Morocco - Social Development Agency Project

Report No. 23175 Report No: 1073531 <--Please check for duplicates! Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Initial) Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 11/05/2001 Section I - Basic Information A. Basic Project Data Country: MOROCCO Project ID: P073531 Project: Social Development Agency Task Team Leader: Yasser El-Gammal Appraisal Date: October 16, 2001 IBRD Amount ($m): 5.00 Board Date: March 28, 2002 IDA Amount ($m): Managing Unit: MNSHD Sector: SF - Social Funds Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) Status: Lending I.A.2. Project Objectives: The overall goal of the "Agence de Developpement Social" (ADS) is to introduce new approaches and mechanisms for reaching poor communities and vulnerable groups.The project supports this goal and its specific objectives are to: a)Test new approaches for delivering social services in a more relevant and cost effective manner by supporting the establishment of a participative demand-driven mechanism that will reach out to poor communities; and b) Better organize local communities to take charge of setting development priorities and implementing development activities by strengthening the capacity of local NGOs I.A.3. Project Description: 1- Community Development & social infrastructure (US$ 9 million): this component will support sub-projects to enhance the social infrastructure of selected poor rural and urban slum areas. Support will be based on demand and will cover areas from basic education and primary health care to literacy activities and rural drinking water. Support will be extended to various aspects from construction and training activities to helping communities get together to maintain and operate the infrastructure. 2- Support to economic infrastructure and income generation (US$ 3.75) This component will support three kinds of activities; Sub-projects that enhance the economic infrastructure in rural and urban slum areas. Examples are irrigation, small markets and rural roads sub-projects; Sub-projects that finance training and nonfinancial support to activities that are directly related to creating employment opportunities or expanding existing micro or small businesses; and Sub-projects that support the expansion of the existing micro finance operations to new geographical areas. 3- Institutional Development for Intermediaries (US$ 1.5 million): this component supports and increases the effectiveness of the first two components by supporting the capacity of ADS' intermediaries to identify, appraise and implement sub-projects. The component strengthens the institutional capacity for selected NGOs in Morocco. It will provide support to local NGOs to build their capacity to assess local needs, formulate, implement and operate and maintain local development projects. It will also provide support to communities to better organize to take charge of the O&M of social and economic infrastructure. This component will also help the ADS to reach remote areas with no local structures by contracting large and institutionally capable NGOs to act as ADS agents in these areas. 4- Studies and ADS Capacity Building (US$ 0.75 million): this component will provide support to different institutional and operational aspects of the ADS to learn from experiences with similar operations in other countries. It will also help enhance the ADS management and Board of Directors' understanding of specific technical areas like micro finance. The component will finance studies that are directly related to the operational activities of the ADS. The component will also support the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring system for the ADS to monitor its sub-projects. Components: 1- Community development & social infrastructure 2- Economic infrastructure and income generation 3- Institutional Development for Intermediaries. 4- Studies and ADS Capacity building. I.A.4. Project Location: (Geographic location, information about the key environmental and social characteristics of the area and population likely to be affected, and proximity to any protected areas, or sites or critical natural habitats, or any other culturally or socially sensitive areas.) The ADS will support activities throughout Morocco. Focus will mainly be on rural and slum urban areas in poor provinces. The project will cover 8 of the 16 regions in the country, selected according to socio-economic conditions. The provinces are: (1) Mekn6s-Tafilalet, (2) F6s-Boulemane, (3) Taza-Al-Hoceima-Taounate, (4) Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, (5) Doukala-Abda, (6) Souss-Massa-Draa, (7) Oriental (East region), (8) Tanger-T6touan. B. Check Environmental Classification: B (Partial Assessment) Comments: The B environmental category was selected in this case instead of the FI category as the project is more oriented towards actual capacity building of the "Agence de Drveloppement Social" although it will implement sub-projects which will have a pilot nature and serve more as "learning by doing" type of activities. Moreover, the institutional setup in Morocco concerning environment is still weak as no actual regulation on environmental assessments has yet been adopted. C. Safeguard Policies Triggered Policy Applicability Environmental Assessment (OP/BP/GP 4.01) Yes Forestry (OP/GP 4.36) No Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) No Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) No Pest Management (OP 4.09) No Involuntary Resettlement (OD 4.30) No Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) No -2- Cultural Property (OP 4.11) No Projects in Disputed Territories (OP/BP/GP 7.60)* No Projects in International Waterways (OP/BP/GP 7.50) No *By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties' claims on the disputed areas Section II - Key Safeguard Issues and Their Management D. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues. Please fill in all relevant questions. If information is not available, describe steps to be taken to obtain necessary data. II.D.1a. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts. Except for component 4 which will be dealing primarily with capacity building of the implementing agency (Agence de D6veloppement Social), the other components may potentially lead to some environmental impact that might appear minor for each individual projects but whose cumulative effects can be substantial, particularly for the projects dealing with water supply, sanitation, small dams and rural roads. However, it is recognized that some of the sub-projects might have positive impacts on the environment. The Borrower has agreed with the Bank provisions in the project's design and location(s) that are defined --(1) Mekn6s-Tafilalet, (2) F6s-Boulemane, (3) Taza-Al-Hoceima-Taounate, (4) Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, (5) Doukala-Abda, (6) Souss-Massa-Draa, (7) Oriental (East region), (8) Tanger-T6touan-- so as to ensure that OP 7.60 is not triggered. II.D.1b. Describe any potential cumulative impacts due to application of more than one safeguard policy or due to multiple project component. N/A II.D.1c Describe any potential long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area. N/A II.D.2. In light of 1, describe the proposed treatment of alternatives (if required) N/A II.D.3. Describe arrangement for the borrower to address safeguard issues In order to mitigate these risks an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is being prepared. The EMP will have the objective of assessing the capacity of the implementing agency in the context (institutional and regulatory) of the Kingdom of Morocco, and provide guidelines for mainstreaming environmental concerns in the implementing agency's operations. II.D.4. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. Consultation will be meaningful at the sub-project level as part of the sub-project submisson requirements. Provisions to ensure appropriate public consultation at the sub-project level will been integrated in the procedural guidelines to be integrated in the Operation Manual. At the project preparation level, consultation with concerned institutional stakeholders has been conducted as they were informed of the preparation - 3 - of the EMP and asked if they wished to have special requirements to be included in the EMP or in the environmental guidelines. E. Safeguards Classification. Category is determined by the highest impact in any policy. Or on basis of cumulative impacts from multiple safeguards. Whenever an individual safeguard policy is triggered the provisions of that policy apply. I S1. - Significant, cumulative and/or irreversible impacts; or significant technical and institutional risks in management of one or more safeguard areas [XI S2. - One or more safeguard policies are triggered, but effects are limited in their impact and are technically and institutionally manageable 1 S3. - No safeguard issues I SF. - Financial intermediary projects, social development funds, community driven development or similar projects which require a safeguard framework or programmatic approach to address safeguard issues. F. Disclosure Requirements Environmental Assessment/Analysis/Management Plan: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank 11/15/2001 Date of "in-country" disclosure Not Available Date of submission to InfoShop 12/15/2001 Date of distributing the Exec. Summary of the EA to the ED (For category A projects) Not Available Resettlement Action Plan/Framework: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Not Available Not Available Date of "in-country" disclosure Not Available Not Available Date of submission to InfoShop Not Available Not Available Indigenous Peoples Development Plan/Framework: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Not Available Not Available Date of "in-country" disclosure Not Available Not Available Date of submission to InfoShop Not Available Not Available Pest Management Plan: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Not Available Not Available Date of "in-country" disclosure Not Available Not Available Date of submission to InfoShop Not Available Not Available Dam Safety Management Plan: Expected Actual Date of receipt by the Bank Not Available Not Available Date of "in-country" disclosure Not Available Not Available Date of submission to InfoShop Not Available Not Available If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why. Signed and submitted by Name Date Task Team Leader: Yasser El-Gammal 11/01/2001 Project Safeguards Specialists 1: Hocine Chalal/Person/World Bank Project Safeguards Specialists 2: Concepcion Esperanza Del Castillo/Person/World Bank Project Safeguards Specialists 3: Approved by: Name Date Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Sherif Kamel F. Arif 11/01/2001 Sector Manager/Director: Jacques Baudouy 11/01/2001 For a list of World Bank news releases on projects and reports, click here - 4 -