The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) Concept Environmental and Social Review Summary Concept Stage (ESRS Concept Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 10/26/2020 | Report No: ESRSC01585 Oct 26, 2020 Page 1 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Ethiopia AFRICA EAST P174385 Project Name Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Environment, Natural Investment Project 9/21/2020 11/12/2020 Resources & the Blue Financing Economy Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Ministry of Finance Ministry of Agriculture Proposed Development Objective To improve climate resilience, land productivity and carbon storage, and increase access to diversified livelihood Public Disclosure activities in selected rural watersheds. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 165.24 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] RLLP-II will support Ethiopia's efforts to scale up and enhance its Sustainable Landscape Management Program. The integrated package of activities will promote green infrastructure and resilient livelihoods and enhance institutional capacity and improve information for better decision-making. D. Environmental and Social Overview Oct 26, 2020 Page 2 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] The proposed Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project-II (RLLP-II) (P174385) is designed to create resilient landscapes and livelihoods for vulnerable rural populations in Ethiopia. RLLP-II will improve climate resilience, land productivity and carbon storage, as well as improve access to diversified sources of income in selected rural communities. Geographically, the RLLP-II will support major watersheds found in the six Ethiopian regional states of Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, Oromiya, SNNP and Tigray. The RLLP (P163383) and RLLP AF (P172462) project area covers a total of 210 woredas/major watersheds with 8-12 micro-watersheds per major watershed located in the six national regional states of Ethiopian Highlands, averaging approximately 10,000 hectares each. The 210 major watershed/woreda includes the 135 watersheds that were supported by SLMP-I and II; 57 newly added woredas; 18 woredas supported by Gobal Affairs Canada (GAC). Largely, the proposed RLLP-II will build on and scale up the results of RLLP works to be undertaken in 40 major watersheds. Climate : The lowlands of RLLP regions are characterized by high temperature and low precipitation, whereas the highland parts enjoy suitable temperatures and ample rainfall. In general, mean annual temperature in the six regions varies from less than 10oc in high altitudes to over 30oc in tropical lowlands of project regions. The amount, duration and intensity of rainfall in RLLP regions also vary considerably. The annual rainfall in the regions ranges from 303- 2,553 mm. Lessons learned: The preparation of RLLP is informed by the lessons drawn from SLMP-I and SLMP-II and other similar initiatives implemented by the Ethiopian Government. Among others, (i) building sustainable institutions at grassroots Public Disclosure level: have enhanced the quality of project implementation and outcomes when adequately nurtured and sustained through targeted capacity building, proper reward and incentive schemes. The demand-driven bottom-up planning and implementation approach has strengthened choice of priorities, encouraged active participation in need identification is greatly valued by both beneficiary communities and local authorities; (ii) strong stakeholder collaboration among the various stakeholders; communities demonstrated ownership and participation to institutionalize the sustainable land management practices through discharging their responsibilities in committees and resolution of implementation challenges; (iii) functional environment and social management system: which screened subprojects, prepared and implemented site management plans and quarterly/six monthly reported the implementation performance to stakeholders; (iv) functional grievance redress mechanism: the SLMP-II and RLLP project have a strong and functional grievance mechanism, which is well promoted, received, registered, resoled and reported grievance at local and woreda level. The project GRM closely collaborated and used customary dispute resolution procedures as appropriate which lessen the burden on the judicial system; and, (v) enhanced gender analysis, action plan and monitoring and defined monitoring indicator integrated into the project design. Further, the areas that require further capitalization: (i) proper Utilization of the Social Capital in the Watersheds: the social assessment will document and define operationalization steps for the rich social capitals institutions and practices; such as, institutions of self-help and mutual assistance, institutions of land and water resource use and management, land related dispute settlement mechanisms and indigenous land use and conservation knowledge and practice; and, (ii) given the diversity among the project beneficiary communities, support to business development and planning of the livelihood activities should look into culturally appropriate business ideas, technologies; marketing strategies in the social assessment. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity Oct 26, 2020 Page 3 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the respective regional offices will be the principal implementing agencies for the RLLP-II (P174385). The MOA has experience in implementing different World Bank financed projects, including Agricultural Growth Project-II (P148591), Resilient Landscape and Livelihoods Project (P163383), (P172462), Rural Productive Safety Nets Project (P163438), Livestock and Fisheries Sector Development Project (P159382), Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (P152822) and others. The RLLP-II will use the existing RLLP (P163383 and P172462) implementation arrangement from national, region, woreda and kebele level. The implementation of the RLLP activities and particularly the environmental and social safeguard will take place through the existing government institutional structures from the federal to the local or community level. RLLP would build upon this implementation structure and the built capacity, which include environmental and social safeguard instruments implementation including the ESMF, SA, RPF and Gender Mainstreaming Guideline. At Federal/National level: the overall coordination and implementation of the project will be facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in collaboration with other relevant Ministries (e.g. MoFEC, MoWIE, MoEFCC, etc. The RLLP has its own National Steering Committee (NSC) and will use an independent and full responsible National Technical Committee (NTC) which existed for SLMP II . The National Steering Committee (NSC) is the responsible entity for the overall guidance and leadership on the environmental and social compliance of the RLLP. The RLLP coordination Unit (RLLP PCU) within the MoA is the core unit that coordinates the project activities, preparation of annual work plan and progress reports including environmental and social risk management technical support and reporting of implementation progress, environmental and social risk management. Public Disclosure Regional: implementation will be led by the Bureau of Agriculture (BoA). BoA will use regional coordinators recruited for RLLP are responsible for approving annual work plan and progress reports from the Woredas. The reports would then be submitted to the National RLLP-PCU. A Regional Steering Committee (RSC) will be formed from heads of relevant sectors to provide guidance and leadership at the regional level. The RSC will meet quarterly to review performance, endorse the quarterly progress reports and provide necessary guidance on project implementation, including environmental and social risk management technical support and reporting .The reporting requirements including the frequency of reporting will be included in the project implementation manual. Woreda and Kebele level: the implementation of the project will be undertaken jointly by Woreda office of Agriculture through the Woreda Technical Committee (WTC), the Kebele Watershed Team (KWT), and communities. The WoA will assign an independent Focal Person who will take the lead responsibility in the overall implementation of the program. The WTC and KWT will assist communities in (i) developing annual work plan and budgets for submission to the Region for endorsement and integration into the Regions work plan and budgets; (ii) facilitating community participation in watershed planning and rehabilitation; (iii) environmental and social screening, implementing mitigation measures, monitoring and reporting as per the ESRM instruments, such as the ESMF, SA, SEP, LMP, GBV. The RLLP (P163383 and P172462) has project coordination unit at national and participating regions. Given the scope of work, monitoring, technical support and reporting requirements RLLP-II will deploy one environment and one social specialist at national and regional level. The client is relatively committed towards ensuring the environmental and social compliance, including sound experiences in regularly conducting annual environmental and social audits. Oct 26, 2020 Page 4 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) II. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial Environmental Risk Rating Substantial The environmental impact of the project is largely positive, especially given that activities play a pivotal role in rehabilitating degraded landscapes and conservation of valuable ecosystems through afforestation/reforestation, and biological and physical soil and water conservation on agricultural lands and other ecologically critical ecosystems. The RLLP-II is designed to create resilient landscapes and livelihoods for vulnerable rural populations in Ethiopia. It will also improve climate resilience, land productivity and carbon storage, improve access to diversified sources of income in selected vulnerable rural major watersheds found in Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Gambella, Oromiya, SNNP and Tigray regional states. The beneficial impacts of the project include: (i) improved soil and water source conservation, which contributes to proper water management and increased soil moisture that can reduce variability in response to flood/drought conditions, (ii) soil retention, can provide benefits both on-site in terms of soil quality and off-site in terms of reduced erosion, (iii) benefit in terms of land savings or erosion prevention, increased soil `fertility (which is a determining factor for higher and less variable crop yields), (iv) increased vegetation cover also helps to prevent erosion and improved downstream water quality, while simultaneously supporting biodiversity will be further enhanced through investment in green corridors, etc. Notwithstanding to its positive impacts, RLLP can also impose some potential negative impacts which in fact most of them are site-specific and reversible in nature. The environmental impacts of the project are primarily associated with Public Disclosure subproject activities under Component 1. Negative impacts may arise as a result of infrastructure work to be financed; such as: construction and rehabilitation work of the physical and biological conservation structures (bunds, terraces, water harvesting trenches, check-dams, small reservoirs, and other civil works; soil fertility and moisture management; assisted natural regeneration; enclosures plus livestock land use rationalization, intercropping, minimum tillage, gully reclamation, grazing corridors, watering points and wells, pastoral strategies, etc), afforestation and reforestation on communal and private lands. Some of the anticipated environmental concerns include: (i) limited capacity at local levels in terms of identification, analysis and implementation of the environmental and social risks, (ii) possible introduction of invasive species (during afforestation/re-afforestation and introduction of improved crop or animal species), soil erosion (during tillage, community access road construction, and other agricultural related activities), potential conflict among and between the land users, (iii) occupational health and safety during access road construction, terracing, animal husbandry, (iv) potential conflict between and among the community water users due to inadequate community engagement, (v) possible soil erosion, land degradation, water source depletion and contamination, etc. could also arise in relation to improper agricultural activities, road construction and water harvesting activities, (vi) prevalence of vector borne disease, (commonly malaria) because of water lodging within small dams and community ponds, (vii) possible impact of agrochemicals (fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides) on community health and the natural ecosystem. These impacts will be minimized by addressing the capacity needs at all levels and incorporating mitigation measures. Based on the type and extent of the aforesaid and other envisioned environmental related impacts, construction and rehabilitation work of the physical and biological conservation structures (bunds, terraces, water harvesting trenches, check-dams, small reservoirs, and other civil works the potential environmental risk of the project is classified to be Substantial. Social Risk Rating Substantial Oct 26, 2020 Page 5 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) The social risk classification for this project is substantial requiring careful risk mitigation and monitoring. The project is not complex and does not involve activities that have significant potential for harming people. To date, the nature of land take in RLLP has been voluntary and small in scope. The following are key potential social risks: Component 1: Investment in Green Infrastructure and Resilient Livelihoods. The potential risks include (i) not properly addressing the circumstances of people such as hunters and gatherers, who pursue particular livelihood systems and natural resource management strategies, hence, the project focus on supporting smallholder farmers to scale up and adopt best-fit sustainable land and water management technologies and practices; (ii) creation of benefit streams through markets and other market based instruments like results-based payments involve the risk/challenge of not properly considering the elderly, people with disability and poor members of the community; (iii) Watershed community saving is part of the project activities that helps Users’ Groups who voluntarily organize themselves to engage in IGA suitable to their respective environment. In principle membership is open to all members, but the minimum cash contribution and active participation requirement to run the IGA leaves out some members of the community could not afford the registration and primary contributions for setting up the IGAs. This involves the risk of further disadvantaging vulnerable groups; and (iv) women headed household may face the risk of not benefiting from the Project in equal measure with male counterparts because of not being able to balance their domestic responsibilities with their project-related role in the treatment of communal lands. Further, the risk mitigation measure relies on carefully designed and community vetted inclusive targeting criteria to identify eligible households prioritized based on local context. Component 2: Investing in Institutions and Information for Resilience. Inadequate attention to the use of locally Public Disclosure available indigenous knowledge systems and time-tested adaptation strategies can undermine the potential positive role and contribution indigenous knowledge. Component 3: Project Management and Reporting. This component at different levels supports coordination, planning, monitoring, reporting and support including the environmental and social risk management. The environmental and social risk mitigation measure relies on carefully designed and community assessed inclusive targeting criteria to identify eligible households prioritized based on local context to avoid, mitigate the potential vulnerability and risk factors of the project. The parent RLLP (P163383 and P172462) environmental and social risk management instruments, ESMF, RPF, SA and GMG were prepared under the WB’s Operational Policy and publicly disclosed. The ESMF, RPF, SA and GMG instruments will be updated to capture the requirements of the ESF, reviewed and cleared by the Bank and disclosed prior to appraisal of the project. The instruments will be updated to provide risk mitigation measures for the proposed GCF finance reflecting the requirements of applicable environment and social standards. In addition, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Labor Management Procedures (LMP), and Environment and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) will be developed prior to appraisal. The RLLP, if it is implemented in conflict affected areas or potential conflict areas, the Task Team leaders will work with the social development specialist to understand the context and design proportionate risk mitigation measures while delivering development benefits. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment Oct 26, 2020 Page 6 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: Environmental Risks: the proposed interventions target rural livelihood productivity and resilience through sustainable land management, low-emission resilient agriculture practices, enhanced land tenure, gender-sensitive livelihood initiatives which contributes to removing barriers to women’s ownership of and control over assets and improving voice and agency, and the strengthening of value chains for long-term program durability. The RLLP II will contribute to climate resilience in 40 major watersheds with 8-12 micro-watersheds per major watershed. The beneficiaries of RLLP II include the entire population of the selected watersheds, estimated at 4.2 million people, or 834,000 households. The project interventions are also expected to lead to a GHG emissions reduction of 43.6 million tone CO2eq over a lifetime of 25 years due to carbon sequestration as a result of improvements to grasslands and agriculture. Component 1, Investment in Green Infrastructure and Resilient Livelihoods Provide support for the restoration of degraded landscapes in selected watersheds through (a)Land Restoration and Watershed Management sub component by implementing sustainable soil and water conservation practices in watersheds, including land rehabilitation measures and establishment of green infrastructure through, inter alia: soil and water conservation measures, gully rehabilitation, establishment of green corridors, area closure management and use, establishment of plantation blocks, and enrichment of degraded pasture and rangeland; and (b) Climate-Smart Agriculture sub component: Enhance the livelihood resilience of beneficiary households in restored micro watersheds by implementing farm water and soil moisture management, integrated soil fertility and soil health management, through improved compost making including bio-slurry; vermi-compost and manure management; lime and gypsum Public Disclosure application; drought and disease resistant crop development and management. and environmentally friendly livestock production through feed development and management high quality and quantity forage in pasture and along farm boundaries; gullies and back yards. In addition, the project will enhance production and management of and access to relevant environmental, crop, livestock, forest, weather and geospatial information for land use decision making and disaster risk reduction at the levels of major watersheds, community watersheds, and farms. Furthermore, it will provide support for developing relevant policies, regulations, and by-laws, including for the establishment of watershed associations. Nonetheless, the Project will finance supporting infrastructure such as soil and water conservation activities, like for ex. terraces, water harvesting trenches, and other civil works; soil fertility and moisture management; assisted natural regeneration, enclosures plus backyard livestock land use rationalization, intercropping, low tillage, gully reclamation, watering points and wells, etc. that may entail potential negative impacts to the social and physical environment. Besides, as stipulated under section A above, the proposed RLLP GCF financing can entail environmental related concerns that includes, among others: limited capacity at local levels for the safeguards risk analysis and implementation, possible introduction of exotic/invasive species and genetic materials; safety issues due to labor works during the watershed implementation and increased use of livestock pesticides, drugs, vaccines & other chemicals, ex. disposal of animal drugs, pesticides, fertilizers and their packing materials; potential impact on biodiversity, mainly as a result of expansion of pasture and farm lands, introduction of new breed species of crops, seeds or animals may have adverse and significant environmental impacts; OHS hazards such as disease transmission during animal dips (ex: Anthrax); competition over land, water and pasture (intra and inter woredas), antibiotic resistance from poor management of livestock drugs, etc. Oct 26, 2020 Page 7 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) Ecological change could trigger an outbreak of endemic disease or reemergence of latent diseases, particularly vector-borne diseases within the target watersheds. This could happen as the project successfully alter or "improve" the landscape and ecology of the area. The ESMF will include items in the screening checklist about potentials of vector-borne diseases and acknowledge the disease outbreak are potential impacts of water harvesting structures as they could provide habitat to water- and vector-borne diseases, such as schistosomiasis and malaria. This risk may be given a little more emphasis by: (i) including the in the scope of screening and assessments of individual subprojects; and, (ii) requiring a system of disease surveillance (alert system) in the project areas. The ESMF will also include relevant guiding tool (in line with the World Bank’s ESF/Safeguards Interim Note: COVID-19 Considerations in Construction/Civil Works Projects ) that will help in addressing the risk of COVID 19 pandemic. Social Risks: the anticipated social related potential impacts of the proposed RLLP are expected to be manageable and most of them are related to: (i) not properly addressing population groups such as hunters and gatherers, who pursue particular livelihood systems and natural resource management strategies; (ii) vulnerable groups like elderly, disabled, and poor members of the community not benefited fairly from benefit stream; (iii) female household heads and married women may not equally draw benefit like their male counterpart; and (iv) inadequate attention to the use of locally available indigenous knowledge systems and time-tested adaptation strategies. The Social Assessment for the program will incorporate requirements of the Bank Directive on Addressing Risks and Impacts on Disadvantaged or Vulnerable Individuals or Groups in conducting the necessary environmental and social due diligence, stakeholder engagement and mitigation planning. ESS-5 does not apply to community based participatory land use planning or the regulation of natural resources to Public Disclosure promote their sustainability on a regional, national or subnational level. The project will use key processes to ascertain due process is followed in defining access and use to natural resources as part of the RP based on the experience of the predecessor projects. The project will use the MoA community based participatory watershed Development guideline consistent with the principles defined in the RP, ESS-5 and ESS-1. The preparation of the RP, including the key process defining access and use to natural resources will ensure adequate assessment of the social, cultural, resource use, regulatory framework. Therefore, the project requires awareness and realistic assessment of risks, especially as part of implementation of components and its subprojects. The RLLP II will prepare ESMF, Social Assessment, Resettlement Policy, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, Labor Management Procedure, and Environment and Social Commitment Plan to capture the essence of implementation challenges, concerns and views regarding environmental and social risk management prior to appraisal. The ESMF will include guidelines [or templates] for detailed site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) that will be consulted upon and disclosed prior to the commencement of civil works, and negative impacts will be avoided or mitigated through the implementation of the mitigation measures developed in the ESMPs. The ESMF also includes measures for addressing broader environmental and social impacts, including on natural habitats and forests, and an Integrated Pest Management Plan. The effective use of the ESMF will be regularly reviewed as part of the project’s M&E system. The updated ESMF will be disclosed in-country and on the Bank’s external website prior to appraisal in accordance with Bank requirements. Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: N/A. Oct 26, 2020 Page 8 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure The objective of stakeholder engagement is to incorporate views from all stakeholders through meaningful consultations and feedback to improve the environmental and social sustainability of the project, enhance its acceptance, and make a significant contribution to successful project design and implementation. In consultation with the World Bank, MoA will prepare and implement an inclusive country-level SEP proportional to the nature and scale of potential risks and impacts; such as, (i) potential for re-emergence of civil unrest, (ii) weak multi-sectoral coordination, (iii) risk of potential elite capture of project benefits, and (iv) possible inaccurate perceptions of association with either of the Government’s Mass Mobilization Campaign, neither of which the Bank finances. A draft of the SEP will be prepared and disclosed prior to appraisal. Building on the experiences of the RLLP and the first RLLP AF, the borrower will seek stakeholder feedback and opportunities for proposed future engagement, ensuring that all consultations are inclusive and accessible (both in format, language and location) and through channels that are suitable in the local context. If major changes are made to the SEP, a revised SEP should be publicly disclosed. The borrower will engage in meaningful consultations with all stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle, paying attention to the inclusion of historically underserved peoples, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups (including the elderly, persons with disabilities, female headed households and orphans and vulnerable children). Given the country has a diverse sociocultural milieu of people in the project implementation areas, representation and participation of these diverse groups including ethnic minorities living in the project sites will be ensured in the planning and implementation of project activities that will be supported by the proposed RLLP-II. Public Disclosure Stakeholders for the project encompass two categories: (i) directly affected stakeholders including farmers, pastoralist and agro-pastoralists communities, relevant government offices at national, regional, zonal, woreda and kebele level, Development Partners including GIZ, local organizations, NGOs/CSOs, religious leaders and environmental public sector agencies; and (ii) other interested parties, including politicians (national and regional state leadership), international, national, and local media, social media activists, agriculture research institutions (national and international), other International NGOs, and the public at large. The SEP will also assure the participation men and women. As a key focus of the project is to ensure that vulnerable groups including indigenous/underserved people can access project benefits, the stakeholder engagement process shall ensure that their views are incorporated in project design and implementation, and that risks particularly affecting women and girls are adequately assessed and mitigated. Due to the presence of underserved communities in regions, Gambella, Benishangul, in parts of regions Oromiya and SNNPR, any specific engagement requirements for their participation will be provided in the SEP. A grievance redress mechanism (GRM) guideline prepared for RLLP will be used to strengthen and support establishment of project GRMs. A Grievance redress committee will be established at Woreda and Kebele level composed of the local community to ensure accessibility and transparency of the GRM. As consultation as a continuous activity, the project will engage stakeholders at different level, including communities as per the stakeholder engagement plan which will be adapted to the evolving nature of COVID 19. Due to the evolving situation of COVID 19, the MoA and the RLLP PCU has adopted a progressive approach in managing community and stakeholder consultation, soil and water conservation and public works. The approach include (i) Oct 26, 2020 Page 9 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) adopting small groups allowed by law (up to four people in one group), (ii) phased public works group (everybody is not going out at the same time which limits congregations), (iii) multiple working sites unlike before, (iv) maintain physical distance, (v) use locally available materials for face mask, (vi) frequent hand washing and sanitization (with locally available soap and alcohol). The RLLP has adopted a communication campaigns on improved hygiene and disease prevention measures through community facilitators and development agents. The approach will be revised as per the directions provided by the health authorities at different levels . An updated SEP and GRM will be presented and approved before appraisal and implemented throughout the implementation of the project. 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 The project implementation will involve direct, contracted and community labor coordinated by the MoA, under National Program Coordinator for Sustainable Land Management Program (SLMP) as follows: a. Direct workers: Direct workers of RLLP will comprise a mix of government civil servants from various relevant directorates of MoA and from line ministries and those employed by the project. The national level Project Coordination Unit (NPCU) comprises full time 28 direct workers. The six Regional Project Coordination Units (RPCU) with direct workers of 14 expertise in each region. Besides, the direct workers employed by the project, there are Public Disclosure different experts who will be involved in project implementation at federal, regional, zonal and woreda levels, with expertise drawn from implementing sector offices. All direct project workers are required continuously throughout the project life while experts from relevant ministries and agencies will be involved intermittently as required. b. Community workers: The project will engage volunteer farmers to work as community worker on sustainable land management practices on communal lands identified after elaboration by project direct workers on the nature, type and eligibility of community driven labor at community meetings through a duly recognized and agreed process to ensure the community labor is mobilized voluntarily. The number and timing of community workers required on communal lands is determined during annual planning. Community labor for SLM activities on communal lands are mostly undertaken during off-season. c. Contracted workers: Based on the identified community need, RLLP also supports community efforts on promotion of potable water supply, community ponds and construction of simple labor-based community roads with intent to improve access to the remote parts of the watershed and improve the livelihood of the rural farming families. The construction of these structures can be partially or fully outsourced to local contractors. The construction of community infrastructures such as water harvesting structures, potable water sources and community access roads is done by contracted workers of the project. The project will also procure professional services (consultants) to undertake specific activities like baseline study, midterm evaluation, terminal evaluation, financial audit, procurement audit, environmental and social audit, gender assessment, etc. Oct 26, 2020 Page 10 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) d. Primary Suppliers: are likely to include suppliers of construction materials for any civil works to be supported by the project. They may also include companies that manufacture or import assets needed within the project. Project workers will be subject to the relevant requirements of ESS2 via the Labor Management Procedures (LMP) including clear information on the terms and conditions of employment, principles regarding non-discrimination and equal opportunity, rules regarding child labor and forced labor, and occupational health and safety measures. The labor management procedure (LMP) will define the conditions and arrangements for voluntary community labor, including a process to ensure that work is truly voluntary, that provisions are made to ensure that no forced or child labor will be used. A code of conduct will also be included for all project workers to address community relations including SEA/SH. Potential labor risks are mainly associated with the informal arrangements between contractors and local labour. In cases, where the contractors recruit local labor, the client will monitor payment of fair wages by the contractors. However, the contractors are not supposed to be mobilized outside the respective project participating region and are expected to understand the labor costs in the respective areas. The contractors will adopt a protocol with clear information on the terms and conditions of employment, principles regarding non-discrimination and equal opportunity, rules regarding child labor and forced labor and grievance mechanism to provide feedback for any workers related grievances. The protocol will cover matters related to workers health and safety. The existing GRM at community level will be adopted to receive and resolve grievances related to labor issues, drawing principles from the national law and procedures in line with the requirements of ESS2 and captured in the LMP. Public Disclosure The ESMF and SA will consider safety and environment measures and procedures, along with the required training and adoption of other international good practice on observing occupational health and safety related matters. The project will ensure the application of Occupational Health and Safety measures that includes introduction of guidelines for the management of COVID 19 epidemic risks (e.g. inclusion in the site-specific ESMPs, environmental construction contracts and monitoring systems). Besides, in accordance to the WB’s ESS2 and Ethiopian labor law, the use of forced labor or conscripted labor and the recruitment of child labor is prohibited for all activities financed by project proceeds. The MOA will ensure consistent application and adherence to the requirements related to the applicable Environmental and Social Standards. The project will ensure a basic, responsive grievance mechanism to allow workers have avenue to inform management of labor issues, such as a lack of PPE and unreasonable overtime via the MoA. The Ministry is required to report any incidences or accidents that might occur in connection with the project implementation. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management ESS3 is relevant and applicable for this Project as components related to Livelihood Diversification and Connection to Value Chains largely contributes for positive outcomes in terms of efficient use of energy resources and pollution prevention through supporting and encouraging Enterprises and Formal and traditional saving groups to manufacture, promote and sale fuel saving cook stove and alternative cooking fuels, and as well for the purchase of RE/EE products. The project interventions are also expected to lead to a GHG emissions reduction of 43.6 million-ton CO2eq due to carbon sequestration as a result of improvements to grasslands and agriculture. Reforestation through Oct 26, 2020 Page 11 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) assisted natural regeneration will further contribute to the mitigation of carbon emissions, at an estimated rate of 0.92 tons of CO2-eq. per hectare annually. However, farm water and soil moisture management practices (based on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is part of promoting sustainable livelihoods and may indirectly involve use of agrochemicals; including fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides for both crop and livestock improvements. In due of this, the borrower needs to identify pesticides that may be financed under the project and develop integrated pest management plan. In view of this, Ethiopian legislation requires that all pesticides to be used in the country should be registered by the respective authority (MoA) on the basis of demonstrated product effectiveness and safety for humans, non-target organisms and the environment. The ESMF provision will include a description of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches that would elaborate on what actions need to be undertaken to minimize environmental, health and safety impacts. In view of this, integrated pest management tools and manuals developed for certain crops and livestock by the then Ethiopian MoA, in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will be consulted and/or applied, as required. The project is not potentially significant user of energy, significant user of water, or contributes to depletion of water resources, and as well not potentially significant user of raw materials, rather contributes to sustainable natural resources management of the watersheds, due to the soil and water conservation activities in the project area, soil retained from erosion become less polluting due to the reduced sediment load and runoff velocity. Even with the above fact, for any technical assistance which may be planned based on these components the client will ensure that the ESMF follows provisions materially consistent with the WBG EHSGs and GIIP as per the ESS3 requirements to Public Disclosure continue to address the resource use efficiency, GHG estimation and abate risks. This will be reflected in the client’s environmental and social commitment plan. ESS4 Community Health and Safety In line with safety provisions in ESS2, it is equally important to ensure the project screen the health and safety of communities from the potential impacts and risks of sub projects under Component 1: Investment in Green Infrastructure and Resilient Livelihoods including soil and water conservation work such as stone bunds, roads, water harvesting structures, check dams construction of flood control structures, bridges, etc which may pose risks to slips and falls due to wet surface and hillside activities, dust that can affect eyes, and other respiratory problems. Water structures such as community earth ponds, hand-dug well, shallow wells have risks associated with water borne and vector borne diseases and physical fall safety risks for children and animals. The ESMF will include provisions to integrate response and mitigation strategy including: allocate budget to fence or put clear sign on projects with potential risk; implement dust suppression techniques; plan for training and awareness creation on community health and safety hazards; road safety, and possible protection measures for coordinators and implementers at all level and for the communities. No new or rehabilitation of large dams are anticipated to be financed by the RLLP II. There will possibly be of small dams (small impounding structures less than 4.5 meters height like check dams, and ponds) rehabilitation for water harvesting structures and may not require special procedures to follow. Therefore, for the construction and Oct 26, 2020 Page 12 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) operation of small dams, relevant guidelines will be used to protect people, property and the environment from harmful impacts and risks. For small dams the guideline for small dam construction prepared by the MoA will be used to ensure safety of small dams; generic dam safety measures designed by qualified engineers in accordance with GIIP will be adopted and implemented with respective requirements to be outlined in the ESMF. The MOA guidelines will be evaluated and updated as needed to comply with ESS4/Annex 1.The environmental and social assessment will confirm that there will be no or negligible risk of significant adverse impacts due to potential failure of the dam structure to local communities and assets, including assets to be financed as part of the proposed project. Prevalence of vector borne disease as a result of water logging and possible drowning of children or animals will also be another area of concern that will be addressed through the site specific ESMPs. It is also equally important to ensure the safety of communities from the potential impacts and risks with rehabilitation, treatment of gully sites and community infrastructure work. This will include adverse environmental and social impacts; such as, possible health impacts because of use of agrochemicals, labor influx that disrupts communities, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation. While the civil works to be financed are limited in scale and scope, to ensure the health and safety of communities during the construction phases of the project, the project will develop and implement a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) Plan in line with World Bank Group Environment, Health and Safety Guidelines (EHSG) for construction activities. The borrower shall adhere to relevant requirements outlined in the ESMF. The civil works under RLLP are small in scale and the potential impacts and risks encompass, (a) increased living costs and food prices in local markets, (b) risk of cultural misunderstanding or exploitation. The risk mitigation measures Public Disclosure include recruitment of required labor from the community and minimize the influx of labor. Further, the risk of sexual exploitation due to workers’ relations with local women or girls will be mitigated through reliance on the analytical work and proposed action plan which define the RLLP’s approach on gender, which is based on an exploration of values and norms, and the legal, social and economic context. At this stage, the project does not anticipate use of security forces in the project implementation and monitoring. The project has conducted a gender assessment, identified actions and monitoring indicators as part of the project design. Further, the SEA/SH risk will be continuously assessed, and mitigation will be integrated in the sub project plans- including a code of conduct, referral pathway and GBV/SEA GRM access. Establish Community Communication Protocol: the project will adopt a comprehensive community communication and outreach protocol which will cover community health and safety with specific provisions to be included in each sub-project ESMP. By its very nature, RLLP involves large community based work force and therefore application of any precautionary measures against introducing the COVID 19 epidemic will be taken based on the ESF/Safeguards Interim Note: COVID-19 Considerations in Construction/Civil Works Projects Guidance note, and other relevant guiding tools to protect the local communities. However, if subproject civil works will be undertaken by contractors, the Borrower shall enter in to contract agreements with contractors in determining what obligations should be considered in relation to the current situation. Overall, the task teams will work with the Borrower (PIU) to confirm that projects (i) are taking adequate precautions to prevent or minimize an outbreak of COVID-19, and (ii) have identified what to do in the event of an outbreak. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Oct 26, 2020 Page 13 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) The Project deals with rehabilitation, civil works, treatment of gully sites and community infrastructure. The scope of land take would be small. ESS5 is applied recognizing that Components 1 and 2 may induce land acquisition or affect access to and use of natural resources. The project’s potential impact of physical or economic displacement, or restriction of access to natural resources will be managed through application of the principles which will be outlined in the resettlement policy. The Resettlement Policy (RP) in accordance with the requirements of ESS5 will be updated, consulted upon and disclosed in-country and at the Bank’s external website prior to appraisal. The RP defines the principles on implementation arrangement, principles on site specific instruments preparation commensurate to the scope of impact. This ESS does not apply to community based participatory land use planning or the regulation of natural resources to promote their sustainability on a regional, national or subnational level (including watershed management, groundwater management, fisheries management, and coastal zone management). In such instances, the project will use key processes to ascertain due process is followed in defining access and use to natural resources as part of the RP based on the experience of the predecessor projects. The project will use the MoA community based participatory watershed Development guideline consistent with the principles defined in the RP. The preparation of the RP, including the key process defining access and use to natural resources will ensure adequate assessment of the social, cultural, resource use, regulatory framework. The experience from the implementation of the sustainable land management project demonstrated that, the nature of land take was voluntary, small scale, and used voluntary land donation guidelines. The proposed project will update the existing voluntary land donation guideline ensuring adherence to the principles outlined in ESS5 satisfactory to the Bank. When such cases happen, RLLP proposes to rely on voluntary land donation (VLD). The procedure should include efforts to avoid VLD by finding other alternatives, changing design or location. During Public Disclosure implementation of VLD if it is household/family land consultation with family members (including spouses) must be made and family must be aware that refusal is an option. If the land is communal land individuals using or occupying the land must be identified and consulted to minimize the risk of settlers and local communities losing their livelihood due to the land donation decision. If the land that may be donated is household/family land the proportion of the land must not exceed 10% of the total land holding of the donor and must not be the donor's main source of income; it should not significantly affect the donor livelihood. Moreover, VLD should not occur if it requires physical relocation, loss of structures or fixed assets on affected portion of land which will be the base for involuntary resettlement. A formal statement or minutes for all consultation and discussion with the landholders, their interest and agreed actions including schedule should be signed and documented at kebele and woreda MoA offices and should be reported for enhanced transparency. The activity will only proceed if all landholders and users are willing/agree to donate the land (VLD) and all the conditions described above and any others agreed with the affected persons/HH/communities, are met and documented RPF. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources Even though a number of national parks, regional parks, wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife reserve areas, and controlled hunting areas in the project interventions regions, none of them are in the project area/ watersheds where the project has activities. RLLP II is expected to finance afforestation/re-afforestation and other natural resource management (range land management, area enclosure) related activities for which ESS6 would apply. In due of this, project intervention areas may encompass some natural habitats which are protected by law. However, RLLP II sub- projects will exclude areas that qualify as critical natural habitats and sub-projects that would infringe upon Protected Oct 26, 2020 Page 14 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) areas. However, it may affect rangelands and other natural habitats, for which ESS6 will apply to protect even those non-critical natural habitats from any adverse impacts. Degraded land treatment and rehabilitation on communal and private lands using biological SWC measures afforestation, area ex-closures, agro-forestry interventions, and through natural regeneration and reforestation may have risk of introduction of invasive exotic species. Hence, the ESMF will be updated to ensure that sub-projects will be screened in conformity with the requirements of the ESS6 and that appropriate preventive or mitigation measures are formulated and executed i.e. selecting non-invasive and indigenous species; The ESS6 may be applicable as the project areas are likely to encompass some forests which may be reforested and rehabilitated. The project ESMF shall ensure that subprojects are screened against these kinds of environmental related risks and that appropriate preventive or mitigation measures are formulated and executed. The anticipated potential risks on biodiversity and other living natural resources that might be arisen as a result of possible use of agrochemicals (insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.) shall also be administered in accordance to the PMP provisions which will be prepared as part of the ESMF. The biological treatment of the project watersheds improves forest quality of the project area. It has a positive role in promoting and improving the ecological environment in terms of water conservation, soil and water preservation, as well as increasing the income of farmers within the project area. Although, there is no endangered plant species that found in the project watersheds, the watershed should be treated with the integration of physical and biological conservation for future benefits and sustainability. If any of the project activities have threats to biodiversity, for example habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, invasive alien species, overexploitation, the ESMF will have a screening arrangement to look in to the of scale physical disturbance, whether involve removal or conversion of Public Disclosure forests and other natural resources or cause degradation of natural habitats, so that the activities will be considered as not eligible and have to be rejected unless the features can be avoided by change of design or change of location. The indirect ecological and environmental impact of these conservation activities might not be obvious during the project construction period but become gradually clear during the operating period. The project should monitor gains and losses in biodiversity or individual species in the project areas as part of annual environment audit to understand the level of impact these changes over the course of the project and beyond. The environmental and social audit can be conducted by the regulatory body, which is the environment, forest and climate change office at various level or an independent entity . ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities The project will be implemented in Gambella, Benishangul, and areas where there are pastoralists and agro pastoralists in Oromia and SNNP regional states who meet the criteria of ESS7. The Ethiopian Constitution recognizes the presence of different socio-cultural groups, including underserved peoples and historically disadvantaged groups, as well as their rights to their identity, culture, language, customary livelihoods, socio-economic equity, etc. The social risks and impacts relating to ESS7 will be assessed through an enhanced SA and extensive engagement process with potential project beneficiaries, including those identified as vulnerable groups and underserved peoples. The engagement process will enable communities to voice their views, concerns, and a range of recommendations resulting from the SLMP-II implementation experience, have already been incorporated into the project design. Since the project does not involve (i) adverse impacts on land and natural resources subject to traditional ownership or Oct 26, 2020 Page 15 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) under customary use or occupation; (ii) cause relocation of Indigenous Groups from land and natural resources subject to traditional ownership or under customary use or occupation; and (iii) significant impacts on cultural heritage that is material to their identity and/or cultural, ceremonial, or spiritual aspects of their lives, undertaking FPIC is not required. The need for FPIC will be assessed as part of the social assessment and measures will be integrated in the SDP. A detailed matrix outlining the GRM, benefit sharing approach, consultation, participation, mitigation, monitoring and evaluation, potential social risks and mitigation actions will be included in the SA more specifically as Social Development Plan in the Social Assessment. The SDP is an equivalent to an Indigenous Peoples Plan, which will be included as an annex in the RLLP-II PAD and incorporated by reference in the ESCP along with the other environmental and social risk management instruments. The SDP as part of the social assessment is an integral part of the environment and social risk management instruments of the proposed project. It is important that, the approach will be tailored based on the livelihood types (small holder agriculturalists, agro-pastoralists, hunters, gatherers, fisheries, people depending on non-forest timber products. Thus, the social assessment and the mitigation measures will be defined in a SDP entertaining the diversities in livelihood, culture, , values of participating regions and people. The project will ensure that the Grievance Redress Mechanism established and/or strengthened under ESS10 will be accessible and culturally appropriate for these communities. ESS8 Cultural Heritage Public Disclosure There are areas in the project locations that may constitute physical cultural resources in the sense described in ESS8. Although the nature and scope of the proposed subprojects is not known at this stage, they are unlikely to involve any major excavation work or inundation of areas with water and are thus not likely to affect any physical cultural resources. Furthermore, subprojects will be carried out only in areas selected, through a broader consultative process that includes prior informed consent, by local citizens who would normally give great importance to safeguarding their cultural resources. Nonetheless, the borrower will carry out meaningful consultations with stakeholders on ESS8 in accordance with ESS10 in order to identify cultural heritage that may be affected by the potential project; consider the significance of the cultural heritage affected by the project; assess the potential risks and impacts; and explore avoidance and mitigation options.. Hence, the ESMF will be updated to ensure that sub-projects will be screened in conformity with the requirements of the ESS8 and that appropriate preventive or mitigation measures are formulated and executed. For this to happen, the screening process will be conducted in consultation with the communities and kebele development committee at the early stages of subproject selection and prioritization phase. It should be done by applying a simple checklist and used as a format for fast track eligibility checking of identified sub-projects. A project that will likely have significant adverse impacts on PCR is classified as high risk and is not eligible. There are national procedures and guidelines for reporting chance finds to be followed, and a national entity for coordinating and facilitating the archiving, safekeeping and documentation of physical cultural resources. The project implementing entities would work closely with the national authority, should any chance find issues arise. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries Oct 26, 2020 Page 16 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) N/A. B.3 Other Relevant Project Risks The MOA and the PIU should alert the Bank any incidents related to security, conflict and potential sensitivities in the project areas. 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 Green Climate Fund and Government of Ethiopia. Public Disclosure B. Proposed Measures, Actions and Timing (Borrower’s commitments) Actions to be completed prior to Bank Board Approval: Updating of the RLLP (P163383 and P172462) Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), Resettlement Policy (RP), Social Assessment (SA) and Social Development Plan (SDP) Preparation of Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP); Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP); Labor Management Procedures (LMP) Possible issues to be addressed in the Borrower Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP): The ESCP outlines the ESF requirements in the implementation of the environmental and social risk management instruments, with adequate staffing as required at different levels and capacity building, preparation and implementation of site-specific plans, monitoring, reporting and documentation. IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Pablo Cesar Benitez Ponce Title: Senior Environmental Economist Telephone No: +1-202-473-0736 Email: pbenitez@worldbank.org Oct 26, 2020 Page 17 of 18 The World Bank Second Ethiopia Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project (P174385) Contact: Nigel Ross Hughes Title: Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist Telephone No: 5358+6153 / 1-202-53586153 Email: rhughes@worldbank.org Contact: Paul Jonathan Martin Title: Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist Telephone No: 5220+6092 / 251-011-5176092 Email: pmartin@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Ministry of Finance Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Public Disclosure Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Nigel Ross Hughes, Paul Jonathan Martin, Pablo Cesar Benitez Ponce Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Helene Monika Carlsson Rex Recommended on 15-Oct-2020 at 11:08:1 GMT-04:00 Safeguards Advisor ESSA Peter Leonard (SAESSA) Cleared on 26-Oct-2020 at 18:57:34 GMT-04:00 Oct 26, 2020 Page 18 of 18