Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB2423 Project Name Community Based Rural Development II Region AFRICA Sector General public administration sector (32%);Other social services (23%);Roads and highways (15%);General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (15%);General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (15%) Project ID P098378 Borrower(s) GOVERNMENT OF BURKINA FASO Implementing Agency Ministere de l'Agriculture, de l'Hydraulique et des Ressources Halieutiques Burkina Faso Ministere des Finances et du Budget Burkina Faso Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared June 17, 2006 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization January 8, 2007 Estimated Date of Board Approval April 12, 2007 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Key development issues: Burkina Faso is a sahelian country with limited natural resources in constant degradation. Its economy is strongly dependent on the rural sector that employs more than 86% of the population and generates approximately 40% of the GDP. Despite the leading role of the rural sector in the economy and the fact that the country has recorded an average annual growth rate of about 5% of late, the incidence of poverty has increased, especially in the rural area where more than 52% of the population lives below the absolute poverty line. Social welfare indicators lag behind even modest Sub-Saharan averages, placing Burkina near the bottom of the Human Development Index. Two of every five children are malnourished and are not attending school. The Government Response: Through the Poverty Reduction Strategic Framework (PRSF), the Government initiated reforms to reduce poverty, with the following priorities: (i) the promotion of rural development and food security; (ii) improved access of the populations to safe water, especially the poor; and (iii) environmental protection and better living conditions. To achieve the objectives of the framework, action is focused on four strategic efforts: (i) to accelerate economic growth and to base it on equity; (ii) to guarantee access of the poor to basic social services and social protection; (iii) to increase employment opportunities and income generating activities for the poor and equitably; and (iv) to promote good governance. Page 2 Moreover, the Decentralized Rural Development Policy Paper adopted in 2002 outlines (i) the participation of grass-root communities in local development processes, including the planning and control of project activities and village-level investments, accompanied by (ii) widening the types of investments, (iii) co-financing these investments, (iv) supporting dialogue and consultation at various levels and (v) allowing flexibility to take into account local realities. World Bank support to, and lessons learned in, the rural sector: The World Bank’s latest Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the period 2006 -2009 is based on the four strategic pillars of the PRSF, which are referenced above. As part of its support to the rural sector, The World Bank endorsed the National Programme for Local Development (PNDRD), a fifteen year programme whose objective is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in the rural areas. The development objective of the first phase, the Community Based Rural Development Project (PNGT2), was to increase the productive capacity of the rural sector and improve the effectiveness of public investments by developing the institutional and organizational capacity necessary to enable local communities to plan, implement, and manage their own development process. Such support is in line with the Africa Action Plan, which notes the importance of harmonized donor support to governance reforms and the empowerment of marginalized groups in the growth process. The first phase of PNGT2 (2000 to 2006) has achieved impressive results, including: i) approximately four thousand villages establishing village committees and building local capacity for planning, implementation and monitoring; ii) providing nearly 5 million person/days of training to build local capacity; iii) disbursing USD39 million for 12,000 micro-projects; iv) supporting policy reform related to decentralization in Burkina, resulting in the adoption of the revised Law on Local Communities in late 2004, the establishment of rural municipalities, and the first municipal elections in late April 2006. The status of Phase 1 triggers are as follows: Page 3 Bank Rationale for continued involvement: Phase 1 demonstrated that communities can generate results if given the opportunity. Sub-projects financed by PNGT2 were found to be 30% less expensive than their comparitors, and these investments are fully functional thanks to communities’ strong sense of ownership over them. As the main donor to the PNGT2, the World Bank is positioned as the leader in support to local development in Burkina, and is able to utilize this leverage to push further reforms related to decentralization and garner additional resources to support its implementation. Furthermore, with its programmatic support to local development, the World Bank is able to provide consistent support to further decentralization. Lessons from the first phase will be incorporated into Phase 2, including focused capacity development support to service providers at decentralized levels and to facilitating consultants who animate processes at village and commune levels. In addition, the project will commit itself to stimulating dialogue and action with other donors in order to better harmonize support to decentralization. A further justification for continued support lies in one of the major accomplishments of PNGT2, the recent enactment of the Code Général des Collectivités Territoriales, which establishes local governments in the form of rural communes. This constitutes a major challenge to Government in consolidating and institutionalizing the decentralization process in Burkina, and serves as a major foundation for the second phase of IDA support. 2. Proposed objective(s) The long term purpose of the program remains the same. The project objective of PNGT2 Phase 2 is to consolidate and scale up the achievements of PNGT2 with respect to local governance, access to basic social services and sustainable management of natural resources in rural communes and villages of Burkina Faso. Triggers Status as of December 31, 2005 1. At least 75% of villages covered by the first phase received assistance on capacity building and adopted a PGT. 100% of villages covered have developed their PGT and received assistance in capacity building. 2. At least 60% of beneficiary villages have representati ve and participatory bodies and achieved their local development plan. 100% of villages covered have put in place their CVGT in a democratic and participatory way. 3. At least 30% of villages were gathered in CIVGT that have already undertaken common projects. The Government abandoned the setting up of CIVGT, with a 2004 law taking on board the integral administrative division of the country into communes (302 rural communes) 4. At least 75% of targeted provinces dispose of an effective CCTP 100% of provinces (45) have their CCTP and hold regular sessions. 5. The Law governing decentralisation is enforced in a satisfactory way. The Code Général des Collectivités Territoriales was passed by Parliament in December 2004 and promulgated in April 2005. 6. An operational national forum enabled significant progress toward the harmonisation of decentralised rural development approaches. The Permanent Secretary was appointed and officially assumed duty. Material, financial and human resources were allocated to the structure to enable it to fully play of coordination and harmonisation of approaches. 7. A plan for central level staff reduction is developed and partially executed The staff reduction plan exists, and authorises maintaining all staff until the end of the first phase. 8. The financial management and M&E systems are fully satisfactory. All the supervision and audit missions found the financial management and monitoring & evaluation systems satisfactory. Page 4 3. Preliminary description Building on PNGT2, the project will focus its support on the recently created communes in the 26 former divisions where the project intervened in the first phase. The project will also target villages that neither directly benefited from Phase 1 nor from other significant development activities within the last 5 years. The project is built around three components: COMPONENT 1: CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT Sub-component 1.1: Commune and Village Capacity Development Given the recent creation of the rural communes and village development councils, capacities must be developed of these nascent institutions to ensure ownership of their new roles, adherence to their mandate, and assumption of responsibility for the management of local investments. This component will (i) inform and train the members of the village development and commune councils on how to efficiently play their role and provide them with the necessary tools to manage these local governance institutions; (ii) sensitise and inform all stakeholders on the objectives and strategy of the project, and on the methods of participation of local communities in its implementation; (iii) train the staff and other parties of the communes in the planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of communal infrastructures; (iv) assist rural communes in the preparation and implementation of their development plans; (v) prepare all rural commune stakeholders to assume ownership of the project. Sub-component 1.2: Capacity Development for Decentralization Reform The effective functioning of local governments requires the active engagement of diverse stakeholders at national and sub-national levels, and includes the State, the private sector and civil society). In order to strengthen capacities for this support, this sub-component will (i) conduct studies necessary to optimise project management and policy reform; (ii) ensure intra- and inter-communal dialogue; (iii) Strengthen the capacities of the various parties supporting the implementation of the decentralization process, including service providers at commune level, and facilitating agencies in the realm of strategic planning at village and commune levels; (iv) acquire requisite equipment for program implementation; (v) and implement strategic communication activities. Sub-component 1.3: Capacity Development for Sustainable Natural Resource Management Under the law governing local governments (CGCT), rural communes are divided into three territorial spaces: housing, production and conservation. Within this framework, the project will support: · The demarcation of development spaces defined within rural communes; · The development of plans and rules for the management of natural resources in the demarcated zones; · The dissemination of proven technologies for the management of natural resources. Page 5 The project will also support the development of a national policy for land tenure in rural areas. Once developed, the project will support: · The dissemination of the policy and texts governing land management and development within rural communes; · Rural populations to take ownership of the land tenure policy; · National reflection on the status and improvement of the land policy. COMPONENT 2 : COMMUNE AND VILLAGE INVESTMENT FACILITY Improving the socio-economic conditions, increasing the productivity of the primary capital of the rural communes, and increasing incomes requires putting in place various infrastructure and socio-economic investments. This project component aims at strengthening the financial capacities of grass-root organizations and interest groups by making available to them the financial resources necessary to support: (i) the socio-economic infrastructures; (i) the activities contributing to the improvement of the productive potential of natural resources (iii) income generating activities for specific groups (women, entrepreneurs...) in order to increase the level of income and boost the local economy; (iv) activities identified related to sustainable natural resource management. The Facility will provide investment envelopes to participating communes and villages, based on a population-based formula. COMPONENT 3: COORDINATION, MANAGEMENT, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT This sub-component will support (i) the coordination and efficient administrative, technical and financial management of the programme and (ii) the monitoring and evaluation of the performance and impacts of the programme. 4. Safeguard policies that might apply Environemental Assessment and Involuntary Ressetlement 5. Tentative financing Source: ($m.) BORROWER/RECIPIENT 20.0 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 50.0 LOCAL COMMUNITIES 8.00 Total 78.00 6. Contact point Contact: Emmanuel Y. Nikiema Title: Sr. Natural Resources Mgmt. Spec. Tel: (226) 5354+316 Email: Enikiema@worldbank.org Location: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Page 6