Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 09/13/2010 Report No.: 56731 1. Basic Project Data Original Project ID: P079708 Original Project Name: Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Country: India Project ID: P107668 Project Name: TAMIL NADU EMPOWERMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION "VAZHNDHU KATTUVOM" PROJECT ADDITIONAL FINANCING Task Team Leader: Natasha Hayward Estimated Appraisal Date: June 15, 2010 Estimated Board Date: November 18, 2010 Managing Unit: SASDA Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Other social services (70%);Agro-industry (10%);General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (10%);General industry and trade sector (10%) Theme: Vulnerability assessment and monitoring (25%);Rural markets (25%);Participation and civic engagement (24%);Rural policies and institutions (13%);Gender (13%) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 152.80 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT 38.20 38.20 Environmental Category: B - Partial Assessment Simplified Processing Simple [] Repeater [X] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies) Yes [ ] No [X] 2. Project Objectives There will be no change to the Project Development Objective from that of the original project (P079708). The proposed Additional Financing would therefore continue with the project objective to empower the poor and improve their livelihoods through: (a) developing, strengthening and synergizing pro-poor local institutions/groups (including Village Panchayats); (b) enhancing skills and capacities of the poor (especially women, youth, disabled, and the vulnerable); and (c) financing productive demand-driven investments related to livelihoods for the target poor. Overall, it is envisaged that building on ongoing activities in existing project villages and scaling up geographically to ten new districts will contribute to enhanced developmental impact. Page 2 3. Project Description The components of the project would remain unchanged, with a focus on inclusive institution building and livelihood activities, particularly addressing the needs of the poorest, most vulnerable and disabled. In the existing project areas, the Additional Financing would consolidate activities to date, with a focus on sustainability of institutions and support to inter-village level federations and aggregated livelihood activities. As under the original project, the Additional Financing would therefore support the following 3 components: Component A: Village Livelihood Program - This component will build institutional capacity, synergize and strengthen pro-poor local institutions and fund productive livelihood related investments at the village and inter-village levels. This component will have three sub-components: A.l Formation and strengthening of village institutions to support and develop inclusive, self-reliant, self-managed and sustainable community organizations such as SHGs, EAGs and their federations, VPRCs and VPs for livelihood improvement; A.2 Village Fund would support direct investments at the village level and consist of the following: (i)VPRC Fund - to scale up mobilization of the poor into SHGs, build capacity of both existing and new SHGs to plan and implement subprojects; provide additional seed funds to new SHGs; support skills development, training and job placement, particularly for youth; and provide special assistance to the disabled and vulnerable; (ii)Livelihood Amudha Surabhi Fund - to enhance livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable by financing productive investments and economic activities; (iii)Village Panchayat Incentive Fund - provides incentives for local government institutions to become pro- poor and support targeted activities for the ultra-poor and other vulnerable groups such as the disabled.; and, (iv)Building and Strengthening Federations - to provide start-up capital and value addition investments to federations of community organizations to become self-reliant and self sustainable. Component B - District and State Support to Village Livelihood Program: This component would support and strengthen the project teams and support organizations at the state and district levels to respond to the needs of the poor and build institutional linkages and livelihood options for enhanced sustainability of the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable. Component C - Project Management: This component will facilitate and strengthen overall co-ordination, implementation, monitoring and learning of the project at state and district levels. In new districts, it provides for setting up district level project management units, and provision of office infrastructure and logistical support. 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis Due to the success of the project, Additional financing is now requested to expand the project horizontally into an additional ten new districts, covering 46 new blocks; to cover 4 new blocks in the existing districts; and to make up a shortfall of funds in the original project implementation area where the project entering into a greater number of villages Page 3 than originally planned (8% more) and the higher number of identified target population strained the village allocation of resources, which was itself assessed as inadequate to have a significant impact on poverty levels. Achievements in these existing districts would be consolidated and deepened with focus on sustainability, enhancing livelihood activities and support inter-village level aggregation and federations. The project location will therefore encompass the existing 16 districts (70 blocks + 4 new blocks) and 10 additional new districts (46 blocks), with 1661 new villages (totaling 4170). 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Ramachandran R. Mohan (SASDS) Mr Anupam Joshi (SASDI) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) X Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: Environmental The additional financing benefits from the implementation experience of the original project. No potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts were observed during the original project. Similar activities and implementation arrangements would remain in place for the additional financing, as were in the original project. Financed livelihood activities were small and wide spread and the bulk of them centered on improvement of ongoing practices, e.g. livestock management. The current practice of earning livelihood by making wood coal through burning of biomass (wood) in traditional kilns results in poor energy efficiency, increased carbon emissions and environmental health issues for the workers. Under the additional financing phase, the project will improve environmental performance of this existing livelihood practice by improving the technical design of traditional kilns that are already being used in some of the project districts and apply mitigation measures for the health and safety of workers. Page 4 Social: Involuntary resettlement: The project does not acquire any lands and hence the OP 4.12 on involuntary resettlement is not triggered. Indigenous people (Tribals): The project has no adverse impact on tribals. How ever the project has very good potential for tribals and other vulnerable groups (poor households, women, vulnerable groups, disabled and youth). Ongoing experience indicates that all tribals and vulnerable groups have benefitted immensely from the project activities. The OP on Indigenous people (OP 4.10) has been triggered to maximize benefits for these groups on a systematic and sustainable basis. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: Environmental: No potential environmental impacts anticipated. Social: Beneficial impacts anticipated. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. n/a 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. Environmental: Environmental Safeguard issues (in the original project) were addressed adequately through application of an ESMF that included early screening and categorization of sub- projects based on their potential to adversely impact the environment. Good institutional capacity has been developed in the state through wide-spread training and orientation of all project staff at the community, village and district level through a State Environmental Resource Agency (SERA), which was contracted to hand-hold the project teams in screening, categorizing and implementing mitigation measures for each of the sub- project. In addition, Environmental Appraisers have been shortlisted and trained in each district who will undertake a rapid environmental impact assessment of any livelihood activity that is categorized as having the potential to adversely impact the environment. The borrower has agreed to continue the engagement of SERA for one more year in additional financing to specifically train staff in the new districts and bridge any gaps in capacity building in existing project districts. At the same time, the State level office will recruit a new fulltime Environmental Specialist under the Additional Financing, who would continue to lead this mandate beyond SERA#s term. An ESMF compliance audit would also be conducted by SERA. Social: Tribal Development Framework: A detailed Tribal Development Framework has been prepared to ensure that tribal groups in the project area benefit directly through prior, free Page 5 and informed participation. This framework (attached separately) has been prepared based on the continuous lessons learnt from the ongoing project. The objective of the Tribal Development Plan under the project will be to empower the poor Tribal Communities and improve their livelihoods through: # Developing and strengthening pro-poor local institutions/groups of the tribals; # Building skills and capacities of the Tribals; and # Financing productive economic activities investments taking care to fosters full respect for dignity, human rights and cultural uniqueness of the Tribal Communities; and that all interventions are culturally and socially compatible. # Engaging a state level resource agency for tribal welfare and development # Implementation arrangements # Monitoring and learning systems In order to achieve these objectives , key elements of the frame work include: # Preference in selection of Blocks: The Project blocks have been selected by giving due weightage to SC/ST population. # 10% higher higher allocation of project funds to Tribal families # Special Institutional Arrangements for tribal groups # Promotion of Tribal Specific Livelihoods # Employment of trained Tribal Para-professionals for community mobilization and capacity building # Convergence mechanisms for tribals to benefit from their entitlements # Culturally appropriate Communication and participation strategy # Additional incentives for GPs In addition a framework has been prepared for inclusion of vulnerable groups, differently abled persons, women and youth (separately attached). 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. The primary stakeholders of the project are (i) poor and vulnerable groups, particularly women and the disabled, in the rural areas, mobilized into SHGs, Village Poverty Reduction Committees, and Panchayat Level Federations; (ii) local governments or PRIs. Both will continue to engage with a range of other agencies, NGOs, line departments, other civil society organizations and private sector. The project will continue to invest in building linkages and relationship between communities, their local governments and other stakeholders, including the private sector. A guiding principle of project design and implementation under the existing project was to promote a more demand-driven, participatory and socially inclusive approach towards identification, design, execution, and quality assurance of investments, activities and assets at the local level and, indeed, towards the resolution of project implementation bottlenecks, design adjustments, etc. Consultations, workshops and internal learning forums are routinely carried out with participation of the project#s primary stakeholders, to ensure that their priorities and perspectives are addressed in project operations. Page 6 Key environmental safeguards mitigation measures, best practices in environmentally sustainable practices, screening and categorization criteria and eco-friendly livelihood activities have been translated in local language and widely shared in project villages. This practice will be continued in new districts and revisited in existing districts under the additional financing. B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Yes Date of receipt by the Bank 01/27/2005 Date of "in-country" disclosure 01/27/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 02/15/2005 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Yes Date of receipt by the Bank 12/22/2004 Date of "in-country" disclosure 01/27/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 02/11/2005 Pest Management Plan: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? N/A Date of receipt by the Bank N/A Date of "in-country" disclosure N/A Date of submission to InfoShop N/A * If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: Given that this operation is Additional Financing, to support scaling up of the project to new areas, the ESMF and Tribal Development Project which were prepared and disclosed for the original project, will still apply. C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? No Page 7 If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit or Sector Manager (SM) review and approve the EA report? N/A Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? N/A OP 4.09 - Pest Management Does the EA adequately address the pest management issues? Yes Is a separate PMP required? No If yes, has the PMP been reviewed and approved by a safeguards specialist or SM? Are PMP requirements included in project design? If yes, does the project team include a Pest Management Specialist? N/A OP/BP 4.10 - Indigenous Peoples Has a separate Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework (as appropriate) been prepared in consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples? Yes If yes, then did the Regional unit responsible for safeguards or Sector Manager review the plan? Yes If the whole project is designed to benefit IP, has the design been reviewed and approved by the Regional Social Development Unit or Sector Manager? N/A The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? Yes Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? Yes All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Yes Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Yes Page 8 D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Ms Natasha Hayward 07/20/2010 Environmental Specialist: Mr Anupam Joshi 07/12/2010 Social Development Specialist Mr Ramachandran R. Mohan 07/12/2010 Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Sanjay Srivastava 07/20/2010 Comments: Sector Manager: Mr Simeon Kacou Ehui 07/20/2010 Comments: