Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)

For the

CASA Community Support Project (CASA CSP)

March 05, 2014

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)

BACKGROUND

The Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000)  aims to facilitate electricity trade between hydropower surplus countries in Central Asia and electricity deficient countries in South Asia by putting in place the commercial and institutional arrangements and the transmission infrastructure required for this trade. The four countries participating in the project – Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan – are of considerable geostrategic importance by virtue of their location at the crossroads of China, India, Russia and the Middle East. Sustained efforts to promote institutional development and socio-economic prosperity in the CASA-1000 countries are therefore a very high priority, not only for the countries themselves, but also for the stability of the Central and South Asia regions more broadly. The CASA-1000 countries vary significantly in terms of population numbers, economic size and development trajectories, but also share several key characteristics and have complementary development needs and goals, especially in the energy sector. Based on the current routing of the CASA-1000 Afghanistan section, the transmission line is expected to pass through approximately 700 communities spread over 23 districts in 6 provinces, with a total of 152,000 families along the 4 kilometer[1] corridor of influence (COI). Overall in the six Provinces namely – Parwan, Kunduz, Baghlan, Laghman, Nangarhar and Kabul only 33% of communities along the COI have access to power either through connection to the electricity grid, micro-hydro power, solar or other power sources. However, the coverage ranges from 0 – 100% between the 23 districts. For on-grid connections in three provinces (Kunduz, Baghlan and Parwan) 10%-30% of the population has connection to the electricity grid, while less than 10% of the population in two provinces (Laghman and Nangarhar) is connected to the grid. The range of connection to the grid for the Kabul population was estimated to be around 50 percent. It is important to note that the communities along the corridor of influence (COI) cannot be directly supplied with electricity from the CASA 1000 transmission line, being of a very high voltage.

As part of the CASA-1000 project, the participating countries will therefore implement individual Community Support Programs (CSPs) in each country. The aim of these programs would be to increase the shared prosperity associated with the project for communities along the CASA-1000 corridor. This represents a departure from usual practice since, given the relatively modest ecological and social impacts of high voltage transmission lines, people living along the transmission corridor are not typically provided with special benefits. 

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

1. Project Component: The project consists of four components namely: (i) Community grants for (economic infrastructure) sub-projects; (ii) Community Mobilization of CDCs to plan, implement and maintain infrastructure; () Project implementation support; and (iv) Communications & Outreach. Given the nature of the project and context, there will also be a unallocated incase the number of communities in the COI increases if an alternate route is chosen for the CASA-1000 transmission line, for any unforeseen costs when working in High Risk Areas and to contract a third party monitor. Unallocated category funds if applied will be allocated across all four components. The key features of each component are as follows:

COMPONENT 1: Community Grants for sub-projects ($18.9 million)[2]

 The component will provide grants directly to communities to fund economic infrastructure sub-projects. Priority will be given to power-sector sub-projects. However where they already exist (estimated 30% of communities have access to power along the COI[3]), or in cases where a power sub-project is not technically feasible given the terrain and resources in the locality, then communities can use their grant to fund other priority investment sub-projects for their own rural and social development[4]. 

The grant amount will be calculated (following the same arrangements under NSP), by the number of families in a community at the rate of US$ 200 per family, but with a maximum ceiling. For CASA-CSP the ceiling will be US$ 30,000 per community, since the average grant per community in NSP in these 6 Provinces for power sector subprojects is US$ 27,000 and this has been used as the basis for estimating the funds needed for this component.

COMPONENT 2: Community mobilization (US$ 7.77 million)

The objective of this component is to engage communities to increase the shared prosperity associated with the CASA-1000 transmission line which will pass through their villages, by facilitating community participation in sub-project planning, implementation and Operations and Maintenance. This is expected to create the conditions for smooth construction of the CASA-1000 transmission line, while ensuring sustainability of CSP sub-projects and maximizing the development outcomes for the rural poor.

To enable CDCs to perform their roles, ‘Facilitating Partners’ will be contracted to build capacity and ownership through (i) participatory planning of community development priorities; (ii) community governance and accountability systems and processes, and mechanisms for conflict resolution; () community participatory monitoring of work being implemented in the localities; (vi) basic bookkeeping and contracting for management of community-implemented investment schemes; and (vii) communication with subnational and national government and contractors building the CASA-1000 transmission line.

It will also cover the Facilitating Partner costs as per the NSP arrangements, which includes the basic facilitation cost per CDC and additional allowances in-case of insecurity, remoteness and seasonality for a period of 3 to 4 years work.

COMPONENT 3: Project Implementation Support (US$ 2.4 million).

CSP will adopt a cost sharing mechanism with NSP, with regards to operational expenditures (excluding FP costs). As CSP will use the NSP implementation arrangements which include staffing and systems for financial management, procurement, project management, monitoring etc at the central and provincial level, it will be difficult and inefficient to link specific cost elements to the CSP. Since the inception of NSP, the share of operational expenditures to the overall NSP funding has been around 8%. For simplicity and efficiency, CSP will have a funding allocation of 8% of the overall grant towards operational expenditures. While operational expenditures will be pre-financed from NSP funds, CSP will reimburse the NSP Operations Fund float account cumulatively up to 8% of total CSP funding till the end of the project in a gradual manner. Any incremental operating costs on account of CSP will be absorbed within that 8%. 

(i) Sub-component 3 (a): Third Party monitoring (US$1.5 million):Given the nature of this project, technical requirements and the limitations on conducting regular field visits due to security restrictions, the services of a TPM will be sought. Primarily to monitor (on a sample basis) FP engagement with communities, financial monitoring of grants, physical and quality checks of sub-project implementation etc is regularly reviewed, and any delays or issues are addressed on an ongoing and timely basis.   

COMPONENT 4: Communications & Outreach (US$ 930,000).

This component will finance a strong communications campaign and information-sharing activities directed to relevant stakeholders within the Provinces with a special emphasis on outreach to communities in the project areas. A multi-media communications strategy will be at the core of information sharing efforts, designed with the aim of ensuring that information on the project’s implementation progress and impacts is conveyed to interested members of Government, civil society and the citizenry more broadly. To ensure that CSP communities living in the CASA-1000 corridor are effectively reached, the communications strategy will take into account their infrastructure access, literacy rates, and language. In addition, it will also ensure that feedback loops (perception surveys, community participatory monitoring and grievance handling mechanisms) between the corridor communities and the implementing agencies are put in place and regularly utilized. (See Annex: Communications plan)

The Unallocated funds will cover additional costs across the four components to cover among other costs:

(a)  Any increase in the number of communities: Since the route of the Afghanistan transmission line will be finalized only after the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Line contractor is in place, there may be a change in the number of districts or communities. Funds will therefore be set aside as part of project contingencies so that more communities than anticipated can be supported;

(b)  To cover additional communities in High Risk Areas: Given the unique nature of work in HRAs and based on lessons learnt from National Solidarity Program NSP, the CSP may include communities outside of the COI, to ensure that equity issues caused by lack of coverage to all communities in the district does not lead to political risks or social conflicts. The final numbers for HRAs will be determined after a detailed identification process takes place by NSP.

Project Location

Based on the current routing of the CASA-1000 Afghanistan section, the transmission line is expected to pass through approximately 700 communities spread over 23 districts in 6 provinces, with a total of 152,000 families along the 4 kilometer corridor of influence (COI). Overall in the six Provinces namely – Parwan, Kunduz, Baghlan, Laghman, Nangarhar and Kabul only 33% of communities along the COI have access to power either through connection to the electricity grid, micro-hydro power, solar or other power sources. However the coverage ranges from 0 – 100% between the 23 districts. For on-grid connections in three provinces (Kunduz, Baghlan and Parwan) 10%-30% of the population has connection to the electricity grid, while less than 10% of the population in two provinces (Laghman and Nangarhar) is connected to the grid. The range of connection to the grid for the Kabul population was estimated to be around 50 percent. It is important to note that the communities along the corridor of influence (COI) cannot be directly supplied with electricity from the CASA 1000 transmission line, being of a very high voltage.

Potential  Impacts of  various components

Activities envisaged under the project should not entail significant and negative environmental and social impacts, provided they are designed and implemented with due consideration of environmental and social issues.  Rather, most subprojects envisaged under the project should contribute to improving environmental and social conditions in rural Afghanistan.  Adverse impacts may arise due to depletion or degradation of natural resources such as stone, earth, water etc. used for construction of small-scale infrastructure.  Construction activities may cause limited, temporary, and localized negative impacts. 

Under the present project, investments in power sub-projects will be given priority in communities which currently have no access to the grid. Power Supply sub-projects (based on the NSPII 2012 economic analysis) showed straight forward benefits that are easy to identify and quantify both in terms of socio-economic and environmental impact. To the savings of fuel, diesel or wood being used before the sub-projects - including the time spent in its procurement or collection; having electricity, often times allows for the development of new livelihood activities and enterprise development that were not possible before, generating new sources of income.

CSP sub-projects like schools, clinics, community centers, public baths, power house, and reservoirs would normally require land acquisition if there is no land already allocated for these facilities. Similarly sub-projects like water supply networks, weir, intake, spillway, canal, supper passages, gravel trap, settling basin, foreabay, penstock, tailrace canal, power line and power houses might potentially require minor pieces of land. No involuntary land acquisition is expected under the project, but Operational Policy 4.12 is triggered, because there may be a need for limited land acquisition in connection with certain sub-projects. 

Safeguards Policies triggered

Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01): The safeguard for Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) is triggered for this project because the civil work may include the structures like weir, intake structure, spillway, canal, supper passages, gravel trap, settling basin, forebay, penstock, power house, tailrace canal, or other community infrastructure like schools, clinics, community centers, which may have some environment and social adverse impacts on land and environment

Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12): No involuntary land acquisition is expected under the project, but Operational Policy 4.12 is triggered, since limited land acquisition in connection with certain sub-projects cannot be ruled out. Previous experiences from NSP shows that land requirements for subprojects tend to be very limited, and primarily managed through voluntary or through community compensations

Environmental & Social Management Framework (ESMF)

The CASA-CSO is like the NSP a demand-driven program which will support multiple subprojects across the 700+ communities  covered, the detailed design of which are not known at appraisal . To ensure the effective application of the World Bank’s safeguard policies, a framework approach is thus adopted, adjusting the existing ESMF for NSP III to the CASA-CSP.  The Framework provides guidance on the approach to be taken during implementation for the selection and design of subprojects, and the planning of mitigation measures to address environmental and social safeguards issues.

The Purpose of the Environmental and Social Management Framework provides for early identification of potential adverse impacts, without the requirement of rigorous analysis through quantification, and also provides broad guidance for their effective mitigation.  Consistent with existing national legislation, the objective of the Framework is to help ensure that activities under the project will:

• Protect human health;
• Prevent or compensate any loss of livelihood;
• Prevent environmental degradation as a result of either individual subprojects or their cumulative effects;
• Enhance positive environmental and social outcomes; and,
• Ensure compliance with World Bank safeguard policies and as well as applicable national laws.

• Certain types of investments with negative environmental or social impacts cannot be undertaken and are included in a negative list of prohibited investments.

The selection, design, contracting, monitoring and evaluation of subprojects will be consistent with the following guidelines:

• A negative list of characteristics that would make a proposed subproject ineligible for support (Attachment  1);
• Guidelines for voluntary land and asset donation or donation against community compensation (Attachment  2);

• Procedures for the protection of cultural property, including the chance discovery of archaeological artifacts, and unrecorded graveyards and burial sites (Attachment 3).
• Procedures for Mine Risk Management in World Bank-Funded Projects in Afghanistan
• Codes of Practice for Prevention and Mitigation of Environmental and Social Impacts(Attachment 4)
• Resettlement Policy Framework to guide involuntary land acquisition where land requirements exceed 100 sqm, or livelihood impact on individual owner exceeds 10%   (separate  document)

Safeguard Screening

Based on the experiences and lessons learnt from NSP I, NSP II and NSP III and to adequately address the potential environmental and social impacts of infrastructure subprojects under CSP, following are the general principles of this Framework:

1. All proposed subprojects will be screened (using Matrix 1 (Attachment 4), which includes environmental and social assessment checklists for various types of infrastructure subprojects) to ensure that the potential environmental and social risks can be adequately addressed through the application of standardized guidelines (using Matrix 2 (Attachment 4), which includes typical environmental and social mitigation measures for various types of infrastructure projects). It is to be noted, however, that in case an environmental or social impact is identified as per the Matrix 1, FPs are required to produce site specific Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) which needs to be implemented, monitored and reported.

2. The design of the CSP aims at ensuring regional balance in terms of coverage of various social groups as well as gender equity with regard to decision making on subproject selection and project benefits.  Employment opportunities within the projects will be available on an equal basis to all, on the basis of professional competence, irrespective of affiliation with any social group. In all projects which require consultations with local communities or beneficiaries, gender-separated consultations will be conducted to elicit the views of the female population, along with that of the male population; and, 
3. Consultation and disclosure requirements will be simplified to meet the special needs of these operations.  Prior to approval by the World Bank Board, this Environmental and Social Safeguards Framework (ESMF) will be disclosed in Afghanistan in Dari and Pashto.

Mitigation measures

Sound design will diminish to the extent possible, if not eliminate, most of the potential adverse impacts of project activities.  Good Engineering design will, in most cases, have a positive impact on the environmental and social conditions in the project area.  Construction and operation stage impacts will be addressed through a simplified Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). The ESMP is provided in terms of measures identified in this ESMF such as the Attachments, Matrices and other provisions of this ESMF. Social and environmental guidelines and codes of practice satisfactory to the Bank will need to be included in the Project’s Operational Manual at all times.

Land Requirements for sub-projects: 

No involuntary land acquisition is expected under the project, but Operational Policy 4.12 is triggered, since limited land acquisition in connection with certain sub-projects cannot be ruled out. Previous experiences from NSP shows, that land requirements for subprojects tend to be very limited, and primarily managed through  willing buyer-willing seller, voluntary donations or through mutually agreeable community compensation or from available government land. Guidelines for procedures for recording land donation/land donation against community compensation, restoration of housing, and compensation for loss of land and livelihood by project-affected families, all of which should be done in a consultative and mutually agreeable manner and in compliance with OP 4.12, and fully documented, is annexed (Attachment 2).  In case of land requirements exceeding 100 sqm, or individual livelihood impact on affected families exceed 10%, voluntary donations are not permissible and either procedures of willing buyer-willing seller will apply or formal land acquisition as per the Resettlement Policy Framework developed under CASA1000 by the GoIRA and cleared by the World Bank . This RPF has been adapted to CASA-CSP by MRRD and cleared by the WB. Private voluntary donations and community purchases will be documented as required by Attachment 1 and 2the Framework, and for government land, documentation would be needed that the land is free of encroachments, squatters or other encumbrances, and has been transferred to the project by the authorities.

Inclusion and Equity:

The design for the proposed project defines a strategy, which will ensure that all social groups, including women, are included as beneficiaries, and that their concerns are addressed. The key elements of this strategy are (i) the project will benefit all those communities that live along a 2 kilometer ‘Corridor of Influence’ each side of the CASA-1000 transmission line. It is expected that there will be approximately 700 communities spread over 23 districts in 6 provinces, with a total of over 152,000 families along the corridor of influence (COI). Given the terrain along the COI, as well as the unique nature of community mobilization in High risk areas, there will be some flexibility to work with communities outside of the COI – funding for this will come from the unallocated funds category.

The facilitated participatory planning process at the community level includes an approach for election of Community Development Councils, which will provide for representation of all sub-groups in the community and with special guarantees ensuring inclusion of women and local minority groups.

Both internal monitoring and external independent evaluation will assess the inclusiveness of Community Development Councils and thus provide information that would constitute the basis for corrective actions, if necessary, and (iv) independent monitoring by civil society (NGOs and the press) will provide another mechanism to identify cases where a certain social group would have been bypassed or marginalized.

Physical Cultural Resources: The subprojects are all of limited scale and based on community selection, followed by a screening process which would rule out known physical cultural heritage sites. Chance finds of cultural property (archaeological artifacts) during implementation of subprojects involving civil works will be reported to the provincial or district governors, who then will inform the Archaeological Committee (Attachment 3)

Compliance with the safeguard policies and procedures and the negative list will be ensured through an environmental, social and mine risk screening procedure (checklists) required for subproject proposals, and by internal input, process, and output monitoring, independent external monitoring by consultants, and by Bank supervision missions.

Environmental and Social Guidelines for Communities, FPs and Contractors

The following points shall be considered as part of the ESMF and included in the contractual agreements as appropriate:

• Installation of the work site in areas far enough from water points, houses and sensitive areas. Location of the work site shall be suitable and chosen in consultation with local community/CDCs as well as local authorities.
• Provision of sanitary equipment, and installations as appropriate
• Site regulation (Identification of what is allowed and what is not allowed on work sites)
• Compliance with laws, regulations and other permits in vogue.
• Hygiene and security on work sites
• Protect neighboring properties
• Ensure continuous traffic flow and accessibility of neighboring populations to roads during construction activities through a traffic management plan.
• Protect staff working on work sites through the implementation of a safety plan.
• Degradation/demolition of private properties: Inform and raise the awareness of the populations before any activity causing degradation of natural vegetation and resources. Compensate beneficiaries before any work.
• Use a quarry of materials according to the mining code requirements: The contractor/FP will have to obtain pollution control permits from NEPA as per requirements of the Afghanistan Environmental Act and EIA regulations and also a permit from Ministry of Mines.
• Compensation planting in case of deforestation or tree felling. Complete environmental and social assessment will be needed if the proposed project is located in forest area e.g. provision or expansion of access road in forest area. Under such circumstances, both WB applicable policies and national laws and legislation must be considered. 
• Signaling of works
• Respect of cultural sites. The stakeholders have to consider and comply with the following applicable laws and legislation:
• OP 4.11 Physical Cultural Resources
• Law on the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Historical and Cultural Heritages and Artefacts (2004)

Since CSP will be involved in old residential neighborhoods/villages which are rich in physical cultural resources, therefore, the above policy shall also be applicable.  

• Dispose safely of asbestos
• As much as possible, use locally available materials of construction for increased sustainability.

Responsibilities for Safeguard Screening and Mitigation

The overall responsibility of the project implementation rests with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). The Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit (ESSU) of the CSP will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of this ESMF. This unit comprises an ESS officer, an Environmental Focal Point and a Social Focal Point. ESS unit will be main point of contact with regards to all matters related to Environmental and Social Safeguards of CSP sub-projects.

The overall institutional framework for implementation of ESMF consists of ESS Unit at  CSP HQ, ESS focal points at all CSP field offices and at all FPs field offices.

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) has over the years gained considerable experience and improved capacity in managing proper implementation supervision and monitoring of safeguard issues in projects. MRRD has been implementing several World Bank funded project such as NSP, Afghanistan Rural Access Project (ARAP), Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Project (AREDP), and has long history of working with donors. MRRD has established an ESS unit consisting of social and environment safeguard specialists and has national and international staff to manage the environmental and social concerns from both the managerial and technical perspectives.  The ESS unit at MRRD maintains close relation with Facilitating Partners (FPs) to monitor the implementation mechanism for safeguard requirements. The environmental and social management framework (ESMF) for the screening of all subprojects under CSP has been adjusted based on the existing ESMF for NSP, which means that MRRD staff are already used to implementing ESMF requirements. The CSP will staff safeguards positions in the project unit, within Facilitating Partners, and within CDCs. The staff will have specific terms of reference and trainings to ensure their effectiveness.

The activities are assessed by the relevant Facilitating Partners (FPs) and if found to have potential large or medium scale environmental and social impacts, the relevant FPs shall prepare a site specific Environmental and Social Management Plan  (ESMP) acceptable to the Association before the sub-project work can be financed.

The CSP’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Officer will be required to ensure that all sub-projects with large and medium impacts have ESMP and are implemented properly by the FPs, contractors or CDCs in the project site.

Capacity Building

As part of the social and environmental capacity building that will be provided for implementation of IDA-financed operations in Afghanistan, the Environmental Social Safeguards Unit at CSP Headquarter and nominated focal points (both from CSP and FPs) at field levels will receive training in the application of the ESMF.

In order to build the capacity of the relevant staff to effectively implement this ESMF, the FPs and PMU staff will be trained in all aspects of the ESMF, and refresher trainings will be provided at least once per year. Focal Officer (s) for implementing, monitoring, and reporting of the ESMF will be appointed.  The CSP ESS unit will ensure that FPs include environmental safety requirements for their supervising engineers. Special attention will be paid to the experiences so far in NSP on implementing power projects, and lessons learned will be shared through capacity building events. Technical support will be drawn from DABS in ensuring the technical soundness of power sub-projects.

Moreover, the communities will receive training on ESMF and the community participatory monitoring approach shall be extensively used in implementation of the mitigation measures, and a third party monitoring of ESMF/ESMPs implementation is an integral part of the design.  Emphasis will be placed on raising awareness about social and environmental issues among all the stakeholders in line with the Operation Manual as well as ESMF, and development of proper monitoring and reporting mechanism for compliance with the ESMF, incl. all required documentation in case of voluntary land acquisition or land acquisition against community compensation are followed by CSP and FP staff. Independent third party monitoring of ESMF implementation is part of CSP design.

This will include finalizing the ESS training manual, holding training workshops for ESS focal points at CSP Management Units and Facilitating Partners (FPs).  Simple training modules shall be prepared for CDCs, communities and Contractors. ESS trainings shall be conducted for CDCs and communities. It is also proposed to nominate ESS focal points and community levels. As part of the capacity building efforts, exposure visits abroad shall also be organized in order to learn and benefit from the experiences and achievements made by other programs.

All ESS training materials shall be translated into Pashto and Dari languages in order to increase its readability by the target audience at various levels.

During supervision of the proposed project, IDA will assess the implementation of the Framework, and if required will recommend additional strengthening.

Various topics to be covered in ESS trainings include but are not limited to the following:

• General overview of Environment
• Afghanistan Environment Law
• Importance of Environmental and Social Safeguards in infrastructure projects

• Limited EIA/SIA techniques
• ESS checklists for micro-hydro and other types of infrastructure subprojects
• Screening projects for environmental review
• Best environmental practices in design and implementation of projects
• Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), Implementation and Monitoring
• Project supervision
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Trainings on social safeguards including

-        Guidance, procedures and documentation required for voluntary land  donations, donations against community compensation and formal land acquisition

-        Conflict management/ Conflict Resolution Mechanism (CSP’s staff would needed to provide on job trainings for the CDCs members and let them to solve social disputes and to find most appropriate solution. This will enhance capability of the CDC members.

-        Community level governance

-        Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM)

-        Training on Physical Cultural Resources (PCR)

This ESMF, originally written in English, shall be translated in both Dari and Pashto and shall be made available at the World Bank’s Info-shop.

Table 1: Budget for Environmental and Social Safeguard Compliance

Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM)

Grievance Redress Committees (GRCs) will be established in different geographical area under the CASA CSP.  The GRCs do not have any legal mandate or authority but acts as a facilitator to try and resolve issues between the complainant and the CASA CSP.

The GRCs will consist of a CDC representative from district government, representative from the PIU, and FP.  The GRC would meet to try and resolve the matter and make a recommendation within 7-10 working days.

Also, Safeguards Specialists will have an important role in ensuring that communities have a full understanding of their rights and responsibilities regarding CSP interventions.  CSP ESS unit will be in charge of recording and reporting to any complaint for improvement of the project outcomes.

Environmental and Social Monitoring

The overall responsibility for enforcement of this ESMF rests with CSP. In order to ensure compliance, FPs will be tasked to regularly monitor the implementation of the Environmental and Social Safeguards during construction phase. Monitoring of the implementation of mitigation measures related to significant impacts during operation of sub-projects shall be mainly the responsibility of CDCs and communities.  The community participatory monitoring shall be extensively used in this regard.

This monitoring will be supplemented by the third party monitoring which has been functioning well for some of the other projects. The Safeguards component will also be included in the TPM and their monitors will be trained by the WB relevant staff using relevant indicators. The safeguards monitoring findings will be incorporated to the regular TPM reports and progress or otherwise will be regularly discussed with the Facilitating Partners and the MRRD relevant staff.

The PMU ESS Officers will also monitor sub-projects for ESMF compliance and supervising the work of FPs focal points. Similarly, the ESS Unit at CSP will also periodically conduct monitoring of subprojects as an overall overseeing institution.

Typical examples of monitoring plans are given in the table below.

Table 2:  Typical Examples of Monitoring Plan for the Operation of Different subprojects

Disclosure

This Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) was developed by the CASA CSP on the basis of the generic Framework for World Bank-funded reconstruction operations, a review of the ESMF implementation in related WB-funded projects and a review of the specific requirements of the planned project. Prior to approval of the project by the World Bank, the ESMF was disclosed on INSERT DATE OF DISCLOSURE by MRRD in Afghanistan in both Dari and Pashto on the MRRD website, Libraries, HQ and provincial offices, MRRD implementing partners offices and was shared with Afghanistan National Environment Protection Agency (NEPA), and by the WB Infoshop.

Attachment 1

 Negative List of Subproject Attributes

Subprojects with any of the attributes listed below will be ineligible for Block Grant Funding under the proposed CSP.

Attachment 2

Guidelines for Land and Asset Donation below 100 sqm, and with individual livelihood impact less than 10%

I. Objectives

Land requirements will be kept to a minimum and no person will be involuntarily displaced under subprojects financed by the proposed CSP. Subproject proposals that would require demolishing houses or acquiring productive land should be carefully reviewed to minimize or avoid their impacts through alternative alignments.  Proposals that require more than minor expansion along rights of way should be reviewed carefully.  No land or asset acquisition may take place outside of these guidelines.  No sub-project impacting more 200 persons will be funded. A format for Land Acquisition Assessment is attached as Attachment 2(i).

These guidelines provide principles and instructions to compensate affected persons to ensure that all such persons negatively affected, regardless of their land tenure status, will be assisted to improve, or at least to restore, their living standards, income earning or production capacity to pre-project levels.

II. Eligibility

Project affected people (PAPs) are identified as persons whose livelihood is directly or indirectly affected by the project.  PAPs deemed eligible for compensation are:

(1)           those who have formal legal rights to land, water resources or structures/buildings, including recognized customary and traditional rights;

(2)           those who do not have such formal legal rights but have a claim to usufruct right rooted in customary law;

(3)           those whose claim to land and water resources or building/structures do not fall within (1) and (2) above, are eligible to assistance to restore their livelihood.

Acquisition of Productive Assets and Compensation

PAPs are eligible for replacement costs for lost assets as described below:

1. Voluntary contributions.  In accordance with traditional practices, individuals may elect to voluntarily contribute land or assets and/or relocate temporarily or permanently from their land without compensation. 
2. Contributions against compensation.  A contributor/asset loser considered "affected" will be eligible for compensation from the local community or alternatively from the Government (as per the RPF).  A PAP shall lodge his/her claim for compensation to the local community representatives/shura head and it shall be verified by the implementing agency.  The claim shall be lodged within 2 weeks of completion of the consultations with the concerned community, and before project implementation begins.

Voluntary contribution, or contribution against compensation, should be documented.  The documentation should specify that the land is free of any squatters, encroachers or other claims.  A format is attached in Attachment 2(i), which includes a Schedule to be followed to assess any compensation claimed and the agreement reached.

III. Compensation Principles

The project implementing agencies shall ensure that any of the following means of compensation are provided in a timely manner to affected persons:

(1)       Project affected persons losing access to a portion of their land or other productive assets with the remaining assets being economically viable are entitled to compensation at replacement cost for that portion of land or assets lost to them. Compensation for the lost assets will be according to following principles:

a.         replacement land with an equally productive plot, cash or other equivalent productive assets;

b.         materials and assistance to fully replace solid structures that will be demolished;

c.         replacement of damaged or lost crops and trees, at market value;

d.         other acceptable in-kind compensation;

e.         in case of cash compensation, the delivery of compensation should be made in public, i.e. at the Community Meeting.

(2)       Project affected persons losing access to a portion of their land or other economic assets rendering the remainder economically non-viable, will have the options of compensation for the entire asset by provision of alternative land, cash or equivalent productive asset, according to the principles in (1) a-d above.

Consultation Process

The implementing agencies will ensure that all occupants of land and owners of assets located in a proposed subproject area are consulted.  There will be gender-separate community meetings for each affected mantaqa/gozar (urban infrastructure) or village (other projects) to inform the local population about their rights to compensation and options available in accordance with these Guidelines.  The minutes of the community meetings shall reflect the discussions held, agreements reached, and include details of the agreement, based on the format provided in Attachment 2(ii).

The implementing agency shall provide a copy of the Minutes to affected persons and confirm in discussions with each of them their requests and preferences for compensation, agreements reached, and any eventual complaint.  Copies will be recorded in the posted project documentation and be available for inspection during supervision.

Subproject Approval

In the event that a subproject involves land requirements against community compensation, the implementing agency shall:

1. not approve the subproject unless a satisfactory compensation has been agreed between the affected person and the local community;
2. not allow works to start until the compensation has been delivered in a satisfactory manner to the affected persons;
3. if more than 200 persons are affected and require compensation, the subproject shall be deemed ineligible for support under the CASA-CSP.

Complaints and Grievances

All complaints should first be negotiated to reach an agreement at the local community/village level.  If this falls, complaints and grievances about these Guidelines, implementation of the agreements recorded in the Community Meeting Minutes or any alleged irregularity in carrying out the project can also be addressed by the affected persons or their representative at the municipal or district level. If this also fails, the complaint may be submitted to the relevant implementing agency for a decision.

Verification

The Community Meeting Minutes, including agreements of compensation and evidence of compensation having been made shall be provided to the Municipality/district, to the supervising engineers, who will maintain a record hereof, and to auditors and socio-economic monitors when they undertake reviews and post-project assessment.  This process shall be specified in all relevant project documents, including details of the relevant authority for complaints at municipal/district or implementing agency level.

Attachment 2(i)

Land Assessment Data Sheet

(To be used to record information on all land required for a sub-project)

1.   Quantities of land/structures/other assets required:

2.   Date to be handed over:

3.   Locations:

4.   Owners:

5.   Current uses:

6.   Users:

• Number of Customary claimants:
• Number of Squatters:
• Number of Encroacher:
• Number of Owners:
• Number of Tenants:
• Others (specify):                  Number:

7.   How land/structures/other assets will be acquired (identify one):

• Donation
• Purchase

8.  Transfer of title:

• Ensure these lands/structures/other assets free of claims or encumbrances.
• Written proof must be obtained (notarized or witnessed statements) of the voluntary donation, or acceptance of the prices paid, from those affected, together with proof of title being vested in the community, or guarantee of public access, by the title-holder.

9.  Describe grievance mechanisms available:

Attachment 2(ii)

Format to Document Contribution of Assets

The following agreement has been made on............................ day of...................……….

between...............................................resident of ............................................(the Owner)

and ……………………………………………….(the Recipient).

1. That the Owner holds the transferable right of ........................…………………jerib of land/structure/asset in.........…………………………………………………………………

2. That the Owner testifies that the land/structure is free of squatters or encroachers and not subject to other claims.

3. That the Owner hereby grants to the Recipient this asset for the construction and development of ................................for the benefit of the villagers and the public at large.

(Either, in case of donation:)

4. That the Owner will not claim any compensation against the grant of this asset.

(Or, in case of compensation:)

4. That the Owner will receive compensation against the grant of this asset as per the attached Schedule.

5. That the Recipient agrees to accept this grant of asset for the purposes mentioned.

6. That the Recipient shall construct and develop the……………………and take all possible precautions to avoid damage to adjacent land/structure/other assets.

7. That both the parties agree that the………………………so constructed/developed shall be public premises.

8. That the provisions of this agreement will come into force from the date of signing of this deed.

____________________________                ___________________________________

Signature of the Owner:                                  Signature of the Recipient:

Witnesses:

1.______________________________

2.______________________________

(Signature, name and address)

Schedule of Compensation of Asset Requisition

Summary of                          Units to be Compensated                 Agreed Compensation

affected unit/item

a. Urban/agricultural

    land (m²):                            _____________________      ___________________

b. Houses/structures to be

    demolished (units/m²):        _____________________      ___________________

c. Type of structure to be

     demolished (e.g. mud,

     brick, etc.)                          _____________________                  Not Applicable.

d. Trees or crops affected:      _____________________      ___________________

e. Water sources affected:       _____________________      ___________________

Signatures of local community representatives, shura head:

Include record of any complaints raised by affected persons:

Map attached (showing affected areas and replacement areas):

Attachment 3

Guidelines for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites

Introduction

According to Article 7 of the Law on the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Historical and Cultural Heritages and Artefacts (2004) the Archaeology Institute and the Historical Artifacts Preservation and Repair Department are responsible to survey, evaluate, determine and record all cultural and historical sites and collect and organize all historical documents related to each specific site. No one can build or perform construction on the recorded historical and cultural site unless approved or granted permission or agreement is issued from the Archaeology Institute.  This means that all physical works potentially impacting physical cultural heritage site s requires coordination and permission of Archaeology Institute.

Further, Article 34 provides that all excavations for discovering historical and cultural artifacts are under the oversight of the Archaeology Institute authorities. Other governmental Departments, organizations, private companies and individuals are not authorized to conduct excavations for discovering historical artifacts, even if it is on their own property, unless the excavation is approved by the Archaeology Institute and the conditions of such excavation conform to those conditions as specified in this Decree.

Article 35 provides that the Archeology Institute is authorized to give archeological excavation permission to domestic and international associations and should be approved by the Afghanistan Cabinet members and the permission letter shall be permanent.

Chance Find Procedures

Chance find procedures are defined in the law on Law on the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Historical and Cultural Heritages and Artefacts (2004). The law specifies the authorities and responsibilities of cultural heritage agencies if sites or materials are discovered by chance in the course of fieldwork, exploration or mining. This Law establishes that all movable and immovable historical and cultural artefacts are State property, and further:

(i)         The Archaeology Institute and the Historical Artefacts Preservation and Repair Department are responsible to survey, evaluate, determine and record all cultural and historical sites and to collect and organize all historical documents related to each specific site. No person can build or perform construction on a recorded historical and cultural site unless approved or granted permission, or an agreement is issued from the Archaeology Institute (Article 7).

(ii)       All movable and immovable historical and cultural artefacts and heritage items that are discovered or remain buried and not discovered/excavated in Afghanistan are the property of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and any kind of trafficking of such items is considered theft and is illegal (Article 8).

(iii)      Whenever municipalities, construction, irrigation or other companies (whether they are governmental or private) find or discover valuable historical and cultural artefacts during the conduct of their projects, they are responsible to stop their project and report any findings to the Archaeology Institute (Article 10).

(iv)      All discovered artefacts are considered public property and the Government of Afghanistan will pay for all lands and sites which are considered to be of historical or cultural value (Article 19, paragraph 1).

(v)       Whenever there is an immovable historical and cultural site discovered which includes some movable historical and cultural artefacts, all such movable artefacts are considered public property and the owner of that property will be rewarded according to Article 13 of the Law (Article 19 paragraph 2).

(vi)      A person who finds or discovers a movable historical and cultural artefact is obligated to report the discovery to the Archaeology Department within no later than seven (7) days if he/she lives in the capital city of Kabul, and in the Provinces they should report the discovery to the Historical and Cultural Artefacts Preservation Department or Information and Culture Department or to the nearest governmental Department within no later than fourteen (14) days. The Departments are responsible to report the issue to the Archaeology Department as soon as possible and the discoverer of the artefact will be rewarded (Articles 13 and 26).

(vii)    Whenever individuals who discover historical and cultural artefacts do not report such discoveries to the related Departments within the specified period according to Articles 19 and 26, they will be incarcerated for a minimum of one (1) month but not more than a maximum of three (3) months (Article 75).

Attachment 4

Matrix 1

Impact Identification and Assessment for Afghanistan National Solidarity Project

Name of the subproject: ___________________________________________________

Location: _______________________________________________________________             

Code: ____

(Important: Ensure that section F, & only 1 of sections A, B, C, D or E have been filled up)

Part A:   Subprojects related to Irrigation and Watershed Management structures (Rehabilitation / construction of water retaining structures, rehabilitation / construction of new drains, erosion protection, etc.)

Part B:             Subprojects related to community infrastructure construction (School, market sheds, etc.)

PART C:         Subprojects related to transport infrastructure (roads, culverts, small bridges, etc.)

PART D:        Subprojects related to water supply (community ponds, open wells, piped supply or gravity schemes, etc.)

PART F:         Summary of Environmental impacts of the proposed activity (from only one Part A, B, C, or D )

Key Impacts identified

1.

2.

3.

4.

Mitigation measures to be implemented (Refer to Matrix 2 & Attachments 1,3 & 4)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Agency Responsible for Implementation / Supervision (Refer to Matrix 2)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Timing of Implementation with reference to stage of  Civil Works Cycle (Design, Construction or Operation)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Matrix 2

Menu of mitigation measures for CSP

Part A:       Subprojects related to Irrigation and Watershed Management structures (Rehabilitation / construction of water retaining structures, rehabilitation / construction of new drains, erosion protection, etc.)

Sub-part (i)     Construction Phase

Sub part (ii)   Operation Stage

Part B:             Subprojects related to community infrastructure construction (School, community hall, market sheds, etc.)

Sub-part (i)    Construction stage

PART C:         Subprojects related to transport infrastructure (roads, culverts, small bridges, etc.)

Sub-part (i)    Construction Phase

Sub-part (ii) Operation Stage

PART D:        Subprojects related to water supply (community ponds, open wells, dug wells with hand pumps, piped supply or gravity schemes, etc.)

Sub-part (i)    Construction Phase

Sub-part (ii) Operation Stage