INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA1053 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 30-Oct-2014 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 07-Nov-2014 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Africa Project ID: P149714 Project Name: Niger River Basin Management Project (P149714) Task Team Catherine Signe Tovey Leader: Estimated 03-Nov-2014 Estimated 27-Jan-2015 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: GWADR Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Hydropower (30%), General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (30%), Sub-national government administration (20%), Agricul tural extension and research (20%) Theme(s): Regional integration (35%), Social Inclusion (15%), Environmental policies and institutions (15%), Water resource management (35%) Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP No 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies)? Public Disclosure Copy Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 7.50 Total Bank Financing: 0.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 Cooperation in International Waters in Africa 7.50 Total 7.50 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? 2. Project Development Objective(s) The proposed development objective is to strengthen the institutional framework for regional cooperation in water resources in the Niger River basin. Page 1 of 9 3. Project Description The Project will support cooperative water resources management and development in the Niger River Basin, by strengthening the institutional and financial capacity of Niger Basin Authority to Public Disclosure Copy implement its core mandates. In parallel, one of the main capacity building efforts will be the strengthening the NBA's capacity to facilitate cooperation in the basin by supporting the organization's hands-on involvement in an exemplary preparation process for the Fomi Multipurpose project. The project will consist of two main components: Component 1: Strengthening the NBA for Sustainably Delivering its Core Mandate (US$ 3,750,000) 32. This Component will support the institutional and financial strengthening of the NBA to enhance its capacity to implement its core mandates. It will also support the implementation of the Water Charter, focusing on the process of adoption and operationalization of the Niger basin Water Charter’s Annex 2 on Water Management Regulation for the Large Regulating Dams; and the development of a common vision on general principles on benefit and cost sharing among the NBA Member States (Annex 4 of the Water Charter). Specific activities under this component are as follows: Sub-component 1.1: Further analysis and operationalization of selected financing mechanisms for the NBA (US$ 1,100,000) 33. This sub-component will further analyze and operationalize selected financing mechanisms that will help the NBA to develop a sustainable income stream. It will focus on those options that have been studied and identified in recent studies, most notably, the 2010 Strategic Study for the Autonomous and Sustainable Financing of the NBA Activities. Given its potential for implementation in the short-term, the Sub-component will initially focus on the mechanism for the Public Disclosure Copy fee on hydroelectric generation and the related NBA services that would be linked to this; through the development of a business case, a stakeholder communications strategy, the development of operational and legal frameworks, and implementation support. This will be supported through the provision of consulting services and technical assistance. Sub-component 1.2: Implementation of the Water Charter (US$ 750,000) 34. This sub-component will support the process of adoption and operationalization of the proposed Annex 2 of the Niger Basin Water Charter. This will include an analysis of the positions of stakeholders, the development of an engagement strategy (including content review), clarification of coordination mandates and sensitization of member country stakeholders about appropriateness and substance. It will also support the design and operationalization of the relevant hydrological information systems and tools for the operationalization of Annex 2. Furthermore, this component will lay the groundwork for proposed Annex 4 of the Water Charter by supporting the development of general principles on benefit and cost sharing among the NBA Member States. This will be supported through the provision of consulting services, technical assistance and goods. Sub-component 1.3: Strengthening the institutional and organizational systems of the NBA (US$ 1,900,000) Page 2 of 9 35. This activity will support the NBA in the implementation of selected priority recommendations from the ongoing institutional and organizational audit (currently underway with financing under WRD-SEM APL-2A). The NBA will be provided with extensive change Public Disclosure Copy management technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of the new organizational structure in line with the audit’s recommendations. Activities will include clarification of internal operational policies, including roles and responsibilities of the NBA Executive Secretariat (NBA ES) vis-à- vis the NBA’s decision making organs; development and operationalization of a strategic staffing and management plan, and support with transparent hiring processes. In addition, financing will be provided to the NBA Dam Safety and Safeguards Panel of Experts, as part of strengthening the NBA’s oversight of the technical design and implementation of major transboundary infrastructure. This component will also finance operating costs associated with overall project implementation. This will be supported through the provision of consulting services, technical assistance, general operating costs and goods. Component 2: Facilitating evidence based-decision making in the Fomi multipurpose project preparation process (US$ 3,750,000) 36. The Component will facilitate sound decision making, support an exemplary preparation process for the Fomi multipurpose development project, and, in parallel, build the capacity of the NBA through its hands-on involvement in this complex project. Through this Component, the Project will support NBA as they link national level needs and plans with regional processes, dialogue, and supporting analytics. The specific activities to be supported under Component 2 are as follows: Sub-component 2.1: Process of engagement and decision making around Fomi (US$ 1,000,000) 37. This will assist the NBA, Guinea, and Mali in the design and implementation of a project preparation roadmap, with clear decision-points and strong stakeholder engagement, in order to support an inclusive evidence-based decision-making process for the Fomi multipurpose project. Informed decision-making is needed on infrastructure features with full knowledge of the project’s Public Disclosure Copy environmental and social impacts, operating rules, design of associated measures, institutional mechanism for preparation and project implementation, financing sources, and distribution of costs and benefits. Activities will further include the mobilization and sensitization of stakeholders at key stages, including the development partners; external communication on the project and coordination process; the preparation and delivery of meetings to decide on the project technical design, institutional and financing aspects. A key feature will involve the communication of the key findings of the studies financed under other projects (including technical feasibility studies, Environmental and Social Impact Analysis (ESIA), etc.). In particular, the visualization of key trade-offs will be important to highlight the distributional and transboundary nature of different cost and benefits. Such tools will be used to facilitate stakeholder understanding and consensus building at key decision points along the roadmap, along with the identification and scoping of any additional analysis needs. The process, which will require the selection of a consultancy firm (or consortium) with the ability to carry out such facilitation and technical assistance role, will strengthen capacity of the NBA, as well as of the concerned agencies of Guinea and Malian. Sub-component 2.2: Institutional frameworks (US$ 1,600,000) 31. The establishment of new, sound and robust institutional arrangements will be an essential foundation for Fomi, given its inherent complexity. There are a number of potential features of Fomi (weak existing institutional set up, joint-financing options, possible private sector involvement, Page 3 of 9 extensive transboundary benefit sharing) which will require early and informed decision making by stakeholders in order to design and operationalize the necessary institutional arrangements. Sub- component 2.2 will support a suite of studies necessary to explore (i) review of options for the joint- Public Disclosure Copy financing and management of Fomi dam and hydropower station (including the potential for public private arrangements) (ii) design of corresponding legal and institutional frameworks;(iii) contractual design; (iv) short-and long-term benefit sharing arrangements; and (v) dam management arrangements (including operations and maintenance, reservoir and sedimentation management). Moreover, depending on the financing option retained, clear project implementation arrangements may need to be devised to support implementation. This component will be supported through the provision of consulting services. Sub-component 2.3: Complementary environmental and social assessments (US$ 850,000) 32. This sub-component will support complementary assessments of environmental, social and cumulative impacts that complement the technical and ESIA studies carried out under the WRD- SEM APL program. Their exact scope will be defined by stakeholders as part of the roadmap exercise. Key studies include an advanced modeling of changes to geomorphological systems, ecosystem services and livelihood patterns in the Niger Inner Delta under different flow and climate regimes. The scope of additional complementary studies will be defined in response to emerging issues, and may include cumulative impact studies, design flood, wildlife habitat management and pest management issues. This component will be supported through the provision of consulting services. Sub-component 2.4: Donor and investor roundtables (US$ 300,000) This sub-component is designed to help the NBA mobilize resources from a range of potential sources at different points within the preparation process. It will help the NBA develop an investment proposal. The first roundtable would occur early on in the process, to inform, and build interest and ownership from a range of donors, including securing financing for the detailed technical design and Public Disclosure Copy other studies. Once the feasibility stage is complete, and the project concept as a whole is endorsed by stakeholders and the Panel of Experts, a further investors’ conference can be organized. The facilitation and design of coordination arrangements amongst multiple financiers may also be considered. This component will be supported through the provision of technical assistance services and operating expenses associated with workshops. 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) This Project consists of capacity building and technical assistance to the NBA in the form of analytical work to inform the design and facilitation of a decision making process around a complex infrastructure project among the NBA member states and potentially, the mobilization of funding. No physical works are financed under the technical assistance grant. The project triggers OP 4.01 on Environmental Assessment to cover the upstream analytical work that will be financed under the grant. This technical assistance project aims to complement the principal preparatory studies related to the high profile transboundary infrastructure, the Fomi multipurpose project, which are being financed under the on-going World Bank Niger Basin WRD-SEM APL-1 Project (P093806) which is also implemented under the NBA. Although the financing of feasibility, detailed design, and safeguards (including ESIA, RAP) studies is not envisaged under this project, given the multipurpose project's Page 4 of 9 transboundary nature and significant on-site and downstream impacts, studies and technical activities financed under the project may require close scrutiny. Public Disclosure Copy NBA is headquartered in Niamey, Niger and is mandated to promote the co-operation among its nine States and to ensure an integrated development of the Niger Basin. The Niger River Basin is shared by nine countries in West and Central Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. The river basin has surface area of nearly 1.5 million square kilometers and is marked by a mosaic of climates, ecosystems, human settlements, and agricultural production systems. The basin has a rich and diversified fauna and flora and several major protected areas, notably the Niger Inner Delta RAMSAR wetland in Mali. However, these habitats are threatened by pollution, erosion in the Sahelian watersheds, and over-fishing. The Fomi dam site is located in Guinea, near the border with Mali, in the upper part of the basin; the project would provide a diverse stream of transboundary benefits including upstream storage (representing up to 20 percent of the river’s total annual flow at Bamako and four times the volume at Kandadji in Niger) , expansion of irrigated agriculture (over 210,000 ha in downstream dry-season irrigation, mostly in Mali’s Office du Niger irrigation scheme) and hydropower (90-100 MW, which would be connected to the West African Power Pool grid). The project design intends to maintain a minimum environmental flow and guaranteed water supply in large towns downstream of the site, such as in Bamako. It will also entail the resettlement of up to 45,000 people (mostly in Guinea) and significant changes to the flood regime in the ecologically rich and sensitive Niger Inland Delta in Mali, where the livelihoods of 1 million people are intimately linked to the ecosystems services provided by the wetlands. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mari H. Clarke (GSURR) Medou Lo (GWADR) Paivi Koskinen-Lewis (GSURR) Public Disclosure Copy 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ Yes While there are no planned works or physical BP 4.01 footprints, the studies associated with Fomi multipurpose project (component 2) may include additional / complementary environmental assessments of impacts further downstream of the dam (building on the 2009 Cumulative Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Fomi) to gain a better understanding of the complex interactions between changing flow patterns, ecosystems and ecosystem services, and traditional livelihoods, in particular in the inland delta area. A Niger Basin ESMF was disclosed in 2007 as part of the on-going World Bank Niger Basin WRD-SEM project, which includes the update of Fomi multipurpose project ESIA and feasibility study (forthcoming). It has been updated to reflect Page 5 of 9 the proposed TA project content and re-disclosed in Guinea and Mali and at the InfoShop [INSERT DATES]. Public Disclosure Copy Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No The project does not involve any civil work or any activity entailing direct or indirect habitat conversion. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No The project does not involve any activity that will affect forest ecosystems. Pest Management OP 4.09 No The project will not support procurement of any pesticide, and no activity is expected to increase the use of agrochemicals. Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No The project does not involve or affect physical BP 4.11 cultural resources. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No There are no Indigenous Peoples in the area. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP No The project will not finance any civil works and/ 4.12 or require any land acquisition. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No The project does not involve any civil work or detailed designs for the Fomi multipurpose project Projects on International No There are no planned works or physical Waterways OP/BP 7.50 footprints. The analytical work under the component 2 does not include the feasibility or detailed design. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No N/A 7.60 Public Disclosure Copy II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: This project consists of capacity building and technical assistance to the NBA in the form of analytical work to inform design as well facilitation of a decision making process around a complex infrastructure project among the NBA member states and mobilization of funding. It has been assigned the Environmental Category B, and only OP 4.01 (Environmental Assessment) has been triggered to cover the upstream analytical work. The environmental and social impacts associated with the project are expected to be largely positive given the “soft” (non-physical) nature of the activities under this technical assistance project. The first phase is about facilitating stakeholder dialogue among the two countries, Guinea and Mali, and the NBA. The dialogue aims to achieve a joint roadmap on how to proceed with the preparation of the Fomi multipurpose project; a common vision is essential as the overall conceptualization of that project has not been articulated as of yet. The dam project has been viewed in the past as a mostly Guinean activity, even though Mali is affected by the transboundary character of the dam. It is only recently that the two states have formed an inter-ministerial committee to discuss the potential project. The second phase, once an agreed roadmap is in place, Page 6 of 9 is to commission certain complementary studies to inform the overall decision-making process and enable the stakeholders to agree upon key design parameters. In that second phase, this TA aims to complement the principal preparatory studies related to the Fomi multipurpose hydropower dam, Public Disclosure Copy which are being financed under the on-going World Bank Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Sustainable Ecosystems Management APL1 project (P093806), also implemented under the NBA. These include the update of the Fomi multipurpose project ESIA and feasibility studies. The Niger Basin WRD-SEM’s Environmental and Social Management Framework, which covers these Fomi related studies, was disclosed in 2007. The ESMF was updated and re-disclosed in 2012 under the project restructuration. However, the analytical work under this TA does not include the feasibility, detailed design or the ESIA and RAP for Fomi multipurpose project, but rather upstream analysis for instance regarding impacts on livelihoods in the inland Niger Delta. This type of assessment would in turn inform the stakeholders about the scope of mitigation that needs to take place under various scenarios and may assist in overall decision-making on whether and/or how to proceed with Fomi multipurpose project. Given the project’s transboundary nature and significant on-site and downstream impacts, the institutional and technical studies and TA activities financed under the project may require close scrutiny to mitigate against any reputational risk. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: As the current project does not involve civil works, there is no direct physical footprint or indirect impacts. However, if the Fomi multipurpose project proceeds, there will be various significant environmental and social impacts associated with that project, which will require mitigation measures. The Niger river basin has a surface area of nearly 1.5 million square kilometers and is marked by a mosaic of climates, ecosystems, human settlements, and agricultural production systems. The basin has a rich and diversified fauna and flora and several major protected areas, notably the Niger Inner Delta RAMSAR wetland in Mali. However, these habitats are threatened by pollution, erosion in the Sahelian watersheds, and over-fishing. The Fomi multipurpose project is located in Guinea, near the border with Mali, in the upper part of the Basin. It is a multipurpose Public Disclosure Copy project owing to its high potential upstream storage volume (representing up to 20 percent of the river’s total annual flow at Bamako and four times the volume at Kandadji in Niger) and significant transboundary benefits in the form of irrigated agriculture (over 210,000 ha in downstream dry-season irrigation, mostly in Mali’s Office du Niger irrigation scheme) and hydropower (90 MW, which would be connected to the West African Power Pool Grid). According to the previous studies, Fomi multipurpose project would involve a large scale resettlement program of up to 45,000 people in Guinea. The project design intends to maintain a minimum environmental flow, and guarantee water supply in large towns downstream of the site. Changes to the hydrological regime will impact the protected Niger Inland Delta in Mali where the livelihoods of 1 million people are intimately linked to the ecosystems services provided by the wetlands. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. N/A 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. Because this project is financing very upstream work, and the scope of the studies to be commissioned will need to be agreed upon by the stakeholders, it is not possible to prepare Terms of Reference for the studies at this point. The safeguards approach agreed upon is to update the Page 7 of 9 existing IDA Niger Basin APL1 ESMF, which includes mention of Fomi technical feasibility and detailed design studies to be financed under APL1, to reflect the proposed TA project content and re-disclose it both in-country and at the InfoShop. Public Disclosure Copy Regarding borrower capacity on safeguards, the NBA is familiar with the World Bank's safeguards policies as it is one of the implementing agencies for the Niger Basin Water Resources and Sustainable Ecosystem Management Program (WRD-SEM APL) through which the Kandadji dam project has been developed and is being implemented. Given that this project involves primarily analytical work and facilitation, and no physical works are envisaged, the institutional capacity for handling any safeguards issues that might emerge under this TA grant is deemed adequate. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. Key stakeholders include the NBA, and the governments of Guinea and Mali, which have formed an inter-ministerial committee to discuss the eventual Fomi multipurpose project. Among the key stakeholders are the populations who will be affected by the project. The TA will finance analytical work on livelihoods issues in the inland delta, and that will involve consultations with local populations. The Terms of Reference for such studies, which will be established during the project, will be approved by the Bank and disclosed both in-country and at the InfoShop. Re-disclosure of the ESMF took place in Guinea and Mali, as well as on the NBA website and at the InfoShop [INSERT DATES]. B. Disclosure Requirements Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other Date of receipt by the Bank 13-Oct-2014 Date of submission to InfoShop 30-Oct-2014 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors "In country" Disclosure Public Disclosure Copy Guinea 28-Oct-2014 Comments: published in national newspaper "Démocrate" Mali 27-Oct-2014 Comments: published in national newspaper ''Essor'' Niger 17-Oct-2014 Comments: published on the NBA website (Autorité du Bassin de Niger) If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/ Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] report? The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Page 8 of 9 Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] World Bank's Infoshop? Public Disclosure Copy Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Catherine Signe Tovey Approved By Regional Safeguards Name: Alexandra C. Bezeredi (RSA) Date: 06-Nov-2014 Advisor: Practice Manager/ Name: William D. Kingdom (PMGR) Date: 07-Nov-2014 Public Disclosure Copy Manager: Page 9 of 9