Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: 145763 INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT AND/OR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION PROJECT PAPER ON A PROPOSED GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF US$ 3.62 MILLION TO THE NETHERLANDS RED CROSS FOR A SINT MAARTEN IRMA ROOF REPAIR PROJECT January 15, 2020 Urban, Resilience And Land Global Practice Latin America And Caribbean Region CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective January 15, 2020) Currency Unit = US Dollar (US$) US$1 = US$1 FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 Regional Vice President: J. Humberto Lopez Country Director: Tahseen Sayed Global Director: Sameh Naguib Wahba Tadros Practice Manager: Ming Zhang Task Team Leader(s): Saurabh Suresh Dani, Alexander Agosti ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ADM Accountability and Decision Making BoQs Bill of Quantities CPF Country Partnership Framework DFIL Disbursement and Financial Information letter DRR Disaster Risk Reduction ELCRU EFI-LCR-GOV-Procurement FM Financial Management GDP Gross Domestic Product ECOP Environmental Code of Practices E&S Environment and Social ELCG1 ELCG1 - EFI-LCR-GOV-FM & PS-1 ESF Environmental and Social Framework ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP Environment and Social Management Plan EDMF Environment and Social Management Framework FM Financial Management FI Financial Intermediaries GBV Gender Based Violence HQ Headquarters LEG Legal LMP Labor Management Procedures NLRC Netherland Red Cross NRRP National Recovery and Resilience Plan OHS Health and Safety Guidelines PDO Project Development Objective SCD Systematic Country Diagnostic SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SEP Stakeholder Engagement Plan SLCSO Social LCR SLCUR Social, Urban Rural and Resilience SXM Sint Maarten SOP Series of Projects USD United States Dollars VROMI Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) BASIC INFORMATION Is this a regionally tagged project? Country (ies) No Financing Instrument Classification Investment Project Financing Small Grants [✔] Situations of Urgent Need or Assistance/or Capacity Constraints [ ] Financial Intermediaries (FI) [ ] Series of Projects (SOP) OPS_BASI CINFO_TABLE _3 Approval Date Closing Date Environmental and Social Risk Classification 26-Nov-2019 31-Dec-2020 Moderate Approval Authority Bank/IFC Collaboration CDA No Please Explain Proposed Development Objective(s) The development objective is to repair roofs up to a safe standard for vulnerable households affected by Hurricane Irma. Components Component Name Cost (USD Million) Page 1 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Roof Repair of Damaged Houses (USD 3.62 million) 3.62 Organizations Borrower : Netherlands Red Cross Implementing Agency : Netherlands Red Cross PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 3.62 Total Financing 3.62 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 3.62 Free-standing Single Purpose Trust Fund 3.62 Expected Disbursements (in USD Million) Fiscal Year 2020 2021 Annual 1.74 1.88 Cumulative 1.74 3.62 INSTITUTIONAL DATA Practice Area (Lead) Urban, Resilience and Land Contributing Practice Areas Page 2 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) OVERALL RISK RATING Risk Category Rating Overall ⚫ Moderate COMPLIANCE Policy Does the project depart from the CPF in content or in other significant respects? [ ] Yes [✔] No Does the project require any waivers of Bank policies? [ ] Yes [✔] No Page 3 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Environmental and Social Standards Relevance Given its Context at the Time of Appraisal E & S Standards Relevance Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Relevant Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant Labor and Working Conditions Relevant Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management Relevant Community Health and Safety Relevant Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Not Currently Relevant Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Not Currently Relevant Resources Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Not Currently Relevant Local Communities Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant Legal Covenants Conditions PROJECT TEAM Bank Staff Name Role Specialization Unit Team Leader(ADM Saurabh Suresh Dani SLCUR Responsible) Alexander Agosti Team Leader SLCUR Procurement Specialist(ADM Carlos Lago Bouza ELCRU Responsible) Page 4 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Financial Management Emeline Bredy ELCG1 Specialist Social Specialist(ADM Christopher Mays Johnson SLCSO Responsible) Martin Humberto Ochoa Environmental Specialist(ADM SLCEN Salgado Responsible) Barbara Donaldson Social Specialist SLCSO Lisa Lui Counsel LEGLE Marcela Nandllely Team Member SLCUR Gonzalez Mesut Serhat Ayhan Team Member SLCUR Mohammad Nadeem Team Member LEGLE Yasmin Reyes Angeles Team Member SLCUR Extended Team Name Title Organization Location Page 5 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) CARIBBEAN SINT MAARTEN IRMA ROOF REPAIR PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 7 A. Country Context .................................................................................................................. 7 B. Sectoral and Institutional Context ...................................................................................... 7 C. Higher Level Objectives to which the Project Contributes ................................................. 9 II. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES .............................................................................. 9 A. PDO...................................................................................................................................... 9 B. Project Beneficiaries ............................................................................................................ 9 C. PDO-Level Results Indicators............................................................................................. 10 III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 10 A. Project Components.......................................................................................................... 10 B. Project Cost and Financing ................................................................................................ 13 IV. IMPLEMENTATION........................................................................................................ 13 A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements ............................................................. 13 B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................... 14 C. Sustainability ..................................................................................................................... 15 V. KEY RISKS ..................................................................................................................... 15 A. Overall Risk Rating and Explanation of Key Risks.............................................................. 15 VI. APPRAISAL SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 16 A. Legal Operational Policies ................................................................................................. 16 B. Environmental and Social .................................................................................................. 16 VII. WORLD BANK GRIEVANCE REDRESS .............................................................................. 19 VII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING .................................................................... 20 Page 6 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT A. Country Context 1. Sint Maarten is a high-income constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. It occupies the southern half of an island shared with the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. It is the most densely populated country in the Caribbean with a population of over 40,000 and a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $25,381 in 2018. 2. Sint Maarten is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and adverse climatic events due to its location within the hurricane belt. In past decades, the country has been exposed to high winds and notably intense hurricanes: Donna in 1960 (Category 3), Luis in 1995 (Category 4), and Irma 2017 (Category 5 on Saffir-Simpson scale). Due to the small size of the country, a single storm has the potential to directly impact the entire population. Increased urbanization along with climate change and limited country capacity to build resilience adds to its vulnerability to natural hazards. 3. Sint Maarten is currently rebuilding from the ravages of Hurricane Irma that impacted 90 percent of infrastructure in the country and caused damages and losses estimated each at around 129% of GDP in September of 2017. The hurricane had severe impacts on the country’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism. The sector accounted for 45 percent of the country’s GDP and 73 percent of its foreign exchange in 2016, with activities in the transport, storage and communication sector related to tourism contributing another 11 percent of GDP to the country’s total foreign exchange income in 2016. Socio-economic impacts were significant, with a potentially significant impact on poverty on the island. B. Sectoral and Institutional Context 4. Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean in Sept. 2017 with an intensity rarely seen in the region. One of the strongest storms on record, the Category 5 hurricane was particularly devastating in its impact on small island states like Sint Maarten. 5. The Government-led and World Bank-supported National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed in the wake of hurricane season, estimated total damages ($1.4b) and losses ($1.3b) at $2.7b, and projected that $2.3b would be required for recovery and resilience interventions over seven years. Sectors with the largest impacts included: Housing (22.8 pct), Tourism/Commerce (19.0 pct), and Governance/PFM (9.4 pct). 6. More than two years after Hurricane Irma struck, many households are still feeling the impacts of the disaster and many roofs are still to be repaired. Vulnerable households that lack access to resources are struggling to repair and rebuild by themselves. 7. The Irma Reconstruction, Recovery, and Resilience Trust Fund for Sint Maarten was established in April 2018 at the World Bank with financing from the Government of the Netherlands to help respond to the Page 7 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) devastation caused by Hurricane Irma in Sint Maarten. The Netherlands Guiding principles for the Trust Fund1 include a three-pronged approach which foresees the allocation of reconstruction financing to the Government of Sint Maarten, to non-governmental organizations and to international organizations through projects overseen by the World Bank. In this context, the Steering Committee of the Sint Maarten Reconstruction, Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund (composed of one representative each of the Government of Sint Maarten, the Government of the Netherlands, and the World Bank) approved a Small Grant2 for the proposed Sint Maarten Red Cross Roof Repair Project at its July 15-16, 2019,meeting and the Project was endorsed by the Government of Sint Maarten3. 8. The proposed project complements the larger home repair program implemented by the Government of Sint Maarten under the World Bank-financed Emergency Recovery Project approved in July 2018 for US$55 million. The Government’s housing repair program focuses on 350 houses that require substantial repair work, both for roofs and the building structure. The Sint Maarten Irma Red Cross Roof Repair Project will focus on houses that need only roof repairs, not larger, structural repairs. The target beneficiaries of the Red Cross program and beneficiaries of the Government’s house repair program do not overlap. The Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) will be the recipient and implementing agency for the project. 9. The proposed project builds on these lessons learned from a previous NLRC home-owner driven roof repair project which fixed 165 roofs and provided materials and technical guidance for repair of an additional 520 roofs between early 2018 and October 2019. Under the latter project, NLRC conducted estimates of material requirements and provided adequate materials and training manuals directly to beneficiaries. However, during implementation, NLRC found that many beneficiary families could not undertake repairs on their own due to specific vulnerabilities such as age, disability or lack of expertise. As a result, NLRC adjusted its implementation strategy by training and hiring local tradesmen to help with roof repairs, supervising repairs and exercising quality control. Details of the completed project are elaborated in the lessons learned section below. The project proposed in this document will use the same implementation structure of having roofs repaired by teams of tradesmen with strong oversight. 10. The Netherlands Red Cross is qualified and well equipped to undertake the activities proposed by the project. It has considerable technical expertise in the area of roof and home repairs. NLRC maintains the Luxemburg Shelter Research Unit as an expertise centre for the International Federation of the Red Cross. Also, NLRC has provided new shelters and repaired damaged houses in many post-disaster and refugee crisis situations. Most notably, NLRC supported the construction of over 450 new shelters and repaired close to 2,250 damaged houses in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. After Hurricane Mathew, NLRC worked in Haiti rebuilding 40 houses and badly damaged schools. In refugee camps in Zambia, NLRC constructed 50 emergency sleeping shelters (wood and tarpaulin structures, with foundations), 4 kitchen shelters and 4 reception centres (including cooking stoves and latrines). 11. NLRC’s mandate is to provide provide humanitarian assistance and to alleviate suffering of those in need and affected by conflict, disasters and other crises within the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands (per Royal Decree as revised in 1988), including all Kingdom territories in the Caribbean Sea, in a role auxiliary to the 1 Administration Arrangement, Sint Maarten Irma Reconstruction, Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund, Annex 3, April 16, 2018. 2 Small Grants cannot exceed US $5.0 Million. 3 Letter of the Prime Minister of Sint Maarten to the World Bank, November 15, 2019. Page 8 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) government’s obligation to its people. The Netherlands Red Cross operates in full accordance with the Geneva Protocols and the seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Movement2. 12. Finally, the NLRC is established in Sint Maarten, where it acts through its locally established branch (Red Cross Sint Maarten). In times of disasters or increased needs for assistance, such as following Hurricane Irma, it also scales up its own presence to provide sufficient assistance for the people affected by hurricane Irma. In Sint Maarten, NLRC occupies a separate location (registered with the Sint Maarten Chamber of Commerce) next to the local branch to support the increased need for assistance and enable its relief and recovery operations. C. Higher Level Objectives to which the Project Contributes 13. The project supports the recovery and resilience objectives of the Sint Maarten Irma Reconstruction, Recovery and Resilience Trust Fund and the guiding principles set out in its administration arrangement. 14. The project is aligned with the Government of Sint Maarten’s NRRP. It will target some of the most vulnerable populations affected by the 2017 hurricane and contribute to strengthening future resilience of these populations to the impacts of future natural disasters. II. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES A. PDO 15. The project’s development objective is to repair roofs up to a safe standard for vulnerable households affected by Hurricane Irma. 16. The project will assist vulnerable households in repairing their homes, contribute significantly to their recovery from Hurricane Irma, and allow them to be better prepared for future disasters. It will also increase local capacity in the construction sector by training more people in construction and employing them in construction crews, thereby contributing to the economic recovery of people involved. 17. The NLRC aims to repair an estimated 200 damaged house roofs in focus areas not covered under the earlier NLRC project. NLRC-employed and supervised construction crews will repair the roofs to ensure faster and high- quality repairs. The construction crews will use an updated version of the reconstruction guidelines originally developed by the NLRC in collaboration with a local engineering firm and the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI). B. Project Beneficiaries 18. Project beneficiaries will be identified based on technical assessments of structures followed by economic and social assessments to ensure that approximately 200 of the most vulnerable households are targeted as beneficiaries of the project. 2 The Seven Principles of the Red Cross were reaffirmed at the 25th International Conference of the Red Cross held in Geneva in 1986. Page 9 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) 19. The NLRC selects beneficiaries of the recovery program based on the seven fundamental principles of the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Following the principle of impartiality, beneficiaries are selected without regard to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion, and the NLRC does not make eligibility decisions based on documentation status, residency, homeownership or renter status, or any other such factors. C. PDO-Level Results Indicators 20. The expected results of the project are: • Approximately 200 roofs repaired to safe standards, contributing to increased resilience to natural disasters and climate change; The project intermediate outcomes are: • 50 local tradesmen receiving resilient construction training; • An increased awareness of hurricane resistant building practices in communities. III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. Project Components Component 1: Roof Repair of Damaged Houses (USD 3.62 million). 21. The Project consists of a single component with the following parts: (i) support for the repairing of approximately 200 damaged residential household roofs to safe standards; and (ii) daily Per-diems to the selected households for temporary relocation to a safe place during their home repair. 22. The component is best described by the steps followed in its implementation. These are elaborated in this section. They include: area selection; beneficiary identification and selection; measurement and distribution of bills of quantities and conducting technical workshops; roof repairs by construction crews; and quality control of repairs. 23. Area selection: The project will repair roofs in areas of the island where there is still significant hurricane damage and people are struggling to rebuild. These areas could include Philipsburg, Belvedere, Cul du Sac and Over the Pond. Most of the remaining areas on the island have already been served through the recently concluded NLRC funded roof repair project. The final selection of areas will be based on further consultation with key stakeholders during the project consultation process, information from communities, and discussion and consultation with the World Bank. Officials from the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB) will also be consulted during this process. Though there will likely be a general focus on some communities during project Page 10 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) implementation, a strict segregation between areas is unlikely however and beneficiary eligibility will consider need rather than strict location. 24. Beneficiary identification and selection: Once area selection is completed, NLRC will begin with beneficiary identification, starting with one community and focusing all resources on beneficiary selection to allow construction crews to advance as quickly as possible with their work. After the initial start, roll-out will start in multiple areas at the same time. The project aims to reach approximately 200 households. NLRC field teams (community mobilisers and technical staff) will perform a mapping exercise of houses showing visible hurricane damage. Community mobilisers will pro-actively engage with households to complete a vulnerability assessment. This engagement will be done by door to door assessments based on the damage mapping of selected areas. 25. After initial identification, a selection will take place by community mobilisers based on existing eligibility criteria of vulnerability. The selection process will focus on key aspects of vulnerability: (i) availability or access to financial capital, (ii) social capital and human capital; and (iii) prioritizing particularly vulnerable groups such as elderly, female-headed single parent households, households with disabled inhabitants, etc. Prior written approval from homeowners and landowners for the repairs and documentation establishing ownership are a strict requirement. As legal status on the island is not a requirement for selection, therefore, households will not be asked to provide this information. 26. The eligibility of beneficiaries will also depend on a technical assessment, focusing on repair requirements. The project will focus on roof repairs, although in select cases doors and windows may be repaired/replaced to create a safe living environment. While the ring beam structure sometimes needs to be repaired/replaced as part of the roof repair, other structural repairs and full reconstruction fall outside of the scope of this project. Houses found with asbestos in the roof will not be eligible for roof repair works, since NLRC does not have the requisite skills for safe asbestos removal and disposal. The technical assessment will therefore focus on ensuring that only households with repairs that fall within the project scope are included. 27. Measurement and distribution of Bills of Quantities (BoQs) and technical workshops: The BoQs will be finalized with beneficiaries when they attend a technical workshop that introduces the most important aspects of safe construction, principles of hurricane resistant buildings and main reconstruction techniques as relevant on the island. NLRC will share the agreed BoQs with the selected supplier(s) for the project, who will deliver the supplies to homes to coincide with the planned construction. 28. Roof repairs by construction crews: As part of a livelihood component of a broader disaster recovery program independently funded and managed by the NLRC, the NLRC has trained crews in construction skills. Under the proposed project, construction crews will be directly hired by NLRC. Each crew typically consists of three to four staff with different skills (carpenters, builders, helpers). All crew members will have successfully completed a short construction course (adapted and contextualized from a Habitat for Humanity construction course) provided by NLRC staff through NLRC resources. Each construction crew will be equipped with tools for repairs. Page 11 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) 29. Quality control of repairs: Roofs will be repaired according to technical guidelines established for the project. The roof repair guidelines take into account local hazards, most notably the impact of strong winds. For every four construction crews, there will be one site supervisor for daily on-site monitoring of progress, quality and safety. Different repair jobs will be allocated to different crews, some repairs requiring only two or three staff and some larger repairs requiring five or six staff. Four NLRC staff consisting of skilled engineers or architects will provide both training and oversight to construction crews and monitor the overall quality of repairs. A project manager will oversee the entire project. 30. Beneficiary Safety Protocol and Per-Diem Determination: The project technical team headed by the Project Manager: Roof Repair, will determine whether it would be safe for the beneficiary household to stay overnight in their house when repair works are under way. If it is deemed unsafe for them to stay overnight, the family will be provided with daily per-diems that are in line with the guidelines implemented by the NRPB under the Emergency Recovery Project that have been determined following market research and cost estimates for basic daily expenses including lodging. 31. The per-diem will be paid to the beneficiary with records of signed documentation maintained by NLRC for the amount of each payment provided and received by the beneficiary. Lessons learned 32. NLRC’s recently completed roof repair project was independently funded and designed based on an owner-driven model to provide materials directly to beneficiaries based on detailed BoQs. The NLRC found that a lot of beneficiaries did not have the technical skills or ability to repair their own roofs. As a result, NLRC changed the project design. They hired local tradesmen and trained them in undertaking resilient roof repairs. The trainings were based on roof repair guidelines developed by NLRC in collaboration with a local engineering firm and VROMI. The NLRC organized these tradesmen into teams and created a monitoring and technical supervision team to ensure good quality. 33. The construction teams will use an updated version of the roof repair guidelines originally developed by the NLRC in collaboration with a local engineering firm and VROMI. Roofs will be repaired to an improved standard through the use of added safety methods and materials (e.g., the use of hurricane straps to tie roofs into the housing structure, the use of screws instead of nails to fasten roof sheets to the roofing structure, etc.) and techniques (tighter spacing between rafters, reduced roof overhang beyond the walls, etc.). 34. Under its own project, the NLRC conducted extensive beneficiary selection consultations, community workshops and in consultation with the community came up with a two-step process wherein the first step was based on identification of the area and structure and the second step was prioritizing those beneficiaries that were the most vulnerable from an economic and social perspective. To ensure a smooth and streamlined process between the two steps, an Information Management specialist has been added to the team to record decisions and organize the flow of activities. Page 12 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) 35. Community consultations and keeping the community informed is a key take-away from housing projects undertaken by the World Bank in South Asia, most recently in Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Nepal. Another important lesson is transparency in beneficiary selection to make sure the community is on-board and there are no grievances from unfair selection. Both these lessons have been incorporated into the implementation design by the NLRC with an increase in the number of community mobilizers in the team, increased frequency of community consultations, and a stronger grievance mechanism system developed for the project. 36. These lessons have been incorporated into the Sint Maarten Red Cross Roof Repair Project to ensure that the project prioritizes vulnerable beneficiaries whose housing roofs were severely impacted by Hurricane Irma and that the project implementation design ensures quality and efficiency in project implementation and delivery. The NLRC is committed to integrating lessons into the project on a continuing basis; additional lessons learned during this project will be incorporated in real time to ensure a more effective and efficient implementation of the project. B. Project Cost and Financing Project Components Project cost Trust Funds Counterpart Funding Total Costs $ 3.62 M $ 3.62 M - Total Project Costs Total Financing Required $ 3.62 M IV. IMPLEMENTATION A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 37. The project will be implemented directly by the Netherlands Red Cross with a management team based in their headquarters (HQ) in the Netherlands and an implementation team based on the ground in Sint Maarten. The Head of Mission in Sint Maarten will have overall responsibility of the implementation on ground and report directly to the Portfolio coordinator in HQ. The implementation team will comprise a project manager who will manage the project; two construction coordinators, two technical delegates, two community mobilizers, four site supervisors and thirteen construction crew teams comprising of 58 craftsmen who will undertake the roof repair work. 38. A finance delegate based in Sint Maarten will report directly to Finance Control at the NLRC HQ and will be supported by a finance officer. 39. The organogram below outlines the roles and reporting mechanisms for the entire project team. Page 13 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Figure 1: Organigram Sint Maarten Irma Red Cross Roof Repair Project B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation 40. Monitoring systems for the project activities will monitor all input, activities and result areas. For the tracking of beneficiaries through the life-cycle of the project, all actions will be logged in a beneficiary database including all steps in the project: from initial identification and assessment, to ensuring all beneficiaries sign beneficiary agreements, are enrolled in workshops and have their BoQs explained. The repairs will be done by NLRC construction crews and monitored daily on site by construction coordinators and site supervisors. Monitoring will be discussed internally by the implementation agency on a monthly basis. The project will have quarterly reports to the World Bank which will include data from the monitoring systems. A final household satisfaction survey will be part of the project monitoring and evaluation cycle. Page 14 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) C. Sustainability 41. The roof repairs are designed to be sustainable, improving roof construction when compared to the roof constructions in place prior to prior to Hurricane Irma. Sustainability improvements can only be measured for the roofs and not for the remainder of selected housing structures, as the project only intervenes on the roofing structure3. Several factors are included in the project with the aim to improve sustainability of the roof repair approach itself. These include providing technical workshops to beneficiaries improve their knowledge of hurricane resistant building, empowering beneficiaries to not only have the capacity to monitor repairs to their own house, but also to provide knowledge for future maintenance and minor repairs. Furthermore, the project uses local staff in all construction crews, training significant numbers of local staff on key hurricane safe construction techniques. Finally, key messages on household safety, stimulating and supporting household safety planning are included in a larger on-going NLRC-funded Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) project. V. KEY RISKS A. Overall Risk Rating and Explanation of Key Risks 42. Technical. As the project approach has already been tested and proven successful in its current form, the technical implementation risks are low. However, buy-in from local stakeholders to secure access to communities and support from Government remain crucial to ensure continued success. NLRC continuously cooperates and aligns with local stakeholders to strengthen collaboration. 43. Capacity. Another risk is the retention of staff, in particular, construction crews who are critical to the project. Recruiting new staff takes time and has an impact on stakeholder management. As long as NLRC can provide continuity in the project, this risk is considered to be low. However, this risk can become high in case of a gap in funding or the inability to retain current staff. 44. Financial. Based on the WB’s FM assessment of the NLRC conducted in September 2019, the overall residual FM risk is Moderate with respect to the proposed. NLRC is well established and follows appropriate FM practices. It also has significant experience in implementing similar projects. The risk rating reflects the fact that it has no specific experience working with the World Bank as an implementing entity. 45. Procurement. Based on a review of procurement documentation from the current NLRC roof repair program, the procurement arrangement agreed with the Bank for the proposed Project and the low complexity of the procurement proposed for the Project, the procurement risk is considered moderate. 46. Environmental. The Project’s environmental risk is classified as moderate. Project activities have minimal adverse environmental risks. Since the activities to be carried out are limited to the repairs of roofs of individual homes, the environmental risks from the proposed activities are very localized, temporary in nature, limited to the construction period, and mostly related to occupational health and safety of the workers and the 3 Improved roofs will only be placed on structures that are sound enough to support them. Those that are not will not be eligible for repairs. Page 15 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) home occupiers, which can be readily mitigated. Construction crews will wear protective gear during demolition of damaged roofs and repairs. Given the nature of the roofs to be repaired, should structures to be demolished present signs of mold, construction crews will follow mold safe removal management procedures, according to the project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework. 47. Social. The project’s social risk is considered moderate. The NLRC is experienced in managing the social risks associated with roof repairs and vulnerable communities. The project has developed a robust Stakeholder Engagement Plan and labor management procedures as well as a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) that meets the expected standards of the World Bank ESF. The GRM has spelled out specific procedures to accept and resolve complaints related to working conditions and gender-based violence. While the project does not require resettlement of project beneficiaries, temporary relocation may be warranted in certain cases. In these instances, the recipient is committed and resourced to mitigate the social risk pertaining to this and other social risks as required. 48. Disaster Event. An external risk to project implementation is another disaster event occurring within the implementation period of the project. The potential impact of this risk is linked to the impact of the potential disaster itself. In the event of a large-scale disaster, project implementation may not be able to continue under then current design and objectives. In this case, NLRC and the World Bank would jointly decide on the feasibility of continuing or adjusting project objectives, timeline, budget and activities. VI. APPRAISAL SUMMARY A.. Legal Operational Policies . Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No . B. Environmental and Social 49. The environment and social (E&S) screening of the proposed activities under the project did not identify significant potential environmental or social risks and/or impacts. Since the activities to be carried out are limited to the repairs of roofs of individual homes, the environmental risks from the proposed activities are very localized, temporary in nature, limited to the construction period, and mostly related to occupational health and safety of the workers and the home occupiers, which can be readily mitigated. 50. The NLRC will incorporate any necessary E&S risk management processes and procedures consistent with ESS1 in the project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF). The ESMF lays out the processes and procedures for selecting the specific home roof sites to be repaired. The ESMF also delineates the principles, rules, guidelines, procedures to assess the need for temporary relocation and on a case by case basis, the mitigation measures, and the amount of compensation to be paid per household or for small businesses, should temporary relocation is deemed needed. The ESMF also includes an Environmental Code of Practices (ECOP) which will guide NLRC in the Page 16 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) screening of specific risks and mitigation measures for each roof to be repaired and Occupational Health and Safety Guidelines (OHS) for the small works to be carried out, and for the handling of mold should construction crews find their presence in the damaged roofs to be repaired. 51. The risks and impacts pertaining to labor and working conditions are not considered complex and are easily mitigated by practices that the work teams and the county team is familiar with. Labor influx is not anticipated, thirteen construction teams who perform the repair work are recruited locally in Sint Maarten and given NLRC employment contacts, work crews are categorized as contracted workers under the ESF and under the NLRC contract they work the same hours as staff. There are no government workers engaged on this project. The NLRC will apply Labor Management Procedures (LMP) for managing labor issues, such as safety requirements, training on safety, and complaints handling pertaining to misconduct or fraud. 52. Regarding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA)/Sexual Harassment (SH) issues, the Gender Based Violence (GBV) risk assessment for the project determined that the project is considered low risk for gender-based violence incidents taking into account all the proposed mitigation measures. The project’s mitigation measures will include measures to reduce risks of GBV incidents such as: informing project affected communities about GBV risks, during the consultation process, reflecting GBV risks in the instruments like the ESMP, and having defined GBV requirements in the Code of Conduct to be signed by project workers. 53. To ensure stakeholder engagement and information disclosure, NLRC will carry out the Project’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP). The SEP provides details on how key stakeholders will be engaged through different parts of the project. The SEP includes specific measures to allow continuous engagement and adequate communication, from before appraisal when key safeguards documents were consulted on and disclosed, through to beneficiary selection and project implementation. 54. In the case that changes to the Project’s environmental and social risks and impacts result in the need for additional funding, the NLRC will consult with the Bank to restructure the project or request additional financing. C. Technical and Economic Feasibility 55. The proposed Project relies on simple approaches, technical designs and technologies for the project. The roof repairs will be undertaken by trained craftsmen with comprehensive technical and management supervision. The average cost of roof repair is based on actual costs incurred by the NLRC in their recently completed project. This proposed project includes a provision for per-diems for beneficiaries who might have to relocate temporarily for health or safety reasons. 56. The direct beneficiaries of the project will be approximately 200 families who will have a safe roof over their head. These will be amongst the most vulnerable families in Sint Maarten who do not have the provisions to undertake their own roof repair. Strengthened roof designs will ensure that housing damage in future disasters is reduced. 57. Development Impact: The project contributes to restoring Sint Maarten’s prospects for development and increasing resilience in the face of future disasters. Special care is taken to adequately target this roof repair program to lower income and vulnerable households. This period of recovery is a prime opportunity to build back better by incorporating resilience measures into the housing sector. Training of local craftsmen to undertake the repairs will create employment, build a stronger and more robust social and physical infrastructure, and help prepare Sint Maarten Page 17 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) for future weather events. 58. NLRC is responsible for the quality of the works delivered under the Project. The NLRC will manage preparation and execution of the entire project. The NLRC will manage supervision of the social and environmental aspects. With regards to the procurement process, the NLRC will ensure the processes follow WB policies and procedures. 59. Gender and Citizen Engagement: Particular attention has been paid to gender and citizen engagement considerations. The beneficiary selection criteria are designed to target the most vulnerable populations, including female-headed, single-parent households. Citizen engagement will be ensured through an open and transparent area and beneficiary selection process. Community mobilisers will lead the engagement process through door-to-door assessments as well as communication through social and traditional media on dates and times the NLRC teams will be in selected areas. This approach is effective in identification of households with hurricane damage: both active outreach by NLRC field teams and high visibility of teams visiting areas over the repair period ensures interaction between communities and the NLRC to obtain a comprehensive coverage of selected areas and ensure optimum community engagement. D. Financial Management and Disbursement 60. A FM assessment4 of the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) was conducted on September 30, 2019 in the Hague. The assessment’s objective is to evaluate the adequacy of the financial management system (planning, budgeting, accounting, internal controls, funds flow, financial reporting, and auditing arrangements) of the Project Implemention Unit (PIU) to (a) correctly and completely record all transactions and balances relating to the project; (b) facilitate the preparation of regular, timely, and reliable financial statements; (c) safeguard the project’s assets; and (d) be subject to auditing arrangements acceptable to the Bank. 61. The conclusion of this assessment is that the overall residual FM risk is Moderate with respect to the proposed project’s FM arrangements as defined at the time of the assessment5. Indeed, NLRC is well established and has significant experience in implementing similar projects. 62. The recipient has taken appropriate actions to ensure the proposed FM action plan is implemented satisfactorily within the established deadlines. Based on the assessment, gaps in FM arrangements in place at NLRC had been noted. The FM arrangements have become acceptable to the Bank subsequent to the resolution and agreement on compliance of the FM action plan. 63. World Bank Financial Management Supervision Plan. A World Bank FM specialist has completed a review of the action plan and all FM arrangements for the Project according to the deadlines specified in the plan. After effectiveness, the FM specialist will review the audit report and the financial sections of the quarterly IFRs and perform supervision missions as required of the project. This supervision strategy will be reviewed periodically and adjusted based on performance and risk. 4 The assessment was conducted in accordance with OP/BP for IPF and in line with the Financial Management Manual for World Bank Investment Project Financing (IPF) Operations (OPCS5.05-DIR.01, issued February 10, 2017) to assess the adequacy of financial management arrangements in place at the NLRC. 5 At the time of the FM assessment, project implementation arrangements were still being fine-tuned by the task team. Page 18 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) E. Procurement 64. Procurement for the project shall be carried out in accordance with the World Bank's procurement regulations. These are known as the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for Investment Project Financing (IPF) Borrowers for Goods, Works, Non-Consulting, and Consulting Services, date July 1, 2016, revised November 2017 and August 2018, hereinafter referred to as ‘Regulations’. The project shall be subject to the World Bank’s Anticorruption Guidelines, dated October 15, 2006, and revised in January 2011. All procurement for the project will be carried out by NLRC. 65. NLRC is well established and has significant experience in implementing similar projects, but it has no specific experience working with the World Bank as an implementing entity. Having said that, NLRC has experience procuring goods needed for the development of the project. 66. The NLRC PIU established in Sint Maarten has a procurement team with the necessary skills and experience for successful execution of the project. During preparation, it was agreed that NLRC would conduct an updated market assessment of construction materials suppliers to ensure the most efficient use of Project funds. VII. World Bank Grievance Redress 67. Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a World Bank (WB) supported project may submit complaints to existing project-level grievance redress mechanisms or the WB’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address project-related concerns. Project affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB’s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of WB non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank's attention, and Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank’s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/products-and-services/grievance-redress-service. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. . Page 19 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) VII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING Results Framework COUNTRY : St Maarten Sint Maarten Irma Red Cross Roof Repair Project Project Development Objectives The development objective is to repair roofs up to a safe standard for vulnerable households affected by Hurricane Irma. Project Development Objective Indicators Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Corporate Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection Name: Households Number 0.00 200.00 impacted by Hurricane Irma live in safe housing Description: Page 20 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Corporate Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection Name: Households have Percentag 0.00 60.00 increased knowledge of e hurricane resistant housing Description: Intermediate Results Indicators Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Corporate Measur Baseline End Target Frequency Methodology Data Collection e Name: Households with Number 0.00 200.00 damaged houses attend roof repair and roof strengthening workshop Description: Name: Trained local Number 0.00 50.00 tradesmen employed for undertaking repairs Description: Name: Number of Number 0.00 30.00 women led households Page 21 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Corporate Measur Baseline End Target Frequency Methodology Data Collection e live in safe housing Description: Page 22 of 23 The World Bank Sint Maarten Irma Roof Repair Project (P172619) Target Values Project Development Objective Indicators FY Indicator Name End Target Households impacted by Hurricane Irma live in safe housing 200.00 Households have increased knowledge of hurricane resistant housing 60.00 Intermediate Results Indicators FY Indicator Name End Target Households with damaged houses attend roof repair and roof strengthening workshop 200.00 Trained local tradesmen employed for undertaking repairs 50.00 Number of women led households live in safe housing 30.00 Page 23 of 23