Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AC1450 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 01/12/2006 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Tunisia Project ID: P075809 Project Name: Higher Education Reform Support II Task Team Leader: Linda K. English Estimated Appraisal Date: March 1, 2006 Estimated Board Date: May 25, 2006 Managing Unit: MNSHD Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Tertiary education (100%) Theme: Education for the knowledge economy (P);Education for all (S) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 140.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER 40.00 Financing Gap 0.00 40.00 B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN] The Bank will support the government four year sector program entitled: Supporting Quality in Higher Education Program. The Program Development Objective is to improve the skills of graduates so that they can contribute to a more knowledge based and diversified economy. C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN] The proposed program includes the following four main components: Component 1: Expand and restructure access to higher education. The objective of this component is to assist the government in its efforts to respond to the fast growing demand for higher education with a combination of traditional infrastructure and less costly investment options and recurrent costs. Component 2: Revise programs and improve the quality of higher education. The objective of this component is to improve the quality of teaching and learning to better equip students to succeed in the labor market. Page 2 Component 3: Reinforcing university autonomy and higher education performance. Component 4: Ensuring financial sustainability and social equity. This component will focus on putting in place a system to improve the effectiveness, relevance and financial sustainability of the higher education system during a period of rapid enrollment growth. D. Project location (if known) Country wide. E. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies [from PCN] To be determined. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Sherif Kamel F. Arif (MNSRE) Mr Hocine Chalal (MNSRE) Ms Concepcion Esperanza Del Castillo (MNSRE) Mr Jaafar Sadok Friaa (MNSRE) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Environmental category: Given the potentially significant infrastructure component of the project (component 1-i), and the relative uncertainty about the loan amount and the lending instrument, it was recommended, that this project be retained, at this stage, under the Safeguards group oversight. Transfer of safeguards responsibility could be revisited after the pre-appraisal mission and at QER. Environmental Assessment: Recommendation was made to the team to consider a framework environmental (and social) assessment that would build on the experience gained during the previous higher education project. The structure and content of this framework EA would depend on whether the pipeline of universities to be built is totally or partially defined at project preparation. The framework EA would define the specific EA process to be followed for each university construction sub-project, the EA scoping and disclosure process and the standard ToRs for the specific university construction sub-projects. Then the EA process should be mainstreamed in the regular preparations studies (APS/APD). The cost of the mitigating measures should be integrated in the feasibility studies. The role of the Tunisian Environmental Protection Agency should also be defined clearly in the framework document. Social Safeguard Compliance Issue: Component 1 of the project will entail civil works for the construction of higher education facilities. The exact location of these facilities has yet to be determined. Therefore, the applicability of OP/BP 4.12 will be ascertained when it is determined if the civil works will (i) entail land expropriation and (ii) in the case of lands belonging in the public domain if current users will need to be compensated for loss of assets/means of livelihood. Page 3 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) X Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X Environmental Category: B - Partial Assessment III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Target date for the Quality Enhancement Review (QER), at which time the PAD-stage ISDS would be prepared: 02/14/2006 B. For simple projects that will not require a QER, the target date for preparing the PAD-stage ISDS: N/A C. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing 1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS. The environmental assessment is expected to be completed by the end of February 2006. IV. APPROVALS Signed and submitted by: Task Team Leader: Ms Linda K. English Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Sherif Kamel F. Arif Comments: Sector Manager: Ms Regina Maria Bendokat Comments: 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in-country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons. Page 4