The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 16-Jan-2020 | Report No: PIDA28061 Jan 16, 2020 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Burundi P169315 Burundi Integrated Community Development Project Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) AFRICA 17-Jan-2020 28-Feb-2020 Social Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Ministry of Finance, Budget National Office of and Economic Protection of Refugees Development Cooperation and Stateless Persons (ONPRA) Proposed Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective is to improve nutrition, access to basic services and economic opportunities in the targeted areas. Components Commune Development Grants Livelihood, Food Security and Nutrition Project Management, Monitoring & Evaluation and Capacity-Building Contingent Emergency Response Component PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 60.00 Total Financing 60.00 of which IBRD/IDA 60.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing Jan 16, 2020 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) International Development Association (IDA) 60.00 IDA Grant 60.00 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Substantial Decision The review did authorize the team to appraise and negotiate B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. Burundi is facing considerable development challenges. According to the Poverty Assessment of 2016 and the most recent national household survey, around 73 percent of the Burundian population is classified as poor.1 This is nearly double the average for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and for low-income countries. In 2018, Burundi ranked 138 out of 157 countries on the Human Capital Index (HCI) and 185 out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index. Burundi suffers from the highest stunting rate in the world (56 percent)2 and dietary diversity is well below minimum acceptable levels.3 Despite having a formal legal system that ensures gender equality, women and girls face significant obstacles, including lower education and health outcomes. 2. The economy is slowly rebounding since the 2015 political crisis, but the recovery remains fragile. After two years of decline in 2015 and 2016, GDP returned to growth in 2017 (0.5 percent) and 2018 (1.6 percent). World Bank projections suggest a positive growth outlook, with an average of two percent growth predicted for the 2019-2021 period. However, due to high population growth, the poverty rate is still expected to rise. Burundi’s recovery efforts have been affected by political instability and weak governance, which have constrained private investment and led to a reduction in international development assistance. 3. To emerge from its long-term, low-level equilibrium, Burundi will need to take parallel action to reduce poverty and address the drivers of fragility. During periods of stability Burundi has demonstrated that it can achieve robust gains in human and economic capital. However, in light of the current socio-political context, the main imperative is to help meet basic human needs and sustain the building blocks of human capital – health, education and nutrition – to prevent the present economic challenges from having inter-generational impacts.4 At the same time, efforts are required to address the drivers of fragility to help promote stability and growth. The World Development Reports of 2011 and 2017 highlight that this can be done by strengthening state-society relations through increased social inclusion and by building legitimate institutions with technical capacity and accountability. 1 ECVMB, Enquête sur les Conditions de Vie des Ménages Burundais (2017). 2 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2016-2017. 3 About 10 percent of Burundian children under 2 years consume a minimum acceptable diet: Demographic and Health Survey 2016-17. 4 The World Bank Systematic Country Diagnostic identifies ‘ensuring basic needs are met’ as a priority for the coming years. Se e World Bank (2018) Republic of Burundi: Systematic Country Diagnostic. Report No. 122549-BI. Jan 16, 2020 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) 4. Burundi’s northern and eastern regions are among the poorest parts of the country. The three poorest provinces – Ruyigi, Muyinga and Cankuzo – are located in the north-east and have poverty rates of 85.4, 83.5 and 79.5 percent respectively measured against the national poverty line, well above the national average of 64.9 percent. Suffering from degraded and scarce land resources, high population density and isolation from centers of economic activity, the north-eastern provinces face acute food security and nutrition challenges. Access to basic infrastructure and services is also limited in the country, but particularly in the north-east. 5. Forced displacement, including the presence of refugees, adds another dimension to Burundi’s development challenges. In September 2019, Burundi was host to 85,894 refugees and asylum seekers, nearly all of whom are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Of the refugee population, some of whom have been in the country since the 1990s, 48,269 live in one of the five refugee camps located in four north- eastern provinces. The remaining 37,625 live outside the camps, mostly in Bujumbura. Eighty percent of the refugees are women and children. The refugee presence has had mixed impacts on host communities. On one hand, it has caused environmental damage and depopulation of livestock and fish resources, strained basic services and created competition over basic resources such as water and firewood.5 On the other hand, host communities have benefited from increased business and trade opportunities. In addition to the refugee presence, as of July 2019, there were 109,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country, who face major challenges meeting basic needs and accessing basic services.6 Adding to the forced displacement challenge, large numbers of the more than 400,000 Burundians who fled the country after the 2015 political instability are now beginning to return. Between September 2017 and September 2019, over 79,311 Burundians have been assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to return, mostly from Tanzania. A similar number is estimated to have come back of their own volition. Data suggests that returnees face severe difficulties to restore their livelihood.7 Additional inflows of both refugees and returnees are expected in 2020.8 6. Against this context, the government has launched an ambitious National Development Plan 2018-2027 (NDP) to address the country’s development challenges. The NDP aims, among other things to modernize primary sector production, promote the agri-food industry, increase infrastructure investments, and protect the environment. The NDP also highlights the importance of strengthening local governance to bring service delivery closer to the people. At the heart of the NDP is a focus on rural areas, where more than nine million people live, and for which the Government wishes to allocate 60 percent of all resources of the Plan over the next ten years. 7. In 2018, the government prepared a strategy for a development approach to support refugees and host communities. The key features of the strategy are: (a) support area-based development approaches that will benefit both refugees and host communities and, fostering peaceful interaction between the two groups; (b) support agricultural livelihood for all; and (c) promote refugee self-reliance. The strategy also includes a commitment to guarantee full freedom of movement for refugees, consistent with Law 1/32 of 2008 on Asylum and Protection of Refugees in Burundi.9 Sectoral and Institutional Context 5 Three of the four proposed project target provinces (Muyinga, Ruyigi and Cankuzo) are among the most heavily environmentally degraded in the country (World Bank, 2018). 6 See IOM May 2019, “Overview of the Humanitarian Situation of Internally Displaced Persons in Burundi.� 7 See UNHCR 31 October 2019. “Voluntary Repatriation of Burundian Refugees� at data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/72174 8 For instance, UNHCR contingency planning is for the refugee population to increase to up to 110,000 in 2020. 9 Ministry of Finance, Budget and Privatization (2018) Stratégie du Burundi pour l’appui aux réfugiés et aux communautés hotes. Jan 16, 2020 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) 8. The Burundi Integrated Community Development project (known in Kirundi and referred to hereafter in this document as “Turikumwe� or “we are together�) adopts a multi -sector, area-based approach to address key development challenges in the poorest areas of Burundi. The project will support the government’s commune development planning process to help communities – including refugees where present – to analyze development challenges and identify solutions. The approach seeks to strengthen the legitimacy of government institutions by building technical capacity for participatory development and engaging communities directly in planning and decision-making. Project financing will tackle the alarming rates of food insecurity and malnutrition while addressing service delivery and infrastructure gaps faced by the poor. Turikumwe will also help Burundi to formulate development responses to forced displacement by supporting the social and economic inclusion of refugees in the country. The section below describes some of the key challenges in the target sectors. Agriculture, Food Security and Malnutrition 9. Almost 90 percent of Burundians live in rural areas and depend largely on small-scale, rainfed subsistence farming. Land density is high, with the average land size being 0.4 ha per household. Productivity is low, due to inadequate levels of improved inputs/technology and mechanization, poor skills among farmers, outdated agricultural practices, and poor soils/land degradation. Along with limited possibilities for other income- generating activities, this leaves Burundian households highly exposed to agricultural and other risks. It also contributes to overall low levels of domestic food production, which together with the low incomes that constrain demand for imported food, limits food availability in the country. 10. Malnutrition is high in the north-eastern provinces, where 52-66 percent of children under five are stunted.10 Only about 16 percent of Burundian children have access to a minimum acceptable level of dietary diversity. Similarly, the baseline survey for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Amashiga project showed that women of childbearing age had an average dietary diversity score of 3.7 food groups (out of 9 recommended by the World Health Organization). A 2010 assessment identified the main drivers of stunting in Burundi as directly or indirectly related to diet, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, as well as biomass fuel use. Access to basic services and socio-economic infrastructure 11. Burundi has made good progress in the health and education sectors over the last fifteen years, but gaps remain with respect to access to basic services and public infrastructure. Just nine percent of the population has access to electricity, among the lowest in the world.11 Burundi is highly dependent on road transport, which carries 90 percent of goods in the country, yet the majority of roads are under community management and are in poor condition.12 Sixty-one percent of people have access to at least a basic drinking water source and 46 percent to at least a basic sanitation facility.13 Despite significant progress in the health sector, under-five mortality was estimated at 78/1,000 (slightly higher than the SSA average) and maternal mortality at 392/100,000. Burundi has made important gains in the education sector since 2005, but elementary 10 56 percent of children under 5 years of age in Burundi are stunted, with 61 percent in Ngozi, 66 percent in Muyinga, 59 percent in Cankuzo, and 52 percent in Ruyigi: DHS 2016-17 11 Data estimate from Tracking SDG7: the Energy Progress Report 2018. 12 IDA (2015) Project Appraisal Document for Infrastructure Resilience Emergency Project . Report No: PAD1292 13 Data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, accessed through the World Bank data bank at https://data.worldbank.org/country/burundi Jan 16, 2020 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) completion rates are still low – only 44 percent of children enrolled in grade 1 will reach grade 6. And while learning outcomes have improved, there is still room for improvement. Local Governance and Decentralization 12. Since 2005 the government of Burundi has embarked on a process of decentralization to strengthen social cohesion, improve local governance, and promote access to basic infrastructure and service delivery. The government’s National Decentralization Strategy positions citizens as active subjects in decision-making over their own development, including by promoting ‘participation of all the population in defining and implementing economic and social development policies in their localities.’14 13. The 2005 Commune Law established the commune as the main level of decentralized government . Communes are autonomous decentralized entities managed by an elected Commune Council. Among other things, communes have the power to prepare a Commune Development Plan (CDP) and annual budget. There are 119 communes and 2,908 collines (or “hills�) – including 97 urban neighborhoods in Bujumbura Marie – across Burundi’s 18 provinces. 14. The government has identified the commune development planning process as the centerpiece of its area-based development approach to refugee inclusion. Despite the challenges government has faced in implementing decentralization (e.g., technical capacity, ongoing centralization of decision-making, limited accountability to citizens), it offers opportunities to strengthen local governance, enhance citizen engagement and promote refugee inclusion. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Development Objective(s) (From PAD) To improve nutrition, access to basic services and economic opportunities in the targeted areas. Key Results Achievement of the PDO would be measured against the following proposed key results:  Dietary diversity among targeted beneficiaries (females of reproductive age and children 6-23 months)  Microenterprises still in business 12 months after receiving the last disbursement of the investment grant from the project (Percentage)  Beneficiaries with improved access to social and economic services and infrastructure (number) The project expects to support 940,000 beneficiaries in 21 communes in the four target provinces. 14Extract from the 2009 policy, cited in Gaynor, N. (2014) “Bringing the Citizen Back In: Supporting Decentralisation in Fragile States – A View from Burundi.� Development Policy Review, 2014, 32 (2): 203-218, 207. The policy was updated in 2019. Jan 16, 2020 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) D. Project Description 15. Turikumwe is a local development project that supports access to services, rural livelihood and food security and nutrition in a context of poverty and forced displacement. The project will target communes in the four provinces which host refugee camps. While most beneficiaries will be Burundian nationals – including IDPs and returnees – the project’s area-based approach will support both host communities and refugees. 16. Recognizing that refugees and host communities face much the same development challenges, the main project strategy is to incorporate refugee concerns into the government’s regular commune development planning process. The project also offers livelihood opportunities to refugees and host community members, which include returnees and IDPs. The project’s integrative approach is consistent with the government’s April 2018 strategy on refugee inclusion and development opportunities for host communities. 17. Beneficiaries will be supported through investments in socio-economic infrastructure and agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood. Investments will be possible in and outside camps, however, consistent with the World Bank’s long-term development approach, there will be a preference to support economic activity and public services outside the camps that can be used by refugees and host communities. Subprojects will be identified through a community-driven, bottom-up planning process fully aligned with the CDP process. Component 1: Commune Development Grants (US$39.6 million equivalent) 18. This component will strengthen the government’s commune development planning process . Support will be provided through two sub-components: (a) assistance to communes and communities to develop participatory Commune Development Plans (CDPs) that include refugees and marginalized groups; and (b) grants to finance subprojects identified in the CDPs that will improve access to services and socio-economic infrastructure. This will include investments in communes hosting refugee camps to address any negative impacts of the refugee presence. Funding will be allocated to target communes on a per capita basis to ensure equity. 19. 19. The grants will be used to support access to services and socio-economic infrastructure, including: (a) construction, rehabilitation and/or upgrading of education and health facilities; (b) water supply and sanitation systems; (c) rehabilitation and/or upgrading of rural roads and bridges; (d) off-grid electrification; (e) construction or upgrading of market facilities; (f) activities to address the environmental impact of refugee camps, including watershed management; (g) production or storage facilities; and (h) sport and culture activities. Support for health and education facilities can include equipment and facilities such as furniture, teaching materials, medical equipment, etc. Component Two: Livelihood, Food Security and Nutrition (US$13 million equivalent) 20. This component will employ a multi-pronged approach to enhance food security and nutrition by generating income, increasing food production and supporting behavior change for better nutrition. The component will also support self-reliance for refugees and host communities by promoting livelihood opportunities. 21. The component will be implemented through two sub-components: (a) support to income-earning opportunities by providing matching grants to micro-enterprises, farmers’ associations and cooperatives to increase income and food production through agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities; and (b) support for nutrition through technical assistance, appropriate technology for food production (e.g., kitchen gardens) and provision of micronutrient powder (MNP) and folic acid for pregnant women and children under two years of age. Jan 16, 2020 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) Component Three: Project Management, M&E and Capacity-Building (US$7.4 million equivalent) 22. This component will strengthen the technical and administrative capacity of the government to manage the project. It will cover the costs of project management, implementation and supervision, including: (a) procurement and financial management (FM); (b) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); (c) progress reporting; and (d) compliance with environmental and social standards. It will also support the operational costs of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and Technical Committee. Component 4: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) 23. Under the CERC, in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, funds may be reallocated from other components of the project. This component, if activated, would finance rapid response measures and early recovery activities to address disaster, emergency and/or catastrophic events at the community level. This would be achieved by providing community grants implemented following a set of simplified procedures set out in a special project Contingent Emergency Response (CER) Manual. Applicable national and World Bank emergency response procedures . for procurement and disbursements would be applied. . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . 24. Involuntary resettlement. Project activities may cause limited involuntary resettlement including economic resettlement (loss of trees and crops). Given Burundi´s context of land scarcity and the community- based selection of works, the project will screen proposed activities and exclude works causing land acquisition and physical displacement of population. 25. Indigenous peoples and disadvantaged groups. The indigenous Batwa people are one of the most discriminated and disadvantaged groups in Burundi. There are a number of Batwa communities within the four project provinces. An Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF) has been prepared alongside a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) to analyze the impacts of the project on Batwa communities and ensure their access to project planning and decision-making processes and to access project benefits, including opportunities to participate in high labor intensity works. Other vulnerable groups include people with disabilities, people with albinism, female-headed households, child-headed households and orphans. The project´s Environment and Social Assessment includes an analysis of the risks and impacts to vulnerable groups which will help shape specific interventions. The SEP includes provisions for consultation with disadvantaged groups. 26. Tension between refugee and host communities. While relations between refugees and host communities are generally good in Burundi, the presence of refugees and refugee camps can create tension with host communities over access to resources and basic services. The project supports joint planning and decision-making and will ensure equitable access to project benefits to avoid fueling tensions and, where Jan 16, 2020 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Burundi Integrated Community Development Project (P169315) possible, strengthen links between the two groups. 27. Labor issues. The project at this stage is unable to estimate the number of workers required. Except for f high-labor intensive activities, the footprint is expected to be small. The majority of the labor (unskilled) will come from local communities within the project intervention area. However, the recruitment of unskilled labor for project works (including high-labor intensive works) may cause tensions between refugee and host communities. The project’s Labor Management Plan includes objective criteria for beneficiary selection. 28. Gender based risks. Female refugees generally have lower educational attainment and fewer income generating opportunities. Women and girls are vulnerable to Gender based Violence (GBV) between both refugees and host communities. The project will ensure gender equity in terms of access to project benefits and participation in planning and decision-making processes. A GBV Action Plan will set out specific activities to minimize GBV risks. 29. Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). The project will analyze existing GRMs in the project intervention area (including in the refugee camps) and propose a comprehensive mechanism which will enable a broad range of stakeholders to channel concerns, questions and feedback to the PIU (and where necessary to other actors at the local level). By necessity, the GRM will be multi-faceted, designed to accommodate inputs from communities and external stakeholders; respond to issues related to a broad range of project implementation issues; and harness existing and accepted systems for grievance management. Arrangements for establishing confidential reporting and redress mechanisms for GBV issues will also be laid out. A GRM will also be provided by contractors for workers to raise workplace concerns. E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 30. Overall responsibility for project implementation will lie with the Ministry of Interior, Local Development and Patriotic Formation. Given the multi-sector nature of the project, the Ministry will be guided by an inter-agency Project Steering Committee. The Ministry’s National Office for Protection of Refugees and the Stateless (ONPRA) will establish a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to lead project implementation activities, supported by Facilitating Partners. In line with the government’s decentralization policy, commune councils will play a central role in project implementation through the Commune Development Planning process. . CONTACT POINT World Bank Matthew Stephens Senior Social Development Specialist Amadou Alassane Sr Agricultural Spec. Jan 16, 2020 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Burundi North-East Region Refugee and Host Community Support Project (P169315) Pierre Olivier Colleye Sr Agricultural Spec. Borrower/Client/Recipient Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Development Cooperation Désiré Musharitse Director kwizchris@yahoo.fr Implementing Agencies National Office of Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (ONPRA) Samuel Ndayisenga Coordinator sambishop2001@yahoo.fr FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Matthew Stephens Task Team Leader(s): Amadou Alassane Pierre Olivier Colleye Approved By Environmental and Social Standards Advisor: Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Jean-Christophe Carret 21-Jan-2020 Dec 23, 2019 Page 10 of 10