Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: AB2435 Project Name West Africa Regional Biosafety Project Region AFRICA Sector Crops (50%); Agro-industry (50%) Project ID P096058 GEF Focal Area Biodiversity Borrower(s) WAEMU (West Africa Economic and Monetary Union) Implementing Agency WAEMU (West Africa Economic and Monetary Union) Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared May 30, 2006 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization November 6, 2006 Estimated Date of Board Approval December 19, 2006 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement 1. The cotton sector plays a critical role in the economies of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), especially in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. All of them except Côte d’Ivoire will be beneficiaries of the GEF grant. In total, 12 million farmers are dependent upon the cotton sector for their livelihood in the WAEMU region, and the performance of the sector is key for economic growth and for determining the prevalence and level of poverty. These countries were able to gain market share in cotton over the past three decades, but falling prices and increasing market pressures make it important for them to find ways to improve their competitiveness and seek more favorable trade conditions. 2. Mainly driven by insect resistance to chemical pesticides, Burkina Faso with private sector support has engaged for the last three years in “regulatory” 1 field testing of transgenic cotton. Scientists and government officials in Mali and Senegal and to some extent in Benin and Togo would like to start field trials too, for transgenic cotton and also for other crops, both food and cash crops. The plant science industry which has already invested in Burkina Faso is also keen to move further in the cotton belt, in Mali and Senegal first, then in Benin and Togo at a later stage. All parties, Burkina Faso included, have expressed the need for biosafety regulatory and safeguards mechanisms that are not in place for the moment, to move forward and ensure a safe introduction of living modified organisms (LMOs) that will be released in the environment. 3. In this context, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) invokes the application of precautionary principles that seeks to contribute to the safe transfer, handling, and use of transgenic organisms, otherwise known as LMOs. To comply with the CPB and global trade norms, signatory countries must establish and implement a national regulatory framework that balances the opportunities and perceived risks from biotechnology, based on national technical and managerial entities that are guided by protocols for environmental, and food and feed safety. 1 As opposed to “show case” trials which are not for approval purposes Page 2 4. At the national level, the five beneficiary countries of the GEF grant have ratified the CPB. 2 All five beneficiary countries have participated in projects funded by the GEF and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to develop National Biosafety Frameworks (NBFs). 3 In this regard, inter-ministerial biosafety committees have been created by the UNEP-GEF projects for policy decision making and preparation of NBFs. 5. At the sub-regional level, biosafety is entering the policy arena through sub-regional economical organizations such as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West-African States) and the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control (CILSS). Initiatives have commenced in the research and technical sector, in particular through the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) and the Sahel Institute (INSAH), a specialized arm of the CILSS. WECARD has published a biotechnology and biosafety action plan while INSAH is working on a regional seed regulatory system. 6. Within the francophone countries particularly through WAEMU 4 , another sub- regional entity, many efforts on the development and promotion of common regulatory framework in the agricultural and environmental sectors have been undertaken. WAEMU recognized the strategic place of agriculture in the economy of its member countries, and adopted a common agricultural policy 5 in December 2001 that aims primarily at achieving food security, strengthening the common market of agricultural products, and improving the livelihood of producers. On the environmental side, a common policy 6 is being prepared and will be examined by the Head of State Council at the end of 2006. As a part of this process, WAEMU intends to launch an initiative on regional biosafety frameworks and has created a budgetary line for 2006. The proposed project, financed by GEF and IDA, will include the eight WAEMU member States in which five are eligible to GEF (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and, Togo). 7. The sub- region’s technical and institutional capacities in biosafety remain weak, especially in key areas relating to risk assessment; monitoring and enforcement of biotechnology research and transgenic field trials, public information and participation, and laboratory equipment. The technical and scientific knowledge and skill of researchers and enforcement agencies, as well as the quality of the facilities available to them, are lower compared with the average level available in the developed world. 8. Without support from the GEF, the countries are not likely to come together to undertake activities such as designing safeguards framework that will ensure a safe introduction of LMOs that will demand international expertise, but that provide regional and global benefits by protecting biodiversity from gene/pollen flow or invasiveness. 9. The establishment of national biosafety framework has already started through UNEP/GEF-funded projects. Moving beyond this stage into further design, adoption and implementation of a Regional Biosafety Framework is a challenging task but one that can 2 Burkina Faso (November 2003), Mali (September 2003), Benin (May 2005), Togo (September 2004), and Senegal (January 2004) are Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB). 3 See http://www.unep.ch/biosafety/ for more detailed information. 4 The eight WAEMU countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Guinea Bissau. 5 Acte additionnel n° 03/2001 portant adoption de la politique agricole de l'UEMOA. 6 Politique Commune d’Amélioration de l’Environnement. Page 3 potentially be rewarding in terms of protection of biodiversity while reducing the use of pesticides, increasing agriculture productivity, food security and competitiveness in international trade. 10. GEF seeks diversification of implementation agencies (IA) and has welcomed the World Bank to implement this regional project. The Bank is already the IA for GEF on two capacity-building projects related to NBF pilot projects in Colombia and India. It will be the implementing agency for the proposed Regional Biosafety project in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, with participation from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru. 11. The World Bank with its broad experience in bringing together the appropriate partners in providing expertise and technical support related to pertinent policy issues (agriculture, environment, trade, intellectual property rights, science and technology, and international convention compliance) is the appropriate development institution. Its environmental and social safeguards and fiduciary frameworks make it the relevant institution which could support the stakeholders, accompany the ongoing dynamic and mainstream sustainable arrangements for implementation of risks assessment and management. 12. The World Bank has also been strongly involved for many years in the agricultural and rural sector in most of the West African countries and undertook a series of biosafety-related studies 7 . In Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal, the World Bank is implementing important projects and policy reforms on agricultural diversification, research and extension. Its involvement also includes institutional reforms, support to producer organizations, strengthening of nascent food supply chains, and export promotion for agricultural products. Through this experience, the Bank has developed constructive relationships with many of the governments and stakeholders that will participate in the project. 2. Proposed objective(s) 13. The project’s development objective (PDO) is to prepare and implement a Regional Biosafety Framework (RBF) which will ensure safe confined field trials and commercial release, if proven safe, of transgenic crops and crops products, starting with cotton 14. This objective will be achieved through the setting up and implementation of a regional regulation on biosafety, capacity building and public outreach to meet the requirements of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) that all five countries have ratified and other international obligations relevant to biosafety. The project will also build a regional observatory and Biosafety Clearing House on modern biotechnologies to monitor the impacts for the introduction of transgenic cotton. If the adoption of a regional regulation is successful, the observatory will most likely become an operational and decisional body, responsible for LMO approvals that were first handled at the national level. 15. The global environment objective of the project is to protect regional biodiversity against potential risks associated to introduction of LMOs in West Africa. 7 “Biosafety Regulation: A Review of International Approaches,” The World Bank. April 2003; “Briefing Paper for World Bank Management: Biosafety and Capacity Building 2001”; and “African Agriculture and Biotechnology – Assuring Safe Use While Addressing Poverty 2003.” Page 4 16. This will be achieved through the development of common science-based, and in compliance with international, risk assessment and management methods in the approval process of modern biotechnologies of LMOs. 17. The project will initially benefit the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region and offers a potential for scaling up at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) level. 3. Preliminary description 18. The proposed beneficiaries of the project are the eight WAEMU member States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Guinea Bissau). The project is composed of three components described as follows: Component A – Adapt and disseminate regional methodologies to assess and manage risks 19. This component will produce operational and regionally harmonized methodologies consistent with international standards such as guidelines, technical documents, forms, and checklists for risk assessment and management of LMOs and LMOs products. 20. The four subcomponents related to risk assessment are: (i) inventory and evaluate existing tools and guidelines used (especially in Burkina Faso) or in preparation (other countries) in the WAEMU countries in risk assessment and management and compare them to recognized international methodologies. (ii) identify and get accreditation for a regional reference laboratory as well as two secondary laboratories; (iii) consolidate these tools and develop regional common approaches in risk assessment and management, inspection, monitoring and evaluation of LMOs which meet recognized international standards, to prepare a regional manual of procedures and, (iv) disseminate the regional manual of procedures in the WAEMU, in particular through the regional BCH. Component B – Elaborate and implement the Regional Biosafety Framework 21. This c omponent will accompany WAEMU’s effort to integrate an economical and political area through harmonization of sector policies related to biosafety. This regulatory and institutional component will consist in producing a functional Regional Biosafety Framework for the WAEMU space. 22. The three subcomponents are (i) prepare a regional law on biosafety according to the WAEMU procedures; (ii) facilitate the political process for adoption of the regional law and its decrees; (iii) create an institutional framework that will accompany the dissemination and implementation of the regulation in the eight countries of WAEMU and; (iv) Project coordination / Monitoring and Evaluation. The institutional framework will be first an observatory on modern agricultural biotechnology that monitor the impact of such technology to the environment, food and feed safety and the socioeconomic issues in accordance with a set of key indicators developed by WAEMU and all its stakeholders. If the adoption of a regional law is successful, the observatory will most likely become an operational and decisional body, responsible for LMO approvals that were first handled at the national level. Page 5 Component C –Implement the Regional Biosafety Framework at the national level 23. This component will focus on implementing the Regional Biosafety Framework at the national level. The component will focus on strengthening the capacities of all the relevant national institutions involved in the Regional Biosafety Framework implementation and raising public awareness and participation of various stakeholders and especially producers’ organizations. 24. The four subcomponents are: (i) strengthen human, institutional and regulatory capacities in order to enable the countries to implement the Regional Biosafety Framework, and the intermediary measures up to the effectiveness of the RBF ; (ii) inform and sensitize the major stakeholders, especially producers’ organizations on the regional regulation and its implication for the environment and the socio-economic development and; (iii) strengthen the regulatory and policy environment related to intellectual property rights on transgenic plants. 4. Safeguard policies that might apply 25. The team was advised during the QER meeting on February 28, 2006 to categorize the project from "C" to "B" due to the dual focus of the project. The first aspect emphasis on strengthening the capacity of various pertinent stakeholders in the process of establishing the National Biosafety Frameworks (NBFs). The second aspect is pertaining to the establishment of the NBFs that led to the diffusion of biotechnology in the five beneficiary countries. This diffusion warrants for the establishment of an instrument to safeguard the environment, human health and socio-economic considerations that have been the cornerstone of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol. 26. The team was furthered advised to prepare an environment and social impact framework that would facilitate the five beneficiary countries to implement it at the national level. The framework will be consolidated during the pre-appraisal mission and presented, as well as the other project features, by a communication specialist to the major stakeholders in the region and in the countries. 5. Tentative financing Source: ($m.) GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY 5.4 IDENTIFIED FINANCING 8.2 WEST AFRICA REGION GOVERNMENTS and WAEMU 3.0 TO BE FINANCED 6.5 Total 23.1 Page 6 6. Contact point Contact Malick Diallo Fonction Directeur de l’Environnement Commission de l’UEMOA Tel +226 50328811 Fax +226 50318872 Email mdiallo@uemoa.int Contact Jean-Christophe Carret Title Natural Resources Economist Tel (202) 473-5965 Fax (202) 473-5147 Email jcarret@worldbank.org