacts, optimize the design to minimize the adverse impact and propose mitigation measures. In the meantime, these measures and the estimated costs should be included into the bidding documents and contracts. Township and villages should keep complete records and archives of materials such as public consultations in the project application, comparison and screening process. 3) For the technical assistance type activities which may have downstream risks (e.g. agricultural water price reform), the research work outline should clearly require identification and analysis of downstream social risks and impacts. Full communication and consultation with farmers and other stakeholders should be conducted during the study of the plan, and appropriate measures should be developed in the study results to manage the risks. 4) For water rights trading and buyback pilot, a survey on farmers' ability to pay for water and willingness to pay should be conducted during the Program development process, and extensive publicity and public participation should be conducted in the form of public hearings, involvement of water user associations and farmers before and during implementation, timely response and consultation on farmers' concerns should be carried out, and policy measures to help vulnerable groups should be clarified. 7.3 Action Plans 297. To effectively implement the above suggestions, the environmental and social action plans listed in Table 7-1 should be incorporated into the action plan of this Program and implemented. Table 7-1 E&S Action Plans No. Actions Responsibility of Time Evaluation indicators 1 The existing mechanism of PPMO, Throughout Monitoring reports to be available for World inter-departmental joint Hanshou County Program Bank inspections, containing the following prevention and control of and Dingcheng implementation information for physical activities to be carried schistosomiasis shall be District stage out in endemic areas: mainstremed into the ⚫ During the design of physical activities to Program activities to be supported by the Program, report of safeguard health and safety hygienic assessment on the of construction workers & schistosomiasis transmission risk farming operators related to prepared by qualified schistosomiasis water in the endemic area prevention and control agencies (SPCA) of Hanshou County and under health commission, including Dingcheng District. results of screening and evaluation of the risk of schistosomiasis infection in construction workers and other farming operators related to water in the endemic areas; ⚫ Assessment report on the risk of snail spread during implementation ⚫ Record of actions taken timely to prevent and control schistosomiasis based on recommendations of screening and 107 Official Use No. Actions Responsibility of Time Evaluation indicators assessment; and ⚫ The implementation of the above actions are reflected in the monitoring reports. 2 Inclusion of specific PPMO and CPMOs Throughout The design documents for the Program subsections on Program activities to be made available for World Bank environmental and social implementation inspections, include: management in the stage ⚫ The said subsections shall include: preliminary design screening and assessment of E&S documents for the Program (including soil conservation) risks further activities optimize the design, and propose proper mitigation measures with cost estimated that shall be included into the bidding documents; and ⚫ Township and village committees shall document and archive the public consultation that will be carried out through the project application, screening, design, and implementation 3 For the documentations of PPMO, and CPMOs Throughout A copy of the TORs and semi-annual progress non-physical activities with Program reports including the following required possible downstream implementation information submitted to the World Bank: adverse impacts (e.g. stage ⚫ The TOR shall set up requirements on agricultural water pricing screening and assessment of downstream reform program). E&S risks. The TORs shall set out ⚫ Records of farmers and stakeholder requirements to screen and engagement during the study and assess downstream E&S feedbacks to their concerns risks and impacts ⚫ appropriate mitigation measures and assistance to vulnerable groups reflected in the outputs 4 For water right trading PPMO, and CPMOs Documentation including the following activity, survey on farmers’ of which counties information available for World Bank affordability and undertake water inspection: willingness to pay for right trading pilot ⚫ Survey record/document on farmers’ water use shall be level; affordability and willingness to pay for conducted in the process of town/township water use the plan Before and during governments the implementation of the ⚫ Evidence material of extensive publicity plan, extensive publicity public engagement on water right trading and public engagement by ⚫ Records of public hearings organized by means of public hearings, WUAs mobilizing farmers, WUAs ⚫ The implementation of the above actions shall be carried out. are reflected in the monitoring reports 8. Management and Monitoring 298. As per the Bank PforR Policy [ As per the Bank's PforR Policy (paragraph 12), the Borrower is responsible for preparing and implementing the PforR Program. 19 19 As per the Bank's PforR Policy (paragraph 12), the Borrower is responsible for preparing and implementing the PforR Program. The PforR Program’s scope and objectives and the Borrower’s contractual obligations to the Bank are set out in the legal agreements with the Bank. These obligations include the requirement to carry out the PforR Program with due diligence, and to maintain appropriate monitoring and evaluation arrangements (including credible disbursement-linked 108 Official Use 8.1 The borrower 299. The Borrower is responsible for implementing the Program, monitoring the implementation progress, evaluating the indicators, and performing relevant commitments as per the legal documents including the PAP. Such responsibilities include that the Borrower should keep the E&S management systems effective, implement monitoring plans, and identify and solve issues in a timely and effective manner. The Borrower should: • Prepare and implement the environment and social risk management manual which contains the more detailed ECOP which can be included into the bidding documents and is further implemented by the Contractor in the construction units. • Implement the agreed E&S actions as per the PAP and maintain the E&S management systems and the implementation capacity as recommended by the ESSA. • Submit semi-annual environmental and social management monitoring reports (either as thematic sections of the overall Program progress report for the county or as stand-alone reports) containing the implementation of environmental and social action plans, training projects, external monitoring, etc., to demonstrate continued compliance with the environmental and social management mechanisms applicable to the Program. • Monitor, evaluate and audit the system performance regularly as necessary. • Review the performance of GRMs, procedures, and results regularly, and include specific grievance cases in the ESM monitoring reports. • Consult the Bank for any change made to the E&S systems during implementation. 300. Hunan Provincial PMO is the overall Program management agency at the provincial level. Each Project County/District PMO (located in the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs) is responsible for managing the county-level implementation of activities and implementing the Environmental and Social Action Plan and the Environmental and Social Risk Management Manual. The main implementation units of each County/City include the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Development and Reform Commission, Water Conservancy Bureau and Natural Resources Bureau, etc., and are responsible for implementing the relevant contents of the Environmental and Social Action Plan and the Environmental and Social Risk Management Manual. Each county/city-level implementation unit shall appoint a special agency or personnel to manage the environmental and social issues of the Project, report to the county/district-level PMO, and accept the supervision of the provincial PMO and the Bank. 8.2 The Bank 301. The Bank is to provide supports to the implementation of the PforR and oversee the E&S management performance against the ESSA requirements especially the PAP. The Bank will monitor the Borrower’s commitment to compliance with E&S risk management, including actions to strengthen institutional capacity and standardize the preliminary design documents. The Bank will evaluate the PforR performance based on the risk assessment conducted at the preparation stage and hence help the Borrower handle expected and unexpected risks and give recommendations to manage the risks. The Bank will also conduct field visits and provide supports to the PIUs and stakeholders and review audit and progress/monitoring reports. The Bank team will regularly submit memorandum to the Bank management group to report the PforR implementation performance by the way of document review, consultation with the PIUs and stakeholders, field visits, etc. The main activities are as follows: • Verify the implementation of agreed actions, including any agreed capacity building activity and any designated E&S mitigation measure. indicator verification protocols), fiduciary and environmental and social PforR Program Systems, and governance arrangements. 109 Official Use • Conduct regular monitoring to ensure that the Borrower’s ESMS performance at the implementation stage is accepted by the Bank. • Identify any extra management measure that may be taken to underperformance or any unexpected challenge during implementation. • Ensure the effective operation of the GRMs through semiannual reports. • The Bank will conduct field visits regularly as a supplement to the inner supervisions of the PIUs, and provide other support agreed on between both parties. 110 Official Use Appendix 1. Government Program, Initial E&S Screening and PforR Program Boundary Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity Large scale land pooling and consolidation for relative concentration of arable High potential None None land E&S risk Land Leveling Levelling land, including stripping topsoil, deep excavation to loosen the soil, and backfilling the topsoil to balance the earthwork, compaction field base to RA2(1): Investing in high Consolidation improve farmland soil fertility with ridge diked for easy irrigation and drainage. Same as the standard farmland construction For example: left column in demonstration counties, In the 6 demonstration counties, about 40,000 mu paddy field will be levelled Improving climate resilience during the 14th FYP, etc. High potential Any activitied on polluted soil in cultivated land. None None E&S risk (1) Strengthening Improving poor soil structure and increasing soil organic matters by means of agricultural thickening tillage, test-based scientific fertilization, planting green fertilizer, resources retuning crops’ straw to the field, and improving tillage method and so on. For protection and example; use efficiency and Soil In the 6 demonstration counties, farmland soil will be improved according to improving Improvement their respective soil conditions during the 14th FYP; Same as the production Jiahe County: 14,370 mu of farmland will be fertilized with soil improved in 134 left column RA2 (1): Investing in high infrastructure to villages of 15 towns/townships during the 14th FYP; standard farmland construction increase Louxing District: farmland soil improvement will be carried out during the 14th in demonstration counties, production FYP; Improving climate resilienc; capacity Hanshou County: 25,060 mu of farmland soil will be improved in 17 Promoting farmland carbon administration villages during the 14th FYP, etc. sequestration; Optimal planning in harmony with water system, irrigation and drainage system and the field ridges and improving on-farm access road, including On-farm tractor-ploughed roads, crops production roads, and ancillary facilities for farm Same as the Access Road machineries to access to the field. For example: left column In the 6 demonstration counties: 320 km of new crop production roads and 360 km of tractor-ploughing roads will be developed during the 14th FYP, etc. Providing power support for pumping stations, machinery wells and Farm Power Not a PforR information engineering, including the required strong and weak current None None Supply Facility priority transmission lines, transformer and distribution devices and other facilities 111 Official Use Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity Developing on-farm irrigation & drainage system required for the high standard farmland (paddy field) and providing high-efficient water-saving facilities, small-scale village-to-township level irrigation facilities (e.g. water storage RA2 (1) Investing in high ponds and ungated weirs for irrigation), drainage pumping stations; Lining the standard farmland construction (2) Improving On-farm canals/ditches and installing water pipelines, etc.; Implementing alternate in demonstration counties, irrigation and Irrigation & wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation measures; Establishing demonstration Same as the RA (3) Promoting adoption of drainage systems Drainage bases for intelligent water-saving system by applying crop models that left column alternate wetting & drying and water Facility analysis water demand for rice production, estimate irrigation water volume to (ADW) irrigation technology. management instruct the automatic sluice gates for paddy irrigation. For example: Improving climate resilienc; In the 6 demonstration counties, 16 demonstration bases covering total area of 3200 hectares of intelligent water-saving system will be established (two bases for each county and 200 ha for each base) during the 14th FYP, etc. Constructing bio-ditches to reduce the non-point pollution from farming runoff. For example: Farm Return RA2 (1) Investing in high In the 6 demonstration counties, in combining with irrigation and drainage Same as the Flow Pollution standard farmland construction canal systems, bio-ditches will be constructed to intercept and reduce the left column Control in demonstration counties impact of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from farming runoff on environment during the 14th FYP, etc. Chemical Implementing test-based fertilization and expanding the use of formula RA 2 (4) Support efficient Fertilizer Use fertilizer and organic fertilizers (incorporated with the activity type of fertilizer application and Same as the Reduction & technological extension services). For example: appropriate returning of crop left column (3) Reducing Efficiency In the 6 demonstration counties, test-based fertilization technology will be straw to rice field; agricultural NPS Improvement applied of over 10,000 hectares during the 14th FYP, etc. Reduce GHG emission pollution and Reducing the use of chemical pesticides and carrying out comprehensive improving Pesticide Use green prevention and control of diseases and pests through physical and production Reduction & Not a PforR biological measures. Providing precise and specialized pests control services None None environment Efficiency priority timely (incorporated with the activity type of technological extension services). Improvement Strengthening multipurpose utilization of crops straws (used as livestock None None Not a PforR fodders, culture base for mushroom cultivation, building materials, bio-mass priority Crop Straw fuels, etc.) Return to Promoting fertilizer utilization technologies, such as straw returning to field RA 2 (4) Support efficient Field & (incorporated with the activity type of technological extension services). For fertilizer application and Same as the Utilization example: appropriate returning of crop left column In the 6 demonstration counties, advanced straw returning to field straw to rice field; technologies will be applied over 10,000 hectares of farmland during the 14th Promoting farmland carbon 112 Official Use Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity FYP, etc. sequestration; Constructing on-farm windbreak (such as shelter forest/grasses on terrace (4) Enhancing Farmland ridges, stream/river banks and slopes, road sides, canal/ditch sides); In the RA2 (1) Investing in high ecological Protection & areas prone to soil erosion, reasonable construction of bank slope protection, standard farmland construction protection and Ecological- taking actions for gully erosion control, field barrier protection etc., and Same as the in demonstration counties restoration for Environment repairing damaged farmland. For example: left column Promoting farmland carbon sustainable Protection In the 6 demonstration counties, shelter forest will be established to cover total sequestration; production Facility area of 5440 mu and an area of 4,000 mu will be covered by ecological grass planting during the 14th FYP, etc. Advancing the application of digital agriculture, smart irrigation of paddy field and green prevention and control technologies. For example; In the 6 demonstration counties, it is planned to advance the application of green prevention and control technology on the 3200 hectares of the intelligent water-saving systems: e.g., smart spore traps, smart pest forecast lights, Same as the RA2 (1) Investing in high smart gyplure (sex attractant) monitors, etc., will be used to monitor, forecast left column standard farmland construction and control occurrence of rice disease and pests to minimize the use of in demonstration counties chemical pesticides, while ensuring the increase of rice yield during the RA2 (2) Organizing farmer Program implementation; Gyplure will be widely applied and solar-powered training on low-carbon rice insect killing lamps will be purchased to serve for more than 5,000 hectares of (5) Promoting croppint package/ technologies paddy field, etc. green and low- RA2 (3) Promoting adoption of Modern farmers training: during the Program implementation, farmers from carbon Technological alternate wetting & drying cooperation, family farms, large planters of the 6 demonstration counties and technologies and Extension (ADW) irrigation technology the peripheral areas will be provided with trainings on practical agricultural practices for Services RA2 (4) Support efficient techniques and new technologies. Training courses will include, but not limited mitigating climate fertilizer application and to, climate-smart agricultural techniques for rice production, such as (1) impacts appropriate returning of crop selection of rice varieties with high yield and low emission, (2) formula straw to rice field fertilization, (3) use of aerobic tillage and aerated cultivation, (4) use of water- Same as the Reducing GHG emission and saving irrigation technology, (5) implementation of green prevention and left column Promoting farmland carbon control of diseases and pests, (6) high quality straw returning to the field; other sequestration; practical technologies related to agricultural machinery operation, drone operation, information technology, etc. Management trainings: during the Program implementation, trainings will be provided to staff engaged in managing the Program implementation, including the Program management and operation, establishment and management of intelligent agricultural system, management of agricultural carbon reduction 113 Official Use Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity and carbon trading, etc. RA2 (3) Promoting adoption of ADW irrigation technology； Popularizing the application of scientific fertilization technology, AWD irrigation RA2 (4) Supporting efficient technology, water-controlled irrigation technology, etc. For example: Same as the fertilizer application and In the 6 demonstration counties, above-mentioned technologies will be widely left column appropriate returning of crop popularized during the 14th FYP. straw to rice field; Promoting farmland carbon sequestration RA2 (4) Supporting efficient Promoting low-emission varieties and advanced straw returning to field fertilizer application and technologies (improved varieties and methods), etc. For example: Same as the appropriate returning of crop In the 6 demonstration counties, advanced straw returning to field technology left column straw to rice field; will be widely promoted during the 14th FYP. Promoting farmland carbon sequestration Equipping with new agricultural machinery equipment and facilities, deepening RA2(3) Promoting AWD the integration of agricultural machinery and agricultural technology. For technology and integrated water example: and nutrient management; In the 6 demonstration counties during the Program implementation, it is Reduce carbon emission Same as the planned to (1) install on-farm water level indicators, Tada intelligent control left column valves on branch canals and lateral ditches, (2) install agricultural environment RA2 (1) Investing in high meteorological detectors, Intelligent insect warning lights, Intelligent automatic standard farmland construction monitoring, etc., and (3) establish agricultural machinery service centers (one in demonstration counties center for each county), etc. Establishing the paddy investment results M&E system and conducting monitoring, evaluation and reporting for carbon sequestration and GHG Smart emission reduction from rice production. For example RA1(4) Improving enabling Monitoring At Hunan Provincial level, a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) Same as the environment for sustainable and standard will be established during the Program implementation. left column development impacts at scale Evaluation In the 6 demonstration counties, monitoring and evaluation of carbon sequestration and emission reduction in rice production will be carried out during the Program implementation, etc. (6) Improving Strengthening information management and sharing. Results of high standard RA1 Strengthening government institutions and Smart farmland construction will be integrated into the "one map" of land and Same as the management system for capacity for O&M Management resources remote sensing, the regulatory platform of the Ministry of Land and left column sustainable development and sustainable Resource, and subject to on-line monitoring & supervision and unified impacts at scale 114 Official Use Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity services. evaluation and assessment. For example: At Hunan Provincial level, a M&E system and information platform for high- standards farmland construction investment will be established during the Program implementation, etc. Advancing comprehensive agricultural water pricing reform. During the Program implementation, it is planned to be in line with the relevant national policies on promoting comprehensive agricultural water pricing reform and targeting water organization to formulate water price policies based on the actual situation of Hunan Province. A water supply metering system will be established, a precise subsidy and water-saving incentive mechanism will be improved. Based on water price affordability analysis, plan for adjusting water price scientifically will be formulated and agricultural water price mechanism will be advanced to promote water-saving and sustainable development of agriculture. For example: RA1 Strengthening government At Hunan Provincial level and in the 6 demonstration counties, a Same as the management system for comprehensive agricultural water pricing reform will be carried out. The pilot left column sustainable development impact county of water rights trading/buyback will be determined after the Program at scale county self-declaration and PPMO’s study and confirmation. Hanshou County, it is planned during the 14-5 FYP to carry out agricultural water pricing reform in Yanma irrigation district, covering 5 towns/townships and 3 sub-districts, and in Xihu irrigation district, covering 4 towns/townships, for the purpose of establishing a reasonable water pricing mechanism, a precise subsidy and a reward incentive mechanism for water-saving in agriculture, establishing agricultural water right and small water-saving project property right system reform, as well as management and protection mechanism, etc. Improving operation & maintenance and management system and the standard system. For example: At Hunan Provincial level and in the 6 demonstration counties, it is planned to (1) Improve the management system for water-saving and low-carbon rice production, including establishing new/revising policies, regulations and RA1 Strengthening government standards; (2) Develop/issue a good practice guideline/specification for water- Same as the management system for saving and low-carbon rice production, (3) Establish a provincial MRV left column sustainable development impact standard for carbon sequestration and GHG emission reduction from rice at scale production, (4) Develop/issue a water-saving and low-carbon rice production replication plan, (5) strengthen farmer water users’ participation in managing irrigation area, (6) achieve sustainable irrigation and drainage services, and (7) pilot carbon trading and water right trading or buy-back during the Program 115 Official Use Government Program: Hunan High-standards Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030) PforR Program Boundary Reason for Typical Activities at Provincial and (6) County Levels Included or Exclusion Theme Activity Type Related PforR Results Area (2023-2028) Not and Activity implementation. Hanshou County: it is planned during the 14-5 FYP to carry out standardized management on the construction of irrigation areas, including management of high standard farmland construction, safety, water right and other agricultural economic development, etc. RA1 Strengthening government Promoting agricultural carbon emission reduction and sequestration, and Same as the management system for planning to carry out pilot carbon trading during the implementation of the left column sustainable development impact Program at scale 116 Official Use Appendix 2: E&S Risks/Impacts Assessment Institutional capacity and Political and reputational Overall risk Typical activities Likely E&S effects E&S contextual risks complexity risks risks ranking AR1: Strengthening government management system for sustainable development impacts at scale 1) Developing/rev ising relevant incentive policies 2) Developing • The development of these policies, programs, strategies and technical planning, standards, and capacity enhancement implementation plans of agricultural technology extension services are conducive to strengthening the management system without 3) Developing • The implementation of technical significant negative environmental and social impacts, but • The activities are in line related follow-up activities is rather will contribute to the subsequent management of with national and local specifications highly consistent with national water conservation, emission reduction, and low-carbon laws, regulations, policies 4) Developing and local high standard • Implementation of standards for the rice production. and procedures with no farmland construction plans, the activities requires • These soft activities themselves do not have direct political risks. measurement, national water conservation, information sharing among negative environmental and social impacts, and pose only reporting and emission reduction and low- ARABs, WRBs, NRBs and accounting system of minor health and safety risks to the people involved. carbon implementation EEBs with relatively • The activities are • The downstream activities caused by the issuance aimed at advancing water Moderate carbon sequestration programs, and the "14th Five- complicated contents and and emission and implementation of these management systems will be conservation, low carbon Year Plan of Hunan Province procedures and strong reduction in rice carried out in a scientific and orderly manner according to and rice production for Agricultural and Rural coordination and the requirements of laws, regulations, policies and plans, efficiency for the benefit of production Modernization" and other cooperation among these 5) Developing and their long-term environmental and social benefits will the local residents and will policy requirements, which is departments is required. be significant. While the environmental impacts, technical be widely supported by the technical standards conducive to promoting high- • Risk is low requirements and changes in operating costs of public with no reputational for water-saving quality agricultural irrigation downstream agricultural development activities that may risk. development. be caused by the implementation of the guidelines can be • Risk is low 6) Developing • Risk is low guidance on water predicted, analyzed and managed through existing rights trading environmental and social management systems. • Risk is moderate 7 ） Strengthening the service capacity of technology promotion agencies RA2: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for low-carbon development Investing in high • Engineering and construction activities such as field • Agricultural non-point • Implementation of the • The activities are in line standard farmland roads, small-scale water storage and irrigation, field source pollution caused by activities will require cross- with national and local construction in irrigation and drainage facilities, and soil and water pesticides and fertilizers and sectoral coordination and laws, regulations, policies Moderate demonstration conservation may involve social issues such as land air pollution caused by straw cooperation among and procedures with no 117 Official Use Institutional capacity and Political and reputational Overall risk Typical activities Likely E&S effects E&S contextual risks complexity risks risks ranking counties acquisition, health and safety of workers and communities burning are widely found in various government political risks. at low and medium levels, and small-scale employment of farming areas, which are being authorities including • The activities are labor. On the other hand, it helps to improve the quality of controlled gradually. DRCs, FBs, ARABs, aimed at promoting green cultivated land and increase the efficiency of agricultural • Activities are carried out WRBs, RRBs, EEBs, HCs, agriculture and protecting production. in rural areas and do not touch NRBs, etc. the environment for the • The construction of small-scale water storage and environmentally sensitive benefit of local residents, on-field irrigation facilities may occupy a small area of land areas such as important • Risk is moderate and will be widely and involve changes in contracting and management rights natural habitats that have not supported by the public and transfer of farm households. Operation and been disturbed by human without reputational risk. maintenance of the facilities after completion will include activities. participatory management and care by villagers, village • Some minority groups • Risk is relatively low committees and farmer cooperatives, involving are present in some project arrangements for institutions, personnel, technology and areas. funding, as well as the efficiency of the existing operation • The project area is system. promoting and implementing • In the water-related civil construction in Hanshou the "separation of the three County and Dingcheng District, attention needs to be paid rights" of agricultural land to the health and safety of workers involved in water- based on the land contract related operations, and necessary preventive measures system, encouraging the against schistosomiasis should be taken. separation of contracting rights • Field preparation and land improvement do not and management rights, involve land acquisition and may involve changes in promoting land transfer, and contractual rights and management rights of farmers and boosting rural development. their transfer. • Risk is moderate • Risk is moderate • The activities are in line with national and local • Training activities do not laws, regulations, policies • The implementation of technical training-type involve construction of physical and procedures with no activities does not in itself have direct negative works and do not touch • Mainly the ARABs political risks. Organizing training environmental and social impacts, but only poses health environmentally and socially are involved and • The activities are for farmers on low- and safety risks to the PMO and trainers. sensitive areas. coordination is relatively aimed at advancing water carbon rice • Training activities do not trigger downstream • The participants in the easy during conservation, low carbon Moderate cultivation engineering activities, have no significant indirect negative training will be wide-ranging implementation. and rice production techniques (solution environmental and social impacts, and will have a catalytic and will include minorities and efficiency for the benefit of package) effect on subsequent environmental management and other vulnerable populations. • Risk is relatively low the local residents and will institutional capacity enhancement. be widely supported by the • Risk is relatively low • Risk is relatively low public with no reputational risk. • Risk is relatively low 118 Official Use Institutional capacity and Political and reputational Overall risk Typical activities Likely E&S effects E&S contextual risks complexity risks risks ranking • These water-saving • The activities are in line irrigation technologies are with national and local carried out on existing irrigated laws, regulations, policies • The use of alternate wet and dry irrigation technology farmland and irrigation • Implementation of and procedures with no will change the traditional rice cultivation mode, which will systems, do not involve the the activities will require political risks. not only help improve the soil quality of rice fields and construction of physical works cross-sectoral coordination • The activities are ensure food security, but also effectively improve the and do not touch and cooperation among aimed at advancing water Implementing efficiency of irrigation water utilization and fertilization, environmentally and socially various government conservation, low carbon alternate wet and dry reduce water consumption, and reduce the release of sensitive areas. authorities including and rice production Moderate irrigation technology methane greenhouse gas from rice fields due to the • The technology results ARABs, WRBs. etc. efficiency for the benefit of anaerobic state of long-term water soaking. It will also help will be disseminated on a • ARABs the local residents and will prevent soil submergence. broad scale and will involve the be widely supported by the participation of minorities and • Risk is moderate public with no reputational • Risk is moderate other vulnerable populations. risk. • Risk is moderate • Risk is relatively low • Advanced return of straw to the field will increase soil organic matter and fertility, increase microbial activity in the soil, improve soil structure, and increase crop yields. Returning straw to the field will avoid the air pollution and CO2 greenhouse emissions caused by its burning in the • The activities are in line • Straw return itself is open. with national and local carried out on existing • The amount of straw returned to the field needs to be laws, regulations, policies agricultural land, and if further moderate. If too much and too often (such as double- and procedures with no processing is required before season rice production), not only is it not conducive to soil political risks. return, it is generally carried • Mainly the ARABs improvement, it may also cause a serious imbalance in soil • The purpose of the out on existing agricultural land are involved and 4 Supporting efficient physical and chemical properties. The process of activities is to advance the or construction land in rural coordination is relatively fertilization and decomposition of straw in the soil to form organic matter reduction of greenhouse areas, and does not touch easy during moderate return of produces a large amount of organic acids, which leads to gas emissions and Moderate environmentally sensitive implementation. straw to fields straw carrying insect eggs and carrying bacteria, and the promote green areas such as important • decaying material may attract pests and affect crop yields. development, and will be natural habitats that have not • Risk is relatively low It is required to choose advanced return technology and widely supported by the been disturbed by human increase the management of pH adjustment and pest public with no reputational activities. control in paddy fields. risk. • • Dust and odorous wastewater pollution from the • • Risk is moderate processing (shredding or composting and fermentation) • Risk is relatively low process before straw is returned to the field must be mitigated with necessary and feasible measures. • • Risk is moderate 119 Official Use Institutional capacity and Political and reputational Overall risk Typical activities Likely E&S effects E&S contextual risks complexity risks risks ranking • The trading activity itself will have no direct negative environmental and social impact, and will only have the • The activities are in line health and safety risks of the people involved in the with national and local transaction. laws, regulations, policies • The trading activities serve as an incentive for and procedures with no irrigation districts to take more aggressive action to adopt • Implementation of the political risks. agronomic technologies and measures related to water- activities will require strong • The trading activities do • The purpose of the efficient irrigation and reduction of greenhouse gas cross-sectoral coordination not involve the construction of activities is to advance the emissions. and cooperation among Demonstration of physical works and do not reduction of greenhouse • Green practices such as agricultural greenhouse gas various government carbon trading in touch the environmentally and gas emissions and emission reduction may trigger downstream larger-scale authorities including Moderate some counties socially sensitive areas. promote green pollution control and carbon reduction activities in the DRCs, FBs, ARABs, EEBs, • development for the benefit planting and farming industries, such as pesticide and etc. • Risk is low of local residents, and will chemical fertilizer reduction, agricultural film collection, • be widely supported by the straw utilization, treatment of livestock and poultry manure, • Risk is moderate public with no reputational and livestock and poultry farm shutdown or reconstruction, risk. thus generating a wide range of indirect environmental and • social impacts. • Risk is relatively low • • Risk is moderate RA3: Improving irrigation and drainage services for resilience rice production • They are implemented in 1.Comprehensive a wide range of areas and will agricultural water affect the interests of price reform at the disadvantaged groups such as • The activities are in line • In water price reform, water rights trading and water county level minorities. • Implementation of with national and local supply services in irrigation districts, the views of various • Water price reform, the activities will require laws, regulations, policies stakeholders need to be taken care of, and stakeholder 2.Strengthening water rights trading, and water strong cross-sectoral and procedures with no identification and analysis should be conducted, and irrigation and supply services in irrigation coordination and political risks. stakeholder communication mechanisms and plans should drainage services at districts will affect areas cooperation among • The activities will be developed. the county level upstream and downstream various government improve the environment • Public consultation should be conducted in the Moderate 3.Promoting farmers' throughout the basin and may authorities including FBs, and benefit local residents, design, implementation and monitoring process of water cooperative touch environmentally EBs, ARABs, RRBs and and will be widely price reform, water rights trading, and water supply service organizations to sensitive areas. However, a etc. supported by the public related activities in irrigation districts, and the management participate in scientific and reasonable • without reputational risk plan should be developed. irrigation water use balance plan will • Risk is moderate • Risk is moderate management make them do not have a • Risk is relatively low 4.Strengthening the negative impact on these coordination areas. mechanism of • 120 Official Use Institutional capacity and Political and reputational Overall risk Typical activities Likely E&S effects E&S contextual risks complexity risks risks ranking agriculture and water • Risk is moderate conservancy departments in the process of planning and implementing the high standard farmland construction 5.Demonstration of water rights trading at the county level Overall Risk is moderate Risk is moderate Risk is moderate Risk is relatively low Risk is moderate assessment 121 Official Use Appendix 3: Comparison with the Bank PforR Policy and Directive PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements Principle #1: Program E&S management systems are designed to promote E&S sustainability in the program design; avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts; and promote informed decision-making relating to a program’s E&S effects. Element 1: Environmental: China has established a complete legal framework on environmental management. (1) governed by the Consistent Operate within an “Environmental Protection Law�, China has developed a variety of environmental management laws, regulations, standards, adequate legal and technical guidelines, such as the “Environmental Impact Assessment Law� (2018), the “Water Pollution Prevention and regulatory Control Law� (2017), the “Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law� (2018), the “Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and framework to guide Control Law� (2020), the “Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law� (2018), the “Construction Projects Environmental E&S impact Protection Management Regulations� (2017), the “Construction Projects EIA Classification Catalogue� (2021), the “EIA assessments, Technical Guidelines�, etc., which constitutes the legal framework for guiding the assessment of environmental impacts and mitigation, managing the environmental risks of the PforR activities. Based the legal framework, series implementation mechanisms management, and are established to guide the assessment of environmental impact and subsequently managing environmental risks of the monitoring at the PforR activities. Specifically, in the agricultural plantation sector, the Environmental Protection Law has set forth articles on PforR level. agro-environmental protection, and the Agricultural Law has set forth articles on conserving ecological resources and environmental protection. The Regulation on Crop Pests Prevention and Control, Regulation on Pesticide Management, the Regulation on Plant Protection in Hunan Province, and other relevant management measures, technical guidelines, standards are put in place to manage agricultural NPS pollution. (2) Hunan province has established PPCG and PPMOs, coordinating various provincial authorities (e.g., EEBs, ARABs, NRBs, WRBs, FGBs, etc.) to jointly implement the PforR. These provincial government authorities, together with local counterparts will be responsible for mobilizing their resources, taking necessary actions and designating their statutory regulatory bodies to manage the PforR environmental impacts/risks. Through review of the adequacy of China’s environmental management systems, it’s demonstrated to have a sound legal and regulatory framework to guide E&S impact assessments, mitigation, management, and monitoring at the PforR level. Specifically, the national environmental management systems are also compared with the WBGs EHS guidelines. The rice production management system is found to be equivalent to WBGs EHS Guidelines for Annual Crop Production by covering good international industry practices (GIIP) in conserving agricultural eco-environment, managing agricultural NPS pollution. Water Quality Standard for Farming Irrigation of China includes basic control indicators and selected control indicators by referring to the similar standards of international organizations, FAO, USA, Canada and other countries. The standard cleared that the EEBs at all levels shall lead and work together with ARABs at all levels to supervise the implementation of the standard. Social: i) Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Issuing the Interim Measures for the Consistent. Social Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects (NDRCI 2012): For any major fixed asset investment project in China, the owner shall conduct an SSRA at the preparatory stage to identify risks and degree of impact, solicit opinions from the affected people, propose measures to prevent and mitigate risks, and determine the 122 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements recommended social stability risk rating after such measures are taken. ii) Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim) (CPCCCO [2012] No.2): An SSRA shall be conducted for any decision-making on major project or matter that concerns the immediate interests of the public, and is likely to cause social stability risks, such as LA and HD, farmers’ burden, state -owned enterprise restructuring, environmental impacts, social security, and public welfare. iii) The Opinions on Strengthening Social Stability Risk Assessment for Major Decisions under New Circumstances promulgated by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council in February 2020: An SSRA shall be carried out on major decisions including those on major construction projects. It specifies the contents, methods, procedures, and management of SSRA, and application of SSRA results, and underlines that the contents of SSRA are integral to the Program's feasibility study and application reports. The SIA system applicable to the Program is adequate. Specific laws and regulations are sorted out by the following principles and elements. Element 2: Environment: China has established a complete EIA system, covering environmental impacts screening, alternatives Consistent. Incorporate comparison, site selection, impacts assessment (positive vs. vegetative, direct vs. indirect, cumulative, etc.), mitigation recognized measures, environmental management institutional arrangement, environmental management costs, public consultation, elements of good and information disclosure, etc. In the due diligence investigation, the ESSA team collected a variety of primary and practice in E&S secondary data and sample EIA registration for EEBs endorsement evidences for similar projects, which demonstrate that assessment and the EIA system is well established. Details are given below. management, Social: The state laws and regulations on project screening include the Measures for the Administration of the Pre- Consistent. including examination on the Use of Land for Construction Projects (2008.11.29), Cultural Relics Protection Law (2017 Amendment), Land Administration Law (2020.1.1), Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Geologic Disasters (2004.3.1), and Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Issuing the Interim Measures for the Social Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects (NDRCI 2012), and Opinions on Strengthening Social Stability Risk Assessment for Major Decisions under New Circumstances (GOSC, 2020.2.22) (i) early screening Environment: The Environmental Impact Assessment Law clearly requires that early screening should be conducted to Consistent. of potential confirm EIA category for each construction project. The Construction Projects EIA Classification Catalogue (2021) provides impacts; a guidance on classifying EIA instruments for 173 types of projects in 55 sectors. Environmental impacts are classified to Class A – high to significant impacts, Class B – small to moderate impacts, and Class C - minor impacts based on project nature, scale, and environmental sensitivity. EIA report, EIA form, and EIA registration for EEBs endorsement will then be development for Class A, Class B, and Class C, respectively. For the HSFC projects in Hunan Province, due to the minor, short-term and site-specific adverse impacts, EIA registration for EEBs endorsement are practiced. Social: Guidelines on Establishing a Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters Consistent (Interim): Scope of assessment: The Party and government institutions shall conduct an SSRA before making any decision on any major project or policy or matter that concerns the immediate interests of the public, and is likely to cause social stability risks, such as LA and HD, farmers’ burden, state-owned enterprise restructuring, environmental impacts, social security, and public welfare. Decisions subject to SSRA shall be made by relevant local authorities according to the above 123 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements regulations and in the light of the realities, and the SSRA of any major construction project shall be an integral part of its feasibility study. Measures for the Administration of the Pre-examination on the Use of Land for Construction Projects: The area and type of the land used for the project shall be identified before the feasibility study report or project proposal is reviewed to avoid the expropriation of basic farmland, and nature reserves, etc. (ii) consideration of Environment: EIAs for construction projects are required to include comparison of different natural background conditions Consistent. strategic, technical, especially environmental sensitive areas, site alternatives, pollution control options, pollutants treatment techniques, as well and site as environmental benefits and costs of different designs. In addition, EIAs will review historical environmental issues and alternatives clarify how the environment will continue deteriorating without the proposed project, which is equivalent to analysis of “with� (including the “no and “without� project alternatives. For HSFC project, when selecting site, following principles are followed: (1) site shall action� alternative); have irrigation water source assurance and irrigation and drainage backbone engineering conditions, (2) the construction of high-standard farmland in the core and buffer areas of nature reserves, and on polluted farmland shall be prohibited, (3) areas with slopes greater than 25 degrees shall not be constructed in principle. Social: Cultural Relics Protection Law: Article 20: The site selected for a construction project shall keep away from Consistent immovable cultural relics as far as possible. If the impact on a protected culture relic can't be avoided for special circumstances, the original site shall be protected by whatever possible means. Article 29: Before launching a large-scale capital construction project, the construction contractor shall firstly apply to the cultural relic authority of concerned province, autonomous region and municipality for an archaeological investigation at places where cultural relics may be buried underground within the project area. Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Geologic Disasters: Article 13: The development and implementation of overall plan for land utilization and other plans for the construction of a major project shall take full account of the requirements on prevention and control of geologic disasters so as to avoid and mitigate the losses arising from geologic disasters. The plans on prevention and control of geologic disasters shall be an integral part of overall plans developed at municipal, village or township levels. (iii) explicit Environment：According to the “Technical Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessment�, EIA documents will include Consistent. assessment of the assessment of cumulative impacts in temporal and spatial aspects if construction projects are likely to have cumulative potential induced, impacts on the environment. cumulative, and Social: Outline for the Preparation of the Chapter on the Social Stability Risk Analysis of Major Fixed Asset Investment Consistent trans-boundary Projects and Assessment Report (Interim) (NDRCOI [2013] No.428): Analysis of potential induced and cumulative risks impacts; shall be conducted, with effective risks management measures being taken. (iv) identification of Environment: According to the “Environmental Impact Assessment Law�, EIA documents will include proper measures to Basically Consistent. measures to avoid or mitigate negative environmental impacts. As per the “Technical Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessment�, Recommendation: specific mitigate adverse EIAs will also include specific and operational mitigation measures to manage the identified environmental impacts, and the and standardized E&S risks and measures will be incorporated into EMPs. Any EIA documents without appropriate mitigation measures and institutional subjections on impacts that cannot arrangement will not pass review and approval. Because of small adverse environmental impacts, the HSFC projects in environmental management be otherwise Hunan Province have been subjected to EIA registration for EEBs endorsement without processing separately EIA. be included in the design avoided or Environmental management measures are included into the preliminary design documents. The Bank team found that documents to screen and minimized; environmental management measures included in the preliminary design documents of the high standard farmland assess environmental risks, 124 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements construction projects varies considerably in the contents and depth among the 8 Program counties. There is room for further optimize the design, improvement. and propose proper mitigation measures Social: Guidelines on Establishing a Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters Basically Consistent. (Interim): The SSRA report shall specify the scope and procedures of SSRA, opinions of relevant parties and opinions Recommendation: The high- accepted, social stability risks potentially caused by any major decision, conclusions of SSRA, proposals, risks prevention standard farmland and mitigation measures, and emergency response plans, etc. If the assessment report thinks that a high risk is present, a construction activities decision of non-implementation shall be made, or a decision may be made after the plan is adjusted or the risk level is supported by the Program reduced; if an moderate risk is present, a decision of implementation shall be made after effective risk prevention and should ensure that the mitigation measures are taken; and if a low risk is present, a decision of implementation may be made, provided that actions Program is consistent with like explanation and persuasion to the people affected are taken and reasonable requests of people affected are handled the layout and project properly. The SSRA report, signed by person in charge of the assessor, shall be submitted to the decision-making authority database of the county-level for review step by step, with copies being sent to the decision implementation, political and legislative affairs, comprehensive farmland construction social governance, stability maintenance, legislative affairs, and letters and visits authorities. project, and reach the depth of the feasibility study report as required in the depth of warehousing documents. In the preliminary design document, according to the industry specifications, special chapters are set up to assess social risks and propose measures to avoid and mitigate social risks. (v) clear articulation Environment: According to the “Technical Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessment�, EIA documents should clearly Basically consistent. of institutional define institutional organization and responsibilities, environmental management costs and financial resources, and Recommendation: specific responsibilities and environmental monitoring and supervision arrangement in terms of parameters, timing, and frequency, etc. and standardized resources to Because of small adverse environmental impacts, the HSFC projects in Hunan Province have been subjected to EIA subjections on support registration for EEBs endorsement without processing separately EIA. Environmental management measures are included environmental management implementation of into the preliminary design documents. The Bank team found that environmental management measures included in the be included in the design plans; preliminary design documents of the high standard farmland construction projects varies considerably in the contents and documents to screen and depth among the 8 Program counties. There is room for improvement. assess environmental risks, further optimize the design, and propose proper mitigation measures with cost estimated that shall be 125 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements included into the bidding documents and civil works/farming contracts Social: Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Consistent Matters (Interim): Implementation agency of SSRA: SSRA of any major decision shall be conducted by the assessor. For decisions made by the local party committee and government, the assessor shall be designated by such party committee and government; for decisions made by any department of the local party committee and government, the assessor shall be designated by such department or the leading department in consultation with other relevant departments; for decisions made by multiple party and government institutions at different levels, the assessor shall be designated by the initial decision-making authority. During the SSRA, the assessor may organize an assessment group composed of officials from the political and legislative affairs, comprehensive social governance, stability maintenance, legislative affairs, and letters and visits authorities, NGOs, specialized agencies, experts, and representatives of the affected people. Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Issuing the Interim Measures for the Social Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects: Article 3: At the feasibility study stage of a project, the PIU (or through a specialized agency) shall conduct an SSRA to identify impacts, carry out public consultation, propose mitigation measures, and prepare an SSRA report. Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Administration Law: Article 25: In accordance with approved land acquisition plans, the land administration authority of the municipal/county government shall, in conjunction with other relevant departments, formulate land acquisition compensation and resettlement plans, announce such plans at the townships and villages affected, consider the opinions of rural collective economic organizations and farmers affected. All costs arising from land acquisition shall be fully disbursed within 3 months after the approval of land acquisition compensation and resettlement plans. (vi) responsiveness Environment: It is stipulated in “Environmental Impact Assessment Law� that Class A projects subject to full EIA reports Consistent. and accountability should go through public consultation. Though it’s not compulsory for Class B projects to carry out public consultation, local through EEBs usually suggest the PIUs to seek public opinions if the proposed facilities would have potential impacts on adjacent stakeholder receptors, for example, livestock and poultry manure treatment facilities emit odor. As per the “Mechanism o f Information consultation, timely Disclosure for Construction Project EIA�, all PIUs shall disclose the environmental information including the project siting, dissemination of and the process of construction and operation, etc., and local EEBs shall disclose the management information including the PforR the progress of review and approval of EIA documents and the supervision findings, etc. information, and For HSFC project in Hunan, when selecting site for HSFC, representatives of farmers, FCOs are participated to voice their responsive GRMs. opinions and experts are invited to join the review of design documents before approval. Social: Land Administration Law: Article 47: For expropriation of land by the state, the local governments at and above Basically consistent. the county level shall make an announcement and organize implementation after approval according to the legal Recommendation: During procedures. If a government at or above the county level is to apply for land acquisition, it shall conduct the current status the research and gradual survey and SSRA, and disclose the range and purpose of acquisition, current status, compensation rate, resettlement mode, implementation of the water social security, etc. in the township, village and village group affected for at least 30 days to collect comments from the rural price reform plan, the TOR collective economic organization and its members, village committee and other stakeholders affected. clearly require that the 126 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements farmers' ability to pay and willingness to pay should be fully considered. During the implementation of the price adjustment, public hearings and other forms were launched to mobilize the participation of WUAs and farmers to ensure their right to know and listen to their opinions and suggestions Principle #2: Program E&S management systems are designed to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse impacts on natural habitats and physical cultural resources resulting from the program Element 3: Identify, Environment ： According to The Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment - Ecological Impact, Consistent. and screen for identification and screening of ecological environmental elements (such as wild-fauna and flora, important habitat, adverse effects on biodiversity) is one of the important assignments for EIA to identify environmental protection targets. At the early stage of potentially project proposal and EIA preparation, NRBs and EEBs will strictly implement the ERL mechanism for ecological protection important based on Opinions on Delineating and Strictly Observing the EPL, and local Scheme for Delineating ERL when reviewing biodiversity and and approving the selected project site. If any project that encroaches the ERL and may course adverse impact on natural cultural resource reserves, the proposed project site will be rejected. areas and provide The main activities under this PforR will be located at existing cultivated land in agricultural production area, connected with adequate irrigation water sources by main irrigation canals and branch canals. The Program areas belong to highly modified artificial measures to avoid, ecosystem, or have been disturbed by human activities. The principle of “prohibiting HSFC in the core and buffer areas of minimize, or nature preserves� are followed when selection sites for HSFC. mitigate adverse Furthermore, any activities that may impact natural habitat will be excluded from the PforR, as stated in the exclusion effects. principles. Therefore, the PforR will not have adverse impact on important biodiversity. Social: Cultural Relics Protection Law: Article 20: The site selected for a construction project shall keep away from immovable cultural relics as far as possible. If the impact on a protected culture relic can't be avoided for special circumstances, the original site shall be protected by whatever possible means. Article 29: Before launching a large-scale capital construction project, the construction contractor shall firstly apply to the cultural relic authority of concerned province, autonomous region and municipality for an archaeological investigation at places where cultural relics may be buried underground within the project area. Element 4: Environment: The PforR activities will be taken place at existing cultivated land connected with irrigation water sources by Generally consistent. Support and main irrigation canals and branch canals, in agricultural production areas of township or countryside, belonging to artificial Recommendation, specific promote the ecosystem, or have been disturbed by human activities. The activities only cover very limited geographic area with minor and standardized protection, possibility of involving important natural habitat. (1) China has many laws & regulations on conserving and managing natural subjections on soil 127 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements conservation, ecology, e.g. Law on Wetland Conservation, Law on Wild Animal Conservation, Regulation on Wild Plants Conservation, conservation be included in maintenance, and Regulation on Natural Reserves, Opinion on Delineating and Strictly Observing the Red Line for Ecological Protection, etc. the design documents, rehabilitation of The PforR is designed and will be constructed, operated to strictly comply with the requirements of these laws and further optimize the design, natural habitats. regulations. (2) The important fauna and flora resources and natural habitats have been included within the ecological red and propose proper Avoid significant lines. When selecting the PforR activities sties, the national ERL mechanism will be strictly abided by and be under the strict mitigation measures with conversion or regulatory management of NRBs and will not easily touch the ecological protection red line and affect the natural habitat. cost estimated that shall be degradation of (3) The PforR exclusion principles have excluded any activities that may impact natural habitat. (4) The contractors will be included into the bidding critical natural required to perform their contractual responsibilities on eco-environment protection to reduce disturbance to artificial and documents and civil habitats. If avoiding natural ecosystem and restore vegetation in the first time after the completion of construction. In summary, the PforR works/farming contracts the significant activities will not course significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats. conversion of In order to mitigate the impact of soil erosion on artificial agricultural ecosystem, better managing the local ar ea’s water natural habitats is environment for uplifting eco-environment quality, there is a room to improve management capacity in conserving water and not technically soil. feasible, include measures to mitigate or offset the adverse impacts of the PforR activities. Element 5: Take Social: Cultural Relics Protection Law: Article 17: No construction works or operations such as blasting, drilling and t into account digging are allowed within the area of a protected cultural relic. If such works or operations are unavoidable, measures must potential adverse be taken to ensure the safety of the protected cultural relic, and such works or operations shall be subject to the approval effects on physical by the government approving and announcing its status as a protected cultural relic. Article 20: The site selected for a cultural property construction project shall keep away from immovable cultural relics as far as possible. If the impact on a protected culture and provide relic can't be avoided for special circumstances, the original site shall be protected by whatever possible means. Article adequate 29: Before launching a large-scale capital construction project, the construction contractor shall firstly apply to the cultural measures to avoid, relic authority of concerned province, autonomous region and municipality for an archaeological investigation at places minimize, or where cultural relics may be buried underground within the project area. Article 31: The expenses needed for mitigate such archaeological investigation, prospecting, or excavation, which have to be carried out because of capital construction or effects. construction for productive purposes, shall be included in the budget of the construction contractor for the construction project. Regulations for the Implementation of the Cultural Relics Protection Law: Article 25: The scope and rates of funds for archaeological investigation, exploration and excavation shall be in line with applicable Chinese regulations. Principle #3: Program E&S management systems are designed to protect public and worker safety against the potential risks associated with (a) the construction and/or operation of facilities or other operational practices under the program; (b) exposure to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, and otherwise dangerous materials under the program; and (c) reconstruction or rehabilitation of infrastructure located in areas prone to natural hazards. 128 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements Element 6: • Environment: China has established a comprehensive health and safety management system under a series set of Generally consistent. Promote adequate laws, regulation, standards and guidelines, which is similar to or even more complex than environmental protection and Recommendation: The community, pollution control system. Laws and regulations related to agriculture plantation sector include Pesticide Management existing mechanism of inter- individual, and Regulations, Construction Projects Occupational Diseases and Hazardous Risk Classification Catalogue, Occupational department joint prevention worker health, Diseases Classification and Catalogue, a number of guidelines on the safe use of pesticides. Technical guidelines for and control of safety, and security environmental safety of chemical fertilizer use. In the endemic areas schistosomiasis, of Laws and regulations related to schistosomiasis shall be through the safe local endemic schistosomiasis include Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, Regulations on integrated into the Program design, Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control. These laws and regulation constituted a legal framework and implementation activities to safeguard health construction, mechanisms to manage health and safety issues from the Program activities. Risks from Cereal cultivation activity under and safety of construction operation, and agricultural sector is defined as normal-level according to Construction Projects Occupational Diseases and Hazardous workers & farming operators maintenance of Risk Classification Catalogue. related to water in the program activities; China and Hunan’s health and safety management system is substantially compliant with the WBG’s General EHS endemic area of Hanshou or, in carrying out Guidelines, the EHS Guidelines for annual crop production, and it covers GIIP, including “Guidelines for the Rational Use County and Dingcheng activities that may of Pesticides� formulated by referring to the existing maximum residue limits of pesticides standard values of United Nations District. be dependent on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) other countries, and in line with China’s existing conditions, which is in line with the core principles of the World Bank. infrastructure, In due diligence, it is noted that Hanshou County and Dingcheng District, tow of the demonstration counties under the incorporate safety Program are local endemic schistosomiasis areas. In order to consolidate the achievements of schistosomiasis control and measures, avoid the rebound of the epidemic. The Bank team made an recommendation inspections, or Social: China has established a full set of work safety management systems at the design, construction, and operation consistent remedial work as stages of projects. Safety management is the top priority during project implementation. The implementation of safety appropriate. management measures is subject to all-round supervision by competent industry supervision and emergency management (work safety) authorities. The owner, construction contractor and operator of a project must establish a well-staffed safety management organization, and competent administrative authorities have developed work safety management mechanisms to supervise the effectiveness and outcomes of work safety in the project. In addition, the emergency management bureau (work safety authority) is responsible for supervising and regulating all industries and key sectors. Thus, China's work safety management system is adequate for safety supervision of the PforR Program activities. i) Labor Law: Article 53: Labor health and safety facilities shall comply with the national standards. Newly constructed, reconstructed or expanded labor health and safety facilities must be designed, constructed, and put into operation together with main parts of the project. Article 54: The employer must provide labor health and safety conditions, and necessary labor protection articles complying with the state provisions to workers, and workers dealing with operations with occupational hazards shall receive health checkup regularly. Article 57: The state shall establish a statistical reporting and handling system of accidents and occupational diseases. Article 61: Pregnant female workers shall not be arranged to deal with physical labor of intensity level III stipulated by the state and prohibited labor, and female workers pregnant for seven months or more shall not work overtime or at night. ii) Work Safety Law: Article 21: The primary person in charge of a production and operation entity shall be responsible for 129 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements establishing and improving its work safety responsibility system, developing policies, rules, and operating procedures for work safety, developing and implementing work safety education and training plans, supervising and inspecting work safety to eliminate hidden risks of work safety accidents in a timely manner, preparing and implementing emergency rescue plans for work safety accidents, and reporting work safety accidents in a timely and honest manner. Article 73: Departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall set up a complaint system, such internet reporting platforms as the complaint telephone numbers, mailbox numbers or e-mail addresses known to the public, to facilitate receipt of complaints related to work safety. Article 74: All units and individuals shall have the right to report or complain about hidden dangers that may lead to accidents and practices violating work safety laws to the departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety. Article 75: When neighborhood committees or villagers committees discover hidden dangers that may lead to accidents or practices violating work safety laws in production and business units located in their areas, they shall report the matter to the local people’s governments or the departments concerned. iii) Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases (2018 Amendment): Article 4: Employees shall be entitled to occupational health protection according to law. Employers shall create work environment and conditions meeting the national occupational health standards and health requirements and take measures to ensure that employees receive occupational health protection. Trade unions shall oversee the prevention and control of occupational diseases and protect the lawful rights and interests of employees according to law. When formulating or amending rules and regulations on the prevention and control of occupational diseases, employers shall solicit the opinions of trade unions. Article 5: Employers shall establish and improve a responsibility system for the prevention and control of occupational diseases, strengthen the management of prevention and control of occupational diseases, improve their capabilities of prevention and control of occupational diseases, and assume responsibilities for their own occupational hazards. Article 6: The primary person in charge of an employer shall assume the overall responsibility for the employer's prevention and control of occupational diseases. Article 7: Employers must make work-related injury insurance available for its employees according to law. Article 9: An occupational health supervision system shall be implemented in China. Article 10: The State Council and the local governments at and above the county level shall prepare plans on the prevention and control of occupational diseases, which shall be included in the national economic and social development plan and organize the implementation of such plans. Element 7: (i) Environment: Regarding the possible physical, biological, and chemical injuries during the rice production that may consistent Promote the use of cause OHS and public health risks, China has established a comprehensive health and safety management system under recognized good a series set of laws, regulation, standards and guidelines, which is similar to or even more complex than environmental practice in the protection and pollution control system as detailed in above Element 6. Know practical measures on safety management production, are to be taken during the design, constriction. During the rice production, in order to manage safe use of pesticides, management, integrated pesticide management are promoted to minimize the use of toxic pesticides. ARABs at county level purchase storage, transport, specialized organizations for providing unified service on the prevention and control of crop pest. The specialized and disposal of organization, compared with small farming households, have stricter safety regulations and preventive equipment, which hazardous can minimize the safety risks of small farmers' access to and exposure to pesticides; China’s more than 70 years of materials 130 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements generated under successful experience in schistosomiasis prevention and control can effectively manage risks of snails to the public and the PforR. workers/operators related to water Social: i) Work Safety Law: Article 24: An entity engaged in mining, metal smelting, building construction or road consistent transportation, or an entity manufacturing, marketing, or storing hazardous substances shall establish a work safety management body or have full-time work safety management personnel. Article 25: The work safety management body and work safety management personnel of a production and operation entity shall be responsible for: (1) organizing or participating in the development of the work safety policies, rules and operating procedures and the emergency rescue plans for work safety accidents; (2) organizing or participating in and honestly recording its work safety education and training; (3) supervising the implementation of safety control measures for the major hazard installations of the production and operation entity; (4) organizing or participating in the emergency rescue rehearsals of the production and operation entity; (5) inspecting its work safety condition, conducting screening for any work safety risks in a timely manner, and offering recommendations for improving work safety management; (6) prohibiting and redressing any command against rules, forced operation at risk, or violation of the operating procedures; and, (7) supervising the work safety related corrective actions taken by the production and operation entity. ii) Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals: Article 4: A hazardous chemical entity shall provide safety education, legal education and on-the-job technical training to its employees. Employees shall accept education and training and may not hold office until they have passed the relevant examinations. iii) Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements with Guidance for Use: This is a regional standard on OHS management systems, designed to systematically identify and control occupational health and safety risks that may arise in organizational activities, products and services, prevent safety accidents, and protect workers’ heal th and safety. Enterprises may apply for OHS management system certification, establish a normative management system for the source identification and whole-process control of hazards, and realize continual improvement and compliance. An assessment includes: 1) OHS pre-assessment; 2) inspection reports on OHS and fire protection; 3) test reports on OHS and fire protection; 4) chemical safety reports for hazardous chemicals; 5) copy of manufacturing license (when required); and 6) copy of business license. The following shall be reviewed comprehensively: 1) the organization’s work safety permit; 2) production or service flowchart; 3) organizational chart; 4) list of applicable laws and regulations; 5) location map; 6) factory layout; 7) workshop layout; 8) list of major hazards; 9) OHS targets, indicators and management plan; and 10) certificate of compliance, etc. iv) Guidelines for Occupational Disease Prevention and Control for Employers: The general requirements for occupational disease prevention and control, classified and tiered management, occupational health file management, and OHS assessment, etc. are stipulated, including: a corporate occupational health policy shall be developed, and an occupational disease prevention and treatment agency and an occupational health management agency shall be established, with relevant functions being clearly defined and full/part-time occupational health officers being appointed; occupational disease prevention and control shall be included in the management-by-objective responsibility system; an occupational disease prevention and control plan, and an implementation plan shall be developed; a sound occupational 131 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements health management system and job SOPs shall be established; sound occupational health files shall be established; efforts shall be made to establish a sound workplace occupational hazard monitoring and evaluation system, provide necessary financial support for occupational disease prevention and control, develop a sound emergency rescue plan for occupational diseases, and make work-related injury insurance available. v) The 14th Five-Year Plan for Health of Hunan Province (XZBF [2021] NO.48) requiring to strengthen the occupational diseases treatment of key industries and push enterprises to implement responsibilities and obligations of occupational diseases prevention and control according to law; improve the policies and regulations of occupational hazards declaration, reporting and monitoring that the qualified rate of occupational hazard factor monitoring in workplaces of key industries should reach 85%; implement the occupational health examination, care, diagnosis, treatment and other management measures; strengthen occupational health supervision and law enforcement, urge employers with serious occupational hazards to conduct occupational hazards status assessment and construction units to perform the "three simultaneous" procedures of occupational disease protection facilities; strengthen safeguards for occupational diseases treatment, and carry out a special campaign to expand the coverage of work-related injury insurance for key occupational diseases in key industries. (ii) Promote the use Environment: China has a mature pesticide management system, and has formulated regulations and systems such as consistent of integrated pest the Regulations on Pesticide Management and the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Crop Diseases and Pests. management The production and marketing of pesticides shall be subject to a licensing system, and pesticide users shall use pesticides practices to according to requirements. In agricultural practice, IPM measures are promoted in crop plantation sector, and the reduction manage or reduce of pesticides is promoted through the use of green control techniques such as ecological management, healthy cultivation, the adverse biological control, and physical control. ARABs at all levels have full-time agencies responsible for the comprehensive impacts of pests or supervision of pest control and pesticide reduction. disease vectors The activities under this project involve vector control of schistosomiasis (mainly in Hanshou County and Dingcheng District located in Dongting lakeside belong to local schistosomiasis endemic area). Schistosomiasis control has been carried out in China for more than 70 years, and a mature management, prevention and control system has been formed. Integrated control measures are taken to prevent and control schistosomiasis include: comprehensive measures taken by agriculture, water conservancy, forestry, land resources and transportation construction works to modify the snail breeding habitats and inhibit snail growth conditions under the existing mechanism of inter-department joint prevention and control of schistosomiasis. Construction workers related to water are protected by wearing protective clothing, rubbing and taking medicines) (iii) Provide training Environment: The use of chemical pesticides in the prevention and control of pests and diseases in rice field production consistent for workers involves organophosphorus pesticides, chloramidine and other hazardous chemicals that are harmful to operators’ health. involved in the In accordance with the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals, the Catalogue of Hazardous production, Chemicals, the Law on Safety in Production, and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, the IPM procurement, measures are promoted the reduction of toxic chemical pesticides. Specialized organizations are purchased by county storage, transport, ARABs for providing unified service for prevention and control of crop pests. These specialized organizations has formulated use, and disposal sound safety management systems and better measures and equipment for pesticides application, operators are equipped 132 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements of hazardous with standard labor protective equipment under the guidance and supervision of ARABs chemicals in accordance with the relevant international guidelines and conventions. Social: consistent i) Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals: Article 4: A hazardous chemical entity shall provide safety education, legal education and on-the-job technical training to its employees. Employees shall accept education and training and may not hold office until they have passed the relevant examinations. ii) Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems—Requirements with Guidance for Use: This is a regional standard on OHS management systems, designed to systematically identify and control occupational health and safety risks that may arise in organizational activities, products, and services, prevent safety accidents, and protect workers’ hea lth and safety. Enterprises may apply for OHS management system certification, establish a normative management system for the source identification and whole-process control of hazards, and realize continual improvement and compliance. An assessment includes: 1) OHS pre-assessment; 2) inspection reports on OHS and fire protection; 3) test reports on OHS and fire protection; 4) chemical safety reports for hazardous chemicals; 5) copy of manufacturing license (when required); and 6) copy of business license. The following shall be reviewed comprehensively: 1) the organization’s work safety permit; 2) production or service flowchart; 3) organizational chart; 4) list of applicable laws and regulations; 5) location map; 6) factory layout; 7) workshop layout; 8) list of major hazards; 9) OHS targets, indicators and management plan; and 10) certificate of compliance, etc. iii) Guidelines for Occupational Disease Prevention and Control for Employers: The general requirements for occupational disease prevention and treatment, tiered and classified management, occupational health file management, and OHS assessment, etc. are stipulated, including: a corporate occupational health policy shall be developed, and an occupational disease prevention and treatment agency and an occupational health management agency shall be established, with relevant functions being clearly defined and full/part-time occupational health officers being appointed; occupational disease prevention and control shall be included in the management-by-objective responsibility system; an occupational disease prevention and control plan, and an implementation plan shall be developed; a sound occupational health management system and job SOPs shall be established; sound occupational health files shall be established; efforts shall be made to establish a sound workplace occupational hazard monitoring and evaluation system, provide necessary financial support for occupational disease prevention and control, develop a sound emergency rescue plan for occupational diseases, and make work-related injury insurance available. Element 8: Include Social: consistent adequate i) Regulations on the Defense against Meteorological Disasters: Article 27: When implementing major national measures to avoid, construction projects and major regional economic development projects, and preparing urban and rural development plans, 133 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements minimize, or governments at or above the county level shall consider climatic feasibility and risks of meteorological disasters and take mitigate actions to avoid or mitigate such impacts. Article 23: Lightning protection devices of buildings, places and facilities shall community, comply with the national lightning protection standards. Lightning protection devices of newly constructed, reconstructed or individual, and expanded buildings, places and facilities must be designed, constructed, and put into operation together with main parts of worker risks when the project. the PforR activities ii) Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Flood Control: Systematic arrangements for flood control in terms are located in areas of organization, preparation, implementation, emergency rescue, recovery, and funding, etc. are made. prone to natural iii) Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Geologic Disasters: Article 10: A geologic disaster investigation hazards such as system shall be practiced at the state, provincial and county levels. The land and resources authority shall work out the floods, hurricanes, planning on prevention and control of geologic disasters within its own jurisdiction according to the result from investigation earthquakes, or of geologic disasters within such jurisdiction as well as the planning of the next higher level on prevention and control of other severe geologic disasters and submit it to the government at the same level for approval and promulgation after expert evaluation. weather or affected Systematic arrangements for the investigation, prevention and control of geological disasters are made in terms of the by climate events. prevention, emergency response and control of geological disasters, and legal responsibilities, etc. iv) Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters: Article 35: The construction projects newly built, expanded or rebuilt shall meet the seismic fortification requirements. The major construction projects and the construction projects which may induce serious secondary disasters shall be subject to the seismic safety evaluation as required, and the seismic fortification shall be conducted in accordance with the seismic fortification requirements determined by the approved seismic safety evaluation reports. The seismic safety evaluation entities of construction projects shall, in accordance with the relevant standards of the state, carry out seismic safety evaluation, and be responsible for the quality of the seismic safety evaluation reports. The construction projects other than those prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be fortified against earthquakes according to the seismic fortification requirements determined by the seismic intensity zoning map or the ground motion parameter zoning map. The construction projects in densely populated places such as schools and hospitals shall be designed and constructed in compliance with the seismic fortification requirements higher than those for other buildings in the locality, and effective measures shall be taken to increase the capability of seismic fortification. v) Notice on Targeted Health Management and Orderly People Flow (Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism ZF [2020] No. 203: Pandemic control areas shall be defined accurately based on pandemic risk level, and such prevention and control measures as people flow restriction, nucleic acid testing and health monitoring shall be taken timely. For medium and high-risk areas, entry into project areas and people gathering shall be avoided where possible, and people entering the project area may flow freely only if their body temperatures are normal and proper personal protection measures are taken. Entry into medium-to-high-risk areas shall be avoided if not necessary. Principle #4: Program E&S systems manage land acquisition and loss of access to natural resources in a way that avoids or minimizes displacement and assists affected people in improving, or at the minimum restoring, their livelihoods and living standards. Element 9: i) Measures for the Administration of the Pre-examination on the Use of Land for Construction Projects: The area Consistent i) Avoid or minimize and type of the land used for the project shall be identified before the feasibility study report or project proposal is reviewed 134 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements land acquisition to avoid the acquisition of basic farmland, and nature reserves, etc. and related ii) Guidelines on Establishing a Sound Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and adverse impacts. Matters (Interim) (CPCCCO [2012] No.2): An SSRA shall be conducted for any project involving LA and HD, farmers’ burden or social security. iii) Guidelines on Establishing a Social Stability Risk Assessment Mechanism for Major Decisions and Matters (Interim): If the assessment report thinks that a high risk is present, a decision of non-implementation shall be made, or a decision may be made after the plan is adjusted or the risk level is reduced; if an moderate risk is present, a decision of implementation shall be made after effective risk prevention and mitigation measures are taken; and if a low risk is present, a decision of implementation may be made, provided that actions like explanation and persuasion to the people affected are taken and reasonable requests of people affected are handled properly. For impact and risk management, the legitimacy, rationality, feasibility and controllability of measures shall be assessed. iv) Opinions on Strengthening Social Stability Risk Assessment for Major Decisions under New Circumstances: SSRA, if required, shall be an important part of the feasibility study of any major construction project. Major decisions, items and matters with low social stability risks decided to be put in place when conditions are ripe shall be advanced in a well- planned way in accordance with the risk control plan. If social stability risks are identified and the conditions are not ripe, the decision making shall be subject to approval or be postponed until the original plan is improved, the conditions are ripe and risks are eliminated. Decisions, items and matters urgently needed to be put in place despite high risks shall be advanced prudently and carefully after precautionary and mitigation measures are taken. Those with major social stability risks and fall short of relevant requirements shall in no case be put in place. v) Notice of MNR, MARA and NFGA on Issues concerning Strict Control of Cultivated Land Usage (MNRP [2021] No.166), requiring that permanent basic farmland shall not be converted into forest land, grassland, garden land and other agricultural land or agricultural facilities construction land. The annual "balance in and out" shall be carried out for any conversion of cultivated land to other agricultural land and agricultural facilities construction land, and the same amount and quality of cultivated land shall be made up by means of the consolidation of forest land, grassland, garden land, other agricultural land and agricultural facilities construction land into cultivated land. vi）Implementation Opinions of Hunan CPC Provincial Committee and People's Government on Strengthening the Protection of Cultivated Land and Improving the Balance between Occupation and replenishment: 1) strengthen the land use control, the planning of urban-rural development, infrastructures, environmental protection, etc. should be connected with the overall land use planning and shall not breach the determined boundary of cultivated land protection, permanent basic farmland and urban development area.2) any entity or individual shall not occupy or change the land use type without permission once the permanent basic farmland determined. General construction projects shall not occupy permanent basic farmland. If the site selection of a major construction project is indeed difficult to avoid occupying permanent basic farmland, on-site verification, argumentation and approval shall be carried out in strict accordance with the regulations. It is strictly prohibited to circumvent the examination and approval of the occupation of permanent basic farmland by arbitrarily adjusting the general land use plans of counties and townships. 3) use land economically and intensively to relieve the pressure of land occupation by construction and strictly control the total amount and intensity of 135 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements land used for construction. 4) Scientifically and reasonably determine the layout and scale of rural residential land, guide farmers to build centralized houses or rebuild on their original sites, make full use of the existing construction land and unused land in villages, and try to occupy as little or no cultivated land as possible. Farmers who are approved to accurately occupy cultivated land for building houses shall fulfill the obligation of compensating and balancing cultivated land occupation according to law. If they cannot fulfill the obligation of cultivated land occupation and replenishment balance according to law, they shall pay farmland reclamation fees according to regulations if it is failed to fulfill replenishment, and the county-level governments shall make overall plans to implement the balance of cultivated land occupation and replenishment. 5) crack down on all types of indiscriminate occupation and destruction of cultivated land, seriously investigate and punish cases of illegally approving the occupation of cultivated land, and resolutely curb acts that seriously damage cultivated land, such as digging fields to lakes and building artificial water features. 6) strictly implement the responsibility of cultivated land occupation and replenishment balance and complete the task of replenishing cultivated land. vii) Notice of Hunan Provincial Natural Resources Department on Improving the Management of Facility Agricultural Land Use (XNRP [2020] No.3), requiring that the township government shall select and determine the facility agriculture land use location and scope following the national land spatial planning, agricultural development planning, village planning and the policies of protecting cultivated land, economizing and intensive use of land and facility agricultural land use, and waste hills and slopes, tidal flat, and unused construction land should be utilized where possible. (ii) Identifying and i) Land Administration Law: Article 26: Owners or users of the land to be acquired shall, within the time limit specified in Consistent addressing the announcement, go through compensation registration on the strength of the real estate ownership certificate as required economic and by the local land and resources authority. For expropriation of land by the state, the local governments at and above the social impacts county level shall make an announcement and organize implementation after approval according to the legal procedures. arising from land ii) Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Administration Law: Article 25: Municipal/county government of acquisition or loss the locality whose land has been expropriated shall, upon approval of the LA plan according to law, organize its of access to natural implementation, and make an announcement in the township and village where land acquisition occurs on the approval resources: organ of the LA, number of the approval document, use, scope and area of the acquired land as well as the rates for compensation of LA, measures for the resettlement of agricultural workers and duration for processing LA compensation. Article 26: Land compensation fee shall go to the rural collective economic organization, and compensation for ground attachments and standing crops shall be disbursed to their owners. iii) Provide i) Real Right Law: Article 42: For collective land acquired, land compensation, resettlement subsidy, compensation for Consistent compensation ground attachments and standing crops, etc. shall be fully paid according to law, and social security funds for land- sufficient to expropriated farmers shall be appropriated to secure their livelihoods and protect their lawful rights and interests. Where purchase any house or other immovable property of any entity or individual is expropriated, compensation shall be granted according replacement assets to law to protect the lawful rights and interests of the affected entity or individual. Where any personal residence is of equivalent value expropriated, the affected person’s housing conditions shall be secured. and to meet any ii) Land Administration Law: Article 48: Fair and reasonable compensation shall be granted for land acquisition. In case necessary of land acquisition, the land compensation, resettlement subsidy, and compensation for rural residential houses, other 136 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements transitional ground attachments and standing crops, etc. shall be paid timely and fully according to law, and social security costs for the expenses, paid affected farmers shall be disbursed. before taking land iii) Regulations on the Expropriation of Houses on State-owned Land and Compensation (Decree [2011] No.590 of or restricting the State Council) (2011.1.21): Article 19: The compensation for the value of houses to be expropriated shall not be less access. than the market price of the equivalent real estate on the date of the public notice of the house expropriation decisions. The value of the houses to be expropriated shall be assessed and determined by real estate appraisal agencies with appropriate qualifications in accordance with the procedures for evaluating houses to be expropriated. Anyone who has objection to the appraised value of the houses to be expropriated may apply for reassessment. Anyone who disagrees with the result of re- assessment may apply for appraisal by the real estate appraisal expert panel. iv) Measures for the Expropriation and Evaluation of Houses on State-owned Land (JF [2011] No.77) (2011-6-3): Article 16: The real estate appraisal agency shall, in line with the power of attorney or entrustment contract, disclose preliminary house appraisal results to the house expropriation authority. The house expropriation authority shall disclose such results to the affected people. During disclosure, the real estate appraisal agency shall appoint a registered appraiser to explain such results on site and correct any error. v) Notice of the People's Government of Hunan Province on Adjusting the Compensation Standard for Land Requisition in Hunan Province (XZF [2021] No. 3), stating that 60% of the block comprehensive land price is the resettlement subsidy and 40% is the land compensation fee; for permanent basic farmland acquired, two times of the standard shall be applied; for paddy field (exclude permanent basic farmland) acquired, 1.2 times of the standard shall be applied, for garden land and forest land acquired, coefficient of corresponding land type shall be applied, for other agricultural land acquired, 1 times of the standard shall be applied and for unused land acquired, 0.6 times of the standard shall be applied. The municipal or prefecture government can formulate and adjust the specific implementation measures based on their own conditions, but the compensation standard and land type coefficient shall not be lower than the provincial standard. vi) The Measures of Hunan Province for the Expropriation of Houses on State-owned Land and Compensation (2014) stipulate, a municipal or county government making a house expropriation decision shall grant the following compensation to each displaced person: 1) compensation for the value of the expropriated house; 2) compensation for relocation and transition due to house expropriation; and 3) compensation for production / business suspension losses arising from house expropriation. The compensation for the interior decoration in the value of the expropriated house shall be agreed between the house expropriation agency and the displaced person, or failing this, appraised by a real estate appraisal agency selected hereunder. iv) Provide i) Land Administration Law: Article 48: Efforts shall be made to ensure that living standard of farmers affected by land Consistent supplemental expropriation are not reduced, and that their long-term livelihoods are secured. livelihood ii) Guidelines on Improving the Compensation and Resettlement System for Land Acquisition (MLR [2004] No.238): improvement or 1) Agricultural resettlement: When rural collective land out of urban planning areas is acquired, land-expropriated farmers restoration shall be first provided with necessary arable land in forms of mobile collective land, contracted land turned over by measures if taking contractors and arable land arising from land development so that they continue to pursue agricultural production. 2) 137 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements of land causes loss Reemployment resettlement: conditions shall be created actively to provide free labor skills training to land-expropriated of income- farmers and place them to corresponding jobs. Under equal conditions, land users shall first employ land-expropriated generating farmers. When rural collective land within urban planning areas is acquired, land-expropriated farmers shall be included in opportunity (e.g., the urban employment system and the social security system. 3) Dividend distribution resettlement: when any land with loss of crop long-term stable yields is to be used for a project, the affected rural collective economic organization may become a project production or shareholder with compensation fees for LA or rights to use construction land in consultation with the land user. The rural employment). collective economic organization and rural households will receive dividends as agreed. 4) Non-local resettlement: if basic production and living conditions are not available locally to land-expropriated farmers, non-local resettlement may be practiced under the leadership of the government in consultation with the rural collective economic organization and rural households. iii) Notice on Doing a Good Job in Employment Training and Social Security for Land-expropriated Farmers (SC [2006] No.29): Employment training and social security for land-expropriated farmers shall be an important part of land acquisition system reform. Local governments shall, against the backdrop of coordinating economic and social development in urban and rural areas, enhance employment training and social security, include employment of land-expropriated farmers in the economic and social development plans and annual plans of local governments, establish a social security system suited to the characteristics and needs of land-expropriated farmers, take effective measures to secure employment training and social security funds, help land-expropriated farmers get employed and assimilate into the urban community, and ensure that the living standard of land-expropriated farmers is not reduced due to land expropriation and that their long- term livelihoods are secured. iv) Notice of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Ministry of Land and Resources on Doing a Substantially Good Job in Social Security for Land-expropriated Farmers (MLSS [2007] No.14): All localities shall establish a social security system for land-expropriated farmers as soon as possible. Funds required for social security for land-expropriated farmers shall be fully transferred to the special account and credited to the individual or pooling account within 3 months after the approval of the land acquisition compensation and resettlement plan. v) Notice of the General Office of Hunan Provincial People's Government Forwarding the Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department’s Opinions on Doing a Good Job in Social Security Work for Land- expropriated Farmers (XZBF [2014] No. 31), regulated that rural people who have lost all or most of their land due to unified acquisition of collective land by the government, over the age of 16 and enjoying the contract right of rural collective land at the time of land acquisition, shall be covered by the social security system. The application shall be prepared by the land expropriated individuals, discussed, approved and disclosed by the rural collective economic organization, villagers' committee or villagers' group, submitted to the township, municipal or county level natural resources departments, agricultural land management departments and public security departments for approval and disclosure, and after there is no objection received, the application shall be approved by the municipal or county government and send to the human resources and social security department for registration. Land-expropriated farmers who meet the conditions can choose to participate in the basic endowment insurance for urban workers or social endowment insurance for urban and rural residents on their own will, and the government and collective economic organizations provide corresponding subsidies to 138 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements land-expropriated farmers. The amount of premium subsidy = 60% (or 100%) of the average annual salary of the employees in the province in the previous year of when the land-expropriated farmers pay the basic endowment insurance fee for urban employees×12% (or 20%) ×years of subsidy. v) Restore or i) Land Administration Law: Article 47: For expropriation of land by the state, the local governments at and above the Consistent replace public county level shall make an announcement and organize implementation after approval according to the legal procedures. infrastructure and If a government at or above the county level is to apply for land acquisition, it shall conduct the current status survey and community services SSRA, and disclose the range and purpose of acquisition, current status, compensation rate, resettlement mode, social that may be security, etc. in the township, village and village group affected for at least 30 days to collect comments from the rural adversely affected collective economic organization and its members, village committee and other stakeholders affected. by the Program. ii) Regulations for the Implementation of the Land Administration Law: Article 25: Municipal/county government of the locality whose land has been acquired shall, upon approval of the LA plan according to law, organize its implementation, and make an announcement in the township and village where land acquisition occurs on the approval organ of the LA, number of the approval document, use, scope and area of the acquired land as well as the rates for compensation of LA, measures for the resettlement of agricultural workers and time limit for completing LA compensation. iii) Real Right Law: Article 36: If any immovable or movable property is damaged, the right holder may request repair, rework, replacement or restoration. (vi) Information i) Land Administration Law: Article 26: Owners or users of the land to be expropriated shall, within the time limit specified Consistent disclosure, public in the announcement, go through compensation registration on the strength of the real estate ownership certificate as participation and required by the local land and resources authority. For expropriation of land by the state, the local governments at and informed decision- above the county level shall make an announcement and organize implementation after approval according to the legal making: procedures. Article 47: If a government at or above the county level is to apply for land acquisition, it shall conduct the current status survey and SSRA, and disclose the range and purpose of acquisition, current status, compensation rate, resettlement mode, social security, etc. in the township, village and village group affected for at least 30 days to collect comments from the rural collective economic organization and its members, village committee and other stakeholders affected. ii) Regulations on Letters and Visits: Article 14: The Party Committee and relevant departments of the people’s government at all level, as the specific administrative organ in charge of complaint letters and visits, shall perform the following duties: (1) to accept, transmit and assign another organ to handle the letter-or-visit matters; (2) to coordinate efforts in handling important letter-or-visit matters;; (3) to urge and examine the handling of letter-or-visit matters; (4) to reflect the information of letters and visits, analyze and judge the situation of both letters and visits, provide suggestions to party committees and governments for decision making; (5) to provide guidance to other relevant departments of the people’s government at the corresponding level and the department or units for letters and visits of the people’s government at lower level in their work regarding letters and visit; (6) to provide suggestions for work, policy and accountability improvement; and (7) to undertake other tasks assigned by the Party Committee and people’s government at the corresponding level. iii) Document No.1 of the Central Government (2020): Leaders, especially municipal and county leaders, shall pay 139 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements regular visits to departments at grass-roots level to deal with complaints proactively. Diversified legal services like designating one legal adviser for each village shall be offered, and civil mediation shall be strengthened to ensure that disputes and conflicts are resolved at the village and township level where possible. Unblocked complaint channels shall be made available for farmers to have their reasonable complaints resolved timely and properly. iv) Standard Guide to Grass-root Government Affairs Disclosure on Collective Land Acquisition (June 2019, Ministry of Natural Resources): Efforts shall be made to define matters to be disclosed and the scope of disclosure, standardize the disclosure procedures, improve modes of disclosure, and practically safeguard the people's rights to know, participate, oversee and be heard. The main objectives of public participation at different stages of LAR are as follows: • During project preparation, option argumentation and comparison, the project owner and design agency shall conduct meaningful consultation with affected people and other stakeholders, improve the engineering measures, and determine the range of land use based on feedback, thereby evading sensitive objects and minimizing LAR impacts. • Participation at the DMS stage includes land acquisition announcement, DMS publicity, participation in the DMS, and confirmation, disclosure and review of DMS results. • At the SSRA stage, meaningful consultation shall be conducted with stakeholders to assess potential major social risks arising from land expropriation and house demolition, including other major risks that are not directly related to but may materially affect the project. • During the drafting of the compensation plan, the plan should be disclosed to collect comments from affected people, and a public hearing will be held when necessary. • Public participation at the implementation stage mainly includes effective information disclosure and consultation in relation to production and livelihood restoration and the allocation and use of compensation to ensure that opinions of the affected people are heard and agreements are signed through negotiation. v) Notice of Hunan Provincial Natural Resources Department on Improving the Management of Facility Agricultural Land Use (XNRP [2020] No.3), requiring that the land operation shall negotiate with rural village economic organization on land use agreement. the village committee shall disclose the construction plan and land use agreement through the bulletin boards at township government and village committee with no less than 10 days after the land operation reached an agreement with collective economic organization on land use. Principle #5: Program E&S systems give due consideration to the cultural appropriateness of, and equitable access to, Program benefits, giving special attention to the rights and interests of indigenous people and vulnerable groups. Element 10: i) Constitution: Article 4: All ethnic groups in the People's Republic of China are equal. Consistent Undertake prior ii) Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy: Article 51: In dealing with special issues informed concerning the various nationalities within its area, the organ of self-government of a national autonomous area must consultations if the conduct full consultation with their representatives and respect their opinions. Article 52: The organ of self-government of ethnic minorities a national autonomous area shall guarantee that citizens of the various nationalities in the area enjoy the rights of citizens are potentially as prescribed in the Constitution. affected (positively iii) Social Stability Risk Assessment of Major Fixed Asset Investment Projects: Article 3: At the feasibility study stage or negatively) free of a project, the PIU (or through a specialized agency) shall conduct an SSRA to identify impacts, propose mitigation 140 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements of charge, to measures, and prepare an SSRA report. On the other hand, if a government at or above the county level applies for land determine whether acquisition, a current status survey and an SSRA should be conducted for the land to be expropriated. The SSRA report there is broad shall be reviewed by experts organized by the designated authority of the county government before being approved. Local community support governments have issued opinions/notices on the implementation of SSRA, such as Implementation Opinions on for the PforR Strengthening the Risk Assessment of Social Stability of Major Decisions under New Circumstances (XBF [2021] No. 27). Program activities. iv) Land Administration Law (2020): Article 47: For expropriation of land by the state, the local governments at and above the county level shall make an announcement and organize implementation after approval according to the legal procedures. If a government at or above the county level is to apply for land acquisition, it shall conduct the current status survey and SSRA, and disclose the range and purpose of acquisition, current status, compensation rate, resettlement mode, social security, etc. in the township, village and village group affected for at least 30 days to collect comments from the rural collective economic organization and its members, village committee and other stakeholders affected. Element 11: i) Law of the People’s Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy: Article 65: While exploiting resources and Consistent Ensure that ethnic carrying out construction in national autonomous areas, the state shall give consideration to the interests of these areas, minorities can make arrangements favorable to local economic development and pay proper attention to the productive pursuits and the participate in life of local minority nationalities. Article 66: State organs at higher levels shall incorporate major projects for maintaining devising ecological balance and achieving comprehensive environmental protection in national autonomous areas into national opportunities to economic and social development plans. benefit from ii) Interim Regulations on Major Administrative Decision-making Procedures (2019.9.1): Prior public consultation shall exploitation of be conducted for decision makings in relation to the development of important plans for economic and social development customary and other aspects, the development of major public policies and measures to develop, utilize and protect important natural resources and and cultural resources, the implementation of major public construction projects in the administrative region, and other major indigenous matters that have a significant impact on economic and social development, involve material public interests, or the knowledge, the immediate interests of the public. Article 14: The decision-making entity shall fully solicit opinions in the form widely latter to include the available for public participation. Opinions may be solicited in such forms as symposiums, hearings, field visits, written consent of ethnic solicitation of opinions from the public, questionnaires, and opinion polls, etc. Article 15: If public opinions are solicited for minorities. a matter subject to decision-making, the decision-making entity shall disclose the draft decision and its explanation, and the mode and period of solicitation of public opinions by publicly available means, such as government website, new media, newspapers, radio and TV, etc. The period of solicitation of public opinions is usually not less than 30 days, and explanations shall be made when the solicitation of public opinions begins if such period is to be shortened due to emergencies. For matters of extensive public concern, or highly technical matters, the decision-making entity may make explanations by means of expert interview, etc. Article 16: If any matter subject to decision-making concerns immediate interests of citizens, legal persons or other organizations, or involves a major dispute, a public hearing may be held in accordance with any applicable laws, regulations and rules. The decision-making entity or the organizer of the public hearing shall disclose the draft decision and its explanation in advance, and make clear the time and venue of the public hearing. Article 29: If the public participation procedure is performed, the decision-making entity shall submit the draft decision together with main accepted public opinions to the decision-making authority for discussion. Article 30: When the draft decision is discussed, 141 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements the meeting attendees shall give opinions adequately, and chief administrative officer shall give a final opinion. If such final opinion differs from the majority opinion, the reason shall be given at the meeting. iii)The 14th Five-Year Plan of Hunan Province for Ethnic Affairs, putting forward six specific indicators and 42 key projects in social and economic development, people’s livelihood improvement, ecological and civilization construction, rural revitalization, nation community consciousness and ethnic unity and development Element 12: Give i) Notice of the State Council on Issuing the 13th Five-year Plan for Promoting the Development of Minority Areas Consistent attention to groups and Smaller Ethnic Minorities (SC [2016] No.79): The development of advantaged and characteristic industries, vulnerable to especially stockbreeding and traditional handicrafts, of poor ethnic minority areas and villages shall be supported, and hardship or efforts shall be made to achieve rural revitalization and poverty alleviation by developing village-specific leading products discrimination, and industries and making use of the Internet in poor villages. Poverty alleviation by e-commerce, photovoltaic, rural tourism, including, as etc. shall be implemented to increase local residents’ income, and major infrastructure and construction projects shall be relevant, the poor, carried out in ethnic minority areas to improve livelihoods. Basic social service mechanisms in ethnic minority areas shall the disabled, be improved to provide support in old-age services, social assistance, social welfare, special care and resettlement. The women and disaster assistance and emergency relief system for natural disasters shall be improved in ethnic minority areas. Urban and children, the rural minimum living security (MLS) standards for ethnic minority areas shall be fixed rationally, and the sound development elderly, ethnic of public welfare and charity programs shall be supported. minorities, racial ii) The 14th Five-Year Plan of Civil Affairs of Hunan Province (2021.9.13) clarified the tasks of development and put groups, or other forwarded the key works in the nine aspects of social assistance, elderly care services, children's welfare, grassroots social marginalized governance, basic social services, social organization development, philanthropy and social work, regional name groups; and if management services, "five modernizations" of new Hunan civil affairs. The Plan requires that by 2025: the annual growth necessary, take rate of MLS in rural areas shall be no lower than that of per capita consumption expenditure of the previous year; the MLS special measures standard in urban and rural areas accounts for more than 75% of that in urban areas; living subsidies are provided to all promote equitable financially-challenged disabled people; nursing care allowances are offered to all severely disabled people; trans-provincial access to PforR marriage registration is fully achieved; all vagrants and beggars with known identity information are returned to their homes; Program benefits. nonprofit cremains burying (storage) facilities are available in all counties; at least 60% of beds in elderly care institutions and if necessary, meet requirements for nursing care; comprehensive elderly care institutions are accessible in 60% of townships (sub- take special districts); minor protection centers are available in 50% of townships (sub-districts); the number of social service measures to professionals stands at 90,000; volunteer service centers account for 80% of comprehensive community service facilities; promote equitable the area of comprehensive community service facilities accessible by every 100 residents tops 43 square meters; and the access to PforR number of full-time employees of social organizations reaches 370,000. Program benefits. iii) Other poverty alleviation policies: In China, poor households refer mainly to those below the minimum living security (MLS) standard, and are classified into: a) MLS households, whose per capita annual income is below the MLS standard. MLS standards and relevant policies are updated by the local governments every year. In 2022, the MLS standard was 7,416 yuan per capita per annum in urban areas and 5,557 yuan per capita per annum in rural areas in Hunan Province; and b) extremely poor persons, old and disabled persons and persons under 16 years with no ability to work, no income source, or statutory supporter, or whose statutory supporter is incapable to support. In 2022, extremely poor persons in 142 Official Use PforR core Consistency and principles/ China’s E&S management requirements and practices recommendations elements urban and rural areas of Hunan Province were eligible for financial support of 9,640 yuan per person per annum and 7,224 yuan per person per annum respectively in Hunan Province. These poor households receive full support from the Chinese government in food, clothing, medical care, housing, children education, and basic income which is no less than the local MLS standard. All localities shall establish files for the poor households, and offer living and housing subsidies, free children education, interest-free loans, special occupational training, and priority in job placement, etc. iv) Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests (2018 Amendment): Article 22: Women shall enjoy the same labor and social security rights as men. Article 24: Men and women shall receive equal pay for equal work, and women shall enjoy the same remuneration rights as men. Article 26: Any employer shall protect women’s health and safety at work and shall not assign women to unsuitable jobs. Women shall receive special protection during menstruation, pregnancy, lying-in and breastfeeding. Article 27: No employer shall reduce female workers’ salaries or dismiss female workers or unilaterally terminate the labor (employment) contract or service agreement with them on the basis of marriage, pregnancy, lying-in and breastfeeding. Article 28: The state shall ensure that women are entitled to social insurance, social assistance, social welfare and healthcare rights, and encourage and support public welfare activities for women. Article 29: The state shall put maternity insurance system in place and establish a sound security system for women in other aspects related to maternity. vi) Outline for Women's Development in China (2021-2030): The overall objective is to fully implement the basic state policy of gender equality to innovate and improve the systems and mechanisms for promotion gender equality and women’s all-round development. Women have equal access to a full range and whole life-cycle health services, and their health will be improved continuously. Women enjoy equal rights to education, and their quality and ability will be continuously improved. Women enjoy equal economic rights and interests, and their economic status will be steadily improved. Women enjoy equal political rights, and their participation in the administration of country, economic, cultural and social affairs will be gradually improved. Women enjoy equal access to multi-level and sustainable social security, and their treatment levels will be steadily improved. The policies and regulations for supporting family development will be improved, and the new trend of socialist family civilization will be widely promoted. The concept of gender equality become more popular, and the environment for women's development will be improved. The legal system will be improved to protect women's legitimate rights and interests effectively. Women's sense of gain, happiness and security will be increased significantly. Principle #6: Program E&S systems avoid exacerbating social conflict, especially in fragile states, post-conflict areas, or areas subject to territorial disputes. Element 13: Consider conflict risks, including distributional equity and cultural sensitivities Not relevant. 143 Official Use Appendix 4: Stakeholder Analysis The ESMS of the PforR Program will involve different stakeholders, including individuals, government authorities and other agencies. Stakeholders are either affected by any activity or affect the construction and operation of any activity. Therefore, for each activity under the Program, stakeholders involved will be identified through a mechanism. Stakeholders under each type of outcomes under the ESMS of the PforR Program are consistent, including affected parties, interested parties and management authorities. Refer to Appendix 4-1 for the result of stakeholder identification and analysis on the basis of the investigations conducted for the Program. Appendix Table4-1：Stakeholder identification and analysis Result Area Typical activities Affected entities Interested entities Management agencies • Developing/revising relevant incentive policies • Developing strategies and implementation plans • Developing technical specifications • Developing RA1: : standards for the Impeocinf • Individuals or • Governmental measurement, reporting enabling organizations departments at provincial, and accounting system of environment for concerned about green county-/district levels, carbon sequestration and for sustainable None rice production, water such as DRCs, ARABs, emission reduction in rice development rights reform and water- WRBs, EEBs, and production impacts at saving irrigation NRPBs. scale • Developing technical standards for water- saving irrigation • Developing guidance on water rights trading • Strengthening the service capacity of technology promotion agencies • Agricultural • Competent technology authorities such as • popularization units provincial and county • Popularizing • Agricultural ARABs and EEBs • alternate wet and dry production materials • County government • Planters irrigation technologies suppliers • Township and integrated water and • Organic fertilizer government fertilizer management producers • Village Committee • Poverty-focused • Water User RA2: Reducing organizations Association GHG emissions for supporting • Agricultural low-carbon technology • Competent development popularization units authorities such as • Agricultural provincial and county • Organizing training production materials ARABs and EEBs • Planters for farmers on low-carbon and technology • County government rice cultivation techniques suppliers • Township • Agricultural government products processing • Village Committee and distribution enterprises • Investing in high • Planters • Construction units • Competent 144 Official Use Result Area Typical activities Affected entities Interested entities Management agencies standard farmland • authorities such as construction in provincial and county demonstration counties ARABs, EEBs, WRBs， HBs • County government • Township government • Village Committee • Dealers of agricultural production • Competent materials authorities such as • Straw provincial and county • Supporting efficient ARABs recycling/processing fertilization and moderate • Planters service providers • County government return of straw to fields • Individuals or • Township organizations government concerned about • Village Committee environmental quality • Competent authorities such as • Individuals or • Demonstration of • Planters provincial and county organizations carbon trading in some • Cooperative DRCs. ARABs and WRBs concerned about counties/districts members • Township environmental quality government • Village Committee • County/district ARABs and WRBs • Individuals or • Comprehensive • Planters • Township organizations agricultural water price • Cooperative government concerned about reform at the county level members • Village Committee environmental quality • Water User Association • County/district ARABs and WRBs • Strengthening • Planters • Township irrigation and drainage • Service and • Cooperative government services at the county equipment providers members • Village Committee level RA3: Improving • Water User irrigation and Association drainage • County/district services for ARABs and WRBs resilience rice • Promoting farmers' • Planters • Township production cooperative organizations • Service and • Cooperative government to participate in irrigation equipment providers members • Village Committee management • Water User Association • Competent authorities, such as • Individuals and provincial and county level • Carrying out water organizations DRCs, ARABs, EEBs, rights trading/buy-back None concerned about water WRBs and CABs. pilot price reform and water • County government rights trading • Township government • Village Committee 145 Official Use Appendix 5: Stakeholder Engagement No. Date(Y-M-D) Venue Authorities involved E&S topics DRC, DF, DARA, DWR, DEE, and DNR of Hunan Province, Kick-off meeting: Lukou District, Jiahe County, Overall Program design Hunan Yongxing County, Qiyang City, 1 2022.11.10 Provincial PforR introduction Ningyuan County, Louxing ARAB District of Loudi City, Dingcheng District , Hanshou Program arrangements County DRC, DF, DARA, DWR, DEE, and DNR of Hunan Province, Lukou District, Jiahe County, Program objectives, scope, fields, DLIs, etc. Hunan Yongxing County, Qiyang City, 2 2022.12.15 Provincial Ningyuan County, Louxing The ESSA team put froward the list of ARAB District of Loudi City, materials required Dingcheng District , Hanshou County Current development and problems in the Program area of Hunan Province: Planning of the “14th Five-year Plan� on the DRC, DF, DARA, DWR, DEE, related field and DNR of Hunan Province, Lukou District, Jiahe County, Proposed construction contents and Hunan Yongxing County, Qiyang City, selection of the demonstration county 3 2022.12.16 Provincial Ningyuan County, Louxing Suggestions on the Program design ARAB District of Loudi City, Program boundary Dingcheng District , Hanshou Draft of the Program result framework County Program schedule Setting of the management organizations for the Program Discussions and surveys by the county/district level competent environment 4 2022 12.19 Lukou District and social departments Information on the high standard farmland construction of the county/district Agricultural land transfer of the Louxing county/district 5 2022.12.19 District Reduction of pesticides and fertilizers in the DRB, ARAB, WRB, NRB, EEB, county/district WF, HC, CAB, ERC, CTB, Development of green agriculture in the HRSSB, RRB, LVB and PLC of county/district the county/district Development of farmers' water user 6 2022.12.20 Ningyuan County associations in the county/district Water price reform progress in the county/district High quality farmer training in the county/district 7 2022.12.20 Dingcheng Land acquisition and relocation, land District transfer, and management and implementation of agricultural land for 146 Official Use No. Date(Y-M-D) Venue Authorities involved E&S topics facilities in the county/district Social stability risk assessment and implementation Occupational health supervision and management The operation of grievance redress mechanisms, such as letters and visits, labor arbitration, etc. Minority development Support for vulnerable groups, management and monitoring of the population out of poverty Protection of women's rights and interests Protection of cultural relics DRC, DF, DARA, DWR, DEE, and DNR of Hunan Province, Lukou District, Jiahe County, Summary meeting 8 2022.12.21 Hunan Yongxing County, Qiyang City, The WB’s ESSA team put forward the Provincial Ningyuan County, Louxing second list of materials required ARAB District, Dingcheng District , Hanshou County Composition of the Water User Association of Huaqiao Village Huaqiao ARAB and WRB of Louxing Basic functions of the Water User Village, District, Water User Association 9 2023.1.5 Louxing Association and water users of District Huaqiao Village Operation of the Water User Association Opinions and suggestions on the water price reform Hunan Provincial PMO, DARA, Further consultation on key issues involved Hunan HC, DWR and DEE of Hunan in the preparation of the environmental and 10 2023.1.6 Provincial Province and Hunan Institute social assessment report of the Program PMO of Schistosomiasis Control Liyutang Liyutang town government of Town of Yongxing County, grain Yongxing Suggestions in the preparation and planters, high standard 11 2023.2 17 County, Seed implementation process of high standard farmland construction units Farm, farmland construction, water price reform and employer, Water User Qinglongshan Association Irrigation Area Zhoujiaba Village, Hunan Provincial PMO, DARA Zhongxing Suggestions in the preparation and of Hunan Province, Ningyuan 12 2023.2 18 Village and implementation process of high standard County PMO, township Shuishi Town farmland construction, water price reform government and grain planters of Ningyuan County Longtan Town Hunan Provincial PMO, DARA Suggestions in the preparation and and of Hunan Province, Lukou implementation process of high standard 13 2023.2 20 Longchuan District PMO, township farmland construction, water price reform, Town of government and grain planters returning of straw to field Lukou District 147 Official Use Appendix 6: Feedback of Public Consultation on the ESSA No. Issues Comments Advised by Report Revision About the timeliness of policy documents 1 The latest changes in 2021 for the old-age Update DNR of Hunan Updated insurance of the land-lost population in Province Hunan Province 2 Notice of the National Forestry and Grassland Update Forestry Updated Administration, Ministry of Natural Department of Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Hunan Province Affairs on Strengthening the Management of Farmland Protection Forest Construction (L.S.F[2022] No.65) 3 Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Update Forestry Updated Central Committee and the General Office of Department of the State Council on Further Strengthening Hunan Province Biodiversity Conservation (October 2021) 4 The Water and Soil Conservation Law was Update Lukou District Updated revised in 2011 Water Conservancy Bureau Suggestions on the Program preparation 5 Coordination and communication among Rodent and grass damage should DEE of Hunan Included into the Report departments must be strengthened be considered in the design phase Province of high standard farmland construction projects in the Dongting Lake area 6 Agricultural production waste in the DARA of Hunan Included into the Report field and pesticide packaging Province recycling ponds and other facilities should be considered together for high standard farmland construction projects 7 Opinions on the activities The activities of high-standard Large Grain Included into the Report farmland construction projects Planters should be determined according to local conditions, especially the construction of farmland irrigation and drainage facilities should be the focus. Suggestions on the action 8 There is a risk of rebounds of oncomelania Dingcheng District and Hanshou Hunan Institute of Included into the Report and schistosomiasis in the Binhu area of County integrate schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis Dingcheng District and Hanshou County joint prevention and control Control, Health mechanisms into the activities of the Bureau of Program Dingcheng District and Hanshou County 9 Water price reform Farmers' differentiated needs for Water users Included into the Report irrigation water in different seasons 148 Official Use No. Issues Comments Advised by Report Revision and for different crops should be taken into account Appendix 7 Field Visit Records Figure 1 Registration form of environmental impacts assessment of the high standard farmland construction project (Lukou District) Figure 2 Posting of the rules and regulations of the company providing specialized crop pest and disease control services (Changde Hongruiqi Plant Protection Service Co., Ltd.) 149 Official Use Figure 3 Recommended Catalogue of Drugs for Scientific Control of Major Crop Pests (Fourth Revision) promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hunan Province in 2020 Figure 4 Construction of ecological ditches Figure 5 Crop pest and disease information Figure 6 WeChat group on crop pest and disease prevention and control 150 Official Use Figure 7 On-field training on Figure 8 On-field training on Figure 9 Training on green straw recycling for the fertilizer and pesticide reduction in manure production technology in agricultural machine operator in Dingcheng District Dingcheng District Lukou District Figure 10 “Internet +� paddy Figure 11 Sightseeing function of the Figure 12 Auction of quality rice rice production base in color paddy rice planted by planted by large grain planters of Zhoujiaba, Ningyuan Zhoujiaba Zhoujiaba Figure 13 Training on popularization of soil testing and fertilization expert system in Caoping Town, Dingcheng District 151 Official Use Figure 14 Popularization and publicity on fertilizer reduction technology by Dingcheng District Figure 15 Announcement on the cost accounting Figure 16 Water User Association in Huaqiao Village, results of Banshan Reservoir Irrigation Area in Louxing District Ningyuan County Figure 17 Approval from the Water Resource Bureau of Ningyuan Figure 18 Application for County for the establishment of farmers’ water user association establishment of the farmers’ water user association 152 Official Use Figure 19 Bylaws of the farmers’ water user associations in Renheba District, Ningyuan County Figure 20 Village’s application for Figure 21 Figure 22 Approval Figure 23 Field review by the Program construction Announcement of the of the Program by ARAB and design department Program contents the township government Figure 24 Seek opinions Figure 25 Minutes of village- Figure 26 Acceptance team including the from the village cadres level consultations in Shanxia villager representative of the high standard and farmers Village farmland construction project in Louxing District 153 Official Use Figure 27-1 Specific provisions of Figure 27-2 Ningyuan county has completed the high Implementation Measures for the Management of standard farmland construction project handover and Farmland Construction Projects in Hunan management agreement Province on various links of farmland construction Figure 29 The construction Figure 30 The safety, health and Figure 28 Reply to cultural relics unit signs formal labor accountability system formulated review involved in a work within employment contract by the construction unit Ningyuan County 154 Official Use Figure 31 Safe production rules and regulations for the second segment of high standard farmland construction of Dingcheng District in 2022 Figure 32 Document on land transfer management issued by Lukou District Figure 33 ESSA report Figure34 ESSA Report Figure35 Members of the consultation meeting site Consultation Meeting Attendance assessment team communicated Record with farmers in the field 155 Official Use Appendix 8: Generic E&S Mitigation Measures The following general environmental and social impact mitigation measures are summarized in this report. Specific mitigation measures for each main activities under the PforR Program will be detailed in the specific and standardized subsections on E&M management, with cost estimated and included into the bidding documents and contracts. Item Main Activities Main Impacts Generic Mitigation Measures The site of the engineering facilities will be selected under supervision of the natural resources, ecological environment and other departments May involve ecological and in strict accordance with the the national ecological protection red Site selection protection red line line. The environmentally sensitive areas will not be easily touched and the physical works within the ecological protection red line will be excluded. Ecological In accordance with the ecological environment protection measures and conservation Disturb a small amount soil & water conservation plans as specified in the EIA, the construction High standard of surface vegetation unit is responsible for the ecological protection and water conservation farmland in the construction in the construction process. The construction unit shall take specific construction area, resulting in measures according to the contractual requirements (such as avoiding localized soil erosion construction in rainy days, timely recovery of the surface vegetation, carrying out water conservation monitoring, etc.) The bidding documents and construction contract contain environmental protection clauses; the construction organization plan incorporates the environmental management and water conservation measures in the Pollution Generate dust, noise, preliminary design documents and the environmental protection prevention wastewater, measures proposed in the approval comments (such as water sprinkling and control in Construction construction waste, to reduce dust, reasonable arrangement of operating hours and the discarded soil and slag installation of sound barriers, collection and reuse of construction construction and others wastewater, etc.); these clauses and measures are implemented by the period construction unit, inspected by the supervision unit, monitored by the employer, and supervised by the city management and ecological and environmental departments. Soil degradation and Monitor the quality of cultivated land, including pH and fertility, carry out environmental soil improvement, promote green manure cultivation, conduct soil testing Nutrient and pollution from and construction, return straw to fields, select and maintain fertilizer fertilizer agricultural runoff application equipment, and provide training to farmers on nutrient and management caused by inefficient fertilizer management to reduce fertilizer use and improve chemical use and excessive fertilizer efficiency use Pests and diseases affect the yield and Based on accurate measurement and reporting, adopt greener quality of rice, and the integrated pest control measures, combine chemical and non-chemical Prevention application of prevention and control methods, use physical methods and pesticides and control of Crop pest and pesticides can cause which are harmless and less toxic to beneficial organisms, and efficient, agricultural diseases and serious environmental such as drone application. Organize professional government non-point pesticides use pollution, kill beneficial procurement and provide specialized pest control services to reduce the source management organisms, poison wild amount and increase the efficiency of pesticides, thus reducing non- pollution animals and livestock, point source pollution in agriculture and ensuring human health and and harm human safety. health Prevent soil degradation, maintain soil and improve the fertility of paddy fields through land leveling, ridge building, soil improvement, and Soil treatment of impediments such as waterlogging, excessive acidity, and Soil erosion and conservation poor fertility; increase organic substance in soil by green manure degradation management planting, organic fertilizer application, and returning straw to the field, and prevent soil erosion by promoting crop rotation; and prevent soil erosion in farmland by building farmland protection forests. For other 156 Official Use Item Main Activities Main Impacts Generic Mitigation Measures non-crop waste (such as fertilizer, pesticide packaging waste, agricultural film, etc.), build local collection ponds and give them to sales companies, agricultural production materials companies or waste collection stations for recycling and processing. Control the water quantity and intensity of water consumption, build small reservoirs, adopt water-saving measures such as impermeable irrigation and drainage ditches, pipeline water transmission, micro- Waste the resources Water irrigation, drip irrigation and pipe irrigation. The water quality of irrigation and pollute the management meets the Quality Standard for Agricultural Irrigation Water. Use environment environmentally friendly materials to build ecological interception ditches and plant aquatic plants in the ditches to reduce the scouring of the ditch banks and cut the concentration of pollutants. Crop residues Waste the resources Prohibit open burning of straw, carry out moderate fertilizer utilization of and non-crop and pollute the straw returned to the field, and promote the comprehensive utilization of wastes environment straw as feed, base material, material and fuel. management Develop nutrient and fertilizer management plans to reduce fertilizer use The whole process of and increase the use efficiency. Consider new energy sources (e.g. rice production solar, wind, biodiesel) for crop drying and new energy-driven irrigation contributes to global pumps as much as possible, and promote alternate wet and dry irrigation warming through the GHG emissions techniques to control the amount of irrigation water and reduce methane emission of management gas emissions. Improve the soil to increase organic matter and improve greenhouse gases, the carbon sequestration potential of the soil. Build farmland protection including excess A, forests and plant forestry along the roadsides of fields and banks of nitrous oxide and irrigation and drainage canals to form green buffers, thus helping to carbon dioxide increase carbon storage. Labor safety and The construction unit is required by the contract to provide construction Facility health risks may exist personnel with labor protection supplies such as masks, gloves and construction in the construction helmets that meet the standards, and provide safety training for process construction personnel as required. Strengthen training and guidance on the safe use of pesticides for Improper use of farmers, require them to wear the necessary protective equipment (such pesticides and as gloves, masks, etc.) when applying pesticides, and properly dispose Production in fertilizers will pollute of pesticide packaging waste. Encourage the use of integrated pest Health and the paddy field the environment and prevention and control measures, the use of ecological management, safety affect the public health healthy cultivation, biological control, physical control and other green prevention and control techniques to promote pesticide reduction Prevention and Health and safety According to the specific mitigation measures proposed by the control of impact of construction schistosomiasis control department after the screening and evaluation schistosomiasis workers and of the epidemic area, take actions to provide active protection agricultural workers in (protective clothing, wiping and taking drugs) for the operators involved epidemic areas in water. No other construction works or blasting, drilling, excavation and other operations within the scope of protection of cultural relics may be carried out; in the selection of sites for construction projects, immovable cultural relics should be avoided as far as possible. If it is really necessary to carry out a construction project, it shall be reported to the urban and rural construction planning department for approval after being approved by the corresponding cultural relics administrative department. Within the Chance find of cultural Cultural relics Construction protection scope of cultural relics and construction control zone of relics cultural relics protection units, facilities that pollute cultural relics protection units and their environment shall not be built, and activities that may affect the safety of cultural relics protection units and their environment shall not be carried out. For large-scale capital construction projects, the construction unit shall report to the cultural relics administrative department of the provincial people's government in advance, and organize the units engaged in archaeological excavation 157 Official Use Item Main Activities Main Impacts Generic Mitigation Measures to carry out archaeological investigation and exploration in places where cultural relics may be buried within the scope of the project. Follow the principles of abiding by the law, free will and compensation; organize and carry out information disclosure and public consultations, and fully consult farmers; Sign land transfer agreement, in which the scope and term of land use, rent, payment time, etc. are stipulated; Involuntary May involve land Risk guarantee funds can be set up for projects involving management Planting resettlement transfer rights transfer of a large area of land of the whole village (group), many farmers and high management risks; Priority shall be given to affected farmers for planting, production and employment; Establish a grievance redress mechanism to receive, handle and feed back relevant grievances, complaints and complaints in a timely manner. Protection of the rights and May affect township During the Program preparation and implementation stages, fully consult interests of All Program and villages of ethnic with the minority representatives, respect their opinions and incorporate ethnic activities minorities their views into the Program design. minorities Fully consult with the representatives of vulnerable groups during the Program preparation and implementation stages, respect their opinions Protection of and incorporate their views into the Program design. the rights and May exert bigger For the affected vulnerable groups, develop and implement measures to All Program interests of impacts on the help them, such as giving priority to the affected vulnerable groups in activities vulnerable vulnerable groups employment for projects, providing public welfare jobs, including them groups into the coverage of the subsidies for urban and rural low-income residents, and providing subsidies in the process of water price reform, etc. 158 Official Use