Uganda - Second Environmental Management and Capacity Building Project

Report No. PID10088 Project Name Uganda-Second Environmental Management and Capacity Building Project Region Africa Regional Office Sector Environmental Institutions Project ID UGPE73089 Borrower(s) GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA Implementing Agency Address MINISTRY OF WATER, LANDS AND ENVIRONMENT P.O. Box 7096, Kampala, Uganda Contact Person: Eng. B.K. Kabanda Tel: 256-41-230879 Fax: 256-41-230891 Email: mwle@infocom.co.ug Environment Category C Date PID Prepared December 19, 2000 Projected Appraisal Date January 26, 2001 Projected Board Date March 20, 2001 1. Country and Sector Background Government Strategy to Address the Environment Sector Issues and ConstraintsGovernment strategy to address the environment sector issues and constraints is enshrined in the National Environment Policy for Uganda (1994), the National Environment Action Plan for Uganda (1995) and the National Environment Statute (1995).The National Environment Statute (1995) established a body, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), which is the apex institution for environment management in Uganda. NEMA co-ordinates, monitors and supervises all activities in the field of environment.The agricultural modernization and the industrialization processes envisaged in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) and the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) may pose serious environment concerns for Uganda that need to be assessed and monitored for appropriate control and or mitigation.The Environment Sector Investment Needs and ProgramsGovernment has developed an environment sector wide action program whose goal is to halt and reverse environment degradation so as to guarantee improved productivity of the environment and the natural resource base, accelerate sustainable economic growth and improve human welfare. The main objective of the program is to build and strengthen institutional and human capacity in environment and natural resource management for the continued response to emerging demands and challenges. The specific objectives include:To build institutional capacity to implement environment management programs To promote the development of adequate environmental awareness, knowledge, attitude and practical skills in environmental management;To build capacity in lead agencies to integrate environment considerations into sector policies, laws, plans and projects;To build capacity for integrated and participatory environment and development planning and management at district and community levels;To enhance the capacity for collection,  analysis and dissemination of environmental information at district and sub-county levels;To develop and implement community focused programs that enhance natural resource management and productivity; andTo protect the environment and enhance resource utilization during the agricultural modernization and industrialization processes.The program contains five major areas: Institutional Capacity Building; Environmental Education and Public Awareness; Integration of Environmental Considerations into Planning at All Levels; Enhancing Resource Productivity; Pollution Management and Environment Health. The sector wide environment program seeks to target interventions at the household level, which is the primary manager of the environment. However, to facilitate behavioral change, it is necessary to increase capacity of the supporting institutions, to build partnership and provide an enabling environment for compliance and law enforcement. 2. Objectives The development objective of the Second Environmental Management and Capacity Building Project (EMCBP II) is as follows: Sustainable environmental management at the national, district and community levels.EMCBP II represents the second five-year phase of a long-term effort to assist the Government of Uganda (GOU) in their implementation of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) and related National Environment Statute (1995) and the Local Government Act (1997). The project consists of three components. The first focuses directly on enhancing environment management capacity in districts and communities and empowering them to address environmental degradation problems, and sustainable natural resource use for development through the planning and implementation of initiatives. The second component aims at enhancing environment management capacity in lead agencies at national level. The third component aims at enhancing environment management capacity in the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), through institutional support and strengthening. In a similar way as under EMCBP, financing would be provided for training, consultant services (primarily local, with a limited amount for international consultants in specialist fields for short-term assignments), equipment, vehicles, and incremental recurrent costs. 3. Rationale for Bank's Involvement The World Bank has provided leadership and support for activities related to environmental management since the inception of the NEAP process in 1993. The Bank's leadership and support to the environmental sector has proved to be a catalyst to attract other donors support for environmental activities and has served to maintain sustainable environmental development as part of the government strategy for economic transformation. Sustainable growth and economic development require that natural resources are used judiciously and that priority environmental problems are addressed at an early stage. Sustainable economic growth also requires adequate human resources and capacity at all levels of government. The follow-on project is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of capacity for environmental management and planning at all government levels. Under the EMCBP project, the Bank supported the establishment of NEMA which has developed into an Authority with institutional integrity. In the first phase of Bank support NEMA developed a strong regulatory and monitoring framework. The implementation of this framework will be supported under the second phase -2 -  project. Continued support and involvement of the Bank in this project will provide both financial and intellectual continuity and also allow further development of the capacity at all levels of government for sustainable environmental management. 4. Description The project comprises three components, each related to and building upon prior experience gained during the first five years of experience with EMCBP. The first project achieved three objectives. It established the National Environmental Management Administration, the need for which was identified in the 1994 NEAP, and then authorized under the Environmental Statute of 1995; NEMA is established and now exists as an institution recognized legally by the GOU. NEMA is well staffed and equipped, and has developed appropriate administrative procedures. During EMCBP implementation, NEMA successfully created about 60% of the tools (e.g., regulations and guidelines for sectoral policies and impact assessments) necessary to enforce the Environment Statute. Secondly, NEMA tested a model to influence other ministries to recognize their responsibilities towards and develop capacity for environmental management. Finally, NEMA identified a successful strategy for creating environmental protection and rehabilitation policies and plans at district and community level. The EMCBP II will allow NEMA to complete the development of policy tools necessary to enforce the Environmental Statute; develop and implement a strategy for devolving environmental management into the responsible ministries and agencies; and, extend to other districts the successful strategy for developing community management of the environment. Component 1: Local Government and Communities Environmental Capacity Building: The objective of this component is to support the local governments and the communities to enable them to fulfill their statutory roles in decentralized environmental management. This component will provide logistical support, equip and assist local governments and communities to build and strengthen their capacities in environmental planning, and to redress key environmental issues. This component will complement the GOU effort to eradicate poverty and hence improve the quality of life of living standards of the people of Uganda.Component 2: Capacity Building in Lead Agencies: This component aims at building partnerships with lead agencies to as part of their responsibilities within their sectoral mandate and as required by the National Environment Statute (1995). The ELU approach which was pursued under EMCBP proved to be ineffective. Therefore a new approach to developing the required capacity was designed. The approach will include a forward looking strategy which identifies lead agencies' critical actions and policies. Based on this strategy, a list of possible partner agencies has been developed. This component will equip lead agencies with required skills, knowledge, and logistical support to enable them to integrate environmental concerns in their policies, plans and programs. Through this component, environmental assessments and monitoring will be undertaken by the lead agencies as an integral part of the program.Component 3: Institutional Support to NEMA: This component will consolidate the institutional structure of the Authority as the apex regulatory body in the area of environment management. This component will ensure that capacities in regulation and compliance are built and enhanced. Capacities in environmental awareness and reporting targeted at promoting sustainable development will be further strengthened through the component. Adequate human resource capacity in environmental management - 3-  will also be developed and strengthened through this component. Enhancing Environmental Management Capacity in Districts and Communities Enhancing Environmental Management Capacity in Lead Agencies Enhancing Environmental Management Capacity in NEMA 5. Financing Total ( US$m) Total Project Cost 24.1 6. Implementation Policy, Institutional and Legislative Framework for Project ImplementationThis project is aimed at enhancing the capacity of NEMA to carry out its statutory mandate, building on the achievements realized during the EMCBP. NEMA was created by the National Environment Statute, 1995 with an overall mandate to oversee the implementation of the relevant articles of the constitution that guarantee every person a right to a healthy and clean environment and ensure sustainable development. Specifically, the mandate of NEMA is to: (i) coordinate, monitor and supervise all activities in the field of the environment; (ii) ensure the integration of environmental concerns into planning and implementation of socio-economic activities in the country at all levels; (iii) carryout regulatory functions, including the development of laws and policy guidelines for regulating environmental management; and (iv) carry out environmental management capacity building and mobilization, as well as awareness and dissemination of environmental information at the center, local government and community levels.In the light of the above mandate, NEMA is charged with responsibility to provide the central coordination of national interests on environment, further develop environment policy, enhance the legal and regulatory framework, coordinate and harmonize the sectoral interests and conflicts among other ministries, and facilitate the integration of environmental concerns into development activities (at all levels). It is also responsible for overseeing compliance with regulations and standards and for promoting environment awareness. An important element of NEMA's work is the horizontal coordination with ministries and other agencies at national level, and vertical coordination with the local (especially district and community) level. NEMA is also expected to establish an outreach program to assist in strengthening the capacity of district administrations for environmental management and of communities to address local natural resource management concerns.The Authority is overseen by the Policy Committee on the Environment. Its functions, as set out in the legislation, are to formulate and coordinate overall environmental policies, taking into account issues raised by the Cabinet and to ensure the smooth implementation of environmental policies and guidelines. NEMA is supervised by a Board of Directors, which is appointed by the Minister, Water, Lands and Environment (MWLE), with the approval of the Policy Committee and it consists of: (i) representatives of MWLE; the Ministries of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; (ii) two representatives of academic and research organizations; (iii) two representatives of local non-governmental organizations; and (iv) two representatives of the private sector. The Executive Director of NEMA is an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.The functions of the Board of Directors are designed to oversee the operations of NEMA and ensure that they are in line with NEMA's overall strategy. The Board also reviews and approves the annual budget and work plan and monitors and evaluates progress - 4 -  against those budgets and plans. Finally, it formulates personnel, administrative and financial procedures that govern the Authority.Thus, although NEMA is located in the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment (MWLE), it is able to operate with a high degree of autonomy and there is no overlap between MWLE's regulatory and developmental functions.As an outcome of previous supervision missions for the EMCBP, it was recommended and agreed that there was a need for a comprehensive review and evaluation of the appropriate institutional arrangements and management structure of NEMA. Based on this agreement a consulting firm was contracted to undertake the evaluation and propose a framework for restructuring NEMA. The aim is to create a more effective and efficient institution which will be capable of achieving the project and sectoral objectives for environmental management in Uganda The EMCBP II project implementation period will be 5 years. The institutional and implementation framework for the three components will be as follows:Central Coordination by NEMA: The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) will continue playing a central role in environmental management capacity building, public awareness and dissemination of environmental information. NEMA will therefore be the Executing Agency for EMCBP II. It will also be responsible for the overall performance monitoring of the project implementation. As the executing agency, NEMA will be responsible for financial disbursement and accountability for all the components. Where necessary, NEMA will provide technical backstopping to project fund recipients to ensure smooth financial administration. Disbursements to the districts will be on quarterly basis based on agreed project outputs and approved work plans by NEMA while that to Lead Agencies will be directly based on specific project activities/outputs contained in approved work plans. Major procurements under all the components for instance, of equipment, consultancy and civil works will be undertaken by NEMA using the World Bank procurement guidelines. Equipment will be given to the Lead Agencies and districts under Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that they are used for the project implementation. International training under all the components will also be sourced by NEMA after reviewing the training needs assessment.Lead Agencies: Sectoral responsibilities for environmental management in Uganda, involves Ministries and government agencies collectively referred to as Lead Agencies. According to the National Environment Statute, 1995, a Lead Agency is any Ministry, Department, parastatal agency, local government system or Public Officer, in which or whom any law vests functions of control or management of any segment of the environment.NEMA's mandate does not relieve Lead Agencies of their responsibilities to manage their segment of the environment. While the Authority is charged with monitoring, planning and coordination of environment/natural resources matters, the implementation is the responsibility of relevant line Ministries. Thus, the development of strong links between the Ministries and the Authority is critical if effective coordination is to be achieved. During EMCBP NEMA has invested a lot of time and resources in pursuit of this objective and some modest achievement has been made in this regard. However, the original idea of achieving the above objective using Environment Liaison Units has been found unworkable. Based on the experience gathered and the lessons learned, a new alternative strategy is to be adopted and is the focus of Component 2.The component of enhancing capacity in Lead Agencies for environment management will be co-ordinated by NEMA. The new strategy is to target the whole Lead Agency for capacity building rather than the ELUs. Training, as part of capacity building - 5 -  will be provided at different levels according to the needs of the Lead Agency staff. Similar to the district training package, some staff will require only an initial package, while others will receive in-depth skill development training. As another part of capacity building, equipment will be provided to selected Lead Agencies for data collection, processing and analysis. In close collaboration with the management of the Lead Agencies, NEMA will organize and conduct sensitization and training workshops and seminars for their staff. Action plans for further collaboration between NEMA and the Lead Agencies will be drawn up. These will, among other things outline the activities to be jointly undertaken, responsibilities for each party and the resource requirements.In some cases of skill development training, NEMA will sub-contract other institutions with the required expertise to conduct the training. For example, Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) can be contracted to provide training in Environment Valuation and the use of Economic Instruments. However, this will be on a case by case basis after close analysis of costs and benefits.Non-Government Organizations: Another very important partner who is assuming an increasingly important role in environmental management in Uganda is the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) community. There are over 3000 NGO's registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Of these, about 400 are working specifically in the areas of Environmental management and natural resource use.NGO's are essentially national level organizations operating nationally, or in one or several districts. Some are international such as World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Cooperative Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) whereas the majority are national. There is a National NGO Forum which brings together all NGO's in the country. There is also the Development Network of Indigenous Voluntary Associations (DENIVA) which brings together all the indigenous NGO's, the National Association of Women's Organizations of Uganda (NAWOU) and the Environmental Lobby Group (ENGOLOG) which has a membership of about seventy. NEMA will use the capacities and network infrastructure of these NGO's to implement some of the key project outputs particularly in the area of training and public awareness. This will be in form of sub-contracts or collaborative programs. CBO's which are more active in the districts will be the key partners at the district level in this respect.Districts: Under the Decentralization Policy, Local Governments, including districts, are responsible for development and environment planning. However, there is inadequate capacity at the district level for integrated environment and development planning. This is coupled with a lack of environmental awareness at local governments and community level. While Local Governments have established the necessary institutional frameworks for development and environmental planning, the capacity of these institutions are at varying levels. The proposed project would follow-on the initial work carried out in seven districts and replicate the environment management tools and systems that have been developed. This component will therefore involve capacity building activities at all local government levels, district, sub- county, parish and community levels. This component of the project links efforts of the proposed project at the sectoral agency and NEMA level to the district and community level. The component will be coordinated by the District Coordination Unit in NEMA focusing on the following discrete areas.Institutional capacity buildingLocal governments continue to be constrained with financial resources and facilities for environmental management. These financial resources are essential for effective - 6 -  district and sub-county participation in environmental management programs. This activity area will therefore provide resources and facilities targeted at the District Environment Officer, District Technical Planning Committee and Environment Committees at district and sub-county level who will be responsible for planning, implementation and co-ordination of environmental programs at this level. This will include equipment procured and handed over to the district under a memorandum of understanding with NEMA and ear-marked funds remitted by NEMA to the district to implement key programs identified in the project.TrainingTraining will also be provided to key personnel or stakeholders. The training is categorized into three main packages to be delivered through direct intervention by NEMA and contractual arrangements with private institutions and consultants where NEMA does not have the capacity. The district officials will undertake training at sub-county level with technical backstopping from NEMA. These three training packages are:Training at district and sub-county level in all districts that have to-date not benefited from this kind of training. This training is aimed at creating the minimum environment management capacity required by the district and the sub-county. Under this training, 31 districts will benefit and the target groups are District and sub-county Councilors, Sectoral staff, Local egos and CBOs. The key training areas included:1. Environment management .2. EIA 3. Environmental reporting 4. Project design and planning 5. Lobbying and advocacy 6. Non-Formal Environmental Education 7. Environment Materials development 8. Environment Information Systems/Database management Advanced Training courses for the current seven districts that had been supported under the EMCBP. This is an advanced skills-based training package targeted at the District Environment Officers, Planners and a few other sectoral department staff to enhance their capacity to implement Environment Action Plans. The training include: waste management, eco-system management, environment audits, strategic environment assessment, environmental law and environment information systems. In addition, study tours for the seven districts with ' brown' environmental issues will be organized.Training for 15 districts to enable them to develop skills to prepare Environment Action Plans and integrate them into the District Development Plans. These 15 districts are the new districts where the DEAP process will be replicated. The key training areas include: Orientation in the DEAP Process, Adapted PRA tools, Policy and bye-law formulation, District State of Environmental Report and Non-Formal Environmental Education.Development and implementation of local government environment action plansThis activity area targets a total of 22 districts. This includes the seven districts that have already developed the Action Plans and 15 new districts where Environment Action Plans will be initiated. Under this activity area, financial support will be disbursed on a needs basis from NEMA to the District Environment Officers in the 15 districts to facilitate them in undertaking environment action planning at parish, sub-county and district level. NEMA will provide technical backstopping and supervisory functions while the district and sub-county officials will carry out the planning exercises at the various levels.In addition, support will also be provided to the 22 districts to enable them to integrate Environment Action Plans into District Development Plans.Under this component too, grants will be provided to local governments and the community to enable them implement priority environmental aspects in the DDP. These funds will cover 22 districts. The funds will be disbursed through a grants management agency, which will enter into contractual - 7-  understanding with NEMA. The funds will be disbursed based on agreed criteria. 7. Sustainability The long-term sustainability issues relate to the following: i) institutional and financial capacity of NEMA: ii) capacities of Lead Agencies, districts and communities to undertake long-term environmental planning; iii) continued government commitment and financing.NEMA's institutional structure, in light of recent policy developments and changes will be assessed during the institutional review process which will precede the project implementation. This is aimed at removing structural overlaps and developing synergy with other efforts focusing on natural resources management. To address the financial sustainability of NEMA, the project will support mechanism that would enhance internal revenue generation by NEMA as an institution. The legal framework within which NEMA was established, and is now operating, provides opportunity for revenue generation through levying fees and fines. In 16 months of operationalizing the EIA Regulations for example, NEMA was able to collect about US$400,000- from EIA fees alone. The project will support the development of a comprehensive fee structure within the legal framework to supplement NEMA financial resources in the short run while pursuing the avenues of operationalizing a National Environment Fund.Capacity building within Lead agencies, district and community levels will continue to be pursued through focussed training and awareness programs supplemented with targeted lobbying. This has so far demonstrated some results in 35 districts which have been able to provide for environmental programs in their district budgets although on average this only represents 2t of the total district budget. Four Lead agencies have also created special units within their institutions to deal with environmental matters and made budgetary provisions for them. Targeted awareness programs and lobbying could encourage increased budget allocation for environmental programs at the district and the lead agencies. Focused awareness programs will enhance peoples appreciation of environmental problems and hence the need to integrate environmental concerns in development programs at the community level.Continued Government commitment and financing will have to be emphasized in the project agreement. While Government has expressed commitment to supporting NEMA establishment and operations, this has not been adequately reflected in the Government financing strategy. NEMA will continue to push for a more concrete financing strategy including the allocation of a vote for NEMA. Currently NEMA is operating as a program with earmarked funds for it remitted to the Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment. Although this provides flexibility for allocation of the financial resources to key activities in NEMA, it is not long term. The Ministry of Finance has expressed willingness to allocate NEMA a vote but some institutional structures have to be put in place by the Ministry for administration of this vote. The Government has also agreed to include Environment in the Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and ultimately move towards financing NEMA out of Government budget from the Poverty Action Fund. A building has also been allocated to NEMA and will be rehabilitated to create a permanent home for the institution. 8. Lessons learned from past operations in the country/sector There were several important lessons learned from implementing EMCBP and these have been taken into consideration in the design and formulation of the follow on project. These include the following:n The ELU strategy for - 8 -  informing and engaging lead agencies did not work. There were a number of reasons for this failure, the most important of which was that the establishment of ELUs within the lead agencies was not seen as an opportunity, but rather, an imposition. The proposed follow-on project recognizes the failure of the ELU model and has therefore adopted a new strategy for engaging and building the capacity of lead agencies. n At district level, development of environment management capacity cannot be accomplished as fast as desired because of the need to bring the district officials who have divergent views and responsibilities on board. This leads to delays in implementation of the project activities. The follow on project design caters for tailor made training packages to suit personnel needs at the different level and in the various agencies.n Government may not conform to its financial obligations due to management of a cash basis budget that depends heavily on collected revenue as well as donor support. This leads to delays in project implementation and or adjustments such as scaling down some planned activities. In the follow on project we are trying to mitigate against this type of financial implementation constraint by encouraging GOU to include the environment and funding to NEMA in the Medium-term Expenditure Framework and also by securing a vote for NEMA. Adequate and timely release of counterpart funds will be pursued.n The process of creating awareness and acceptance of the value of sound environment management and winning stakeholder-rapport is slow and this leads to delays in realizing project outputs and outcomes. The public education and awareness component will address this issue. 9. Program of Targeted Intervention (PTI) N 10. Environment Aspects (including any public consultation) Issues N/A 11. Contact Point: Task Manager Nathalie Weier Johnson The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone: 202-473-3765 Fax: 202-473-8185 12. For information on other project related documents contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-5454 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http:// www.worldbank.org/infoshop Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not be necessarily included in the final project. This PID was processed by the InfoShop during the week ending March 23, 2001. -9-