Japanese ODA Loan

Ex-Ante Evaluation (for Japanese ODA Loan)
1. Name of the ProjectCountry:
India
Project:
Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Project (Phase 2)
Loan Agreement: June 16, 2011
Loan Amount:
15,749 million yen
Borrower:
The President of India
2. Background and Necessity of the Project(1) Current State and Issues of the Forest Sector and the Conservation of Biodiversity inIndia
India’s forest and tree cover ratio stood at 23.8% (2007), which is lower than the global average of
31% (2010). Massive population growth and over dependence on forests for for fodder, fuel andincome has contributed to rapid degradation of forests as evident from data that the percentage ofopen forest in the country is 41.7% (2007)).
In terms of biodiversity conservation, as of March 2009, 4.8% of the geographical area of thecountry was designated as protected area consisting of 99 national parks and 523 wildlife
sanctuaries. However, the management plans of these protected areas are not well prepared as they
are not based on scientific databases to conserve biodiversity. Therefore, in addition to the vital
issue of improving forest and tree cover as well as the forest quality, it is also necessary tostrengthen capacity among related agencies to ensure a balanced approach for the sustainable
management of ecosystem.
(2)

Development Policies for the Forest Sector and the Conservation of Biodiversity in India
and the Priority of the Project
The Government of India has outlined a target of increasing India’s forest and tree cover ratio by
5% in its Eleventh Five Year Plan (April 2007-March 2012). In addition, the Plan also places anemphasis on participatory Joint Forest Management to ensure sustainable forest management,
promotion of activities by the Eco Development Committee (EDC) to ensure wildlife conservation,
support for those who rely on the forest for their livelihood to ensure alternative sources of income,and reduction of man-animal conflict. Furthermore, in order to implement sustainable forest
management and biodiversity conservation, the Government of India aims to build an information
management system and promote trainings for human resources development.
(3)

Japan and JICA’s Policy and Operations in the Forest Sector and the Conservation ofBiodiversity in India
The “Poverty Reduction and Environmental Improvement” is one of the prioritized areas in theCountry Assistance Program for India by the Government of Japan. Accordingly, JICA has set the“Support for Environment/Climate Change Measures” as a prioritized area. More specifically, JICA
will support measures to improve forest cover and quality through restoration of degraded forest,
prevent soil degradation and improve soil water retention ability as well as biodiversity
conservation for the sake of conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. This
Project is consistent with these policies. In terms of Japanese ODA loans given to India, 19 projects
totaling 189 billion yen (6% of the total loan amount) have so far been extended in the forestry
sector (of which, 4 afforestation projects with 29.2 billion yen have been already implemented inthe Rajasthan state). JICA Technical Cooperation Project, “Capacity Building of State Forest
Training Institutions and SFS Colleges” is being implemented for a projected period of five years
from FY2008.

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(4) Other Donors’ Activity
In addition to forest management projects being implemented by the World Bank and the EU, theGlobal Environmental Facility (GEF) has been involved in supporting the preparation ofbiodiversity strategy and related action plans of India.
(5) Necessity of the ProjectThe state of Rajasthan 1 has a forest and tree cover of only 7.1% of the geographical area of the statein 2007 (forest cover and tree cover is 4.69%, and 2.42% respectively), which is far below thenational average of 23.4 %. The state faces both quantitative and qualitative problems with regard
to the forest cover as open forests are as high as 71.8% of the total forest cover of the state. The
present situation of the forests is primarily on account of adverse climatic conditions and massive
biotic pressure on the forests caused by rapid growth in human and livestock populations of thestate.
Two-thirds of the geographical area of the state is covered by the Thar Desert, which ischaracterized by arid and semi-arid conditions and is prone to recurrent droughts. Rajasthan is thedriest state in India and the average rainfall in Rajasthan is 531 mm against the national average of
1,200 mm. Increasing desertification is another major challenge confronting the state.Huge growthin human and livestock population, along with loss of forest cover across the decades, has resulted
in scarcity of fodder, fuel wood and other minor forest produce for the forest dependentcommunities of the state and has adversely affect their livelihoods. The State is endowed with richand unique biodiversity resources. However, these resources are under constant threat due to varietyof factors such as grazing, direct poaching of wild animals and man-animal conflict.
It is therefore necessary to strengthen sustainable forest management in the state through theparticipation of local communities. Development of alternative livelihood sources is also required tomitigate biotic pressure on forest and ecosystem and break the vicious cycle of poverty and naturalresource degradation. The Rajasthan Forest Department has formulated the state forest policy(“Rajasthan Forest Policy 2010), wherein they have set a goal of increasing the forest cover of thestate to 20% of the geographical area. Forest department intends to promote large-scaleafforestation covering 450,000 km2 and adopt numerous measures such as sand dune stabilization)
to prevent desertification, and undertake various biodiversity conservation improvements inconformity with the approved Management Plan of the area.
In view of the situation in the state and the planned response of the state, JICA’s assistance topromote sustainable forest management and strengthen the biodiversity conservation is highly
necessary and relevant.
3. Project Description(1) Project Objective
The objective of this Project is to enhance forest area and livelihood opportunities of the forest
dependent people and to conserve biodiversity by undertaking afforestation and biodiversity
conservation measures through JFM approach, thereby contributing to environmental conservationand socio-economic development of Rajasthan.
(2) Project Site/Target Area
15 Districts, 7 Protected Areas and their fringe areas in Rajasthan state(3) Project Components
1) Afforestation (Afforestation, Agro forestry, water and soil conservation activities, etc.)
2) Biodiversity conservation activities (vegetation restoration in protected areas and theirsurrounding areas, protection of endangered species, etc.)

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The geographical area of the state is about 340,000 km2, almost the same area as Japan ( about 380,000 km2). Rajasthan is thelargest state in India.

23) Community mobilization and livelihood improvement activities (Formation and strengtheningof Village Forest Protect and Management Committee (VFPMC),,livelihood improvement
activities, training, etc.)
4) Institutional capacity development (Augmentation of office facilities and equipment, training,etc.)
5) Consulting services (support for procurement and fund management, etc.)(4) Estimated Project Cost (Loan Amount)
20,515 million yen (including the agreed loan amount: 15,749 million yen)(5) Schedule
Planned for June 2011 – March 2019 (94 months in total); the Project will be completed when all
the activities are completed (March 2019).
(6)
1)
2)
3)

Project Implementation Structure
Borrower: The President of India
Executing Agency: Rajasthan Forest Department, Government of Rajasthan
Operation and Maintenance System: Rajasthan Forest Department, VFPMC, EDC(7) Environmental and Social Consideration/Poverty Reduction/Social Development
1) Environmental and Social Considerations(1) Category: FI(2) Reason for the Categorization: This Project is classified as Category FI because nosub-projects could be identified before JICA’s approval of the loans (such sub-projects
are estimated to have an environmental impact) according to the “Japan Bank forInternational Cooperation Guidelines for the Confirmation of Environmental and Social
Considerations” (established in April 2002).
(3) Other aspects/Monitoring: Given the project’s purpose of carrying out afforestation andbiodiversity conservation activities and the scale and expected contents of thesub-projects, no sub-projects are expected to have a serious environmental impact. Wherenecessary, the Forest Department and VFPMC/EDC will receive support from consultantsfor technical assistance in jointly carrying out monitoring. It has been assumed that nosub-project that falls under Category A is to be carried out.
2) Promotion of Poverty Reduction
In this Project, the participatory management of forest and protected area and activities forcommunity development and livelihood improvement will be implemented with consideration
for the forest dwellers that are highly dependent on forest resources and those in the poverty.
3) Promotion of Social Development (gender perspective, measures for infectious diseases
including HIV/AIDS, participatory development, consideration for persons with disabilities,etc.)
In this Project, participatory activities involving local people are carried out withconsideration for gender.
(8) Collaboration with Other Donors
In this Project, JICA collaborates with NGOs in activities for regional development and livelihoodimprovement.
(9) Other Important Issues
Because afforestation activities and management of protected areas are carried out in this Project,
this Project contributes to the sequestration of greenhouse gases (GHG). This Project’s effect ofmitigating climate change (estimated amount of GHG absorption) is about 480,000 tons/year of
CO 2 equivalent.
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4. Targeted Outcomes(1) Quantitative Effects
1) Performance Indicators (Operation and Effect Indicator)
Baseline
Indicator(2010)
Afforestation area(ha)–Survival rate of planted trees (%)–

Survival rate of planted trees in farmforestry (%)
Number of protected areas intervened bythe ProjectNumber of VFPMCs/EDCs/ SHGs
established and utilized under the Project(*)
Trainees of trainings
Employment (man/day)*SHGs: Self Help Groups–Target (2021)[2 years after project completion]
83,650Desert area: 65%,
non-desert area: 70%75–

7–2,730––

100,500
37,000,0002) Internal Rates of Return
Based on the following preconditions, the economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of theProject is 10.24%.
Costs:
Project cost (excluding taxes), operating and maintenance costs
Benefits:
Revenue from forest products
Project life: 25 years(2) Qualitative Effects
Environmental improvement, biodiversity conservation, improvement of the living standards of
local residents, improvement of women’s social and economic capacity, mitigation of climatechange
5. External Factors and Risk Control
Political and economic stagnation/deterioration as well as natural disasters in India and the areasurrounding the project sites
6. Lessons Learned from Past Projects
From the ex-post evaluation of similar projects in the past, it has been learned that in order to smoothly
implement afforestation and forest management by the Join Forest Management Committee (JFMC), it
is important (i) to prepare, in comprehensive and easy-to-understand language, guidelines that indicate
the scale of JFM, the basis of the wood-lot selection, the basis for operating JFMCs and a system forgetting people to take responsibility, (ii) to implement the project in accordance with those guidelines,and (iii) to plan activities based on the needs of local people.
When afforestation, management of protected areas and livelihood improvement activities are carried out
through the JFMCs and EDCs, the same kind of guidelines will be prepared and applied as needed.
7. Plan for Future Evaluation(1) Indicators to Be Used
1) Afforestation area (ha)2) Survival rate of planted trees (%)
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Survival rate of planted trees in farm forestry (%)
Number of Protected Areas intervened by the Project
Number of VFPMCs/EDCs/SHGs established and utilized under the Project

Number of trainees in training (persons)
Employment (man/day)Economic internal rate of return (EIRR) (%)(2) Timing
Two years after project completion5