EAP Gender May 25, 2017 Results of Collaboration for Social Inclusion in the Trung Son Hydro Power Project, Vietnam Photo: Simone D. McCourtie/World Bank The Trung Son Hydropower Project (TSHP) was designed with a strong gender action plan for the implemen- C ollaboration among World Bank social and energy specialists, the local Vietnam Women’s Unit, and not least the Social and M&E teams of the Trung Son Hydro Power Project (TSHP), has helped TSHP to operationalize its stated com- tation of its large livelihood, minority mitments to gender equality and to enhance its overall effectiveness. With the help and resettlement program. While the of just a short period of technical assistance from the EAP Gender and Energy Facility plan and overall aim were considered of the World Bank, teams were able collaborate to take rapid action to address iden- very good practice, external evalua- tified weaknesses during early implementation. This helped to ensure that the TSHP tors found that the actual attention to project is now equipped with simple updated working mechanisms targeting gen- ensuring men and women were ben- der equality and which can assist the project to achieve its development objec- efitting equally was not being provided tives of providing least-cost electric power to support Vietnam’s further economic as planned during the early stages of development and improvement of living standards through the development of implementation. hydropower resources in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible To address the shortcomings, the project manner. requested technical support from the The facility helped to leverage results in five areas: (1) promoting gender equal- EAP Gender and Energy Facility to help update the design, implementation, and ity in access to compensation under the resettlement plan; (2) strengthening the monitoring mechanisms for their liveli- overall monitoring system of the livelihood improvement activities; and enhanc- hood, ethnic minority and resettlement ing the capacities of TSHP staff on gender-aware data collection and reporting; programs to ensure men and women (3) increasing rates of participation by women in livelihood activities; (4) reviewing would benefit equally from the services training content and methods, and coaching district Women’s Union in their use; provided and that monitoring mecha- and (5) developing and successfully piloting cost-effective, appropriate, and inno- nisms would be in place to capture dis- vative solutions to reach out to the most vulnerable ethnic Hmong populations aggregated progress and results. and inform them about project impacts and compensation in their own language. Results facility helped to revise the compensation receipt that up until that point had included only the name and signature of the “head of household.” The revised format included the Improved Access to Compensation names of both husband and wife and removed the signature of the head of household, replacing it with the signature of The facility supported the review of mechanisms and pro- “receiver,” formally enabling the receipt of money by wives. cedures under the Resettlement Plan (RP) to promote the Initial doubts among TSHP staff regarding the feasibility of direct access of women to resettlement compensation. By this approach—mainly caused by perceived mobility con- September 2015, about 70 percent of the compensation had straints of women—were cleared through consultations already been paid out. For the remaining 30 percent, the with the resettlement committee, the local banks, and the district women’s unions. As of December 2016, this resulted in an approximate 10 per- cent increase (of the remaining 30 percent) in joint husband and wife receipt of compen- sation since December 2015. Furthermore, an agreement was facilitated between TCHP and the District Compensation Management Board (DCMB) that Land Use Certificates would indicate the names of both husband and wife in accordance with the Land Law of 2013. Rigorous analysis from Vietnam has shown that, on balance, land-use rights held exclusively by women or jointly by couples result in beneficial effects such as increased household expenditures and women’s self- employment, and lower household vulner- ability to poverty. Increased Participation of Women Beneficiaries Outreach to women was enhanced consid- erably through training for CLIP staff (Com- munity Livelihood Improvement Plan) and through promoting the application of spe- cific gender criteria for the establishment of the common interest groups (CIG). Criteria included that at least one third of partici- Photo: World Bank pants in each training course were women, or at least two courses held with mostly women; at least two women in each CIG or at least one CIG with mostly women The Trung Son Hydro Power Project (TSHP) is a 411 mil- lion power generation and flood control project (of which in each community; gender-balance in decision-making in 330 million was financed by the World Bank). It is being all CLIP activities; and promotion of competent women to built on the Ma River in Thanh Hoa Province in Vietnam by become CIG’s group leaders. This update to the CLIP pro- December 2017. The Project will support the Vietnam Elec- gram resulted in large increases in women participation in tricity utility EVN to strengthen its capacity for implementing CIG activities and leadership roles. environmental and social safeguards. It is estimated that about 2,430 households are affected to some extent by the project, September October with a total of 10,449 affected people. Of these, 98 percent 2015 2016 are ethnic monitories. A key objective of TSHP is to improve, Women Participation in CIG (%) (%) or at least restore, livelihoods and living standards of affected Women leading a CIG 4 22 households and villages while allowing them to maintain their CIG with at least two women 13 60 cultural identity. members Women CIG members 17 38 The project costs include US$40.52 million (including IBRD Women attending CIG meetings n/a 41 20.91 million) for resettlement and livelihood regeneration to Women participants in CIG 30 60 be implemented mainly through the Resettlement, Livelihood training Restoration, and Ethnic Minority Development Plan (RLDP). The RLDP includes: (i) a Resettlement Plan (RP) to provide full com- pensation to those losing houses, land or other assets due to Innovative Communication Solutions impacts of the reservoir, dam construction and downstream of the dam, and for effective relocation of households or shops when necessary; (ii) a Community Livelihoods Improvement Plan Ethnic minority women were not properly informed about (CLIP) in affected villages to enhance the community’s capacity benefits and the impact of the TSHP on their livelihoods, to restore, maintain and sustainably use its human, social, natu- according to early evaluation findings. The facility helped ral, financial and physical resources after being affected by the implement the commitment of TSHP to an inclusive com- project; and (iii) an Ethnic Minorities Development Plan (EMDP) munication campaign addressing information gaps of ethnic to ensure that the development process fosters full respect minorities, nonliterate individuals, and the remote and most for cultural identities in the project-affected area, taking into vulnerable through a Radio+USB pilot to communicate a account their development needs and aspirations in preparing and implementing RLDP. series of 12 programs in Hmong language targeting women. The series covered information related to entitlements and During 2015 and 2016, the East Asia and Pacific Gender and compensation; project impacts; and awareness on health, Energy Facility of the World Bank provided technical assistance childcare, and water management, among others. Low- to TSHP for the implementation of its social and environment impact management activities under the RLDP. cost Radio+USB were distributed in five Hmong villages to 109 people, including 99 women and 10 village women’s union members and village heads. A post-pilot survey on 48 percent had lent the set to neighbors and relatives, 39 percent of the recipients three weeks after the pilot further spreading information. The TSHP is considering scal- found that 98 percent had used the sets to access the full ing up the communication activities using the Radio+USB 12 communication programs, 100 percent understood the approach to all affected households in the project areas messages, 100 percent had increased their understanding of and to replicate the programs in relevant ethnic minority the project, and 100 percent liked the programs. Moreover, languages. Targeted Training Better Monitoring for Results The facility helped the TSHP strengthen collaboration with The implementation of livelihood improvement activities the District Vietnam Women Union and their support to the requires quality data to follow up on progress, analyze initial Ethnic Minorities Development Program. Training contents results, and base annual plans on evidence of what works were updated and better targeted to the beneficiaries and and for whom. The facility supported the development coaching was provided to the DWUs on delivery methods of a monitoring system for the Community Livelihoods to make the trainings more participatory. The training was Improvement Plan (CLIP), including the establishment of a also adjusted to allow participation of both men and women. user-friendly database to capture sex-disaggregated infor- As of October 2016, 1,097 beneficiaries have been trained mation on the Common Interests Groups (CIG) established (73 percent women) on a range of social, health, and economic under the CLIP. The database is helping TSHP keep an accu- issues relevant to their improved livelihoods in the area. rate account of CIG participants and CIG leadership and has allowed the project to track Commune’s Livelihood Support Committees and CIG activities. Once the monitoring system was established, TSHP and CLIP staff was trained in its use. The system is at present fully operational and updated on a regular basis. As a result, the TCHP is now able to docu- ment its success in reaching both men and women and to inform further refinements of how to ensure the livelihoods, resettlement, and ethnic minority programs benefit both male and females in the Trung Son area. The East Asia and Pacific Social team of the World Bank leads the Gender and Energy Facility in close cooperation with the Energy Global Practice of the World Bank. The facility aims to improve the development effectiveness of energy projects in EAP by making them more socially and gender inclusive. The facility is funded by the Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE) and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). For more information please contact: Helle Buchhave, Senior Social Development Specialist, GPSURR World Bank hbuchhave@worldbank.org