Gef-iw5 etps mangroves

AD.Project Safeguard Categorization

The Safeguard Screening process indicated that four CI-GEF Project Agency Environmental and Social Safeguards be triggered by this project:

1. 
   Stakeholder Engagement.
   
2. 
   Process Framework for Restriction of Access to Resources.
   
3. 
   Indigenous Peoples.
   
4. 
   Gender mainstreaming.
   

Safeguard screening review determined that the project’s activities will not cause or enable to cause significant negative environmental and social impacts. On the contrary, this project is expected to improve mangrove conservation and generate benefits (improved livelihoods) for local people (Table 7).

Table : Project Categorization
PROJECT CATEGORY	Category A	Category B	Category C
			X
Justification: The review of the safeguard screening form and the PIF indicates that this project will not cause or enable to cause any major environmental or social impacts.

AE.Safeguards Policies Recommendations

Based on the review of the Safeguard Screening Form prepared by the PPG Executing Agency, the following steps were completed during the PPG phase:

a) Stakeholders’ engagement: to ensure that the project meets CI-GEF Project Agency’s “Stakeholders’ Engagement Best Practice”, the Executing Agency developed and submitted, within 30 days of the beginning of the PPG phase, a “Stakeholders’ Engagement Plan” for the Project Agency’s approval. The Project Agency will oversee the implementation of this plan throughout the duration of the project;

b) Indigenous Peoples: to ensure that the project meets CI-GEF Project Agency’s “Indigenous Peoples Policy #4”, the Executing Agency will develop, during of the PPG phase, an “Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP)”. The terms of reference for the IPP will be provided by the CI-GEF Project Agency, who will approve and oversee the implementation of this plan throughout the duration of the project. Please note that the guidelines for the IPP in this case were adapted to ethnic Afro-Colombian communities and not Indigenous Peoples, who although present in the region are not in the sphere of direct influence of the Project (being in-land communities);

c) Involuntary Resettlement: to ensure that the project meets CI-GEF Project Agency's "Involuntary Resettlement Policy #3", the Executing Agency will develop, during the PPG phase, a "Process Framework for Resource Access Restrictions". Specific plans might be necessary to develop and implement for each project site during the implementation phase. The terms of reference for the Framework will be provided by the CI-GEF Project Agency, who will approve and oversee the implementation of this Framework throughout the duration of the project. For more details please see ESMF page 4 (Policy #3) and ESMF Appendix V.

d) Gender mainstreaming issues: to ensure that the project meets CI-GEF Project Agency’s “Gender Mainstreaming Policy #8”, the Executing Agency will develop, during of the PPG phase, a “Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Action Plan” that will ensure the mainstreaming of gender issues throughout the project. The terms of reference will be provided by the CI-GEF Project Agency, who will approve and oversee the implementation of this Strategy and Action Plan throughout the duration of the project.

AF.Compliance with Safeguard Recommendations

Based on review of the Safeguard Screening Form prepared by the Project Agency, a package for field base-line assessments was developed by the PPG phase Coordinator based upon the CI-ESMF guidelines to help frame the information required for the four triggered safeguard plans and facilitate collection by the Project team. The package (available ) also included a log sheet to compile stakeholder information, a SWOT style institutional analysis of stakeholders for internal planning and a registry for PPG project meetings as well as a format for meetings during the Full Project. Relevant literature and guidance documents were collated and all materials organized for contributions through Google Drive as on-line resources for access by the four ETPS country teams.

A first general planning meeting was held between CI-country offices as a separate session during the ETPS regional meeting 23-28th Nov 2014 (Utria, Colombia) to present and explain materials after which each CI-office set up meetings to advance the project agenda with the relevant authorities in each country. After receiving initial feedback from stakeholders the CI-ETPS team met with CI-teams and ministry authorities in Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador from 8th-20th February 2015 to discuss the project and populate the safeguard plans. These meetings and results are documented within the SEP.

Based on these inputs, to meet the CI-GEF Project Agency’s “Stakeholder Engagement Best Practice”, CI-ETPS developed and submitted a “Stakeholder Engagement Plan” for the Project Agency’s early comments (Dec 2014) and submission (Feb 2015).

To develop the “Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP)”. The CI-ETPS team worked together with the Colombian CI-Office who has prior experience with issues surrounding engagement and empowerment of local communities in conservation incentives. The plan was also informed by meetings with the CVC district authorities who helped define Bahia Malaga as a project site. A revision by the MADS government authority in March 2015 further clarified that the Bahia Malaga project area concerns Afro-descendant Columbian communities and that these are not considered as Indigenous Peoples (whose communities are based further in-land). They strongly suggested that Indigenous Peoples not being key stakeholders for this particular project be reflected in the IPP Plan scoped to guidelines for engagement with Afro-Colombian communities (i.e. considered as local communities during the development of national projects). Consultation with the CVC local environmental authority will determine any other formal prerequisites such as “consulta previa” to socialize the project with these communities.

A Process Framework was developed to address any concerns raised regarding “Involuntary Resource Access Restrictions" across all 4 ETPS countries (triggered during safeguard screening under the CI-ESMF “Involuntary Resettlement Plan” category).

To ensure that the project meets the CI-GEF Project Agency’s “Gender Mainstreaming Policy #8”, the CI-ETPS enlisted support of a Gender Issue Specialist (CI-HQ Social Policy and Practice Unit) to help develop the “Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and Action Plan”. CI operatives in the ETPS countries were trained by the Specialist in January 2015 to include gender dimensions and gender disaggregated data as part of field assessments for the PPG phase and Full Project.

The detailed safeguard plans are provided in Appendix VI (a-d) and a summary of their goals and components provided below:

Stakeholder Engagement Plan (Appendix VI (a).
Goals. Articulate engagement in a meaningful way during the development phase of the project, its full implementation and evaluation. Provide guidelines to EA practitioners and project partners for best practices and principles for engagement with those key institutions, organizations, communities and individuals that influence or would be influenced by project activities. Receive feedback from those groups influenced during the project cycle towards an adaptive improvement of project results and outcomes. Develop the thematic context of the project and its work plan with stakeholders to encourage a sense of stewardship and cooperation from an early stage in the project.	Components. 1. Introduction. (Project overview, General description of the Area of Interest, Development of a shared ETPS agenda for mangrove conservation, Country level responses to mangrove degradation, Expected social and environmental impacts generated by the project). 2. Policies and Requirements. 3. Summary of previous stakeholder engagement activities. 4. Stakeholder groups involved in the project. 5. Stakeholder Engagement Program. 6. Stakeholder Engagement Plan, Methods and Timetable. 7. Resources and Responsibilities. 8. Grievance Mechanism. 9. Monitoring and Reporting. SEP Reference Tables: Table 1. Stakeholder engagement plan for the PPG and full project (subject to edition as the project develops) by project component (#1-#3). 10 Table 2a. Component 1: PPG and pre-PPG (before 07/2015) regional ETPS coordination and international programs. 20 Table 2b. Components 2-3: PPG and pre-PPG national and site level (local) coordination (by country - Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Ecuador). Table 3a. Key stakeholder groups: regional ETPS coordination and global programs. Table 3b. Key stakeholder groups: national programs. Table 3c. Key stakeholder groups: site level programs. Table 4. Identified national stakeholders during PPG phase (10/2014 - 04/2015).
Indigenous Peoples Plan (scoped to Afro- Descendant Colombian communities [ADC]) (Appendix VI(b).
Goals. Ensure that as the project develops, customary rights of ADC are considered in the design of demonstration projects in the mangrove area. Support the resilience of local culture and traditional management systems, as well as promoting sustainable development in the Project Area (Bahia Malaga, Colombia). Determine the scope of an adapted IPP to guide appropriate project actions with Afro-descendant communities in Bahia Malaga/ Isla Aji. Respect and follow the internal engagement process established by Colombian authorities for NGO and government projects with IP and Afro-Colombian stakeholders designed to help safeguard their rights and traditions. In compliance with CI-GEF ESMF safeguard criteria, and given the presence of Indigenous Peoples (IP) in the region, accommodate for any contingency where IP might engage in the project by including reference to IP specific guidelines. Please note that during the PPG phase IP communities were determined as being in-land and not mangrove users of the BM area and hence outside of the scope of planned local project work. If such an eventuality arises a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process would be adopted for the local projects in accordance with Colombian authorities, CI-ESMF and GEF best practice guidelines.	Components. 1. Scoping for relevance of an IPP for the GEF-IW5 ETPS Mangrove Project. 2. Legal and institutional framework regarding Indigenous and Afro-Descendant communities in Colombia. 3. Description of the Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities in the Bahia de Malaga Project Area. 4. Summary of the social assessment. 5. Participatory consultation during project preparation. 6. Indigenous Peoples Plan. (Initial approach to communities, a framework for Ensuring Free and Prior Informed Consent, development for an IPP Action Plan, cost estimates and financing plan for the Project IPP). 7. Conflict resolution and complaint mechanism. 8. Monitoring of the Indigenous Peoples Plan.
Process Framework for Involuntary Restriction of Access to Resources [PFRAR] (Appendix VI(c).
Goals. Determine the scope of a PFRAR to guide project actions during development of on-site conservation actions throughout the project in each of the four ETPS countries (please note that any direct involuntary restrictions will be avoided and mitigated with stakeholders to the fullest extent possible during the project). Describe the nature of any potential or inadvertent restrictions and the participatory process to address these issues with stakeholders. Determine the parts of the process by which any involuntary restriction of resource access would be assessed and managed during the project. (E.g. development of criteria by which persons are eligible, measures to restore livelihoods and the means by which any conflicts would be resolved and a plan during implementation detailing arrangements to assist affected persons to improve or restore their livelihoods etc.)	Components. 1. Project background. 1(a). Description of communities within and adjacent to the Project sites: Isla de Chira and the associated communities of Puerto Palito, Bocana, Montero and San Antonio. David District communities. Community councils of Cajambre, Mayorquín, Río Raposo, Chucheros, La Plata, Juan Chaca and Bazan Bocana. Puerto El Morro. 1(b). Expected social and environmental impacts generated by the project. 2. Participatory implementation. 3. Criteria for eligibility of affected persons. 4. Measures to assist the affected persons. 5. Conflict resolution and complaint mechanism. 6. Implementation arrangements. 7. Framework Monitoring.
Gender Mainstreaming Strategy. (Appendix VI (d).
Goals. Design and implement the project in such a way that both women and men: Receive culturally compatible social and economic benefits; Do not suffer adverse effects during the development process; and Receive full respect for their dignity and human rights.	Components. 1. Introduction to gender considerations within the project and CI’s previous experience with and understanding of gender within project area. 2. Goals and purpose of the GEF-Mangrove Gender Mainstreaming Strategy. 3. Assessment for gender dimensions and current state of knowledge with plan for collecting and interpreting localized gender data. 4. Review of Gender Sensitive Project activities and gender mainstreaming in each project component. 5. Gender Mainstreaming Plan. 6. Monitoring and Reporting.