Review and Update of the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies Phase 3 Feedback Summary Date: December 15, 2015 Location (City, Country): NIAMEY Audience: CSOs/NGOs Key: C = Comment Q = Question ESF Issue Items Feedback Vision Rights Approach to rights in the ESF C: Concerns regarding how Bank will follow up and tackle human rights issues in the ESF. Q: If it was difficult to get some countries’ agreement to protect human rights even on paper, what will the reality be? Q: Food security is a human right. Why are the WB and ADB asking to do more studies on environmental and social issues? Is there a concern about the quality of the existing studies or is it due to the new norms that WB want to impose? Q: The Western conception of human rights does not match our culture and traditions. How does the WB guarantee that including the human rights norms is not contradictory with the Bank’s development objectives? Q: Since the scope of the human rights issues under the ESF is very narrow, wouldn’t that mean we are enabling project implementers to transgress the human rights?
Q: Can the Bank ensure project developers consider rights and provide redress where violations take place? Q: If only a small paragraph has been included in the Vision Statement about human rights, how can the Bank ensure that this issue is really addressed and applied during project implementation? How will the Bank monitor these issues in each borrowing country? Q: Human rights issues are not treated appropriately by countries. How to guarantee that the norms are applied in cases of weak national policies and laws? Q: Does this ESF oblige the Government to protect the rights of pastoralists? ESP/ ESS1 Non-discrimination and vulnerable groups Explicit listing of specific vulnerable groups by type/name (age, gender, ethnicity, religion, physical, mental or other disability, social, civic or health status, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic disadvantages or indigenous status, and/or dependence on unique natural resources) Specific aspects of the non-discrimination principle in complex C: Niger is a transit country for Sub-saharan African citizens migrating towards North Africa or Europe. Such movements of people affect our countries and are different from refugee situations. It is suggested that the WB conduct a study on migration and its impact on Niger’s economy and social environment. C: LGBT rights are a western concept and have nothing to do with our culture. Q: Discrimination issues are driven by Western perspectives, which contrasts with local views on these matters. Yet, the ESF recognizes local cultural norms. How will the Bank deal with this apparent contradiction?
Co-financing/ common approach Arrangements on E&S standards in situations where the co-financier’s standards are different from those of the Bank Q: How does the Bank ESF become binding, even for multinational companies or co-financiers involved in a project in Niger? Adaptive risk management Approach to monitoring E&S compliance and changes to the project during implementation Q: Risks show up during implementation. How does the ESF manage this? Risk classification Approach to determining and reviewing the risk of a project ESS1 Assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts Assessment and nature of cumulative and indirect impacts to be taken into account Treatment of cumulative and indirect impacts when identified in the assessment of the project Establishing project boundaries and the applicability of the ESSs to Associated Facilities, contractors, primary suppliers, FI subprojects and directly funded Circumstances which the Bank will determine whether the Borrower will be required to retain C: As a development specialist, my concern is that the ESS’s are the most binding constraints for a project’s implementation. C: Projects covering large areas using the ESF are challenging to implement even by Government. Therefore, capacity building and environmental and social management tools should be clear to allow implementation in big projects. C: The WB is aware that human trafficking exists in Niger. This is an important issue to be addressed by the ESF. It is important to link human trafficking with child labor, while differentiating it from certain work activities undertaken by children within the family. C: The ESF should include conception and elaboration of the big picture with regard to project design, risk assessment and evaluation as part of standards risk linked to implementation. C: The ESF should link Environmental and Risk assessment for micro project design and take into account capacity building. C: Too much environmental and social safeguard conditionality could dissuade us to partner with the Bank.
and voluntary labor and primary suppliers Constraints in making grievance mechanisms available to all project workers Referencing national law in the objective of supporting freedom of association and collective bargaining Operationalization of an alternative mechanism relating to freedom of association and collective bargaining where national law does not recognize such rights Issues in operationalizing the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) provisions/standards Q: Is there a distinction between children who help their displaced parents and people that are exploiting children as employees? Q: How will employees provide comments and be sure that they will be taken into account? Q: Can the Bank Promote policies fighting child labor? Is there a distinction between children who help their displaced parents and people that are exploiting child as employees? ESS3 Climate change and GHG emissions The relation between provisions on climate change in the ESF and broader climate change commitments, specifically UNFCCC Proposed approaches to measuring and monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Bank projects and implications thereof, in C: Climate Change should be a strong requirement in the ESF, and the Agreement (COP21) has made this clear. C: Climate change issues should become a conditionality the Bank’s lending. C: Niger, as a country victimized by climate change, should get compensation. Q: Isn’t stating “whenever technically or financially feasible’’ with regard to the GHG assessment, resource efficiency and/or pollution prevention
line with the proposed standard, including determining scope, threshold, duration, frequency and economic and financial feasibility of such estimation and monitoring Implications required for the Borrower of estimating and reducing GHG emissions for Bank projects, in line with the proposed standard activities apparently a blank check to Government to not take their responsibilities to address these issues? Q: Appreciate language in ESS 3 climate change. How will these be managed through the ESF? ESS5 Land acquisition and involuntary resettlement Treatment and rights of informal occupants and approach to forced evictions in situations unrelated to land acquisitions Interpretation of the concept of resettlement as a “development opportunity” in different project circumstances C: Eminent domain is overdone in Niger, and it does not take into account communities’ emotional attachment to land. People don’t get to choose the new land they are given to replace their lost land. Also, people need to be trained to manage compensation, and this should be factored into the costs of a RAP. Finally, PAPs should receive training to restore their livelihoods. C: Pastoralism is not taken into account the extractive industry sector; there is no compensation plan for destruction to the environment and impacts on livelihoods. C: It is excellent that the ESF allows for more flexibility regarding compensation and resettlement issues, including phasing with the implementation of project activities/components. C: Migration issues (transhumance, pastoralism, nomadism, etc.) have not been raised in the ESF, even though it is a global issue with social and economic impact; these should be taken into account in the ESF. Land acquisition/ resettlement is also a challenge.
Application of cultural heritage requirements when cultural heritage has not been legally protected or previously identified or disturbed ESS9 Financial Intermediaries Application of standard to FI subprojects and resource implications depending on risk Harmonization of approach with IFC and Equator Banks Q: How do we ensure that the FIs align their environmental and social management with the ESF? Q: Is it expected that the capacity of intermediaries will be strengthened through the implementation of the ESS’s? ESS10 Stakeholder engagement Definition and identification of project stakeholders and nature of engagement Role of borrowing countries or implementing agencies in identifying project stakeholders C: Responding to environmental and social issues is an obstacle for us; there is a problem with adequate stakeholder participation. C: There is a need to trust the Government and the workers on the ground. Dialogue is key for environmental and social safeguard issues. Q: How to clarify stakeholder engagement? are laws existing without an implementation decree. How is the WB going to operate? Q: It is rare to include communities into consultations. How to handle issues raised by communities and convince them? Q: What is the level of the stakeholders’ engagement that is required to be satisfactory for the Bank for project processing? General EHSG and GIIP Application of the Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines (EHSGs) and Good International Industry Practice (GIIP), especially when Q: Are human and animal health issues considered under the new ESF?