INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Public Disclosure Copy Report No.: ISDSC6103 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 15-Jan-2014 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 21-Jan-2014 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Egypt, Arab Republic of Project ID: P146143 Project Name: Emergency Employment Investment Project (P146143) Task Team Afrah Alawi Al-Ahmadi Leader: Estimated 20-Jan-2014 Estimated 06-Mar-2014 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: MNSSP Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Other social services (99%), Public administration- Other social services (1%) Theme(s): Social safety nets (60%), Improving labor markets (25%), Other social protection and risk management (15%) Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 92.53 Total Bank Financing: 0.00 Public Disclosure Copy Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 MNA VPU Free-standing Trust Funds 92.53 Total 92.53 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? B. Project Objectives The project objectives are to: i) create short-term employment opportunities for the unemployed, unskilled and semi-skilled workers in selected locations in Egypt; ii) contribute to the creation and/ or maintenance of community infrastructure and services; iii) improve access to basic infrastructure and community services among target population; and iv) to improve the employability of young men and women through short-term training or other support services to facilitate transitions to wage and self-employment. C. Project Description The proposed Emergency Employment Investment Project (EEIP) is a grant in the amount of €67.60 million (USD92.53 million equivalent) to be financed by the European Union, as stand-alone Public Disclosure Copy complementary financing to the World Bank-funded Emergency Labor Intensive Investment Project (ELIIP; $200 million). Although not processed as an emergency operation under World Bank procedures, the proposed project does respond to the growing economic crisis in Egypt that has disproportionately impacted poor households and the unemployed. The EEIP supports the creation of short-term employment opportunities through labor-intensive community service and small scale infrastructure projects in selected areas in Egypt; and improves employability of young men and women in urban and rural areas through wage and self-employment programs. The project consists of four components: Component 1: Employment-intensive Small-scale Infrastructure Subprojects (€ 1 million) This component finances labor-intensive small scale infrastructure employment creation programs. Specifically, the project will support labor-intensive small scale local infrastructure public works subprojects such as canal weed reduction/cleaning, river Nile bank protection, rural housing upgrading, pavement of rural roads, school rehabilitations, among others. The sub-projects will be contracted out to private contractors. Component 2: Intensive Community Service Sub-projects and Youth Employment Activities (€ 57.3 million) This component will support labor-intensive community service subprojects through the provision of grants to local communities (NGOs/CBOs) for such services as solid waste management/collection and environmental cleaning campaigns in villages, early childhood education, mother and child health awareness home visit programs, employment in illiteracy eradication projects, among others. The component will also promote youth employment in rural and urban areas through pilot projects implemented by NGOs as described in Component 3. A majority of the beneficiaries of this component will be women, and it will be implemented by NGOs. Public Disclosure Copy Component 3: Improving Workers’ Employability through Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Programs to Facilitate Transitions into Wage Employment or into Self-Employment in Urban and Rural Areas (€ 6 million) The component will finance two types of youth employment support activities one aimed at youth in urban areas and the second for youth in rural areas. A comprehensive package of training (basic, technical, life skills, and on-the-job), job-search assistance, and wage or training subsidies to facilitate the transition into wage-employment will be piloted for urban youth. The component will also finance an integrated set of services (training, financing, advisory, and access to markets and value chains) to facilitate the transition into self-employment for rural youth. These services will be developed based on market research or feasibility studies already available or to be carried out during the preparation of the respective sub-projects. Sub-projects will be implemented by NGOs in urban and rural areas. Beneficiaries will be young men and women in the project’s target provinces who are out of school and out of (full time) work. Young women will be specifically targeted by making female participation an evaluation criterion during the Request for Proposals, and assessing proposed design features to attract female participants (e.g. female-only classes, child care, and parent outreach). Further details are available in Annex 4. Component 4: Project Implementation, Horizontal, and Capacity Building Activities (€ 3.5) million) The implementation support program for the project includes: (i) the provision of project implementation support, including project management, financial management and procurement; (ii) public information, EU visibility, communication and social mobilization strategy and Public Disclosure Copy implementation support; (iii) technical verification and quality assurance for the design and implementation of the above 3 components; (iv) and, capacity building for SFD and governorate staff, as well as for the implementing NGOs procured as needed For Components 1 and 2, labor intensity of 40 percent for sub-projects will be sought, higher than that currently being achieved in Egypt but for which has already started to be applied successfully through the World Bank financed ELIIP. The distribution of funds between the 3 subcomponents will be kept flexible with the exception for the infrastructure sub-component for which a maximum of 1 million Euros will be allocated. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Project activities will be conducted in selected poor urban and rural areas nationwide. E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies The project will be implemented by SFD who has ample capacity and previous experience managing environmental and safeguards issues. The SFD will prepare a safeguards screening summary for each sub-project in a format specified in the Operations Manual. This will summarize: (a) the recommended categorization according to World Bank policies; and, (b) the proposed environmental safeguards documentation requirements for the sub-project. The safeguards screening summary will be part of the sub-project identification package that will be submitted to the Bank by the SFD. The Bank will review the screening of sub-projects on a selective basis to verify that the screening tools and choice of documents are being applied appropriately and consistently. In terms of capacity, the SFD has acquired and enhanced its institutional capacity for implementing safeguards policies throughout the implementation of the previous phases of World Bank projects, e. Public Disclosure Copy g.: the SFD has been implementing EMPs for (i) the Local Area Development (LAD) Program since 2006, and (ii) Enhancing Access to Finance for Micro and Small Enterprise since 2010. However, quite recently, the SFD has decided to improve the integration of environmental assessment to its projects through upgrading the Environmental Policies Program (EPP) to become the Environmental Department (ED) under the Central Sector for Human and Community Development (CSHCD). This has been issued through a Decree from the SFD Secretary General, in September 2013. This upgrade is expected to be an important step for improving the capacity of the SFD in terms of environmental management; however, providing the ED with adequate resources and staffing is vital for its successful operation. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Chaogang Wang (MNSSU) Alaa Ahmed Sarhan (MNSEE) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ Yes An Environmental and Social Screening and BP 4.01 Assessment Framework (ESSAF), as well as sectoral Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) and Environmental Guidelines have been developed and cleared by the Bank to Public Disclosure Copy ensure environmental due diligence for similar types of sub-projects funded under the Bank- financed ELIIP. It is intended to ensure that, for all activities financed by the project, all efforts are made to avoid and minimize environmental and social impacts. The current ESSAF remains relevant in managing new activities proposed by the EEIP and will be revised accordingly and re- disclosed prior to appraisal. Also, the EMPs and Environmental Guidelines developed for ELIIP will be revised and re-disclosed prior to appraisal. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No The project does not plan to undertake any activities affecting natural habitats, and any subprojects that could trigger the Natural Habitats policy (OP 4.04) will be excluded. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Not applicable. Pest Management OP 4.09 No Any activities that could trigger the Pest Management policy (OP 4.09) will be excluded. Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No The project does not envision conducting any BP 4.11 activities impacting physical cultural resources, and any subprojects that could trigger this policy (OP 4.11) will be excluded. Public Disclosure Copy Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No Not applicable. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP No The project will support labor intensive small 4.12 scale local infrastructure public works subprojects (ie. canal weed reduction/cleaning, river Nile bank protection, rural housing upgrading, pavement of rural roads, school rehabilitations). Any subprojects that could trigger the involuntary resettlement policy (OP 4.12) will be excluded and will be part of the negative list in the Operational Manual. In other words, sub-projects cannot be financed that result in direct economic and social impacts through the: (a) involuntary taking of land resulting in: (i) relocation or loss of shelter, (ii) lost of assets or access to assets, or (iii) loss of income sources or means of livelihood, whether or not the affected persons must move to another location; or (b) involuntary restriction of access to legally designated parks and protected areas resulting in adverse impacts on the livelihoods of the displaced persons. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Not applicable. Public Disclosure Copy Projects on International No The project will support small scale subprojects Waterways OP/BP 7.50 at the community level, and no activities that would affect international waterways are expected to take place. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No Not applicable. 7.60 III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 15-Jan-2014 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: The current ESSAF remains relevant in managing new activities proposed by the EEIP and will be revised accordingly and re-disclosed prior to appraisal. Also, the EMPs and Environmental Guidelines developed for ELIIP will be revised and re-disclosed prior to appraisal. IV. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Afrah Alawi Al-Ahmadi Approved By: Regional Safeguards Name: Nina Chee (RSA) Date: 20-Jan-2014 Coordinator: Sector Manager: Name: Yasser Aabdel-Aleem Awny El-Gammal Date: 21-Jan-2014 Public Disclosure Copy (SM) 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons.