Philippines - Water Resources Development Project

Report No. PIC2359 Project Name Philippines-Water Resources Development... Project Region East Asia and Pacific Sector Water Supply, Urban Project ID PHPA4613 Borrower Republic of the Philippines Implementing Agencies (1) National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Contact: Administrator, NIA Address: NIA, National Government Center E. De Los Santos Avenue Quezon City, Philippines Telephone: 97-60-71 to 78 Fax: 96-58-22 (2) National Water Resources Board (NWRB) Contact: Executive Director, NWRB Address: NWRB, National Government Center E. De Los Santos Avenue Quezon City, Philippines Tel.& Fax: As in (1) above (3) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Contact: Ms.Nelia Quinones, Technical Assistant on Water Office of the Secretary, DENR Address: DENR Building, Visayas Avenue Diliman,QuezonCity, Philippines Telephone: 97-66-71 to 75 Fax: 922-6991 (4) Department of Health (DOH) Contact: Director, Schistosomiasis Control Service Address: DOH, San Lazaro Compound Santa Cruz, Manila Philippines Telephone: 711-6080/711-9502 Fax: 711-6080 Tentative Appraisal Date February 1996 Tentative Board Date May 1996  Date This PID Prepared January 18, 1996 Background 1. The proposed project has been conceived to help the Government implement the broad policy and institutional framework envisaged under the World Bank Policy Paper on Water Resources Management (1993); formulate a national water resources management strategy that reflects the nation's social, economic and environmental objectives and is based on a proper assessment of the country's water resources; adopt a river basin approach, integrating land use policies and agricultural practices with water management; properly manage upstream watersheds for sustaining irrigation and other projects, assuring water quality, and protecting aquatic ecosystems; and emphasize decentralized management with participation of stakeholders and greater cost recovery. 2. Water Resources Sector. The water resources sector includes sub- sectoral activities in irrigation, drainage, flood control, municipal and industrial water supply, hydropower, salinity control, fishery, protection of aquatic life, and navigation. Irrigation is the biggest water user in the Philippines, accounting for over 80t of the total water demand in the country; industries and domestic uses account for 10t and 5t, respectively. Although water use for hydropower generation is non-consumptive, the pattern of water releases has to meet the power demands. About 10t of river flows are considered to be a minimum in the Philippines to maintain instream aquatic life, navigation, salinity control, and fishing. There are over 20 agencies and 10 government departments dealing with water resources activities in the country. The legal framework for the water resources sector management is provided by the Water Code of 1976. The responsibility for administering and enforcing the Water Code lies with the NWRB, which is vested by the Code with broad powers for coordinating, controlling, supervising, and regulating the development, utilization and protection of water resources in the country. The next most important institution in the water resources sector is the DENR, which is responsible for watershed management, monitoring of water quality, and ground water data collection. The major water services providers and users are NIA for irrigation and drainage; Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Water Districts, and Manila Water Supply and Sewerage System (MWSS) for municipal and industrial water supply; and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for flood control, small water impounding projects, and rural water supply. The NWRB, although a regulatory body, is under the administrative jurisdiction of the DPWH, which is itself a major water services provider. 3. Water Resources Management in the Philippines. The water resources management framework in the Philippines as it stands today was largely created in the 1970s, with the following main elements: + A basic law (the Philippines Water Code of 1976) which clarified ownership of water and rights to its use, and established broad priorities in the allocation of such rights; + A planning framework comprising the 1976 Water Resources - 2 -  Assessment (projecting supply and demand to the year 2000 for each of 12 water resources regions of the country), together with some 40 basin and regional framework plans prepared between 1976-83; + A licensing system for management and control; + A water management agency (the National Water Resources Board - NWRB) that administers the Water Code and coordinates the activities of some 32 agencies under 12 Departments involved in the water sector. 4. The framework responded to the problems of the 1970s but was not progressively upgraded and strengthened to meet the new challenges. The demands and environmental pressures on water resources having increased greatly since the 1970s, weaknesses have emerged both in the existing framework and in the policy implementation, as generally reflected in growing water conflicts; deteriorating water quality; inadequate provision of water services; and inconsistent activities amongst agencies involved in the water sector. 5. The increasing water resources management challenge, recently termed a +crisis+ in a number of official documents and public statements by the Government, cuinated in the 1995 +Water Crisis Act+ (Republic Act No. 8041), and the draft +Irrigation Crisis Act+ being considered by the Congress. The problem is not the shortage of water per se: the current annual demand for water nationally is less than one- third of the available water. The problem arises from supply-demand mismatch and inadequate infrastructure to regulate flood flows and store surplus water in the wet season for consumption in the dry season. The problem is compounded by weaknesses in the management of water resources and inefficiency in the use of water. 6. The Government is conscious of the need to address these issues. The most significant recent development in this regard was the December 1994 National Water Summit, opened by the President of the Philippines. The Summit discussed water quantity issues (projected water shortages in a number of regions), quality issues (excessive pollution of an increasing number of waterways), health issues (continuing incidence of water-borne diseases), development issues (need for formulation and implementation of water resources management plans to support socio- economic development), efficiency issues (need for incentives to promote economic and financial viability of institutions), institutional issues (fragmentation of responsibility amongst agencies), management issues (inadequate balancing of supply and demand), and financing issues (limited public sector resources for investment). As a result of the discussions, there was a consensus on the need for interalia strengthening and phased upgrading of the NWRB to become an effective national water resources management agency. 7. The Summit agreed on the need for further integration and coordination of all water-related efforts towards a more focused approach to water resources management and for strengthening and phased upgrading of the NWRB to become an effective national water resources management agency. Under the 1995 +Water Crisis Act+, a Joint -3 -  Legislative-Executive Commission has been formed for implementation of the Act and for recommending an action plan to the President and Congress by March 1996. 8. To assist the Government in formulating an action plan, a study of the NWRB and the overall water resource management framework was undertaken, and a technical action plan and an institutional and policy action plan formulated. Most of the recommendations of the technical action plan (which includes policy and strategy formulation, data programs, resource assessment and planning, operations and real-time management, and research and strategic studies) have been incorporated in the proposed project, and the rest will be implemented under other externally-funded projects or by the NWRB itself. The main recommendations of the institutional and policy action plan relate to creation of Regional offices of the NWRB, strengthening of the NWRB+s law enforcement capacity, changes in the NWRB+s Board composition and its powers, operationalization of a Special Account in the General Fund to the credit of NWRB, revision of water rates and charges, withdrawal of exemption of government agencies from payment of fees and charges levied under the Water Code, modification of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Water Code, attachment of the NWRB to the Office of the President for the time being, improvement of incentives for the NWRB staff through exemption from the Salary Standardization Law, a substantial increase in the level of fines for offences against the Water Code, and renaming of the NWRB the Philippines Water Resources Authority. The above recommendations are being reviewed by the Government and a dialogue on those will be continued under the proposed project. 9. Watershed Management. The degradation of the watersheds and its impact, particularly on downstream water users, is becoming increasingly critical in the country. Some of the watersheds, because of their economic importance, have been designated under Presidential Decree 705 to be "proclaimed watersheds" (i.e. watershed reserves). There are currently 112 proclaimed watersheds in the country covering about 1.4 million ha. The extent of degradation of these watersheds is not known with any precision but is likely to be high. Studies prepared for the Forestry Master Plan estimated that soil erosion alone cost the country over half a billion dollars a year, primarily through loss of productive land, damage to irrigation systems and coastal fisheries, and reduced generation of hydroelectric power. Through 1993, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) rehabilitated only about 30,000 ha of denuded watersheds, leaving a huge "proclaimed" area still to be rehabilitated and protected. 10. The major issue is the absence of an integrated and comprehensive approach to watershed management. Current projects for watershed management have partial area coverage and sometimes concentrate on reforestation alone. Given the extent of watershed degradation in the country and the disastrous consequences for vital economic infrastructure as degradation continues, it is essential that a long- term strategy and investment program be formulated and implemented, accompanied by policy and legal changes, and institutional strengthening of the DENR and other involved agencies. - 4-  11. Irrigation Sub-Sector. Agriculture (principally irrigation) is the major user of water in the Philippines, consuming over 80t of the developed water resources. Irrigation development has been an important instrument of the Government for promoting agricultural growth and alleviating rural poverty over the past two decades. Irrigation systems now serve an area of about 1.5 million ha, about 48t of the irrigable area (although development of the entire area may not necessarily be economically viable). About 95t of the irrigated area is devoted to paddy and about 70t of the paddy production is from irrigated lands. For dry season cropping, irrigation is essential in all climatic zones in the country. There are three main types of irrigation systems in the Philippines: (a) national irrigation systems (NIS): there are 168 NIS, serving about 620,000 ha.(43w of total irrigated area) The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), a government-owned corporation responsible for irrigation development, constructs, operates and maintains NIS. Farmers in NIS pay an Irrigation Service Fee (ISF); (b) communal irrigation systems (CIS): there are about 6,200 CIS, serving about 730,000 ha.(47T of total irrigated area). These are small, mostly run-of-the-river, gravity systems, owned and operated by Irrigators' Associations (IAs). Since the promulgation of the Local Government Code in January 1992, the overall responsibility for CIS (except ongoing foreign-funded CIS) has been transferred from NIA to the local governments, but procedures for planning and programming, financial and technical assistance (if required by the IAs) for construction and rehabilitation, and development and training of the IAs, are yet to be established by the local governments; and (c) pump-lift irrigation systems (PIS): these serve about 200,000 ha. (10t of total irrigated area), covering from 20 to 100 ha per system, and are privately owned and mostly privately operated. 12. Irrigation Systems Performance. The performance of most of the irrigation systems in the Philippines has been below expectations, for reasons which include: deficient water management due to institutional weaknesses of NIA and the IAs; insufficient water control structures to ensure equitable and timely water deliveries to all sections of the irrigation systems; neglect of flood protection and drainage in the design of NIS; inadequate funding of operation and maintenance; and increased siltation of irrigation systems caused by watershed degradation and severe erosion during typhoons. 13. Problems of NIA and Irrigators+ Associations. Although NIA is an autonomous corporate entity, it does not finance investment projects from its own resources or loans. All investment programs are financed by the Government. However, NIA is responsible for O&M of the NIS, which is funded by NIA+s operating budget. NIA+s income is principally from ISF collections, management fees charged for the design and construction supervision of irrigation projects, and rentals of construction equipment. Any change in ISF rates has to be approved by the Government. The management fees depend on the level of the investment program, which has declined in recent years due to the Government+s financial constraints. Because of inadequate maintenance resulting from a shortage of funds, irrigation infrastructure and the quality of irrigation services provided to farmers on NIS have deteriorated, affecting ISF collection, which was only 609 of current billings in 1994, and met only 55t of the total O&M expenditures. NIA - 5 -  realizes its serious financial situation and is implementing several measures to improve the situation. These include: streamlining of its organization and staffing; an accelerated program to turn over NIS or parts of NIS to the IAs to reduce NIA+s O&M costs; and special efforts for an increase in equipment rental income and ISF collection. Under the Second Irrigation Operations Support Project (IOSP II, Loan 3607-PH, approved in FY93), ISF collection is targeted to be at least 70t of current billings by the end of the project in 1998, meeting about 95t of the total O&M expenditures of NIS. 14. As regards the institutional development program for the IAs, NIA has been a pioneer among developing countries. The program for the involvement of IAs in planning, construction, and management of irrigation schemes started about years ago on communal schemes and was later adopted on national schemes. However, the management turnover program on NIS has lost its momentum, although the number of IAs formed, registered and granted contracts (for maintenance of sections of NIS and ISF collection) is impressive. It appears that at least 50t of the IAs formed so far in NIS are facing difficulties in fulfilling their contractual obligations to NIA. The IA development program needs revitalization to enable the IAs to assume greater responsibilities and to help achieve the ultimate policy objective of NIA to completely turnover the smaller NIS as well as lateral canal systems of bigger NIS to the IAs. NIA will then restrict itself to delivering water services to the IAs at the lateral gates in larger NIS which cannot be turned over in the entirety in the foreseeable future due to the complexity of operations and maintenance of these systems. 15. Government Strategy for the Water Resources Sector. The Government is now keen to initiate an integrated and comprehensive approach to water resources management (para.7) and to pursue further water supply and sanitation, flood control, and irrigation improvement projects. Many of these projects were financed by the World Bank, the last project, Second Irrigation Operations Support Project (IOSP II - Loan 3607-PH), which was approved by the Bank in FY93, dealing with irrigation. The project's main emphasis, apart from systems improvement and repair, is on achieving an improved and sustainable level of operation and maintenance of NIS. To assist NIA in improving the ISF collection efficiency through improvements in irrigation service delivery, and to expand the irrigated area further, additional investment projects for systems improvement and new construction would have to be undertaken in the future. While a few new large-scale irrigation and multipurpose projects may be justified, the priority would be improvement and repair of existing NIS (which continue to be NIA's responsibility), and construction and rehabilitation of communal and small-scale irrigation schemes (devolved to local government units), which will require smaller investments but yield faster returns. Lessons Learned from Previous Projects 16. Overall water resources management will be a new Bank activity in the Philippines. Based on experiences elsewhere, institutional coordination and strong leadership by the regulatory agency (or agencies) are likely to be critical. This has been addressed at the design stage by including support to key activities under the project - 6 -  and undertaking a dialogue with the Government on policy and institutional measures (para.8). However, considerable attention to this component would be needed during implementation. The experience with watershed management in the Philippines is also meagre at this stage. The most important lesson emerging from one ongoing and three completed Bank-supported projects is the need for stakeholder participation in the planning and implementation of watershed management to ensure sustainability, and the need for sustainable technologies and livelihood programs for the people occupying the watersheds. Another major lesson is the need for appropriate institutional arrangements for watershed management, given the current weakness of the DENR and inadequate coordination between the DENR and local governments. These lessons are expected to be adequately taken into account by the study proposed under the project. As regards irrigation projects in the Philippines, Bank experience spans aost three decades. The most recent Bank-financed irrigation projects, which have been completed or are under implementation, are IOSP I, IOSP II, Communal Irrigation Development Project (CIDP I) and CIDP II. Both CIDP I and IOSP I were completed satisfactorily, with economic rate of return at completion estimated at 15t and 21-, respectively. The implementation of CIDP II and IOSP II was initially delayed, principally due to inadequate counterpart funding, but is now satisfactory. The major lessons, which have been learned from these projects and will be incorporated in the design of WRDP,are: cost- effective structural interventions (repairs of damages, restoration of capacities, measures to reduce water losses, improved control and regulating structures, etc.) contributing to the improvement of water management in NIS should be adopted; beneficiaries are more likely to pay ISF, if they actually benefit from O&M and other NIS-related work; development of IAs and provision of training to them are beneficial: the transfer of O&M responsibilities to IAs reduced NIA's costs and, in several instances, system O&M and ISF collection by IAs have improved in systems where IAs were responsible than in systems where they were not. Project Objectives 17. The project would assist the Government in developing an appropriate policy and institutional framework to improve water resources planning, development and management in the country; initiating an integrated and comprehensive approach to watershed management to sustain water sources; raising water use efficiency in irrigation, and thereby increasing agricultural production (mainly rice); alleviating rural poverty; improving irrigation services in the long term by accelerating management turnover of irrigation systems to the water users and by increasing NIA+s institutional effectiveness; and improving the environment in irrigated areas, mainly by controlling schistosomiasis, a water-borne disease. Project Description 18. The five-year project, expected to commence in early 1997, is likely to include the following main components: (a) Improved Water Resource Planning and Management: ( 7t of total project cost). The project would help implement policy and institutional reforms in the water sector. Specifically, - 7 -  it would include:(i)a study for the formulation of a national water resources plan; (ii) a study and some essential equipment for the improvement of national data collection networks for streamflow,groundwater, and water quality; (iii) a study for the design of and equipment for the establishment of a national water information network, a personal computer-based system to link the data bases of the NWRB with those of other important agencies for easy data access; and (iv) strengthening of the technical capability of the NWRB through provision of appropriate staffing, training, consultancy, equipment and organizational changes; (b) Improved Watershed Management: (2t of total project cost). This component include: (i) a study to formulate a national watershed management strategy and a long-term program of investments for a comprehensive, integrated, community-based management of watersheds, particularly of those considered critical, and to recommend appropriate policies, and legislative and institutional measures, to implement the strategy and investment program; and (ii) a study tour for DENR and NIA staff to watershed management programs in neighboring countries; (c) Improvement and Repair of NIS: (85w of total project cost). The project would continue the program approach initiated under the IOSP II to support investments for improvement and repair of existing NIS by providing for system improvements in 18 selected NIS,serving about 200,000 ha, silt excluders in another five NIS, and repairs to eight major structures (other than the 18 selected for improvement). The improvement works in 18 selected NIS would include improvement of drainage of water-logged areas in the wet season, and construction of new structures for water level control and equitable distribution based on an Irrigation System Improvement Plan, to ensure saving of water through good water management. The improved laterals and sub-laterals of the NIS would be handed over to the IAs for maintenance and water distribution. The project would also initiate a program of complete turnover to the IAs of smaller NIS (below 3,000 ha). (d) Institutional Strengthening of NIA and the IAs: (4t of total project cost). The project would: (i) provide staff training, consultancies, computers and other necessary equipment to NIA for strengthening and improvements in: design of system improvement and repair works; equipment management; accounting system and financial management; and computerized management information system; and (ii) further expand the participation of the IAs in the planning, implementation, management and ownership of irrigation systems under a reformulated program of turnover, and support the required policy changes, training, incremental operating costs and consultancies to implement the reformulated program. (e) Environmental Improvement: (2t of total project cost). The project would: (i) supplement the resources of the Department of Health (which are very limited now after the completion in - 8 -  1994 of the Health Development Project (Loan 3099-PH, approved in FY89) for schistosomiasis control in and around three irrigation systems, of which two have a relatively high prevalence rate of the disease, by providing drugs and materials, transport, toilet facilities, information campaigns, consultancy and training (the infrastructure requirements, such as foot bridges, drainage improvement, etc., would be included in the systems improvement component of the project); (ii) provide for erosion control works within and in the proximity of 31 NIS; (iii) support sediment monitoring of rivers and canals in three NIS, where sediment excluders are to be built under the project; and (iv) improve NIA+s capacity for assessment, management and monitoring of irrigated areas for environmental concerns by consolidating environmental work, currently being performed in different sections or divisions, in an Environment Unit or Division, and provide it with training and consultancy. 19. Project Cost and Financing. The project cost is estimated at US$85.6 million equivalent, with a foreign exchange component of US$.3 million equivalent (30w of total project cost) and taxes and duties estimated at about US$1.5 million equivalent. The Bank loan (75w of project costs net of taxes and duties) is estimated at US$63.0 million, which will finance 100t of foreign exchange costs and 64t of local costs net of taxes and duties. A special account would be established in the amount of US$3.0 million. Project Implementation 20. The project will be implemented primarily by NIA, with the NWRB implementing the water resource management component, and the DENR implementing the watershed management component. For the schistosomiasis control sub-component, NIA would pass on to DOH the necessary funds, materials and equipment under a Memorandum of Agreement. A Project Steering Committee, composed of DENR, NWRB, NIA, and DOH would be formed. The Committee would be chaired either on a rotational basis or by NIA (to be finalized at appraisal), and NIA would provide the secretariat for the Committee and consolidate loan withdrawal applications to be submitted to the Bank. Individual agencies would, however, form their own project units to implement the respective project components. 21. Project Sustainability. The main sustainability issue relates to the project component for irrigation systems improvement and repair, which accounts for about 85t of total project costs and depends significantly on the cooperation of the IAs for efficient operation and maintenance. To ensure the sustainability of this component, detailed consultations with the IAs were held by NIA at the planning stage. The participation of the IAs during the implementation stage would be ensured through signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which will detail the respective responsibility of NIA and the IAs, and through labor contribution by the IAs to the construction of secondary and tertiary facilities of the irrigation systems. After improvement, smaller systems (below 3,000 ha) would be completely handed over to the IAs and, for the larger systems, responsibility for O&M of specific -9-  sections of NIS would be handed over under a Memorandum of Agreement. This is expected not only to improve the efficiency of irrigation systems in the long term but also considerably reduce NIA+s operating costs. Support to both NIA and the IAs is included in the project+s institutional strengthening component, which is designed to facilitate the sustainability of the systems improvement and repair component. The reduction in O&M costs, coupled with other institutional strengthening measures for NIA under the project, the staff reduction and other streamlining measures currently underway at NIA, and efforts being made to increase the ISF collection under the ongoing IOSP II (Loan 3607- PH),would help improve NIA+s financial viability and contribute to the project+s sustainability. Under the WRDP, NIA would make all efforts to achieve a target of 75% ISF collection efficiency in the 18 systems selected for improvement. These would then serve as valuable demonstration models in cost recovery and user management. Environmental Aspects 22. Since the project+s physical works would include only improvement of existing NIS, no major new earth movement, water regulation or storage, or deforestation, and, therefore, no major environmental risks are involved. On the contrary, the project would have important environmental benefits arising from the following: (a) the project would help formulate a national water resources management plan and a watershed management strategy and investment program, strengthen the regulatory role of national agencies, and develop NIA+s capacity for environmental monitoring of irrigated areas; (b) the project would help control schistosomiasis in and around three irrigation systems; (c) the project would include provision for vegetative erosion prevention measures for micro-catchments in the vicinity of irrigation systems; and (d) by raising incomes and creating employment in the rural lowlands, the project would contribute to stemming the increasing out-migration of poor farmers from these rural areas to uplands and coastal areas, where such migration has caused serious environmental problems -- forest and other resource depletion and erosion in the uplands, and degradation of nearshore fisheries -- thereby providing indirect but important environmental benefits. For some irrigation systems included for improvement under the project, drainage (with schistosomiasis control as a major indirect benefit) and link canal works would be involved, necessitating acquisition of right-of-way and compensation. However, since the farmers involved would also be beneficiaries under the project, no problems are foreseen Project Benefits 23. The project would help improve water resources planning, development and management in the country through policy and institutional reforms and formulation of water management and watershed protection and rehabilitation plans and programs; alleviate rural poverty by directly increasing the productivity and incomes of about 30,000 small farmers on about 27,000 ha incremental irrigated area in the wet season (mainly through drainage improvements), and about 29,000 ha in the dry season (an additional ,000 small farmers would benefit indirectly from sub-components for repairs to major structures and schistosomiasis control); increase agricultural production (mainly rice, - 10 -  amounting to about 160,000 tons annually) and expand rural employment opportunities; provide for environmental improvement in irrigated areas; strengthen NIA+s capacity to deliver efficient irrigation services; and increase participation of beneficiaries in the planning, implementation and O&M of irrigation services, thus making these services more responsive to their needs. The economic rate of return (ERR) of the project calculated for the system improvement and repair component (which accounts for 85% of total project costs) is 35%. Poverty Category 24. The project belongs to the Program of Targeted Interventions since the proportion of the poor among project beneficiaries (over 50%) is substantially higher than their proportion in the overall population of the country (37%). The project components which will primarily benefit the poor (improvement and repair of NIS, and environmental improvement) would account for over 80% of the Bank loan amount. Risks 25. The magnitude of risks varies for different project components: (a) For the water resources and watershed management components, the risks are negligible since the components mainly include studies and procurement of equipment, and the amounts involved are well within the Government+s financing capability. Grant cofinancing may also be available for these components. (b) Risks are also negligible for the environmental improvement component, which has a small financing requirement, and whose main sub-component, schistosomiasis control, would be implemented by an experienced agency, the DOH. (c) For the systems improvement and repair component, the technical risks (design and construction quality) are relatively minor, and would be further reduced during implementation through intensive supervision. However, there are significant financial and institutional risks relating to the system improvement sub-component. Based on the past experience with the Bank-supported projects in the Philippines, the main financial risk is inadequate and delayed fund releases by the Government, which could delay implementation. To resolve this long-standing problem, the Bank recently completed a Public Expenditure Review, which has resulted in agreements with the Government on adequate and timely finding of priority public investments. Moreover, the Government+s Medium-Term Public Investment Plan (MTPIP) for 1993-98 envisages near doubling of budgetary allocations to NIA over the remaining years of the plan compared to the 1994 level. The 1995 and 1996 allocations, which are already much higher than the 1994 allocation, demonstrate the Government+s commitment to the MTPIP. If this trend continues, counterpart funding should cease to be a major problem. The institutional risk is the most significant for the systems improvement sub-component, since the main objective of the sub-component (improved water use efficiency leading to increased irrigated area) can not be realized without the full cooperation and discipline of the IA members. The participatory process adopted for the formulation of the component and to be adopted for its implementation (para.21), the agreement with the IAs already obtained for management turnover of systems after improvement, and the support to be provided to the IAs under the institutional strengthening component, are all expected to minimize the - 11 -  risk of non-cooperation of the IAs, but intensive supervision of this part of the project would still be necessary during implementation. Contact Point: Public Information Center The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone No.: (202)458-5454 Fax No.: (202)522-1500 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. - 12 -