KYRGYZ REPUBLIC REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT PLAN December, 2019 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................4 1.1. About the Project ...........................................................................................................................4 1.2. Objectives of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan...........................................................................5 1.3. Scope and structure of the SEP .....................................................................................................6 2. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................7 2.1. Key relevant legal provisions on disclosure of information ..........................................................7 2.2. World Bank environmental and social standard on stakeholder engagement ...............................7 3. BRIEF SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ............9 3.1. Key stakeholder meetings and consultations .................................................................................9 3.2. Key issues/ findings emerged from the social assessment and consultations .............................10 4. STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS ...........................................................12 4.1. Stakeholder mapping and analysis ..............................................................................................12 4.2. Potential roles, interest, and influence of key stakeholders .........................................................12 4.3. Stakeholder Segmentation/ Prioritization ....................................................................................13 4.4. Disadvantaged / Vulnerable Individuals or Groups ....................................................................16 5. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM ........................................................................21 5.1. Project implementation arrangements .........................................................................................24 5.2. Roles and responsibilities on stakeholder engagement ...............................................................25 5.3. Stakeholder Engagement Methods to be used .............................................................................25 5.4. A strategy to incorporate the view of vulnerable groups.............................................................27 5.5. Information disclosure .................................................................................................................27 5.6. Estimated Budget ........................................................................................................................28 6. GRIEVANCE REDRESS PROCESS ...........................................................................................30 6.1. Beneficiary feedback and grievance redress ...............................................................................30 6.2. Receiving Grievances ..................................................................................................................31 6.3. World Bank Grievance Redress System......................................................................................31 7. MONITORING AND REPORTING ............................................................................................33 7.1. Review of engagement activities in the field ..............................................................................33 7.2. Reporting Stakeholder Engagement activities.............................................................................33 7.3. Quarterly and annual reports by ARIS ........................................................................................34 7.4. Six monthly E&S compliance reports to the World Bank...........................................................34 Annex 1. List of participants .................................................................................................................35 Annex 2. List of participants .................................................................................................................36 Annex 3. List of participants .................................................................................................................37 Annex 4. Example Grievance Form ......................................................................................................38 2 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Abbreviations ABCC Agri-Business Competitiveness Center ADB Asian Development Bank ARIS Community Development and Investment Agency CC Civil Code DDR Due Diligence Report EBRD European bank for Rehabilitation and Development EHS Environment, Health and Safety General Guidelines EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ES Environmental Specialist ESA Environmental and Social Assessment ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan GIZ German International Development Agency GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism H&S Health and Safety HH Household IFIs International Financial Institutions IR Involuntary Resettlement LAR Land Acquisition and Resettlement MoAFPLR Ministry of Agriculture, Food Processing and Land Reclamation MoCIT Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism MoE Ministry of Economy MoF Ministry of Finance MoH Ministry of Health NGO Non-governmental organization OHS Occupational and Health and Safety ОP Operational Policy PAP Project Affected Persons PCR Physical Cultural Resources PIU Project Implementation Unit POM Project Operational Manual PPE Personal Protective Equipment RAP Resettlement Action Plan RED Regional Economic Development Project RoW Right of Way RPF Resettlement Policy Framework SAEPF State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry SEP Stakeholders Engagement Plan SS Safeguards Specialist TOR Terms of Reference USD United State Dollar WB World Bank 3 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 1. INTRODUCTION 1. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has identified supporting regional development as one of the key policy areas to pursue in the coming decades. The country’s President declared the years of 2018 and 2019 as the “Year of Regional Developmentâ€?. Moreover, the 2019-2040 National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) cites regional development as one of its key pillars to support economic prosperity. It further recognizes that achieving sustained economic development requires addressing binding constraints in physical infrastructure and regulatory and enabling environment in sectors that are expected to contribute to the country’s economic growth, such as tourism and trade (mainly agribusiness) and potentially unlock private solutions where appropriate. The Regional Economic Development Project (RED) responds to the request by the Government of Kyrgyz Republic and supports the Regional Development Strategy (2018-2022), the 2019-2040 NSDS, as well as sector-specific strategies such as the Tourism Sector Development Program for 2019-2023. 2. The focus on regional development and improvement in both the emerging sector of tourism and the traditional sector of agriculture will contribute to the creation of job opportunities and reducing poverty. The project will support improvements in infrastructure and livability of key urban growth centers, as well as diversification of economic opportunities (and reducing dependence on remittances) through strengthening the agriculture and tourism sectors. In addition, barriers to private sector development could be addressed through strengthening and building capacities of relevant institutions and stakeholders in the agriculture and tourism industries. Accessibility and linkages between rural-urban areas and within regional markets will also be improved and the regional and local potential enhanced. Together, these initiatives will contribute to reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity. 1.1. About the Project 3. The project area. The RED will cover the Osh and Uzgen Cities and districts of Osh oblast/province (Figure 1.) in the Kyrgyz Republic, the priority investments in selected pilot region and cities are being identified through a participatory process engaging national, regional and local level stakeholders. The project’s main coordination agency is the Ministry of Economy (MoE) and implementing agency will be Community Development and Investment Agency (ARIS) and the project will be implemented using the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF). Figure 1: Project area: Map of the Kyrgyz Republic, location of Osh Region highlighted1 1 Map source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osh_Region 4 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 4. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to support the Government of Kyrgyz Republic (GoKR) to enhance economic and regional development through targeted interventions in the selected sectors in the Osh region. Project interventions will include a tailored package of investments/activities aimed at: (i) boosting the pilot region’s unique economic potential and eliminating binding constraints, while supporting the (ii) elevation of living standards; and (iii) strengthening the institutional and private sector capacity in the target sectors. Aligned with the PDO of the project, the proposed project components are described below. Component 1: Strengthening Regional Economic Planning and Regulatory Functions - Sub-component 1.1: Enhancing Regional Economic Planning. - Sub-Component 1.2: Improving basic agricultural services and regulatory functions. Component 2: Strengthening Agri-Food Supply Chains and SMEs Component 3: Catalyzing investments for tourism and urban development - Sub-component 3.1: Upgrading Osh and Uzgen Urban Cores and Tourism Circuits. - Sub-Component 3.2: Tourism Product Development, Marketing and Promotion. Component 4: Supporting Tourism and Rural SME Development through Small Grants Component 5: Implementation Support, Monitoring and Evaluation. 1.2. Objectives of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan 5. The overall objective of this Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) is to define a program for stakeholder engagement, including public information disclosure and consultation, throughout the project implementation. The SEP outlines the ways in which ARIS will communicate with stakeholders and includes a mechanism by which people can raise concerns, provide feedback, or make complaints about, the project contractors, and the project(s) themselves. The involvement of the local population is essential to the success of the project(s) in order to ensure smooth collaboration between project staff and local communities and to minimize and mitigate environmental and social risks related to the proposed project(s). 5 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 1.3. Scope and structure of the SEP 6. The scope of the SEP shall be as outlined in the World Bank’s ESS10. The engagement will be planned as an integral part of the project’s environmental and social assessment and project design and implementation. The project is planning to cover Osh Region. 7. This document has 7 chapters. The first chapter serves as an Introduction. It provides a brief about the project and the context in which the SEP is being prepared. Chapter 2 lists the regulatory framework in the Kyrgyz Republic, which provides legitimacy for SEP. A summary of the consultations held so far is presented in Chapter 3. All three chapters serve as a backdrop. Stakeholder identification and analysis, Impact assessment and risk management are elaborated in chapter 4. The stakeholder engagement program and implementation arrangements for executing the SEP are presented in Chapter 5. Grievance Redress Process follows in Chapter 6. Monitoring and reporting are presented in Chapter 7. 6 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 2. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK 2.1. Key relevant legal provisions on disclosure of information 8. In the Kyrgyz Republic, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, a number of regulatory legal acts and international treaties ratified by the Kyrgyz Republic, the basis for public access to information, including environmental information, has been determined. 9. The Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic guarantees freedom of speech and expression, establishing that every citizen of the country has the right "to free expression and dissemination of thoughts, ideas, and opinions, to freedom of literary, artistic, scientific and technical creativity, freedom of the press, transmission and dissemination of information", "the adoption of laws restricting freedom of speech and press is not allowed." 10. The requirements of national legislation are limited to the disclosure of information and consultations at the stage of EIA and the passage of the State Environmental Expertise. Public participation in the implementation of the field development project is governed by the following documents: ï‚· Regulation No. 60 “On the Procedure for Conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the Kyrgyz Republicâ€? (dated February 13, 2015); ï‚· Law of the Kyrgyz Republic No. 54 “On Environmental Expertiseâ€? dated June 16, 1999. 2.2. World Bank environmental and social standard on stakeholder engagement 11. The World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) came into effect on October 1, 2018. The ESF includes Environmental and Social Standard (ESS) 10, “Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosureâ€?, which recognizes “the importance of open and transparent engagement between the Borrower and project stakeholders as an essential element of good int ernational practiceâ€?. ESS10 emphasizes that effective stakeholder engagement can significantly improve the environmental and social sustainability of projects, enhance project acceptance, and make a significant contribution to successful project design and implementation. ESS10 applies to all projects supported by the Bank through Investment Project Financing. The Borrower will engage with stakeholders as an integral part of the project’s environmental and social assessment and project design and implementation. According to the World Bank’s ESF (June 2018), the requirements set out by ESS10 are the following:  Borrowers will engage with stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, commencing such engagement as early as possible in the project development process and in a timeframe that enables meaningful consultations with stakeholders on project design. The nature, scope and frequency of stakeholder engagement will be proportionate to the nature and scale of the project and its potential risks and impacts.  Borrowers will engage in meaningful consultations with all stakeholders. Borrowers will provide stakeholders with timely, relevant, understandable and accessible information, and consult with them in a culturally appropriate manner, which is free of manipulation, interference, coercion, discrimination and intimidation.  The process of stakeholder engagement will involve the following, as set out in further detail in the ESS: (i) stakeholder identification and analysis; (ii) planning how the engagement with stakeholders will take place; (iii) disclosure of information; (iv) consultation with stakeholders; (v) addressing and responding to grievances; and (vi) reporting to stakeholders.  The Borrower will maintain and disclose as part of the environmental and social assessment, a documented record of stakeholder engagement, including a description of the stakeholders consulted, a summary of the feedback received and a brief explanation of how the feedback was taken into account, or the reasons why it was not. 12. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan proportionate to the nature and scale of the project and its potential risks and impacts need to be developed by the Borrower. It has to be disclosed as early as possible, and before project appraisal, and the Borrower needs to seek the views of stakeholders on the SEP, including on the identification of stakeholders and the proposals for future engagement. If significant changes are made to the SEP, the Borrower has to disclose the updated SEP (World Bank, 2017: 99). According to 7 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project ESS10, the Borrower should also propose and implement a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate the resolution of concerns and grievances of project-affected parties related to the environmental and social performance of the project in a timely manner (World Bank, 2017: 100). For more details on the WB Environmental and Social Standards, please follow the below links: www.worldbank.org/en/projects- operations/environmental-and-social-framework/brief/environmental-and-social-standards and http://projects-beta.vsemirnyjbank.org/ru/projects-operations/environmental-and- socialframework/brief/environmental-and-social-standards 8 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 3. BRIEF SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 3.1. Key stakeholder meetings and consultations 13. The project preparation has been engaging with various project stakeholders since December 2018. The following types of stakeholder engagement activities have taken place to date:  Formal and informal communication with government agencies at the national, regional and local level;  Formal and informal communication with private tourism companies and agribusiness associations;  Needs assessment meetings with agricultural producers;  Community meetings;  Meetings with potential destination management organizations and enablers;  Communication with local NGOs;  ESMF and RPF public consultations and initial informal meetings. 14. The implementing agency ARIS and World Bank project team conducted consultative workshops in Osh and Uzgen Cities with participation of the Osh oblast, Osh and Uzgen cities administrations, as well as representatives of tourism and agribusiness representatives and other interested stakeholders on July 23- 24 and October 15, 2019, the list of participants is in Annex 1 and 2. The Ministry of Economy jointly with the World Bank hosted a Consultative Workshop on Regional Development for the RED. The workshop has been carried out on October 11, 2019, the list of participants is in Annex 3. Details about the consultations held with and stakeholders of the program are presented below. The objectives of the workshop were as following: ï‚· to discuss the pre-appraisal stage for the proposed RED; ï‚· to present the key project parameters and scope. Table 1. Previous stakeholder consultations Place Date Participants Key points discussed Consultative July 23-24, 2019 Osh city and Uzgen city The project activities related to workshops in Osh Administrations; tourism and city infrastructure and Uzgen Cities Osh city and Uzgen city development. museums Tourism sector human resources administrations; development; Hotels of Osh and Financial support to the Uzgen Cities, hospitality sector (Hotels) Non-Governmental Organizations; ARIS; Donor agencies; World Bank. The World Bank October 11, 2019 Ministry of Economy; The pre-appraisal stage for the office in Bishkek President’s Office; proposed RED; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Agriculture; The key project parameters and Ministry of Transport; scope. ARIS; ABCC; World Bank. Consultative October 15, 2019 Osh city and Uzgen city The project activities related to workshops in Osh Administrations; agriculture and tourism and Uzgen Cities Osh oblast district development. Administrations; The key project parameters and ARIS; scope. World Bank. 9 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 15. During the project identification and preparation stage, several consultations took place at the national level involving the MoE and at the regional and local authorities’ levels involving other agencies and key stakeholders (see Table 2). Table 2. List of stakeholders and key issues discussed Stakeholder Key discussed issues • Alignment of the project with national strategy. • Challenges facing the MoE. • Goals/objectives MoE wants to achieve. MoE • Strategies to achieve goals. • Indicators the MoE wants to use to measure attainment of the goals. • Monitoring mechanism for the project. • Strategies to achieve goals. • Indicators to measure attainment of the goals. ARIS • Monitoring mechanism for the project. • Safeguards of the project. • Alignment of the project with national strategy. • Proposed agriculture activities and background data and detailed activities and basic budget estimates. • Sustainability considerations in the project design. MOAFIM/ABCC • Contribution of the project to the county’s economic development, poverty reduction and shared prosperity. • Indicators the MOFIM wants to use to measure the attainment of the goals (results framework). • Monitoring mechanism for the project. • Alignment of the project with national strategy. • Proposed tourism activities and background data and detailed activities. MoCIT • Contribution of the project to the county’s economic development, poverty reduction, and shared prosperity. • Alignment of the project with national strategy. • Investment viability of the project. MoF • Sustainability considerations in the project design. • Contribution of the project to the county’s economic development, poverty reduction, and shared prosperity. • Conceptual planning/design for key selected tourism sites. Osh district, Osh and • Contribution of the project to the county’s economic development, poverty Uzgen city reduction, and shared prosperity. Municipalities • Proposed project tourism and agriculture activities. Tourism Companies • Activities of Association members in the tourism sector. Association • Challenges the sector is facing. • Support provided by DPs in the regional development (tourism and Development partners agribusiness) sector. (DPs) • Challenges the sectors are facing. 3.2. Key issues/ findings emerged from the social assessment and consultations 16. Findings of consultations: ï‚· There is a need in full revitalization of the tourism assets of Osh and Uzgen cities and cities basic infrastructure; ï‚· Getting permits to visit areas, located close to the state border is an issue. ï‚· There is a need to build the capacity of the government and regional counterparts of the project; ï‚· The local youth can greatly benefit from funding opportunities to open guest house, provide tourism service and benefit from employment opportunities; 10 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Recommendations / suggestions derived from the consultations. ï‚· To provide low-interest rate loans and start-up grants for entrepreneurs in tourism and agriculture. ï‚· Simplify the process getting permits to visit areas, located close to the state border, or completely remove this requirement for popular and no risk locations. 11 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 4. STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS 4.1. Stakeholder mapping and analysis 17. ESS10 recognizes two broad categories of stakeholders: “Project-affected partiesâ€? and “Other Interested partiesâ€?. The latter includes “those likely to be affected by the project because of actual impacts or potential risks to their physical environment, health, security, cultural practices, well-being, or livelihoods. These stakeholders may include individuals or groups, including local communitiesâ€?. They are the individuals or households most likely to observe changes from the environmental and social impacts of the project. In addition, vulnerable and disadvantaged population require special attention given their socioeconomic standing in the society that may make them vulnerable to disproportionately high negative impact or unable to tap into project benefits. • Project- Affected Parties – persons, groups and other entities within the project area of influence that are directly influenced (actually or potentially) by the project and/or have been identified as most susceptible to change associated with the project, and who need to be closely engaged in identifying impacts and their significance, as well as in decision-making on mitigation and management measures. PAP include Vulnerable Groups – persons who may be disproportionately impacted or further disadvantaged by the project(s) as compared with any other groups due to their vulnerable status, and that may require special engagement efforts to ensure their equal representation in the consultation and decision-making process associated with the project(s). • Other Interested Parties – individuals/groups/entities that may not experience direct impacts from the Project but who consider or perceive their interests as being affected by the project and/or who could affect the project and the process of its implementation in some way; and 18. Engagement with all identified stakeholders will help ensure the greatest possible contribution from the stakeholder parties toward the successful implementation of the project and will enable the project to draw on their pre-existing expertise, networks, and agendas. It will also facilitate both the communities and institutional endorsement of the project by various parties. Access to the local knowledge and experience also becomes possible through the active involvement of stakeholders. 4.2. Potential roles, interest, and influence of key stakeholders 19. The primary beneficiaries for this project are the inhabitants of participating regions and municipalities (both urban and rural), SMEs from the agricultural and tourism sectors, agricultural producers (farmers) and visitors who will benefit directly from improved accessibility, connectivity and infrastructure and services. Both male and female inhabitants of participating localities are also expected to indirectly benefit from increased job opportunities. Indirect beneficiaries will be the aggregate number of visitors to the cities (for work, visit markets, administrative, tourism and other purposes). 20. Government counterparts and associated entities will benefit from the project mainly through Component 1 initiatives on institutional and capacity strengthening. These include: (i) at the central level - Ministry of Economy; Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism; Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration, Agribusiness Competitiveness Center (ABCC); and (ii) at the regional and local level - the regional Government in Osh Oblast, local administrations of Osh city, Uzgen City, and various districts within the Osh Oblast. 21. According to FAO National Gender Profile of the Kyrgyz Republic’s agricultural and rural livelihoods (2016), migration has a deep impact on the family members who stay behind, especially in rural communities of the country and Osh oblast in particular. Wives of migrants who remain behind, “carry a heavy burden of work within the household after their husbands leaveâ€?, especially as children and elderly family members are more likely to be excused from household work due to age, health issues or needing to concentrate on studies. Women are generally fulfilling their traditional role as carers for family members 12 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project and the household, while also taking on roles usually undertaken by men, such as tending livestock and carrying out physically heavy agricultural work2. 22. The older generation, especially elderly women, also play an important role in raising their grandchildren and tending livestock or carrying some agricultural work, because a large number of Kyrgyz women migrate with their spouses3. 23. Poor and low-income population, as well as population that are located in geographically isolated parts of the Osh region and who is not sufficiently productive or do not have enough funds and assets to participate as part of agriculture producer groups and tourism sectors. 24. Disabled people of Osh oblast also can be included as project beneficiaries, as they may benefit from the project by disabled people friendly conditions at the rehabilitated tourism and city infrastructure. As well as, participation in tourism start-up and agribusiness components of the projects. 4.3. Stakeholder Segmentation/ Prioritization 25. The identified project stakeholders were segregated by their areas of influence. The stakeholders of high and substantial significance are described in the table below. Table 4. Stakeholder segmentation Stakeholder Level Description Area of influence Interest Influence Inter-Ministerial National To ensure coordination Strategic and High High Working and flow of programmatic Committee information and timely aspects at the highest (IMWC) decision making. level This committee will be formed with participation of the Deputy Minister or director level representatives from various relevant line ministries, government agencies and will be chaired at the level of Prime Minister’s Office with the MOE providing secretariat support. Ministry of National The Ministry of Project coordination. High High Economy Economy develops and Ministry is implements state policy responsible for in the field of overall project macroeconomic, coordination with antimonopoly, tariff, ministries and licensing, investment, departments. foreign economic, fiscal policies, policies in the field of public- private partnerships, state material reserves, 2 4 , FAO: National Gender Profile of Agricultural and Rural Livelihoods - Kyrgyz Republic, 2016. 13 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project economic and regional development. Community National ARIS is the Project High High Development and organization in charge implementation Investment Agency of the implementation entity (PIE) (ARIS) of the development responsible for all projects. fiduciary and safeguards functions for the RED. Ministry of National The Ministry of Provide project- High High Agriculture, Food Agriculture and Land specific information Industry and Reclamation is on agriculture, Melioration responsible for the physical planning, implementation of the and natural resources state policy in the field of agriculture, land, irrigation, and land reclamation infrastructure, and processing industry. Ministry of Finance National The Ministry of Provide oversight High High Finance is the state and control of body engaged in disbursement project elaboration of state funds to the policy in the budgetary, implementing and tax. agency. Monitor compliance of financial reporting of project funds by the implementing agency. Ministry of Culture, National Ministry of culture, Provide project- High High Information, and information and specific information Tourism Tourism is responsible on tourism planning for the development of and cultural- state policy in the area historical resources of culture and tourism. of the project areas. State Agency on National The State Agency for Define issues and High High Environmental Environmental opportunities for Protection and Protection and Forestry development of Forestry (SAEPF) is the key natural parks. institution responsible for the establishment and implementation of environmental policy in Kyrgyz Republic. Osh Oblast Regional According to the laws According to the High High Administration of the country, Oblast laws of the country, Administration (OA) is Oblast the second level of Administration (OA) government after is the second level of National Government. government after Oblast administration National provides political Government, which guidance on socio- makes Oblast economic development Administration an of Osh oblast. important stakeholder. Oblast administration provides political guidance on socio- economic 14 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project development of Osh oblast. Local City Councils City/districts The legislative body Community High High representing the engagement citizens of Osh city. Information and communication Land allocation (if possible) and provide the permissions needed at municipality level Osh and Uzgen City/districts Oblast and Uzgen Facilitate and High High City Cities administrations monitor the Municipalities provide political implementation of guidance on socio- the project on the economic development municipal level. of the cities. Lead in stakeholder engagement and consultations on municipal level. Municipal ownership of the project. Local contractors City/districts Local contractors will Renovation and High Medium execute consruction construction of works in Osh and of participating cities Uzgen cities, and Osh infrastructure (water oblast as a whole. supply, wastewater, roads, waste management) and other tourism related facilities. State Institution District State Institution Provide information Moderate Low “Cadastreâ€? under “Cadastreâ€? provides on rights to the land the State Agency information on rights and other immovable on Land Resources to the land and other property for immovable property. development project Department of National Department develops Provide project Moderate Moderate Sanitary and state policy on specific information Epidemiological sanitary-hygiene on sanitation and Surveillance under development. health safety Ministry of Health policies. State Inspectorate National State Inspectorate is in Have the overall Moderate Moderate on Technical and charge for execution of oversight and Ecological Safety the State environmental responsibility of and technical safety ensuring compliance policy regulations. to environmental and social regulations by all organizations, persons whose actions and processes have a potential environmental impact. Association of National Provide perspectives Provide perspectives High Medium Tourist and Hotel from hospitality on from hospitality on SMEs issues and issues and opportunities for opportunities for tourism development in tourism development the Kyrgyz Republic. in Osh oblast. 15 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Association of National Provide perspectives Provide perspectives High Medium agrobusiness SMEs from agribusiness on from agribusiness on issues and issues and opportunities for opportunities for tourism development in tourism development Kyrgyz Republic. in Osh oblast. 26. Other development partners: A number of other donors are active in this sector in the Kyrgyz Republic and the project will provide a unique opportunity for collaboration and leveraging of resources in support of sustainable regional development. Some donors who are active in the infrastructure sector and already expressed interest to coordinate and contribute to the urban agenda are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also actively works with business entities and potential collaboration discussions on technical assistance have taken place with SECO and GIZ. 4.4. Disadvantaged / Vulnerable Individuals or Groups 27. It is likely that project-affected parties in the communities will include vulnerable /disadvantaged groups. Disadvantaged/vulnerable individuals or groups are potentially disproportionally affected and less able to benefit from opportunities offered by the project due to specific difficulties to access and/or understand information about the project and its environmental and social impacts and mitigation strategies. Particular attention will be paid to potential adverse impacts on vulnerable/ disadvantaged groups who, because of their social position, may be vulnerable to changes brought about by project activities or excluded from project benefits. Initial assessment of project has not foreseen exclusion risks based on ethnicity or religion but found the following group may face risks of exclusion: ï‚· physically disabled; ï‚· women-headed households; ï‚· households below the poverty line; ï‚· elderly people and veterans of war; ï‚· youth; ï‚· unemployed persons. 28. A more detailed assessment will be conducted during the early phase of project implementation, and stakeholder engagement activities will be tailored to the needs of social groups who may be excluded based on believes, ethnicity, gender, social status or any other issues. Table 4: Description of project-affected parties and vulnerable groups Name of Description Issues Significance stakeholder level Women Women with no skills (school Women wish to be employed, High including education only). but either they have no female-headed Women engaged in seasonal sufficient skills or have households agriculture. nobody to leave their children Women after maternity leave. with, while they are at work. Women with secondary Lack of full time/official jobs vocational education. in cities and rural areas. Single mothers/Female-headed Lack of knowledge of rights households. and available social protection and employment programs. Youth Young people with no skills Want to get well-paid job and High (school education only). need training. Unemployed young people Permanent job with official engaged in seasonal agriculture employment expected. or construction. Lack of employment in rural areas. 16 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Unemployed young people with No skills, insufficient secondary vocational education. knowledge, the only option to Young people with limited go for labor migration. economic opportunities to continue education. Young graduates with no job- relevant skills. Individuals with Individuals with disabilities There are no soft loans for High disabilities willing to open businesses with disabled people in PFIs. limited skills and education. There are no tourism and city infrastructures suitable for disabled people in Osh and Uzgen Cities. Unskilled Do not have full secondary Require skill training/ Medium to High people education, lack of financial education resources, financial literacy, or technical skills. 29. To ensure the participation of vulnerable groups’ during the project design and implementation stages through public consultations, more information dissemination through the local mass media (as possible) and NGOs involvement is needed. The transport needs (if any) of vulnerable groups to participate in public consultations will be coordinated and solved by participating municipalities. 30. Discussions with the vulnerable/disadvantaged groups affected by the Project aim to provide opportunities for ground investigation on potential social impacts as a result of the project interventions with tourism and agribusiness sector development in Osh and Uzgen cities, as well as Osh oblast. Focus group discussions will be organized for vulnerable to take into account their specific needs (if any) and proposals received during initial public consultations. 31. To ensure that consultation with local communities is inclusive of disadvantaged groups, presentations will be conducted in Kyrgyz and other languages (as appropriate) to make more comfortable to local community members. Where necessary, additional formats such as location sketches will be used to enhance understanding. The assistance of community leaders will be needed to encourage effective representation of vulnerable /disadvantaged groups in group discussions throughout the project phases. 17 Table 5. Impact assessment and risk management Stakeholders Positive Impacts Risks and Negative Risk and remarks Mitigatory Measures Impacts Affected parties - Improved employment opportunities; Possible exclusion of The social risk is rated - Public outreach/ awareness campaign - Better infrastructure services for the cities inhabitants; eligible beneficiaries or as Moderate. program by the ARIS. - Increased knowledge of business knowledge and practice/ vulnerable/disadvantaged - The project will also employ a skills of tourism and SMEs from the agricultural and tourism groups due to lack of Beneficiaries Feedback Mechanism sectors; information or capacity (BFM) that will be involved in - Increased labor productivity and economic activity of the to apply. addressing any complaints or concerns population engaged in the agricultural and tourism sectors; ï‚· Land and asset loss of the local population about the - Increased family income; ï‚· Incidents, competition project. - Creation of additional jobs; for local resources and - In advance Public information on - Increased number of taxpayers and social insurance services due to increase planned temporary termination of payments; in visitors water and sewerage services due to - Developed grievance and redress mechanism for RED ï‚· Temporary limitation of construction works. beneficiaries. access to public spaces, schools, medical Mitigation measures for other risks and organizations due to impacts construction works and temporary termination of water and sewerage services Women - Improved employment opportunities; ï‚· Land and asset loss; The social risk is rated - Public outreach/ awareness campaign - Increased family income; ï‚· Gender based violence as Moderate. program by the ARIS. - Increased knowledge of business knowledge and practice/ (GBV) risk; - The project will also employ a skills of tourism and agricultural sectors; ï‚· Incidents, competition Beneficiaries Feedback Mechanism - Developed grievance and redress mechanism for RED for local resources and (BFM) that will be involved in beneficiaries. services due to increase addressing any complaints or concerns - Better infrastructure services for the cities inhabitants; in visitors; of the local population about the ï‚· Temporary limitation of project. access to public spaces, - In advance Public information on schools, medical planned temporary termination of organizations due to water and sewerage services due to construction works and construction works. temporary termination of electricity, water and sewerage services. ï‚· Exclusion risks. Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project ï‚· Youth - More employment opportunities for youth; ï‚· Land and asset loss; The social risk is rated - Public outreach/ awareness campaign - Increased knowledge of business knowledge and practice/ ï‚· Labor risks related to as Moderate. program by the ARIS. skills of tourism and SMEs from the agricultural and tourism forced labor and - The project will also employ a sectors; associated with Beneficiaries Feedback Mechanism - Increased labor productivity and economic activity of the contracted workers at (BFM) that will be involved in population engaged in the agricultural and tourism sectors; subproject level. addressing any complaints or concerns ï‚· Labor risk associated of the local population about the with an influx of project. temporary workers. - Implementation of LMP will reduce ï‚· Exclusion risks. the risks of labor violations; Farmers - Improved employment opportunities; ï‚· Land and asset loss; The social risk is rated - Public outreach/ awareness campaign - Increased knowledge of business knowledge and practice/ ï‚· Labor risks related to as Moderate. program by the ARIS. skills of agricultural sector; forced labor and - The project will also employ a - Increased labor productivity and economic activity of the associated with Beneficiaries Feedback Mechanism population engaged in the agricultural and tourism sectors; contracted workers at (BFM) that will be involved in - Increased family income; subproject level. addressing any complaints or concerns - Creation of additional jobs; ï‚· Labor risk associated of the local population about the - Increased number of taxpayers and social insurance with an influx of project. payments; temporary workers. - Implementation of LMP will reduce - Developed grievance and redress mechanism for RED ï‚· Exclusion risks. the risks of labor violations; beneficiaries. Entrepreneurs from - Improved employment opportunities; ï‚· Land and asset loss; The social risk is rated - Public outreach/ awareness campaign tourism sector - Increased knowledge of business knowledge and practice/ ï‚· Labor risks related to as Moderate. program by the ARIS. skills of tourism and SMEs from the agricultural and tourism forced labor and - The project will also employ a sectors; associated with Beneficiaries Feedback Mechanism - Increased labor productivity and economic activity of the contracted workers at (BFM) that will be involved in population engaged in the agricultural and tourism sectors; subproject level. addressing any complaints or concerns - Increased family income; ï‚· Labor risk associated of the local population about the - Creation of additional jobs; with an influx of project. - Increased number of taxpayers and social insurance temporary workers. - Implementation of LMP will reduce payments; ï‚· Temporary limitation of the risks of labor violations; - Developed grievance and redress mechanism for RED access to their premises, - In advance Public information on beneficiaries. and public planned temporary termination of organizations due to 19 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project construction works and water and sewerage services due to temporary termination construction works. of electricity, water and sewerage services. ï‚· Exclusion risks. Other interested - Institutional and capacity strengthening of the Government The loan applications at The social risk is rated - Modernization of systems and parties. counterparts and associated entities; participating PFIs are as moderate. procedures to reduce exclusion risks. - Enhanced application and selection mechanism to ensure likely to go up, which - The capacity of national institutions greater sustainability will be developed; will have implications on and structures will be built to develop, - Strengthened M&E system of municipalities; applicants, due to the plan and implement risk mitigation - Streamlined online support services; lack of capacity of local process. - Developed statistical profiling tool and skill assessment tests staff. - Outreach and program promotion for jobseekers. activities to ensure that targeted groups are aware of and able to access program benefits. Disadvantaged / - Improved cities and tourism sites infrastructure for the Possible exclusion of The social risk is rated Tourism and city infrastructure design Vulnerable disabled inhabitants of the cities; these requirements due to as Moderate. consultations with the inclusion of the Individuals or lack of information or beneficiaries. Groups. capacity to apply. Disabled people - Improved cities and tourism sites infrastructure for the ï‚· Temporary limitation of The social risk is rated - In advance Public information on disabled inhabitants of the cities; access to their premises, as Moderate. planned temporary termination of and public water and sewerage services due to organizations due to construction works. construction works and - Tourism and city infrastructure design temporary termination consultations with the inclusion of this of electricity, water and sub-group beneficiaries. sewerage services. ï‚· Exclusion risks. Elderly people - Improved cities and tourism sites infrastructure; ï‚· Temporary limitation of The social risk is rated - In advance Public information on access to their premises, as Moderate. planned temporary termination of and public water and sewerage services due to organizations due to construction works. construction works and - Tourism and city infrastructure design temporary termination consultations with the inclusion of this of electricity, water and sub-group beneficiaries. sewerage services. ï‚· Exclusion risks. 20 5. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM 32. The project investments and activities are being identified through a participatory process engaging national, regional and local level stakeholders. For example, during the studies for the urban regeneration of Osh and Uzgen city cores, the project team engaged in discussions and consultations with all stakeholders, including the public and private sector and representatives from the broader communities, presenting the findings and seeking inputs for finalization. The same approach was used to form the indicative long list of investments, informed by a tourism rapid assessment. A list of screening principles as well as selection criteria have been agreed upon and will be applied to the long list to prioritize investments and formed a shortlist of indicative investments during the project implementation, they are: 1. Threshold screening principles: (i) Full alignment with the PDO (ii) Not posing any significant social or environmental risks and negative impact 2. Shortlisting criteria: (i) Economic impact (e.g. contribution to the local and regional economy, ability to generate jobs) (ii) Commitment or willingness to develop (including government commitment, private sector interest, and community support) (iii) Sustainability and Operation and Maintenance (e.g. feasibility for long-term sustainability, sound operation and maintenance commitments and arrangements in place) (iv) Tourism attractiveness (e.g. value of heritage assets, natural beauty, appeal to visitors, demand) 33. During the project implementation, the team will continue profoundly involving the citizens and beneficiaries in the finalization of the proposed detailed designs by organizing the community meetings and consultative workshops. Furthermore, the project will have a dedicated Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) under the Beneficiary Feedback Mechanism (BFM). BFM reporting of feedback and grievances covers all ARIS-implemented projects. The BFM utilizes various avenues by which ARIS can be contacted or receive information including telephone and widely used web apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp. Information with contact phone numbers, ARIS web site will be displayed at the respective city halls all project construction sites. For the small grants program, information for the interested parties will be offered through awareness raising campaigns, announcements (posters) in public places and at easy to access information boards. Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Table 6. Planned stakeholder engagement activities Subgroup With whom Channels of Venue Frequency Engagement methods Purpose Engagement World Bank ARIS, MoE, MoF E-mails, Virtual, site visits to Quarterly reports, Aide Memories, To keep informed about the (WB) implementation the target districts, biannual missions, Monitoring reports. project implementation support and supervision VCs. regular monitoring progress, challenges faced and missions, prior review visits by the CMU. seek approvals for the project of bids, mid-term and transactions and final review. procurements. Inter-Ministerial MoE, ARIS Official Government office, As needed Protocols, Facilitate and ensure smooth Working communications MoE, official recommendations project implementation Committee meetings through coordination and (IMWC) timely decision making on strategic and programmatic aspects at the highest level Ministry of Other stakeholders, Official internal and MoE, GoK, official Regularly. Monitoring, progress Sharing of information, Economy Beneficiaries, WB External meetings. reports, face-to-face reviews, clearance and communications. meetings, virtual and seeking support. offline. Ministry of MoE, WB Official internal and Visits, official Regularly. Project progress, budget, Sharing of information, Finance External meetings. and financing. Official reviews, clearance and communications, requests, and letters. seeking support, to keep Written requests via informed the Financial official letters and Guarantee of the GoK. emails. ARIS (Central Stakeholders, Stakeholder and Internal or external Annual, Press conferences, Sharing information, to keep office) Beneficiaries, beneficiaries event venues, Regularly. seminars, face-to-face informed about the project WB awareness-raising and virtual. meetings with all project achievements. consultations stakeholders, mass/ campaigns. social media, information desks, stakeholders/ beneficiaries /PAP opinion/ perception 22 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project surveys, communication materials. Regional Office of Operational meetings, Regional office of Quarterly. Monitoring reports, face- To implement the project ARIS. trainings. ARIS. to-face meetings with components. regional employment services centers. All stakeholders/ GRM ARIS offices. Regularly. The website, telephone, To ensure beneficiaries are beneficiaries email, online letter, informed about the including PAPs. social media, leaflets, project-level GRM. ads, posters, brochures, hand-outs, public consultations. ARIS (Regional All stakeholders / Stakeholder awareness ARIS Regional Regularly. Public/community To increase awareness, office) potential and consultations Office, Community meetings, seminars, provide consultations and beneficiaries. campaigns. premises. face-to-face meetings, collect feedbacks. information desks, leaflets, posters, brochures, handouts. All stakeholders/ Stakeholders/ ARIS Regional Regularly. Public/community To increase awareness, beneficiaries beneficiaries Office, Community meetings, seminars, provide consultations and including PAPs. consultations and premises. face-to-face meetings collect feedbacks, to ensure outreach campaigns leaflets, posters, beneficiaries are informed GRM. brochures, handouts. about the project level GRM. Participatory beneficiary / PAP needs assessment, information desks. 23 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 5.1. Project implementation arrangements (a) To ensure coordination and flow of information and timely decision making on strategic and programmatic aspects at the highest level, the project will be overseen by an Inter-Ministerial Working Committee (IMWC), formed with participation of the Deputy Minister or director level representatives from various relevant line ministries and government agencies (eg. Prime Minister’s Office, President’s Office, the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the MAFIM, ABCC, Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism, Department of Tourism, Gosstroy, and Governor of the Osh region). This committee will be chaired at the level of Prime Minister’s Office with the MOE providing secretariat support. (b) The MoE will be the project coordination Ministry responsible for overall project coordination (including with the President’s Office, Prime Minister’s Office, MoF and line ministries and departments). MoE will also overall manage the IRDP through its Regional Development Department, with the MoE Deputy Minister having overall responsibility for ensuring smooth and high-quality project implementation. MoE responsibilities will further include reviewing and endorsing annual work plans and budget (prepared by ARIS), providing relevant technical inputs, especially on a strategic and policy level or on issues related to economic promotion matters. (c) The Community Development and Investment Agency (or ARIS) will be the project implementation entity (PIE) responsible for all fiduciary (eg. procurement, financial management, preparation of annual reports, budgets etc.) and safeguards (eg. assessments, document preparation and embedding safeguard specialists in local and regional government to carry out supervision, monitoring and compliance) functions for the RED. ARIS will also be responsible for key technical aspects of the project (eg. preparation of technical assessments, design and tender documents, organization of evaluation, consultations, oversight on agriculture activities carried out by ABCC, etc.), especially for tourism and urban development aspects of the project (d) ABCC will provide technical support to ARIS on behalf of MoA in the implementation of agriculture-related activities. ABCC will play a lead role in facilitating implementation of Component 1 activities related to supply chain strengthening sub-projects and for other agriculture-related activities liaise with relevant departments in Ministry of Agriculture to provide technical support where needed. In order to fulfill their role, ABCC will place technical staff members in its Osh City office and draw on technical staff in Bishkek. (e) The Regional and Local Governments in Osh Region will actively participate in project implementation and facilitate coordination and the work of the project. Inter alia, they will facilitate project implementation at the regional and local level, monitor all aspects of the project that involve public safety and public health, facilitate civic engagement and communication with the citizens and project-affected people, participate in tender evaluation committees to evaluate the proposals and provide inputs for the final decisions and ensure both horizontal and vertical coordination for cross-sector activities with the support of a regional inter-agency consultative working group. Local representatives of ARIS will ensure effective coordination and support from regional and local governments for project-specific activities. 24 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 5.2. Roles and responsibilities on stakeholder engagement 34. A core Stakeholder Engagement Team comprised of ARIS staff (Coordinator, Environmental and Social, Monitoring and Evaluation specialists) and the Public Relations Department will take responsibility for and lead all aspects of the stakeholder engagement. However, to implement the various activities envisaged in the SEP, the Engagement Team will need to closely coordinate with other key stakeholders – other national and local government departments/agencies, the contractor along with sub-contractors, affected municipalities, and PAPs. The roles and responsibilities of these actors/stakeholders are described table below. Table 7. Responsibilities of key actors/stakeholders in SEP Implementation Actor Responsibilities ARIS ï‚· Planning and implementation of the SEP; ï‚· Leading stakeholder engagement activities; ï‚· Management and resolution of grievances; ï‚· Coordination/supervision of contractors on ESCP and SEP activities; ï‚· Monitoring of and reporting on social performance to Government and the World Bank. Contractors/sub-contractors ï‚· Inform ARIS of any issues related to their engagement with stakeholders; ï‚· Transmit and resolve complaints caused by the construction activities in close collaboration with and as directed by ARIS; ï‚· Prepare, disclose and implement various plans (e.g. ESMP, Labor Management Plan, etc.); Inform local communities of any environmental monitoring e.g. noise, vibration, water quality monitoring; ï‚· Announce important construction activities. National Government ï‚· Monitor Project compliance with Kyrgyz legislation; Departments: ï‚· Participate in the implementation of some activities in the ï‚· Ministry of Economy; ESMP/RPF and SEP; ï‚· Ministry Culture, ï‚· Participate in the implementation of the Land Acquisition process; Information and Tourism; ï‚· Make available and engage with the public on the Scoping and ï‚· Ministry of Agriculture; EIA Reports. ï‚· State Inspectorate on Environmental and Technical Safety; ï‚· State Agency on Land Resources, Land Cadastre. Affected municipalities and ï‚· Transfer all complaints to the ARIS GRM Focal Point; local communities. ï‚· Make available the disclosed ESIA documents; Project affected people ï‚· Invited to engage and ask questions about the Project at Project Meetings and through discussions with ARIS M&S Team where it is of interest or of relevance to them; ï‚· Lodge their grievances using the Grievance Resolution Mechanism defined in the SEP (Section on Grievance Mechanism); ï‚· Help the Project to define mitigation measures. 5.3. Stakeholder Engagement Methods to be used 35. Public/community meetings. At the start of the project, ARIS will organize project launch meetings in each of the 2 municipalities and regional center. From then on, ARIS E&S Team will help organize community meetings sessions in the municipalities on a quarterly basis throughout the project’s lifecycle. Meetings in the project municipalities will also be organized on a monthly basis. 25 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 36. Mass/social media communication. ARIS Public Relations Department will be engaged on the project in order to post information on the dedicated project and ARIS Facebook page and to communicate with the local population via social media campaigns throughout the project’s lifecycle. Social media channels will be used as much as possible to disseminate information as rates of social media use (especially Facebook) appear to be high across users of different ages and backgrounds in project-affected communities. 26 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 37. Communication materials. Written information will be disclosed to the public via a variety of communication materials including brochures, flyers, posters, etc. A public relations kit will be designed specifically and distributed both in print and online form. ARIS will also update its website regularly (at least on a quarterly basis) with key project updates and reports on the project’s environmental and social performance both in English and Russian. The website will also provide information about the grievance mechanism for the project (see next sub-section). 38. Grievance redress mechanism. In compliance with the World Bank’s ESS10 requirement, a specific grievance mechanism will be set-up for the project. Dedicated communication materials (GRM pamphlets, posters) will be created to help local residents familiarize themselves with the grievance redress channels and procedures. Internal GRM training will also take place for ARIS and contractor staff. The ARIS’s website will include clear information on how feedback, questions, comments, concerns and grievances can be submitted by any stakeholder and will include the possibility to submit grievances electronically. 39. Project tours for media, local representatives. At appropriate points during the construction phase, site visits or demonstration tours will be organized for selected stakeholders from media organizations or local government. On average, it is planned that 4 such tours will be planned per year. 40. Information Desks. Information Desks in each municipality will provide local residents with information on stakeholder engagement activities, construction updates, contact details of the ARIS Local Representative, etc. Local Representatives in the affected municipalities will set up these information desks, either in their offices or other easily accessible places where they can meet and share information about the project with PAPs and other stakeholders. Brochures and fliers on various project related social and environmental issues will be made available at these information desks. 5.4. A strategy to incorporate the view of vulnerable groups 41. In order to guarantee full involvement of the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, ARIS will conduct an initial project area level Social Assessment for both agribusiness and tourism components to identify subgroups of project beneficiaries and drivers of exclusion/the challenges they face in accessing project benefits. The result of SA will be used to do a more in-depth assessment on exclusion risks and to further refine the selection criteria, modes of engagement, design of TA activities, etc., to address the risk. 42. The project will take special measures to ensure that disadvantaged and vulnerable groups have equal opportunity to involve in project activities, access information and benefits of the project, provide feedback, or submit grievances. The deployment of local environmental and social specialists of ARIS will help to ensure proactive outreach to all population groups. Training and awareness-raising sessions will be conducted in project municipalities to ensure higher participation of targeted population. All above mentioned Stakeholders Engagement methods dedicated consultations specifically to vulnerable groups will be will utilized by ARIS as appropriate. 5.5. Information disclosure 43. The current ARIS website (www.aris.kg) is being used to disclose project documents, including those on environmental and social performance in both Russian and English. ARIS will create a webpage on the Project on its existing website. All future project-related environmental and social monitoring reports listed in the above sections will be disclosed on this webpage. Project updates (including news on construction activities and relevant environmental and social data) will also be posted on the homepage of ARIS’s website. An easy-to-understand guide to the terminology used in the environmental and social reports or documents will also be disclosed on the website. 44. All information brochures/fliers will be posted on the website. An electronic grievance submission form (BFM) is also available on ARIS’s website. Contact details of the E&S Team and 27 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project headquarters and all E&S Specialists at the Municipalities level will also be made available on the website. ARIS will update and maintain the website regularly (at least once a quarterly basis). 5.6. Estimated Budget 45. A tentative budget for implementing the stakeholder engagement plan over five years is attached in Table 8. The stakeholder engagement activities featured below cover a variety of environmental and social issues, which may be part of other project instruments/activities, so it is possible that they have also been budgeted in other plans. However, the table below summarizes all the stakeholder engagement activities in one place for better coordination and monitoring. ARIS will review this plan every six months to determine if any changes to stakeholder classification or engagement are required. If so, the plan will be updated, and a new revision will be consulted/cleared by the World Bank and disclosed. Table 8: Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Estimated Budget (5 Years) Stakeholder Engagement Quantity Unit Cost Times/ Total Cost Remarks Activities (USD) Years (USD) ARIS Public relations specialist 1 700 5 42,000 Travel expenses for staff (cost 5000 5 25,000 per year) Information desk (one in each 9 200 1 2,000 municipality) Project launch meetings (in 3 3 2500 1 7,500 Space rent, municipalities) catering, printed materials Osh and Uzgen communities’ 2 100 5 5,000 meetings (in 2 municipalities, quarterly) Osh oblast Districts Meetings 1 200 5 10,000 (in 1 oblast center, quarterly) Communication materials 20,000 10 different topics - (pamphlets, posters, PR kits- GBV, EMF, including design) community health/safety, environment, land acquisition, contractor damages, etc. Project tours for media 12 1,000 2 24,000 GBV training for relevant ARIS 2 500 2 2,000 and contractor/consultant staff Citizen/PAP perception surveys 2,500 2 5,000 Social Assessment of tourism 1 10,000 2 20,000 and agriculture components Contingency (10%) 16,250 Sub-total 112,090 Grievance Redress Activities Communications materials 5000 0.5 2 5,000 (GRM pamphlets) Suggestion boxes (in each 9 50 1 270 municipality) Internal GRM Training for 1 500 5 2,500 ARIS and contractor staff 28 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Contingency (10%) 771 Sub-total 8,841 Total 187,591 29 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 6. GRIEVANCE REDRESS PROCESS 6.1. Beneficiary feedback and grievance redress 46. ARIS has introduced an institutional BFM which includes an expanded Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) that includes all project activities, not just safeguards.4 The systems and requirements (including staffing) for the grievance redress chain of action – from uptake, sorting and processing, and acknowledgement and followâ€? up, to verification and action, monitoring and evaluation, and finally feedback – are embodied in this BFM. To encourage proactive beneficiary engagement, the BFM will be communicated at project orientation and on city and district center notice boards, to direct and indirect project beneficiaries. As a part of the improved system, ARIS will conduct annual outreach and ensure that staff are fully trained, and that information is available in target communities. The RED will utilize this system (written and telephone complaints channels), while ensuring all projectâ€? related information is disseminated and complaints and responses are disaggregated and reported. The use of the GRM for involuntary resettlement purposes will be elaborated in the Resettlement Policy Framework. 47. The tools and approaches used for dissemination of information about the BFM are as follows: • presentation of information by the BFM specialists to local city and village authorities, AO, deputies of the local kenesh; • presentation of information at public hearings, trainings conducted by ARIS staff, the BFM team conducts an entire information campaign in the communities; • banners in district administrative buildings in cities and villages; • BFM section at the official program website. 48. All grievances and appeals received from citizens are delivered to the corporate system for further processing and follow-up. Channels for submitting grievances 1.Hotline: +996(550)70-05-22, (calls are received 1. Grievances are recorded in the BMF logbook under around the clock, the conversation will be recorded); incoming correspondence and are considered if the 2. WhatsApp: +996(770)70-05-22, (instant following information is present: messaging system for mobile devices with voice and • Full name; video support); • Address of registration and residence or telephone 3. Social networks (Facebook – “МОС Ð?РИСâ€?); number; 4. Web-site address: www.aris.kg. • Content of the grievance; 5. Verbal or written grievance received during the • Other reference information. on-site working meetings; If a grievance lacks any of the above data, it is recorded 6. Incoming correspondence via courier to ARIS in the logbook under incoming correspondence of the reception; BFM and the results of the grievance will be published 7. Incoming correspondence by e-mail: bfm@aris.kg in the media at the local level, on ARIS website or made 8. CO ARIS tel.: +996 (312) 301805 (reception) public at the session of the Village and City Keneshs 9. CO ARIS address: 102 Bokonbayeva St., Bishkek, (Councils). Kyrgyz Republic 2. Grievances are entered into the BFM configuration in the 1C system for analysis and monitoring. 3. Grievances may be submitted anonymously. Confidentiality shall be insured in all cases. 4 To improve accountability, independence, and responsiveness to citizens and Project Affected Persons, ARIS will no longer create separate project GRMs, but utilize an independent central mechanism managed at the institutional level by ARIS, that will accept and solicit feedback on all project issues. 30 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 6.2. Receiving Grievances 49. When receiving a grievance, the following points are determined: ï‚· Type of grievance; ï‚· Category of the grievance; ï‚· Persons responsible for review and execution of the grievance; ï‚· Deadline for grievance resolving; ï‚· Agreed actions. 50. After the type of action is determined, the BFM specialist registers details regarding the actions in the incoming correspondence journal, and then in the BFM configuration of the 1C system. The applicant will receive a notification by the BFM specialist by phone or through other BFM channels: ï‚· Full name of the executor (Program officer) to whom the grievance was forwarded; ï‚· Deadline for execution (minimum 10 days, maximum 30 days from the registration date); ï‚· The deadline and actions are determined in accordance with the ARIS instructions for handling the grievance. 51. Notification. Notification will be registered in the outgoing correspondence logbook. The BFM specialist will assist the applicant at all stages of his grievance and ensure that his grievance is properly handled. 52. In case the affected person is not satisfied with the decision resulting from the consideration of grievance, he / she has the right to appeal. Appeal claim is considered by the special ARIS Review Committee on consideration of appeals. ARIS Executive Director will form the Review Committee for consideration of appeals from Program managers and heads of departments, who will conduct hearings of appeal. The Appeals Review Committee will consist of 15-17 persons, of which, two are BFM members and two are persons independent from the Program implementation units and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. 53. After review of the appeal, if the citizen / beneficiary is unsatisfied with the solution, he/she has the right to appeal the decision in a judicial procedure. General information on reported grievances (reference number, type of a grievance), their status and evolving problems will be included in regular Program reports submitted. 6.3. World Bank Grievance Redress System 54. Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a project supported by the World Bank may also complaints directly to the Bank through the Bank’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS) (http://projects-beta.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/products-and- services/grievance-redress-service). A complaint may be submitted in English, Uzbek or Russian, although additional processing time will be needed for complaints that are not in English. A complaint can be submitted to the Bank GRS through the following channels: ï‚· By email: grievances@worldbank.org ï‚· By fax: +1.202.614.7313 ï‚· By mail: The World Bank, Grievance Redress Service, MSN MC10-1018, 1818 H Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20433, USA ï‚· Through the World Bank Kyrgyz Republic Country Office in Bishkek: 210 Moskovskaya Street, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, bishkek@worldbank.org, Tel. +996 312 625262 55. The complaint must clearly state the adverse impact(s) allegedly caused or likely to be caused by the Bank-supported project. This should be supported by available documentation and correspondence to the extent possible. The complainant may also indicate the desired outcome of the 31 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project complaint. Finally, the complaint should identify the complainant(s) or assigned representative/s, and provide contact details. Complaints submitted via the GRS are promptly reviewed to allow quick attention to project-related concerns. 56. In addition, project-affected communities and individuals may submit complaints to the World Bank’s independent Inspection Panel, which will then determine whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of the World Bank’s non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted to the Inspection Panel at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank’s attention, and after Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond . For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. 32 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project 7. MONITORING AND REPORTING 57. Monitoring and evaluation of the stakeholder process is considered vital to ensure ARIS is able to respond to identified issues and alter the schedule and nature of engagement activities to make them more effective. Adherence to the following characteristics/commitments/activities will assist in achieving successful engagement: ï‚· Sufficient resources to undertake the engagement; ï‚· Inclusivity (inclusion of key groups) of interactions with stakeholders; ï‚· Promotion of stakeholder involvement; ï‚· Clearly defined approaches; and ï‚· Transparency in all activities. 58. Monitoring of the stakeholder engagement process allows the efficacy of the process to be evaluated. Specifically, by identifying key performance indicators that reflect the objectives of the SEP and the specific actions and timings, it is possible to both monitor and evaluate the process undertaken. 59. Two distinct but related monitoring activities in terms of timing will be implemented: ï‚· During the engagement activities: short-term monitoring to allow for adjustments/improvements to be made during engagement; and ï‚· Following completion of all engagement activities: review of outputs at the end of engagement to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEP as implemented. 7.1. Review of engagement activities in the field 60. During engagement with stakeholders ARIS Engagement team (E&S Specialists) will assess the activities using a feedback evaluation form or asking questions to participants, depending on the stakeholder group, to ensure that messages are being conveyed clearly. The engagement team will conduct debriefing sessions while in the field. This assesses whether the required outcomes of the stakeholder engagement process are being achieved and provide the opportunity to amend the process where necessary. 61. The use of engagement tools developed through the ESIA engagement including: ï‚· Stakeholder database; ï‚· Issues Log or Issues and Response table; and ï‚· Meeting records of all consultations held. 62. Moreover, the tool can be used to manage on-going Project issues, and for stakeholder identification and analysis processes. 7.2. Reporting Stakeholder Engagement activities 63. Performance will be reviewed following the engagement sessions conducted in the field. In addition, there will be opportunity for the ESIA Engagement team (E&S Specialists) to review and assess performance in between the engagement sessions depending on the level of feedback received from stakeholders during these periods. 64. Evaluation of performance will be assessed based on the extent to which the engagement activities and outputs meet those outlined in this SEP. In assessing performance, the following will be considered: ï‚· Materials disseminated: types, frequency, and location; ï‚· Place and time of formal engagement events and level of participation including specific stakeholder groups (e.g. women, youth, community leaders); ï‚· Number of people attending public or formal meetings 33 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project ï‚· Number of comments received on specific issues, type of stakeholder and details of feedback provided; ï‚· Numbers and type of stakeholders who meet the Project team by mail, telephone and any other means of communication; ï‚· Meeting minutes, attendance registers and photographic evidence; Comments received by government authorities, community leaders and other parties and passed to the Project; ï‚· Numbers and types of feedback and / or grievances and the nature and timing of their resolution; and the extent to which feedback and comments have been addressed and have led to corrective actions being implemented. 65. The reporting on Environmental and Social activities conducted by ARIS during the project implementation phase will be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the ESMF. 7.3. Quarterly and annual reports by ARIS 66. During the Project development and construction phase, the E&S Team will prepare brief monthly reports on E&S performance for ARIS Management which will include an update on implementation of the Stakeholder engagement plan. Monthly reports will be used to develop quarterly, and annual reports reviewed by ARIS Coordinator. The quarterly and annual reports will be disclosed on the Project website and made available in the Town halls of the project affected municipalities. 7.4. Six monthly E&S compliance reports to the World Bank 67. Six-monthly E&S reports will be prepared and submitted to the World Bank during the project implementation period. A section on stakeholder engagement will be included in these reports which will include an update on implementation of the stakeholder engagement plan. 34 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Annex 1. List of participants Consultative Workshop on Regional Development for the Regional Economic Development Project (RED), July 23 - 24, 2019 Location: Osh Governor office 1. Ulanbek Chonoev, Safeguards Specialist, ARIS 2. Ulanbek Baigonchokov, Institutional Development Specialist, ARIS 3. Zamira Jusupova, Deputy Director, Landscaping Department, Osh city 4. Gulnaz Zairova, Investments Specialist, Osh city Zelenstroy 5. Imanbek Sovetbekov, Specialist, Osh city Administration 6. Ismail Kursantbekov, Specialist, Osh city Administration 7. Melis Obozov, Specialist, Osh city Administration 8. M. Isa, BiyOrdo Hotel 9. Gulmira Mamatova, Specialist, UNDP 10. Abdyvaly uulu Askaraly, General Manager, Royan Hotel 11. Zumurat Ibraimzhanova, Director, Sunrise Osh Hotel 12. Abdyrasul Akmatov, Osh Destination 13. Asel Mamatova, Head, Ethno Hotel Osh 14. Akmaral Satikbaeva, Public Organization “Youth of Oshâ€? 15. Nazira Matkadyrova, GIZ 16. Emil Ysmanov, Deputy Director, “Suleimantooâ€? 17. J. Batyrhanova, Accountant 18. A. Aliev, Tourism Council 19. J. Azimov, Vice Mayor, Osh city Administration 20. Orozaliev, Leading Specialist, Osh city Administration 21. Imonaly Turkbaev, Helvetas Kyrgyzstan 22. Burulkan Abdlapakov, Osh Destination. Workshop on July 24 Location: Uzgen City Administration 1. Baktygul Ormonova, Administrator, Kara Shoro Restaurant 2. Turarbek Abdyrahmanov, Director, Uzgen Museum Complex 3. Burulai Mamashoripova, Zakia café 4. Aigul Mamanova, Autostop 5. Umut Ismanova, JCS Autobeket 6. Yashnarbek Egashev, Deputy Director, Azem-Ata 7. Meilikan Duishembieva, Leading Specialist, Uzgen City Administration 8. Sabyrbek Kaberdiev, Leading Specialist, Uzgen City Administration 9. Rahman Atadzhanov, Vice Mayor, Uzgen City Administration 10. Kursanbek Joldoshev, Manager, Almaz Restaurant 11. Salymbek Abdyrahmanov, Farmer Union 12. Shavdanbek Mamediev, National Park Kara-Shoro Administration 13. Avaz Tursunbaev, Leading Specialist, Uzgen Museum Complex 14. Akylbek Abdyrahmanov, Head, Uzgen City Administration 15. Gulnara Azimbalieva, Archivist, Uzgen City Administration 16. Muhtarjan Namarov, Paizabad Company 35 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Annex 2. List of participants Consultative workshop on October 15, 2019 in Osh Oblast 1. Zhylkybaev Uzarbek, The GoK Plenipotentiary Representative in Osh region 2. Makhammadov Akhmadzhan, Deputy The GoK Plenipotentiary Representative in Osh region 3. Turduev Saibzhan, First Deputy Mayor of Osh 4. Kayymov Talantbek, Head of the Department of Economics, Osh City Hall 5. Abdraev Nurlan, Head of the Regional Development Department of the PPKR of Osh Oblast 6. Satybaldiev Toychubay, first deputy head of the Aravan region 7. Adiev Kapar, First Deputy Head of the Kara-Suu District 8. Zhaparov Zamirbek, First Deputy Head of Nookat District 9. Dyikanbaev Bolotbek, First Deputy Head of the Uzgen District 10. Mirzabaramov Payzilla, director of the department of agrarian development of the Aravan region 11. Mamedov Kubanych, Director of the Department of Agrarian Development of the Kara-Suu District 12. Turduev Muhamed, Director of the Department of Agrarian Development of Nookat District 13. Kamchybekov Zholdosh, director of the department of agricultural development of the Uzgen district 14. Zhoroev Ibrahim, manager of Aiyl Bank, Osh 15. Representatives of travel agencies 16. Private entrepreneurs 17. Activists 36 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Annex 3. List of participants Consultative Workshop on Regional Development for the Regional Economic Development Project (RED), October 11, 2019 The Office of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic: 1. Mirbek Koozhoev, Deputy Head, Public Policy and Organizational Audits Department 2. Tenirberdi uulu Azamat, Expert, Public Administration Policy and Organizational Inspection Department 3. Kasymali uulu Kanybek, Expert, Policy of Strategic Development, Economics and Finance Department The Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic: 4. Aibek Kadyrov, Head, Strategic Planning and Regional Development Department The Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic: 5. Suerkul Abdybaly tegin, Deputy Minister 6. Nurbek Mamasydykov, Head, State Investments Program Unit 7. Elvira Akulueva, Leading Specialist, State Investments Program Unit 8. Mehri Davlesova, Financial Manager, Credit Line Management Unit The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration of the Kyrgyz Republic: 9. Zhumabek Asylbekov, Advisor to the Minister 10. Emilbek Kydykmanov, Head of Department of Agrarian Policy and Economic Forecasting 11. Raisa Kabylova, Department of Plant Quarantine 12. R. Ibraev, Head of Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic 13. Bek Dzhekshembaev, Deputy Director, Department of Expertise of Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Reclamation of the Kyrgyz Republic The Ministry of Transport 14. Almazbek Duyshebaev, Head of Department of the Ministry of Transport of the Kyrgyz Republic The Community Development and Investment Agency (ARIS) 15. Bekjan Supanaliev, Executive Director 16. Asel Mambetkulova, Deputy Director 17. Ulan Zainalov, Financial Manager 18. Ulan Baigonchokov, specialist The Agribusiness Competitiveness Center 19. Torogul Bekov, Director 20. Aigul Zholochieva, Project Manager 37 Stakeholder Engagement Plan - Regional Economic Development Project Annex 4. Example Grievance Form Grievance Form Grievance reference number (to be completed by GRM Focal Point): Contact details Name (s): (may be submitted Address: anonymously) Telephone: Email: How would you prefer to be By mail/post: By phone: By email contacted (check one) â˜? â˜? â˜? Preferred language â˜? Kyrgyz â˜? Russian â˜? other___________ Provide details of your grievance. Please describe the problem, who it happened to, when and where it happened, how many times, etc. Describe in as much detail as possible. What is your suggested resolution for the grievance, if you have one? Is there something you would like municipality or another party/person to do to solve the problem? How have you submitted this Website email By hand form to the project? â˜? â˜? â˜? In person By telephone Other (specify) â˜? â˜? â˜? Who filled out this form (If Name and contact details: not the person named above)? Signature Name of Focal Point person assigned responsibility Resolved or referred to Local level? â˜? Resolved â˜? Referred If referred, date: Resolved referred to Central level? â˜? Resolved â˜? Referred If referred, date: Completion Final resolution (briefly describe) Short description Accepted? Acknowledgement (Y/N) signature 1st proposed solution 2nd proposed solution 3rd proposed solution 38