INTRODUCTION The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is preparing a project on Revitalizing Education Development in Sierra Leone (REDiSL). The REDiSL grant is processed under the development project financing instrument available to the government of Sierra Leone for the global partnership for education fund and it builds on the progress achieved through the previous EFA-FTI, and is also embedded in the Education Sector Plan (ESP) for 2014-2018. It aims to support interventions underpinned by authorities as they are laid out in the ESP, with the following objectives: Improve access, equity and completion; Improve quality and learning outcomes; Strengthen education service delivery The overall objective is to improve the learning environment in targeted schools and establish system for monitoring of education outcomes. As part of the process of project formulation, the preparation of the Environmental and social management framework (ESMF) was commissioned. The recommendations will be elaborated into project and site specific management action plans for the project as required by the World Bank. This ESMF is prepared by Dr Ralph Bona, former Environmental Manager of CEMMATS Group Ltd, the lead environmental consulting firm in Sierra Leone, and who is also now, the consultant for the Environmental Protection Agency Sierra Leone (EPA-SL), with inputs from staff of the MOE and EPA-SL. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Project Components reviewed The REDiSL is a US$23.5 million processed under the Investment Project Financing (IPF) instrument available to the Government of Sierra Leone from the GPE Fund as well as the Sierra Leone Multi-Donor TF. It builds on the progress achieved through the previous EFA-FTI operation and is embedded in the ESP (2013-2018). It is funded by a $17.9 million allocation from GPE; and $5.6 million equivalent from a multi-donor TF, currently funded by DFID. COMPONENT 1 – Improving the learning environment and opportunities in targeted 1.1 Performance-based School Grants ($4.4 million) The objective of the performance-based school grants component is to improve the learning environment and opportunities in primary and junior secondary schools in targeted districts. Financial incentives (grants) will be provided to schools in most marginalized districts based on a fixed set of criteria related to poverty and education outcomes. Schools must meet agreed outputs or outcomes to receive funding. This is an innovation in the education sector in Sierra Leone, but it has been tested with some success in the health sector.
Clearing and stripping of trees for construction activities could lead to loss of vegetation Clearing of vegetation will be restricted to the defined project site; Neighbouring vegetation will remain undisturbed; site operations personnel will be deterred from conducting any work outside of the designated project site. Induction will be organized for all personnel working at the site on the importance of avoiding any disturbance in the vegetated area. Risk of contamination of environmental media (soil, water or air) from construction wastes and hazardous materials (used batteries, rubbish, metals, glass, spills, etc) All fuel will be transported to the project area in containers that are considered safe; Transporting petroleum products and/or hazardous material will be done in compliance with government regulations. All employees who handle fuel or other dangerous goods on the project will have to be experienced in the handling of dangerous goods prior to working on the project; All dangerous will be handled by persons having experience and training in these products. All or non-hazardous wastes that are not designated as combustible will be either recycled or disposed of in an approved landfill. Construction debris
200 teachers and care givers Positive Social Impact Better output (teaching and students quality) Provide stipends for graduating teachers and caregivers working in the new classrooms Environmental Impact: None Positive Social Impact Better output (teaching and students quality) NA Support establishment of pre-primary unit in the MEST Same as section 2, subsection 5 NA 3.Strengthening reading outcomes at grades provision of reading books and relevant primary materials for primary classes Environmental Impact: None Positive Social Impact 1. Better output (teaching and students quality) NA Reading campaign Environmental Impact: None Positive Social Impact Raising the profile of education over and beyond the classroom environment with a view to increasing literacy levels NA Training of teachers of early primary grades Same as section 3, sub-section 2 above Component 2: Strengthening education service delivery
C Swamp forests (Wetlands) Mangrove swamps Inland valley swamp Fringing forests Raphia swamp Gallery forests 2.4% 1.5% 0.4% 0.5% D Savannah woodlands Moist, closed, Guinea Savannah woodlands Mixed-tree, open, sudan savannah woodland Lophira tree savannah Coastal park savannah woodland Tall (3m) savannah 8.6% 10.1% 3.7% 1.5% 3.5% E Tropical Grassland (seasonal wetlands) Riverain grassland + Grassland (1-3m tall) Boliland swamp + grassland (1m tall) Montane grassland (1m short) Lateritic pan grassland (very short) 2.5% 0.1% F Plantations, farmland and wetlands Rubber Oil palm Coffee and cacao Fuelwood Forest trees 0.1% 2.3% Vegetation and plant communities in Sierra Leone Forest Estate Sierra is essentially a forest as the climate conditions can support close high forest in about 80 percent of the country. Historical evidence, (cole, 1968) indicated that at the turn of the 20th century, 80 percent of the country was covered with tropical closed forests on the lowland and escarpment area and savannah woodland in the northern plateau region. Unwin (1922), Savill and Fox (1967) reported that it has been estimated that 70% of the country was at one time forested. Mann (1990) also indicated that the beginning of the country, an estimated 75 percent of the land surface was covered in forest, and the remaining area considered of 9 percent swamp, and 16 percent open savannah, forest regrowth and crop fields. Human impact on the vegetation, largely due to the rapid increase in population, demand for forest products (timber, fuel wood and building poles) and slash-and-burn agriculture, wild bush fires and urbanization has been so severe to the extent that, nowadays, the original forest cover has been decimated with just under 6 percent of the country under forest, another 4 percent is secondary forest and 52 percent is in various seral stages of regrowth (Gordon et al. 1979).