Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) AFRICA | Malawi | Water Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2012 | Seq No: 13 | ARCHIVED on 31-Jan-2019 | ISR35267 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 14-Jun-2012 Effectiveness Date: 07-Sep-2012 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 01-Oct-2015 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 19-Oct-2015 Original Closing Date: 31-Jan-2018 Revised Closing Date: 31-Jan-2019 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The overall Program Development Objective of the Shire River Basin Management Program is to generate sustainable social, economic and environmental benefits by effectively and collaboratively planning, developing and managing the Shire River Basin’s natural resources. The program would support the Government’s Shire basin Policy Letter , and would have a duration of 12-15 years. The first phase project – the Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (SRBMP) – would establish coordinated inter-sectoral development planning and coordination mechanisms, undertake the most urgent water related infrastructure investments, prepare additional infrastructure investments, and develop up-scalable systems and methods to rehabilitate sub-catchments and protect existing natural forests, wetlands and biodiversity. Future phases would consolidate Basin planning and development mechanisms and institutions, undertake further infrastructure investments, and up- scale catchment rehabilitation for sustainable natural resource management and livelihoods. The Project Development Objective (PDO) of the SRBMP is to develop a Shire River Basin planning framework and improve land and water management for ecosystem and livelihood benefits in target areas. The project would:(a) strengthen the institutionalcapacities and mechanisms for Shire Basin monitoring, planning, management and decision support systems; (b) invest in water related infrastructure that sustainably improves water resources management and development; (c) reduce erosion in priority catchments andsedimentation and flooding downstream, while enhancing environmental services, agricultural productivity and improving livelihoods;(d) improve flood management in the Lower Shire and provide community level adaptatin and mitigation support; and (e) protect and enhance ecological services in the Basin. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name SHIRE BASIN PLANNING:(Cost $41.60 M) CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT:(Cost $45.00 M) WATER-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE:(Cost $59.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Satisfactory Satisfactory 1/31/2019 Page 1 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Substantial Implementation Status and Key Decisions The project has achieved most its objectives and targets and is on track to close in satisfactory status. About 446,650 people are directly benefiting from the project’s interventions related to improved land and water management, as well as ecological management such as forest co- management, forest-based enterprises and various livelihood and income-generating activities. The average Management Effectiveness score (METT score) for the nine targeted protected areas stands at 73 against a projected target score of 65 set at project design. With respect to flood risk management, a total of 3,155 households in targeted flood prone areas have been reclassified to a lower flood risk, compared to a project target of 2,780 households. The Shire River Basin Plan was completed and adopted by MoAIWD. The planning process followed a well-structured stakeholder participation process supported by state-of-the art decision-support tools. A comprehensive set of knowledge products have been developed to facilitate integrated natural resources management in the Shire River Basin. An improved operational decision support tool for Kamuzu Barrage has been developed and is currently in use. Draft dam safety plans have prepared and are under review. In addition, MoAIWD has signed an Memorandum of Understanding with EGENCO (power utility) for operation of the barrage, and staff have been trained in operation of the upgraded barrage. Collaboration and coordination between different government agencies involved in Shire River Basin management has improved, and various training and capacity building activities have been undertaken to further enhance capacity for coordinated basin planning and management. In total, 51 capacity building activities (comprising long term training courses, short courses, workshops, conferences and study tours) have been undertaken, with a total of 162 participants. In addition, Government has appointed the Governing Board for the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA). This is an important milestone in operationalizing the institutional framework for water resources management as laid out in the Water Resources Act of 2013. With the NWRA board now in place, there is finally an institutional mechanism in place to facilitate multisectoral long-term planning and management of Malawi’s water resources, including in the Shire Basin. MoAIWD is fast-tracking the remaining steps (appointment of Executive Director, opening accounts etc) and other transition steps needed to enable NWRA start its work. Construction and furnishing of NWRA’s regional office building in Blantyre has been completed. However, the access road to the building is still under construction and is expected to be completed by mid-January 2019. The network of 95 hydromet monitoring stations across the basin has been revamped to improve hydro-meteorological information for improved planning, operational decision support and flood forecasting. Modern hydromet equipment and associated software have been installed to enable access to hydromet data in near real time. However, data transmission remains unstable. At the time of the mission, only about half of the stations were transmitting data to base stations. Most of the meteorological stations (automatic rainfall loggers and automatic weather stations) are not functioning due to drained batteries. The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS) has committed to resolve the battery issues (i.e. replace lithium batteries with lead batteries) and have the stations back on line before project closure. An Operational Decision Support System (ODSS) has been developed, and system operators from DCCMS, Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Department of Disaster Management (DoDMA) have been trained. The ODSS can perform the following forecasting functions for decision support: riverine flood and flow forecasting, catchment flash flood forecasting, seasonal forecasts of flows and water levels in the river basin including Lake Malawi to support water infrastructure operation (Kamuzu Barrage), drought monitoring, and crop calendar providing seasonal rainfall predictions and information relating to planting times and other agricultural activities. MoAIWD sent out the first flood warning using the ODSS system on November 30, 2019. The performance of the system is currently being evaluated during this rainy season. However, this evaluation cannot be completed before project closure and will therefore need to continue beyond the project. Both DCCMS and DWR have committed to improve the quality and reliability of hydromet data to enable further evaluation of the ODSS. DWR has prepared a management plan for the hydrological monitoring network, including a roadmap for transfer of the responsibility of managing the network to NWRA. Catchment management guidelines have been prepared and adopted at the national level. Further, various plans (at catchment, sub-catchment and micro-catchment/village level) have been developed to guide implementation of community-based land and water management interventions in the critical catchments of upper Lisungwi, upper Wamkulumadzi, Kapichira and Chingale. Studies on alternative livelihoods and enterprise value chains in these catchments were completed, and these were used to inform the selection of viable rural enterprises which are currently benefiting from a micro-loan facility supported by the project. Targeted catchments are still undergoing rehabilitation, through implementation of a total of 305 Village-Level Action Plans (VLAPs). Available data suggests that project targets related to catchment management have been exceeded. A total of 35,385 ha has been rehabilitated, including 10,173ha of previously degraded community forests which have been regenerated. Vegetative protection measures have been implemented on 4,000km of water courses (rivers and streams) in the targeted catchments. Various infrastructure packages–rural feeder roads (80km), bridges (11) and markets (13)–designed to support alternative livelihoods and improve market access have been completed and commissioned. A total of 366 Common Interest Groups (CIGs) have been established, trained and provided with start-up capital for various non-farm business enterprises. Further, a total of 80 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are now promoting conservation agriculture and improved farming practices using a farmer-to-farmer extension approach. To date, about 77 percent of households within the targeted catchments are reported to be engaged in sustainable land and water management. These results, although achieved at a small scale, have demonstrated that it is possible to rehabilitate degraded catchments through an integrated package of interventions involving land and water management, forestry management and livelihood support. Community flood protection infrastructure at five sites in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts has been completed. The structures have substantially reduced the risk of flooding in the targeted communities. In addition, the project helped to strengthen the existing community-based flood early warning system through provision of flood early warning equipment to 45 targeted communities in the two districts. 1/31/2019 Page 2 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Rehabilitation and upgrade of Kamuzu Barrage–the project’s flagship infrastructure investment – is completed. Commissioning tests for the new gates have been carried out and the upgraded barrage has been handed over to MoAIWD. However, installation of the aquatic weed collection system (weed boom) was delayed due to delayed shipping of key mechanical components. Completion of the weed boom will therefore slip beyond the project closing date, and any outstanding payments on the contract will be covered by the Government. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance -- Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic -- Substantial Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies -- Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program -- Substantial Substantial Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability -- High High Fiduciary -- Substantial Substantial Environment and Social -- Moderate Moderate Stakeholders -- Moderate Moderate Other -- Low Low Overall -- Substantial Substantial Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Develop the Shire River Basin planning framework in order to improve land and water management IN00583942 ►Households in targeted areas re-classified to lower risk (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 7,028.00 3,155.00 2,780.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583953 ►Average management effectiveness score for targeted protected areas (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 39.00 73.00 73.00 65.00 1/31/2019 Page 3 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583954 ►Improved operation of the upgraded Kamuzu barrage with adequate institutional arrangements (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No Yes Yes Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2019 IN00583943 ►Direct project beneficiaries (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 431,520.00 446,650.00 250,000.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583962 Female beneficiaries (Percentage, Custom Supplement) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 IN00583941 ►Shire Basin Plan adopted (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 Intermediate Results Indicators by Components SHIRE BASIN PLANNING IN00583955 ►Shire River Basin Institution Established (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No Yes Yes Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 08-Nov-2018 31-Jan-2019 NWRA board appointed. Comments: IN00583956 ►Functional geodatabase developed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No No Yes Yes Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 1/31/2019 Page 4 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) IN00583945 ►Hydromet stations with accessible data in real time (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 44.00 44.00 30.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583944 ►Shire basin planning tools developed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Nov-2012 02-Jun-2017 02-Jun-2017 31-Jan-2018 CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT IN00583951 ►Total value of livelihood investment grants managed by targeted Group Villages (GVs) in Million Malawi Kwacha (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 612.00 620.50 220.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583958 ►Area under sustainable land and water management (ha) (Hectare(Ha), Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 25,212.00 25,212.00 24,460.00 Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2019 IN00583959 ►Length of river bank protection (vegetative) undertaken (Kilometers, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 4,166.00 4,166.00 248.00 Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 This indicator track outputs related to vegetative river bank protection activities. The indicator target has Comments: been exceeded. The target was originally set too low. IN00583960 ►Number of Common Interest Groups (CIGs) established and operational (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 314.00 366.00 279.00 Date 14-Jun-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583957 1/31/2019 Page 5 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) ►Number of Village-Level Action Plans (VLAPs) approved (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 305.00 305.00 305.00 Date 14-Jun-2012 14-Aug-2017 14-Aug-2017 31-Jan-2018 IN00583946 ►Proportion of households within targeted sub-catchments engaged in sustainable land and water management (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 15.00 77.00 77.00 75.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 WATER-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE IN00583948 ►GV with improved community flood management infrastructure (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 22.00 28.00 29.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583949 ►New water investment plans prepared to pre/feasibility stage (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2019 IN00583961 ►Community-based flood early warning system is established (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 30-Jun-2017 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2019 IN00583950 ►Budgeted management plan established for Elephant Marshes (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 27-Apr-2018 31-Jan-2018 IN00583947 ►Kamuzu Barrage upgraded (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target 1/31/2019 Page 6 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Value No No Yes Yes Date 01-Nov-2012 27-Apr-2018 04-Dec-2018 31-Jan-2019 Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P117617 IDA-51250 -- USD 93.75 93.75 0.00 84.71 0.00 100% P117617 IDA-H7750 -- USD 31.25 31.25 0.00 30.60 0.00 100% P127866 TF-12920 -- USD 5.08 5.08 0.00 5.08 0.00 100% P127866 TF-12921 -- USD 1.50 1.50 0.00 1.50 0.00 100% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P117617 IDA-51250 -- 14-Jun-2012 22-Aug-2012 07-Sep-2012 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2019 P117617 IDA-H7750 -- 14-Jun-2012 22-Aug-2012 07-Sep-2012 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2019 P127866 TF-12920 -- 22-Aug-2012 22-Aug-2012 07-Sep-2012 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2019 P127866 TF-12921 -- 22-Aug-2012 22-Aug-2012 07-Sep-2012 31-Jan-2018 31-Jan-2019 Cumulative Disbursements 1/31/2019 Page 7 of 8 Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Malawi: Shire River Basin Management Program (Phase-I) Project (P117617) Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Project(s) P127866-Shire River Basin Management Program (GEF) 1/31/2019 Page 8 of 8