PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) IDENTIFICATION/CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: PIDC26828 Public Disclosure Copy Project Name FCPF Capacity Building Program IPs (LCR) Region LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN Country Latin America Sector(s) Forestry (100%) Theme(s) Participation and civic engagement (20%), Indigenous peoples (20%), Social Inclusion (60%) Lending Instrument Lending Instrument Project ID P155976 Borrower Name SOTZ'IL Implementing Agency SOTZ'IL Environment Category C - Not Required Date PID Prepared 10-Dec-2015 Estimated Date of Approval 30-Nov-2015 Initiation Note Review The review did authorize the preparation to continue Decision I. Introduction and Context Country Context The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). The FCPF, which became operational in June Public Disclosure Copy 2008, is a global partnership focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, promoting forest carbon stock conservation, furthering the sustainable management of forests, and enhancing forest carbon stocks (REDD+). A REDD+ Country Participant is a developing country located in a subtropical or tropical area that has signed a Participation Agreement to participate in the FCPF Readiness Fund. Forty-seven (47) developing countries that have been selected to join the FCPF (including 17 in LCR) are expected to undertake activities that lay the foundation for sustainable forest management and sustainable land use management. REDD + thus presents an opportunity to assist countries to undertake a participatory national forest and land use planning exercise to mitigate the impacts of deforestation and forest degradation, including from developments in other sectors (such as agriculture, infrastructure, and energy). By addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, the FCPF is expected to achieve benefits that go beyond climate change mitigation, including poverty reduction and biodiversity promotion, and enhancing forest communities’ resilience to climate variability. FCPF Capacity Building on REDD+ for Indigenous Peoples. Under the FCPF Readiness Fund, the FCPF has created a framework and processes for REDD+ readiness, which help countries prepare for future systems of positive incentives for REDD+. Concrete activities under readiness include the development of Reference Levels, the development of a REDD+ strategy, the design of monitoring systems for reporting and verification, the establishment of REDD+ national management Page 1 of 6 arrangements, and the identification of social and environmental impacts associated with REDD+. During the implementation of these activities, concerted efforts have been made to ensure the active engagement and participation of relevant stakeholders, including indigenous peoples’ organizations. Public Disclosure Copy Activities under the proposed project are expected to complement national processes by building the knowledge capacity of indigenous peoples to engage meaningfully in REDD+. Sectoral and Institutional Context The Capacity Building Program for CSOs and forest-dependent local communities will enhance their full and effective participation in REDD+. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties 16 (CoP 16) decision on REDD+ calls for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local forest-dependent communities and the need to respect their traditional knowledge and rights. Due to their long histories of adapting to climatic variability and ecosystem changes, and since their livelihoods are so closely linked to their natural environments, indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities can offer valuable long-term observations and examples based on their local knowledge, innovations, and practices. These include traditional methods of fire and water management, agro-forestry techniques, shoreline reinforcement, and seasonal migration. The FCPF Capacity Building Program provides support for activities in REDD+ countries participating in the FCPF. It has funded from fiscal year (FY) 09 to FY13 a total of 20 proposals for civil society organizations (7 proposals in Africa, 3 proposals in Asia, and 10 proposals in Latin America) totaling $1.2 million dollars. Proposals for capacity-building activities from FY09 to FY14 were processed through the World Bank’s corporate procurement system. Under this system, such organizations were selected and contracted as consultants to carry out specific capacity building activities in line with the overall objectives of the Program. In moving forward with implementation of the FCPF Capacity Building Program, the Facility Public Disclosure Copy Management Team (FMT) presented to the Participant’s Committee (PC) in June 2012 (PC12) the conclusions resulting from internal discussions held at the World Bank in relation to the Program, including (i) discontinuing use of the World Bank’s corporate procurement system for its management by June 30, 2013, and (ii) implementing new activities under the Program in accordance with the World Bank’s Procedure and Note on Small Recipient-Executed Trust Fund Grants. Note that under the vendor system, organizations were hired as consultants, implementing capacity building based on outputs and with limited oversight during implementation of the activities. As a result, after a thorough internal review of the vendor system, a transition toward recipient-executed trust fund grants was recommended, allowing the World Bank to supervise project activities. At a technical level, FMT Note 2012-5 provided the following recommendations in moving forward with the Program: (i) As countries are starting to engage relevant stakeholder groups in developing their REDD+ strategies, substantial awareness must be raised and capacity building is required for people at the grassroots to participate meaningfully in the national dialogue during which critical issues with implications for their livelihoods will be discussed; (ii) It is critical to engage forest- dependent indigenous peoples in all phases of REDD+ (i.e., readiness, investments, and performance-based payments); (iii) Capacity building is needed at the national, regional and global levels to build a knowledge base of forest-dependent indigenous peoples and civil society organizations on climate change and REDD+, thus empowering them to translate global knowledge Page 2 of 6 into actionable plans at the national level. Asociación Sotz’il is a technical and political Maya organization located in Guatemala. Its Public Disclosure Copy principles and values are based on the cosmological culture of the Maya, which promotes a model of pluralist and self-managed development made up of people, organizations, and communities. Its organizational model is based on community participation integrating technical-political economic, social, cultural and environmental dimensions of indigenous development. Its organizational structure comprises the following decision-making bodies: General Assembly, Board, Technical and Administrative Team and Advisory Board. The organization has a high level of thematic and r egional expertise, serving as a Member of the Advisory Council of the Central American Integration System, advisor to the Central American Parliament on the issue of indigenous peoples and natural resources, participant in the technical committees of theCentralAmerican Commission on Environment and Development (as representative of indigenous peoples in building Regional Strategic Program of Work on Protected Areas), the Forest Regional Strategic Program and the construction of the Central American regional climate change strategy. Relationship to CAS/CPS/CPF Relationship of the project to broader climate change approach in the Latin America and Caribbean region. By addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, REDD+ is expected to achieve benefits that go beyond climate change mitigation, including poverty reduction and biodiversity promotion. Climate change is expected to hit developing countries the hardest. Its effects—highertemperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters—pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies. At stake are recent gains in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people in developing countries. Addressing climate change requires unprecedented global cooperation across borders. Note that the conservation of forest ecosystems will also enhance the ecosystems’ and the forest communities’ resilience in the face of climate variability. This project Public Disclosure Copy will contribute to the conservation of forest ecosystems in Latin America by making information and training available to local level stakeholders to ensure that their voices are incorporated into the national strategies that contribute towards global goals. The proposed grant will contribute to the World Bank corporate goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in Latin American and Caribbean. In Latin America, there are 17 FCPF member countries. With the exception of the two original FIP countries (Peru and Mexico), the rest are eligible for support for in-country activities. These are Argentina, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay. However, further eligibility criteria, acceptable to the World Bank, will be developed by appraisal. These will likely consider criteria such as urgency to acquire knowledge of REDD, past comparable capacity building efforts with target populations, marginality from the REDD+ process, and possible overlap with other capacity building efforts. The project is an enabler and complements the efforts of FCPF participating countries in Latin America. The regional strategy of addressing climate change can be supplemented through building capacity of non-state stakeholders, including indigenous peoples, to: (i) Further the region’s priority area of inclusion and empowerment of stakeholders and community participation in development processes, including REDD+; ii) Build the capacity of indigenous organizations to achieve climate Page 3 of 6 change mitigation, protect forests, and achieve vital social and environmental objectives, which will contribute to managing the effects of climate change; iii) Support both the climate change and the shared prosperity agendas by strengthening indigenous peoples’ capacity to participate in REDD+ Public Disclosure Copy activities, iv) Enhance regional integration and cooperation by disseminating good practices and lessons learned; and v) Strengthen the capacity of indigenous organizations to benefit from REDD+, including the sustainable management of biodiversity, the provision of alternative livelihoods, and the equitable sharing of revenues generated from emissions reductions, thus contributing to human development and social welfare. II. Project Development Objective(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) The objective of the project is to build the capacity of the indigenous peoples of Central and South America to enhance their knowledge and understanding of REDD+, thereby enabling them to expand and enhance their participation in REDD+ processes at national and regional levels. Specific Activities: i. Design and implement a regional training program for indigenous leaders and negotiators on issues of REDD+ safeguards and the rights of indigenous peoples. ii. Facilitate the construction of cultural indicators, techniques and methodologies relating to forest management by indigenous peoples. iii. Support the full and effective participation of indigenous leaders in negotiations and dialogues on REDD+ at the national and regional levels. iv. Publish and disseminate information, through regional-level networks, on project activities, good practices, and lessons learned to continue supporting the capacity-building needs of indigenous Public Disclosure Copy peoples at all levels in the region, for their effective engagement in all aspects of REDD+. Key Results PDO level indicators 1. Number of representatives from indigenous networks participating in capacity building activities (Target: At least 5 per ethnicity) 2. % of participants whose work focuses on mainstreaming the concerns and interests of women (Target: 30% of participant organizations) 3. % of participants who reported having learned new skills based on the knowledge products developed and disseminated under the project at the national and regional level (Target: 100%) 4. % of capacity building activities at the country and regional level that successfully completed (Target: 100% by project closing) III. Preliminary Description Concept Description The project will finance the following three main components: Component 1: Capacity Building Activities (Approx. US $327,424). Preliminary proposals for project activities have been submitted to the Bank. These were validated though a participatory process led by Sotz’il with regional indigenous networks. They include the following three Page 4 of 6 programs that will make up the following three subcomponents. a. Component 1.1. Design and implement a regional training program for indigenous leaders Public Disclosure Copy and negotiators on issues of REDD+ safeguards and the rights of indigenous peoples. This program would include (i) Designing a module for graduate studies on REDD+ and indigenous peoples to be developed and validated with indigenous networks; (ii) Developing a university-level diploma program on REDD+ and indigenous peoples; (iii) Developing face-to-face training materials on REDD+. All three capacity building activities will be developed and further validated with indigenous networks during preparation and implementation of the project. b. Component 1.2. Facilitate the construction of cultural indicators, techniques and methodologies relating to forest management by indigenous peoples. This program would develop and publish a study on cultural indicators, forest management techniques and methodologies. The study would provide qualitative and quantitative data to enhance indigenous proposals related to REDD+ in different countries. c. Component 1.3. Support the full and effective participation of indigenous leaders in negotiations and dialogues on REDD+ at the national and regional levels by supporting national indigenous peoples-government dialogues on REDD+ and knowledge exchange events amongst indigenous communities and organizations participating in REDD+ processes in Central and South America. Component 2: Regional-Level Communication and Dissemination of Project Results (Approx. US $327,424): This component will finance regional-level activities and the design and implementation of a communication strategy to disseminate (at the country and regional level) the results of activities carried out by the project, including the preparation of good practices and lessons learned, aimed at addressing capacity building needs of indigenous peoples at all levels so as to foster their effective engagement in REDD+. Activities under this component will finance dissemination of information, regional level network forums on REDD+, and the publication of materials (produced in appropriate indigenous languages, where necessary). Data on women and youth participation will Public Disclosure Copy be highlighted at the regional level. Regional organizations and networks participating in the FCPF will be targeted. Thus, the communication strategies to be employed will draw upon existing resources, relationships, and networks, including regional learning and exchange forum to the maximum extent possible. Component 3: Management and Administration (Approx. US $$72,761): This component will support Sotz’il’s day-to-day project implementation and management costs, including the incremental time of the project coordinator. Moreover, financial management and procurement assessments (to be completed by appraisal), will determine whether more capacity is needed and whether it will entail an increase in the time of the professionals associated to the project. This would include the preparation of annual work plans, the financing of audit reports, and any other incremental overhead costs incurred as a result of the implementation of the project. IV. Safeguard Policies that Might Apply Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 ✖ Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 ✖ Page 5 of 6 Forests OP/BP 4.36 ✖ Pest Management OP 4.09 ✖ Public Disclosure Copy Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 ✖ Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 ✖ Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 ✖ Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 ✖ Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 ✖ Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 ✖ V. Financing (in USD Million) Total Project Cost: 0.727609 Total Bank Financing: 0 Financing Gap: 0 Financing Source Amount Readiness Fund of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 0.727609 VI. Contact point World Bank Contact: Kimberly Vilar Title: Senior Social Development Spec Tel: 473-9228 Email: kvilar@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Name: SOTZ'IL Contact: Ramiro Batzin Title: Director Public Disclosure Copy Tel: 0050278394477 Email: batzinr@gmail.com Implementing Agencies Name: SOTZ'IL Contact: Ramiro Batzin Title: Director Tel: 0050278394477 Email: batzinr@gmail.com VII. For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-4500 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop Page 6 of 6