INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA2317 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 27-Feb-2013 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 11-Apr-2013 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Yemen, Republic of Project ID: P132116 Project Name: Climate Information System and PPCR Coordination (P132116) Task Team Lia Carol Sieghart Leader: Estimated 16-Mar-2013 Estimated 27-Sep-2013 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: MNSEN Lending Specific Investment Loan Instrument: Sector(s): General information and communications sector (50%), Public administration- Water, sanitation and flood protection (50%) Theme(s): Climate change (100%) Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP No 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies)? Financing (In USD Million) Public Disclosure Copy Total Project Cost: 19.00 Total Bank Financing: 0.00 Total Cofinancing: Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 Strategic Climate Fund Grant 19.00 Total 19.00 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? 2. Project Objectives The project development objective is to improve the quality of hydro-meteorological and climate services provided to end-users. 3. Project Description The project would increase climate resilience – better managing water resources, increasing Page 1 of 6 agricultural productivity and reducing the risk of climate-sensitive diseases – by improving the monitoring and assessment of climate variability and change and providing targeted and reliable information for decision making. The project will have social and economic benefits by managing Public Disclosure Copy risk in weather-related disasters that disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable populations through improving forecasting, early warning systems and the observed climatology of Yemen. This would be achieved by building up a National Framework for Climate Services as proposed by and supporting the provision of data and information to the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), through: upgrading the existing meteorological and hydrological observing networks, improving the timeliness and accuracy of weather and flood forecasts and warnings, and delivering better weather, climate and water services. Activities funded through the project would help improve climate-sensitive decision-making and planning in key vulnerable and water resources dependent sectors, particularly agriculture, and contribute to building resilience for communities and sectors at risk. Better uptake and use of weather, climate and water information would be achieved by strengthening partnerships between the providers and users of weather, climate and water information through dedicated climate working groups and existing community organizations. The project would also improve coordination and information sharing between all of agencies responsible for the collection of climate data, analysis and decision-support as well as maintain the oversight of the overall PPCR program, particularly in regards to knowledge management, awareness rising and information sharing with stakeholders of information developed throughout the program. The project would consist of the following four components: Component A: Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Component B: Modernization and Expansion of the National Hydrometeorological and Monitoring Networks Component C: Enhancement of Service Delivery System Component D: PPCR Program Management and Knowledge Sharing Component A. Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building (PPCR Financing US$3.40 million Public Disclosure Copy including contingencies): This component aims to improve climate resilience in Yemen through provision of weather, climate and water services that meet stakeholders’ needs by creating the conditions that ensure institutional, staffing and financial sustainability of the key providers (CAMA/ YMS, MAI and NWRA). This includes revising and updating institutional strategies taking into account new requirements for climate services. It will support revision and adoption of legal frameworks and standard operating procedures, in line with international common practice to share data and information to improve intra-government cooperation to cope with weather, climate and water related hazards. It will build capacity through training providing access to new skills and opportunities within each of the participating organizations. The component will also support the technical design and implementation of the overall modernization program to ensure that the new components can be integrated into the current operational systems. Component B. Modernization and Expansion of the National Hydrometeorological and Monitoring Networks (PPCR Financing US$7.55 million including contingencies): This component aims to upgrade and expand the observations networks for meteorology, agro-meteorology and hydro- meteorology, ensuring that these networks are interoperable between CAMA/YMS, MAI, NWRA and the development authorities to enable the efficient and timely transmission of information that is essential for management of disaster risks, agriculture and water resources. Collection and timely communication of high-quality data is the foundation of producing reliable weather forecasts and warnings as well as monthly and longer term climate outlooks based on a national climatology. The Page 2 of 6 modernization of the observing networks includes rehabilitating and extending the MAI and NWRA agrometeorological and hydrometeorological networks; extending the CAMA/YMS weather and climate surface and upper air network, and installing Doppler radar for enhanced precipitation Public Disclosure Copy measurement, severe weather and flood forecasting. It requires modernizing the communication and ICT system to transmit data efficiently. The component also includes the design and pilot operation of an environmental monitoring system. Component C. Enhancement of Service Delivery System (PPCR Financing US$4.35 million including contingencies): This component aims to enhance the delivery of weather and climate services to end-users. It provides for the implementation of a systematic upgrade of the weather, climate and water-related end-to-end services provided to all agencies, communities and individuals. In particular, it will extend the forecasting, analysis and service delivery capabilities of CAMA/YMS to provide guidance to agriculture, water resources and irrigation, DRM, media, civil aviation, health and renewable energy. It will also provide demographic-specific services where differentiated information targeted to specific vulnerable groups and individuals. Information specific to rural women will be developed and highlighted because of their vulnerability in livelihood development. Given the importance of warning systems for flash floods – two pilots will focus on implementing end-to-end early warning systems developed together by CAMA/YMS, MAI, NWRA and CDA, on behalf of the wider disaster risk management community, and in consultation with other DRM efforts. This component will also help CAMA/YMS, MAI and NWRA improve the quality of their services to their various stakeholders. It provides the foundation for a National Framework for Climate Services, which would increase access to high quality climate information, facilitate sharing of knowledge and know-how, and strengthen or establish community-level partnerships between the users and providers to understand and use weather, climate and water information more effectively and ultimately reduce vulnerability to climate change. Information will be delivered in a variety of ways depending on the specific local circumstances ranging from radio and mobile telephone messages that inform users directly to bulletins delivered through community based organizations. All of which are standard procedures for existing weather and climate information. Public Disclosure Copy Component D: PPCR Program Management and Knowledge Sharing (PPCR Financing US$3.70 million including contingencies): This component will carry out the oversight of the PPCR implementation, including synthesizing the main results achieved by the investments under the SPCR to inform relevant decision-making. It will include monitoring and evaluation of gender sensitive approaches to project implementation. Knowledge sharing will be carried out across all of the Yemen PPCR investments to increase public awareness of climate variability and change and its impact on day-to-day activities in Yemen. It would guide the initial development of the climate database management system by establishing procedures to ensure open access to climate information by all users. Public education and outreach activities will be geared towards improving information access and awareness raising of the challenges caused by climate change. Particular attention would be given to communities which need to take preparatory action to mitigate adverse consequences of the climate and hydrometeorological hazards – improving community response to flood warnings, improving management of surface water resources, improving food security, improving health outcomes, improving climate-resilient coastal zone management, and improving rural livelihoods. This component also supports and strengthens the PPCR-PCU to carry out the fiduciary responsibilities and reporting in a timely and effective fashion as required by the legal and binding agreement entered into between the Bank and the Government of Yemen. 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Page 3 of 6 All the project sites will be on public land. The Team has obtained a letter from the Government confirming that the project locations will be public land only as recommended at the PCN review meeting. Some of the sites have been identified during the preparation mission: upgrading marine Public Disclosure Copy observation will be done in three already established standard stations in Al Mukallah, Aden, and Mokha; and a Doppler weather radar will be installed next to the monitoring station in Dhamar on the existing government owned and already fenced-in land. Site visits by a local consultant who prepared an Environmental Social Management Plan (ESMP) confirmed that all the sites are existing government own land. The unknown sites are for hydromet stations which only involve simple assembly of monitoring equipment and require only a piece of land which can be easily shifted. Site selection criteria has been prepared as part of ESMP and the final locations will be approved in order to ensure those stations will not be installed in sensitive areas. It was reconfirmed in the ESMP that none of social safeguards policies are triggered. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Abdoul-Wahab Seyni (MNSSD) Suiko Yoshijima (MNSEN) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ Yes Installation of monitoring networks under BP 4.01 Component B is expected to be small works with relatively minor environmental impacts due to its limited size and the nature of the work which is basically an installation of ready-made sensing equipment. This can be readily managed with simple environmental mitigation and monitoring procedures. An Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) has been prepared and necessary precaution measures will be taken Public Disclosure Copy using the ESMP. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Pest Management OP 4.09 No Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No BP 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP No OP4.12 is not triggered because the project sites 4.12 will be limited to public land. The government submitted an official letter confirming that the project sites will be public land on December 8, 2012. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Page 4 of 6 Projects on International No Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Public Disclosure Copy Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No 7.60 II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the Restructured project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: The project will not result in any potential large scale, significant, or irreversible impacts. However, in order to manage minor risks, site selection criteria was prepared to avoid any sensitive sites, and mitigation measures were identified to manage risks during the installation of a Doppler radar and monitoring equipment. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: There will be no indirect and/or long term impacts expected. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. Installation of monitoring equipment only requires a piece of small land which can be shifted easily. Therefore, the locations are selected where none of the safeguards policies other than OP/ BP 4.01 is triggered based on the site selection criteria. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. EPA hired an experienced local consultant to prepare an ESMP. The risk on environmental and social impacts will be managed during the implementation phase by following the mitigation Public Disclosure Copy measures and monitoring plan described in the ESMP. The main elements of the ESMP is incorporated in the Project Operating Manual. Though EPA has little previous experience in implementing Bank safeguards, EPA has qualified staffs who are experienced in reviewing environmental assessment reports and applying national environmental legislation. Therefore, the EPA should be able to learn quickly and successfully apply all relevant safeguard policies when supplied with the necessary capacity support from the Bank team. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. Several public consultations with stakeholders were conducted in December 2012 in Dhamar, Aden, and Hadhramout to present and get feedback on the ESMP. The group of stakeholder included the government stakeholders, farmers, water users, fishers and women. In accordance with World Bank disclosure policy and guidelines, the executive summary of the ESMP was translated into Arabic and both versions were disclosed at the World Bank’s Infoshop on February 19, 2013. Those documents are also available on the project website. B. Disclosure Requirements Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other Date of receipt by the Bank 10-Feb-2012 Date of submission to InfoShop 19-Feb-2012 Page 5 of 6 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors "In country" Disclosure Public Disclosure Copy Yemen, Republic of 13-Feb-2013 Comments: If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/ Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] in the credit/loan? The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] World Bank's Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] Public Disclosure Copy in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Lia Carol Sieghart Approved By Sector Manager: Name: Charles Joseph Cormier (SM) Date: 11-Apr-2013 Page 6 of 6