SFG2973 REV SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT Vietnam: Forest Sector Modernization and Coastal Resilience Enhancement Project ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK (Final) March 2017 ABBREVIATIONS CPC Community People’s Committee CSC Construction Supervision Consultant CFB Community Forest Board CFM Community Forest Management CSO Civil Society Organization DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development DONRE District Office of Natural Resources and Environment DPC District People’s Committee EA Environmental Assessment ECOP Environmental Code of Practice EHS Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EM Ethnic Minority EMC Environmental Monitoring Consultant EMDP Ethnic Minority Development Plan EMPF Ethnic Minority Policy Framework EPP Environmental Protection Plan ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework ESO Environment and Social Safeguard Officer FCPF Forest Carbon Partnership Facility FMCR Forest Sector Modernization and Coastal Resilience Enhancement FPIC Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation FSC Forest Stewardship Council GOV Government of Vietnam GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GRS Grievance Redress Services HH Households IEMC Independent Environmental Monitoring Consultant IMC Independent Monitoring Consultant IPM Integrated Pest Management ISP Integrated Spatial Planning MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural and Rural Development MBFP Management Board for Forestry Projects MONRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment OP/BP Operation Policy/Business Procedure (of the World Bank) PAP/PAH Project Affected Person/Affected Household PBFP Provincial Board for Forestry Projects PCR Physical Cultural Resources PF Process Framework PFES Payments for Forest Ecological Services PFMB Protection Forest Management Board PMU Project Management Unit PMF Pest Management Framework PIM Project Implementation Manual PMP Pest Management Plan PPMU Provincial Project Management Unit PPD Plant Protection Department PPPD Provincial Plant Protection Division PPC Provincial People’s Committee PSC Project Steering Committee 2 PPSC Provincial Project Steering Committee RAP Resettlement Action Plan RPF Resettlement Policy Framework SA Social Assessment SESA Strategic Environment and Social Assessment SFM Sustainable Forest Management SEO Safeguard and Environmental Officer SMEs Small and medium enterprises SPO Subproject Owner SUF Special Use Forest SUFMB Sustainable Utilization of Forest Management Board UXO Unexploded Ordnance VDIC Vietnamese Disclosure of Information Center WB/IDA The World Bank 3 Table of Content INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 PURPOSE OF THE ESMF.................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 SCOPE OF THE ESMF ....................................................................................................................................... 7 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND RESULTS INDICATORS ......................................................................................................... 8 1.5 PROJECT TARGET AREA AND DESCRIPTION .............................................................................................................. 8 1.6 PROJECT COMPONENTS .................................................................................................................................. 10 1.7 ANTICIPATED TYPES OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES........................................................................................................... 13 1.8 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 14 POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK .................................................................................... 16 1.9 APPLICABLE NATIONAL LAWS, POLICIES, AND REGULATIONS....................................................................................... 16 1.10 WORLD BANK SAFEGUARD POLICIES TRIGGERED ............................................................................................... 19 1.11 GAP ANALYSIS AND GAP FILLING MEASURES .................................................................................................... 24 PROJECT POTENTIAL ENVIRONMETAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS ........................................................................ 29 MEASURES TO MANAGE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS ................................................................ 35 PROCEDURES FOR REVIEW, CLEARANCE, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBPROJECT SAFEGUARD INSTRUMENTS ............................................................................................................................................... 44 1.12 OBJECTIVE AND APPROACH ......................................................................................................................... 44 1.13 STEP 1: SAFEGUARD SCREENING AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 46 1.14 STEP 2: DEVELOPMENT OF SAFEGUARD DOCUMENTS ......................................................................................... 46 1.15 STEP 3: REVIEW, APPROVAL, AND DISCLOSURE OF SAFEGUARD DOCUMENTS............................................................. 46 1.16 STEP 4: IMPLEMENTATION, SUPERVISION, MONITORING, AND REPORTING ................................................................ 46 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. 47 1.17 RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESMF IMPLEMENTATION .................................................................................................. 47 1.18 REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 48 1.19 INCORPORATION OF ESMF INTO PROJECT OPERATIONAL MANUAL ......................................................................... 48 CAPACITY BUILDING, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ..................................................................... 48 1.20 INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................... 48 1.21 TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ........................................................................................................... 50 ESMF IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET ................................................................................................................. 51 GRIEVANCE AND REDRESS MECHANISM ........................................................................................................ 51 1.22 SUBPROJECT GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM (GRM) ..................................................................................... 51 1.23 WB GRIEVANCE REDRESS SERVICE (GRS) ....................................................................................................... 52 ESMF CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE ....................................................................................................... 52 1.24 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ....................................................................................................................... 52 1.25 PUBLIC DISCLOSURE .................................................................................................................................. 53 ANNEX 1. PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC BACKGROUND ............................................... 53 ANNEX 2. SAFEGUARD SCREENING, CHECKLIST, AND FORMS ........................................................................ 80 ANNEX 3. GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................... 90 ANNEX 4 (A). ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF PRACTICE .................................................................................... 119 ANNEX 4(B). SIMPLIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF PRACTICE (ECOP) FOR SMALL WORKS ....................... 130 ANNEX 5. ESMP SUPERVISION, MONITORING, AND REPORTING ................................................................. 135 4 ANNEX 6. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ........................................................................................... 138 ANNEX 7. SUMMARY OF ESMF CONSULTATIONS ......................................................................................... 144 FIRST ESMF CONSULTATION ........................................................................................................................ 144 SECOND ESMF CONSULTATION .................................................................................................................... 148 5 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Overview 1. Vietnam’s vulnerability to climate change from sea level rise and storms/typhoons underscores the importance of the country prioritizing measures to adapt/augment resilience to climate change. In Vietnam, forests are a means for delivering ‘multipurpose’ adaptation measures and coastal forests are considered ecological systems that can deliver on both adaptation and economic benefits when they are well planned and protected. For poorer households in some of the vulnerable coastal communes, mature coastal forests can lower their exposure to climate risks and reduce their vulnerability by providing them with a means of generating income. At the same time, coastal forests can be part of low-cost measures to help respond to climate change - such as emergency spillways, forest plantation and rehabilitation in river basins and along the coast. They offer a non-physical infrastructure measure that can be used for preventive purposes. 2. The Government of Vietnam (GoV) through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has been preparing an investment project, namely the Forest Sector Modernization and Coastal Resilience Project (FMCRP or the Project), with an aim to improve coastal forest management in the selected provinces. The project will work in communes in eight provinces - Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. The last two provinces are in the Red River Delta (RRD); the first six provinces are coastal provinces in the north central region. These provinces have approximately 400km of coastline (12 percent of Vietnam’s total coastline). 3. The project tackles the three elements that are central to successful restoration of coastal forests both during and beyond the life of the project: (i) putting in place conditions to maintain the needed inputs and financing to restore coastal forests that can help reduce exposure to storm surge and sea level rise, (ii) the silvicultural practices and structures need to extend and manage coastal forests and augment their survival, and (iii) improving the economic rationale for protecting and maintaining the coastal forests. 4. The Project is being proposed for possible financing by the World Bank (WB) over a period of 6 years (2018-2024) with the financing of US$ 180 million ($150 million from IDA; $30 million from GoV). MARD and the Provincial People’s Committees (PPCs) are the line agencies responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Project. MARD will assign the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MBFP) to be the Project owner at central level and responsible for providing implementation supports and management of the overall Project. The PPCs will assign its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) to be subproject owner and responsible for implementation of subprojects and/or activities at provincial level. The Project component and description are described in Section 2. 1.2 Purpose of the ESMF 5. The proposed project adopts a programmatic approach consisting of subprojects and other investment activities that will be prepared during implementations, and specific sub-project sites could not be identified by appraisal. To comply with the WB’s Operational Policy on Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01), preparation and disclosure of an Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) is required before WB appraisal. This is to ensure that the proposed project has a concrete plan and process in place to avoid, minimize, and/or mitigate adverse environmental and social impacts of project investments and interventions when they are identified, planned, and implemented. 6. The FMCRP is classified by OP/BP 4.01 as Environmental Assessment Category B and seven of the ten WB safeguard polices are triggered (see Section 3). All the subprojects and/or activities will be 6 required to screen for eligibility for financing and potential negative impacts and an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) will be prepared to mitigate them including application of Environmental Code of Practices (ECOP) in all contracts. The ESMF describes policies, procedures, and processes to be considered and followed during the implementation of the proposed Project. 7. The specific objectives of this ESMF are: - To assess the potential environmental and social impacts of the proposed project, (both positive or negative) and propose mitigation measures which will effectively address negative impacts; - To establish clear procedures for the environmental and social planning, review, approval and implementation of subprojects to be financed under the project; - To specify appropriate roles and responsibilities, and outline the necessary reporting procedures, for managing and monitoring environmental and social concerns related to subprojects; - To determine the training, capacity building and technical assistance needed to successfully implement the provisions of the ESMF; - To address mechanisms for public consultation and disclosure of project documents as well as redress of possible grievances; and - To establish the project funding required for implementing the ESMF. 1.3 Scope of the ESMF 8. Following the Vietnam In-Country Technical Guidance Note: Environmental and Social Management Framework Toolkit for World Bank-Financed Projects in Vietnam (February 2015), the ESMF describes the project description (Section 2); the policy, legal, and administrative framework (Section 3); the potential project environmental and social impacts (Section 4); measures to manage these environmental and social impacts (Section 5); the procedures for review, clearance, and implementation (Section 6); the ESMF implementation arrangements (Section 7); capacity building, training, and technical assistance (Section 8); ESMF implementation budget (Section 9); grievance and redress mechanism (Section 10); and ESMF consultation and disclosure (Section 11). There are 7 annexes providing brief information on Project locations and environment and social conditions of Project area (Annex 1); Safeguard screening, assessment, and guidelines for preparation of ESMP and ECOP (Annexes 2, 3, and 4); ESMP monitoring and grievance registration (Annex 5), Organization responsibility (Annex 6); and Summary of consultation conducted during the ESMF preparation (Annex 7). 9. The ESMF was developed based on desk reviews of the government relevant laws and regulations, various reports and documents related to environmental and social conditions in the proposed provinces, and field visits to some of the proposed subprojects sites, including meetings with local authorities and communities. 10. In addition to the ESMF, there are two other related safeguard instruments which will be applied during implementation of the proposed project. The first is the Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) which provides guidelines for preparation and execution of a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) in compliance with the Bank Policy on Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) and it will be applied when sub- project and/or activities involve land acquisition, resettlements, and/or limited access to natural resources. The second instrument is the Ethnic Minority Policy Framework (EMPF) which provides guidelines for undertaking free, prior and informed consultation with ethnic minorities in the project area and the preparation of Ethnic Minority Development Plan (EMDP) in compliance with Bank Policy on Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10). The EMPF will be applied when the sub-project and/or activities and/or subprojects are implemented in area inhabited by ethnic minorities that meet 7 the definitions of OP/BP 4.10. The safeguard screening and preparation of ESMPs, RAPs, and EMDPs for the subprojects will be carried out during implementation. These instruments are presented separately. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1.4 Project Objective and Results Indicators 11. The project development objective (PDO) is to improve coastal forest management in the project provinces. This achievement will be measured from the following 3 results indicators: - Area of coastal forest restored and managed according to agreed criteria - Area managed under agreements/contracts signed with local community groups for management of coastal forests - Share of targeted beneficiaries with rating ‘Satisfactory’ or above on project interventions, disaggregated by gender 1.5 Project Target Area and Description 12. The Project will be implemented in three regions, covering two provinces in the Red River Delta (Quang Ninh and Hai Phong), three provinces the North Coastal Region (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh), and three provinces in the Central Coastal Region (Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue). These provinces have about 400 kilometers (km) of coastline (12 percent of Vietnam’s total coastline) and are important for Vietnam’s economic growth, home to a number of poor population, and considered most vulnerable to climate events. Therefore, building natural ecosystem systems and capacity building of local community is considered necessary for reducing the exposure of coastal communities to flood events and other natural disasters. The Project areas are briefly summarized below while description and key characteristics of each province are briefly provided in Annex 1. - Subregion 1 (KV1): Includes Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city. Coastal protection forests in this area are mainly mangroves. Hilly terrain and island plays a key role and therefore mangrove tree grows on rocky soil with poor nutrient provided from internal river systems. This region has a tropical monsoon climate, with cold and wet winter season. The lower temperate in the winter season plays an important role in influence on the crop growth and the abundance of mangrove species. Mangrove species have biomass distributions across narrow areas and discontinuous in the coastal zone from Tien Yen district to Mong Cai city (Quang Ninh province), Thuy Nguyen district (Hai Phong city) and in some islands such as Cat Ba and Quan Lan etc. Mangrove species include: Avienia alba, Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophorastylosa, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Kandelia candel, Endospermun chinense, etc. - Subregion 2 (KV2): The North Central region, including Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha TÄ©nh provinces. The topography of this area is characterized by the short alluvia sunken bows interspersed with small capes or segments of eroded cliff as a result of the effect of waves. The average drainage density of the river network is relatively high of 1 km/km2. Rainy season flows were 3 - 4 times higher than flows in the dry season. The wind and waves are main climatic and hydrological factors that impacts on coastal forests. The brackish plants are mainly distributed in the areas that far from the estuary about 100 - 300 meters. Mangrove species include Rhizophora stylosa, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Avicennia alba, Aegiceras corniculatum, Kandelia candel, Pandanus tonkinensis, Endospermum chinense, etc. Casuarina equisetifolia distributes on sandbanks that are near to the coast. - Subregion 3 (KV3): Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue. The area is a narrow strip of land with its complex topographical conditions. The mountain ranges reach out to sea in some places. Conversely, somewhere is characterized by striking coastal forms as a result of effects of 8 the sea dynamic, such as high and wide sand dunes or lagoons. Rivers in this area are normally short and steep with less sediment amount. This region is characterized by high rainfall (approximately more than 2,500 mm per year) and is strongly impacted by wind and typhoon. Coastal sand forests are mainly plantation of Casuarina equisetifolia and Acacia auricliformis. Mangrove vegetation located in the tidal estuaries with dominant species of Rhizophora stylosa, Bruguiera cylindrica, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza; and Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculatum and Acanthus ilicifolius in the lower layer. There are species of Thespesia populnea, Cerbera odollam Gaertn, Endospermum chinense, Kandelia candel etc. in the high tide wetlands. Mangrove vegetation species in the lagoons are abundant with Sonneratia caseolaris, Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophora stylosa, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Kandelia candel, Acanthus ilicifolius. In addition, there are Rhizophora apiculta Bume, Avicennia alba, Sonneratia alba. 16. Potential Subproject Sites: During the prefeasibility study, data collection and survey were conducted and the potential subproject sites were identified 1 and the proposed target Project communes/districts are shown in Table 1.1 below. Table 1.1. Evaluation results of the target Project areas Region No. Provinces/ Results of evaluation Cities KV1 1 Quang Ninh 45 project communes with the area of 24,434 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 51.1% - The proportion of project area managed by PFMB is 38.0% - The proportion of project area managed by households and other organizations is 10.9% KV1 2 Hai Phong 12 project communes with the area of 4,993 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 99.0% - The proportion of project area managed by households is 1.0% KV2 3 Thanh Hoa 27 project communes with the area of 3,273 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 45.7% - The proportion of project area managed by PFMB is 36.5% - The proportion of project area managed by households, communities and other organizations is 17.8% KV2 4 Nghe An 38 project communes with the area of 6,991 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 17.4% - The proportion of project area managed by PFMB is 69.7% - The proportion of project area managed by households, communities and other organizations is 12.8% KV2 5 Ha Tinh 46 project communes with the area of 8,861 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 16.3% - The proportion of project area managed by PFMB is 68.9% - The proportion of project area managed by households and communities is 14.8% KV3 6 Quang Binh 32 project communes with the area of 4.236 ha totally managed by CPC (100%) KV3 7 Quang Tri 25 project communes with the area of 7,917 ha, of which: - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 97.9% - The proportion of project area managed by households, communities and other organizations is 2.1% 1 The selection criteria used are forest ownership, level of geographic adjacency, locations of project areas, target forestry areas in difficult communes, areas have risks of being affected by natural disasters, importance of protection forest, and access to subproject areas. 9 KV3 8 Thua Thien 32 project communes with the area of 11,376 ha, of which: Hue - The proportion of project area managed by CPC is 23.0% - The proportion of project area managed by PFMB is 64.4% - The proportion of project area managed by households, communities and other organizations is 12.6% Sources: The Pre-Feasibility Study Report of the FMCR, Sub-FIPI, 2016 1.6 Project Components 13. The Project activities will be implemented through the following four components --three technical and one project management. The summary described in following paragraphs. Component 1: Enabling Effective Coastal Forest Management 14. This component will support the development and implementation of scalable procedures and tools to improve coastal forest management. The activities associated with this component will build the technical knowhow and make investments needed to modernize the approaches used to address the three key constraints – overlapping spatial plans, lack of adequate supply of quality seedlings and long-term financing for managing coastal protection forests. 15. Subcomponent 1.1: Modernizing Coastal Forest Planning. this subcomponent will finance consultancies to deliver key inputs for improving planning. It will transfer the technical capacity to DARDs and district and commune level sectoral entities on effectively developing and coordinating spatial plans. It will also promote the use of the latest technology and data for developing visualizations of current and proposed plans. The approaches for integrated spatial planning will be demonstrated in three administrative units and tools for the replication of the approach will be disseminated more widely. 16. Subcomponent 1.2: Expanding Quality Seedling Production (US$ M). This subcomponent will finance physical works, goods and equipment and technical consultancies for expanding production of quality seedlings. This includes support for: (i) high technology seedling production at three regional units distributed across the project area, and (ii) transfer of skills for seedling production and nursery management to additional seedling producers. The subcomponent will also identify optimal ways for expanding partnerships (among technical experts and seedling producers) for improved seedling production. It will assist in fostering linkages between smallholder nurseries and buyers. The activities will include technical support to comply with the seedling quality certification requirements. 17. Subcomponent 1.3: Broadening Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services to Coastal Forests. This subcomponent will finance primarily consultancies that assist with obtaining market-based financing for management of coastal protection forests. It will contribute to operationalizing payments for ecosystem services (PFES) from coastal forests – specifically services of relevance to aquaculture, spawning and carbon sequestration. The activities will support more widespread usage of techniques for valuation of the provisioning and regulatory services from coastal forests. This will include: (i) applying methods for estimating the role and value of natural habitats in coastal protection; (ii) reducing data gaps; (iii) preparing forest and ecosystem accounts as appropriate. The subcomponent will also support the implementation and promotion of a scalable PFES scheme in coastal protection forests. Component 2: Coastal Forest Development and Rehabilitation 18. This component will finance all the activities related to restoring coastal forests. This will include planning activities, technical design of the planting activities, implementation of protection, enrichment planting and protection, goods, inputs, and works for minor physical structures that will augment the effectiveness of coastal forests in coastal protection and increasing the survival rate of the 10 coastal forests. The objective of this component is to increase area of the coastal forest in participating provinces in areas where these forests can be useful for coastal protection. The MARD targets for this component include: 50,000 ha of coastal forests protected; 10,000 ha of coastal forests rehabilitated; 5,000 ha of mangroves planted; 4,000 ha of sandy soil forest planted. The specific sites for planting and protection of coastal forests in each province were selected based on the following criteria: Specified for coastal forests in the sectoral master plan and provincial land use plan provided by DARD, and the forest inventory; land ownership/use and vulnerability to weather; adjacency of coastal forests. In the proposed project design, the investments will be spread across 257 communes in 47 districts. The implementation of this subcomponent will give priority to protecting existing stands of coastal forests followed by carrying out enrichment planting. These priority activities will be implemented while conducting site assessments for the new plantation areas. The implementation of new plantation and enrichment planting activities will also be done based on a prioritization of the areas. The latter is determined using information on three factors: Vertical and horizontal distance from the coast; Level of difficulty for planting (this refers to the site conditions); Availability of seedlings and suitable land (the latter applies for mangrove plantation). Planting activities will occur land areas where there is evidence that coastal forests (i.e., mangroves and sandy soil forests) existed before. 19. Subcomponent 2.1 Planting and Protecting target coastal forests. This subcomponent would finance all the necessary steps to implement two activities: (i) protect existing stands of coastal forests, and (ii) plant and tend existing stands of coastal forests. As noted above, areas for planting (both enrichment and reforestation) have also been identified in the administrative areas of 257 communes in 47 districts. The planting activities will be phased and priority will be given to the sites noted in Table A above. The activities supported by this subcomponent will include: a) Detailed site assessment to determine the suitability of the proposed areas for planting coastal forests. b) The design of forest plantations and rehabilitation/enrichment, drawing on the legal basis for the design of forest plantation and rehabilitation which the activities in the component will have to adhere. The design of forest plantations will adopt some new scientific advances that are known to have generated good results in situations similar to those in the project area. c) The organization of labor, materials, and works for implementing the planting design. d) Close examination of procured seedling quality. e) Activities for protection that would be similar to those listed above, and additional activities to put in place a long-term contract with the local communities involved in protecting the forests (e.g., organizing households, awareness raising and so on). 20. This subcomponent will also finance activities related to community based forest management. This will include providing community groups with assistance to obtain long-term management contracts with the forest management boards. These management contracts are expected to include specifics on use and access rights and benefit sharing. 21. Subcomponent 2.2: Augmenting Survival and Effectiveness of Coastal Protection Forests. This subcomponent will support additional structural measures are often required to increase the survival rates of the planted materials. The type of structures that will be necessary in the project area are determined by stratifying the area by the hydrological boundary conditions and then using other key parameter (which are elaborated in Annex 1 of the Project Appraisal Document - PAD). This subcomponent will, therefore, support investments in structures that reduce the exposure and vulnerability of these forests to the forces of the sea (waves and tidal currents). The investments can also be for structures that would assist with improved tending of newly planted forests, reducing the 11 likelihood of degradation caused by pests or animals. These structures would also lower the probability of illegal activities as it would enable the local stakeholders to effectively monitor the forests. 22. This subcomponent, will also finance minor improvements of existing physical structures that complement coastal forests in protecting coastal communities. This will be done only in a few locations following detailed analyses, including assessment of alternatives. 23. The subcomponent will finance all the activities for building the needed structures. This will include any site and construction assessments beyond what is conducted in subcomponent 2.1, design, materials, equipment, labor & works for the structures. An indicative allocation of the budget by province is noted below and a more accurate allocation will be known following the site assessments. Component 3: Generating Sustainable Benefits from Coastal Forests 24. Motivating local support for the protection of coastal forests beyond the lifetime of the project will require interventions that boost the economic benefits from coastal forests to a range of stakeholders - communities, local households, small enterprises, the communes and districts. In the Mekong Delta region, households and small enterprises have generated revenue from coastal forests through integrated aquaculture practices. Efforts to restore coastal forests in the Mekong Delta have also generated jobs and boosted sources of revenue local government helping justify the investments to the Provincial People’s Committee. There also have been projects piloting PFES from the aquaculture and tourism sector (two sectors that can contribute to PFES funds). The approach adopted in the target provinces aims to promote competition and considers the changing sectoral and demographic dynamics in the region. It will, to the extent possible promote, through partnerships and vertical linkages, market oriented opportunities to earn income that are comparable to other income generating occupations. The interventions will provide support at two levels – (i) productive partnerships between local communities and private entities that will focus on value addition, and (ii) upgrading of productive infrastructure (minor infrastructure) that would enable the local areas (communes) to support revenue generation from the investments. 25. Subcomponent 3.1: Investment Packages for Generating Benefits from Coastal Forests. The investment packages for community groups aim to assist them to develop a productive partnership with private enterprises that is a long-term, voluntary and commercial relationship that supports the implementation of business partnerships and detailed investment plan and helps participating partners to improve their competitiveness in the value chain (i.e., better price, lower costs, improved productivity and quality and increased sales volume). Project support would be provided for approximately 225 number of packages via a competitive grant. The grant can be used for eligible expenditures such as advisory services and training in support of local community organizations’ members and the business partner. The grant could also be used for goods, materials and works to improve production and productivity and any post-harvest processing undertaken in a partnership involving an association of smallholder agriculture households (or coastal communities) or community organizations for integrated aquaculture practices, non-timber forest products, or other activities that draw on goods and services from the coastal forests. 26. The competitive grant will be allocated on the basis of a competitive selection process utilizing transparent appraisal procedures specifically designed and established to result in the selection of commercially viable productive partnerships and business plans. The competitive grants will be a one- time, non-refundable, and interest-free financing. The grant could be used to partially defray the costs of investments associated with approved productive partnership business plans (this is explained in more detail in Annex 1 of PAD). Any residual funding for the envisaged investments must be mobilized by the partnership either from their own resources or by mobilizing additional resources from sources of commercial credit. The matching grants is not a cash transfer to a partnership and will only be disbursed on the basis of eligible and approved expenditures. 12 27. Within the targeted districts, investment packages will be available for improved profitability of low-input aquaculture (referred to as extensive aquaculture in Vietnam – and involves integrating aquaculture with mangroves), climate-smart intensive aquaculture, and extensive livestock production. The specific type of support that could be offered through each of these packages is elaborated in Annex 1 of PAD 28. Subcomponent 3.2: Demand Driven Productive Infrastructure. This subcomponent would address some of the common critical infrastructure bottlenecks in the production, processing and marketing of goods and services from coastal forests. This could include minor upgrading of rural roads or other public productive infrastructure that would increase productivity and market efficiency – training centers, piers, signage, and so on. The funds for the productive infrastructure would be administered through a competitive grants program. Similar to the grants for subcomponent 3.1, there would be support for implementation of multiple steps in preparing and implementing the proposal for productive infrastructure. All sub-projects would be reviewed using pre-agreed criteria to assess the suitability of the proposed investment (these will be elaborated in the project manual). The applicants for the grant would be districts. The districts would need to apply in coordination with the communes and show a clear linkage in their proposal to the income generating activities of the local groups that are protecting coastal forests. 29. The objective of funds available for productive infrastructure would be to support investment opportunities. The investments should enhance economic benefits of protection of coastal forests to the commune. The investment should contribute to improving revenue generation, facilitate technology transfer and access to technical assistance. It could also help assist in managing any potential environmental impacts and ensure the protection of the coastal forests. The funded upgrades to infrastructure would complement investments made under other components by improving the condition critical public infrastructure and services. 30. The competitive grants would cover all the associated costs with the upgrading activities. The subcomponent would be administered at the provincial level. During the first year of the program there will be no investments, and the focus will be on setting up and administering the process of requesting expressions of interest. Component 4: Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation 31. This component will include the establishment of the organizational structure for project implementation; preparation of equipment, means and technical assistance. Activities would include refurbishing accommodations for the decentralized offices, vehicles, and a fully funded monitoring and evaluation system to track project progress and impacts, and provide feedback for project improvement throughout its tenure. The component would finance specialized training for MARD, provincial, district, and commune actors on themes such as co-management, integrated spatial planning, monitoring and evaluation and safeguards. This component will also finance recurrent costs such as the government staff and operating costs. 1.7 Anticipated Types of Project Activities 32. Component 1 focuses on (i) testing of guidelines and applications of tools for improving integrated spatial planning of coastal resources and its enforcement; (ii) expanding the system for delivering high quality seedlings through regional units, modern nurseries and improved outreach training; and (iii) a possible long-term financing system is tested and scaled out to the extent possible. Small civil works in construction of regional centers (with building structures, facilities, greenhouses) and planting areas preparation may be anticipated. 33. Component 2 will support investments related to restoring coastal forests. This will include planning activities, technical design of the planting activities, implementation of protection, enrichment 13 planting and protection, goods, inputs, and works for minor physical structures that will augment the effectiveness of coastal forests in coastal protection and increasing the survival rate of the coastal forests. The activities will include mainly planting of trees (including site preparation in mangrove and sandy soil areas using soft structures, bamboo…); Sea dyke rehabilitation and upgrading (no new dykes will be built, dykes are small and localized); putting up fences (brushwood, bamboo fences), breakwaters (localized, at the hotspots); small infrastructures (such as Forest protection regulation boards, Fire break, Forest protection stations, Fire watch towers); Construction of forestry roads; Dredging canals and creeks (small scale, localized); Repair culverts under dikes; Forest fire water points. 34. Component 3 of the project will support the generation of revenue from coastal forests through integrated aquaculture practices. The interventions will provide support at two levels – (i) partnerships for generating revenue from coastal protection forests (e.g., through extensive and certified aquaculture, and nature-based tourism) and (ii) upgrading of productive infrastructure (minor infrastructure) that would enable the local areas (communes) to support revenue generation from the investments. Subcomponent 3.1 provides grant for mostly purchase of equipment while subcomponent 3.2 includes construction of rural (forestry) roads, training centers, piers; putting up of signage; and improvement of irrigation system (for aquaculture). 1.8 Project Implementation Arrangements 35. MARD will be the primary executing agency for the project. MARD has extensive experience in implementing IDA-financed projects since 1995. MARD will work in close collaboration with relevant Ministries and agencies to implement the project. Project implementation will be guided by a Project Steering Committee (PSC), consisting of, at the central level, representatives of key Ministries such as MPI, MOF, MONRE, OOG, Provincial People’s Committees and others as relevant, who will be responsible for facilitating the coordination among the key stakeholders, providing guidance, and ensuring alignment with the national policy framework. 36. MARD has been assigned by the government as the project owner and will be responsible for overall implementation, management, and coordination of the project. MARD has assigned the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MARD MBFP) in Hanoi to be responsible for overall implementation and management of the project, and will be the project owner of the activities to be executed at the central level, including technical assistance for the entire project; capacity building, procurement of goods and equipments for provinces; executing the activities involving more than one province and requiring complicated expertise. MBFP is responsible to coordinate with all stakeholders including donors, ministries and central agencies and provinces throughout the project implementation, supervising and monitoring the investment activities at provinces as mandated by public investment regulations. For these activities, MARD will use existing resources to establish a CPMU under the MBFP and create an advisory group comprising of agriculture, water, forestry, and aquaculture specialists from technical departments, and related research institutes. Component 1 is under the implementation responsibility of Vietnam Forest Administration (VNForest). 37. The CPMU, assisted by the advisory group, is responsible to work with and assist the project provinces to implement the project in accordance with the project design. CPMU is responsible for the preliminary review and quality check of the provinces’ procurement and work plans before they are submitted to the Bank. In addition, the CPMU will be responsible for the overall project level administration, including oversight of procurement, FM, M&E, safeguards compliance and communications. (see figure below for the implementation arrangements). 14 Governance Advisory Investors Project implementation agency organizations CPMU MARD MBFP . Central Steering Committee Component1/ VNForest PPC DARD PPMU Provincial Steering Committee District Working Group Forest Management Commune Working Group Board Implementation Partners Agriculture, Forestry, Aquatic Cooperatives Household Groups/Communities 15 38. Provincial level. Subprojects under Components 2 and 3 will be implemented by PPMUs in the respective provinces, under guidance from a Provincial Steering Committee set up to comprise representatives of provincial Departments (such as DPI, DOF, DONRE and District People’s Committees). In each province, the Provincial People’s Committee (PPC) will appoint an existing PPMU under DARD to be responsible for management and implementation of subproject activities including procurement, financial management, safeguards, coordination, and reporting. 39. At the district and commune levels, the District People’s Committee (DPC), the Community Preople’s Committee (CPC), the Protected Forest Management Board (PFMB), the Community Forest Management Board (CFMB), local communities, and private enterprices will play key roles during implementation of the subprojects. A CFMB will be established at each of the Project communes and will be tasked with signing contracts for forest plantation and protection with the household groups/communities and supporting the livelhoods planning and implementation at commune. CFMB members include selected staff of the communes and working on the part-time basis. 40. VNForest under MARD is the executing agency for Component 1 of the project. With the state management role being to provide advice to the Gov. and MARD on the policy issues in the Forest Sector, VNForest is best placed to implement the coastal forest related policies and those relevant to the sector restructuring. VNForest has appointed staff to be member of the project preparation team and will maintain adequate human resources for project implementation. VNForest will coordinate with CPMU and other technical departments and research institutes of MARD according to their mandates to implement the planned activities under Component 1. POLICY, LEGAL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 1.9 Applicable National Laws, Policies, and Regulations 41. In Vietnam, there are national laws, regulations, and policies related to implementation of environmental and social safeguards, as well as those on forest and mangrove management which are directly related to this Project. The sections below highlight the key laws, policies and regulations: - Law on Environmental Protection No. 55/2014/QH13 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated June 23, 2014. This law enacted policies and regulations on environmental safeguards, and rights and obligations of organizations, households and individuals related to environmental protection activities. - Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated November 29, 2013 prescribes the regime of land ownership, powers and responsibilities of the State in representing the entire-people owner of land and uniformly managing land, the regime of land management and use, the rights and obligations of land users involving land in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Related are and Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated 15/05/2014 of the Government regulations on detailing a number of articles of the Land Law; Decree No. 47/2014/ND-CP dated 15/05/2014 of the Government regulations on compensation, support and resettlement upon land recovery by the State; Decree No. 75/2012/ND-CP dated 03/10/2012 of the Government on detailing a number of articles of the Law on Complaints; The Circular No. 37/2014/TT-BTNMT dated 30/06/2014 of MONRE on detailing compensation, support and resettlement upon land acquisition by the State; - Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control No. 33/2013/QH13 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated on June 19, 2013 provides natural disaster prevention and control activities; specifies the rights and obligations of agencies, organizations, households and individuals engaged in natural disaster prevention and control activities; and details the state management of, and assurance of resources for, natural disaster prevention and control. 16 - Law on Water Resources No. 17/2012/QH13 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated June 21, 2012 provides on management, protection, exploitation and use of water resources, as well as the prevention of, combat against and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. - Law on Cultural Heritage No. 28/2001/QH10 dated 29/06/2001 and its modification and supplementation (No. 32/2009/QH12 dated 18/06/2009) of the National Assembly regulations on activities of protecting and promoting the values of cultural heritages; defines the rights and obligations of organizations and individuals towards the cultural heritages in Vietnam; - Law on Biodiversity No. 20/2008/QH12 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated November 13, 2008provides for the conservation and sustainable development of biodiversity; rights and obligations of organizations, households and individuals in the conservation and sustainable development of biodiversity. - Law on Forest Protection and Development No. 29/2004/QH11 of the National Assembly of Vietnam dated December 03, 2004 provides for the management, protection, development and use of forests; and forest owners’ rights and obligations. - Law on Fisheries Land No. 17/2003/QH11 passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 26 November 2003 and took effect since 01 July 2004; - Decree No. 116/2014/ND-CP dated 04/12/2014 of the Government on stipulating detail and guidance on executing a number of articles of the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine; The Circular No. 21/2013/TT-BNNPTNT dated 17/04/2013 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the promulgation of the list of acceptable, restricted and banned agrochemicals, and the additional lists of plants varieties allowed to be produced and traded in Vietnam; 42. In addition, there are the standards and national technical regulations on the environmental quality which will be used for assessing environment's maximal load into local environment, and the key ones has been incorporated into the generic ECOP which will be applied to works contracts. These standards have been used to judge compliance of EIA/EPP regulations for all investments in Vietnam. There are also specific policy and standards related to biodiversity and forests which will be applied to FMCRP (see Annex 3). 43. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) are responsible for ensuring effective implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations including review and approval of EIA/Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) reports. MONRE is also responsible for land management including land use planning, land surveying and land use mapping, land allocation and registration, and issuance of land use certificates, as well as biodiversity conservation, aquatic ecosystem management and protection, and climate change. MARD and its technical departments at central level including the Directorate of Forestry, the Plant Protection Department, the Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Rural Development Department, and other agencies are responsible for ensuring effective management of forests and fisheries which includes developing forest protection and development plans, demarcating forest boundaries, forest allocation and leasing, making final decisions on forest conversion or re-categorization, aquaculture and fisheries management, and storm and flood control. MARD has established MBFP to be responsible for coordination and management of forestry related projects. 44. According to the Law on Forest Protection and Development, there are 3 types of forests i.e. Special Use Forested (SUF), Protection Forests, and Production Forest. The Land Law and the Law on Forest Protection and Development require MARD and MONRE to work closely, and both have 17 their offices (DONREs and DARDs) at the provincial and district levels. PPCs, DPCs, CPCs are the main decision makers in the provinces while the Protection Forest Management Board (PFMB) and the Community Forest Management Board (CFMB) can be established to be responsible for management of protection forests in specific area. PPCs are responsible for evaluating and approving DONRE/DARD’s land and forest conversion plans while DPCs evaluate and approve household and individual plans. CPCs act as temporary custodians of lands within the commune that have not been allocated to an entity. If the forestland has been allocated to organizations such as State Forest Enterprises (SFEs) or Forest Management Boards (FMBs), these organizations are responsible for managing and protecting their allocated forest areas. 45. Coastal and mangrove rehabilitation policy: In the past Vietnam has invested primarily in sea dykes to protect vulnerable communities along the coast. However, there is increasing evidence that, depending on the water depth, mangrove projects in Vietnam can offer protection that is three to five times cheaper than a breakwater and also improve the effectiveness of existing sea dykes. Recent policies and decisions related to coastal zone management and mangrove rehabilitation to enhance the resilience of coastal communities in Vietnam could be highlighted as follows: - The Central Committee of the Communist Party adopted Resolution 24-NQ/TW on ‘Active Response to Climate Change, Improvement of Natural Resource Management and Environment Protection,’ which declares the fight against climate change as “one of the most important tasks of the entire political system.â€? - Decision 158/2007/QD-TTg dated October 9, 2007, adopts an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Program for 14 provinces in the central coast till 2010 with the vision to 2020. GOV also adopted a detailed strategy for ICZM in Vietnam up to 2020 with a vision to 2030 (approved by the prime minister in December 2014). - The Law 82/2015/QH13 on Natural Resources and Environment of Sea and Islands, which stipulates that ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Provincial People’s Committees of coastal cities and provinces must develop ICZM programs under the prescribed scope, content, monitoring and reporting requirements, and indicates that all relevant companies, organizations and individuals must comply with ICZM products (i.e. zoning prescriptions). - Prime Minister’s Decision No. 914/QÄ?-TTg dated May 27, 2016, adopts the National Coastal Zone Action Plan (NAP), which helps implement the priorities ICZM during the 2016-2020 period and to promote the approach and implementation of the ICZM Strategy. The NAP emphasizes the sustainable use of natural resources in coastal zones and guides coordination among key sectors and also recognizes that the bulk of coastal management will be carried out at the provincial level, calling for better vertical integration between all levels of government, including the national government. - In addition to the above, GOV issued a Decree 119/2016/ND-CP on management, protection and development policies for coastal forests respond to climate change identified the importance of the coastal forest in response to climate change. The Decree also defines the investment policy on the management, protection and development of coastal forests. Investment funds, activities of socialized investment, rights and obligations of organizations, businesses, households and individuals in the coastal forest development and use are all elaborated in the Decree. The resilience objective and possible role of coastal forests is also reflected in MARD’s Targeted Program for Sustainable Forest Development 2016-2020 (approved in August 2016) which aims to continue to manage, protect, develop and sustainably use forests and land zoned for forestry development, increase forest coverage to 44-45 percent by 2020. It includes, inter alia, the following two priority schemes: (i) protect and develop coastal forests to respond to climate change and (ii) improve forestry industry productivity and value added. 18 1.10 World Bank Safeguard Policies Triggered 46. During preparation, the FMCRP was screened against the ten WB’s safeguard policies and seven policies are triggered including: (i) Environmental Assessment (EA) (OP/BP 4:01); (ii) Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4:04); (iii) Forests (OP/BP 4.36); (iv) Pest Management (OP/BP 4.09); (v) Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11); (vi) Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10); and (vii) Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12). It is expected that the overall impacts of proposed Project would be positive while most of the potential negative impacts will be moderated, localized, temporary, and could be mitigated. The FMCRP is therefore classified as Environmental Assessment Category “Bâ€? which requires preparation of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) or ECOP for a subproject and/or activity taken into account the need to address the issues related to natural habitats, forests, pest management, and physical cultural resources. Preparation of Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and/or Ethnic Minority Development Plan (EMDP) will be respectively required when land acquisition, resettlement, and/or limited access to natural resources and/or ethnic minorities are involved. These policies will be considered during the impacts screening and assessment and preparation of the ESMP or ECOP of a subproject and/or activities (see Annexes 2, 3, and 4). Below discussed justification for the policies triggered by the Project. Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01)2 47. An Environmental Assessment (EA) is an umbrella policy for the Bank’s safeguard policies. The overarching objective is to ensure that Bank-financed projects are environmentally sound and sustainable, and that decision-making is improved through appropriate analysis of actions and of their likely environmental impacts. The EA process is intended to identify, avoid and mitigate potential impacts of Bank operations. It is important to note that EA takes into account the natural environment (air, water, and land); human health and safety; social aspects (involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples, and physical cultural resources); and transboundary and global environmental aspects. EA considers natural and social aspects in an integrated way. 48. The project triggers the policy on Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) it will support improvements in silvicultural practices for protecting existing coastal forests and planting coastal forests as well as support local stakeholders for sustainable protection and development of the forest ecosystem services and the Project activities may create both positive and negative impacts. As all the subprojects and/or activities will be selected during Project implementation, the ESMF has been developed and it will be applied to the subprojects and/or activities to be financed under FMCRP. For all subprojects, an ESMP or ECOP will be prepared following the ESMF guidelines (see Annex 3). The ESMP or ECOP will be reviewed and cleared by WB before the implementation of subproject, and its implementation will be closely monitored. The ESMF also required that all the subproject will also comply with GOV’s EIA regulation. Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04)3 49. Natural Habitats Policy is intended to prohibit Bank financing of projects that degrade or convert critical habitats. The Bank supports projects that affect non-critical habitats only if no alternatives are available and if acceptable mitigation measures are in place. Local people should be consulted in planning, designing and monitoring projects. 2 The full treatment of OP/BP 4.01 can be found at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543912~menu PK:1286357~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 3 Full description of OP/BP 4.04 is available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543920~menu PK:1286576~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 19 50. The Project triggers this policy as the subproject will be implemented in coastal forest areas and afforestation and reforestation activities may have potential impacts on natural habitats if poorly planned or implemented. Based on the current project design, it is unlikely that the subproject would significantly convert or degrade natural habitats as the subproject sites are generally lands/mangrove and coastal inland protection forests which have already been converted. The species being used are those officially approved by MARD as appropriate to the conditions of the sites. Whilst some afforestation is planned for the later years of project implementation, key and measureable ecological (as well as institutional and socioeconomic) parameters will be set up during subproject preparation to determine the suitable areas and species for planting. The ESMF screening (Annex 2) will determine whether any of the proposed subprojects will significantly convert or degrade critical natural habitats. During implementation, when the subproject sites are identified, surveys and studies will be undertaken to assess the potential impacts on specific ecosystems. In case it is determined that the subproject will involve degradation of natural habitat, the ESMP will include mitigation measures acceptable to the Bank. 51. Based on current information and due-diligence performed during the preparation there do not seem to be any interventions close to critical habitat such us natural protected areas. The areas proposed for various forestry activities include wetland habitat (mangrove) which used to be natural mangrove but was converted to aquaculture in the past and coastal sandy soil (casuarina and other dry climate tolerant species). These areas might be the habitats for birds and wetland aquatic species. The project activities help to improve forest cover and quality and thus enriching these habitats. Nevertheless, the plantation plans need to consider this. Regarding types of habitats might be targeted for reforestration, initial data from the prefeasibility study suggested that types of species may be replanted for the mangrove forest may include Bần chua (Sonneratỉa caseolaris (L.) Engler; Trang (Kandelia obovata) và (Kandelia acndel); Sú (Aegiceras corniculcitum (L.) Blanco); Mấm Ä‘en (Avicennia officinalis L.); Vẹt dù (Bruguiere gymnorhiza (L.) Lam). In addition, there are a number of other mangrove species that can be planted in the mangroves, such as Cóc trắng (Lumnitzea rammosa), Ä?Æ°á»›c vòi (Rhizophora stylosa Griff), Vẹt dù (Bruguiere gymnorhiza), Ä?Æ°á»›c (Rhyzophora, v.v…). The preparation team also propose for selecting Phi lao (Casuarina equisetifolia), Keo lá liá»?m (A. crassicarpa), hoặc Thông Caribê (Pinus caribaea Morelet) as the main crop in the North Central provinces (from Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue). For the forest upgrade/terrestrial enrichment area, drought resistant plants such as casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia), sickle leave Acacia (A. crassicarpa) are additionally planted in the gaps and the areas remaining sparse trees to reach adequate density of 2,500 trees/ha on the poor nutrient sandy soil sites. Native species such as Lat hoa (Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss), Lim Xanh (Erythrophloeum fordii Oliver) are possibly supplemented in lowland, hilly terrain if the site conditions are nutrient-rich, thick soil layer, high humid and wet climates (from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ninh). Forests (OP/BP 4.36)4 52. The World Bank’s Forests Policy is intended to support sustainable and conservation-oriented forest management. The Bank helps borrowers harness the potential of forests to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, integrate forests into sustainable economic development, and protect vital local and global environmental services and values of forests. Local people, the private sector and interest groups in the affected forest area should be consulted. 4 OP/BP 4.36 is described in detail at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543943~menu PK:1286597~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 20 53. The Project triggers this policy as it involves coastal forest protection/rehabilitation activities aiming to restore coastal landscapes, enhance resilience of inland farming systems, and reduce vulnerability to the impacts of sea-level rise and coastal erosion. Subproject activities will include reforestation, rehabilitation and planting of mangroves and coastal inland forests in targeted areas including construction, upgrading, and/or rehabilitation of small infrastructure considered important for increasing survival rate of young mangrove and seeding. Currently, no specific areas have been identified, but it is expected that the Project will cover about 70,000 ha of 257 communes in 47 districts of the 8 provinces. Forest Management Plans will be prepared for all reforestation, rehabilitation and planting activities undertaken as part of the Project, and for any other infrastructure and livelihoods (including ecotourism) related activities that may affect the forests. Mitigation measures will be put in place to protect or rehabilitate the forests and species, especially during construction and operation. The Project will also support technical assistance, training, and workshops with an aim to improve effectiveness of coastal forest management and financing through policy changes and appropriate planning and technical supports. 54. During project preparation small-holder and community forestry in the potential targeted area have been consulted through a series of meetings and workshops. The project has been designed to promote Community Forest Management (CFM) approach which has been initiated in Vietnam and there are some implementation experience and lessons learnt. The CFM approach will promote sustainable forest management through active participation and ownership of local communities and can contribute to poverty reduction and local socioeconomic development in a sustainable manner. Annex 3 provides some specific guidelines related to CFM methodology, plan, and administrative arrangement to be considered during the detailed designs of the subproject. No commercial-scale forety or harvesting will be supported under the project, hence third-party certification many not be needed. Pest Management (OP 4.09)5 55. The Bank will not finance procurement of large amount of pesticides or pesticides that falls in WHO classes IA, IB, or II. The policy also intends to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to mitigate potential impacts on public health and ecosystems. 56. The Project will not procure large amount of pesticides. The Project, however, triggers this policy as it is likely that the support of seeding activities (Component 1) and the protection and/or plantation of coastal forests and the livelihood development activities (under Components 2 and 3) may involve the purchase of small amount and/or increase in use of pesticides and/or disease prevention/treatment chemicals (i.e. antibiotics) from mangrove shrimp farming and other livelihoods activities (e.g. fishery, agroforestry, breeding). The ESMF has described the regulations/institutional frameworks related to pest management when a Pest Management Plan will be prepared and/or adoption of good practices such as application of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach will be considered during the preparation of ESMP for the subproject. Safeguard training and capacity building will also be designed to increase knowledge of famers on safe use of pesticides including safe storage and disposal of used packages. Physical Cultural resources (OP/BP 4.11)6 5 OP 4.09 is fully described in detail at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTOPMANUAL/0,,contentMDK:20064720~m enuPK:64701637~pagePK:64709096~piPK:64709108~theSitePK:502184,00.html 6 OP/BP 4.11 is accessible at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543961~menu PK:1286639~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 21 57. Physical Cultural Resources Policy (PCR) is intended to ensure that projects identify and inventory cultural resources that are potentially affected by the project. PCRs include resources of archaeological, paleontological, historical, architectural, religious, aesthetic or other cultural significance. Projects should include mitigation measures when there are adverse impacts on physical cultural resources. Appropriate agencies, NGOs and universities should be consulted. 58. It is not expected that the Project will require relocation of PCRs such as monuments, temples, churches, religious/spiritual and cultural sites. However, improving climate resilient infrastructure for protection of coastal forest may involve relocation of graves which are also considered PCRs, and thus this policy is triggered. Some civil works may also include excavation activities, which may result in chance finds, the “chance find proceduresâ€? will be included in the ESMPs and civil works contracts. The ESMP will include measures for review of plantation sites and chance-find procedures, including spirit areas and other sites of cultural or religious importance to local communities. The Indigenous Peoples policy (OP/BP 4.10)7 59. The Indigenous Peoples policy is designed to ensure that the development process fully respects the dignity, human rights, economies and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. The policy requires projects to identify impacts on indigenous peoples and develop a plan to address the impacts, both positive and adverse. Projects should be designed with benefits that reflect the cultural preferences of indigenous peoples. The borrower should carry out free, prior, and informed consultation and obtain broad community support for the project. 60. The Project triggers this policy as it will be implemented in the 8 coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Thua Thien Hue where ethnic minority communities (Dao, Tay, and Muong) are known to be present. The Project aims to develop coastal forest and forest sector value added in targeted areas while improving livelihood activities (such as aquaculture in mangroves, long-rotation timber, PFES from carbon, tourism and fisheries) could also benefit to the local ethnic communities. Since the precise areas of impact of the Project cannot be determined before appraisal, an Ethnic Minority Policy Framework (EMPF) has been developed and is considered a part of the ESMF. The EMPF provides for the screening and review of subprojects to be identified during implementation in a manner consistent with this policy. It also provides processes and procedures to conduct Social Assessment (SA) and free, prior and informed consultations (FPIC) that will be conducted during implementation. The SA will identify potential negative impacts of respective project activities and opportunities to enhance positive benefits while an Ethnic Minority Development Plan (EMDP) will be developed based on the result of the SA. Where broad community support to the subproject cannot be ascertained, the subproject will not be implemented. For broader community support, the engagement of civil society organizations who work on ethnic minority will play a key role in the consultation process and promote the meaningful participation of the ethnic minorities in subproject activities. On the basis of the SA and the FPIC process, where there is broader community support, a detail report will be prepared that documents SA findings, the records and outcomes of process of FPIC with the ethnic minority community as a basis for ascertaining where there is such support. In addition, a freestanding feedback and grievance redress mechanism will also be established to receive, identify and resolve ethnic minority concerns and grievances. The SA and EMDP will be disclosed locally before the subproject activities are implemented. Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12)8 7 Full treatment of OP/BP 4.10 can be consulted at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543990~menu PK:1286666~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 22 61. OP 4.12 seeks to prevent severe long-term hardship, impoverishment, and environmental damage to the affected peoples during involuntary resettlement. It applies whether or not affected persons must move to another location. The Bank describes all these processes and outcomes as “involuntary resettlement,â€? or simply resettlement, even when people are not forced to move. Resettlement is involuntary when the government has the right to expropriate land or other assets and when affected people do not have the option to retain the livelihood situation that they have. 62. The proposed Project activities are unlikely to require any significant land acquisition, relocation or access restrictions to natural resources. However, the Project triggers this policy as future subproject activities may involve restrictions of access to forests and forest products for local communities to coastal protection forests. A simple Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) has been developed to provide guidance on the preparation of a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) or an abbreviated RAP and safeguard training on the RPF and preparation of RAP will be provided. Component 2.1 will support protection and management of existing and afforested and reforested mangroves and coastal protection forests through the adoption of co-management models involving communities/households (including participatory integrated coastal zone management). A Process Framework (PF) for restriction of access in accordance with the OP/BP 4.12 will also be prepared during implementation for this component to guide processes and procedures on all future subproject activities to identify, assess, minimize and mitigate potential adverse impacts on local livelihoods. Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37), Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50), and Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) 63. The Project will not finance any construction of dams and/or reservoir and/or the Project activities are not impacted by dams as described in OP/BP 4.37. The Project will not involve any international waterways which may affect the relations between the World Bank and its Borrowers and between riparian states (OP/BP 7.50) and/or located in disputed area (OP/BP 7.60), therefore these policies are not triggered by the Project. The World Bank Policy on Access to Information9 64. The World Bank Access to Information Policy is intended to ensure that persons and groups affected by the project are kept informed of the project objectives and impacts, and are consulted throughout the project to ensure that their interests are represented. Safeguards documents are disclosed locally in the project areas and the World Bank InfoShop, which includes a resource center in Washington DC and an electronic database, offering access to information on World Bank projects and program to the public. 65. The Bank policy requires that during EA process the Government conducts meaningful consultations with stakeholders such as project-affected groups and local NGOs about the project’s environmental and social aspects, and takes their views into account in the design of the project. All draft safeguard instruments have been disclosed locally in an accessible place and in a form and language understandable to key stakeholders, and in English at InfoShop before the project appraisal. World Bank Group Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines10 66. World Bank-financed projects should also take into account the World Bank Group Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines (known as the "EHS Guidelines"). The EHS Guidelines are technical reference documents with general and industry-specific examples of Good International 8 Detail of OP/BP 4.12 is available at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/EXTPOLICIES/EXTSAFEPOL/0,,contentMDK:20543978~menu PK:1286647~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:584435,00.html 9 Detail of World Bank Policy on Access to information is available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information 10 The EHS Guidelines can be consulted at www.ifc.org/ifcext/enviro.nsf/Content/EnvironmentalGuidelines. 23 Industry Practice. It contains the performance levels and measures that are normally acceptable to the World Bank Group and are generally considered to be achievable in new facilities at reasonable costs by existing technology. The environmental assessment process may recommend alternative (higher or lower) levels or measures, which, if acceptable to the World Bank, become project- or site-specific requirements. The General EHS Guidelines, the EHS Guidelines for Forest Harvesting Operations, and the EHS Guidelines for Aquaculture apply to the FMCRP, and this has been incorporated into the ESMF (Annexes 3 and 4). 1.11 Gap Analysis and Gap Filling Measures 67. The application of environmental assessment policies in Vietnam, as well as various efforts directed to policy harmonization between GoV and donors, has gradually narrowed the gap between the two systems. However, differences remain between GoV environmental safeguard policies and those of the World Bank. These differences in specific policies and procedures and proposed gap filling measures to be used for the FMCRP are listed in Table 3.1 below. In this context, the ESMF requires the preparation of the ESMP in line with the content described in Annex 3 while preparation of RAP and EMDP will follows the RPF and EMPF, respectively. The subproject/activities owners will also be required to comply with the GOV’s EIA regulations. 24 Table 3.1: Summary of the World Bank and National EA Processes and proposed gap mitigation for the project EA Process WB (stipulating in OP/BP 4.01 on Environmental Viet Nam (stipulating in Decree 18/2015/ND-CP, Circular Gap Filling Measures Stage Assessment) 27/2015/TT-BTNMT Screening - Categories (A, B, C, FI) - Categories: I, II, III and IV of Decree 18/2015. - Use the World Bank’s discretionary (on a - Non-prescriptive on a case by case basis for - Prescriptive, fixed regulated in Annex I, II and III – List of subproject-by-subproject basis) categorization, safeguards policies application, and EA projects subject to requirements of Strategic Environment approaches in screening projects the instrument identification. Assessment (SEA) and EIA report submittal and approval. significance of its impacts, and subsequently to ascertain the project’s EA - The World Bank will classify the project as category A, - All projects are not listed. category. B, C, FI according to the nature and magnitude of - Normally the project owners self-screen the project based on potential environmental and social impacts. - Examine the magnitude and significance the categorization indicated in Decree 18/2015 and consult of the project impacts based on the project  Category A: Full EA required the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and type and scale, project location, sensitivity  Category B: EA, ESMF, or ESMP required Environment (DONRE) or Vietnam Environment of environmental and social issues, and Administration (VEA) for the appropriate classification and  Category C, no EA required. nature and magnitude of potential impacts. EA report requirement of the project, such as:  Category FI: EA or ESMF or both required.  Project falls into Annex I, II, III: SEA or EIA required  Project falls into Annex IV: no EIA and Environmental Protection Plan (EPP)11 required  Project is not I, II, III and IV: EPP required EA - Depending on the project impact, a range of instruments - The type of EA instruments such as SEA, EIA or EPP is Follow the World Bank requirements on the instrument are used to meet the World Bank’s requirement, these decided based on Annex I, II, III and IV of Decree 18/2015. type of EA instrument needed include: ESMF, specific ESIA; ESMPs, sectoral & regional EA; SEA; hazard or risk assessment; environmental audits. The World Bank provides general guidance for implementation of each instrument. Scope - The World Bank helps Borrower draft the TOR for EA - TORs for EA are not required. TORs for REA, SEA, ESMF, ESIA, and report and identify the scope of EA, procedures, schedule - Normally after consultation with the local DONRE or VEA ESMP are a good practice to follow. and outline of the EA report. for the EA category, the project owner will proceed with EA - Follow the World Bank’s TORs, scoping, - For Category A projects, ESIA TORs is required, and report preparation. and consultation requirements. 11 Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) is a simplified EIA for small scale and low risk projects as per government EA regulation. 25 scoping and consultation are conducted for preparation of the TORs for the EA report. Public - During EA process, the Borrower consults project The project owner shall consult with the People’s Committee - EA consultation as per government EA consultation affected groups and local NGOs about the project’s of communes, wards and towns (hereinafter referred to as regulation is not enough and the environmental aspects and takes their views into account. communes) where the project is carried out, with Borrower and its consultant need to - For Category A projects, the Borrower consults these organizations or community under the direct impact of the follow the World Bank’s requirements on groups at least twice: (a) shortly after environmental project; research and receive objective opinions and consultation and disclosure of screening and before the TORs for the EA are finalized; reasonable requests of relevant entities in order to minimize information during EA process. and (b) once a draft EA report is prepared. In addition, the the negative effects of the project on the natural environment, - Good consultation brings benefits to the Borrower consults with such groups throughout project biodiversity and community health. project design and contributes to project implementation as necessary to address EA-related issues - The People’s Committee of the commune where the environmental outcomes. that affect them. For Category B project at least one project is carried out and the organizations under direct public consultation needs to be conducted. impact of the project shall be consulted. The project owner - For meaningful consultations, the Borrower provides shall send EIA reports to the People’s Committee of the relevant project documents in a timely manner prior to commune where the project is carried out and consultation in a form and language that are organizations under the direct impact of the project understandable and accessible to the group being together with the written requests for opinions. Within 15 consulted. working days, from the date on which the EIA reports are received, the People’s Committee of the commune and - Minutes of the public meetings are included in the organizations under the direct impact of the project shall reports. send their responses if they do not approve the project. - The consultation with the community under the direct impact of the project shall be carried out in the form of community meeting co-chaired by project owner and the People’s Committee of the commune where the project is carried out together with the participation of representatives of Vietnamese Fatherland Front of communes, socio-political organizations, socio- professional organizations, neighborhoods, villages convened by the People’s Committee of the commune. All opinions of delegates attending the meeting must be sufficiently and honestly stated in the meeting minutes. Disclosure Before the World Bank proceeds to project appraisal the EA - After an EIA report is approved, the project owner shall Follow the World Bank’s Policy on Access report must be made available at public place accessible for formulate, approve and publicly display its EMP at the to Information Policy in disclosure of project-affected groups and local NGOs. Once the World office of the commune-level People’s Committee of the project information, including EA 26 Bank officially receives the report, it will make the EA locality in which consultation of the community is made instruments. report in English available to the public through the Bank’s for people’s information, examination and oversight. external website. (Article 16, Decree 18/2015). Independent - For category A project, the Borrower retains independent - Not regulated in Vietnam policies. Follow the World Bank requirements to Expert EA experts not affiliated with the project to carry out EA. - Project owner shall make, or hire an institution meeting the avoid conflict of interest - For category A projects of high risk or multi-dimensional conditions provided in Clause 1, Article 13 (Decree environmental concerns, the Borrower should also 18/2015) to prepare an EIA report. Project owner or engage an advisory panel of independent, internationally consulting service provider must fully meet the following recognized environmental specialists to advise on aspects conditions: (i) Having staff members in charge of EIA must of the project relevant to EA. obtain at least Bachelor’s degrees and Certificate in EIA - Experts/consulting firm will be selected through bid consultancy; (ii) Having specialist staff members related to process under strict observation of the World Bank. the project obtaining at least Bachelor’s degrees; (iii) Having physical-technical foundations and special-use devices for measuring, taking, processing, and analyzing environmental samples, which meet technical requirements. In case of unavailability of qualified special-use devices, having a contract to hire a capable institution. Clearance Review responsibility is internal to the World Bank. If the - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall - In addition to the Government procedure EA report is satisfactory, the World Bank will issue its assess and approve the EIA reports on projects prescribed in requirements, follow the World Bank’s clearance memo. If the EA report needs to be improved the Appendix III of this Decree, except for projects subject to review and clearance procedures. World Bank will issue a conditional clearance with the national defense and security secrets. understanding that the Borrower will revise the EA to - Ministries, ministerial agencies shall assess and approve the satisfy the World Bank for the final clearance. EIA reports on projects under their competence in approval for investment, except for projects in Appendix III of this Decree; - The People’s Committee of the province shall assess and approve EIA reports on projects in the province, except for projects prescribed above. - The appraisal will take place no later than working 45 days at MONRE level and 30 working days at DONRE level and 5 working days at district level for after receipt of a full eligible EIA or EPP. Number and - Number of copies not specified. - The project owner has to submit at least seven copies of EIA Follow the World Bank’s guidance and the language of - Language requirement: English for Vietnam with an report (depend on the number of appraisal council members) Government requirements 27 EIA required Executive Summary in English for a Category A project. and one copy of the Feasibility Study or the Economic- for appraisal - No requirement for feasibility survey: the World Bank Technical argument for the proposed project. does not advance discussions on any investments without the preparation by the Borrower of the minimum required technical studies that prove the investments are feasible from socio-economical and technical point of view. Content of Category A project contains the following major contents: EA report should be in line with Circular 27/2015/TT- For first years subprojects: prepare both EIA report - Should be in line with OP 4.01, Annex B - Content of an BTNMT ESIAs and ESMPs for WB and EIA/EPP Environmental Assessment Report for a Category A for Viet Nam. Project. For remaining subprojects: - Category B EIA reports typically follow similar table of - Category B subprojects: ESIAs or ESMPs contents as Category A. for WB and EIA/EPP for Viet Nam. - Category A subprojects: two options exist: i) follow two separate EIA outlines of the World Bank and the Government; ii) follow the government EIA format with incorporation of the World Bank requirements in alternative analysis, cumulative impact assessment, public consultation and disclosure, and ESMP requirements. EA - During project implementation, the World Bank - The local DONRE is entrusted to supervise the - Project environmental management supervision supervises the project’s environmental aspects on the environmental compliance of the project. system needs to be established to monitor basis of the environmental provisions and the Borrower’s - By the end of project construction stage, the Environmental and supervise safeguards compliance reporting arrangement agreed in the loan agreement and Management Agencies will coordinate with Construction during implementation. described in the other project documentation, to Management Agencies to supervise the compliance of - Follow requirements in project Loan determine whether the Borrower’s compliance with environmental management activities stated in EA study. Agreement, ESMP, and contract with environmental covenant (primarily with ESMP) is contractor to monitor and supervise satisfactory. If compliance is not satisfactory, the World safeguards compliance. Bank will discuss with the Borrower action necessary to comply. 28 PROJECT POTENTIAL ENVIRONMETAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS 68. According to the prefeasibility study (draft December 2016), scope and key outputs of the subproject activities could be briefly summarized as follows (Table 4.1) and they have been used for assessment of the impacts: Table 4.1 Summary of subproject activities Component and Activities Outputs Component 1: Enabling Effective Coastal Forest Management (1.1) Enhancing Effective 01 study report on the status of use of resources of coastal areas; 01 study Spatial Planning of Coastal report on the status of coastal zone spatial planning of the 8 provinces; A Zones number of workshops on use of natural resources in coastal areas as well as coastal spatial planning with the participation of stakeholders; 2-3 plans of spatial coastal zone planning at district or commune level are prepared; and 01 guideline on coastal spatial planning are developed and issued. (1.2) Supporting Improved 01 report on seedling management and plantation productivity; 01 assessment Seedling Production through study on productivity of planted forests and forest products value chain; 01 Regional Units assessment study on the relationship of enterprises and forest production households; Approximately 10 technical training courses on seed production are organized; and Some existing mangrove seed stands are recognized as qualified seed stands for seed supply. (1.3) Valuing and Expanding 01 research on coastal forest valuation including economic and environmental Payments for Forest Ecosystem values; 01 assessment study on the potential implementation of payment for Services for Coastal Forests forest environmental services in project area is conducted; Some models of payment for coastal forest environmental services are made; and Forest valuation method and payment mechanism for coastal forest services are completed. Component 2: Coastal Forest Development and Rehabilitation (2.1) Planting and Protecting Review of forest protection and development planning for 257 coastal target coastal forests communes in 57 districts, which are consolidated in 8 provinces; UXO clearance: 3,938 ha; Coastal forest area will include approximately: 72,000 ha; Coastal forest land marking: 39,500 land-marks; Coastal forest protection arrangement: Mangrove forest: 17,260 ha and Coastal terrestrial forest: 33,017 ha; Forest rehabilitation: Mangrove forest: 4,878 ha and Coastal terrestrial forest: 6,925 ha; Afforestation: Mangrove forest: 5,598 ha and Coastal terrestrial forest: 4,402 ha; and Scattered planting: 10 million trees. (The areas and number of items listed above may change based on final project documents) (2.2) Augmenting Survival of Soft embankment to create accretion for reforestation: 24,400 m; Breakwater Coastal Forests works (concreted hard embankments): 5,000 m; Forest protection rules board: 196 boards; Forest protection station: 18 stations; Forestry road: 132 km; Improving and upgrading of dykes: 129 km. (The areas and number of items listed above may change based on final project documents) Component 3: Generating Sustainable Benefits from Coastal Forest (3.1) The investment packages At least 225 investment packages for communities in the project communes for farmers or groups of and Capacity strengthen for creating sustainable long-term benefits from households to help them coastal forests: 74 courses. implementing livelihood activities to reduce dependence and income from forest (3.2) Demand Driven At least 235 investment packages for communities in the project communes Productive Infrastructure and Capacity strengthen for creating sustainable long-term benefits from 29 Component and Activities Outputs coastal forests: 74 courses Component 4: Project Repairing of working offices: 9 units; Enhancement of project management management and M&E capacity: 14 courses; M&E plan; Social and environmental management plans; and Technical assistance: 04 expert groups 4.1 Potential Positive Impacts 69. The overall impacts from the proposed activities are expected to be largely positive both from environment and social aspects. Protection, rehabilitation, and planting of coastal forests and mangrove with active participation of local authority and community will increase the areas of coastal forest/mangrove in the Project area, enhance ecosystem quality and habitat connectivity and continuity, and contributing to income generation of local people. The Project beneficiaries will include: coastal communities, small-holder forestry households involved in sustainable forest management (SFM) as well as the PFMBs, CFMBs, provincial, district and commune authorities, and MARD. The Project is expected to directly benefit about 31,000 people from the activities on productive partnerships. A larger number will benefit from engagement in planting and management of coastal forests. The Red River Delta and the north central areas are considered critical for socioeconomic development and food security of Vietnam, but it is facing a very high risk of natural disasters, climate events (storms), and sea level rise. Strengthening adaptation abilities to climate change of the local communities and local authorities in the Project areas through rehabilitation and plantation of coastal forests and mangrove could help addressing these issues at a lower cost while improving resilient capacity of local population. 70. Specifically, potential positive impacts that could be qualitatively identified can be highlighted as follows: - Implementation of Component 1 would help putting in place conditions to maintain the needed inputs and financing for restoring coastal forests that can help reducing exposure to storm surge and sea level rise. This would strengthen the government’s capacity to address sector issues through the application of ISP, of appropriate seeding technology, and of financial capacity through PFES that could benefit local communities. Applying an ISP tool could help improving effective coordination among development projects and activities in the Project area during the planning and management while applying appropriate seeding technology could help increasing planting survival rate. Applying PFES mechanism has been successfully in the Mekong Delta and it will be replicated in the selected project area and if possible scale up. - Implementation of Component 2 could increase the forest area protection and rehabilitation as well as help improving in the silvicultural practices and structures need to extend and manage coastal forests and augment their survival. Under the Project, about 50,000 hectares (ha) of coastal forests will be protected, 10,000 ha of coastal forests will be rehabilitated, 5,000 ha of mangrove will be planted, and 4,000 ha of sandy soil forests will be planted. This component is also expected to help improving effective management of coastal forest which is different from those of the inland forest. Most of the coastal forests are classified primarily as protection forests and they are under the direct management of the government through the CPCs, the PFMBs, or Special Usages Forest Management Boards (SUFMBs). Some coastal protection forests have been temporarily assigned to enterprises or tourism organizations for management such as Sam Son and Cua Lo. Individuals, households and communities have very limited tenure rights over coastal forest land and limited access to coastal forests. - Implementation of Component 3 by promoting sustainable productive partnership models that link local communities with the private sector the project could help distribute and/or diversify the benefits from protecting and maintaining the coastal forests. Providing financial support 30 (development and operation of productive facilities) to local communities and local authorities through competitive block grants (about 235 packages) could assist the local people and local authorities in the Project area to enhance the benefits of coastal forest protection and restoration as well as its sustainability. To enhance potential regional impacts, experience from the implementation of these subprojects could be periodically reviewed, shared, and discussed with the local authorities and communities for possible replication and/or scale up. - Implementation of Component 4, will ensure effective and timely implementation of Project activities including preparation and implementation of safeguard instruments (ESMF/ESMP, RPF/RAP, and EMPF/EMDP) to be applied for the subproject/activities. Training, capacity building, and technical assistance necessary for strengthening CPMU and PPMUs will be provided. - Moreover, through the implementation of Components 2 and 3, the Project will also increase employment or livelihood benefits from employment of local people. Contractors will be encouraged to use local laborers for simple works such as smooth the road, moving soil, give priority to poor families, female householders, woman if they need jobs. - Based on the survey results of households participating during the Project preparation, local people suggested that if the Project can provide jobs and employment for local community, their income will be increased and their living conditions could be improved. Increased income can also bring more savings which can be used to invest in other production activities or for education of young children. Efficient use of natural resources which could be reflected through the increased number of households participating in the protection and taking care of the forests, could increase forest cover and provide a long-term inputs for sustainable livelihoods and benefit the communities. - Impact on gender: According to the interview results, the reforestation and forest protection activities are enthusiastically supported by women. By participating in forest planting and protection activities, woman will have an opportunity to participate in social activities and to increase their income as well. This can result in more savings which can be used for other investments or for the education of young children. This also help reducing the burden of women in their family. 71. During the Project preparation, the Client and WB made an effort to quantitatively estimate the benefits of the Project interventions and documented them in the economic analysis associated with the project appraisal document. Successful implementation of Component 1 activities could lead to modernization of forest sector in coastal region while implementation of Component 4 could improve time and effectiveness of Project management and facilitate achievement of Project objectives. The expected and measurable benefits of the project will derive from Components 2 and 3 which invest in protecting and restoring coastal forest systems; and in improving coastal economies and coastal communities’ livelihoods from coastal forests. Expected benefits resulted from Component 2 that invests in coastal forest conservation and restoration include: coastal protection, erosion control, maintenance of fish nursery, carbon sequestration and other benefits from collecting and harvesting raw materials, food provided by coastal forest ecosystems, recreation and tourism. The expected benefits coming from Component 3 will mainly result from increased income of beneficiary household’s benefiting from the project. 4.2 Potential Negative Impacts 72. Potential negative impacts of the Project are expected to be moderate and most of them will be temporary, localized and can be mitigated. The main activities/ subprojects that could create negative impacts are forest plantation and restoration; construction, rehabilitation, and/or operation of small 31 infrastructure works; and support to livelihood improvement. The main impacts of Project activities could be highlighted by component as discussed in the following paragraphs. 4.2.1 Impacts of Component 1 and 4 73. Potential negative impacts of Components 1 and 4 will be small. The activities will involve transfer of technical knowhow, training, workshops, goods, and very small works associated with nurseries, and renovation of offices and/or construction of small office building. To be in line with WB’ Interim Guidelines on the Application of Safeguard Policies to Technical Assistance Activities in Bank- Financed Projects and Trust Funds Administered by the Bank, all TAs under Component 1 will be reviewed for possible impacts and safeguard risks and they will be conducted through extensive consultation and active participatory processes with local authorities, local communities, and key stakeholders. For small works contracts, the ECOP for small works will be applied. 4.2.2 Impacts of Component 2 (Coastal Forest Development and Rehabilitation) 74. Component 2 activities will involve physical investments on (a) planting and restoration of coastal forests (mangrove and coastal inland protection forest), (b) physical works needed to improve the survivability of coastal forests that are recently planted, (c) construction of forestry-related infrastructure and infrastructure to help improve monitoring and implementation of protection activities such as forest nurseries, watch tower, ecological aquaculture facilities and upgrading of rural roads; and in very few cases, with detailed justification, some works on existing coastal dykes and embankments that are critical in the project sites. PPMU will be responsible for implementation of the activities during preparation and construction of infrastructure and planting including procurement of goods and other inputs. After planting and/or construction is completed, local community will be assigned (through a local contract) to be responsible for protection and management of the subproject area. Activities will also include TA for planning and technical design of subproject including supervision of the planting/protection activities, goods, and other inputs considered 75. Potential impacts of plantation and/or protection of coastal forest and mangrove during pre- planting and planting phase is considered moderate and could be mitigated. It may involve conflict regarding land ownerships since most of the coastal forests are classified primarily as protection forests and they are under the direct management of the government (CPCs, PFMBs, SUFMBs, or private entities) as well as increasing use of pesticides and/or toxic agrochemical during seeding development process and caring of young plants. As a consultancy will be procured to conduct needed site assessments and validation of the suitability of the currently identified subproject sites and complete detailed design of the subproject activities, given that the Project has been designed to promote participation of local communities, they will need to enable active participation of all stakeholders, so that any issues could be adequately identified and mitigated. To be cost effective, the TA should also be required to review the ESMF and prepare an ESMP of the subproject according to the guidelines provided in Annex 3 including responsible for supervision and monitoring of the ESMP implementation and reporting. 76. Impacts during construction, upgrading, and/or rehabilitation of the small-scale infrastructure are also expected to be moderate and can be mitigated and they can be summarized as follows: (a). Impacts due to land acquisition and resettlement: It is not expected that land acquisition and/or resettlement will be required. However, if relocation of household grave and/or minor land requirement is involved, an abbreviated RAP will be prepared in line with the RPF and WB clearance will be required before implementation. (b). Safety risk related to UXO is considered moderate since the Project area was affected by operations during the war. (c). Impacts during site clearance and construction: It is expected that there will be 2 type of impacts: 32 one for site specific impacts (such as UXO and other safety risks, impacts on landscape, ecology, and/or on other water/land users; etc.) and one for generic impacts due to construction works (such as increase in air, noise, water pollution; waste generation, local traffic congestion, disturbance to local residents, etc.). While the impacts due to construction could be mitigated through the application of ECOP, mitigation of the site specific impacts can be identified during the detailed preparation of the subproject site and activities including specific need for infrastructure can be identified. Field visits to the subproject sites suggested that potential impacts on local biodiversity and landscape during site clearance and/or dredging of small canals will be small while community consultation suggested that there has not been any case related to UXO. However, risk assessment of residue UXOs to be conducted in the subproject area, especially in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces and the subproject activities will be conducted only after completion of this assessment. The site-specific impacts will be confirmed during the safeguard screening (Annex 2) and appropriate measures will be included in the ESMP (see Annex 3). All these requirements will be included in the TOR for the TA consultant for the subproject design. (d). Impacts due to forest roads: Road construction, operation, and maintenance activities may cause significant erosion and adversely affect water quality. Cutting and filling activities during road construction may disrupt subsurface hydrologic flow, and bringing water to the surface in new areas or destabilizing sensitive hill slopes which may cause slope failures. Road surfaces may allow water to flow without restriction, resulting in accelerated surface erosion, channel scouring and transport of sediment loads transport to water bodies. Impacts during operation stage of the plantation and infrastructure are expected to be moderate. Large amount of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, growth stimulants are not expected to be used in the plantation, rehabilitation of coastal forests. However, plantation of mono species may involve pest outbreaks, and/or other negative impacts on biodiversity especially on invasive species12 may occur. However, these risks are considered small and can be mitigated since GOV has already established a number of procedures and/or standards on these aspects and they will be applied and monitored during the implementation of the subprojects. It is expected that efforts will be made to assign local communities to be responsible for protection and/or maintenance of most of the planted forests through a contract signing with local authorities. Potential impacts due to possible future subproject activities may involve restrictions of access to forests and forest products for local communities to coastal protection forests, although unlikely. A Process Framework (PF) for restriction of access in accordance with OP/BP 4.12 has been prepared to address potential impacts as a result of access/use restrictions of coastal forest resources (e.g. use of mangroves for fuel). The PF provides guidance on the processes and procedures on all future subproject activities to identify, assess, minimize and mitigate potential adverse impacts on local livelihoods due to integrated co- management which will be promoted by the project. The PF outlines the principles and procedures to be followed if negative social impacts occur, and seeks to prevent eligible individuals, households, and communities from becoming worse off as a result of the project. The PF also identifies the roles and responsibilities and capacity building and budget requirement to effectively implement these mitigation measures. 77. Other impacts: There are possible impacts on coastal ecosystem and sediment transport as well as on boat safety risk for local fishers for the subproject that involve construction of mangrove forest and/or wave break structure (underwater or soft structure) but it is considered small and mitigation measures such as monitoring of water quality and ecology and installation of safety warning sign, 12 The terms “invasive speciesâ€? was defined in the executive order 13112 of the United States in 1999 and in Vietnam Biodiversity Law in 2008 as “an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human healthâ€?. 33 buoys, etc. will be incorporated in the ESMP. All the requirements appropriate for the subproject site and activities (see Annex 3) should be included in the TOR of the TA consultant for the subproject design. 4.2.3 Impacts of Component 3 (Generating Sustainable Benefits from Coastal Forests) 78. Negative impacts of this component is expected to be moderate. The component has been designed to assist local communities generating sustainable benefits from coastal forests by (i) supporting farmers or groups of households developing livelihood activities that can reduce their dependence and income from the forest and funds can be used to purchase input materials, to invest in auxiliary works, drainage ditches, technical assistance, and market access and (ii) supporting the community groups that have received investment packages mentioned in (i) accessing to the market and technical assistance to implement the activities including development of small-scale infrastructure and auxiliary works. It is expected that about 235 investment packages will be provided through a competitive review of proposals to be submitted by individual households, local communities, and/or local authorities during the first 2-3 years of the Project implementation. Investment packages to be selected include: (a) support extensive aquaculture systems in mangrove forests or facilities for spawning aquaculture to improve cultivation techniques towards sustainability, maintaining or improving productivity, product yield on the basis of forest protection and development and environmental protection; (b) support smart aquaculture systems adapting to climate change; (c) support small scale agricultural and livestock systems in north central coastal provinces focused on vegetables production, fruit trees, livestock and poultry; (d) value addition to local products (e.g., canning vegetables, checking quality of aquaculture, cold storage); and (e) support for development of eco-tourism based on environmental protection and forest protection in coastal areas. 79. The subproject areas may include coastal areas where exclusive shrimp aquaculture is carried out under an ecological aquaculture production approach. Most of the aquaculture farms are expected to be of small scale and run by families. The intensity of this aquaculture is expected to be quite low and feed input also relatively low. Nevertheless, there are some environmental concerns relating to shrimp farming systems. These include potential high accumulation of sediment from some aquaculture farms, higher levels of pollution from wastewater from more intensive shrimp aquaculture, losses and damage to mangroves from improper aquaculture management, and possible use of toxic chemicals. 80. Ecotourism development may have negative impacts on fragile coastal ecosystem especially along the north central coast and the islands with high biodiversity values, rare wildlife species, and a number of beautiful beaches, water quality, and mangrove/marine ecosystems. Key issues may be related to illegal and wildlife trade; potential damage to coral reefs, seagrass beds, and/or endanger species of animals, flora, and fauna; introduction of invasive species; and possible disease outbreak. 81. There is also concern on possible induced impacts due to un-controlled/un-managed expansion of livelihood development models in nearby areas which may create undesirable outcome. 82. To mitigate the potential impacts, guideline for addressing the concerns related to the possible livelihood models is provided in Annex 3. The TA consultant will be required to incorporate the guidelines into the review process and ensure that the proposals will also include appropriate ESMP of the subproject. 4.3 Impacts on Gender and Ethnic Minority 83. Impacts on gender: In the coastal areas, as women have to take care of their family, they have to rely on agricultural, forestry and fisheries products to earn their income and to develop their family economy. Therefore, the restricted access of women to the management of and decision-making for forest resources has impeded the management and protection of forests. 34 84. Impact on ethnic minority: In Vietnam, the northern and central part of the country are home to many groups of ethnic minorities (EM). The SESA study13 conducted in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue (6 of the 8 Project provinces) suggested that ethnic minority people have fewer options at present to improve and/or diversify their livelihoods in comparison with the Kinh especially when agricultural change in responding to markets and they are facing many challenges. This is partly a function of lower education, and many others factors including the quality of the land available to the ethnic minority small holders and their integration with markets and changes in many policies, laws, and regulations will be necessary to address key issues. The study identified risks and challenges for implementation of REDD+ regarding to issues related to land; livelihoods and forest dependency; potential to benefits from forest land; gender/social inclusion; consultants; and policy, laws, regulation, and institution frameworks. 85. Nonetheless, the situation in the coastal area are different from the upland area. The SA study for the Project suggested that the presence of ethnic minorities in the Project area is found in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces with 21,685 people, in which there are 186 ethnic minority people living in the target subproject communes. In the remaining six provinces (Hai Phong, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces) most of population living in the coastal rural areas are Kinh people, the ethnic minority people are ones living with their spouses as Kinh people, yet this type of household is quite few, not over 3 ethnic people in one commune). During the survey, ethnic minorities in Thanh Hoa are not subject to land acquisition and they are not adversely affected by the Project as well. The outstanding points of ethnic minorities living in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces are that their living standards and income have been improved since they moved to the coastal areas in comparison with their difficult live in the mountainous areas in the past. Their main livelihoods are fisheries, livestock and crop cultivation, so their lives still depend on coastal forests. Besides, ethnic minority people will be involved in the Project activities. MEASURES TO MANAGE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS To mitigate the potential impacts during construction, taken comments from the local authorities and local community on negative impacts due to construction into account, the Project will closely supervise and monitor performance of contractors and ensuring that the contractors conduct the subproject activities according to the international practices for engineering and construction practices. A generic Environmental Code of Practice (ECOP) has been prepared as an annex of the ESMF and it will be included in the bidding and contract documents. The contractors will also be required to prepare Site ESMP (SEMP) for subprojects including setting up a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) and initiate and maintain close relations and consultation with local authorities and community. The subproject owners will also hire qualified consultants to conduct periodic monitoring and reporting on contractor performance as well as and safeguard issues and actions undertaken during the subproject implementation. To accommodate construction of small works (such as small office and water quality monitoring), a simplified ECOP has also been prepared. Safeguard training and technical assistance will also be provided during the implementation of the FMCRP. A summary of environmental and social negative impacts and proposed mitigation measures is provided in Table 5.1. (a) Mitigation measures for land acquisition, relocation of graves, and ethnic groups 13 SESA Phase 1 (2014-2016) was conducted as part of the REDD+ Readiness Preparation process as required by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Readiness Grant in Vietnam and data collection (through review and consultation with target groups) include those related to land allocation, livelihoods and forest dependency, potential to benefit from forest land, gender/social inclusion; policy, law, regulation, and institutional frameworks. 35  Land Acquisition. It is not expected that land acquisition will be required for all the proposed subprojects. However, as the subproject sites have not been selected, a RPF has been developed in close consultation with local authorities and local communities including procedures related to grave relocation.  Relocation of graves. If individual grave location is required, it will be carried out by households whose graves are affected (as a practice in Vietnam). Rituals for relocation of graves may be different among Kinh, and ethnic minority peoples. Affected households will receive compensation payment to conduct the relocation on their own. Payment to the grave relocation includes costs of excavation, relocation, reburial, purchasing land for reburial (if any), and all other reasonable costs associated with necessary rituals by the local practice. Local ritual means relocation of graves will be carried out in accordance with local cultural practices, taking into account cultural preferences which are typical for each ethnic group. Where graveyard - owned collectively by ethnic groups, are affected, appropriate consultation with affected groups will be conducted during social assessment under respective subproject to work out solutions acceptable to affected ethnic minorities. Relocation of graves will be done satisfactorily to the affected households prior to the commencement of construction. Grave relocation and compensation will be documented in respective subproject RAPs and EMDPs based on the consultation with affected households and ethnic minority peoples during project implementation.  Ethnic Minorities. The Project is likely to involve ethnic minority and an EMPF has been prepared in line with the WB policy. During Project implementation, when the subproject sites are identified and the presence of ethnic minority are confirmed, an EMDP for the subproject will be prepared and implemented. It is expected that the process will be made during the site selection process which will be conducted during the first 2 years. (b) Mitigation measures for reducing UXO risk. 86. Safety risk related to UXO is considered moderate since the Project area was affected by conflict operations during the war. Therefore, a UXO risk assessment will be conducted for all the subproject sites, once they are identified, and UXO clearance (if needed) will be carried out by qualified agencies, usually a specialized army unit. Construction activities will not be allowed prior to UXO clearance. (c) Mitigation measures during site clearance and construction stage 87. To mitigate the potential negative impacts during site clearance and construction of all works, taken into account the experience on impacts during preconstruction and construction of works into account, all the subprojects will closely supervise and monitor performance of contractors and ensuring that the contractors conduct the subproject activities according to the international practices for engineering and construction practices. A generic ECOP has been prepared as an annex of the ESMF and it will be included in the bidding and contract documents. The contractors may also be required to prepare Site ESMP (SEMP) for the subprojects including setting up a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) and initiate and maintain close relations and consultation with local authorities and community. The subproject owners will also hire qualified consultants to conduct periodic monitoring and reporting on contractor performance as well as and safeguard issues and actions undertaken during the subproject implementation. To accommodate construction of small works (such as small office and rehabilitation of facilities), a simplified ECOP has also been prepared. 88. The ECOP which is part of the ESMP describes typical requirements to be undertaken by the contractors and supervised by the construction supervision engineer during construction. They have been designed for this project to be applicable to the range of small to medium sized civil works. Relevant clauses of the ECOPs will be included as an annex in the bidding and contract documents during detailed design stage. The typical mitigation measures have been identified for the following aspects: 36 – Dust generation – Air pollution – Impacts from noise and vibration – Water pollution – Drainage and sedimentation control – Management of stockpiles, quarries, and borrow pits – Solid waste – Management of dredged materials – Disruption of vegetative covers and ecological resources – Traffic management – Interruption of utility services – Restoration of affected areas – Worker and public safety – Communication with local communities – Chance findings 89. For each subproject, there will be site-specific impacts that require site-specific measures both during construction and operation stages such as site-specific mitigation measures for UXO clearance, for impacts on costal erosion and/or deposition, local transport, and/or water quality. These measures are to be identified in the EIA and incorporated into the subproject ESMPs. These specific measures should be used in conjunction with relevant government technical regulations and the ECOP of the subproject. 90. Monitoring of coastal water quality may be necessary when there are another water users located nearby the subproject sites. However, locations of other water users and the monitoring parameters, locations, and timing will be provided in the ESMP. (d) Mitigation measures to address impacts during operation phase 91. The measures to mitigate the main impacts during operation of the coastal forests and mangrove plantation and its associated structure would be considered during the detailed design stage of the subproject to be conducted by the TA consultant to be mobilized for design of the Component 2. Key mitigation will include measures to avoid invasion of non-native species, the use of toxic- agrochemicals, and possible impacts on other coastal water uses, on local waterway transportation, on community and ecological health risks associated with exposure to biochemical used in the tending and maintenance processes, and/or in the agriculture and/or aquaculture demonstration models to be selected and/or applied. For the subproject involve hard structure that can increase safety risks to local waterways users, measures to ensure safety for the local transporter will be required and monitoring of shoreline for possible change in coastal erosion, deposition, and water/land uses due to the subproject will be made (see Annex 3). (e) Mitigation Measures for Component 3 Activities 92. Given that the subproject activities (investment package) will be finalized during the first 2 years of the Project implementation through the review and approval of the proposals, safeguard screening (Annex 2) and preparation of ESMP (Annex 3) will be made during the review and approval of the proposal process. Mitigation measures for civil works will be include application of ECOP and site specific measures while those related to livelihood development models likely to be selected for the subproject sites including ecotourism will be selected from the guidelines provided in Annex 3 and/or as agreed with WB safeguard specialist on a case by case basis. The measures will be incorporated as part of the ESMP of the subproject during the review and approval of the proposals. The ESMPs, RAPs, and/or EMDPs will be included in the subproject proposals as needed and their implementation will be monitored and results reported to WB as part of the safeguard monitoring report. Safeguard 37 screening, review, approval, implantation and monitoring will follow the ESMF process descried in Section 6. 38 Table 5.1: Summary of Environmental and Social Negative Impacts and Proposed Mitigation Measures Component, Subcomponent, & Scope Responsible Potential impacts on environment and society Proposal of mitigation measures of Activities agencies Component 1: Enabling Effective Coastal Forest Management C1.1: Enhancing Effective Spatial No negative impacts on local environment. Review the TOR for the TA for possible safeguard PMU of VNForest Planning of Coastal Zones. Key However need active consultation with local risks and ensuring that the activities with be carried out and CPMU activities are TA and other capacity communities to avoid potential conflicts in land in consultation with local authorities and communities. building activities (training; printing, uses. workshops, travels, and goods). C1.2 Supporting Improved Seedling Similar to C1.1. Seedling activities may involve Review the TOR for the TA for possible safeguard PMU of VNForest Production through Regional Units. the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals. risks and ensuring that the activities with be carried out and CPMU Key activities are similar to C1.1 but in consultation with local authorities and communities. focus on seeding development If pesticide and/or toxic chemicals are used, mitigation measures in line with PMF (Annex 5) should be applied. C1.3 Valuing and Expanding Payments Similar to C1.1. Implementation of PFES Review the TOR for the TA (PFES) for possible PMU of VNForest for Forest Ecosystem Services for related to ecotourism, patrolling and enforcing safeguard risks and ensuring that the activities with be and CPMU Coastal Forests. Key activities are regulations, and protection management may carried out in consultation with local authorities and similar to C1.1 but focus on PFES create some negative environmental impacts. communities. If needed, application of the guideline mechanism. provided in Annex 3 should be applied. Component 2: Coastal Forest Development and Rehabilitation C2.1 Planting and Protecting target During preconstruction and construction Ensure adequate consultation among local authorities PPMUs coastal forests. Project area (72,080 ha) and communities to clarify issues which is important covers 257 communes in 47 districts. - Potential conflicts on land ownerships for ensuring that local communities can be contracted Supervise by CPMU Key activities will include TA and for protection, caring, and tendering the subproject investments on protection and plantation - UXO risks: High area (coastal forest and mangrove) including Protection, plantation, seedling, and tendering Ensuring appropriate site selection, types of plants, PPMUs and CPMU a long term contracts with local owners may create site specific impacts due to types of seedling standard, and planting and tendering and investment in small-scale activities and locations of the subproject areas. techniques for mangrove as well as for inner coast infrastructure (construction, forest (see Annex 3) rehabilitation and/or upgrading), 39 Component, Subcomponent, & Scope Responsible Potential impacts on environment and society Proposal of mitigation measures of Activities agencies protecting the forests. The target are: During operation 50,000 ha of coastal forests protected; 10,000 ha of coastal forests rehabilitated; Planting in wrong area and/or with wrong Proper site selection and design (see Annex 3); PPMUs and CPMU 5,000 ha of mangroves planted; 4,000 ha design can cause significant change in coastal of sandy soil forest planted. flow and sedimentation and may negatively affected other users of coastal resources. Harvesting is mainly on non-timber Increase pest disease outbreak: Moderate Selection of tree species and planting season are PPMUs and CPMU forest products (NTFPs), but benefit suitable with natural condition of the proposed areas in sharing/co-management of forest order to prevent habitat disturbance (see Annex 3); protection can allow the harvesting of up Increase forest fire risks: Moderate Development of forest fire prevention plans that is PPMUs and CPMU to 20% of wood from protection areas, integrated with the project implementation plans basing on the assessment of specific sites including training (see Annex 3). where it is technically feasible. Environmental impacts of harvesting of NTFPs, Careful planning and management; firebreaks may PPMUs and CPMU harvesting of small quantity (up to 20%) of also need to be constructed; organize firefighting crews wood from protection areas, and the recreational if fire is a major hazard; and establishment of forest uses of forests have so far been assessed as low. protection units. In each benefit sharing/co- These may include incidental fire and illegal management contract, a sustainable forest logging. management and protection plan is developed with clear guidance and provision on this 20% harvest, noting that forests sustainability includes harvesting in a sustainable way. Any cutting down of trees in the protection forests needs prior approval of relevant authorities. C2.2: Augmenting Survival of Coastal Pre-construction impacts: - Conduct UXO risk assessment and UXO PPMUs supervise by Forests. This will support additional clearance as needed. COMU and local UXO risks: High structural measures that are often authorities and local Land acquisition: Small. As land acquisition, - Prepare RAP in line with the RPF if land required to increase the survival rates of communities and/or resettlement will not be required and acquisition and/or relocation of grave is required. the planted materials. Type of structures local community may be contracted for An independent monitoring of RAP would include those reducing exposure undertaking the works, possible impacts due to implementation will be conducted to the forces of the sea (waves and tidal establishment of work camps will be minor or 40 Component, Subcomponent, & Scope Responsible Potential impacts on environment and society Proposal of mitigation measures of Activities agencies currents) and structures that would assist don’t need. with improved tending of newly planted During construction: Moderate. Construction All contractors will be required to comply with ECOP forests, reducing the likelihood of of these small works will create waste degradation caused by pests or animals. generation, nuisance to residents, and possible Key activities will include works increase in water, air, and noise pollution. contracts, materials and equipment, and However, these impacts will be localized, TA for FS, detailed, construction and temporary and Conventional impacts due to supervision of works, subproject small civil works such as increase in air, noise, management, and environmental vibration, water quality, wastes, and safety management consultant (EMC). (workers and public). During operation: Moderate. Reduce safety risks; Monitoring of possible change Local agencies or - Site specific impacts due to type of along the shorelines (erosion, deposition, water quality, local communities infrastructure and location of subproject ecology) responsible for sites such as small wave breakers, See Annex 3 (b) protection and/or maintenance of the structure (per contract) Component 3. Generating Sustainable Benefits from Coastal Forests C3.1: Investment Packages for During preconstruction and construction - Establish clear review criteria and ensure adequate Generating Benefits from Coastal consultation with local communities and promote - Potential conflicts in land/water uses due to Forests. The Project will provide (235) transparency during the review and selection the construction and/or operation of the funding packages (via competitive grant) process. (see Annex 3) selected livelihood activities for local community to develop - Potential impacts due to small scale - Apply appropriate measures depending on type, livelihood models and productive infrastructure (such as increase in air, noise, locations, and nature of potential negative impacts infrastructure to be selected through water quality, wastes, and safety (workers which will be determined during proposal review. competitive selection and public) ESMP, RAP, EMDP will be included in the It is expected that the package cost will proposal before approval and its implementation be 4 hills; and Do not select mobile sand areas and flooded hours/day; intertidal time > 5 days/month; depth of areas during rainy season. tide crest < 3 m; Selection of areas under going the deposition period or erosion-deposition process is equilateral; Selection of areas where have salinity < 35 0/00; and Do not select areas near by industrial zone, harbors or undergoing construction of coastal 98 infrastructural works. For seedling of mangrove: Height of seedling > 1.5 Seeding coastal inland forests: Height of seedling > 2.5 m; stump diameter of seedling > 1.2cm; tree age > m; stump diameter of seedling > 1.5 cm; tree age > 12 24 months; Dimension of seedling bottle is 40 x 30 months; Dimension of seedling bottle is 18 x12 cm cm (height x diameter); Seedlings grow well, no (height x diameter); and Seedlings grow well with it's disease, no broken tree trunk or branch. straight trunk, top of tree and no disease. For planting and tender technique of mangrove Plantation of species including: Casuarina forest: Selection of seedlings and planting equisetifolia, Acacia auriculiformis; mixed Casuarina techniques according to the Basis Standard TCCS equisetifolia + Acacia auriculiformis; Planting 08:2011; Priority is mixed-species plantation under techniques of Casuarina equisetifolia according to the natural ecological succession of mangrove trees; Branch Standard TCN 20:2010. Technical regulations and Do not remove all vegetation during plantation on Casuarina equisetifolia, Acacia auriculiformis and tending of forests. plantation. Do not remove all vegetation during plantation and tending of forests. 7. Prevention of invasive species: Intentional or accidental introduction of alien, or non-native, species of flora and fauna into areas where they are not normally found can be a significant threat to biodiversity, since some alien species can become invasive, spreading rapidly and out-competing native species. Forest operators should not intentionally introduce any new alien species (not currently established in the country or region of the project) unless this is carried out in accordance with the existing regulatory framework for such introduction, if such framework is present, or is subject to a risk assessment (as part of the Social and Environmental Assessment) to determine the potential for invasive behavior. Operators will not deliberately introduce any alien species with a high risk of invasive behavior or any known invasive species, and will exercise diligence to prevent accidental or unintended introductions. Operators should also take precautions to prevent the spread of existing exotic species as a result of forestry operations. Management techniques include procedures to ensure that equipment (e.g. trucks, skid machines) are power washed prior to moving from an infested area to an un-infested area. Species should be selected on the basis of their overall suitability for the site and their appropriateness to the management objectives. To enhance biodiversity conservation, native species are preferred over exotic species for watershed restoration programs and for some plantation situations. Exotic species should be used only if their overall performance over the long-term is demonstrably greater than that for native species. Exotic species shall be monitored to detect unusual mortality, disease or insect attacks and adverse ecological impacts. No new exotic species shall be introduced on a large scale until local trials and experience demonstrate that they are ecologically adapted, non-invasive and have no significant ecological impacts on other ecosystems. As great a variety as possible of clonal materials (i.e. Acacia spp.) should be made available to planting sites. As a general rule, not more than 20% of the plantings in any one commune, and no area of plantation greater than 30 ha shall be to a single clone. Where a range of clonal materials is not available, clonal plantations should be surrounded by blocks of other plantation species or by sanitation corridors of native vegetation. 8. Assessment of possible impacts from invasive species should therefore be considered during the preparation of the ESMP of subproject. 9. Pest outbreak: Monoculture plantation may require periodic treatment of pesticides and/or other toxic substance. If pesticides and/or toxic agrochemical is used, follow the guidelines provided in Annex 3(c) on the use of pesticides and/or toxic chemicals. In additions, to avoid potential adverse impacts the following measures will be considered: 99 - Selection of tree species and planting season are suitable with natural condition of the proposed areas in order to prevent habitat disturbance; - Selection of suitable cultivation techniques with site conditions of the proposed areas; - Applied silvicultural techniques to be trained; - Selection of quality seedlings which are suitable with difficult site conditions; - Mixed-species plantation should be prioritized; - Do not use pesticides and growth stimulant substances, unless it is considered necessary by an expert. 10. Forest fire risks: Wildfires caused by natural events (e.g. lightening strikes) or human error are one of the most significant risks to the profitability and sustainability of forest resources. In natural forests, the opening of the forest canopy by selective logging usually leads to a proliferation of ground level vegetation. This is often accompanied by an increased ignition hazard due to the presence of forestry workers or members of the public who use forestry roads for access. Forest fire prevention and control activites must be an integral part of the operational plan for plantation area and complied with Decree No. 09/2006/ND-CP (Regualtion on the Prevention and Fighting of Forest Fires). Such plan should establish a fire control unit, define roles and responsiblities, and detail prevention, public education, patrolling, enforecement and fire response programs. To avoid and/or mitigate the risk, the following measures will be considered: - Development of a fire risk monitoring system. - Preparation of a formal fire management and response plan supported by the necessary resources and training, including training for workers in the use fire suppression equipment and evacuation. Procedures may include coordination activities with local authorities. Further recommendations for emergency preparedness and response are addressed in the General EHS Guidelines. - Conducting the training on forest fire prevention plans. - Forestry operations should be equipped with fire suppression equipment appropriate for the size of operations and that meets internationally recognized technical specifications (e.g. fire beaters and knapsack sprayers, small portable water pumps and tanks, and water tankers). - Undertake regular removal of high-hazard fuel accumulations (e.g. through thinning and prescribed burns). Time thinning and prescribed burns to avoid forest fire seasons. Prescribed burns should adhere to applicable burning regulations, fire suppression equipment requirements, and typically must be monitored by a fire watcher. - Establishment and maintenance of a network of fuel breaks of less flammable materials or cleared land to slow progress of fires and allow fire-fighting access. - Total area of the coastal forest protection, plantation and rehabilitation under the project is 72,412 ha. Therefore, 93 km of fire break should be established in the plantation areas in order to prevent and minimize damage to forests. Width of fire break is from 10 - 15 m and is cleanly maintained every year. Inland forests will be cleaned in the dry season (from October to March of next year). 11. Meeting international practices: To make sure that the proposed subprojects/activities will not create adverse impacts during preconstruction, construction and operations stages, it is necessary to ensure that the subproject design incorporates means for addressing the following issues: the potential of forest restoration to improve biodiversity and ecosystem functions; the potential to establish plantations on non-forest lands that do not contain critical natural habitats; the need to avoid conversion or degradation of natural habitats; and the capacities of the government, nongovernmental organizations, and other private entities to cooperate in the forest restoration and plantation 100 development. 12. In this context, the Guideline for Application of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Principles for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Boxes A3.1 and A3.2 will be considered during the design and selection of the subproject site and included in the ESMP of the subproject. Box A3.1. FSC 10 principles - Forest management shall respect all applicable laws of the country, international treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory, and comply with all FSC Principles and Criteria. - Long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources shall be clearly defined, documented and legally established. - The legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories and resources shall be recognized and respected. - Forest management operations shall maintain or enhance the long-term social and economic well-being of forest workers and local communities. - Forest management operations shall encourage the efficient use of the forest's multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and social benefits. - Forest management shall conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by doing so, maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest. - A management plan - appropriate to the scale and intensity of the operations - shall be written, implemented, and kept up to date. The long-term objectives of management, and the means of achieving them, shall be clearly stated. - Monitoring shall be conducted - appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management i to assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody, management activities and their social and environmental impacts. - Management activities in high conservation value natural forest communities shall maintain or enhance the attributes that define such forests. Decisions regarding high conservation value natural communities shall always be considered in the context of a precautionary approach - While plantations can provide an array of social and economic benefits, and can contribute to satisfying the world's needs for forest products, they should compliment the management of, reduce pressures on, and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forest communities. Plantations should be planned and managed in accordance with the preceding nine principles *Source: Summarized from Forest Stewardship Council, Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship (Revised 1996, further revised 1999) Box A3.1. FSC 10 principles - The management objectives of the plantation, including natural forest conservation and restoration objectives, shall be explicitly stated in the plantation management plan, and clearly demonstrated in plan implementation. - The design and layout of plantations should promote the protection, restoration and conservation of natural forests, and not increase pressures on natural forests. Wildlife corridors, streamside zones and a mosaic of stands of different ages and rotation periods shall be used in the layout of the plantation, consistent with scale. The scale and layout of plantation blocks shall be consistent with the patterns of forest stands found within the natural landscape. - Diversity in the composition of plantations is preferred so as to enhance economic, ecological and social stability. Such diversity may include the size and spatial distribution of management units within the landscape, number and genetic composition of species, age classes and stand structures. - The selection of species for planting shall be based on their overall suitability for the site and their appropriateness to the management objectives. In order to enhance the conservation of biological diversity, native species are preferred over exotic species in the establishment of plantations and the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Exotic species, which shall be used only where their performance is greater than that of native species, shall be carefully monitored to detect unusual mortality, disease of insect outbreaks and adverse ecological impacts. - A proportion of the overall plantation area, appropriate to the scale of the plantation and to be determined in regional standards, shall be managed so as to return the site to a natural forest cover. - Measures shall be taken to maintain or improve soil structure, fertility, and biological activity. The techniques and rates of harvest, road and trail construction and maintenance, and the choice of species shall not result in long-term soil 101 degradation or adverse impacts on water quality, quantity or substantial deviation from natural stream course drainage patterns. - Measures shall be taken to prevent and minimize outbreaks of pests, diseases, fire and invasive plant introductions. Integrated pest management shall form an essential part of the management plan, with primary reliance on prevention and biological control methods rather than chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Plantation management should make every effort to move away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers, including their use in nurseries. - Appropriate to the scale and diversity of the operation, monitoring of plantations shall include regular assessments of potential on-site and off-site ecological and social impacts (e.g. natural regeneration, effects on water resources and soil fertility, and impacts on local welfare and social well-being). No species shall be planted on a large-scale until local trials and/or experience have shown that they are ecologically well-adapted to the site, are not invasive, and do not have significant negative ecological impacts. Special attention will be paid to social issues of land acquisition for plantations, especially the protection of local rights of ownership, use and access. - Plantations established in areas converted from natural forests (Natural forests are forest areas where most of the principle characteristics and key elements of native ecosystems, such as complexity, structure and diversity are present, and include primary and secondary forest ecosystems as defined by FSC-approved national and regional standards of forest stewardship) after November 1994 normally shall not qualify for certification. Certification may be allowed in circumstances where sufficient evidence is submitted to the certification body that the manager/owner is not responsible directly or indirectly for the conversion *Source: Summarized from Forest Stewardship Council, Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship (Revised 1996, further revised 1999) (iii) Mitigations for Community Forest Management (CFM) 13. Community-Based Forest Management and Development: The Bank policy on Forests requires that if the project is designed to support community-based forest management and development, it must be ensured that, as appropriate, the project's design takes the following into account: (i) the extent to which the livelihoods of local communities depend on and use trees in the project and adjacent area, (ii) the institutional, policy, and conflict management issues involved in improving the participation of indigenous people and poor people in the management of the trees and forests included in the project area; and (iii) forest product and forest service issues relevant to indigenous people and poor people living in or near forests in the project area, as well as opportunities for promoting the involvement of women. 14. Recent report29 suggested that in Vietnam, the concept of CFM was formally recognized in the Law on Foresry Protection and Development (2014). With assistance from international agencies, efforts have been made to promote CFM process in many pilot provinces30 focusing mainly on issues such as (a) the process of forest land allocation to households and household groups (particularly to poor, ethnic minorities whose livelihoods are closely linked to traditional forest management); (b) the decentralization of forest management; and (c) the development of pro-poor mechanisms targeting groups involved in innovative forest management solutions. Through training and capacity building on technical and management aspects, local communities could perform their functions. However, sustaining CFM process has been facing many difficulties and challenges and the key ones include (i) Inadequate financial support, (ii) Difficulty with land allocation and administrative procedures, (iii) Lack of clarity on roles of communities, and (iv) Lack of capacity in facilitating participatory 29 Reference: Community Forest Management (CFM) in Viet Nam: Sustainable Forest Management and Benefit Sharing, by Bao Huy, Department of Forest Resources and Environment, Tay Nguyen University, Vietnam. 30 The pilot provinces included Son La, Hoa Binh, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Gia Lai. 102 approaches to forest allocation, and community forest assessment and planning. In addition, the policy on benefit sharing for land recipients is not clear while the administrative procedures for harvesting, which have historically been applied to State Forest Enterprises, are too complicated for the local people in the CFM context. Moreover, unlike individuals or companies, communities and villages have no legal standing and thus cannot be allocated or contracted forestland. 14. Given small and participatory nature of the CFM activities, it is not expected that the CFM process to be carried out under FMCRP will create negative impacts and preparation of an ESMP is not required. However, there are concerns on sustainability of this approach, especially when involve vulnerable people and/or ethnic minority. Therefore, to ensure achievement of sustainable forest management by local communities, which is one of the key safeguard concern, it is necessary for the subproject to clearly and effectively address the sector issues related to forestry techniques and approaches, forestry policy, and forestry administration that could address key issues such as benefit sharing, rights, and the administrative procedures for harvesting and utilization of resources. The study also discussed the lessons learnt31 and provided guidelines for participatory forest assessment and planning, development of local regulations for forest protection and development, in conjunction with simple silvicultural treatments that could be applied to local communities as well as mechanisms to identify benefit sharing and rights of communities and procedures for the suitable management and monitoring of CFM (see Box A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, and A3.7). These guidelines should be considered during the design and planning of subproject activities. 15. It is noted that in northern Vietnam, most mangrove forests have protection status, are often owned and managed by state entities (e.g. FMBs, CPCs) and are not allocated to households and individuals. The primary purpose of mangroves is likely to be to provide a collective service in protecting coastal communities against storms. Local inhabitants are usually not allowed user rights and only a small number of individuals benefit from being contracted to plant or protect the mangroves. Box A3.4 Some guidelines for CFM The methodology covers areas such as the development of participatory methods and approaches for forest land allocation, forest assessment, development of forest management plans, designing forest protection regulations, and the development of simple silvicultural guidelines. Five key steps are as follows (see Figure 1): - (Step 1) Development of a five-year forest management plan by the community, ultimately calculating community needs, both domestic and commercial, and ability of their forest resource base to meet these needs; - (Step 2) Development of local forest protection and regulations in accordance with the existing legal framework; - (Step 3) Development of a forest management plan which is appropriate for the selected sivilcultural methods taken into account both traditional and customary systems and in conjunction with the need for capacity building and monitoring mechanism and cost; and - (Sep 4) Implementation of the plan including monitoring and reporting mechanisms. - Cost effective of the CFM system is critical for its sustainability. Box A3.5: Forestry techniques and approaches for CFM - To support the implementation of CFM, guidelines have been established for participatory forest assessment and planning, the formulation of local regulations on forest protection and development, and simple silviculture techniques (SFDP Song Da 2002, ETSP/Helvetas 2005, RDDL/GFA 2005– 2006). Within these guidelines, participatory approaches have been developed to: Enhance community participation in the decision-making process during the development and implementation of forest management plans, forest protection regulations, and development regulations. This will in turn assist the community in improved management of their forest resources. 31 The lessons were derived from the Song Da Social Forestry Development Project (SFDP) in Son La Province, experiences in undertaking consultancies with the Extension and Training Support Project (ETSP) in Hoa Binh, Thua Thien Hue and Dak Nong Provinces, and for the Rural Development Project of Dak Lak (RDDL) in Dak Lak Province (capacity building, initiation and implementation of CFM pilots), and from experience with Government-funded research on establishing a CFM model in Gia Lai Province. 103 - Define the role of technical staff in CFM as one of facilitation and support to the community during all steps of the CFM process, such as providing information on changing forestry policies and new and appropriate silvicultural technologies. - Define the roles and responsibilities of community members in CFM organizational systems. - Build capacity in using simple methods and tools (communities differ in terms of management capacity, education level, and experience in natural resource management). - Promote a common learning process. CFM is a new approach in Viet Nam, with the methodology being continually developed and improved, and there is no one model that can be applied to all situations. Approaching CFM as a learning process is therefore more realistic and sensible at this time. - Through the development of new methodologies and sharing of experiences, a more effective and flexible approach that is adaptable to all conditions will be encouraged. Box A3.6 CFM Policy - Setting benefit-sharing mechanisms in CFM: The system of using post-allocation incremental growth to determine equitable harvesting programs appears to be a fair system. The traditional volume-based growth harvesting system is not practical, as there is a lack of data norms for different forest types, soil conditions, climate, and forest condition which are needed to model growth. As a result, using the SFM system to define harvest strategies and benefit sharing is the preferred option. SFM as a tool for determining forest increment and benefit sharing. The benefit-sharing plan is determined as a result of the harvest limits, which are based on a percentage of the tree diameter growth over five years, regardless of forest condition variations between blocks. Based on this, the community can develop an equitable intra- block sustainable 5-year harvest plan. - Proposed mechanism for benefit sharing among forest users: In order for community forest management to be undertaken by communes and villages without external financial support, benefit sharing must be both equitable and transparent. Community forest management is considered as a livelihood development or poverty alleviation form of forestry, and the income generated from selling timber and non-timber forest products can be used for common community interests and as a direct form of compensation or income for communities. Based on the growth data over five years, benefits can be calculated for each stage of the 5-year CFM plan. Comparing the actual number of trees from each forest plot against the SFM guidelines, the community can calculate which trees can be harvested. SFM is therefore used as a control for determining harvesting rates and benefits to be shared. - Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms for Household Purposes (see Figure 2): The Village Forest Management Board (VFMB) organized a village meeting to decide on the following issues: (i) The amount that households can harvest annually for their personal consumption; (ii) The amount households must pay in partial fees to the village fund, agreed on in the Village Forest Protection and Development Regulations (FPDRs), for village forest management; and (iii) The amount of surplus trees (if available) that can be harvested to contribute to the village fund for forest management. - Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms for Commercial Purposes: The trees harvested annually are sold and benefits are shared as follows (see Figure 3): First, a payment of a natural resource tax is made. This is usually between 15% and 40%, depending on timber groups and diameter regulations. The tax paid is transferred to the commune for forest management, or for investment and development of bare land or more degraded plots; Second, all harvesting costs such as felling, transportation, and forest cleaning are deducted; Third, after deducting payment of the natural resource tax and harvesting costs, 10% of the remaining income is allocated to the Commune People’s Committee (CPC) for forest management costs and an allowance for the Commune Forest Management Board (CFMB); and Finally, the remainder is shared among the VFMB, the village fund establishment and the households involved in CFM. - The benefit-sharing regime is based on the village FPDRs, which are agreed on by the entire village and approved by the local authority. This benefit-sharing mechanism aligns with the forestry techniques and forest land allocation policy, in which the forest owners can generate income through incremental growth. The SFM approach is robust and functional at the community level; however, to fully benefit from CFM, forest users still need to better understand markets and the administrative procedures surrounding harvesting. Figure 3: Benefit sharing for household purpose 104 Box A3.7 Forestry administration for CFM - The concepts, methods, and tools of CFM are still relatively new to forestry agencies and staff in Vietnam. It is therefore important to set up a management and monitoring system for the implementation of the CFM plan, particularly for harvesting activities. This management and monitoring system needs to be designed according to community capacity, with a focus on improving self-reliance and monitoring. - In this system, the roles and tasks of local authorities and other stakeholders engaged in the CFM process need to be clearly defined in order to best support the process. To this end, a management system and CFM guidelines are currently being developed by the National Working Group on Community Forestry Management (NWG CFM). In principle, the new management system will encourage a decentralized decision-making process and promote monitoring at the community level. It should facilitate the link between the community and the district level, and reduce complex procedures for communities that impede on their ability to manage and monitor their forest resources efficiently. - The monitoring mechanism should distinguish between two types of timber harvesting: (i) Harvesting for domestic consumption and (ii) Harvesting for commercial purposes. - The suggested administrative procedures for CFM are presented in Figure 4 and Table 1 below, and have been piloted in T’Li Village through the RDDL Dak Lak Project. The main procedural steps for CFM are quite simple in comparison to traditional methods currently applied to SFE operations. Figure 4: Forestry administrative procedures to harvest timber for own consumption and commercial purposes 105 106 Table 1: Simplified Administrative and Technical Procedures for Plan Approval and Implementation of CFM (Source: RDDL 2006) Procedure Description Approval Comparison with traditional SFE approach Approval of 5-year forest Approved 5-year forest management plan Commune People’s Established by professional management plan is developed by community Committee (CPC); company and approved by District People’s DARD and Provincial People’s Committee (DPC) Committee (PPC) Annual forest Annual forest management plan is CPC Established by State Forest management planning developed based on the 5-year plan by Enterprise (SFE) and approved and approval community by Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and PPC Select and mark trees Selected trees marked in the forest by Mark trees to be cut by forest painting order numbers in red by farmer hammer by Provincial Forest Department or a professional company Issuance of timber List of marked trees is submitted for DPC Approved by DARD, PPC harvesting permit harvesting permit by VFMB Post-harvest monitoring Monitor felled trees, location, forest Monitor by Forest protection cleaning, forest status post harvest... Unit (FPU), DARD follow the silvicultural guidelines by VFMB and CFMB List of volume of logs in Farmers make list of timbers; FPU Villagers must follow the same log yard; legalized by seal with FPU hammer and make a procedures as SFEs to ensure hammering in log yard minute their timber has legal documentation for sale Selling timber in delivery Organize auction or another selling form Organized by SFE log yard selected by community Benefit sharing; village After deducting natural resource tax and No benefit for communities fund management actual harvesting costs, 10% share for CPC, the rest is shared in accordance with FPDRs (iv) Mitigation during Construction, Upgrading, and/or Rehabilitation of Small Infrastructure 16. In general, potential negative impacts during preconstruction, construction, upgrading, and/or rehabilitation of small-scale infrastructure to be implemented under FMCRP will involve generation of air pollution, noise, vibration, water pollution, wastes, and traffic congestions including increasing safety risks to residents and general public as well as other site-specific impacts that will depends on site location, type of activities, and other factors. CPMU and PPMUs will ensure that the ESMP are in line with all conditions mentioned in basic principles described above (Annex 3(a)). Both the mitigation measures described in the ECOP as well as the site-specific requirements will be included in the bidding and contract documents. The subproject owner will be required to assign the construction supervision consultants (CSC) to also supervise the contractor performance per these requirements on a day-to-day basis and include the results in the subproject progress report. CPMU and WB will conduct periodical monitoring and include the results in the Project progress report and/or safeguard monitoring reports. 17. To mitigate the general construction impacts, the following measures will be considered: 107 - Apply ECOP and include it in the consultant contract and ensure that the contractor understand this commitment and it is part of subproject cost. A generic ECOP is provided in Annex 4. For small works, a simplified ECOP (Annex 4 (b)) could be applied. The ECOP describes scope of issues to be addressed by ECOP, GoV regulations to be applied, monitoring and reporting requirements, and proposed mitigation measures. - Ensuring that contractors apply good construction practices and/or ECOP including initiation and maintaining close consultation with local authorities and communities throughout the construction period. - Ensuring close supervision of field engineers and/or environmental officer. (v) Mitigation for site-Specific Impacts 18. Site specific impacts may create potential conflicts among local population and it should be considered in connection with other existing and future activities in nearby areas. Impacts due to resettlement, land acquisition, and/or ethnic minorities, UXO risks are considered site-specific impacts and mitigation will be made through the preparation and implementation of RAP and EMDP. As other site-specific impacts can create both positive and negative impacts on the subject and nearby areas depending on location and type/scale of the subproject activities, all other site-specific impacts and mitigation measures will be identified during the preparation of an ESMP for the subprojects. 19. To avoid and/or minimize potential adverse impacts the following will be considered: Impacts of soft embankment: The design of soft embankment for creating flats serving to forest plantation should follow the following criteria: - Only carry out at locations with relatively tight coastline segments, slight bottom slope, simple bottom topography, dominant deposition process. - Guarantee of the exchange processes of material and energy naturally. The height of designed soft dike is not higher than the average tide levels of the proposed areas; - Ensuring that soft dike does not cut across the canals and far from river mouths; use of environmentally friendly materials. - Construction of bamboo fence T-shaped, length of each side is 100 m. Each bamboo fence includes staggered three units. The units are designed perpendicular to the wave direction. The height of soft embankment from the bottom is less than 1.5m; height of pile is more than > 2m. The distance between units is 25 m. Soft embankment structure consists 2 pile rows. There is a bundle of bamboo layer between 2 pile rows. Number of pile is 10 - 15 piles per 1 m of length depends on wave energy and erosion level. Width of bamboo fence is 0.4 m. - The soft embankment is designed to ensure it is no cross and away from the stream and creek over 100 m. The soft embankment to be established in areas where previously had forest but had been eroded by wave's impact and longshore currents. Safety of local boat transporters: Hard structure in water and/or underwater could cause serious impacts on local community who use boats and/or conduct various activities along the coastline. For the subproject related to soft and hard structures built to reduce wave energy, efforts must be made during detailed design to ensure that the structure will not cause safety risks to small boats and/or other local activities in the subproject and nearby areas. During construction and operations, safety measures (signing board, buoys, lights, etc.) will be installed and in operation at all time in area that are being used by local communities. Impacts on coastal water and sediment transport. Construction and/or the presence of soft and hard physical structures along the coast can change water and sediment transport along the coastline and 108 affect water and land use in nearby area. Monitoring of water quality (biology, chemical, physical) and sediment in the subproject and nearby areas (upstream and downstream) will be conducted. Adequate consultation with local authorities and communities will also be conducted during the development and finalization of the ESMP of the subproject. The plan should be considered as an adaptive plan that can be adjusted through consultation process among key stakeholders. Given complexity of water networks (rivers, canals, and water uses) and the water users and water regime (freshwater, brackish water, saline water, floods, and droughts) in the Red River Delta (now and in the future), due attention will be given to assess and mitigate potential negative impacts of the subproject areas in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong. Impacts of Roads: Road construction, operation, and maintenance activities may cause significant erosion and adversely affect water quality. Cutting and filling activities during road construction may disrupt subsurface hydrologic flow, and bringing water to the surface in new areas or destabilizing sensitive hill slopes which may cause slope failures. Road surfaces may allow water to flow without restriction, resulting in accelerated surface erosion, channel scouring and transport of sediment loads transport to water bodies. Recommendations to control and prevent impacts to water quality and habitat from the construction, operation, and maintenance of roads include the following: - Planning and design phase issues prior to road construction, include:  Maximize use of existing roads networks.  Consider future road uses at the design stage. This may include adjusting design considerations if roads are intended for longer term use beyond forestry applications.  Design (e.g. width, surfacing) and construct roads for the type and intensity of anticipated traffic over the long term.  Maximize use of temporary roads.  Site roads on soil with good drainage capability, emphasizing high ridge routes and avoiding low valleys when possible.  Design road networks in advance to minimize road length and road density. Road widths should be minimized taking into consideration safety and transport requirements.  Roads should be designed and sited so as not to act as dams allowing water to accumulate behind embankments.  Allow canopy closure over roads to maintain habitat continuity. - Minimize cut and fill construction by following natural landscape route contours. - Roads should not exceed a gradient of 10 percent, where possible, with 5 percent being the optimum gradient. - Road drainage (e.g. water bars, dips, ditches and cross drains) should be constructed at appropriate intervals to drain water away from the road surface. - Road surfaces should be shaped (e.g. convex insloped, outsloped, or crowned) to ensure water runoff into appropriate drainage channels and vegetation and to eliminate channeling in ruts. - Road-side drains should be diverted (e.g. through use of berms, ditches, or culverts) away from the road into vegetation at regular intervals. Outflow drainage areas may benefit from use of mulch, seed, dry wells, rock aprons and other soil stabilization measures. Drains should not empty directly into watercourses, and should be capable of handling local rainfall and runoff conditions. Drains should be maintained as needed to accommodate expected flows. 109 - Gravel or other surfacing should be considered on steep road slopes and tight corners. - Burying of debris in the road base should be avoided, as it may result in uneven surfaces and holes leading to erosion. Roads should be compacted prior to use. Where construction of roads is unavoidable, recommended techniques to prevent and control impacts for roads include: - Roads should be designed and constructed (e.g. placement of fill) to prevent or limit disruption to aquatic and terrestrial habitat and wildlife (e.g. nesting and breeding areas) in wetlands and riparian areas. - Road approaches to the wetland should be constructed at an upward angle to minimize drainage of road runoff into the wetland. - Landing areas should not be constructed in wetlands. - Cross drainage (e.g. culverts, bridges, permeable road materials etc.) should be installed to minimize disruption to natural water flow through the wetland area. - Vehicle activities should remain on firm ground, if possible, to avoid rutting. Use of low pressure equipment (e.g. machines with wide tires and/or tracks) and mats/corduroy on skid trails is preferable, and activities should be halted if rutting becomes excessive. Annex 3(c). Guidelines for Addressing Safeguard Issues of Component 3. 1. According to the prefeasibility study (draft December 2016), Component 3 has been designed to reduce dependence and income from forest of local people and to promote community-based management by providing investment packages (on voluntary but competitive basis) to households or community groups for livelihood development (such as agroforestry, co-management of forest- fisheries eco-tourism, smart agriculture and/or aquaculture systems, development of trademark-market, support for increase product values, commune/village development fund, etc.) as well as for small construction, upgrading, and/or repairing of small scale-productive infrastructure (cost not more than 15 billion VND/work) and services (such as improving infrastructure for development of eco- aquaculture and/or agricultural production, forestry and fisheries; construction of community house/training center, safe shelter, cold storages for preserving aquatic products, or village roads for daily transportation of local people, sign boards, etc.) in selected subproject areas. After the proposal is approved, the recipients of this component will be the subproject owner and will be responsible for preparation of all safeguard documents (ESMP, RAP, and/or EMDP) as needed and effectively implement them. Present selection criteria will be included in POM. 2. CPMU will assist (mobilize a TA) the provinces in developing livelihood models linking with forests, surveys and development of investment plans for livelihood development, development of models associated with the value chains and creating stable markets for culvitated and exploited products. The Project will also provide TA to PPMUs/CPMU during the review, approval, and monitoring the implementation of the proposals to be submitted by household, group of households, and/or local authorities and their partners during the Project implementation for possible financing by FMCRP. PPMUs will also be responsible for selection and supervision of consultants and contractors necessary for facilitating effective implementation of the livelihood models, design and construction of the selected infrastructure. 3. Specific guidelines provided in this section focus only on the likely activities that may be implemented under this component (i.e. Improved Extensive Aquaculture; Climate-smart Intensive Aquaculture; livestock production; and ecotourism). However additional guidelines and/or requirements may be provided by the WB safeguard specialist when there are other unforeseeable issues occur during implementation. Subsections below provide guidance on potential impacts and mitigation of the livelihood models that may be adopted for the FMCRP including measures for (i) 110 improved extensive aquaculture, (ii) climate-smart intensive aquaculture, (iii) diversifying agriculture and aquaculture; (iv) ecotourism development;(v) implementation of small infrastructure; (vi) other impacts; and (v) use of pesticides and/or toxic chemicals. These guidelines will be considered during the preparation of the ESMP of the subproject when the impacts are found to be moderate and/or large. (i) Measures for Improved Extensive Aquaculture 4. Extensive aquaculture for purposes of this project refer to integrated aquaculture and mangrove systems. Subprojects will support integrated mangrove-shrimp or mangrove-clam and mollusk farming that are considered to be more environmentally sustainable aquaculture practices because it is extensive and uses less agro-chemicals (i.e. fertilisers, antibiotics) and support restoration of mangrove areas. These systems have lower environmental concerns such as effluents from the shrimp farms, disposal of the sediments in the shrimp ponds into canals and rivers need to be managed. Moreover, through component 3, the project will provide grants to support application of VietGap standards which include operational guidelines for water management systems in the subproject area will lead to more sustainable shrimp farming. 5. Where there are some environmental concerns is more specifically related to current rice- shrimp farming systems, which this project does not anticipate supporting. First, the current shrimp farming method is based on high water exchange, which would result in high accumulation of sediment in the rice farms in the long-term. Many farmers reportedly dispose of accumulated sediment back into the canals or nearby river, which would induce negative environmental impacts. Furthermore, recent introduction of exotic species and introduction of more intensive shrimp aquaculture may also lead to more pollution in the effluent of the wastewater from the shrimp farming. There are also concerns from experiences in the Mekong Delta about water management and wastewater treatment. While the water context in the project sites are different, the PPMU and its consultant should consider these findings into consideration during the review of the proposed proposal for an investment support. (iii) Measures for Climate-Smart Aquaculture 7. There are on-going efforts to develop livelihood development models on eco-aquaculture with support to farmers to transition (where suitable) to more sustainable brackish water activities such as mangrove-shrimp, rice-shrimp, and other aquaculture activities and to implement climate smart agriculture by facilitating water use efficiency in the dry season. Livelihood programs are very important in the project delta estuary and coastal provinces as households in the transition between fresh and brackish water had lower income than those in other zones. Livelihoods of people in estuary zone are more vulnerable to freshwater availability from the upstream, to salinity intrusion from estuaries and/or adjacent shrimp farming areas and to extreme dry season freshwater shortages. 8. Providing livelihoods support measures to farmers to adapt to salinity intrusion and transition to brackish aquaculture is an important initiative. Salinity issues in the estuary areas have caused production losses to rice and high value agriculture. The transition to high value agriculture will provide many social benefits to local communities and households involved in the livelihood models. Construction of salinity control infrastructure in the past has been inflexible and locked farmers into development pathways, especially for poor and/or ethnic farmers who do not have knowledge and financial resources. It is important that support and livelihood programs are provided to these peoples with appropriate design and adequate assistance. The transition to aquaculture in the estuary areas may also be complex when the area are facing other development pressure. 9. The mangrove-shrimp and rice-shrimp are more sustainable options for aquaculture. The development of livelihood models will need to consider the potential environmental impacts of aquaculture and shrimp farming including the release of organic wastes, agro-chemicals, antibiotics, the transmission of diseases and the ecological impact on freshwater and coastal fisheries. In order to 111 mitigate these environmental impacts, an integrated pest management plan (IPM) program should be implemented for each applicable subproject as a part of the ESMP. In order to mitigate these environmental impacts, an integrated pest management plan (IPM) program should be implemented for each applicable subproject as a part of the ESMP. The PMF stipulates: prohibition of the use of very toxic chemicals, and provides directions and approach for IPM. (iv) Measures for Diversifying Agriculture and Aquaculture 10. Appropriate livelihood support through diversifying agriculture and aquaculture models can strengthen the value chains and linking farmers to business and markets. The transition to high value agriculture will provide many positive social benefits to local communities and households involved in the livelihood models. To ensure sustainability the project must also consult with communities in the surrounding areas to enable all farmers to transition to alternative farming mechanisms. 11. The livelihood models for high-value agriculture (i.e. fruit trees, flowers, vegetables, mushrooms, watermelons) may require higher inputs of fertilisers and pesticides. The potential environmental impacts of aquaculture and freshwater shrimp farming including the release of organic wastes, agro-chemicals, antibiotics, the transmission of diseases and the ecological impact on endemic fish species in the subproject areas will also need to be considered. In order to mitigate these environmental impacts, an IPM program should be considered and implemented for each applicable subproject as a part of the ESMP. Surface water quality monitoring will also need to be established in the subproject area. 12. Development of livestock has been identified as an important livelihood model in the subproject areas. Potential impacts will be limited to appropriate management of manure and other wastes, odors, and nuisance to neighbors, assuming that other risks related to types and nature of the livestock and disease outbreaks, and market prices will be adequately addressed from the technical and financial aspects. For small farmers, care should be made to ensure that the social and financial risks to poor farmers will be considered. Adequate technical assistance and other supports should be provided if the technical, social, and financial risks are high. (iv) Measures for Ecotourism Development 13. As the north-central coast has a number of beautiful beaches, water clarity, mangrove and ecosystems therefore development of new livelihood models on ecotourism is very likely. The objective of eco-tourism is to generate local employment, and sustainable finance for management of protected areas. The investment package may be used to supplement existing investments in eco- tourism in the subproject areas. However fragile, coastal ecosystem are prone to accompanying negative impacts that need mitigation. 14. To avoid negative, direct and indirect impacts, on coastal forest resources, biodiversity, non- timber forest products (NTFPs) caused by the subproject activities to enhance eco-tourism the following issues and mitigation measures will be considered: (a) issues related to illegal and wildlife trade; (b) potential damage to coral reefs, seagrass beds, and/or endanger species of animals, flora, and fauna; (c) introduction of non-native species; and (d) possible disease outbreak. Key mitigation measures may include, but not limited to, the following: - Assess availability of infrastructure for tourism and regulate inflow of tourists as appropriate. - Assess impact of increased tourists and accompanying demand on fuel wood from protected area, increased harvesting of selected NTFPs, or wild fruits, herbs et al for consumption and sale. - Assess emergence of local forest, bamboo, NTFP-based household production for tourists and its impact on unsustainable harvesting. - Assess location of tourist spots and ensure sites are not in fragile natural habitat areas. 112 - Undertake seasonal analysis of tourist inflow and co relate with breeding cycles of species those are attractive to tourists. - Undertake orientation and training of local people involved in eco-tourism especially with relation to negative impacts of tourism on the environment and forest resources. - Ensure all tourist camps are clearly marked with signage, have garbage disposal arrangements, and fire management equipment. - Provide orientation and briefings to tourists about protected area, make available educational and awareness material in appropriate language. - Apply ECOP to all infrastructures that will be built by the project. (v) Measures for Implementation of Small Infrastructure 15. Mitigation of potential impacts during pre-construction and construction phase will be similar to those provided in Annex 3(a) related to small infrastructure (i.e. apply ECOP). Site-specific measures will also be needed to mitigate potential impacts during construction and operations of the facilities. If the activities are related to the use of toxic agro-chemicals, it is important to ensure than proper actions are incorporated into the ESMP. (vi) Measures for Other Impacts 16. Uncontrolled/unmanaged expansion of the models and risks for the poor: For the subproject that involve livelihood development especially those related to aquaculture and/or forest-shrimp farming in coastal area, potential risks and/or impacts on socioeconomic condition of poor farmers as well as possible degradation of mangrove and water quality due to expansion of the activities without proper controlled and/or management should be considered. If the potential impacts are likely to be large and/or moderate, the technical assistance to be provided during the subproject design will take actions to improve knowledge and understanding of poor farmers on the potential financial risks and assist them finding a sustainable scheme and provide training. A socio-economic survey for farmers especially for the poor should also be conducted during the implementation of the subproject. (vii) Measures for use of pesticides and/or toxic agrochemicals 17. To mitigate potential impacts as a ‘good practice’, the subproject owner will prepare and implement a mitigation plan aiming to increase famers knowledge on Government regulations, policies, and/or technical guidelines related to safe use (application, storage, and disposal) of pesticides and toxic agrochemicals likely to be used by farmers. This will include the application of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practice32 that are appropriate for the agriculture productions (rice, shrimp, aquaculture, etc.) in the subproject area through training and other capacity building activities. The activities will be incorporated and implemented as part of the ESMP. There are many IPM programs and on-farm pilot activities aiming to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers with WB support project33 therefore knowledge and implementation experience including some training manuals and/or other communications tools (radio/TV program, public materials, etc.) are available. The IPM technology being considered in Vietnam includes application of the System Rice Intensification (SRI) technology and the “3Reductions, 3Gainsâ€? or “3R3Gâ€? and “1Must, 5Reductionsâ€? or “1M5Râ€? campaigns while there are some pilot activities related to the application of “VietGapâ€? during 32 IPM refers to a mix of farmer-driven, ecologically based pest control practices that seeks to reduce reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides. It involves (a) management (keeping them below economically damaging levels) rather than seeking to eradicate them; (b) relying, to the extent possible, on nonchemical measures to keep pest populations low; and (c) selecting and applying pesticides, when they have to be used, in a way that minimizes adverse effects on beneficial organisms, humans, and the environment. 33 The Mekong Delta Water Resources Management for Rural Development Project (MD-WRMRDP or WB6) is being implemented until March 2017 while the Mekong Delta Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Project (MD- ICRSLP) is being implemented during 2016-2023. 113 production of shrimp, aquaculture, and other agriculture products. 18. If preparation of a pest management plan is required the following principles should be considered: - The subproject will not finance the purchase of fertilizers, pesticides, or other toxic agrochemicals. In normal conditions, if pesticide use is considered to be the necessary option, only pesticides registered with the government and the international recognition will be used and the Project will also provide technical and economic information for the type and amount of the chemicals. The subproject will also consider other options (including the management of non- harmful chemicals) that can also reduce reliance on the use of pesticides. The measures will be incorporated into the subproject design to reduce risks related to the handling and use of pesticides by farmers. - During the preparation of the ESMP/PMP for the subproject, the subproject owner and consultant will identify the need for training and capacity building in close consultation with the local authorities and other key stakeholders including chemical suppliers to enhance close cooperation and understanding among them. The subproject will apply IPM practices in line with the national IPM program and aquaculture/shrimp farming management programs being implemented by MARD as a means to minimize the potential negative impact of the increased use of fertilizers, pesticides, and toxic chemicals. Main activities may include training, sharing of knowledge and experience in the use of fertilizers and chemicals through research surveys, study visits, and/or selecting safe use of non-chemicals, other techniques. - The PMP will identify the agency responsible for implementation including fund flow and reporting arrangements. DARD will be responsible for planning and implementation of PMP activities while farmers will be responsible for actively participation during the planning and implementation. CPMU will be responsible for supervision and monitoring of the ESMP including PMP activities after it has been approved by WB. The activities will be planned and implemented in close consultation with farmers, local authority, and local community organization especially women.The implementation budget will be included as part of the ESMP cost and the activities, outputs, and impacts will be monitored as part of the ESMP implementation. 19. The following policies and regulations described below will be considered: - National policies and plans: Application of the IPM concept in Vietnam has been introduced in early 1990’s. A national IPM program was prepared and implemented and a Steering Committee on IPM, chaired by a vice-Minister of MARD, was established and responsible for supervision of the program. During the period, a number of policy and regulations supporting the IMP was developed including bans and restrictions of toxic pesticides and operations of an inspection system. Since then additional measures to reduce the use of pesticides in rice production have been carried out throughout the country including the Mekong Delta. MARD policy to promote the application of the “Three Reductions, Three Gainsâ€? or “3R3Gâ€?34 and the 34 This program is locally known as Ba Giảm, Ba Tăng which was developed based on the concept of a crop management technology designed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to reduce production costs, improve farmers’ health, and protect the environment in irrigated rice production in Mekong Delta through the reduction on use of seeds, nitrogen fertilizer, and pesticides. This concept was based on the research findings showing that early spraying was unnecessary as any damage from leaf-feeding insects (the prime cause of early spraying) did not affect yield. A campaign called “No Early Sprayingâ€? (NES) through various media was conducted with an aim to reach about 92% of the 2.3 million farmer households in the Mekong Delta and the result suggested that the number of insecticide sprays per season dropped by 70% (from 3.4 to 1.0 time/crop). The research also suggested that in Mekong Delta farmers tended to apply high seeding rates -about 200–300 kilogram per hectare (kg per ha) and nitrogen applications of around 150–300 kg per ha. PPD with 114 “One Must, Five Reductionsâ€? or “1M5Râ€?35 for rice production as well as the “VietGAPâ€?36 approaches for agriculture products have been implementing in many part of Vietnam. - Pesticides control: In 1990, Vietnam officially approved and adopted the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the a regulatory system was developed in line with FAO guidelines in mid 1990’s. The Ordinance on Plant Protection and Quarantine was enacted in February 1993, followed in November by Decree 92/CP with regulations on pesticides management. These regulations are updated periodically and are being applied by the agencies. During 1995-97, a total of 45 pesticides were banned for use in Vietnam and 30 have been restricted (amount cannot exceed 10% of total pesticides sold in Vietnam). These include the highly toxic pesticides such as carbofuran, endosulfan, methamidophos, monocrotophos, methyl parathion, and phosphamidon. In 1998, Vietnam stopped the registration of new insecticides for leaf- folders into the country since IPM activities had shown that insecticides use against leaf-folders is unnecessary. - Decision 193/1998/QD BNN-BVTV dated December 2nd, 1999 by MARD promulgating the regulations on quality control, pesticide surplus and new pesticide testing in order to registration in Vietnam. - Decision 145/2002/QD/BNN-BVTV dated December 18th, 2002 by MARD promulgating the regulations on procedures for screening production, processing, registration, export and import, trading, storage and disposal, label, packaging, seminars, advertising and use of plant protection pesticides; This is the basis for GoV monitoring the use and storage of pesticides. Empty containers shall be disposed of in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions as noted on the product label or provincial instructions and recommendations. As a minimum, empty pesticide containers shall be: returned to the pesticide distributor as part of their recycling program; or triple rinsed or pressure rinsed, then altered so they cannot be reused; and disposed of in a permitted sanitary landfill or other approval disposal site. - MARD Decision No. 1503/QD-BNN-TCTS on Good Practices for Aquaculture in Vietnam (referred to as VietGAP), May 07, 2011;Decision No. 1617/QD-BNN-TCTS giving guidelines for implementation of VietGAP for growing P. hypophthalmus), P.monodon) and P. vannamei); Government Decision 72/QÄ?-TT-QLCL (March 04, 2013) assigns Vietnam Certification Centre (QUACERT) as the organization responsible for certification including for VietGAP for fruit & vegetables, tea, rice and coffee. Box A3.8 highlights key requirements for VietGap for aquaculture. assistance from Danida conducted a study, involving 951 farmers, showed that seeds, fertilizers, and insecticides can be reduced by 40 percent, 13 percent, and 50 percent, respectively. The NES practice was then packaged with lower seed rates and lower nitrogen use. 35 This program built on the success on “3R3Gâ€? campaign, additional researches were carried out to demonstrate that appropriate reduction of production inputs (water, energy, seed, fertilizer, and pesticides) and post harvest-loss without reducing yield could be made and the 3 reductions should be extended to cover five reductions. This approach promotes the use of certified seed (this is considered as “one must doâ€?) and the application of modern technology to promote efficiency in water and energy uses and reduction of post-harvest loss. The fiver reductions therefore cover water, energy, post-harvest loss, fertilizers, and pesticides. Implementation of this campaign however will be more complex and require additional investment and technical assistance as well as effective cooperation among MARD agencies involving in irrigation and production managements. Following a successful demonstration in An Giang province, MARD is moving towards modernization and development of best practices for scaling up this approach in the Mekong Delta. 36 VietGap (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) is a food safety inspection program covering production activities starting from breeding to final products including storage and other related factors such as the environment, chemicals, plant protection drugs, packaging and even the working conditions and welfare of workers in the farm. The program focusing on setting (a) Standard for production technology; (b) Food safety, including measures to ensure no chemical contamination or physical contamination when harvesting; (c) The work environment aims to prevent the abuse of poor labor; and (d) Product traceability. The Vietnam Certification Centre (QUACERT) is responsible for undertaking VietGAP certification for fruit & vegetables, tea, rice and coffee. 115 Box A3.8 Basic principles of VietGAP for Aquaculture ï‚· Aquaculture must ensure quality and food safety by complying with current standards and regulations of the State and provisions of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO). ï‚· Aquaculture must ensure health and living conditions for aquatic animals by creating optimal conditions for health, reducing stress, limiting the risk of disease and maintain good farming environment in all stages of the production cycle, etc. ï‚· Aquaculture activities should be done with detail plans and not affects environment, according to the regulations of the state and international commitments. There must be evaluation of the impact on the environment of the planning, development and implementation of aquaculture. ï‚· Aquaculture should be done in a responsible way to society, respect the local community culture, strictly abide by provisions of the State and the relevant agreement of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on labor rights, not affect the livelihood of farmers and surrounding community. Aquaculture must actively contribute to rural development, brings benefits, equality and contribute to reducing poverty and enhancing food security in the locality. Therefore socio- economic issues must be considered in all phases of growing process from development and deployment of aquaculture plan. Annex 3(d). Guidelines for Addressing Social Issues (in addition to RAP and EMDP) 1. The other social risks that may be caused by the subproject (encroachment of agricultural households in coastal forest areas and the unsanctioned use of wood from mangroves for fuel, issues of access and rights to land, social vulnerability, market risks, etc.) will also be considered and mitigation measures prepared during the preparation of the subproject ESMP. 2. This guidance aims to provide guidance on other key social issues that may be created by the subprojects (vulnerability, market risks, encroachment of agricultural households in coastal forest areas and the unsanctioned use of wood from mangroves for fuel, issues of access and rights to land) will in addition to those related to resettlement and compensation and ethnic minorities which will be addressed in more details in the subproject RAP and EMDP. The issues are related to vulnerabilities of society in Project areas and they should be considered during the preparation of ESMP of the activities/subprojects to ensure that adequate mitigation measures will be incorporated during the design of the livelihood model especially when respect to ethnic minority. The guideline was developed as a results of a recent social study related to livelihood development for addressing climate resilience and environmental vulnerability for local community in the Mekong Delta37 as well as the SESA study being conducted in the 6 provinces of the north central provinces38. (i) Solving vulnerability because of selecting location 3. Using agricultural, forestry, and fishery experts’ knowledge to optimize scale design of livelihood models. It ensures that components design of models could be supervise well environmental issues which may occur in order to mitigate climatic environment to local famers. (ii) Solving social vulnerability (a) Acceptance ability of local people to forest land assigned to community: 4. Before this, protected forest is under management of Government, so that local people do not 37 Reference: The Regional Social Assessment study was conducted during 2014-2015 for the Mekong Delta-Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Project (MD-ICRSLP) 38 SESA 116 have knowledge about forest protection, as a result forest had been become degradation and loss. Establishing integration model of agriculture, forestry and fishery, fund supporting for breeding, farming under forest canopy, and fund supporting for local community to maintain forest management are one of management measures that local people may accept assigned forest management. (b) Acceptance ability of local people to applying new livelihood models 5. Building livelihood model supports local people to protect and maintain forest. For example, bee keepers under forest canopy realize high risks that project recommended because there is benefit chain, no permanent flowering. Similarly, vegetable farmers under VietGAP standard in coastal zone (for example in Quang Binh) realized higher risks of salamander breeding model in sand than vegetable farming. (c) Solving market risky 6. Reducing over production by cooperating with agricultural companies: Livelihood model implementation needs a stage approach to expand the model and to expand market, and companies could have enough time to expand their market and to find new market. (d) Diversifying models and diversifying limitation of livelihood models 7. In some activities, livelihood models which local people can select has small number, and in some aspects, project needs to operate with consultants to build more models by the time. - Sharing experiences and lesions between locals also may be helpful to increase investment and production. For example, clean vegetable model in Dien Chau – Nghe An, they used humectants in dry season, this model can be applied in flower model on sand in Ha Tinh. - Supporting organic certification, clean production certification (for example VietGAP) and building production brand name in order to promote and marketing. (e) Supporting local farmers 8. Using cooperative or team work to implement livelihood model should form strategy for implementing livelihood of subproject. Forming new team works, or by current teams, farmers will have belief of effective models, in which risk will be divided to each member, especially some farmers who are afraid of risk so they are not ready to apply new adaptive model. - It is necessary to have initial fund for livelihood model. Currently, almost poorer has demand money borrowing to invest to their business, however they do not match requirements of credit institutions, thus if there is no fund supporting, local farmers will deal with difficulty in beginning new livelihood model. As showing in results of local family consultation and local social agencies, fund supporting is the first priority. - Recruiting experts of agriculture, fishery and forestry etc. is to support and develop techniques for cooperatives or work groups, farming support agencies and farmers. - Unions, especially farmer union and women union, should play an important role in supporting local farmers and cooperatives, such as collecting, organizing, and agricultural training, they can support farmers that farmers can visit and supervise other models… - Encouraging hatchery companies which have ability to produce high quality set their factories close to locations where implement well models. - Developing tools for supporting decision make, it should have early warning of drought and flood. Serious damage from deep freezing and bloody cold in 2015 and 2016 shows that it is necessary to develop set of tool for early warning, then it can be used to announce to farmers about tree species, cattle and poultry and farmers can do their own business. 117 (f) Regarding to poor families without land - Supporting livelihood to people without land within area affected by activities/subprojects need to build or expand from small scale credit, and current developing program in order to avoid increasing unfair between riches and poors. - Encouraging agricultural companies, especially they can open their branches that can help local poor peoples. Provinces may provide free land and support tax then they can attract investment in agricultural area. (g) Consultation and attendance of community Extra requirements of consultation not in resettlement and environment consultation: - Acceptance of livelihood model - Selected plan and small credit design of livelihood model - In detail, ideas and initiative of community in consultation meeting need to be considered in process of designing and implementing activities/subprojects, especially ideas of vulnerable people and women. - Implementing project at community level should not just based on documents or writing format (for example indemnify or training), it should have voice records. In marine areas, local people are not well educated and number of illiteracy is high, especially women. - Encourage agriculture program should ensure that they are implemented at right format and in time to women, because they are responsible for caring children and house work. 118 Annex 4 (a). Environmental Code of Practice [Bid Specification for Construction Management and Responsibilities of Contractors] 1. The World Bank Operational Policy (OP) on Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01) requires environmental assessment (EA) of Bank-financed projects to ensure they are environmentally sound and sustainable. EA is a process of analyzing potential environmental risks and of the identification and adoption of measures to avoid or mitigate such impacts. 2. As a part of EA, the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) is a safeguards instrument that is typically used in many projects and which of the process of mitigating and managing environmental impacts throughout project implementation. 3. Environmental code of practice (ECOP) are mitigation measures for generic impacts from project activities during the construction phase and are intended to be included in the bidding documents as requirements to the construction contractor. 4. If impacts require site-specific mitigation measures that are not adequately covered in this generic ECOP, they must be addressed separately in the ESMP. This ECOP also do not cover impacts from worker camps (assuming they would not generally be needed for small urban works projects), impacts from large works (bridges, tunnels, big roads). Social impacts caused by involuntary resettlement or involving ethnic minorities are addressed in other safeguard instruments. On behalf of the subproject owner, the Provincial Project Management Unit (PPMU) is responsible for ensuring effective implementation of ECOP. MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES DURING CIVIL WORKS CONSTRUCTION 5. Construction activities for small works governed by this ECOP are those whose impacts are of limited extent, temporary and reversible, and readily managed with good construction practices. The environmental and social issues covered in this document are: - Dust generation - Air pollution - Impacts from noise and vibration - Water pollution - Drainage and sedimentation control - Management of stockpiles, quarries, and borrow pits - Solid waste - Chemical and hazardous wastes - Disruption of vegetative covers and ecological resources - Traffic management - Interruption of utility services - Restoration of affected areas - Worker and public safety - Communication with local communities - Chance findings VIETNAMESE LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 6. There are a number of Government of Vietnam (GoV) regulations, standards, code of practices, etc. related to environmental and safety aspects that are relevant to construction activities and environmental quality. The principal ones related to issues covered by these ECOPs are listed below (not an exhaustive list): 119 ï‚· Vietnamese Environment Standards: including standards on sampling and sample preservation; analysis methods; standards on quality of air, surface water, groundwater, soils, standards on emission, waste water, standards on dumps, and standards on incinerators. These include: (i) QCVN 01:2009/BYT: National technical regulation on drinking water quality. (ii) QCVN 02:2009/BYT: National technical regulation on domestic water quality. (iii) QCVN 08:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on water surface quality. (iv) QCVN 09:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on underground water quality. (v) QCVN 10:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on water quality in coastal areas. (vi) QCVN 14:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on domestic wastewater. (vii) QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT: National technical regulation on industrial wastewater. (viii)QCVN 39:2011/BTNMT: National technical regulation on Water Quality for irrigated agriculture. (ix) QCVN 38:2011/BTNMT: National technical regulation on Surface Water Quality for protection of aquatic lifes (x) QCVN 03:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on permitted limit of heavy metal in land. (xi) QCVN 15:2008/BTNMT: National technical regulation on the pesticide residues in the soils. (xii) QCVN 43:2012/BTNMT - National technical regulation on sediment quality in fresh water areas. (xiii)QCVN 05:2013: National technical regulation on ambient air quality. (xiv)QCVN 06:2008: National technical regulation on hazardous substances in ambient air. (xv) QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT: National technical regulation on noise. (xvi)QCVN 27:2010/BTNMT: National technical regulation on vibration. (xvii) QCVN 07:2009/BTNM: National Technical Regulation on Hazardous Waste Thresholds (xviii) QCVN 17:2011/BGTVT: National technical regulation on Rules for Pollution Prevention of inland waterway ships. (xix)Decision 3733/2002/-BYT October 10, 2002: Promulgating 21 labor hygiene standards, 05 principles and 07 labor hygiene measurements ï‚· Basics for Safety/Construction: Location of the disposal sites and other use purposes shall be agreed with the local authorities and all earth works shall comply with: (i) Law on traffic and transportation No. 23/2008/QH12 (ii) Law on construction No. 16/2003/QH11 (iii) Decree No. 73/2010/ND-CP on administrative penalization security and society issues (iv) Decree No. 12/2009/ND-CP on management of project (v) Decree No. 59/ND-CP on management of solid waste (vi) Decree No. 1338/NÄ?-CP on technical guidelines for construction within weak foundation area (vii) Decree No. 22/2010/TT-BXD on regulation of construction safety; (viii)Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT on management of hazardous substance (ix) Decision No. 35/2005/QD-BGTVT on inspection of quality, technical safety and environmental protection; (x) Instruction No. 02 /2008/CT-BXD on safety and sanitation issues in construction agencies (xi) TCVN 5308-91: Technical regulation on safety in construction (xii) TCVN 4447:1987: Earth works-Codes for construction (xiii)Air, noise, and vibration control requirements stipulated in the TCVN4087: 1985-(Use of building plants-General requirements); 120 ï‚· Chance find procedure (i) Law on Cultural Heritage (2002) (ii) Law on Cultural Heritage (2009) for supplementary and reformation (iii) Decree No. 98/2010/ND-CP for supplementary and reformation MONITORING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 7. Non-compliance by the contractor could result in suspension of works, financial penalties, or other penalties, as must be clearly spelled out in the ESMP and in the contract. 8. Contractors are responsible for implementation of ECOPs. The responsibilities for monitoring ECOPs implementation are shared between the contractor, the PPMU, and the Construction Supervision Consultant (CSC). The Contractor’s Work Plan should incorporate Site Environmental Management Plan, the guidelines provided in these ECOPs as well as the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) created for the sub-project. The designated Technical Officer(s) and Environmental Officer(s) of the PPMU are responsible for supervising the adherence to the agreed ESMP by the selected contractor(s). The World Bank will periodically supervise implementation activities of Bank-financed projects at least on a biannual basis. 9. At a minimum, the contractor should prepare a monthly report on adherence to ECOP which should be submitted to the CSC and to the PPMU. Project-specific or contract-specific reporting requirements are described in the ESMP. CSC is responsible for monitoring overall environmental performance of the project and submit to PPMU quarterly monitoring reports. 10. Table below identifies key issues and mitigation measures to be conducted and compliance with by the contractor. Government of Vietnam’s regulations will be used to judge the level of compliance. 121 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION 1. Dust generation ï‚· The Contractor is responsible for compliance with relevant Vietnamese legislation with respect to ambient air quality. ï‚· QCVN 05: 2009/BTNMT: National technical ï‚· The Contractor shall implement dust suppression measures (e.g. water spray vehicles, covering of material stockpiles, regulation on ambient air etc.) as required; quality ï‚· Construction vehicles shall comply with speed limits and haul distances shall be minimized. ï‚· QCVN 06:2008: National ï‚· Material loads shall be suitably covered and secured during transportation to prevent the scattering of soil, sand, materials technical regulation on or dust. hazardous substances in ambient air. ï‚· The Contractor shall be responsible for any clean-up resulting from the failure by his employees or suppliers to property secure transported materials. ï‚· Exposed soil and material stockpiles shall be protected against wind erosion and the location of stockpiles shall take into consideration the prevailing wind directions and locations of sensitive receptors. ï‚· Dust masks should be used where dust levels are excessive. 2. Air pollution ï‚· All vehicles must comply with Vietnamese regulations controlling allowable emission limits of exhaust gases. ï‚· TCVN 6438-2005: Road vehicles Maximum permitted ï‚· Vehicles in Vietnam must undergo a regular emissions check and get certified named: “Certificate of conformity from emission limits of exhaust inspection of quality, technical safety and environmental protectionâ€? following Decision No. 35/2005/QD-BGTVT. gas. ï‚· There should be no burning of waste or construction materials or cleared vegetation on site. ï‚· No. 35/2005/QD-BGTVT ï‚· Cement processing plants should be far from residential areas. ï‚· QCVN 05:2009/ BTNMT; QCVN 06:2009 3. Impacts from ï‚· The contractor is responsible for compliance with the relevant Vietnamese legislation with respect to noise and ï‚· QCVN 26:2010/ BTNMT: noise and vibration. National technical vibration regulation on noise ï‚· All vehicles must have appropriate “Certificate of conformity from inspection of quality, technical safety and ï‚· QCVN 27:2010/ BTNMT: environmental protectionâ€? following Decision No. 35/2005/QD-BGTVT; to avoid exceeding noise emission from National technical poorly maintained machines. regulation on vibration ï‚· When needed, measures to reduce noise to acceptable levels must be implemented and could include silencers, mufflers, acoustically dampened panels or placement of noisy machines in acoustically protected areas. ï‚· Avoiding or minimizing transportation though or material processing near community areas. 4. Water pollution ï‚· The Contractor must be responsible for compliance with the relevant Vietnamese legislation relevant to wastewater ï‚· QCVN 09:2008/ BTNMT: discharges into watercourses. National Technical Standard on underground water ï‚· Portable or constructed hygienic toilets must be provided on site for construction workers. Wastewater from toilets as Quality 122 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION well as kitchens, showers, sinks, etc. shall be discharged into a conservancy tank for removal from the site or ï‚· QCVN 14:2008/ BTNMT: discharged into municipal sewerage systems; there should be no direct discharges to any water body. National technical regulation ï‚· Wastewater over standards set by relevant Vietnam technical standards/regulations must be collected in a conservancy on domestic wastewater; tank and removed from site by licensed waste collectors. ï‚· QCVN 24: 2009/ BTNMT: National technical regulation ï‚· Using techniques as berming or diversion during construction to limit the exposure of disturbed sediments to moving on industrial wastewater; water. ï‚· TCVN 7222: 2002 ï‚· Before construction, all necessary wastewater disposal permits/licenses and/or wastewater disposal contract have been obtained. ï‚· At completion of construction works, wastewater collection tanks and septic tanks shall be safely disposed or effectively sealed off. 5. Drainage and ï‚· The Contractor shall follow the detailed drainage design included in the construction plans, intended to prevent storm ï‚· TCVN 4447:1987: Earth sedimentation water from causing local flooding or scouring slopes and areas of unprotected soil resulting in heavy sediment loads works-Codes for control affecting local watercourses. construction ï‚· Ensure drainage system is always maintained cleared of mud and other obstructions. ï‚· Decree No. 22/2010/TT- ï‚· Areas of the site not disturbed by construction activities shall be maintained in their existing conditions. BXD on regulation of construction safety; QCVN ï‚· Earthworks, cuts, and fill slopes shall be properly maintained, in accordance with the construction specifications, 08:2008/ BTNMT – including measures such as installation of drains, use of plant cover. National technical regulation ï‚· To avoid sediment-laden runoff that could adversely impact watercourses, install sediment control structures where on quality of surface water needed to slow or redirect runoff and trap sediment until vegetation is established. Sediment control structures could ï‚· QCVN include windrows of logging slash, rock berms, sediment catchment basins, straw bales, storm drain inlet protection 07:2009/BTNMQCVN systems, or brush fences. 43:2012/BTNMT - Site de-watering and water diversions: In the case that construction activities require that work be carried out within the watercourse (e.g. culvert or bridge crossing construction, retaining wall construction, erosion protection works), the work area must be dewatered to provide for construction in dry conditions. The sediment laden water pumped from the work area must be discharged to an appropriate sediment control measure for treatment before re-release to the stream. 6. Management of ï‚· Large scale borrow pits or stockpiles of more than 50,000 m3 will need site-specific measures that go beyond those in stockpiles, these ECOPs. quarries, and borrow pits ï‚· All locations to be used must be previously identified in the approved construction specifications. Sensitive sites such as scenic spots, areas of natural habitat, areas near sensitive receptors, or areas near water should be avoided. 123 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION ï‚· An open ditch shall be built around the stockpile site to intercept wastewater. ï‚· Stockpile topsoil when first opening a borrow pit and use it later to restore the area to near natural conditions. ï‚· In cases of high risk of slope failure, disposal sites shall include a retaining wall. ï‚· If the need for new sites arises during construction, they must be pre-approved by the Construction Engineer. ï‚· If landowners are affected by use of their areas for stockpiles or borrow pits, they must be included in the project resettlement plan. ï‚· If access roads are needed, they must have been included in the environmental assessment and EMP. 7. Solid waste ï‚· Before construction, a solid waste control procedure (storage, provision of bins, site clean-up schedule, bin clean-out ï‚· Decree No. 59/2007/ND-CP schedule, etc.) must be prepared by Contractors and it must be carefully followed during construction activities. on solid waste management. ï‚· QCVN 07:2009/BTNM: ï‚· Before construction, all necessary waste disposal permits or licenses must be obtained. National Technical ï‚· Measures shall be taken to reduce the potential for litter and negligent behavior with regard to the disposal of all refuse. Regulation on Hazardous At all places of work, the Contractor shall provide litter bins, containers and refuse collection facilities. Waste Thresholds ï‚· Solid waste may be temporarily stored on site in a designated area approved by the Construction Supervision ï‚· Consultant and relevant local authorities prior to collection and disposal through a licensed waste collector, for example, URENCO in urban areas or local environment and sanitation companies. ï‚· Waste storage containers shall be covered, tip-proof, weatherproof and scavenger proof. ï‚· No burning, on-site burying or dumping of solid waste shall occur. ï‚· Recyclable materials such as wooden plates for trench works, steel, scaffolding material, site holding, packaging material, etc shall be collected and separated on-site from other waste sources for reuse, for use as fill, or for sale. ï‚· If not removed off site, solid waste or construction debris shall be disposed of only at sites identified and approved by the Construction Supervision Consultant and included in the site specific measures. Under no circumstances shall the contractor dispose of any material in environmentally sensitive areas, such as in areas of natural habitat or in or close to watercourses. 8. Chemical or ï‚· Chemical waste of any kind shall be disposed of at an approved appropriate landfill site and in accordance with local ï‚· Decision No. 23/2006/QD- hazardous wastes legislative requirements. The Contractor shall obtain needed disposal certificates. BTNMT with list of hazardous substance ï‚· The removal of asbestos-containing materials or other toxic substances shall be performed and disposed of by specially ï‚· Circular No. 12/2011/TT- trained and certified workers. BTNMT on management of ï‚· Used oil and grease shall be removed from site and sold to an approved used oil recycling company. 124 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION ï‚· Used oil, lubricants, cleaning materials, etc. from the maintenance of vehicles and machinery shall be collected in hazardous substance holding tanks and removed from site by a specialized oil recycling company for disposal at an approved hazardous waste site. ï‚· Used oil or oil-contaminated materials that could potentially contain PCBs shall follow procedures provided in the EMF to avoid any leakage or affecting workers. The local DONRE must be contacted for further guidance. ï‚· Unused or rejected tar or bituminous products shall be returned to the supplier’s production plant. ï‚· Relevant agencies shall be promptly informed of any accidental spill or incident. ï‚· Store chemicals appropriately and with appropriate labeling. ï‚· Appropriate communication and training programs should be put in place to prepare workers to recognize and respond to workplace chemical hazards. ï‚· Prepare and initiate a remedial action following any spill or incident. In this case, the contractor shall provide a report explaining the reasons for the spill or incident, remedial action taken, consequences/damage from the spill, and proposed corrective actions. 9. Workforce, ï‚· Worker’s camps will be located at least 200 m away from schools and health care centres and not be located on steep Camps and Site slopes. The workforce shall be provided with safe, suitable and comfortable accommodations and safe portable water. Management They have to be maintained in clean and sanitary conditions. ï‚· Site offices, worker camps, mixing stations, and workshops shall be located NOT within 100m from any water courses, 500 meters of existing residential area. ï‚· Engineers and workers shall register their temporary residence with the local authority. ï‚· Allocate officer to be the Contractor’s Workplace Safety and Environment Officer responsible for environmental and safety issues including training for workers. ï‚· Septic tank toilets must be provided at all construction camp areas where there will be concentration of labor. ï‚· First aid boxes shall be provided in each construction camp site. 10. Disruption of ï‚· The Contractor shall prepare a Clearance, Revegetation and Restoration Management Plan for prior approval by the ï‚· Law on Environment vegetative cover Construction Engineer, following relevant regulations. The Clearance Plan shall be approved by Construction protection No. and ecological Supervision Consultant and followed strictly by contractor. Areas to be cleared should be minimized as much as 52/2005/QH11 resources possible. ï‚· Site clearance in a forested area is subject to permission from Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. ï‚· The Contractor shall remove topsoil from all areas where topsoil will be impacted on by rehabilitation activities, 125 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION including temporary activities such as storage and stockpiling, etc; the stripped topsoil shall be stockpiled in areas agreed with the Construction Supervision Consultant for later use in re-vegetation and shall be adequately protected. ï‚· The application of chemicals for vegetation clearing is not permitted. ï‚· Prohibit cutting of any tree unless explicitly authorized in the vegetation clearing plan. ï‚· When needed, erect temporary protective fencing to efficiently protect the preserved trees before commencement of any works within the site. ï‚· No area of potential importance as an ecological resource should be disturbed unless there is prior authorization from CSC, who should consult with PMBs, and the relevant local authorities. This could include areas of breeding or feeding of birds or animals, fish spawning areas, or any area that is protected as a green space. ï‚· The Contractor shall ensure that no hunting, trapping shooting, poisoning of fauna takes place. 11. Traffic ï‚· Before construction, carry out consultations with local government and community and with traffic police. ï‚· Law on traffic and management transportation No. ï‚· Significant increases in number of vehicle trips must be covered in a construction plan previously approved. Routing, 23/2008/QH12 especially of heavy vehicles, needs to take into account sensitive sites such as schools, hospitals, and markets. ï‚· Law on construction No. ï‚· Installation of lighting at night must be done if this is necessary to ensure safe traffic circulation. 16/2003/QH11 ï‚· Place signs around the construction areas to facilitate traffic movement, provide directions to various components of ï‚· Decree No. 22/2010/TT- the works, and provide safety advice and warning. BXD on regulation of ï‚· Employing safe traffic control measures, including road/rivers/canal signs and flag persons to warn of dangerous construction safety conditions. ï‚· Avoid material transportation for construction during rush hour. ï‚· Passageways for pedestrians and vehicles within and outside construction areas should be segregated and provide for easy, safe, and appropriate access. Signpost shall be installed appropriately in both water-ways and roads where necessary. 12. Interruption of ï‚· Planned and unplanned interruptions to water, gas, power, internet services: the Contractor must undertake prior Decree No. 73/2010/ND-CP on utility services consultation and contingency planning with local authorities about the consequences of a particular service failure or administrative penalization disconnection. security and society issues ï‚· Coordinate with relevant utility providers to establish appropriate construction schedules. ï‚· Provide information to affected households on working schedules as well as planned disruptions (at least 5 days in advance). 126 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION ï‚· Interruptions of water supply to agricultural areas must also be avoided. ï‚· The contractor should ensure alternative water supply to affected residents in the event of disruptions lasting more than one day. - Any damages to existing utility systems of cable shall be reported to authorities and repaired. 13. Restoration of ï‚· Cleared areas such as borrow pits which are no longer in use, disposal areas, site facilities, workers’ camps, stockpiles ï‚· Law on Environment affected areas areas, working platforms and any areas temporarily occupied during construction of the project works shall be restored protection No. using landscaping, adequate drainage and revegetation. 52/2005/QH11 ï‚· Start revegetation at the earliest opportunity. Appropriate local native species of vegetation shall be selected for the planting and restoration of the natural landforms. ï‚· Spoil heaps and excavated slopes shall be re-profiled to stable batters, and grassed to prevent erosion. ï‚· All affected areas shall be landscaped and any necessary remedial works shall be undertaken without delay, including green-spacing, roads, bridges and other existing works. ï‚· Trees shall be planted at exposed land and on slopes to prevent or reduce land collapse and keep stability of slopes. ï‚· Soil contaminated with chemicals or hazardous substances shall be removed and transported and buried in waste disposal areas. ï‚· Restore all damaged road and bridges caused by project activities. 14. Worker and ï‚· Contractor shall comply with all Vietnamese regulations regarding worker safety. ï‚· Decree No. 22/2010/TT- public Safety BXD on regulation of ï‚· Prepare and implement action plan to cope with risk and emergency. construction safety ï‚· Preparation of emergency aid service at construction site. ï‚· Instruction No. 02 ï‚· Training workers on occupational safety regulations. /2008/CT-BXD on safety and sanitation issues in ï‚· If blasting is to be used, additional mitigation measures and safety precautions must be outlined in the EMP. construction agencies ï‚· Ensure that ear pieces are provided to and used by workers who must use noisy machines such as piling, explosion, ï‚· TCVN 5308-91: Technical mixing, etc., for noise control and workers protection. regulation on safety in ï‚· During demolition of existing infrastructure, workers and the general public must be protected from falling debris by construction measures such as chutes, traffic control, and use of restricted access zones. ï‚· Decision No. 96/2008/QD- ï‚· Install fences, barriers, dangerous warning/prohibition site around the construction area which showing potential TTg on clearance of UXO. danger to public people (such as unfinished power pole foundation, high risk electrical shock areas, etc.). ï‚· The contractor shall provide safety measures as installation of fences, barriers warning signs, lighting system against 127 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION traffic accidents as well as other risk to people and sensitive areas. ï‚· If previous assessments indicate there could be unexploded ordnance (UXO), clearance done by a relevant army unit. 15. Communication ï‚· Maintain open communications with the local government and concerned communities; the contractor shall coordinate ï‚· Decree No. 73/2010/ND-CP with local with local authorities (leaders of local wards or communes, leader of villages) for agreed schedules of construction on administrative communities activities at areas nearby sensitive places or at sensitive times (e.g., religious festival days). penalization security and ï‚· Copies in Vietnamese of relevant parts of these ECOPS should contained in contractor documents and of other society issues relevant environmental safeguard documents shall be made available to local communities and to workers at the site. ï‚· Reduced playground space, loss of playing fields and car parking: The loss of amenities during construction process is often an unavoidable source of inconvenience to users in sensitive areas. However, early consultation with those affected, provides opportunity to investigate and implement alternatives. In all cases damages shall be compensated. ï‚· Disseminate project information to affected parties (for example local authority, enterprises and affected households, etc) through community meetings before construction commencement. ï‚· Provide a community relations contact from whom interested parties can receive information on site activities, project status and project implementation results. ï‚· Provide all information, especially technical findings, in a language that is understandable to the general public and in a form of useful to interested citizens and elected officials through the preparation of fact sheets and news release, when major findings become available during project phase. ï‚· Monitor community concerns and information requirements as the project progresses; ï‚· Respond to telephone inquiries and written correspondence in a timely and accurate manner. ï‚· Inform local residents about construction and work schedules, interruption of services, traffic detour routes and provisional bus routes, blasting and demolition, as appropriate. ï‚· Provide technical documents and drawings to PC’s community, especially a sketch of the construction area and the EMP of the construction site. ï‚· Notification boards shall be erected at all construction sites providing information about the project, as well as contact information about the site managers, environmental staff, health and safety staff, telephone numbers and other contact information so that any affected people can have the channel to voice their concerns and suggestions. 16. Chance find If the Contractor discovers archeological sites, historical sites, remains and objects, including graveyards and/or individual ï‚· Law on Cultural Heritage procedures graves during excavation or construction, the Contractor shall: (2002) 128 ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION MEASURE VIETNAM – SOCIAL ISSUES CODE/REGULATION ï‚· Stop the construction activities in the area of the chance find. ï‚· Law on Cultural Heritage ï‚· Delineate the discovered site or area. (2009) for supplementary and reformation ï‚· Secure the site to prevent any damage or loss of removable objects. In cases of removable antiquities or sensitive remains, a night guard shall be arranged until the responsible local authorities or the Department of Culture and ï‚· Decree No. 98/2010/ND-CP Information takes over. for supplementary and reformation ï‚· Notify the Construction Supervision Consultant who in turn will notify responsible local or national authorities in charge of the Cultural Property of Viet Nam (within 24 hours or less). ï‚· Relevant local or national authorities would be in charge of protecting and preserving the site before deciding on subsequent appropriate procedures. This would require a preliminary evaluation of the findings to be performed. The significance and importance of the findings should be assessed according to the various criteria relevant to cultural heritage; those include the aesthetic, historic, scientific or research, social and economic values. ï‚· Decisions on how to handle the finding shall be taken by the responsible authorities. This could include changes in the layout (such as when finding an irremovable remain of cultural or archeological importance) conservation, preservation, restoration and salvage. ï‚· If the cultural sites and/or relics are of high value and site preservation is recommended by the professionals and required by the cultural relics authority, the Project’s Owner will need to make necessary design changes to accommodate the request and preserve the site. ï‚· Decisions concerning the management of the finding shall be communicated in writing by relevant authorities. ï‚· Construction works could resume only after permission is granted from the responsible local authorities concerning safeguard of the heritage. 129 Annex 4(b). Simplified Environmental Code of Practice (ECOP) for Small Works 1. This annex presents the Environmental Codes of Practice (ECOP) to be applied in the subprojects when small works are involved. The content and requirements following the WB guideline described in Annex 5 of the ESMF Toolkit. A4.1 Objectives 2. The Environmental Codes of Practice (ECOP) is prepared to manage small environmental impacts during construction. The ECOPs will apply to manage small scale infrastructure investments subproject. ECOP will be a mandatory part of construction contract or bidding documents so that contractor complies with environmental covenants. The subproject owner (PPMU) and construction supervisors will be responsible for monitoring of compliance with ECOP and preparing the required reports. 3. There are a number of national technical regulations related to environmental, health and safety that apply to construction activities. Some of them are listed below: Water Quality: (QCVN 01:2009/BYT, QCVN 02:2009/BYT, QCVN 08:2008/BTNMT, QCVN 09:2008/BTNMT, QCVN 10:2008/BTNMT, QCVN 14:2008/BTNMT, TCVN 5502:2003; TCVN 6773:2000, TCVN 6774:2000, TCVN 7222:2002) Air and Soil Quality (QCVN 05:2008/BTNMT, QCVN 06:2008/BTNMT, QCVN 07:2008/BTNMT Solid Waste Management (QCVN 03:2008/BTNMT, TCVN 6438:2001, TCVN 6696:2009, QCVN 07:2009) Vibration and Noise (QCVN 27:2010/BTNMT, QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT, TCVN 5949: 1998) Labor Health and Safety: Decision No.3733/2002/QÄ?-BYT issued by Ministry of Healthcare dated on 10/10/2002 about the application of 21 Labor health and safety standards that concerned about microclimate, noise, vibration, Chemicals – Permitted level in the working environment The World Bank Group Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines which available at: http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/ifc+sustainab ility/our+approach/risk+management/ehsguidelines A4.2 Responsibilities 4. The PPMU and Contractors are the key entities responsible for implementation of this ECOP. Key responsibilities of PPMU and the contractors are as follows: (a) PPMU PPMU is responsible for ensuring that the ECOP is effectively implemented. The PPMU will assign a qualified staff to be responsible for checking implementation compliance of Contractors, include the following: (a) monitoring the contractors’ compliance with the environmental plan, (b) taking remedial actions in the event of non-compliance and/or adverse impacts, (c) investigating complaints, evaluating and identifying corrective measures; (d) advising the Contractor on environment improvement, awareness, proactive pollution prevention measures; (e) monitoring the activities of Contractors on replying to complaints; (f) providing guidance and on-the-job training to field engineers on various aspects to avoid/mitigate potential negative impacts to local environment and communities during construction. (b) Contractor 130 Contractor is responsible for carrying out civil works and informs PPMU, local authority and community about construction plan and risks associated with civil works. As such, contractor is responsible for implementing agreed measures to mitigate environmental risks associated with its civil works. Contractor is required to obey other national relevant legal regulations and laws. Part 1 – Contractor’s Responsibilities 7. This is an example and is not necessarily a full treatment of all requirements for a specific project. For example, there might be reason to have contractor deal with sexually transmitted diseases, medical and hazardous waste s (e.g., oil from vehicle or furnace repair and similar, oily rags). Issues/Risks Mitigation Measure 1) Dust ï‚· The Contractor implement dust control measures to ensure that the generation of dust is generation/ Air minimized and is not perceived as a nuisance by local residents, maintain a safe working pollution environment, such as: a. water dusty roads and construction sites; b. covering of material stockpiles; c. loads covered and secured during transportation to prevent the scattering of soil, sand, materials, or dust; d. Exposed soil and material stockpiles shall be protected against wind erosion. 2) Noise and ï‚· All vehicles must have appropriate “Certificate of conformity from inspection of quality, vibration technical safety and environmental protectionâ€? following Decision No. 35/2005/QD-BGTVT; to avoid exceeding noise emission from poorly maintained machines. 3) Water pollution ï‚· Portable or constructed toilets must be provided on site for construction workers. Wastewater from toilets as well as kitchens, showers, sinks, etc. shall be discharged into a conservancy tank for removal from the site or discharged into municipal sewerage systems; there should be no direct discharges to any water body. ï‚· Wastewater over permissible values set by relevant Vietnam technical standards/regulations must be collected in a conservancy tank and removed from site by licensed waste collectors. ï‚· At completion of construction works, water collection tanks and septic tanks shall be covered and effectively sealed off. 4) Drainage and ï‚· The Contractor shall follow the detailed drainage design included in the construction plans, to sedimentation ensure drainage system is always maintained cleared of mud and other obstructions. ï‚· Areas of the site not disturbed by construction activities shall be maintained in their existing conditions. 5) Solid waste ï‚· At all places of work, the Contractor shall provide litter bins, containers and refuse collection facilities. ï‚· Solid waste may be temporarily stored on site in a designated area approved by the Construction Supervision Consultant and relevant local authorities prior to collection and disposal. ï‚· Waste storage containers shall be covered, tip-proof, weatherproof and scavenger proof. ï‚· No burning, on-site burying or dumping of solid waste shall occur. ï‚· Recyclable materials such as wooden plates for trench works, steel, scaffolding material, site holding, packaging material, etc. shall be collected and separated on-site from other waste sources for reuse, for use as fill, or for sale. - If not removed off site, solid waste or construction debris shall be disposed of only at sites identified and approved by the Construction Supervision Consultant and included in the solid waste plan. Under no circumstances shall the contractor dispose of any material in environmentally sensitive areas, such as in areas of natural habitat or in watercourses. 131 Issues/Risks Mitigation Measure 6) Chemical or ï‚· Used oil and grease shall be removed from site and sold to an approved used oil recycling hazardous wastes company. ï‚· Used oil, lubricants, cleaning materials, etc. from the maintenance of vehicles and machinery shall be collected in holding tanks and removed from site by a specialized oil recycling company for disposal at an approved hazardous waste site. ï‚· Unused or rejected tar or bituminous products shall be returned to the supplier’s production plant. ï‚· Store chemicals in safe manner, such as roofing, fenced and appropriate labeling. 7) Disruption of ï‚· Areas to be cleared should be minimized as much as possible. vegetative cover ï‚· The Contractor shall remove topsoil from all areas where topsoil will be impacted on by and ecological rehabilitation activities, including temporary activities such as storage and stockpiling, etc; the resources stripped topsoil shall be stockpiled in areas agreed with the Construction Supervision Consultant for later use in re-vegetation and shall be adequately protected. - The application of chemicals for vegetation clearing is not permitted. - Prohibit cutting of any tree unless explicitly authorized in the vegetation clearing plan. ï‚· When needed, erect temporary protective fencing to efficiently protect the preserved trees before commencement of any works within the site. ï‚· The Contractor shall ensure that no hunting, trapping shooting, poisoning of fauna takes place. 8) Traffic ï‚· Before construction, carry out consultations with local government and community and with management traffic police. ï‚· Significant increases in number of vehicle trips must be covered in a construction plan previously approved. Routing, especially of heavy vehicles, needs to take into account sensitive sites such as schools, hospitals, and markets. ï‚· Installation of lighting at night must be done if this is necessary to ensure safe traffic circulation. ï‚· Place signs around the construction areas to facilitate traffic movement, provide directions to various components of the works, and provide safety advice and warning. ï‚· Employing safe traffic control measures, including road/rivers/canal signs and flag persons to warn of dangerous conditions. ï‚· Avoid material transportation for construction during rush hour. ï‚· Signpost shall be installed appropriately in both water-ways and roads where necessary. 9) Interruption of ï‚· Provide information to affected households on working schedules as well as planned disruptions utility services of water/power at least 2 days in advance. ï‚· Any damages to existing utility systems of cable shall be reported to authorities and repaired as soon as possible. 10) Restoration of ï‚· Cleared areas such as disposal areas, site facilities, workers’ camps, stockpiles areas, working affected areas platforms and any areas temporarily occupied during construction of the project works shall be restored using landscaping, adequate drainage and revegetation. ï‚· Trees shall be planted at exposed land and on slopes to prevent or reduce land collapse and keep stability of slopes. ï‚· Soil contaminated with chemicals or hazardous substances shall be removed and transported and buried in waste disposal areas. 11) Worker and ï‚· Training workers on occupational safety regulations and provide sufficient protective clothing public Safety for workers in accordance with applicable Vietnamese laws. ï‚· Install fences, barriers, dangerous warning/prohibition site around the construction area which showing potential danger to public people. ï‚· The contractor shall provide safety measures as installation of fences, barriers warning signs, lighting system against traffic accidents as well as other risk to people and sensitive areas. ï‚· If previous assessments indicate there could be unexploded ordnance (UXO), clearance must be 132 Issues/Risks Mitigation Measure done by qualified personnel and as per detailed plans approved by the Construction Engineer. 12) ï‚· The contractor shall coordinate with local authorities (leaders of local communes, leader of Communication villages) for agreed schedules of construction activities at areas nearby sensitive places or at with local sensitive times (e.g., religious festival days). communities ï‚· Copies in Vietnamese of these ECOPs and of other relevant environmental safeguard documents shall be made available to local communities and to workers at the site. ï‚· Disseminate project information to affected parties (for example local authority, enterprises and affected households, etc) through community meetings before construction commencement. ï‚· Provide a community relations contact from whom interested parties can receive information on site activities, project status and project implementation results. ï‚· Inform local residents about construction and work schedules, interruption of services, traffic detour routes and provisional bus routes, blasting and demolition, as appropriate. ï‚· Notification boards shall be erected at all construction sites providing information about the project, as well as contact information about the site managers, environmental staff, health and safety staff, telephone numbers and other contact information so that any affected people can have the channel to voice their concerns and suggestions. 13) Chance find ï‚· If the Contractor discovers archeological sites, historical sites, remains and objects, including procedures graveyards and/or individual graves during excavation or construction, the Contractor shall: - Stop the construction activities in the area of the chance find; - Delineate the discovered site or area; - Secure the site to prevent any damage or loss of removable objects. In cases of removable antiquities or sensitive remains, a night guard shall be arranged until the responsible local authorities or the Department of Culture and Information takes over; - Notify the Construction Supervision Consultant who in turn will notify responsible local or national authorities in charge of the Cultural Property of Viet Nam (within 24 hours or less); - Relevant local or national authorities would be in charge of protecting and preserving the site before deciding on subsequent appropriate procedures. This would require a preliminary evaluation of the findings to be performed. The significance and importance of the findings should be assessed according to the various criteria relevant to cultural heritage; those include the aesthetic, historic, scientific or research, social and economic values; - Decisions on how to handle the finding shall be taken by the responsible authorities. This could include changes in the layout (such as when finding an irremovable remain of cultural or archeological importance) conservation, preservation, restoration and salvage; - If the cultural sites and/or relics are of high value and site preservation is recommended by the professionals and required by the cultural relics authority, the Project’s Owner will need to make necessary design changes to accommodate the request and preserve the site; - Decisions concerning the management of the finding shall be communicated in writing by relevant authorities; - Construction works could resume only after permission is granted from the responsible local authorities concerning safeguard of the heritage. Part 2 – Contractor’s Workers Environmental Code of Conducts 8. This is an example for typical project, but for a specific project, some other requirements might be relevant. For example, washing hands protocol, or agreeing to attend STD workshops. 133 Do: Do not ï?· Remove or damage vegetation without direct instruction. ï?· Use the toilet facilities provided – report ï?· Make any fires. dirty or full facilities ï?· Poach, injure, trap, feed or harm any animals – this includes ï?· Clear your work areas of litter and building birds, frogs, snakes, etc. rubbish at the end of each day – use the ï?· Enter any fenced off or marked area. waste bins provided and ensure that litter ï?· Drive recklessly or above speed limit will not blow away. ï?· Allow waste, litter, oils or foreign materials into the stream ï?· Litter or leave food lying around. ï?· Report all fuel or oil spills immediately & ï?· Cut trees for any reason outside the approved construction stop the spill from continuing. area ï?· Smoke in designated areas only and dispose ï?· Buy any wild animals for food; of cigarettes and matches carefully. (littering ï?· Use unapproved toxic materials, including lead-based paints, is an offence.) asbestos, etc.; ï?· Disturb anything with architectural or historical value ï?· Confine work and storage of equipment to ï?· Use of firearms (except authorized security guards) within the immediate work area. ï?· Use of alcohol by workers during work hours ï?· Use all safety equipment and comply with ï?· Wash cars or machinery in streams or creek all safety procedures. ï?· Do any maintenance (change of oils and filters) of cars and equipment outside authorized areas ï?· Prevent contamination or pollution of ï?· Dispose trash in unauthorized places streams and water channels. ï?· Have caged wild animals (especially birds) in camps ï?· Ensure a working fire extinguisher is ï?· Work without safety equipment (including boots and immediately at hand if any “hot workâ€? is helmets) undertaken e.g. Welding, grinding, gas ï?· Create nuisances and disturbances in or near communities cutting etc. ï?· Use rivers and streams for washing clothes ï?· Dispose indiscriminately rubbish or construction wastes or ï?· Report any injury of workers or animals. rubble ï?· Drive on designated routes only. ï?· Spill potential pollutants, such as petroleum products ï?· Collect firewood ï?· Prevent excessive dust and noise ï?· Do explosive and chemical fishing ï?· Use latrines outside the designated facilities; and ï?· Burn wastes and/or cleared vegetation. 134 Annex 5. ESMP Supervision, Monitoring, and Reporting 1. In line with the ESMF implementation arrangement and monitoring and reporting, this annex provides specific forms for ESMP monitoring (A5.1) including sample forms for monitoring at project and subproject level (A5.2) and sample form for Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) (A5.3). These forms should be used for all subprojects to be financed by FMCRP. Training will be provided to responsible staff. A5.1 Supervision and monitoring 2. Supervision and monitoring of ESMP implementation would encompass environmental compliance monitoring and environmental monitoring during subproject implementation as described in details below: - Environmental compliance monitoring includes a system for tracking environmental compliance of contractors such as checking the performance of contractors or government institutions against commitments expressed in formal documents, such as contract specifications or loan agreements. - The objectives of environmental monitoring is: a) to measure the effectiveness of mitigating actions (e.g. if there is a mitigating action to control noise during construction, the monitoring plan should include noise measurements during construction); b) To meet Borrower’s environmental requirement; and c) to respond to concerns which may arise during public consultation (e.g. noise, heat, odor, etc.), even if the monitoring is not associated with a real environmental issue (it would show good faith by the Borrower). The monitoring program should clearly indicate the linkages between impacts identified in the EA report, indicators to be measured, methods to be used, sampling locations, frequency of measurements, detection limits (where appropriate), and definition of thresholds that will signal the need for corrective actions, and so forth. The cost of environmental monitoring should be estimated and included in sub-project’s total investment costs. It is crucial to monitor and collect data that is useful and will actually be used. There is no value in spending money to collect data that is not properly analyzed, that is not reported or even if reported, no actions can or will be taken. It is useful to know the kinds of analysis to which the data will be subjected before collecting the data to ensure that one can do the anticipated analyses. - Table A5.1 and A5.2 provide an example for supervision and monitoring plan that can be used. Table A5.1 provides an example of how monitoring is structured. Table A5.1 An example of monitoring plan Phase What parameter Where is the How is parameter to When is parameter Responsible is to be monitored? parameter to be be monitored/ type to be monitored/ Party (Note if it is against monitored? of monitoring freq of measurement or a set standard) equipment? continuous? Pre-construction Construction Operation Decommissioning Table A5.2. An example of supervision plan Project stages Supervision Supervision Supervision Approach, Supervision Comparing impacts unit parameters equipment magnitude standard/document Preparation 135 Implementation ----- Completion A5.2 Monthly Progress Report of Subprojects/Activities Instructions: This form will be completed and sent to CPMU every month without fail. Attach additional information as needed should the form below not provide enough space. Progress report for the month of:___________________ Subproject Name:____________________________________ Subproject Number:____________________ Village/area:____________________________________ District:_______________________ Progress: (List all the subproject components and the progress to date) Component/subproject Description of subproject implementation Remarks to date 1. 2. 3. Comments on Subproject Safeguard Issues: (Report if there have been any environment and/or social problems that require the attention and assistance of the Project Director or safeguard specialist/consultants). Problem/Issue Comments A5.3 Project Safeguard Reporting Form below should be used for 6 month and/or annual reporting for the Project. Attach additional information as needed should the form below not provide enough space. Progress report for the period of:___________________ Subproject/Activity Owner:____________________________________ Environmental and Social Progress Report Format Project Key Training & Mitigation Implementation investment environmental capacity-building Lessons No measures and monitoring Remarks (subproject and social programs learnt taken of ESMP or activity) issues implemented 136 A5.3 Sample grievance registration form: The subproject owner (PPMUs) will be responsible for implementation of the GRM process and report the results as part of the safeguard monitoring report to be submitted to CPMU and WB. It is expected that a Community Development Committee (CDC) is established to take the lead in responding to the GRM process. Sample GRM form Grievance Number: ____________ LOCATION : District: _________ Village: ________________________ CDC Name: ___________________________________________ NAME OF COMPLAINANT: ____________________________________ ADDRESS:______________________________Telephone #: __________________ DATE RECEIVED: Classification of the grievance (Check boxes) ï‚£ Water Use ï‚£ Dispute with contractors ï‚£ CDC formation ï‚£ Inter-community dispute ï‚£ Land acquisition and Compensation ï‚£ Technical/operational coordination ï‚£ Financial ï‚£ Process delays ï‚£ Water Quality ï‚£ Noise ï‚£ Sanitation ï‚£ Water Use ï‚£ Other (specify)__________________________________________________ Brief description of the grievance: What is the perceived cause? Suggested action (by complainant) to address grievance: 137 Annex 6. Implementation Arrangements 1. This annex presents organization and responsibility of key entity related to safeguard implementation and monitoring performance. At subproject/activity level, the subproject/ activity safeguard staff of the subproject/activity owner (PPMUs) will be responsible for monitoring and monthly reporting. At Project level, the Project safeguard staff of CPMU will review the ESMF/safeguard implementation progress, take actions as necessary, and report the results as part of the Project safeguard monitoring report to be submitted to WB on a 6 months and yearly basis. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) and/or the Provincial People Committee (PPC) will be responsible respectively for taking policy actions related to safeguard issues at Project level and subproject levels. Close consultation with WB on specific issues are recommended. (A6.1) Organization Structure for Safeguard Monitoring (see explanation in table below) 2. The Project will be implemented in Project provinces. The implementing agencies will be MARD, and the provincial People’s Committees (PPCs) of the nine project provinces. In line with the Project implementation arrangement (see Box A6.1 below), the organization structure for safeguard monitoring is presented in Figure A6.1 and Table A6.1 below. World Bank Project Steering Committee Component 2, 3, 4 Component 1 (MBFP/CPMU) (ES safeguard staff and consultants) (ES safeguard staff and consultants) PPCs, DONRE, and local PPMUs community (CDC) (ES safeguard staff and consultants) Table A6.1: Institutional Responsibilities for the Project and Subproject Safeguard Implementation Community/ Responsibilities Agencies Project Implementing - The IA will be responsible for overseeing the Project implementation including ESMF Agency (IA) and implementation and environmental performance of contractors. CPMU - CPMU, representative of the IA, will be responsible for monitoring the overall Project (The IA means implementation, including environmental compliance of the Project. CPMU will have the final MARD CPMU here responsibility for ESMF implementation and environmental performance of the Project during means the PMU of the construction and operational phases. VNForest of MARD, - CPMU will: (i) closely coordinate with local authorities in the participation of the community CPMU of MARD, during project preparation and implementation; (ii) monitor and supervise ESMP and PPMUs of the implementation including incorporation of ESMP into the detailed technical designs and provinces) bidding and contractual documents; (iii) ensure that an environmental management system is set up and functions properly; (iv) be in charge of reporting on ESMP implementation to the IA and the World Bank. - In order to be effective in the implementation process, CPMU will establish an Environmental and Social Unit (ESU) with at least two safeguard staff to help with the environmental aspects of the Project. 138 Community/ Responsibilities Agencies - The ESU is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the World Bank’s environmental safeguard policies in all stages and process of the Project. Specifically, this unit will be responsible for: (i) screening subprojects against eligibility criteria, for environment and social impacts, policies triggered and instrument/s to be prepared;(ii) reviewing the subproject EIAs/EPPs and EIAs/ESMPs prepared by consultants to ensure quality of the documents; (iii) helping PPMU/CPMU of VNForest incorporate ESMPs into the detailed technical designs and Environmental and civil works bidding and contractual documents; (iv) helping CPMU incorporate responsibilities Social Unit (ESU) for ESMP monitoring and supervision into the TORs, bidding and contractual documents for under CPMU the Construction Supervision Consultant (CSC) and other safeguard consultants (SSC, ESC, IMA, and EMC) as needed; v) providing relevant inputs to the consultant selection process; (v) reviewing reports submitted by the CSC and safeguard consultants; (vi) conducting periodic site checks; (vii) advising the CPMU on solutions to environmental issues of the project; and viii) preparing environmental performance section on the progress and review reports to be submitted to the Implementing Agency and the World Bank. PPMUs and PMU of - As the subproject/activity owner, PPMU/PMU of VNForest is responsible for implementation VNForest of all the ESMP activities to be carried out under the Project, including fostering effective coordination and cooperation between contractor, local authorities, and local communities during construction phase. PPMU/PMU of VNForest will be assisted by the environmental staff, safeguard consultants, and CSC/or field engineer. Construction - The CSC will be responsible for routine supervising and monitoring all construction activities Supervision and for ensuring that Contractors comply with the requirements of the contracts and the ECOP. Consultant (CSC) The CSC will engage sufficient number of qualified staff (e.g. Environmental Engineers) with and/or Field Engineer adequate knowledge on environmental protection and construction project management to perform the required duties and to supervise the Contractor’s performance. - The CSC will also assist the PPMUs/PMU of VNForest in reporting and maintaining close coordination with the local community. Contractor - Based on the approved environmental specifications (ECOP) in the bidding and contractual documents, the Contractor is responsible for establishing a Contractor ESMP (CESMP) for each construction site area, submit the plan to PPMUs/PMU of VNForest and CSC for review and approval before commencement of construction. In addition, it is required that the Contractor get all permissions for construction (traffic control and diversion, excavation, labor safety, etc. before civil works) following current regulations. - The Contractor is required to appoint a competent individual as the contractor‘s on-site Safety and Environment Officer (SEO) who will be responsible for monitoring the contractor‘s compliance with health and safety requirements, the CESMP requirements, and the environmental specifications (ECOP). - Take actions to mitigate all potential negative impacts in line with the objective described in the CESMP. - Actively communicate with local residents and take actions to prevent disturbance during construction. - Ensure that all staff and workers understand the procedure and their tasks in the environmental management program. - Report to the PPMUs/PMU of VNForest on any difficulties and their solutions. - Report to local authority and PPMUs/PMU of VNForest if environmental accidents occur and coordinate with agencies and keys stakeholders to resolve these issues. Independent - IEMC will, under the contract scope, provide support to CPMU/PPMUs to establish and Environmental operate an environmental management system, offers suggestions for adjusting and building Monitoring capacity for relevant agencies during project implementation and monitor the CESMP Consultants (IEMC) implementation in both construction and operation stages. IEMC will also be responsible to support CPMU/PPMUs to prepare monitoring reports on ESMP implementation. - The IEMC will have extensive knowledge and experience in environmental monitoring and auditing to provide independent, objective and professional advice on the environmental 139 Community/ Responsibilities Agencies performance of the Project. Local community - Community: According to Vietnamese practice, the community has the right and responsibility to routinely monitor environmental performance during construction to ensure that their rights and safety are adequately protected and that the mitigation measures are effectively implemented by contractors and the CPMU/PPMUs/PMU of VNForest. If unexpected problems occur, they will report to the CSC and/or CPMU/PPMUs/PMU of VNForest. Social - These organizations could be a bridge between the PPC/DPC, communities, Contractors, and organizations, the CPMU/PPMUs/PMU of VNForest by assisting in community monitoring. NGOs and civil - Mobilizing communities' participation in the subproject, providing training to communities and society groups Participating in solving environmental problems, if any. Province and District - Oversee implementation of subprojects under recommendations of DONRE and PPMU/PMU of VNForest to ensure compliance of Government policy and regulations. DONRE is People’s Committees responsible for monitoring the compliance with the Government environmental requirements. (PPCs/DPCs), Provincial DONRE 140 Box A6.1 Project Institutional and Implementation Arrangements - Governance Advisory Investors Project implementation agency organizations CPMU MARD MBFP . Central Steering Committee Component1/ VNForest PPC DARD PPMU Provincial Steering Committee DPC/Working Group Forest Management CPC / Working Group Board Implementation Partners 141 Agriculture, Forestry, Aquatic Cooperatives Household Groups/Communities - MARD will be the primary executing agency for the project. MARD has extensive experience in implementing IDA-financed projects since 1995. MARD will work in close collaboration with relevant Ministries and agencies to implement the project. Project implementation will be guided by a Project Steering Committee (PSC), consisting of, at the central level, representatives of key Ministries such as MPI, MOF, MONRE, OOG, Provincial People’s Committees and others as relevant, who will be responsible for facilitating the coordination among the key stakeholders, providing guidance, and ensuring alignment with the national policy framework. - MARD has been assigned by the government as the project owner and will be responsible for overall implementation, management, and coordination of the project. The Ministry has experience implementing various Bank-financed projects, along with those financed by other partners in the agriculture sector in general and in the forest sector in particular, including the Asian Development Bank, JICA, KfW, GiZ and other bilateral donors, and so is familiar with Bank procedures and policies. MARD has assigned the Management Board for Forestry Projects (MARD MBFP) in Hanoi to be responsible for overall implementation and management of the project, and will be the project owner of the activities to be executed at the central level, including technical assistance for the entire project; capacity building, procurement of goods and equipment for provinces; executing the activities involving more than one province and requiring complicated expertise. MBFP is responsible to coordinate with all stakeholders including donors, ministries and central agencies and provinces throughout the project implementation, supervising and monitoring the investment activities at provinces as mandated by public investment regulations. For these activities, MARD will use existing resources to establish a CPMU under the MBFP and create an advisory group comprising of agriculture, water, forestry, and aquaculture specialists from technical departments, and related research institutes (this last part is still under discussion). Component 1 is under the implementation responsibility of Vietnam Forest Administration (VNForest). - The CPMU, assisted by the advisory group, is responsible to work with and assist the project provinces to implement the project in accordance with the project design. CPMU is responsible for the preliminary review and quality check of the provinces’ procurement and work plans before they are submitted to the Bank. In addition, the CPMU will be responsible for the overall project level administration, including oversight of procurement, FM, M&E, safeguards compliance and communications. (see Figure A7.1). - Provincial level. Subprojects under Components 2 and 3 will be implemented by PPMUs in the respective provinces. The Provincial People’s Committee (PPC) will appoint an existing PPMU under DARD to be the implementing agency (IA). At each project province, a Provincial Steering Committee will be appointed comprising representatives of provincial Departments such as DPI, DOF, DONRE and District People’s Committees who will be responsible for facilitating the coordination among the key stakeholders, providing guidance for project implementation in its respective province. - The PPMU will be in charge of day-to-day implementation activities including (a) consolidating the investment plan of the province; (b) preparation of detailed technical engineering design, safeguards mitigation documents, implementation, and Procurement Plan; (c) implementation of fiduciary (procurement and FM) and safeguards activities at the subproject level; (d) operation and maintenance of the project account; and, (e) M&E of subproject implementation. Each of the PPMUs will be fully staffed with qualified and experienced staff in all areas particularly on fiduciary and safeguards aspects. - With the high level of decentralization, most of the activities on procurement, FM and disbursement will be done by PPMUs with implementation activities being carried out at district and commune levels. A District Support Group (TBC) will be created with members from district 142 technical sections working on the part-time basis to assist the implementation at district level. - At commune level, with the aim of the project being the establishment of coastal protection forests at project communes and improvement of local people’s livelihoods, the role of local people and commune authorities is critical in project implementation as well as sustaining the results. Commune Forest Board (CFB) will be established at each of the project communes and will be tasked with signing contracts for forest plantation and protection with the household groups/communities (need to check legal basis for CFB to sign contract...) and supporting the livelhoods planning and implementation at commune. CFB members include selected staff the communes (TBC) and working on the part-time basis. - VNForest under MARD is the executing agency for Component 1 of the project. With the state management role being to provide advice to the GOV and MARD on the policy issues in the Forest Sector, VNForest is best placed to implement the coastal forest related policies and those relevant to the sector restructuring. VNForest has appointed staff to be member of the project preparation team and will maintain adequate human resources for project implementation. VNForest will coordinate with CPMU and other technical departments and research institutes of MARD according to their mandates to implement the planned activities under Component 1. - Project oversight. A Central PSC will be established and comprise representatives from MONRE, MARD, MPI, PPCs, MOF, OOG, and the State Bank of Vietnam. The PSC will organize meetings to review the project implementation, provide policy guidance, and assist in coordination on a need basis. Provincial PSC provides project implementation oversight at provincial level. - Technical oversight. MARD CPMU will (a) provide technical review of provincial investment plans/proposals, consolidating and monitor these plans and (b) extend TA to DARDs, when required, to support implementation at provinces. The CPMU will include technical specialists from various technical departments including forestry, aquaculture, water, climate change and environment, as needed. Component 4 will provide necessary support to project implementation. The CPMU under MARD is responsible for overall implementation and coordination. In addition to ensuring that the project is implemented in compliance with the technical and safeguard frameworks, the CPMU will be responsible for overall project level administration, including procurement, FM, M&E, and communications. The CPMU will include a director and will be supported by, at a minimum, the following specialists in: (a) forestry; (b) aquaculture; (c) environment; (d) social; (e) procurement; (f) FM; (g) M&E; and (h) communications. 143 Annex 7. Summary of ESMF Consultations FIRST ESMF CONSULTATION 1. Main objectives of the first round consultation were to inform about the project concept, the potential impacts on local environment and communities, and the proposed plan to prepare safeguard documents ESMF to mitigate potential negative impacts that may occur during implementation as well as to collect information on the ground and listening to their concerns and suggestions. Consultations were held on the general design of the project and the potential types of subprojects at the commune and district level. In addition, the findings of a preliminary assessment of potential impacts from proposed or potential future types of subprojects was shared with the participants. More specific impacts will be identified in detail during project implementation once the specific subprojects to be financed have been identified. In the process of public consultation, the participants expressed their support for the potential investment activities that would address long-term concerns of the local communities to ensure enhanced resilience of coastal areas and increase incomes and improve livelihoods of coastal communities within the project provinces thereby reducing the pressure on forests. Besides, they have also expressed their concern about the project management methods, they are keen to manage and protect the forest after the project ends, and want measures to minimize the impact of the implementation phase projects such as planting, silviculture facilities. And in addition, the environmental consultants have conducted consultation with vulnerable peole such as poverty households, single parent households, households with main labor is women, ethnic minorities as well as part of the preparation of the ESMF. 2. The consultants on the environmental and social frameworks, the Board of Management of Forestry Projects have done the consultations at provincial and potential district, potential community levels and with communities at the potential commune. Provincial level: Venue: Meeting-Hall of Provincial People Committee at Hai Phong city, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces. Time: Quang Ninh: (19/8/2016), Hai Phong (Ngay 20/9/2016), Thanh Hoa (8/9/2016), Nghe An (12/9/2016), Ha Tinh (10/9/2016), Quang Binh (12/9/2016), Quang Tri (10/9/2016) and Thua Thien Hue (7/9/2016). Participants: - Representatives of DARD, MBFP, DORE, Provincial FPD or Provincial Forestry Department, Management board for protection forest. - Representatives of CSOs (women's associations, farmers’ associations, fatherland front). - Representatives of ethnic department - Representatives of MBFP, MARD - Consultant: Vietnam - Germany Center for Cooperation in Science and Technology, Vietnam - Germany Friendship Association. General recommendation: in general, the follows were agreed in the provinces: - Leaders of provinces, leader of DARD and also leaders of district divisions, leaders of other organizations have been agreed with project advocatory. 144 - The scale and scope of the project at the small levels, negative impacts on the environment resources or social issues that resulted from planned project activities under components 2 and 3 are partial, immediate and not significant, it can completely be minimized if it would be done properly base on social and environmental protection plans. - Within activities under Component 3, it is recommended that the investors should have to organize training courses for any proposed livelihood activities whether they are agriculture, forestry and fishing integrated models for ethnic minority people in Quang Ninh and other people living in the project sites of all the provinces. - Agree with the reducing impact measures suggested to mitigate the potential environmental impact of the project District level: Venue: Meeting-Hall of district People Committee at potential districts: Tien Yen, Mong Cai (Quang Ninh), Do Son (Hai Phong), Tinh Gia (Thanh Hoa), Dien Chau (Nghe An), Thach Ha (Ha Tinh), Quang Ninh (Quang Binh), Quang Ninh (Quang Tri), Quang Ã?ien, Phu Loc (Thua Thien Hue). Participants: - Representatives of district authorities, authorities of related areas to the project. - Representatives of district divisions such as ethnic, agro-forest and fishery, resources and environment management. - Representatives of CSOs (women's associations, farmers’ associations, fatherland front) - Representatives of vulnerable communities - Representatives of MBFP, MARD - Consultant: Vietnam - Germany Center for Cooperation in Science and Technology, Vietnam - Germany Friendship Association. Consultation Results: - Leaders of the district and staffs of district divisions such as agriculture - forestry and fisheries, labor, war invalid and social division, resource and environment management division, and CSOs (women's associations, farmers’ associations, fatherland front) agreed with proposed Project. - The scale and scope of the project at the local levels were compared with other similar projects implemented at the district level that were sponsored by the Vietnam Central Government. It was agreed that the potential negative impacts on the environment resources or social issues that resulted from the proposed types of project activities under Components 2 and 3 are partial, immediate and not significant, it can be completely minimized if it would be done properly base on social and environmental protection plans - The district plays a monitoring role and would also assist with promoting investors and ensuring they to strictly abide by measures to reduce negative impacts. All localities have proposed that it should have to make a rule to sanction or even stop contract with the contractor if they do not comply with the commitments. - Local authorities have agreed to create favorable conditions for maximum support to the project such as ground preparation work for expected subprojects, make sure to comply with the policies of the Central Government and the donors. - Agreed to establish cross-sectoral management committee with the participation of local communities in monitoring on implementation of environmental protection plan that would be conducted by the contractors. Communal level: Time: 9/2016 145 Venue: Meeting-Hall of comunal People Committee at potential communes: Dong Rui, Van Ninh (Quang Ninh), Dai Hop, Bang La (Hai Phong), Xuan Lam, Hai Ninh (Thanh Hoa), Dien Ngoc, Dien Thanh (Nghe An), Thach Hai, Thach Khe (Ha Tinh), Gia Ninh, Hien Ninh (Quang Binh), Gio My, Trung Giang (Quang Tri), Quang Cong and Lang Co town (Thua Thien Hue). Participants: - Representatives of MBFP, Representatives of DARD, DONRE, Provincial FPD, Ranger Division, Management Board for protection forest. - Representatives of district and commune and authorities of the localities related to the project - Representatives of CSOs (women's associations, farmers associations, fatherland front) - Representatives of vulnerable communities - Consultant: Vietnam - Germany Center for Cooperation in Science and Technology, Vietnam - Germany Friendship Association. - The total number of consulted participants were 448 people, including 65 people in Quang Ninh, 46 people in Hai Phong, 45 people in Thanh Hoa, 50 people in Nghe An, 60 people in Ha Tinh, 63 people in Quang Binh, 63 people in Quang Tri, and 56 people in Thua - Thien Hue. Meeting content: - MBFP and environment consultant introduced: (a) objectives of the project, (b) main activities and list of the proposed project works, (c) potential environment impacts and mitigation measures, and (d) introduction of an additional study if any. - The project activities covered in the public consultation, includes: o Supporting, implementing activities to re-organize the forestry. o Planned activities for supporting, implementing, restoring and development activities for coastal forest: new planting, enrichment planting, , nursery gardening, protection and management coastal forest. o Improving, preparing activities for potential works at coastal facilities. o The mechanism for supporting livelihood activities that would reduce pressure on the forest and contribute to new rural development. o Measures for management, monitoring, operation and evaluation of the project. - Summary of the consultation comments Agreement of the participants - 100% of meeting participants supported the Project implementation and also knowledge benefits coming from the Project, such as: o Strengthening tolerance and damages of extreme weather, sea level rise; o Possible increase on income and improve livelihoods that are depending on coastal forest. o Strengthening safety of sea dyke, river dyke o Possible increase on aquatic resources. On the potential subproject’s impact on local environment: based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: Quang Ninh province: - It was expected that the proposed activities will not negatively affect on the Dzao ethnic communities living there; the Dzao communities living in the potential subproject sites will not be resettled by proposed subproject activities. 146 - The expected construction works will be small scale and will not be located in or near sensitive areas so that they will not create negative impact on the local environment. - The planned subprojects will not require any land acquisition. Hai Phong City: - The potential subproject activities will not create negative impact to land use planning at local level. - No ethnic minority group are expected to be living in the potential subproject area. - The construction activities such as building watchtowers and silviculture paths as well as the operation of the vessels will not affect local environment. Thanh Hoa province: - The activities of the potential subproject will not create negative impact on local environment. - There is no resettlement, no ethnic minority group living in and around the project sites. - The construction works associated with potential subprojects are expected to be small and will not create negative impact to local environment or to local communities. Nghe An province: - The activities of the project are not expected to create negative impact to the local environment or to the local communities. - The mangrove forest just after planting could be affected by movement of the vessels. However, this trouble would be resolved by planting trees at ages of 2-3 years and height of 1.5-2m. - No land acquisition is expected for the project and no ethnic minority group is living in the project area. - High risk of UXO resulted from the war in the past. Ha Tinh province: - The activities of the project are not expected to negatively affect cultivated land, no land acquisition and no resettlement of households is expected. Quang Binh province: - It is not expected that the project will involve any land acquisition, no ethnic minority group living in or surround the proposed project sites. - The area proposed for planting activities does not overlap with other projects. - Very high risk of UXO resulted from the war in the past. Quang Tri province: - It is not expected that the project will involve any land acquisition, no ethnic minority group living in or surround the proposed project sites. - Very high risk of UXO resulted from the war in the past. Thua Thien Hue province: - No land acquisition is expected, no ethnic minority group living in or surround the proposed project sites. - The coastal planning area proposed for forestation does not overlapped to the other project. - Very high risk of UXO resulted from the war in the past. Recommendation of the communities from the subproject sites: - Requiring the project manager to serious implement all mitigation measures when the project is implementing. - Requiring the subproject manager to ensure timely project implementation so that the project will contribute to improvement on the overall local landscape as well as on the resilience of coastal 147 forests. - Project manager needs to comply with the measures to reduce the negative impact caused by the activities of the project during implementation. - Entrusting the local communities to conduct forest management and protection (groups of households, with the participation of the local authorities). - Representatives of the leaders of provinces Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua - Thien Hue recommended clearance of UXO from the war in the new planting or additional planting areas. Representatives of the leaders of Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong City recommended that the clearance of UXO in their area is not necessary, but if funding is available it should be made to ensure safety. Conclusion: - All of the participants completely agreed with the proposed investment and the activities of the Project. - The potential negative impacts of the proposed subproject will be assessed in more details when the project sites are confirmed and the mitigation measures will be prepared and implemented as appropriate. The Project will bring enormous benefits to the local communities including improved marine resources, support economic development, and augment resilience. - Project manager needs to accelerate the project’s implementation and needs to strictly implement measures to minimize the negative impact when subprojects are implemented. SECOND ESMF CONSULTATION Consultations were held to obtain comments and feedback on the draft ESMF. The second round consultation confirmed stakeholders’ agreement to the proposed activities and mitigation measures described in the draft ESMF which provided more details on project activities and mitigation measures. The findings of assessment of potential impacts from proposed or potential subprojects, mitigation measures, as well as procedures for screening, review and approval of the future subprojects during implementation were shared with the participants. More specific impacts will be identified in detail during project implementation once the subprojects to be financed have been identified. I. HAI PHONG CITY 1.1. Bàng La Commune, Ä?ồ SÆ¡n District, Hải Phòng City 1.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Bang La CPC, Do Son District, Hai Phong City 1.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 13, 2016 1.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The report has fully identified and evaluated the impacts of the project on the environment and local society and proposed measures to prevent and mitigate fully negative impacts. - They recommended the project owners to comply with the mitigation measures proposed to ensure environmental safeguards in the locality. - The implementation of proposed project activities will not affect the customs and habits of the communities in the locality. b) Comments from the communities: based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The proposed activities of the project will not affect the natural environment and local society. 148 When the project is implemented, it will have huge positive impacts to the locality. For example, the sea dikes are protected, fishery resources are increased and so on. - The proposed activities of the project will not affect the customs and habits of the local communities. - If the negative impacts of the project occur, they are minor, and the project has specific measures to mitigate, prevent those impacts with high feasibility. - The proposed sub-projects will not have land acquisition in construction of silviculture infrastructure and other coastal infrastructure. The local people will create favourable conditions to ensure that the construction process takes place smoothly. - The Project should prioritize the local people to participate in forest plantation activities and participate in the implementation monitoring of the project activities in order to ensure its expected objectives. - The communities asked for an early implementation of the project activities to improve the system of local sea and river dykes in good response to climate change. - The proposed project activities must not overlap with the activities of other projects that the communities know. 1.2. Ä?ại Hợp commune, Ä?ồ SÆ¡n District, Hải Phòng City 1.2.1. Venue: The Hall of Dai Hop CPC, Do Son District, Hai Phong City 1.2.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 13, 2016 1.2.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups - - The proposed activities of the project are practical in enhancing the resilience of the coastal areas. - The project has fully identified and evaluated the potential impacts of the proposed project activities on the natural environment and the society. The project has also proposed measures to reduce and prevent the possible negative impacts appropriately and feasibly. - The project must not encroach on the local historical and religious monuments. The project must not affect the customs and habits of the local communities. - It is recommended that the project needs to implement early and fully the mitigation measures. b) Comments from the communities: based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The proposed activities of the project are in the small scales, and they are only upgraded or renovated so they do not have impacts on environment. Favourable conditions are ensured by the local communities for the construction activities on schedule to form a complete system and then enhance the coastal resilience. - The project does not encroach on the historical monuments, have impacts on the local customs and habits. - The proposed mitigation measures are adequate and highly feasible. - It is recommended that the project owner gives specific criteria for the selection of households engaged in livelihood support activities, prior to local poor households. - The local communities also asked that the project activities are early implemented to generate benefits to the local people sooner. II. QUANG NINH PROVINCE 149 2.1. Van Ninh Commune, Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province 2.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Van Ninh CPC, Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province 2.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 14, 2016 2.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The project’s proposed implementation sites are not in presence of ethnic minority communities, the project activities do not affect the natural environment and local society. - The livelihoods of the local people in the commune are mainly from agriculture and forestry production. Therefore, if the project supports the implementation of value chains, it is very meaningful. - The project has proposed measures to mitigate the potential negative impacts because the project has high feasibility. - The communities asked the project owner that when the activities of upgrading and renovating coastal infrastructure are implemented, there are required to develop environmental protection plan in accordance with regulations on environmental protection. b) Comments from the communities: based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - Residential communities fully support the project activities. The proposed project activities will not affect the livelihoods of the local people. - The construction activities of proposed coastal infrastructure do not need land acquisition, relocation of graves. Therefore, these activities do not have impacts on the society. - The communities recommended that the project owner needs to have specific criteria when the project conducts livelihood supports to ensure long-term benefits for local people. - It is recommended that all construction plans, repairing coastal infrastructure works of the project need to be publicly disclosed so that the local people get this information and participate in the monitoring process to ensure the quality of works. 2.2. Dong Rui Commune, Tien Yen district, Quang Ninh Province 2.2.1. Venue: The Hall of Dong Rui CPC, Tien Yen District, Quang Ninh Province 2.2.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 14, 2016 2.2.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The project must not overlap with other projects that is going to be implemented in the commune. - There is the presence of the Dao ethnic minority group in the commune. However, the proposed activities of the project will not affect the customs and habits of the Dao people. - It is recommended that the project owner develop criteria for enabling the local people to participate in the eco-tourism model which increases the income for the local people. b) Comments from the communities: based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - Due to the local people’s small agricultural land, their livelihoods mainly depend on fishery resources under the forest canopy. Therefore, the proposed activities of the projects implemented in the commune are very practical. - The proposed activities of the project will not adversely affect the environment. However, the 150 project owner still has to fully implement the mitigation measures as mentioned in the report and the information of the project need to be publicly disclosed to the local people. - The project needs to have priority over the local people in participation of forest plantation, tending, management and protection. - It is recommended that the project owner discloses publicly the project implementation plan in the commune so that the local people get the information and participate in the monitoring process. III. THANH HOA PROVINCE 3.1. Hai Ninh Commune, Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa Province 3.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Hai Ninh CPC, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province 3.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 15, 2016 3.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The project was evaluated and proposed measures to mitigate the adverse impacts in suitable and feasible maners. - The project is not expected to involve land acquisition for construction, renovation of coastal infrastructure works. However, if land acquisition happens, the local authorities will use the local budget for the land acquisition compensation. - The proposed activities of the project do not adversely affect the natural environment and the local society. b) Comments from the communities - The agricultural land in the commune is scarce and the local people’s livelihoods depend mainly on off-shore fishery exploitation. Therefore, the project owner is asked to have a good mechanism to improve the livelihoods of local people, especially the elderly, the people losing their working capacity. - The local communities requested that the project owner conducts fully mitigation measures mentioned in the report. - When assigning the right for the local communities and household groups for forest management, the project owner needs to have specific criteria to ensure the benefits of other people when they exploit natural resources under the forest canopy. - Asking priority projects use local labor to participate in the activities of the project. To request all non-construction projects at night to upgrade items, repair coastal infrastructure. 3.2. Xuan Lam Commune, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province 3.2.1. Venue: The Hall of Xuan Lam CPC, Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province 3.2.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 15, 2016 3.2.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The project will not encroach on the historical monuments, cultural, religious and believed works 151 in the commune. - The proposed activities of the project will not adversely affect the environment in the commune. - The project owner needs to develop an environmental protection plan before performing the construction activities and upgrading coastal infrastructure. b) Comments from the communities - The local communties recommended that the project owner must fully implement the plan and measures of environmental protection mentioned in the report. - The local communties recommended that the project owner needs to create favorable conditions for the people involved in the monitoring process of the project activities. - The local communties recommended that the project owner discloses publicly environmental protection plan so that the local people could monitor it. - The local communties recommended that the project owner develops specific criteria for activities of supporting livelihood models to ensure the equality and the interests of the people. IV. NGHE AN PROVINCE 4.1. Diá»…n Ngá»?c commune, Diá»…n Châu district, Nghệ An province 4.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Dien Ngoc CPC, Dien Chau District, Nghe An Province 4.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 16, 2016 4.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The activities of the project are very practical to improve the system of sea dikes and river dikes before the extraordinary phenomena of nature. - The project suits the land use planning orientation of the locality. - In the past, no accidents are related to mines, bomb, and explosives in the commune. However, the project still needs to conduct mine clearance before conducting forest plantation activities. - It is recommended that the project owner must strictly implement the mitigation measures mentioned. b) Comments from the communities - - Assigning the communities for forest protection and management is the right policy of the project. However, the project should develop specific criteria to ensure the long-term benefits of the local people. - The proposed project activities will not affect the habits and customs of the people. - In the commune, there is no ethnic minorities. - The communities asked that the project should prioritize use of local labors in participating in the project activities. - The project owner needs to inform publicly the project implementation plan. 4.2. Diá»…n Thanh commune, Diá»…n Châu district, Nghệ An province 4.2.1. Venue: The Hall of Dien Thanh CPC, Dien Chau District, Nghe An Province 4.2.2. Time: started at 14h30' on Dec 16, 2016 152 4.2.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The proposed project activities do not encroach the historical, cultureal, religious monuments in the locality. - The proposed project activities will not prevent the lives and daily activities of the local people. - It is recommended that the project owner needs to develop specific criteria when implementing the livelihood models in the locality. b) Comments from the communities - The project fully recognized the negative impacts and proposed the appropriate and feasible mitigation measures. - The project owner needs to ensure quality of seedlings that is suitable for local climate conditions. - It is suggested that the project owner develop the monitoring plan for shipping of the seedling from the nurseries to planting sites. - The project owner was asked for expansion of the livelihood support for the people, especially the traditional products of the locality. - The project owner was asked for implementing fully the mitigation measures mentioned in the report. - The project owner was asked for early implementation of the project activities and no upgrading and reparing infrastructure items are conducted at the night time. 5. HA TINH PROVINCE 5.1. Ho Do commune, Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province 5.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Ho Do CPC, Loc Ha District, Ha Tinh Province 5.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 17, 2016 5.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - Currently, the local government and local communities built their conventions to manage and protect existing forests. Currently the commune has 60.23 hectares of mangroves, the commune asked the project owner for support implementation of eco-tourism activities in the locality. - The proposed activities for upgrading and renovating the infrastructure do not need land acquisition, compensation and resettlement. However, if it happens, the local authority will be responsible for using the local budget. - The proposed project activities will not prevent the activities of the local people and the operation of ships and boats. - The project owner was asked for developing specific criteria to protect the local people’s benefits when choosing the livelihood models. b) Comments from the communities. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The project will not adversely affect habits and customs of the local people. - It is suggested that the project owner plant diverse species to ensure the species biodiversity and to enhance the resilience of sea dike system in the locality. 153 - It is recommended that the project owner needs to have mechanisms and policies of funding support for the people in participation of forest protection and management. - In the commune there is no ethnic minorities. - It is recommended the project owner needs to strictly implement the mitigation measures proposed and to inform publicly the environmental protection plan of the project in the commune. VI. THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE 6.1. Quang Cong commune, Huong Tra Town, Thua Thien Hue province 6.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Quang Cong CPC, Huong Tra Town, Thua Thien Hue Province 6.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 15, 2016 6.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The site conditions for proposed mangrove plantation is quite difficult. Therefore, the proposed work solutions for mangrove plantation need to be appropriate and feasible. - The proposed project area will not overlap with the areas planned for other projects. - The project should focus on coastal terrestrial forests against sand shifting so that the local people could develop agricultural production. - In the commune, there is no ethnic minorities. b) Comments from the communities. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The communities have consensus with the policy of assigning and contracting with the local people/communities in forest management and protection. - The project does not adversely affect the environment as well as the daily activities of the local people. - The local people’s livelihoods depend mainly on fishery exploitation, farming with very low economic effectiveness. Therefore, the communities proposed the project to support them for investing the fishery equipment and tools, and creating value chains to increase their income, and then they will reduce pressure on forest resources. - It is requested that the project owner need to implement mine clearance before implementing the project activities. 6.2. Lang Co town, Phu Loc district, Thua Thien Hue province 6.2.1. Venue: The Hall of Lang Co CPC, Phu Loc Town, Thua Thien Hue Province 6.2.2. Time: started at 14h30' on Dec 15, 2016 6.2.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - The tourism activity in the locality is relatively developed. Therefore, the project owner was asked for developing tourism models in association with the forest ecology. - The project does not implement the compensation and land clearance. The project does not encroach on the historical, cultural, religious monument in the locality. - The project should develop specific criteria to select the households engaged in livelihood models. - The selection of the livelihood models should be extended to the surrounding area to ensure 154 benefits of the local people. b) Comments from the communities - The proposed mitigation measures are appropriate and feasible. - The project needs to facilitate good site conditions for plantation and conduct breakwaters in the area the erosion is happening. - The sandy soil forest plantation activities need to be further than 200m compared to the coastline, focusing on the forest area previously lost. - The project needs to develop a mechanism to ensure that everyone can have equal benefits from the project activities. - Activities of upgrading and renovating the coastal infrastructure of the project should focus on water drainage for agricultural production of the local people. - It is recommended that the project owner must strictly implement the mitigation measures proposed VII. QUANG TRI PROVINCE 7.1. Trung Giang commune, Gio Linh Town, Quang Tri province 7.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Trung Giang CPC, Gio Linh district, Quang Tri Province 7.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 16, 2016 7.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. - Currently, protection forests in the commune are managed by the communities and the cost for their protection comes from the commune budget. Therefore, the communities asked the project owner for developing a mechanism to support the annual budget for their forest management and protection. - The local people’s income comes mainly from fishery exploitation. Therefore, the project should develop a mechanism to prioritize the elderly, the women involved in the project's livelihood models. - The project should focus on technical support for seafood preservation and processing for the local people. - The proposed project activities will not adversely affect the natural environment and society in the commune. b) Comments from the communities - The project should develop criteria for the selection of households engaged in livelihood models with priority for the households affected by the recent sea environment incident. - Due to the proposed activities of construction and repairing infrastructure at a small scale, they do not affect the environment and society. - The proposed forest plantation activities do not use plant protection chemicals, so they do not affect the environment. - In fact, coastal forest area in the commune is directly affected by storms. Therefore, the project owner should have measures to restrict this impact on the newly planted area. - It is recommended that the project owner must implement fully and strictly mitigation measures 155 proposed in the report and inform publicly the activities so that the local people have a chance for monitoring their implementation. VIII. QUANG BINH PROVINCE 8.1. Gia Linh commune, Quang Ninh, Quang Binh province 8.1.1. Venue: The Hall of Gia Linh CPC, Quang Ninh district, Quang Binh Province 8.1.2. Time: started at 8h30' on Dec 17, 2016 8.1.3. Consultation results: a) Comments by the representatives of social and political organizations, socio-professional organizations and residential groups. Based on the proposed design and potential subprojects: - The proposed project activities will not encroach on the culture, belief and religion of local communities - There are no ethnic minority minorities in the locality. - Assigning forests to local communities for their management must have the participation of all governmental levels to ensure the rights and benefits of other households. - The proposed project construction items are on a small scale. However, the project still needs to develop an environmental protection plan and submit it to the DPC for approval before implementation. b) Comments from the communities - For mangrove areas, the project should plant diverse species to enhance their resilience. - Currently, the erosion in the commune is being encroached on existing mangroves. Therefore, the project owner was required to implement work measures to protect the existing forest area in the locality. - The local agriculture production depends heavily on natural water sources. Therefore, the communities proposed the project owner to focus on upgrading and repairing water storage infrastructure works that serve the production of farmers. - It is recommended that the project owner disclose publicly environmental protection plan so that the people could monitor implementation of the project activities. 156