environmental and social risks and impacts 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 sub-projects Circumstances under which the Bank will determine whether the Borrower will be required to retain independent third party specialists could entail significant incremental effort. The Bank should provide further guidance on this matter. Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) Legal standing of the ESCP and implications of changes to the ESCP as part of the legal agreement The difference between the ES Management Plan (ESMP) and the ES Commitment Plan (ESCP) needs to be clarified. Currently, ESCP looks like another hand-cuffing for the Borrower. Its benefit for the Borrower is unclear. ESS2 Labor and working conditions Definition and necessity of and requirements for managing labor employed by certain third parties (brokers, agents and intermediaries) Application and implementation impacts of certain labor requirements to contractors, community and voluntary labor and primary suppliers Constraints in making grievance mechanisms Inside the country, the ILO has an extensive labor standard program, including child labor, forced labor and collective bargaining. The country has ratified a number of ILO conventions. A new labor law is also in place. However the implementation capacity is lacking in the country, e.g. the labor inspection program is very weak. The Bank should coordinate with ILO’s program in rolling out ESS2. In particular in the infrastructure sector, where labor issues are very pronounced. While ESS2 requires the Borrower to have in place written labor management procedures, the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has no mandate and capacity to monitor workers’ safety measures. It is suggested that NEPA coordinate with ministries including safety department to address labor requirements under ESS2.
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 Capacity of the authorities and the security situations are key factors in implementation and monitoring, but currently a challenge. The Bank should also consult with the Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Social Protection. There is no single ministry in Afghanistan which covers all social safeguards issues including labor, but responsibilities are scattered and allocated to several institutions. The country should introduce insurance and pension systems for the labor force. Clarification was sought on “freedom of association and collective bargaining respecting national law” in the presentation. 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 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 The estimation and annual reporting of greenhouse gas emissions could become very burdensome to borrowers with capacity constraints. The threshold and types of projects with requirement for estimation requirement should take this into consideration. The requirements on climate change under the proposed ES Framework should be proportionate to the scale of the project. It should not be mainstreamed into all projects without contextual adjustments.