Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Directorate of Technical Education www.techedu.gov.bd SMALL ETHNIC & VULNERABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK (SEVCDF) FOR Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED) Ministry of Education (MoE) June 2020 Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |2 TABLE OF CONTENT Executive Summary............................................................................................................................ 3 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Project Description and Components ................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Small Ethnic Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) ............................................................. 6 1.3. Approval and Public Disclosure ............................................................................................................ 6 1.4. Small Ethnic Communities in National Context .................................................................................... 6 1.5. Small Ethnic Communities in the Project Area ..................................................................................... 8 1.6. Constitutional Rights of Small Ethnic Communities ............................................................................. 9 1.7. Legal and Regulatory Framework ......................................................................................................... 9 1.8. Other Relevant Laws and Policies ....................................................................................................... 10 1.9. World Bank Policy on Indigenous Peoples.......................................................................................... 10 2. SMALL ETHNIC AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK ............................ 11 2.1. Scope and Objectives of SEVCDF ........................................................................................................ 11 2.2. Project’s SEVC Development Policy .................................................................................................... 11 2.3. Small Ethnic Communities Development Plan ................................................................................... 11 2.4. Contents of SEVCDP ............................................................................................................................ 12 2.5. Socioeconomic Characteristics & Concerns........................................................................................ 13 2.6. Inclusion Criteria ................................................................................................................................. 13 3. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION ............................................................................. 15 3.1. SEVC Participation and Consultation Plan .......................................................................................... 15 3.2. Meaningful Consultation .................................................................................................................... 16 3.3. Institutional Arrangement .................................................................................................................. 16 3.4. Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) ............................................................................................... 17 3.5. Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................................. 18 List of Annexes Annex 1: Technical Guidelines for Consultation and Preparation of SEVCDP ...................................... 19 Annex 2: Preliminary Screening of Small Ethnic Communities ............................................................ 23 Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |3 Executive Summary The ‘Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET)’ project will help Bangladesh build a highly skilled labour force in priority sectors, aligned to the future of work, and inclusive of women and disadvantaged groups. The project will contribute to achieving this goal by addressing the demand and supply sides of the skills eco-system together: (i) equipping youth and workers with skills that fit the future of work and better employment, and connecting them with the labour market more efficiently, (ii) shifting skills system to be responsive, agile, and demand-driven, and (iii) lifting the skills and labour market outcomes for women and the most disadvantaged groups. The project will embrace a range of new and innovative approaches, building on experience of the two previous projects (STEP and NARI), to enhance the skills development in Bangladesh to be market-driven and inclusive. The World Bank’s ESSF on SEVCs is triggered for this Project. In compliance with the ESSF 7, a Small Ethnic and Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) has been developed to ensure that SEVCs would be sufficiently and meaningfully consulted leading to their Meaningful Consultation to project interventions, that they would have equal opportunity to share the project benefits, and that any potential negative impacts are avoided, minimized and the residual impacts are properly mitigated. The SEVCDF will form a basis for project implementation and monitoring and evaluation of how the project deals with the SEVC issues. At the project implementation stage, Small Ethnic and Vulnerable Community Development Plan (SEVCDP) will be developed, based on this SEVCDF, once the sites for project interventions are identified with all relevant information and the beneficiaries are selected from the fishers and fisheries-dependent poor and vulnerable households and results of social screening confirmed presence of SEVCs among the targeted beneficiaries. Objectives of the SEVCDF are the following: • Screen all activities to determine the presence of SEVCs and, if so, ensure their direct participation in selection, design and implementation of the activities including any civil works; • Select sites and interventions and determine their scopes to avoid or minimize, to the extent feasible, adverse impacts; • Adopt socially and culturally appropriate measures to mitigate the unavoidable adverse impacts; and • Wherever feasible, adopt special measures – in addition to those for impact mitigation – to reinforce and promote any available opportunities for socio-economic development of the affected SEV communities. The Constitution of Bangladesh all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law. Nevertheless, some specific laws refer to small ethnic communities especially focusing the tribal peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) area, such as East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950, CHT Regulation of 1900, the Hill District Council Acts of 1989, the CHT Regional Council Act of 1998, and the Persons with Disabilities’ Rights and the Protection Act of 2013. The operating principles of the project would consider all these laws and regulations because of the development of the SEVCs. Since the SEVCs are amongst the poorest across the country, they will receive priority support in ASSET. The project will pay particular attention to the involvement of the SEVCs and based on full consideration of the options preferred by them. The project will create an opportunity for the active involvement of the SEVCs at each stage of its operation. The involvement of the SEVCs in planning, implementation and Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |4 monitoring of the programs meant for their development would be the cornerstone of SEVCDF strategy of the project. The SEVCDP will be prepared where project intervention will cover communities including the small ethnic and vulnerable groups. The SEVCDP will consider the ethnic and demographic characteristics of the project affected population; prevailing intuitions, such as family, religion, language and education; and other small ethnic community variables and social stigmas. This Plan will accommodate the local traditional leadership (as Headman, Karbari), and civil and NGOs in the implementation process of the project activities. The SEVCDP will be prepared for each village where the small ethnic minority population constitutes more than 5% of the village population. SEVCDPs will primarily aim at mitigating adverse impacts, and reinforcing and promoting any existing development opportunities in those SEVC villages and the project areas, along with addressing any gender issues. The overall SEVCDP will encompass the following aspects: 1. Baseline data and impacts, including analysis of cultural characteristics; social structure and economic activities; land tenure; customary and other rights to the use of natural resources; relationship with the local mainstream peoples; and other factors that have been suggested by SEVCs during consultations and are to be addressed in the SEVCDP and project design. 2. Strategy for disclosure and consultation, indicating timing of disclosure and consultation, and the participants, such as affected SE communities, SEVC organizations, and individuals and entities who could provide useful feedback and inputs. 3. Mitigation measures and activities, which will generally follow SEVC preferences and priorities, including those agreed between the SE communities/SEVC organizations and DTE/BMET/MOHFW. 4. Institutional capacity, considering DTE/BMET/MOHFW’s staff experience, consulting services, and SEVC and civil society organizations in designing and implementing SEVCDPs. 5. SEVCDP implementation schedule, taking into consideration minimizing disruption to the livelihood and other activities of SEVCs. 6. Monitoring and evaluation, with the participation of SEVC representatives and organizations, as well as other civil society organizations that may have been operating in these areas. 7. Financing the SEVCDP. Budgets and sources of funds needed to implement the mitigation measures and development activities agreed between the SEVCs and DTE/BMET/MOHFW. 8. The Project would also implement a social assistance program for increasing social and economic opportunities for SEVC. Such assistance programs will focus on: a) Increased access to information (A2I) and knowledge about health and nutrition, including women’s health, immunization services, personal hygiene, water and sanitation issues; literacy and leadership program; and human and legal rights, including child rights; b) Motivation towards increased participation, 'voice' and empowerment in working with local government bodies for local-level planning, decision making and monitoring, thereby decreasing social exclusion and improving local governance; and c) Increased economic opportunities for skill development and access to income creating assets. Finally, to ensure effective services in the SEVC areas, the project will ensure convergence and synergy with important line departments. The project will facilitate linkages with other poverty reduction programs, such as micro-finance; vulnerable groups development, legal literacy and human rights programs, as appropriate. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |5 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Project Description and Components The ASSET project will help Bangladesh build a highly skilled labour force in priority sectors, as identified nationally, aligned to the future of work, and inclusive of women and disadvantaged groups. The project will contribute to achieving this goal by addressing the demand and supply sides of the skills eco-system together: (i) equipping youth and workers with skills that fit the future of work and better employment, and connecting them with the labour market more efficiently, (ii) shifting skills system to be responsive, agile, and demand-driven, and (iii) lifting the skills and labour market outcomes for women and the most disadvantaged groups. The project will embrace a range of new and innovative approaches, building on experience of the two previous projects (STEP and NARI), to enhance the skills development in Bangladesh to be market-driven and inclusive: a. Mainstreaming private sector integration: Strong private sector participation through innovative multi-sectoral partnerships (including enterprise-based training) and innovative strategies for matching job-seekers to jobs; b. Tailored skills for targeted sectors: Focus on priority sectors and economic zones; c. Targeting the informal sector: Skills generation and entrepreneurship for the informal sector; d. Cutting-edge evidence and partnerships for inclusion: Use the latest insights from behavioural economics and leverage NGO/GO networks to improve outcomes for women and disadvantaged groups; and e. Harnessing disruptive technology throughout: to meet the emerging skill demands, for employment generation, for job matching, and to deliver training. Moreover, the project will prioritize the inclusiveness of women and the disadvantaged across all the components to ensure inclusive skills development programs. The project interventions aim to ensure catering to the needs of both present and future workforce through a robust private sector integration approach and holistic capacity development and filling the crucial access gaps in skills development for most disadvantaged population and informal sector workers through innovative partnerships. The implementation arrangement shows a combination of government entities, private sector integration, and GO-NGO partnership to maximize the development outcomes. To ensure adequate technical support to the multi-sectoral approach, the project is a collaboration of multiple GPs and will cover multiple ministries. The project will leverage and complement other Bank-supported ongoing interventions that focus on the demand side of the skills development ecosystem – private sector enterprise development. The project is designed to address the key issues affecting the skills development sector, as appropriate, derived from extensive analytical research, stakeholder consultation, and the Bank’s local and global experience. The project interventions are driven by three conceptual pillars: Fit, Shift & Lift. These three pillars are reflected in the component design, and each pillar targets different priority areas of the skills development sector, while the implementation mechanism of these interventions is carefully tailored to ensure the maximum outcome, to achieve the PDOs. In anticipation of growing risks from climate change, the country needs to take steps to enhance the capacity of a vulnerable population to mitigate the damage and adapt to the changes to their livelihoods and build the ability of industries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project will help develop the Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |6 skills of vulnerable populations, mitigate the negative consequences of climate change, including displacement and loss of livelihood. The project will also support skills training programs for enterprise workers and managers with a focus on more efficient use of resources and better environmental management to improve the resource efficiency and management of industrial production centres. The project will adopt a multi-sectoral program approach with an integrated implementation mechanism to address the critical issues of the skills eco-system holistically. The project will aim to address a range of critical development challenges of the skills development eco-system both from supply and demand sides and in different priority sectors. This will require the project to adopt a comprehensive systematic approach to encompass the whole skills eco-system. To this end, the project will utilize a project design and implementation mechanism that covers different relevant actors and partners from multiple sectors and on both supply and demand sides of the eco-system under one umbrella with an integrated implementing entity. The ASSET project has the following five (5) components: a) Component 0 [CERC] – Contingent Emergency Response Component b) Component 1 [Fit] - Generate Demand-Driven / Job-Linked Skills for Priority Sectors c) Component 2 [Shift] – Strengthen the Skill Eco-System to be Adaptable for Future Demands d) Component 3 [Lift] - Ensure that Skills Systems benefit the most disadvantaged e) Component 4 – Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation 1.2. Small Ethnic Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) In compliance with the ESS 7, this SEVCDF has been developed to ensure that SEVCs would be sufficiently and meaningfully consulted Meaningful Consultation the project interventions, that they would have equal opportunity to share the project benefits, and that any potential negative impacts are avoided, minimized and the residual impacts are properly mitigated. The SEVCDF will form a basis for project implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of how the project deals with SEVC issues. At the project implementation stage, SEVCDP will be developed, based on this SEVCDF, and results of social screening confirmed the presence of small ethnic and vulnerable communities among the targeted beneficiaries. 1.3. Approval and Public Disclosure The draft SEVCDF is prepared by the GoB through the DTE. The draft SEVCDF will be shared with the World Bank for formal review and clearance before final disclosure in the websites of DTE. A summary of the SEVCDF will be translated into Bangla language and disclosed with the main SEVCDF document by DTE. The final draft of SEVCDF will be also disclosed on the World Bank’s website before the appraisal. 1.4. Small Ethnic Communities in National Context Bangladesh is religiously, ethnically, and linguistically homogeneous. Its population of nearly 163 million (estimated 2016) comprised of roughly 90 per cent Muslim, with about 7% Hindus and others mainly following Buddhism and Christianity. Close to 99 per cent people speak Bangla. The overwhelming numbers of people are ethnic Bengalis although they are a mixed group containing Aryan, Dravidian, Mongoloid and other racial traits. However, across its territory, many minority groups inhabit most of whom continue to keep their distinct ethnic traits, social institutions and organizations, and cultural traditions. Despite the subjugation of religion, components of primitiveness are emphatically shown in Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |7 their ceremonies, customs and regular life. Some of the ethnic groups follow matrilineal traditions. Many of them could be taken as ‘small ethnic community peoples’ as defined in various UN instruments. The Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institution Act, 2010 uses the term “Khudro Nrigoshthhi� (small ethnic groups) to refer to the small ethnic community peoples. However, in the definitions section, when explaining the meaning of the term “khudronrigoshthhi�, it uses the term “adibashi�, the Bengali equivalent of small ethnic community or aboriginal. A 2011 amendment to the Constitution refers to the small ethnic community peoples of Bangladesh as “tribes�, “minor races� and “ethnic SEVCs and communities�. According to the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, apex advocacy and a networking organization of the ethnic minorities, 3 million tribal peoples are residing in Bangladesh. By any estimate, tribal peoples constitute no more than between 1-2% of the total population of Bangladesh. The total number of small ethnic community groups is also a matter of much disagreement. The 1991 census mentions 29 groups. The recently adopted Small Ethnic Minority Cultural Institution Act (April 2010) mentions 27 different groups which are at present under revision and proposes 50 different groups. The Bangladesh Adivasi Forum includes as many as 45 small ethnic community groups as per one of their publications (Solidarity, 2003). A proposed draft law, called Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, by Bangladesh Parliamentary Caucus on Small ethnic community Peoples – a group of parliamentarians who advocate for the rights of the country’s ethnic minority/small ethnic community peoples – enlists as many as 59 distinct ethnic minority groups. Yet a further study (2015) commissioned by UNDP for mapping different ‘small ethnic community peoples’ communities’ could not draw a ‘definitive conclusion’ on the exact number. The reason stems partly from a vibrant movement of ethnic minority communities in recent years – particularly since the signing of the CHT Accord in December 1997 - with more marginalized groups increasingly becoming aware and assertive of their identity. Notwithstanding the confusion about the exact number of the ethnic minority groups in Bangladesh, the project, for its interventions, will adopt the World Bank’s criteria for the identification of the small ethnic community peoples (i.e. ethnic minorities) which are as follows; • self-identification as members of a distinct small ethnic community cultural group and recognition of this identity by others; • collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and the natural resources in these habitats and territories; • customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and • a distinct language, often different from the official language of the country/ region. Although the ethnic minorities are scattered all over Bangladesh, they are overwhelmingly concentrated in several geographical pockets; namely North-West (Rajshahi & Dinajpur), North-East (Sylhet), Central region (Dhaka and Mymensingh), South (Barishal & Patuakhali), with the most significant concentration in the south-eastern corner – the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Project will generate substantial direct short and longer-term benefits for the ethnic, poor, including disadvantaged men and women. The locations of the Project’s physical components - roads, markets, rural waterways and ghats –have been selected to create efficient rural transportation and socio- economic networks and to improve rural-urban connectivity. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |8 1.5. Small Ethnic Communities in the Project Area The project covers the whole of Bangladesh. The primary census report of 20111 gives the number of ethnic population groups of Bangladesh as 27. The first is Chakma, consisting of 444,748 people while the Marma, the second largest ethnic group compares with 202,974 persons. However different rights- based organizations claim that more than 45 ethnic minorities lived in Bangladesh before Independence in 1971 (Barman and Neo, 2014).2 There are also disagreements over the size of the ethnic population. The latest population survey in 2011 shows that ethnic minorities represent 1.10 per cent of the population in Bangladesh, in other words, a total of 1,586,141 citizens. However, ethnic minorities claim that the exact number is closer to 2 million (Barman and Neo, 2014). Not only are there differences in statistical estimations but the latest censuses exclude questions about ethnic minorities. In other words, we have no updates on the ethnic population since 1991. They are concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and around Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Rajshahi. They are of Sino-Tibetan descent and differ markedly in their social customs, religion, language and level of development. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages and most are Buddhist or Hindu. The four largest tribes are Chakmas, Marmas, Tipperas, Tanchangya, and Mros. Smaller groups include the Santals in Rajshahi and Dinajpur, and Khasis, Garos, and Khajons in Mymensingh and Sylhet regions.3 There are small communities of Meitei people in the Sylhet district, which is close to the Meitei homeland across the border in Manipur, India. There is a small population of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar near the border in the southeast. There are 28,000 living in two UN refugee camps in Cox's Bazar as well as some 200,000 "unregistered people of concern" living outside of the camps. The refugee crisis originated in the early 1990s when the first wave numbering some 250,000 of the predominantly Muslim ethnic group fled persecution from their home in Rakhine—Myanmar's western-most state. Bangladesh seeks to repatriate the refugees back to Myanmar.4 The vast majority (about 98.5%) of Bangladeshis are of the Bengali ethnolinguistic group. This group also spans the neighbouring Indian province of West Bengal. Minority ethnic groups include Meitei, Tripura, Marma, Tanchangya, Barua, Khasi, Santhals, Chakma, Rakhine people, Garo, Biharis, Oraons, Mundas and Rohingyas.5 Communities of Persian and Iranic peoples mainly reside in the city of Chittagong and are the descendants of migrants that immigrated during the Pakistani dominion over Bangladesh, and also from the British Partition of 1947. Some are descendants of the Persian settlers during the medieval era of 1 http://bbs.dhaka.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.dhaka.gov.bd/law_policy/6ed6b42c_2015_11e7_8f57_286e d488c766/Socio-Economic%20and%20demographic%20Report%202012.pdf 2 Barman, D.C and Neo, M.S. 2014. Human Rights Report 2013 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh. Published by Kapaeeng Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 3 Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity, Bangladesh: A Country Study, Edited by James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1989. 4 https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BD/languages 5 https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/Languages Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e |9 the Bengal Sultanate, most Iranic peoples living in Chittagong are either mainly or fully integrated into Bengali society, and have even influenced the Chittagonian language as a whole.6 Biharis are Urdu-speaking, non-Bengalis who emigrated from the state of Bihar and other parts of northern India during the 1947 partition. They are concentrated in the Dhaka and Rangpur areas and number some 300,000.7 In the 1971 independence war, many of them sided with Pakistan, as they stood to lose their positions in the upper levels of society. Hundreds of thousands went to Pakistan and those that remained were interned in refugee camps. Their population declined from about 1 million in 1971 to 600,000 in the late 1980s. Refugees International has called them a "neglected and stateless" people as they are denied citizenship by the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan. As nearly 40 years have passed, two generations of Biharis have been born in these camps. Biharis were granted Bangladeshi citizenship and voting rights in 2008.8 Major Ethnic Groups Districts Marma, Chakma, Tanchingy, Sak, Shendu,Tipura, Mro, Chittagong Hill Tracts Khyang, Bawn (Banjago and Pankho), Khomi and Lushai Santal, Oraon, Munda, Pahari, Rajbonsi and Koch Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Pabna, and Kushtia Khasias, Meithei, (Manipuri), Pathro and Tipra Sylhet Garo, Koch, Hojong Mymensingh, Jamalpur and Tangail 1.6. Constitutional Rights of Small Ethnic Communities Article 27 of the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh states that all citizens are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law. The national Constitution also outlaws discrimination on grounds of race, religion and place of birth (Article 28) and provides scope for affirmative action (positive discrimination) in favour of the backward section of citizens (Articles 28, 29). Consequent upon these provisions, a small percentage of public sector jobs and seats in several government educational institutions are reserved for SEVC peoples. 1.7. Legal and Regulatory Framework Besides, some specific laws refer to SEVCs especially focusing the tribal peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) area. In the plains, the only one of such laws is section 97 of the East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950 which forbids the transfer of lands owned by aboriginals to non- aboriginal persons without the express consent of the Government’s District Officer. The CHT, in contrast, has a far larger body of laws that refers directly to small ethnic community peoples. Some of these laws recognize small ethnic community peoples’ customs regarding the ownership and use of lands and other natural resources. The most important of such laws is the CHT Regulation of 1900. Other laws include the Hill District Council Acts of 1989 and the CHT Regional Council Act of 1998. The last-mentioned laws were passed after the signing of the peace accord of 1997, which ended more 6 http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Chittagong_City 7 http://www.dwatch-bd.org/ggtp/Research%20Reports/research3.pdf 8 https://web.archive.org/web/20070614045741/http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/publication/detail /7828/ Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 10 than twenty years of armed conflict and provided a framework for the recognition and strengthening of the CHT self-government system. 1.8. Other Relevant Laws and Policies Under the provision of the Constitution, Bangladesh Government has enacted different Acts, Ordinances and Policies to protect and promote the diversity of the wide range of cultural expressions viz, Antiquities Act, 1968, Bangla Academy Ordinance 1978, National Archive Ordinance 1983, Bangladesh National Museum Ordinance 1983, Nazrul Institute Ordinance 1984, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Act 1989, Bangladesh Folk Art and Crafts Foundation Act 1998, Copyright Act 2000, Bangladesh National Cultural Policy 2006, Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Organization Act 2010 etc. It is noteworthy that for the last 40 years Bangladesh Government has been working for many of the principles, depicted in the UNESCO Convention 2005. 1.9. World Bank Policy on Indigenous Peoples The World Bank policy on indigenous peoples requires that the development process fully respects the dignity, human rights, economies, and cultures of indigenous peoples. The Bank provides project financing only where free, prior, and informed consultation results in broad community support to the project by the affected indigenous peoples. Such Bank-financed projects include measures to (a) avoid potentially adverse effects on the indigenous communities; or (b) when avoidance is not feasible, minimize, mitigate, or compensate for such effects. Bank-financed projects are also designed to ensure that the indigenous peoples receive social and economic benefits that are culturally appropriate and gender and inter-generationally inclusive. Bangladesh recognizes the right of SEVCs to cultural expressions, education, training, health, environment, land, agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, tourism and industry. They are generally treated equally as mainstream citizens. However, there are some gaps as captured in the social assessment presented in the ESMF. The SEVCDP, therefore, will be prepared based on the World Bank’s ESS7 by taking into consideration relevant Bangladesh policies and regulations. A clear mechanism of consultation respecting the social and cultural traditions of the ethnic communities will be used in the entire cycle of the Project to seek broad support of the Project from the SEVCs. A Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) will be also established before the implementation of the project so that every SEVC members can bring his/her voice, complaint or any un-satisfaction about the project. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 11 2. SMALL ETHNIC AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK 2.1. Scope and Objectives of SEVCDF The proposed SEVCDF outlines principles, policies, guidelines and the procedure to identify impact issues and potential risks and, if required, formulate and execute the SEVCDP, whenever project activities affect small ethnic communities present in the project districts. The primary objective is to ensure that the road improvement and other works funded by the Bank do not adversely affect SEVCs and that they receive culturally compatible social and economic benefits. This will require DTE to work with the following strategic objectives: ▪ Screen all activities to determine the presence of SEVCs and, if so, ensure their direct participation in selection, design and implementation of the activities including any civil works; ▪ Select sites and interventions and determine their scopes to avoid or minimize, to the extent feasible, adverse impacts; ▪ Adopt socially and culturally appropriate measures to mitigate the unavoidable adverse impacts; and ▪ Wherever feasible, adopt special measures – in addition to those for impact mitigation – to reinforce and promote any available opportunities for socio-economic development of the affected SE communities. 2.2. Project’s SEVC Development Policy Following the Bank’s requirements, the project proposes the following principles, guidelines and procedure to prepare SEVCDP, where project activities and interventions are found to affect the SEVCs in positive or negative directions. To avoid or minimize adverse impacts and, at the same time, ensure culturally appropriate benefits, DTE, BMET and MOHFW (co-implementors) and as well as other IAs, will apply the following basic principles in selection, design and implementation of the subprojects. ▪ Ensure that SEVCs in general and their organizations are fully included in the project process including identification and selection of beneficiaries. ▪ Carefully screen the sub-projects, together with SEVCs, for a preliminary understanding of the nature and magnitude of potential adverse impacts, and explore alternatives to avoid or minimize them. ▪ Where alternatives are infeasible and adverse impacts are unavoidable, immediately assess the key impact issues, together with SEVCs and others knowledgeable of tribal culture and concerns. ▪ Undertake the necessary tasks to identify the impact details and the most appropriate mitigation measures, through intensive consultations with the affected tribal communities, tribal organizations, civil society organization like NGOs and CBOs, professionals, and the like. ▪ Do not undertake a subproject/activity where the tribal communities remain unconvinced to offer broad support for the project. 2.3. Small Ethnic Communities Development Plan Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 12 The SEVCDP will be prepared where project activities will affect this distinct community either positively or negatively. DTE along with the BMET, the MOHFW and under them other agencies including skill development institutes, NGOs and private sector institutions will consider the following for preparation of the SEVCDP: ▪ The ethnic and demographic characteristics of the affected population; ▪ The prevailing intuitions as family, religion, language and education and other SEVC variables and social stigma; ▪ This Plan will accommodate the local traditional leadership (as Headman, Karbari), gender issues, and civil and NGOs in their implementation plan; ▪ The positive and negative impacts on the prevailing institutions; both formal and informal; and ▪ To ensure adequate and appropriate consultation and communication, and their participation and approval of their implementation of project inputs and mitigation plan. Given the above considerations and following the Bank’s requirements, the project proposes the following principles, guidelines and procedure to prepare SEVCDP, where project activities are found to affect SEVCs. To avoid or minimize adverse impacts and, at the same time, ensure culturally appropriate benefits, DTE/BMET/MOHFW will apply the following basic principles in selection, design and implementation of the project activities and programs. ▪ Ensure that SEVCs in general and their organizations are fully included in the selection of sites for project interventions as well as their beneficiaries, and design and implementation of the activities. ▪ Carefully screen the project activities proposed on-site, together with SEVCs, for a preliminary understanding of the nature and magnitude of potential adverse impacts, and explore alternatives to avoid or minimize them. ▪ Where alternatives are infeasible and adverse impacts are unavoidable, immediately assess the key impact issues, together with SEVCs and others knowledgeable of SEVC culture and concerns. ▪ Undertake the necessary tasks to identify the impact details and the most appropriate mitigation measures, through intensive consultations with the affected SEVCs, SEVC organizations, civil society organization like NGOs and CBOs, professionals, and the like. ▪ Not undertake a project activity on a site, where the SEVCs remain unconvinced to offer broad support for the project. The SEVCDP will be prepared for each district where the small ethnic minority and vulnerable population constitutes more than 5% of the population. The objectives of the SEVCDP are: ▪ To evolve a development process which fosters full respect for dignity, human rights and cultural integrity of SEVCs; ▪ To ensure that they do not suffer adverse effects during the development process; and ▪ To take up economic benefit programs which are culturally and socially compatible. 2.4. Contents of SEVCDP SEVCDPs will primarily aim at mitigating adverse impacts, and reinforcing and promoting any existing development opportunities in the project areas, with emphasis on the SEVCs who would be directly affected. The elements and contents of the SEVCDP are provided in Annex 1. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 13 2.5. Socioeconomic Characteristics & Concerns Baseline data and identification of social concerns will primarily focus on the cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of SEVCs and the potential vulnerability that might be caused by the proposed subproject activities. Data on the following socioeconomic characteristics are expected to indicate the nature and scale of adverse impacts and provide the essential inputs for SEVCDP. 2.5.1. Social & Cultural Characteristics ▪ Relationships with areas where they live -- relating to religious/cultural affinity with the ancestral lands, existence and use of livelihood opportunities etc. ▪ Use of any SEVC languages for social interactions and their use in reading materials and instruction in formal/informal educational institutions in SEVC localities. ▪ Food habits/items that may differ from non- SEVC peoples and the extent to which they are naturally available for free or can only be grown in the SEVC territories, and which are considered important sources of protein and other health needs of SEVCs. ▪ Interactions and relationships with other SEVC groups in the same and other areas. ▪ Presence of customary social and political organizations – characteristics indicating internal organization and cohesion of the communities, and their interaction with those of the non- SEVC population in these areas. ▪ Presence of SEVC organizations, like community-based organizations (CBOs)/NGOs, working with SEVC development issues, and their relationships with mainstream organizations engaged in community development activities. ▪ Other cultural aspects are likely to be affected or made vulnerable by the proposed project. 2.5.2. Economic Characteristics ▪ Prevailing land tenure -- indicating legal ownership and other arrangements that allow them to reside in and cultivate or otherwise use lands in their areas. ▪ Access to natural resources - prevailing conditions under which SEVCs are using natural resources like forests, water bodies, and others that are considered important sources of livelihood. ▪ Occupational structure - indicating the relative importance of the households’ present economic activities, and the extent to which they might be affected or benefited because of the proposed subproject activities. ▪ Level of market participation -- engagement in activities that produce marketable goods and services, and how and to what extent market participants would be affected or enhanced by the project activities. 2.6. Inclusion Criteria The project, for its interventions, will adopt the World Bank’s criteria for the identification of the small ethnic community and vulnerable peoples which are as follows; • self-identification as members of a distinct small ethnic community cultural group and recognition of this identity by others; Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 14 • collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and the natural resources in these habitats and territories; • customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and • distinct language, often different from the official language of the country/ region. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 15 3. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION 3.1. SEVC Participation and Consultation Plan Participation of SEVCs in the selection, designing and implementation of project activities will largely determine the extent to which the SEVCDF objectives will be achieved. Where adverse impacts on SEVCs are likely, DTE will undertake consultations with the affected SEVCs and those who work with and/or are knowledgeable of SEVC development issues and concerns. To facilitate effective participation, DTE/BMET/MOHFW will follow a time-table to consult the would-be affected SEVC at different stages of the project cycle. The primary objectives are to examine whether there is broad community consensus in support of the project activities and sites and to seek community inputs/feedback to avoid or minimize the impacts associated with the chosen activities; identify the impact mitigation measures; and assess and adopt economic opportunities which DTE could promote to complement the measures required to mitigate the adverse impacts. Consultations will be broadly divided into two parts. Before selection of a sub-project activity located in an area predominantly inhabited by SEVCs, DTE/BMET/MOHFW will consult the SEVC about the need for, and the probable positive and negative impacts of, the project interventions for fisheries production and management development and other works. Before detailed assessment of the impacts at household and community levels, the main objectives of consultation at this stage would be to ascertain (i) how the SEVC, in general, perceive of the need for undertaking the project activities in question and any inputs/feedback they might offer for better outcomes; (ii) whether or not the communities broadly support the works proposed under the project; and (iii) any conditions based on which the SEVC may have provided broad support to the project, which is to be addressed in the SEVCDP and project design. To ensure meaningful consultation, DTE and as well as the other IAs will: • Ensure widespread participation of SEVC with adequate gender and generational representation; customary/traditional SEVC organizations; community elders/leaders; and civil society organizations like NGOs and CBOs; and groups knowledgeable of SEVC development issues and concerns. • Provide them with all relevant information about the project, including that on potential adverse impacts, organize and conduct these consultations in a manner to ensure full coverage of SEVCs in the project areas and free expression of their views and preferences. • Document and share with the Bank the details of all community consultation meetings, with SEVC perceptions of the proposed works and the associated impacts, especially the adverse ones; any inputs/feedbacks offered by SEVCs; and the minutes stating the conditions that have been agreed during the consultations and provided the basis for broad-based community support for the project. Once broad-based community consensus is established in favour of the project activities, DTE/BMET/MOHFA will assess the impact details at the household and community levels, with focus on the adverse impacts perceived by the SEVCs and the probable (and feasible) mitigation and community development measures. To ensure continuing informed participation and more focused discussions, DTE/BMET/MOHFW will provide SEVCs with the impact details, both positive and adverse, of the proposed project activities. The disclosure of SEVCDP will be done in local language through face Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 16 to face meetings and involving inter-generational representations. Times for disclosure and consultation will be set in line with the available time of the SEVCs. Other than those that are technical, consultations will cover topics/areas as suggested below and those the SEVCs consider important. Beginning with those for broad-based support for the project activities, community consultations will continue throughout the preparation and implementation period, with an increasing focus on the households which would be directly affected. Consultation timing, probable participants, methods, and expected outcomes are suggested in a matrix in Annex 1. Project staff and implementing agencies working i n the SEVC areas would be oriented towards SEVC culture and development issues to enable them to appreciate the importance of SEVC culture while working with them. 3.2. Meaningful Consultation Participation is a process through which stakeholders’ influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them. The decision to participate is the start of the whole participatory process in the project cycle. National Policy on the development of the SEVC does not provide a clear guideline for public consultation. However, the World Bank’ ESS 7 provides clear guidance and direction to project proponents in both the public and private sectors, on the need for public consultation and participation and underscore the importance of getting project influenced SEVC informed about the project and, more importantly, getting their actual and active involvement in the planning and implementation. DTE, BMET, and MOHFW will follow a meaningful consultation approach in engaging with the SEVC in the project process. All communications will be in local language made in advance to enable the SEVC to participate in the consultation process. Their views and voices expressed in the consultation process will be given due consideration to incorporate those in project design and implementation approaches. 3.3. Institutional Arrangement Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) will be the lead executing agency for the project and will house the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) responsible for day-to-day implementation and M&E. A Technical Implementation Group (TIG), consisting of technical staff, will be responsible for technical guidance and coordination at interdepartmental and interagency levels, provision of technical assistance to DTE’s front- line offices and outside executing partners at the district and sub-district levels, and overseeing technical implementation quality. The overall goal of the TIG is to ensure the technical quality, consistency in approaches, and knowledge exchange. The TIG will consist of an Environmental Specialist, Social Development Specialist, Labor Management and Community Health Specialist, GBV Management/Gender Specialist and Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Specialist. To retain and build on the DTE technical capacity, DTE’s divisions will be tapped for technical knowledge regularly. Led by a DTE-appointed Project Director (PD) who will report to the DG of DTE. MoE will establish a Project Steering Committee (PSC), chaired by the Secretary and including representation from the other relevant line Ministries to provide supervision and policy guidance and facilitate inter- ministerial collaboration on reform agenda. The PSC will oversee project implementation and will act Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 17 upon project-related issues based on agreed terms of reference included in the Project Operations Manual (POM). The implementation of the SEVCDF and any SEVCDP along with other social management plans is the responsibility of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the DTE where the Social Development Specialist will play the key role. Since DTE doesn’t have the in-house capacity, the project will hire the services of a Social Development Specialist (SDS) to support DTE in implementation of the social management plans. The role and responsibility will be as below: Table: Roles and Responsibilities of PIU, DTE Levels Roles and Responsibilities Social Development • Review relevant legal and policy framework and social development and safeguards Specialist planning frameworks; • Review design and conduct subproject level social screening, social impact assessment and preparation of social management plans. • Coordinate and facilitate all activities contained in SEVCDF and any social management plans with the help of the Consultant. • Assist in the process of supervision and monitoring of the implementation of SMF and the subsequent social management plans; • Help affected persons and communities in the grievance resolution process involving the project GRM; • Collect data, consult the communities and targeted beneficiaries and prepare monthly progress reports and participate in monthly review meetings; • Participate in the training program for capacity building; and • Carry out other responsibilities as required from time to time. 3.4. Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) For addressing grievances, a two-tier Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be established. The SDS in the PIU will be the contact person at DTE. In case the issue is not resolved, the aggrieved person has the option to adopt the judicial procedure. In cases where vulnerable persons are unable to access the legal system, the GoB will provide legal support to the vulnerable person(s). As well as, the PIU will assist the vulnerable person(s) in getting this support from the GoB. The PIU will also ensure that there is no cost imposed (such as for travel and accommodation) on the aggrieved person if the person belongs to the vulnerable groups. The verdict of the judiciary will be final. Finally, representatives from the small ethnic and vulnerable communities will be included for active participation in the GRM process both at national and at the local level. The project-specific GRM is summarized in the table below: Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 18 Table: The Grievance Redressal Mechanism Tiers of GRM Nodal Person for Contact Facilitation by Project Time frame to redress First Tier: Once the c o m m i t t e e is created, it will The committee will maintain a 15 days Institution-based be the first level of contact in specific Community Information B o a rd maximum Committee i.e. Local- grievance related to the management of to record the grievance, level GRC the project or any other issue related to contacting and facilitating the access and adverse impacts on the aggrieved person to redress project beneficiaries Second Tier: The grievance will be forwarded to the Only after exhausting the first 30 days Directorate of Technical SDS at the PIU. tier. Website advertisement, maximum Education (DTE) – SDS of public notices in print media. the Project The aggrieved person can attend Implementation Unit the hearing in person. The (PIU). Institution’s Responsible Person will be responsible to ensure that there is no cost imposed (such as for travel, etc.) on the aggrieved person if the person belongs to the vulnerable groups, the project will assist her/ him with travel and accommodation costs if needed OR the Judiciary Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by Sub-project interventions may submit complaints to existing project-level GRM or the WB Grievance Redress Service (GRS). Project affected communities and individuals may also submit their complaint to the World Bank’s independent Inspection Panel. For information on how to submit complaints to the WB Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. Any disclosure instrument on GRM will provide addresses of the GRS and the Inspection Panel. 3.5. Monitoring and Evaluation The DTE is primarily responsible for monitoring to ensure conformity to the requirements of the SEVCDF. The monitoring will cover all stages of planning and implementation. The monitoring will be carried out through the compliance reports that will form a part of Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) and regular visits by the Social Safeguard Coordinator of the PIU. During implementation, meetings will be organized by DTE and SDF inviting all actors for providing information on the progress of the project work. Below list indicators for social monitoring of the SEVCDF implementation: (1) Presence of SEVC in the influence areas of project interventions; (2) Number of SEVC by gender and age affected; (3) Number of SEVC participate in project beneficiary groups; (4) Level of satisfaction expressed by the SEVC on the project process, input, output and outcomes; (5) Participation of the SEVC in project process using meaningful consultation. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 19 Annex 1: Technical Guidelines for Consultation and Preparation of SEVCDP The consultation framework is designed to help to ensure that indigenous peoples are well informed, consulted and mobilized to participate in the investments to be supported under the project. Their participation will not only make school management more sustainable but also provide benefits with more certainty, or protect them from any potential adverse impacts of investments to be financed by the project. The main features/process of the consultation framework include an environmental and social impact assessment to determine the degree and nature of impact supported by the project. A Small Ethnic Community Development Plan (SEVCDP) will be developed if small ethnic communities are found to be present in or have a collective attachment to areas affected under the respective project intervention. Consultations with and participation of small ethnic communities, their leaders and local government officials will be an integral part of the overall SEVCDP, which should be prepared along with other required project reports. A process involving small ethnic communities would provide a comprehensive baseline data on social, economic and technical aspects of each investment particularly for those areas that have been identified with ethnic groups during the project screening (preparation). This also includes participatory mapping to determine exact sites and communities and location of small ethnic communities. The checklist for screening small ethnic communities with characteristics as provided in the Bank ESS 7 will indicate whether or not the small ethnic communities exist in the project area and further identify potential social issues on small ethnic communities because of the investments. The DTE, BMET and MOHFW will undertake specific measures to consult with, and allow small ethnic communities to participate in decision making related to the investments, should they so desire. All target communities that have small ethnic mix and are candidates for project support will be visited (at the time of the first consultation with communities) by the PIU’s team including social safeguard focal person and relevant local authorities, including personnel with appropriate social science training or experience. Before the visit, the PIU will send notice to the communities informing their leaders that they will be visited by the respective focal person and local authorities and that consultation will be conducted to seek the support of the project intervention and to determine potential adverse impacts as well as possible support from the project to address the potential impact. The notice will request that the communities shall invite to the meeting representatives of fishers and other occupational groups, women association and community leaders. During the visit, the community leaders and other participants will present their views with regards to the proposed activities. The project will identify and utilize the existing community grievance mechanism to take into account specific cultural attributes as well as traditional-cultural mechanisms for raising and resolving issues— to ensure that the concerns of different ethnic groups are received and addressed during project preparation, implementation and beyond project completion. To achieve this, projects would (a) identify and determine culturally acceptable ways to address grievances from significantly different ethnic groups within affected communities, including different ethnic or cultural groups within the project- affected area; (b) understand cultural attributes, customs, and traditions that may influence or impede their ability to express their grievances, including differences in the roles and responsibilities of sub- groups (especially women) and cultural sensitivities and taboos; and (c) agree on the best way to access grievance mechanisms, taking into consideration the ways communities express and deal with grievances. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 20 At this visit, the PIU’s focal person or relevant official with social expertise will undertake a screening for indigenous peoples with the help of indigenous people leaders and local authorities. The screening will check for the following: a) Names of ethnic groups in the target/affected villages/community; b) Total number of ethnic groups in the affected villages/community; c) Percentage of ethnic people in affected villages/communities; and d) Number and percentage of ethnic households within a described zone of influence of the proposed investments. Once target communities have been selected by the DTE thorough screening process and impact on small ethnic communities is potential a social impact assessment will be conducted using an inventory of affected assets, impact on their occupations and income, baseline socioeconomic survey and consultation. Social and economic profile of the beneficiary population or project-affected people will be collected. Free, prior and informed consultations will be carried out for each of the beneficiary/affected communities/villages and the respective communities, ascertaining their broad support and determining the potential impacts and possible support under the Project. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 21 SOCIAL ASSESSMENTS In addition to the social assessment that was carried out at the project preparation stage, a social assessment will be undertaken among the selected target communities that have potential resettlement and livelihood impacts. The SA will be conducted by qualified social development specialist knowledgeable about the culture of the concerned ethnic communities. At this stage, the social assessment will not only gather relevant information on demographic data; social, cultural and economic situation but also project impacts covering social and economic aspects, either positive or negative. The breadth, depth, and type of analysis required for the social assessment are proportional to the nature and scale of the proposed interventions under the project and their potential effects on the small ethnic communities. Outcomes of the assessment will be used to prepare SEVCDP. The social assessment includes the following elements, as needed: a. A review, on a scale appropriate to the project, of the legal and institutional framework applicable to a small ethnic community. b. Gathering of baseline information on the demographic, social, cultural, and political characteristics of the affected Small ethnic community’ communities, the land and territories that they have traditionally owned or customarily used or occupied, and the natural resources on which they depend. c. Taking the review and baseline information into account, the identification of key project stakeholders and the elaboration of a culturally appropriate process for consulting with the Small ethnic community at each stage of project preparation and implementation. d. The identification and evaluation, based on free, prior, and informed consultation with the affected small ethnic communities, of measures necessary to avoid adverse effects, or if such measures are not feasible, the identification of measures to minimize, mitigate, or compensate for such effects, and to ensure that the Small ethnic community receive culturally appropriate benefits under the project. Consultations will be conducted through a series of meetings, including separate group meetings: ethnic village chiefs; ethnic men; and ethnic women, especially those who live in the zone of influence of the proposed work under the project. All consultation will be conducted in easily accessible locations. All will be carried out in relevant local languages. Discussions will focus on investments impacts, positive and negative; and recommendations for the design of investments. Broader community support will be required to proceed with the project intervention on a particular site with the presence of ethnic communities. Updated social assessment will also be carried out periodically during project implementation as part of the monitoring process to identify unexpected adverse impacts and to propose mitigation measures. If the impact is significant, SEVCDP will be updated based on the outcome of the updated social assessment. Likely, the free, prior and informed consultation process will be continued. SMALL ETHNIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN (SEVCDP) Based on the social assessment and in consultation with the affected small ethnic community, the DTE and SDF will prepare a Small Ethnic Community Development Plan (SEVCDP) that sets out the measures through which the Project will ensure that (a) small ethnic community affected by the project receive culturally appropriate social and economic benefits; and (b) when potential adverse effects on small ethnic community are identified, those adverse effects are avoided, minimized, mitigated, or Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 22 compensated for. The SEVCDP is prepared flexibly and pragmatically and its level of detail varies depending on the specific project and the nature of effects to be addressed. DTE and SDF will integrate the SEVCD into the project design. When small ethnic communities are the sole or the overwhelming majority of direct project beneficiaries, the elements of SEVCDP should be included in the overall project design, and a separate SEVCDP is not required. The Social Management Plan or and RAP will cover the SEVC requirements. The SEVCDP includes the following elements, as needed: a. A summary of the information about (i) legal and institutional framework applicable to small ethnic community and (2) baseline information on the demographic, social, cultural, and political characteristics of the affected small ethnic communities, the land and territories that they have traditionally owned or customarily used or occupied, and the natural resources on which they depend. b. A summary of the social assessment. c. A summary of the results of the free, prior, and informed consultation with the affected small ethnic communities that were carried out during project preparation and that led to broad community support for the project. d. A framework for ensuring free, prior, and informed consultation with the affected small ethnic communities during project implementation. e. An action plan of measures to ensure that the Indigenous Peoples receive social and economic benefits that are culturally appropriate, including, if necessary, measures to enhance the capacity of the project implementing agencies. f. When potential adverse effects on small ethnic communities are identified, an appropriate action plan of measures to avoid, minimizes, mitigate, or compensate for these adverse effects. g. The cost estimates and financing plan for the SEVCDP. h. Accessible procedures appropriate to the project to address grievances by the affected small ethnic communities arising from project implementation. When designing the grievance procedures, availability of judicial recourse and customary dispute settlement mechanisms among the small ethnic communities will be taken into account. i. Mechanisms and benchmarks appropriate to the project for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on the implementation of the SEVCDP. The monitoring and evaluation mechanisms should include arrangements for the free, prior, and informed consultation with the affected Indigenous Peoples’ communities. The following basic information will be required for preparation of the SEVCDP: • The basic census, socio-economic data and inventory of affected assets; • Household ownership of economic and productive assets • Annual income from primary and secondary employment opportunities including fishing and fisheries dependent occupations; • Economic information of community (e.g. brief information on economic and natural resources, production and livelihood systems, tenure systems) • Social information of community (e.g. description of kinship, value system, types of social organizations of formal and informal groups) • The potential impact of proposed project activities on basic social services (e.g. water supply, health clinics and schools) • The potential impact of project activities on the social and economic livelihood. Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE Small Ethnic & Vulnerable Community Development Framework (SEVCDF) P a g e | 23 Annex 2: Preliminary Screening of Small Ethnic Communities Date: ------------------ When to do the screening? At the time of the first consultation with a community What information to be collected? Demographic data of small ethnic community people who live within the catchment of the project interventions How to collect the information? It can be obtained from ethnic leaders, village leaders (UP Chairman) and community chief. Who will do the screening? Consultants or PIU staff District: ______________ Upazila: _______________ Union: _________________ Village: _______________ Name of the village Name of the Number of Total Number of the ethnic within the ethnic group ethnic population of population (name) catchment of households the village Male Female project (nos.) interventions Signature: ---------------------------------------------- Name (of the PIU Consultant): Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation (ASSET) DTE