E-373 World Bank Republic of Djibouti Proposed School Access and Improvement Project ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Preamble: The School Access and Improvement Project is intended to provide the Government of the Republic of Djibouti with effective support in developing the country's education capacities through three types of actions: * Improving access by increasing the capacity of a number of existing primary schools and creating conditions for increased enrollment of girls. * Improving the quality of instruction by providing textbooks and contributing to better training of principals with regard to school management. * Improving the efficiency of higher education by developing access to the virtual university on the Internet. TIhis project, financed by the World Bank through an IDA credit, is subject to the World Bank's implementation criteria for Category B projects, as set out in its Operational Manual (Section 4.01). Accordingly, this Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will form an integral part of the project implementation documents. Institutional and Legal Context INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK From the institutional standpoint, the holding of the Education Etats-Generaux over the period December 2-7, 1999 was of great importance for the education sector. The event resulted in enactment of a framework law on the education system. The education sector benefits from several multilateral (European Union, UNDP, World Bank, African Development Bank, etc.) and bilateral (Japan, Saudi Arabia, France, etc.) cooperation programs, with an emphasis on school construction. Where environmental matters are concerned, this sector was recently placed under the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development, Environment, and Regional Development. Here, too, an extensive participatory process was launched in the context of preparation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), with the national NEAP validation forum held April 10-12, 2000 playing an important role. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK A national education master plan will be the subject of extensive consultation among the parties concerned, particularly on the occasion of the national conference scheduled for next October. The country's General Environmental Law, expected to be promulgated very shortly, is divided into four major titles: Title 1: Concepts, Objectives and General Principles, and Institutional Organization Title 2: Protection of Environments Title 3: Protection of Animal and Plant Species Title 4: Regulation of Pollution Implementing decrees should quickly specify the conditions for putting the main chapters of this framework legislation into effect. OTHER AGENCIES AND BODIES INVOLVED As regards environmental education, the Directorate of the Environment maintains close collaboration with the National Education Research and Pedagogic Information Center [Centre de recherche et d'information pedagogique - CRIPEN], in particular through the formulation of an awareness campaign strategy on environmental problems. Infrastructure facilities in the education sector are provided by the Directorate of Housing, Urban Development, Environment, and Regional Development. However, as the current reform process is not yet completed, a number of serious malfunctions are preventing the Directorate from performing the role of executing agency assigned to it in the past. In the project now in preparation, the executing agency role will be played, in part for the first year, by the Djiboutian Executing Agency for Works of Public Interest [Agence djiboutienne d'execution des travaux d'interet publique - ADETIP], which has benefited from technical assistance with environmental impact assessments under previous projects financed by the World Bank. The Projects Office of the Ministry of Education will be the contracting authority's representative for implementation of this project. Because the system for gathering and analyzing data on the public health system is no longer operational, as was confirmed during the visit made to Djibouti's Pelletier Hospital and to the Djibouti- City health district, reliable county-wide epidemiological data are unfortunately unavailable. This state of affairs applies to the school population in particular. Under these conditions, it will be difficult to define and use indicators capable of measuring the success of actions to mitigate the environmental impacts of the project. Potential Impacts of the Project The mission by a World Bank environment specialist to the Republic of Djibouti in June 2000 confirmed the degraded situation of the sanitary facilities at all of the schools visited. Discussions with school staff and parents of students revealed the concern felt by the latter regarding the adverse effects of the situation on the students. The keeping of photographic archives was begun during this mission. The impacts considered will not be due solely to the project but also to the prevailing situation, which is characterized by significant degradation of the existing facilities. Since a particular aim of the project is to increase the capacity of some thirty schools, the main environmental measure to be included in the project will be to construct or rehabilitate the sanitary facilities of these schools, and to design a system of upkeep and maintenance that will ensure the appropriate functioning of the schools. Mitigation Measures Activity Potential impacts Mitigation measures Responsible Use of unsuitable Technical works Ministry of Education materials in the specifications Rehabilitation and construction of prescribing the quality expansion of schools classrooms of materials to be used for fireproofing and insulation (no asbestos) and also prohibiting use of lead-based paint Health risks on account Construction of Ministry of Education of expansion of the additional sanitary schools and the facilities increased need for sanitary facility Health risks because Rehabilitation of Ministry of Education existing facilities not in existing facilities good operating order Improvement of school Degradation of health Preparation of an Ministry of Education management conditions due to environmental training limited management program for school abilities of school principals principals Improvement of Health risks due to Preparation of an Ministry of Education teaching conditions. ignorance of collective awareness-raising (CRIPEN) and individual hygiene campaign aimed at measures in the school teachers, students and environment. parents Risks stemming from Design and introduction Ministry of Education upkeep and maintenance of an upkeep and problems maintenance system Although a number of actions cannot be included in the project, the Djiboutian authorities have been advised to take the following steps in order to facilitate subsequent decision-making on health and environmental issues in the school environment: * An epidemiological study on the health situation of children attending the schools, including an attempted breakdown of the causes of the morbidity observed. * In conjunction with the preceding action, improvement of the school medical system in order to track the development of the health status of children enrolled in school. * A national awareness/sensitization program regarding individual and collective hygiene, especially in schools. Monitoring Measures Activity Indicator Responsible entity Frequency Construction of Number of toilets built Executing agency Six-monthly additional classrooms Rehabilitation of Number of toilets Executing agency Six-monthly existing sanitary repaired facilities Training and Number of principals Ministry of Education Six-monthly sensitization actions trained. Number of teachers/students/ parents reached by sensitization actions. Upkeep and Number of repair and Ministry of Education Six-monthly maintenance of sanitary maintenance facilities interventions. Promptness of response by responsible entities Planning of EMP Implementation Table 1. Implementation Planning Activities Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Qi Q2 Q3 Q4 Ql Q2 Q3 Q4 Ql Q2 Q3 Q4 Construction of XX XX XX XX XX XX additional classrooms Rehabilitation of XX XX XX XX XX XX existing sanitary facilities- Training and XX XX XX XX XX XX sensitization actions Upkeep and X X X X X X maintenance of sanitary facilities Cost of EMP Implementation Table 2. Estimated Implementation Cost Activities | Total cost in US$ Design and construction of sanitary facilities Included in infrastructure cost Rehabilitation of existing sanitary facilities Included in infrastructure cost Training and sensitization actions 10,000 Upkeep and maintenance of sanitary facilities 30,000 TOTAL 40,000 July 23, 2000 /HEBSullivan P:\Djibouti\Hd\44585\APPR\ENV Mgt Plan ENG.doc 8/3/00 9:00 AM