The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) Concept Environmental and Social Review Summary Concept Stage (ESRS Concept Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 06/24/2021 | Report No: ESRSC02141 Jun 24, 2021 Page 1 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Cameroon AFRICA WEST P175846 Project Name Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Social Sustainability and Investment Project 11/18/2021 2/17/2022 Inclusion Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Government of Cameroon Ministry of Decentralization and the Local Development Proposed Development Objective The project’s development objective is to enhance socioeconomic inclusion and resilience in fragile communities and Public Disclosure strengthen local governance and beneficiaries’ s engagement for service delivery. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 300.00 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] Poverty in Cameroon remains significant, with widening rural-urban inequalities. The extreme poverty rate is expected to remain at 25.3 percent in 2021, as was estimated for 2020, driven by the widening inequality in rural areas despite the number of initiatives implemented by the Government of Cameroon (GoC) to overcome the rural- urban divide. Rural areas, especially in conflict-affected regions, continue to experience exclusion from having adequate access to basic infrastructure and essential social services. On top of the rural-urban inequality, Cameroon is witnessing concentration of poverty in specific regions. While the national average poverty rate is at 37.5 percent, the poverty rate is 74.3 percent in the Far North region and 67.9 Jun 24, 2021 Page 2 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) percent in the North region, followed by the North West region (55.3 percent) and the Adamaoua region (47.1 percent). Persistence as well as geographical concentration of poverty in some regions are likely to widen regional disparities and inequality in the country in the future, unless addressed. Instability and violence in Cameroon are increasing and overlapping with regionalized and concentrated poverty. The causes and drivers of fragility, conflict and violence in Cameroon are multifaceted and have different regional characteristics. However, overall, there is a significant increase in the occurrence of violence against civilians and occurrence of battles. Displacement due to ongoing violence against civilian populations is another significant challenge that adds additional layers of complexity. The country has close to one million conflict induced Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in addition to more than 420,000 refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR) as the cross-border areas continue to be impacted by violence perpetrated by violent extremist groups and armed militias. Additionally, the ongoing crisis has increased poverty levels and destroyed livelihoods and human capital conditions in both conflict-affected and neighboring regions. Fragility and poverty dynamics are further exacerbated by increasing challenges posed by natural hazards and climate change. Cameroon is experiencing irregular rainfall patterns, temperature changes, extreme environment events including increased frequency and duration of droughts, floods, erosion in the coastal areas, and soil degradation. These events cause damage to houses and infrastructure, and the increased occurrence of droughts is damaging the agriculture sector and the livelihoods of those who depend on it, especially in the northern regions. Population movements linked with climate change and intensifying natural disasters are on the rise. Between August and October 2020 alone, an estimated more than 160,000 people were impacted by flooding in the Far North region. Food Public Disclosure insecurity caused due to the changing climate and natural disasters furthermore add pressure onto communities already suffering from high levels of poverty. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Cameroon’s economy has been devastating, further adding stress onto the country’s socioeconomic fabrics. Cameroon’s economy was heavily reliant on the informal economy prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic with the informal employment sharing 90.2 percent of the labor market, accounting for more than 50 percent of the country’s GDP. The pandemic hit those in the informal sector particularly hard, and income loss and consumption decline is widely visible across the country. Economic activity contracted as expected in the second quarter of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact adversely final consumption and public investment. Both public and private consumption declined by 1.3 point and 1.9 points to real GDP growth. The multifaceted socioeconomic and fragility contexts in Cameroon call for an integrated and holistic response to address drivers of fragility, conflict, and violence in the country – while building social resilience to prevent conflict and promote the active participation of the poor and inclusion of marginalized groups in defining their development prospects. The project aligns with increasing efforts by the GoC to strengthen the socioeconomic resilience of vulnerable population, including the National Development Strategy 2020-2030; the Recovery and Peace Consolidation Strategy for Northern and East Cameroon (2018–2022); Cameroon Vision 2035, the Growth and Employment Strategy Document (GESD), the National Decentralization Strategy (2017–2021), as well as various sector strategies and their corresponding action plans. The project will furthermore support the GoC’s prolonged effort to further implement effective decentralization. The country has been engaged in a process of decentralization for several years aimed at establishing two levels of devolution respectively with i) municipalities (urban communities and rural communes) helmed by municipal councils Jun 24, 2021 Page 3 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) and ii) regions headed by regional councils. While progressive municipalization has continued for several decades, the regions were only created in 1996 as Decentralized Territorial Collectivities (CTD). The 2004 decentralization laws set out the guidelines for the process, the competencies to be transferred, and the rules applicable to the CTD. In practice however, the central government has remained responsible for the delivery of most services notably through deconcentrated entities at the subnational levels and with the regions not formally set-up. The existing decentralized entities lack the resources and capacity to prepare and implement projects and exercise their assigned competencies. There has however been renewed momentum to deepen the decentralization process and make it more effective, notably as a path towards helping solve the crisis in the anglophone regions. The project is well aligned with the World Bank’s strategy and analysis on Cameron. The project is built on the 2016 Fragility Assessment which emphasized the importance of strengthening citizens’ engagement and the need to address challenges of underemployment of youths, and tensions between displaced and the host populations, amongst others. The 2021 RRA Update added intensification of forced displacement as one of the new key drivers, and added four new dimensions to be considered, including (i) socio-political crisis in the NWSW regions; (ii) a looming humanitarian catastrophe nationwide; (iii) intensification of forced displacement of the Adamaoua, East, North and Far North regions, and (iv) recurrence of natural disasters. The proposed project’s development objective is to enhance socioeconomic inclusion and resilience in fragile communities and strengthen local governance and people’s engagement for service delivery. The project intends to achieve the development objective by (i) strengthening communities’ access to basic infrastructures and services; (ii) economic inclusion and livelihood support; and (iii) strengthening decentralization and capacity of local authorities. Public Disclosure The project coverage will be national. Given the multi-faceted nature of factors of fragility, conflict and violence in Cameroon, the project will cover 1) regions currently experiencing conflicts (Far North, North West and South West), 2) areas that are considered fragile due to high rate of socioeconomic exclusion and impacts of ongoing conflicts, and 3) areas experiencing spillovers effects of conflicts and violence (e.g. hosting refugees and IDPs, impact on social services, jobs, and social relations). The project is proposed to be implemented through four components; Component 1: Community rehabilitation and construction of small infrastructures and services. This component will support community outreach and mobilization to identify community-wide interventions for the provision of services and infrastructure, and to improve communities’ inclusive access to essential social services and basic infrastructure. Component 2: Economic inclusion and community based recovery through livelihood provision. Economic recovery interventions at households and community levels will be delivered to help selected beneficiaries to restore and/or improve their livelihoods to reduce the economic and social impact of disasters and conflicts. It will support community members to strengthen self-reliance and economic inclusion of vulnerable population particularly women and youth. Component 3: Strengthened decentralized local authorities. Jun 24, 2021 Page 4 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) This component will: i) provide technical assistance to central and local actors to further operationalize the decentralization agenda at the institutional and policy level ; ii) build and strengthen the capacity of the decentralized local authorities to manage and implement resources more effectively and in a participatory manner and to exercise the competences transferred to them. This component will also have a specific focus on CTD in the NWSW and other regions most affected by fragility and violence. Component 4: Project management, monitoring and evaluation. This component will support project management and administration, M&E and knowledge sharing. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] Cameroon is a lower-middle-income country with a population of over 25 million (2018). Located along the Atlantic Ocean, it shares its borders with Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria. Two of its border regions with Nigeria (Northwest and Southwest) are Anglophone, while the rest of the country is Francophone. Cameroon is endowed with rich natural resources, including oil and gas, minerals, high-value species of timber, and agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava. Having enjoyed several decades of stability, for many years now Cameroon has been grappling with attacks by Boko Haram in the Far North and a secessionist insurgency in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Since September 2017, the crises in the Northwest Public Disclosure and Southwest regions has displaced more than 711,056 people internally. As of February 2021, Cameroon hosts 1,946,751 people displaced by conflict and instability. Cameroon is the largest economy in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), a region experiencing an economic crisis triggered by the steep fall in oil prices. Poverty reduction rate is lagging population growth rate and over 8 million people live below the poverty line and poverty is increasingly concentrated, with 56% of poor living in the northern regions. About 45 percent of the population in Cameroon is engaged in subsistence agriculture, and are highly vulnerable to exogenous environmental, economic and social shocks . The Country’s situation has been worsened by COVID-19 pandemic impacts. The project is expected to be implemented nationally. It will operate in conflict-affected regions (Far North, North West and South West), areas that are considered fragile due to high rate of socioeconomic exclusion and impacts of ongoing conflicts, and areas experiencing spillovers effects of conflicts and violence. It would therefore face potential challenges in terms of coverage and implementation of project activities. The detailed geographical coverage will be further explored at appraisal, and the selection of target communities will be informed by background data on factors of fragility, conflict, and violence in the regions and municipalities covered by the project, the existence and scale of forcibly displaced persons (both refugees and IDPs). However, it is still expected that the project will be implemented in areas with strong presence of refugees, Internally displaced peoples (IDPs), and Indigenous Peoples. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity The Government of Cameroon’s environmental laws, regulations and policies are generally good. Over the past decades, the authorities have made significant progress in mainstreaming environmental sustainability into their decision-making processes, starting first with Law No. 96/12 of 5 August 1996 which lays down the legal framework Jun 24, 2021 Page 5 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) for environmental management and introduces notably the environmental and social impact assessment approach . The main relevant laws include: Laws on toxic and hazardous waste, forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations, laws on environmental management and regulations governing water resources. These laws are rendered functional by a host of decrees of applications or orders which get updated regularly. The General Directorate, under the Ministry of Environment Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED), is responsible for ESIA/SESA/REA at the national and the provincial levels. MINEPDED’s capacity and track record for managing environmental risks associated with development initiatives and overseeing and ensuring environmental compliance monitoring are in place but need to be strengthened. Components 1,2 and 4 include stakeholder engagement and communication, and capacity building interventions. Capacity building activities will include government officials and others (such as local communities on hospitality). The Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development (MINDELVEL) would be responsible for establishing the central PIU. This ministry is responsible for the elaboration, monitoring, implementation and evaluation of the Government’s policy on decentralization as well as the promotion of local development including the following: i) evaluate the decentralization implementation, ii) promote socioeconomic development of decentralized collectives and iii) promote good governance amongst decentralized communities. The project will also establish regional PIUs to implement day to day activities, particularly for NWSW regions, which will be staffed to carry out the project activities. The project will support costs for regional PIUs and other relevant agencies as appropriate to facilitate implementation of the Project. Public Disclosure While MINDELVEL have prior experience managing World Bank projects, this ministry has no prior experience in implementing ESF requirements and have limited E&S capacity. It will therefore be important to make sure that: (i) the central and regional PIUs include E&S specialists as early as possible (before effectiveness); and that (ii) the required capacity building and training plan for the relevant agencies is identified and reflected in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). For example, the capacity building should include: (i) preservation of the protected areas and natural resources, (ii) assessment of the impacts of informal sector activities on climate change and climate co-benefits, (iii) environmental and social screening for small works, ESMP, etc., and (iv) issues of employment and working conditions, health and safety (job safety analysis). The Bank will conduct a more thorough assessment of the E&S capacity of the implementing arrangements in coordination with the client as project preparation evolves, and prior to appraisal. Subsequently, specific measures to build the Borrower’s E&S capacity in the relevant ministries will be identified. PIU and ministry staff will be trained on ESF requirements. A comprehensive training plan will be prepared by the Bank in collaboration with the Borrower and shall be properly resourced. The World Bank will provide guidance on preparing and implementing this plan to help the client manage environmental and social risks throughout the project. Given that the project will focus on Fragile regions, the training of the PIU staff should also focus on remote monitoring tools such as GEMS (Geo-Enabling initiative Monitoring and Supervision). II. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial Jun 24, 2021 Page 6 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) Environmental Risk Rating Moderate The Environmental Risk of the project is considered Moderate. This classification is mostly linked to activities under components 1 and 2 related to rehabilitation of community infrastructure, small-scale civil works to improve community inclusive access to essential social services and basic infrastructure, different range of activities that can be financed by livelihood restoration grant (agriculture, small service business, etc.). Adverse impacts could also related to activities under components 3 and 4 regarding Technical Assistance and trainings that can mobilized several beneficiary and increase OHS risk (including traffic road accidents) and community exposure to COVID19 pandemic. Activities that can be implemented under components 1 and 2 may include construction and/or rehabilitation of social service facilities (e.g. schools, health facilities, water and sanitation facilities), basic infrastructure (e.g. roads and ancillary structures, small irrigation and drainage work), market facilities, animal production management infrastructure (e.g. animal waste management, demarcation of livestock routes, establishment of nurseries for improved pastures), infrastructure for climate adaptation (e.g. protection of soil cover through vegetation/forestation, flood management, structures to prevent soil erosion). These activities are limited to small-scale works that will require the elaboration of ESMP by beneficiaries through a participatory process with the guidance of the project staff, technical experts, and local government officials. In principle, these activities are expected to have low and limited environmental adverse impacts regarding noise, pollution of air, soil and water, if they are not compliant with the Environmental regulatory and law in force or good practices in ESHS requirements. To prevent adverse impacts on natural resources, the project will integrate eligibility criteria that require applicants for livelihood restoration grants under component 2 to submit NRM plans. However Occupational health and Safety (OHS) and COVID19 exposure in particular can be raised as well as labor management issues. The situation of insecurity in FCV areas may affect the frequency of monitoring and works supervision and consequently open the Public Disclosure door for environmental non compliances. The limited experience of young beneficiaries (the project will focus on young people and IDPs) of grant allocation can also influence the frequency of labor incidents and accident in workplace. For all these reasons, the environmental risk rating has been upgraded to Moderate. Since the project is built on lessons learned from PNDP (Plan National de Developpement Participatif), the overall impact of project is expected to be positive and significant with respect to the achievement of the project's objectives and the vulnerable socioeconomic and insecurity context of regions that are most targets. Climate change adaptation is a cross-cutting positive dimension supported by the project through capacity building and project management training actions under components 3 and 4. The training provided to communities includes climate adaptation practices, sensitization and communications activities regarding importance of natural resource management (NRM), optimizing NRM and improved understanding between livelihoods and NRM. The project is exploring the use of a Third Party Monitoring to increase the frequency of data collection to facilitate adaptive learning as well as to strengthen the supervision. Social Risk Rating Substantial The social risk for this project has been rated as Substantial. Overall, the project is expected to yield positive impacts, as it will contribute positively to citizens’ empowerment, livelihood restoration and socioeconomic inclusion of vulnerable groups, namely youth, women, persons with disabilities, refugees and IDPs. However, the project might result in some adverse social risks and impacts that would be further explored during project preparation. Those social risks are mainly related to lack of access and exclusion of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, particularly in remote areas and areas affected by conflict. It is also possible that project activities could result in labor risks such as child and forces labor; lack of significant and inclusive stakeholder consultations in remote and conflict areas; and social conflict between host communities, refugees and IDPs. The rehabilitation and Jun 24, 2021 Page 7 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) small scale civil works under component one might lead to some level of labor influx, while the livelihood restoration grants under component two can contribute to strengthening economic inclusion for vulnerable groups including women. Those activities might therefore exacerbate risks of GBV and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Another While no large-scale land acquisition is expected, the project’s small scale civil works might lead to physical and economic displacement. Some project activities may occur in areas where Indigenous Peoples are present and careful consideration is needed to ensure they are fully included in project consultations and activities, and that any activities will have no adverse impacts on Indigenous communities and their access to natural resources. It must also be noted that the implementing agencies have limited capacity and experience in managing environmental and social risks. The capacity will be further assessed during preparation, and appropriate capacity building measures will be introduced in the project. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: The proposed project will entail (i) strengthening communities’ access to basic infrastructure and services; (ii) economic inclusion and livelihood support; and (iii) strengthening decentralization and capacity of local authorities. It will target vulnerable communities in fragile settings and youth, women, and persons with disabilities. It will adopt, by design, a people centered approach that would contribute to mitigating some long term adverse social impacts Public Disclosure regarding social inclusion and non-discrimination in Cameroon. Social risks might include: i) lack of access and exclusion of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, particularly in remote areas and areas affected by conflict, ii) project induced labor influx and associated GBV/SEA; iii)possible increase in the prevalence of HIV/AIDs due to interactions between project workers and the local community in the remote areas; iv) labor management related risks; v) community health and safety risks related to proposed infrastructure during construction and operations, and lack of significant and inclusive stakeholders consultations in conflict prone areas. Project interventions will reflect the local implementation reality and identify needs through stakeholder consultations planned prior to the appraisal phase. Flexibility will be incorporated into the project design to allow project implementation to adapt to different operating environments in 1) areas in conflict, 2) areas that are fragile, and 3) areas experiencing spillover effects. Based on this preliminary assessment, the project will need to prepare, by appraisal: (i) A draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), which will need to cover risks and impacts associated with the project in accordance with the relevant World Bank and National standards; the draft ESMF will include Labor Management Procedures (LMP), and a GBV risk assessment. (ii) Draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), (iii) Draft Indigenous Peoples Framework (IPPF) (iv) A Security Risk Assessment and Jun 24, 2021 Page 8 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) (v) An Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), which will be agreed upon with the borrower and will set out the agreed measures and actions that will be required for the project to meet environmental and social requirements for the project. It is not anticipated that the project would finance activities that result in physical and/or economic displacement. However, the ESMF would ensure that project activities are screened to avoid any resettlement. Once the project areas are defined and the activities under component 1 and 2 are known, Resettlement Action Plans would be prepared where resettlement cannot be avoided. When project areas are well defined, site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP), including Jobs Safety Analysis (JSA) will be subsequently prepared where needed during implementation of the project, but prior to commencement of civil works. Based on the findings of the security risk assessment, a Security Management Plan (SMP) would also be prepared before activities commence in the conflict affected areas. Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: This project will not rely on the Borrower’s framework. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure The initial screening of this project showed that key stakeholders would include: (i) Local communities hosting the projects and project beneficiaries including youth, women and persons with disabilities; (ii) Project affected persons both directly affected and indirectly affected by the program activities; and (iii) national level government line Public Disclosure ministries (MINEPAT, MINFI, MINDELVEL and MINEPDED) and central and local agencies and authorities, as well as CSOs. Accordingly, the Client will prepare, in consultation with the Bank, a comprehensive draft Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), which will provide an outline for stakeholder identification, analysis and the engagement strategies. Special attention will be given to Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable and marginalized groups, to ensure that consultations are culturally sensitive and inclusive. The draft SEP will also include a Grievance Mechanism (GM) and will put together a tailored engagement process that will take into consideration the ongoing conflict in the North West and South West Regions, and its impact on the level of participation in public consultations. It is important to note that the consultations will be conducted in line with the procedures for Public Consultations and Stakeholder Engagement when there are constraints on conducting public meetings. The draft SEP will be prepared and disclosed prior to appraisal and will be aligned with the Indigenous Peoples Framework (IPPF), and the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). To mitigate the risk of transmission of COVID-19 during consultation, the PIU will develop COVID-19 guidelines to reduce risks for PIU staff and beneficiary communities, which will include requirements on physical distancing, utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and limitation of the size of the group gatherings reflective of the global good practice. Jun 24, 2021 Page 9 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions Preliminary screening conducted at this stage, has showed that the project will involve: (i) Direct workers hired by the project, implementation agencies, and the central and regional PIUS, as well as (ii) contracted workers. All civil servants working under this project will remain subject to the terms and conditions of their national labor code. The project is not expected to entail any significant construction activities. It will finance small-scale community-based rehabilitation and construction works. Activities might involve community workers. The specific locations and interventions of the project are not yet specified, it is therefore difficult to determine at this stage the size of the labor force that will be employed by this project, but it will be further explored and quantified by appraisal. Cameroon has ratified the ILO Convention 138 on the minimum working age since August 13, 2001 and Convention no. 182 on the worst forms of Child Labor on June 5, 2002. Moreover, the country has adopted most of the ILO conventions in its national labor legislation, to protect the health and safety of workers and regulate working conditions, such as Law n ° 92/007 of August 14, 1992 of the labor code, Ordinance No. 73-17 of May 22, 1973 on the organization of social security; Law No. 76-12 of July 8, 1976 on the organization of rapid vocational training; and Law n ° 77/11 of July 13, 1977 relating to compensation and prevention of work accidents and occupational diseases. Despite the provisions of the national labor legislation which protect workers in Cameroon, potential risks related to labor and working conditions that might result from this project are child and forced labor, noncompliance with Public Disclosure national labor legislations, OHS risks, and SEA/SH-related risks. There might be some labor influx under component 1 activities, but contractors would be encouraged to hire local workers to mitigate the risks. Mitigation measures to manage those risks will be further assessed and addressed in the Project LMP which would be prepared as part of the ESMF, and disclosed prior to appraisal. The draft LMP would include measures to ensure that labor is provided on a voluntary basis and will further ensure the health and safety of workers, including prevention of sexual harassment and GBV risks among workers. The identified measures will also be reflected in the relevant project documentation such as the ESMPs, and subsequent instruments. The LMP will also provide details on the workers’ grievance mechanisms and the roles and responsibilities of contractors and PIUs in managing ESS2, including for COVID19 prevention, working conditions and terms of employment; non-discrimination and equal opportunity; and worker’s organizations. All workers will be expected to sign a code of conduct to prevent and address potential harassment, child labor, gender or GBV/SEA issues, intimidation and/or exploitation during the implementation of the activities financed under this project. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management The Project is multi-sectoral and will involve activities like rehabilitation of rural roads and other infrastructure that can required the use of construction materials, the use of construction equipment and the involvement of significant number of workers based on community approach. Consequently, ESS3 will be triggered. The project could result to pollution to land, water, and air as well as use of natural resources. The site-specific ESMPs will assess uses of the resources and propose technically and financially feasible measures for their efficient use. Measures specified in the Jun 24, 2021 Page 10 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) WBG EHSGs as well as Good International Industry Practice (GIIP) guidelines will be adopted where applicable. Pollution during construction may include air emissions such as exhaust from transport vehicles, noise emission and fugitive dust generated during operations on sites, transportation of materials, and road construction. Raw Materials: The required construction material will potentially include stones, sand, concrete blocks, and timber. These materials are expected to be obtained from sources localized to project areas, such as quarries in the implementation zones, or in clear agreement with owners sites. Water as a resource will be used for dust suppression and for compaction purposes as well as for domestic use at project facilities. Irrigation, water, and sanitation facilities also constitute some of the activities under this project. Soil erosion and runoff: road rehabilitation may entail vegetation and soil loss which could result in erosion and runoff, particularly during storm events, that could adversely impact surface waters. The scope of vegetation loss will be assessed as part of ESMF. Mitigation measures would also be expected to be proposed in the ESMP to avoid, reduce, or mitigate run-off from project sites during construction activities, including NRM plans attached to the livelihood restoration plans. Drainage stabilization and sediment retention measures are key to durability of the roads and will avoid legacy water contamination. Estimations of GHGs by the project is not deemed necessary but measures to mitigate / reduce emissions including energy efficiency and regular equipment maintenance will be incorporated in the ESMP. Management of hazardous and nonhazardous wastes: ESMF and ESMPs of sub-projects will identify all source of hazardous and nonhazardous waste and propose mitigation measures proportional to the level of risk. . For Public Disclosure agricultural activities, the use of pesticides will be also assessed in very limited use. Integrated pest control approach will be recommended. ESMF\ESMP will also identify the presence and locations of licensed facilities for the transport, treatment, and disposal of solid and hazardous waste. Waste shall be sorted into the different categories and managed following the hierarchical approach of re-use, recycle and dispose. Liquid hazardous waste (sludge from oil water separators) and contaminated soil will require specialized management. ESS4 Community Health and Safety The project will support community infrastructure rehabilitation and small-scale civil works which may pose risks to the community during construction and implementation. Since not all investments under component 1 and 2 have been identified, potential health and safety risks and impacts of those investments on the local communities during construction and operation stages will be further evaluated as preparation progresses, and appropriate mitigation measures will be subsequently proposed and included in the ESMF. The ESMF will accordingly define the procedures to prepare site specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) if needed (given that project interventions should reflect real needs of community based on stakeholder consultations, some activities can tailored consequently), and an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for each sub-project. The project might also lead to GBV and SEA/SH risks, and risks of transmission and spread of COVID-19 and sexually transmitted and communicable diseases, especially in the remote and conflict areas. Accordingly, health and safety measures would be reflected in the ESMF. Jun 24, 2021 Page 11 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) Given the high levels of GBV prevalence in Cameroon, and the nature of the activities, particularly under component one and two, the project would need to carefully consider the GBV risks. To mitigate some of those risks, the project is planning to develop a GBV risk assessment as part of the draft ESMF, by appraisal. The findings of this assessment will inform the need to establish mitigation measures and possibly develop a GBV action plan. While it’s not clear at this stage whether the project would be using security personnel, the security risks of the project would be assessed prior to appraisal, and a security management plan would be developed where needed in conflict-prone regions. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement The exact footprint of the project is not yet known. However, while the project is financing through component 1 and 2 small scale civil works, it is not expected that the project would result in temporary physical and economic displacement. The activities under these two components will be screened as part of the ESMF to avoid any resettlement. If during implementation, activities that would result in displacement cannot be avoided, site-specific Resettlement Action Plan would be prepared in accordance with ESS5 requirements, consulted upon and disclosed. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources The regions involved in the project are endowed with natural resources and ecologically rich ecosystems, forests and Public Disclosure national parks. At the design stage of the project, the feared risk is the management and exploitation of the fire- wood resource around the refugee camps in hosting region of Displaced Persons. The ESMF will identify, analyze this impact, and provide appropriate measures to mitigate environmental impacts around these sites. The small infrastructure works envisaged should at most avoid ecological protected areas that the ESMF will identify and highlight. NRM plans and site-specifics ESMPs will provide appropriate measures in this regard. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities The project is expected to be implemented nationwide in regions where Indigenous Peoples would probably be present. Therefore, the project will prepare prior to appraisal, a draft Indigenous Peoples Framework (IPPF) that will identify measures to avoid and mitigate any adverse impacts including any potential risk of exclusion of Indigenous Peoples. Specific Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP) will be elaborated if needed when the project’s footprint is identified. The draft SEP will contain consultation mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples, to be conducted during the project’s preparation phase, to ensure there is meaningful and inclusive consultations in a culturally appropriate manner. The grievance redress mechanism that will be developed under this project will also be tailored to be culturally appropriate and accessible to Indigenous peoples. ESS8 Cultural Heritage At this stage, the presence of culturally significant sites associated with the project cannot be determined. However due to range of numerous activities and infrastructures that can be eligible under the project, , the Project will Jun 24, 2021 Page 12 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) develop as part of ESMPs a Cultural Heritage Management procedure with a clear Chance Finds Procedure to be implemented for both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries This standard is not relevant under this project C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No III. WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DUE DILIGENCE A. Is a common approach being considered? No Financing Partners N/A Public Disclosure B. Proposed Measures, Actions and Timing (Borrower’s commitments) Actions to be completed prior to Bank Board Approval: - Draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) which would include draft Labor Management Procedures and a GBV risk assessment; - Draft Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP); - Draft Indigenous Peoples Framework (IPPF); - Draft Security Risk Assessment - Draft Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP) including a Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) Possible issues to be addressed in the Borrower Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP): E&S Capacity building measures for the implementation of the Environmental and Social Standards will be defined in an Institutional Capacity Enhancement Plan as part of the project ESCP. - Update and implementation of the SEP - Update and implementation of Project GRM, including a separate workers’ GRM - Development of a detailed GBV Action Plan based on the GBV risk assessment - Security Management Plan (SMP) Jun 24, 2021 Page 13 of 14 The World Bank Local Governance and Resilient Communities Project (P175846) - Development of Site-specific ESMPs as required under the ESMF, and RAPs if required C. Timing Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage ESRS 25-Oct-2021 IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Abderrahim Fraiji Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Telephone No: +1-202-458-7054 Email: afraiji@worldbank.org Contact: Marieta Fall Title: Senior Public Sector Specialist Telephone No: +1-202-473-3009 Email: mfall4@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Government of Cameroon Public Disclosure Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Decentralization and the Local Development V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Marieta Fall, Abderrahim Fraiji Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Sanjay Srivastava Recommended on 23-Jun-2021 at 13:12:17 GMT-04:00 Safeguards Advisor ESSA Nathalie S. Munzberg (SAESSA) Cleared on 24-Jun-2021 at 09:28:17 GMT-04:00 Jun 24, 2021 Page 14 of 14