INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE

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1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 28-Jul-2013 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 29-Jul-2013 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Project Name: Task Team Leader: Estimated 10-Feb-2014 Appraisal Date: Managing Unit: AFTN1 Report No.: ISDSC4328 Congo, Democratic Republic P Project ID: of Strengthening Hydro-Meteorological and Climate Services in DRC (P144712) Louise E. M. Croneborg Estimated Board Date: Lending Instrument: 15-Jul-2014 Investment Project Financing Sector(s): General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (75%), Ports, waterways and shipping (25%) Theme(s): Climate change (50%), Water resource management (50%) Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: Total Bank Financing: 0.00 Total Cofinancing: Financing Gap: Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 IDA Grant 0.00 GEF Secretariat as Implementing Agency 6.00 Total 6.00 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? B. Project Objectives The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve the quality of the Government of DRC s hydro-meteorological and climate services. The PDO would be achieved by supporting the Government's hydro-met services (particularly

2 MettelSat) in: optimising the collection, management and sharing of data on water and weather conditions based on agreed realistic criteria and resources; integrating resources provided through remote sensing and regional/global forecasting centers; improving the skills and motivation of staff in the implementing agencies; and ability to absorb new technologies and solutions for delivering relevant hydro-met information to users in relevant sectors. The PDO could be achieved and sustained through tailoring the project to core needs of prioritised sectors. Thereby, the project can serve as a foundation for building climate resilience and economic growth in these sectors. C. Project Description The proposed Project would have the following component structure to support achievement of the PDO: Component A. Institutional and regulatory strengthening, capacity building and implementation support. Component A would invest in the human and institutional resources that can implement and sustain observation and forecasting of weather and water. Considering the need to address the current challenges in staffing and policy mandates, the Component would invest in: i) reinforcing the legal and regulatory framework of MettelSat and other agencies (including Standard Operating Procedures SOP); ii) Quality Management Systems to raise standards and quality control/verification procedures across the institutions; iii) long-term and on-demand capacity building and training of staff to build the human skills needed to sustain modernised hydro-met services (both national and international-level training) ; iv) institutional mechanisms to build cooperation between the hydromet agencies and their major users through protocols on data sharing and workshops etc.; and, v) additional operational support to MettelSat and other agencies through technical assistance and, if optimal, twinning arrangements with advanced NHMS (under the guidance by WMO for example). Component B. Modernisation of capacity, facilities and infrastructure for observation and forecasting. Component B will invest in the reinforcement and rebuilding of the basic networks for observation and forecasting capacity. A highly focused approach to investments is required in DRC considering the current status of hydro-met services, and allocation of investment will have to be made based on priority sectors/user-groups being served, core-capacity for observation and forecasting and the longterm ability to operate and maintain the services. Investments will focus on the following key areas: i) strengthening the physical hydrological and meteorological monitoring networks through rehabilitation of existing stations and installation of new equipment (suitable to the context and capacity-levels i.e., the core network based on prioritised users) with selected observation at key locations for surface water and weather conditions in particular, and to the extent possible, water quality and groundwater; ii) a long-term calibration, operations and maintenance programme of the network; iii) improved transmission, management and accessibility of hydro-met data whilst capitalising on future mobile tools/e-services and wireless Internet protocols; iv) refurbishment of facilities needed to support the services including offices and ICT infrastructure (including central and regional operating centers), Internet connectivity, data storage and processing at MettelSat, RVF and RVA in Kinshasa and selected regional forecasting centers; and, v) strengthening the technical systems/softwares used for performing hydrological and meteorological modelling and forecasting and integration of improved predictions into products, decision support- and early warning systems (with parallel training of staff under Component A).

3 Improving the capacity to predict and analyse hydro-meteorology in MettelSat, RVF and RVA, will be essential to secure the intended social and economic benefits. Also, climate change is creating additional uncertainty and risks for development in DRC. Improved climate modelling and forecasting capacity would therefore strengthen the Government s adaptation capacity. Financing from the Least Developed Countries Fund for Adaptation (LDCF) will be suitable for these activities under Component B. Component C. Improvement of hydro-met information service delivery. Component C will focus on the delivery of more accurate, timely and relevant information to users and decision-makers. Through pilots and tailored information for target audience, the hydro-met agencies would trial, modify and develop appropriate format and timing of hydro-met information especially for river-transportation agencies, hydropower operators, disaster reduction and civil protection agencies, farmers and agricultural actors, aviation, the media and public. The expected outcomes include economic gains and prevention of losses, and importantly, improved adaptation capacity within sectors having to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change and variability. Therefore, LDCF would suitably finance these adaptation-activities under Component C; reflecting the value added provided in improving adaptive capacity in sectors such as navigation/rivertransport, water resources management and hydropower, among others. Co-financing with the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF). Under the framework of the UNFCC, the LDCF was established recognising that LDCs do not have the means to deal with problems associated with adaptation to climate change. In COP7 (2001), an LDC-work programme was agreed that specifically included: Strengthening of the capacity of meteorological and hydrological services to collect, analyse, interpret and disseminate weather and climate information to support implementation of NAPAs [National Adaptation Programmes of Action]. The NAPA for DRC was completed in 2006 and prioritises strengthening the national meteorological services, management of reservoirs and navigable waterways as options for adaptation. The added value of the LDCF funds will specifically be achieved through improving the implementing agencies technical and human capacity to model and forecast water, weather and climate change. With the knowledge gained from better climate foresight, these agencies can provide information that can increase the adaptation capacity in key economic and social sectors thereby adding value to baseline investments (e.g., for hydropower or river-transport). The LDCF support would be complimentary to the IDA baseline project that focus resources on the human and infrastructure resources needed to modernise the hydro-met services, and in addition coordinated alongside efforts of other donors such as EU and WMO (planning expansion of the HYCOS system to the Congo River Basin). The proposed Project would also be coordinated with other approved LDCF-financed projects in DRC where shared knowledge can be explored. These include (UNDP as Implementing Agency): Building the capacity of the agriculture sector to plan for and respond to the additional threats posed by climate change on food production and security (US$3.4m); Building the resilience and ability to adapt of women and children to changing climate (US$5.3); and, Resilience of Muanda s communities from coastal erosion (US$6.0). Sustainability is a challenge to hydro-met services globally and presents risks to both the LDCF and IDA investments. To mitigate these risks, the proposed Project is intended as a long-term engagement (possibly through a series of projects). Also, attention will be given to: optimal use of hydro-met equipment that can be maintained; longterm programme for consolidating institutional, human and ICT capacity for modelling, forecasting and decision support systems; and, developing solutions to avoid the financial voids hindering hydromet services. Finally, greater public participation will help improve the hydro-met services; for example, tailoring forecasts to media or providing timely and understandable information to vulnerable communities in times of severe weather events.

4 Integrating new initiatives and opportunities. During preparation, the design of the Project will explore ways in which new opportunities can be best integrated either as part of the above components or additional. These include: Creation of a National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS). Through the WMO, the concept of the Global Framework of Climate Services (GFCS) was recently adopted. The GFCS rests on the development of NFCS at country-level, as an important step to improve global standards, quality and collaboration among hydro-met services. Strengthened partnerships with international and regional hydro-met programs. The proposed Project would support DRC in benefitting from regional and global programs: the Africa Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development in SADC (AMESD), Congo-Hydrological Observation System (HYCOS), the Meteorological Association of Southern Africa (MASA), African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), and Climate Prediction and Application Center of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. Satellite and remote sensing resources. For the past three decades, remote sensing has developed into a crucial resource for data-collecting and forecasting. Not only do satellites offer additional sources of data (complementary to in-situ data), but with better spatial coverage and distributed measurements. In the next ten years, a number of satellite missions are planned by agencies such as the European Space Agency and NASA that will provide even greater capabilities (e.g., NASA s CNES SWOT mission 2019 and the ESA s Meteosat Third Generation in 2020). Because of the complex limitations facing the hydro-met agencies in DRC, the proposed Project will allocate specific resources on building their capacity to access, understand and make use of the remotely sensed data. The range of relevant uses include: water storage (large river basin hydrological processes), optimising river-gauge stations (altimetry to measure river dynamics where in situ data is not available and assessing the value of such locations), wetlands (dynamics of seasonally flooded wetland that are poorly quantified), navigation (observation and anticipation of river conditions by monitoring spatial dynamics of water levels, discharge and timing of low waters), hydropower (discharge measurement, monitoring of seasonal and inter-annual variation of reservoir storage), flood risk mapping (combining precipitation forecasts with digital elevation models), and severe weather warnings (analysis of extreme events build-up, rainfall structure, storm, cyclones and lightning tracking) and much more. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The exact locations where either old observation stations will be rehabilitated or new stations will be installed, is not yet known. The choice of locations across DRC will take place during implementation and will require a careful balancing of the need for data and analysis, accessibility and ability to sustain the station through operations and maintenance. E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies The capacity of the implementing agency MettelSat is considered low. The agency is a new partner to the Bank and as such, has not been exposed to safeguard policies. The project will include measures to ensure the agency is familiar with best practice safeguards measures, and will comply with World Bank policies. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team

5 Douglas J. Graham (AFTN2) Antoine V. Lema (AFTCS) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ BP 4.01 Yes The rehabilitation and installation of monitoring stations (for collecting information on water and weather) involves small-scale civil works with some localized environmental and social impacts. In certain cases, it will be necessary to construct cost-efficient access paths or gravelroads. In many cases, however, observation stations will be located where there is easy and existing access such as near bridges or on government-owned property. Other civil works associated with the Project could include refurbishment of facilities used by the hydromet agencies. The negative environmental and social impacts associated with these civil works are expected to be minimal in scale but will need evaluation. An Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) will be developed to enable staff in the implementing agency to do adequate screening of the civil works and implement necessary remedial actions to mitigate negative impacts. It will be consulted upon and disclosed before appraisal. Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No Any possible disturbance to natural habitats would be insignificant and certainly no critical natural habitats will be affected in any way. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No The policy is not triggered as the project envisions no investments in management of natural forests or plantations. Pest Management OP 4.09 No The policy is not triggered as the project will not procure pesticides nor result in their use. Physical Cultural Resources OP/ BP 4.11 Yes During project preparation efforts will be made to determine if any known physical cultural resources would be affected by the project; in any event a Chance Finds procedure will be included in the ESMF. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 TBD Unknown at the concept stage. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 Yes Component B (Modernisation of capacity, facilities and infrastructure) could trigger land acquisition, although the project will seek to use government owned land and properties. If it

6 were determined that land acquisition was necessary, the Resettlement Policy Framework would provide guidance for the preparation of a Resettlement Action Plan to address compensation/rehabilitation issues, as needed. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No No construction/rehabilitation or use of irrigation waters from a dam is envisioned in this project. Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 No Not applicable. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No No project activity will be implemented in disputed areas. III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 07-Feb-2014 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing 1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: The safeguards tools, such as an ESMF and RPF will be developed, consulted and disclosed prior to completion of Appraisal. IV. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Name: Louise E. M. Croneborg Approved By: Regional Safeguards Name: Date: Coordinator: Sector Manager: Name: Benoit Bosquet (SM) Date: 29-Jul Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons.