Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 05/15/2008 Report No.: AC3618 1. Basic Project Data Country: Cameroon Project ID: P109588 Project Name: Environmental and Social Capacity Building for the Energy Sector Task Team Leader: Yves Andre Prevost Estimated Appraisal Date: May 7, 2008 Estimated Board Date: June 24, 2008 Managing Unit: AFTEN Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Power (100%) Theme: Environmental policies and institutions (P) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 20.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 Financing Gap 0.00 0.00 Environmental Category: B - Partial Assessment Simplified Processing Simple [] Repeater [] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies) Yes [ ] No [X] 2. Project Objectives Cameroon is facing development decisions in the energy sector that will by themselves have far-reaching consequences for the natural and social environments, and the development that will be enabled in other sectors by the availability of new energy at new locations will have additional impacts. PReCESSE is being designed to enhance the probability that as many of those consequences as possible will be positive. This is guided by three principles: (i) addressing governance including anticorruption, (ii) reinforcing management for results, and (iii) strengthening partnerships, alignment and harmonization. The development objective of the project would be to: Improve the management of and accountability for environmental and social issues related to large infrastructure investments. The Project would initially focus capacity building efforts towards the energy sector, in support of the Energy Sector Development Project and the PRG for the Kribi power project. The mobilization of supplemental resources to more explicitly address issues in the minin g and transport sectors would we explored during the project’s mid-term review. Page 2 The expected long-term benefits of the project are to: (i) reduce the negative externalities of large infrastructure projects, and (ii) develop a transparent, stable and fair framework for managing environmental and social risks that should comfort large infrastructure investments, and (iii) institutionalizes information flows between the populations affected by large infrastructure projects and other stakeholders, and political decision-makers 3. Project Description The Project would include the following three components: Component 1 (US$8 million). Strengthening the Ministry in charge of the Environment to fulfill its mandate to define, monitor and control environmental and social obligations of large infrastructure project operators, in compliance with the environmental law of 1996 and its implementation decrees. The project would fund: (i) technical expertise in the application of environmental regulations, (ii) the preparation of sectoral guidelines for the electricity, mining and transport sectors, in cooperation with relevant departments and private investors, (iii) harmonization of national environmental standards and procedures with international best practices (The Project would support Cameroon to develop its own standards and procedures based on international best practices. These best practices would include: (i) standards for equipment and products, (ii) environmental practices, including limits on emissions, or waste disposal methods, and (iii) environmental management procedures and systems.Sources of international best practices include: (i) international conventions, treaties and agreements, (ii) the guidelines of NGOs and international organizations, such as the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Standards Organisation (ISO), the World Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and (iii) industry guidelines, voluntary codes of conduct and statements of environmental principles prepared by professional or industry associations, such as the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers); and (iv) the development of capacity to manage the EA process and to verify compliance, either directly or though a delegation of authority to sector ministries. Component 2 (US$9 million). Establishing frameworks to manage social externalities associated with large infrastructure projects, in compliance with international best practices. The component would strengthen the ministries of Social Affairs, of Health, of Culture, and of Lands, each according to its statutory mandates, building on the lessons of the Chad Cameroon Project. More specifically, the project would: (i) provide assistance to the Ministry of Social Affairs, which is the governmental structure in charge of marginalized populations including Indigenous Peoples, and through the Ministry to provide support to the FEDEC, (ii) build capacity within the Ministry of State Property and Land Affairs and help harmonizing the national legislation on involuntary resettlement and land issues, (iii) strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Culture, which is in charge of monitoring of impacts of projects on physical cultural resources, and (iv) provide assistance to the Ministry of Health to better manage the impacts of large infrastructure projects, most notably dams, on human health. The project would also strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to serve as intermediaries for the concerns of civil society, and as sentries to ensure the full implementation of national regulations. Page 3 Component 3 (US$3.0 million). Supporting the Environment Unit in the Ministry of Energy and Water, to ensure that the environmental and social issues arising from large energy sector infrastructure projects are addressed in compliance with international best practices. The Ministry of Energy and Water is the structure responsible for defining and monitoring the implementation of the Energy Sector policy. Most particularly, the project would support the unit to: (i) monitor and advise on the preparation of environmental assessments, audits and EMPs for energy sector infrastructure projects, prior to their submission to the Ministry of Environment for their review, (ii) trigger and monitor the preparation of security, social and environmental audits for existing infrastructure, in compliance with the 2005 EA decree (dams, power plants, power lines, distribution networks), (iii) participate in monitoring the implementation of management plans approved by the Ministry of Environment, (iv) contribute to the preparation of environmental and social guidelines for the electricity sector, and (v) oversee the preparation of a Social and Environmental Assessment for the Energy Sector. 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis This is a national program that will develop a country system and thus will not be location specific. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Thomas E. Walton (AFTTR) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) X Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: The Project does not include or directly help to prepare investments that might directly trigger any of the World Bank’s safeguard policies. Nonetheless, the project will indirectly help with the management of other investments, most particularly in the energy sector and thus exposes the bank to reputational risks, most particularly: Page 4 (i) the Government may not understand or respect the need for transparency in developing and implementing environmental management procedures, guidelines and regulations, and may act in non-transparent ways; (ii) the Government may make unsound and/or non-transparent decisions on future projects in energy, mining, transport, or regional development, and the Bank may be seen as somehow responsible, having financed the capacity-building that theoretically would have prevented such things from happening; and (iii) the environmental community at large may suspect the Bank of being an enabler for rapid development (or as colluding with the Government, utility company, mining companies, etc.), rather than a promoter of environmentally and socially sustainable development and a protector of valuable natural, cultural and human resources. (iv) As with all capacity-building projects, the project may not work for a variety of reasons such as: incompetent consultants; implementing arrangements that either stress the agencies by adding the burden of supporting and supervising the consultants, or waste the consultants' time because the agencies cannot respond, or both; senior officials that haven't bought into the project and don't listen to and follow up on the recommended measures and programs. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: No long-term impact as this is a capacity building project. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. Not applicable 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. As a consequence, the project was categorized as a B, and disclosure requirements apply. To address these risks, the Task Team will get agreement at appraisal with the Government on a document (Annex 10) that will present: (v) the broad terms of reference (i.e., the scope of work, in as much detail as is possible at this stage) for capacity-building in each project component; (vi) the working arrangements (e.g., individual specialists, a firm or firms, secondment of officials to work in teams with the experts, etc.); (vii) the review and approval arrangements: who in the client agencies will review, comment on, and eventually accept the products of the TA; (viii) the responsibilities for the overall direction of each component; (ix) the process and responsibilities for decision-making with respect to adoption and implementation of recommendations and materials produced; and (x) a timetable for periodic updates to stakeholders on progress of the TA. The draft document has already circulated among the project stakeholders, including participating CSOs. The Task Team would also that the draft document is fully discussed during appraisal, including discussions with participating CSOs. Once agreed, the document will be publicly disclosed as if it were a safeguards document, both in country and at the InfoShop. Page 5 The purpose of the project is to build effective capacity to implement the provisions of Cameroon’s environmental regulations. There is currently sufficient capacity to start the project including the measures spelled out in the document.However, further capacity must be developed during the project to fully meet its objectives, particularly in terms of monitoring the investor commitment spelled out in their EMPs, and enforcing regulations. Beyond overall limitations in implementation capacity, the keystone to the successful implementation of the proposed measures is the willingness of MinEP and other ministries to implement the project in a transparent manner. Disclosure of the safeguards document is a major confirmation of this willingness. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. The basic consultation mechanism will be the regular project coordination meetings of the 12 project focal points (2 each for MinEP, MinAS, MinDAF, MinSanté, Min Culture, and CSOs, chaired by the Project Coordinator. CSO participation at all steps of the project would ensure transparency of its implementation. Regular consultations with CSOs during preparation, either directly or during coordination meetings attended by the Bank, have ensured that they fully understand and share the project’s objectives. Furthermore, as part of Component 1, MinEP will organize a consultation platform for the electricity sector, involving: (i) Government, as custodians of regulatory processes and national policy, (ii) industry operators, such as AES-Sonel, AluCam, and EDC, and (iii) the NGO and CSO community. The electricity sector platform would take example on the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline platform that was implemented as part of the CAPECE. During the preparation of the Energy Project, the Bank organized a consultation with NGOs and CSOs and made the commitment to institutionalize such meetings. B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? No Date of receipt by the Bank 05/06/2008 Date of "in-country" disclosure 05/07/2008 Date of submission to InfoShop 05/09/2008 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? N/A Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? N/A Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Page 6 Date of submission to InfoShop Pest Management Plan: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop * If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: na C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? N/A If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit or Sector Manager (SM) review and approve the EA report? N/A Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? Yes The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? Yes Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? Yes All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Yes Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Yes Page 7 D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Mr Yves Andre Prevost 05/15/2008 Environmental Specialist: Mr Thomas E. Walton 05/15/2008 Social Development Specialist Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Warren Waters 05/15/2008 Comments: Sector Manager: Ms Marjory-Anne Bromhead 05/15/2008 Comments: