INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Public Disclosure Copy Report No.: ISDSC9728 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 30-Jul-2014 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 31-Jul-2014 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Central Asia Project ID: P151363 Project Name: Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA) (P151363) Task Team Angela G. Armstrong Leader: Estimated 12-Jan-2015 Estimated 26-Mar-2015 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: GENDR Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Central government administration (40%), Public administration- Information and communications (30%), General agriculture, fishing a nd forestry sector (15%), Forestry (15%) Theme(s): Natural disaster management (25%), Environmental policies and institutions (25%), Other social protection and risk management (25%), Climate change Public Disclosure Copy (25%) Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 60.00 Total Bank Financing: 60.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 60.00 Total 60.00 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? B. Project Objectives The objective of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Central Asia (CAMP4CA) is to support the integrated development of climate-smart information, institutions, and investment capacities throughout the countries of Central Asia. This is expected to be achieved through strengthened coordination mechanisms; improved information gathering, sharing, and analysis for decision support; and incubation of innovative climate-smart action for potential scale up. Public Disclosure Copy C. Project Description The project will finance a set of national and regional activities, structured around the following three pillars: (i) Information – for datasets, information systems, tools, and knowledge for climate-smart decision making; (ii) Institutions – for capacity and coordination at national and regional levels around climate action; and (iii) Innovation – for pilot investments in key vulnerable sectors, that can be easily replicated to scale-up resilience. An initial menu of options is presented below, that draws on an early scoping exercise by the Central Asia Technical Working Group on Climate Change, finalized in May 2014. The list of activities (and their sequencing) supported by the project will be further refined during project preparation, depending on each country’s priorities and needs as well as related World Bank (and other development partners) projects and programs, with a view to maximizing synergies at national and regional scale. Component 1: Information for climate-smart decision making. Activities under this component seek to provide data, knowledge, and tools for a better understanding of climate change vulnerabilities, climate-smart options and the promotion of risk-management as a core tenet of resilience. Together these activities will contribute to developing a unified regional analytical framework for better managing climate change. Given economies of scale in knowledge production, there are strong incentives for regional collaboration and the activities under consideration could be implemented by a network of existing regional and national research and academic institutes that would form a virtual Regional Center for Integrated Climate Change Assessment. Monitoring systems and data portal for climate and earth systems in Central Asia - Upgrading, modernization, and expansion of glacier/cryosphere monitoring, through ground monitoring and remote sensing systems, to help anticipate glacier lake outburst and improve projections of water resources in the region under a changing climate. Public Disclosure Copy - Development of a centralized forest and land monitoring system, based on the interpretation of satellite imagery and limited ground truthing, to monitor state and health of forests and pastures, for informed management interventions, better emissions inventories and other reporting under international commitments (e.g., under FAO), and identification of areas at risk of extreme events. - Establishment of an Integrated Central Asia Climate Data Portal to facilitate collection, sharing, and maintenance of data relevant for climate-smart assessment. On Forest/Land Management for instance, the Portal could include different levels of access to provide transparency on overall forest and pasture data to the general public/civil society, facilitate community-based pasture and forest management plans, and better inform national/sub-regional forest and pasture management planning in participating countries. Models and tools for climate-smart decisions. - Capacity and infrastructure for integrated climate modeling and assessment, to develop/adapt, maintain, and link climate, sectoral, and economic models (e.g., water and climate change, agriculture and economy) for analyses/projections to support decisions at appropriate regional/ national scales. - Setting up a regional repository of knowledge and lessons from the region, which would house a library of reports/studies on climate change assessment and climate-smart lessons and solutions and cater to the needs of different stakeholders (e.g., decision-makers, entrepreneurs, students, citizens). This repository could also build and maintain a roster of experts (internal and regional), which would be on call for specific advice or more thorough analysis, and launch as required new analyses and assessments. Component 2: Institutional capacity building for climate action. Activities under this component aim Public Disclosure Copy to support institutional capacity development and broader stakeholder engagement, at both regional and national levels, for increased adaptive capacity and mainstreaming of climate change considerations into policy, investment, and lifestyle decisions. Regional Climate Change Coordination Center - Such a Center would establish a permanent entity to enhance dialogue and collaboration in Central Asia. The Center would coordinate climate change knowledge and learning activities, catering to the needs of stakeholders from all countries in the region (e.g., a repository of knowledge and climate-smart lessons, maintaining a roster of experts, leading awareness raising and outreach, offering training, facilitating knowledge and experience sharing through events like the Climate Change Forum, working with academia and universities on curricula, and commissioning new studies). Institutional capacity development to strengthen national responses to climate change These activities would deploy a combination of capacity building and technical assistance services aiming to: - Mainstream resilience (both to disasters and climate change) in national/sectoral/sub- regional plans and programs based on methodologies/approaches and tools developed under Component 1. This would include capacity building efforts (nationally or for several countries simultaneously to allow discussion among practitioners from different countries) to review/develop plans (e.g., identify risks, cost options, mobilize resources); - Provide advice on enabling institutional frameworks to improve cross-sectoral coordination for design and implementation of climate-smart policies and programs; - Undertake climate change public expenditure reviews (PERs) to assess resources supporting climate action, their alignment with strategic climate objectives, and tools to prioritize mainstreaming climate change in national budgets, and monitor results; - Facilitate access to climate finance and national implementing entity (NIE) accreditation. Public Disclosure Copy Targeted capacity building towards non-governmental entities (e.g., in the agricultural value chain) - Building the capacity of the research and extension services to provide needed technologies and advice to agricultural sector on how to improve the climate resilience at farm and agribusiness (as applicable) level; - Provision of training and advice to extension agents, farmers and other stakeholders on climate-smart agricultural practices as required. Component 3: Innovation in resilience investments. Activities under this component would comprise pilots to test new and innovative approaches and generate new lessons to accelerate climate action in Central Asia. These could include pilots funded through competitive innovation grants, with such criteria as implementation in several countries or private sector co-financing. Possible investments could include: - Introduction of a regional risk-sharing facility for the agricultural sector (such as an agricultural insurance scheme); - Pilot payments for environmental services to support re-vegetation and restoration of forests and their services (including reduced exposure to hazards like landslides and mudflows, reduced siltation in reservoirs, reduced land degradation). Supporting countries in preparing for future carbon markets could also be explored; - Community forestry and pasture management for participatory, equitable, and improved use of natural shared resources. In particular, there is an opportunity through the program to support the development of different models of community-based resource management which can serve as best practice for different conditions and for further rollout and replication in the participating countries and information to broader land and forest management policy; Public Disclosure Copy - CSO and local institutions marketplace for climate resilience innovation: a small grant competitive program will be established to encourage innovation in climate resilience. Component 4: Project Management This component will support the operating costs of implementing CAMP4CA at both regional and national levels, including support for procurement, financial management, coordination, reporting, and monitoring and evaluation. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The project will be implemented in four Central Asia countries: Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies At this stage of project development the implementing arrangements are not yet identified and thus, there is no knowledge on clients’ safeguards institutional capacities. These will be assessed during project preparation and appropriate capacity building, if needed, will be supported under the project. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Arcadii Capcelea (GENDR) Angela Nyawira Khaminwa (GURDR) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ Yes This OP is triggered as the project will support BP 4.01 pilot investments in key vulnerable sectors, Public Disclosure Copy possibly in the area of re-vegetation and restoration of forests and their services, community forestry and pasture management for participatory, equitable, and improved use of natural shared resources, etc. The project also might support small scale civil works related to renovation of existing premises. The exact domain for project financing will be decided during the initial stages of project preparation. Although the pilot investments will be limited in scope, they may generate various environmental and social impacts related to: soil degradation; water and air pollution; biodiversity conservation; labor safety issues and health impacts, etc. It is also expected these potential impacts will be mostly temporary by nature and site specific. To address these impacts, an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) will be designed which would specify the rules and procedures for subproject Environmental Assessments. The ESMF will also provide advise for setting up under Component 2 a regional repository of Public Disclosure Copy knowledge and lessons from the region in climate-smart agriculture, which might include information materials for training and advice on climate-smart agricultural technologies (e.g., soil, water and crop management for both rainfed and irrigated production systems, livestock and pasture management, global good practices), covering all aspects including production, post-harvest handling and processing, marketing, and financing. The ESMF will be disclosed and consulted in all participating countries. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 Yes This OP is triggered as the project might support different afforestation and pasture improvement activities which might impact natural habitats (NHs). The ESMF will provide relevant advise on necessary EA activities in those cases where the proposed activities might have impacts on NHs. Also, the ESMF will stipulate that any projects which could impact Critical Natural Habitat, and any with the potential for a significant and lasting negative impact on a natural habitat, will be excluded from project financing. Forests OP/BP 4.36 Yes This OP is triggered as the project might Public Disclosure Copy support re-vegetation and restoration of forests and their services. The ESMF will provide relevant advise regarding what is necessary to be taken into consideration during the EA for those sub-projects that include afforestation activities and in particular, with regard to the selection of land plots given for afforestation as well as with regard to ensuring biodiversity of newly planted forests and their sustainability. Pest Management OP 4.09 Yes The project is not going to support purchasing pesticides but it might generate a need for their increased usage, in particular in the case of forestry nurseries development. No separate Pest Management Plan is needed, but the ESMF will include a section describing both measures which will be used to ensure compliance with national laws and WB requirements relating to pesticide purchase and use, and also measures to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches and safe pesticide handling and disposal practices to reduce human and environmental exposure. Additionally the Public Disclosure Copy ESMF will include a list of eligible pesticides in the participating countries and guidance on their use. Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No N/A BP 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No N/A Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP TBD Involuntary resettlement as per OP 4.12 is not 4.12 anticipated. Investments under Component 3 (such as landscape planning) will be participatory in nature with consent required for any planning decisions that impact land and/or crops. This will be confirmed during preparation. Activities requiring land use such as wood lots or community nurseries will be undertaken on community land and/or through voluntary arrangements (which will be documented and verified) based on inclusive and participatory community processes. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No The project will not support any subproject related to irrigation and water abstraction from reservoirs. Projects on International No No. The new project will not finance any Waterways OP/BP 7.50 irrigation sub-projects. Furthermore it will not Public Disclosure Copy support any projects which might discharge waste waters directly into international waterways. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No N/A 7.60 III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 02-Dec-2014 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: The ESMF will be disclosed and consulted with all key stakeholders before Appraisal in all participating countries. If selected premises for renovation are selected before Appraisal, the Checklist EMP will also be prepared, disclosed and consulted in the participating countries. IV. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Angela G. Armstrong Approved By: 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons. Regional Safeguards Name: Agnes I. Kiss (RSA) Date: 30-Jul-2014 Coordinator: Practice Manager: Name: Kseniya Lvovsky (PMGR) Date: 31-Jul-2014 Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy