Nepal - Poverty Alleviation Fund Project

Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (Initial) Report No: AC356 Section I - Basic Information Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 10/22/2003 A. Basic Project Data (from PDS) I.A.1. Project Statistics Country: NEPAL Project ID: P081968 Project: Poverty Alleviation Fund Task Team Leader: Geeta Sethi Authorized to Appraise Date: November 3, 2003 IBRD Amount ($m): Bank Approval: March 2, 2004 IDA Amount ($m): 15.00 Managing Unit: SASRD Sector: Other social services (90%); Sub-national Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan (SIL) government administration (10%) Status: Lending Theme: Rural policies and institutions (P); Rural services and infrastructure (P) I.A.2. Project Objectives (From PDS): The project's development objective is to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor and socially excluded in Nepal by: (i) creating infrastructure, employment and income generating opportunities in the most depressed villages and habitations; (ii) enhancing the capacity of local governments, particularly Village Development Committees (VDCs) to provide and sustain services for poor and socially excluded groups; and (iii) creating an instrument where donors can come together in a coordinated manner and under government's oversight to target programs to the rural poor. His Majesty's Government of Nepal's (HMGN) focus on these development objectives--poverty and social exclusion--will also help strengthen the foundation for lasting peace in Nepal. I.A.3. Project Description (From PDS): The proposed project would finance the following activities: (a) Administration of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF). The project would finance PAF staff, establishment and operating expenses including financial, procurement and environmental management and audits. (b) Income Generating Sub-projects Targeted to the Poorest and Excluded Groups: Examples include micro-irrigation, micro-enterprises, land productivity, animal husbandry, and others. The Credit would provide matching grants for income generating activities to be decided on by the groups in poor communities. Social organizations (such as NGOs) would be recruited to work with these community groups to help them develop sub-project proposals. (c) Small Scale Village and Community Infrastructure: Examples include engineered trails, footbridges, schools, clinics and other public infrastructure of small scale that can be managed by community groups or VDCs. Preference would be given to infrastructure in VDC development plans where they exist and where the VDC is willing to contribute a share from its own resources. Requirements for approval would be that the employment created would benefit the poorest populations, and that a credible operations and maintenance plan has been prepared. (d) Capacity Building: This would include four sub-components:  2 ISDS (i) Mobilization of Community Groups: Social Organizations and other organizations would be selected to work in target areas to disseminate information about the project, mobilize the community groups and work with them in developing the subproject proposals. Where local governments are functioning, SOs would also liaise with them to ensure that the proposed infrastructure projects fit into VDC's plan and priorities. (ii) Capacity Building for Local Governments: This would focus on building capacity in financial management, participatory budgeting, social issues, and other relevant topics for local development, as well as on the rules of operation of the PAF to enable local governments to assist groups and communities to access PAF resources. (iii) Support to Micro-finance Intermediaries: While PAF would not finance micro-lending, it would finance capacity building for micro-finance intermediaries. (iv) Information, Monitoring and Evaluation: This would include: (a) dissemination of information about the project and other government programs; (b) a standard management information system (MIS); (c) structured field visits to assess impact; (d) beneficiary assessments; and (e) impact assessment surveys starting with a baseline during the project's early phase. 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.) TBD B. Check Environmental Classification: B (Partial Assessment) Comments: C. Safeguard Policies Triggered (from PDS) (click on for a detailed desciption or click on the policy number for a brief description) Policy Triggered Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01, BP 4.01, GP 4.01) Yes No Natural Habitats (OP 4.04, BP 4.04, GP 4.04) Yes No Forestry (OP 4.36, GP 4.36) Yes No Pest Management (OP 4.09) Yes No Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) Yes No Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) Yes No Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) Yes No Safety of Dams (OP 4.37, BP 4.37) Yes No Projects in International Waters (OP 7.50, BP 7.50, GP 7.50) Yes No Projects in Disputed Areas (OP 7.60, BP 7.60, GP 7.60)* Yes No 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,  3 ISDS 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. No large scale, significant or irreversible impacts are expected. II.D.1b. Describe any potential cumulative impacts due to application of more than one safeguard policy or due to multiple project component. Although the project will support multiple small investments, cumulative impacts attributable to the project will be difficult to distinguish from the effects of other unrelated local development activities. It will be ensured that subproject selection and design take into account local environmental conditions, and the project will track cumulative impacts and environmental concerns. II.D.1c Describe any potential long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area. No long term impacts are expected. II.D.2. In light of 1, describe the proposed treatment of alternatives (if required) The community-driven development approach will ensure that alternatives will be considered as part of the process of sub-project selection and design. II.D.3. Describe arrangement for the borrower to address safeguard issues With Bank guidance, the government will prepare Vulnerable Community Development Plan (VCDP) that includes a section on Indigenous People (IP). The preparation of the VCDP will involve assessing whether the project might cause any adverse impacts on IP groups and if any are discovered, developing ways to mitigate these. However, no adverse impacts are expected so the major focus of the VCDP is expected to be on developing ways to insure that the benefits of the PAF are equally accessible to IP groups -- and that this can be monitored. Based on other VCDP that have been developed for Nepal, this is likely to include provisions to insure that key documents are translated into the major IP languages, that the communication strategy for the project includes specific efforts to reach IP groups (through Radio, etc.) and that the NGOs competing to assist communities to prepare their proposals and organize to implement projects also include staff who can speak in the IP languages of the area where they intend to work. 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. Consultations to be held with communities, NGOs, Government officials including line agencies, academics and independent researchers. E. Safeguards Classification (select in SAP). 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. [ ] S1.