INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: ISDSCIO85 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 09-Dec-2014 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 09-Dec-2014 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Zambia Project ID: P151451 Project Name: Zambia Rural Women Empowerment Project (P151451) Task Team Cornelia M. Tesliuc Leader: Estimated 30-Apr-2015 Estimated 29-May-2015 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: GSPDR Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Public administration- Other social services (100%) Theme(s): Social safety nets (35%), Other social protection and risk management (35%), Gender (30%) Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 50.00 Total Bank Financing: 50.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 50.00 Total 50.00 Environmental C - Not Required Category: Is this a No Repeater project? B. Project Objectives The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to increase income levels of extremely poor households benefitting from the project. C. Project Description The Project proposes an integrated approach to support extremely poor women and adolescent girls as key agents to undertake actions to reduce vulnerabilities and increase opportunities for the entire family. The Project is based on a theory of change that hypothesizes that when women and adolescent girls are empowered by acquiring social and economic skills and productive assets they can draw on these to improve their family consumption, build savings, and invest in their children's (especially daughters) education and well-being. At the same time, investments to expand the real O U and perceived educational and livelihood opportunities available to poor adolescent girls can make delays in early marriage more economically viable for their families. Given the country context, as outlined above, the Project will be selective in targeting extremely poor women and adolescent girls in rural areas where poverty and vulnerability are most acute. The proposed design reflects Government's social protection vision for extremely poor households, which emphasizes predictable cash transfers for labor-constrained households and economic empowerment support for the extremely poor with the potential to engage in income generating activities. Under Component 1, the Project would support expansion of the existing SCTS, under which targeted households are identified as in need of long-term, sustained support because of extreme poverty coupled with labor-constraints (defined as a labor-dependency ratio greater than three because of high number of children, disability, or chronic illness). The predictable cash transfers aim to reduce poverty and the intergenerational transmission of poverty through consumption smoothing and human capital development. Under Component 2, the Project would also support the extremely poor, but with a focus on women with the potential to engage in productive livelihoods. The Government envisions that such an intervention would foster economic and social empowerment and have long-lasting impacts on well-being and standards of living. As noted above, although many such projects are under implementation, coverage remains limited, delivery is affected by limited implementation capacity, and there is little coordination or complementarity to promote synergies among these interventions. Under Component 3, the Project would support strengthening institutional capacity in terms of policy dialogue, coordination, management systems, and monitoring and evaluation to effectively undertake social protection and women's empowerment activities. The following figure provides a summary of the proposed Project components. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The Project will target women and adolescent girls in extremely poor households in rural areas. The Project will identify these beneficiaries by building on the targeting mechanism developed for the ongoing Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCTS). The SCTS uses a three-stage targeting mechanism combining geographical targeting, community-based targeting, and verification through a proxy means test. At the geographical level, targeting could be conducted on the basis of a poverty map at sub-district level. A poverty map using the 2010 Census and Household Survey Data is being developed by Central Statistical Office with support from the World Bank and should be ready in October 2014. The poverty map will provide poverty estimates down to the lowest administrative level (ward) allowing prioritization of areas with high incidence of extreme poverty. At the beneficiary level, the Project will target both women from SCTS households (extremely poor, labor- constrained households) with potential for engaging in incoming generating activities as well as women in households identified by SCTS as extremely poor but not eligible for the cash transfer benefit because of their households' labor endowment. The SCTS defines labor-constrained households based on chronic illness, physical disability or a labor-dependency ration greater than three. E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies Project preparation will include a review of the Government's existing livelihood support programs to assess the institutional capacity of the relevant ministries. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team O U Albab Akanda (GENDR) Paula F. Lytle (GSURR) o II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ TBD The Project proposes, under Component 2, to BP 4.01 provide support to extremely poor, rural women by improving their opportunities for income generating activities through a package of training and financial support. Project preparation will include a gender assessment study to understand the types of income generating activities that potential beneficiaries are already undertaking. The types of activities and their scale (which are expected to be limited to the household level) will help determine whether the Project would trigger Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01. This study is expected to be completed by January 2015. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No The project will not affect or involve natural habitats. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No The project will not affect or involve forests or forestry. Pest Management OP 4.09 No The project does not involve pest management. P hysical Cultural Resources OP/ No The project will not affect or involve physical BP 4.11 cultural resources. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 TBD During preparation, the Task Team will consult the Government to determine whether the Project's Component 1, which may be national in scale, would include targeting of the country's indigenous peoples (the San). These consultations will take place during the December 2014 preparation mission. Following the required input from Government, the Team will decide if it is appropriate to trigger Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP No The project does not involve land acquisition 4.12 leading to involuntary resettlement and/or restrictions of access to resources and livelihoods. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No N/A Projects on International No N/A Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No N/A 7.60 III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 15-Jan-2015 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timingi should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: The Project is conducting a gender assessment study that will, among other objectives, seek to develop a detailed list of income generating activities in which potential beneficiaries are currently engaged. This list will help determine whether supporting the increased productivity of these livelihoods is likely to have an effect on the safeguard polices triggered by this Project. An initial draft of this research is expected by December 2014, with the final report ready by January 2015. The next Project preparation mission will be conducted in early December 2014 and would determine whether any additional safeguard-related studies will be required. IV. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Cornelia M. Tesliuc Approved By: Regional Safeguards Name: Alexandra C. Bezeredi (RSA) Date: 09-Dec-2014 Coordinator: Practice Manager/ Name: Manuel Salazar (PMGR) Date: 09-Dec-2014 Manager: 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.