CONSULTATION, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

Transcription

1 Building Climate Resilience of Watersheds in Mountain Eco-Regions (RRP NEP 44214) CONSULTATION, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNICATIONS PLAN A. Objective and Principles 1. The objective of the Consultation, Participation and Communications Plan (the CPC Plan) is to describe how the project will ensure meaningful participation of all stakeholders in project implementation and monitoring. 2. The main principle of effective participation is that those who will be responsible for (or benefit from) a specific aspect after the project is completed will also be the main responsible party for that aspect during planning implementation. This ensures that the project will be designed and implemented as per the needs, capacities and constraints of those benefiting. It also ensures that those ultimately responsible are allowed to develop the required capacity for effective management and implementation. 3. Local end-users are familiar with the types of infrastructure being installed under the project and the know-how exists within communities for maintenance and repair. The main focus of capacity building needs to be on the attitudinal change that will bring about attention to operation and maintenance so that it is not neglected, and attention to the broader aspects of management so that benefits reach the broadest possible cross-section of people, especially those targeted as disadvantaged. B. Analysis and Key Areas for Participation 4. analysis is the means to identify types of stakeholders acting at different levels to develop and implement the project. These groups interact intensively within communities and at district level; their opinions and interactions can guide project development toward the objectives set out above. 5. The project s primary stakeholders are households in the project area that will benefit from better access to water, including potentially disadvantaged groups (women, Dalits, and a few Janajati). Many other stakeholders also play important roles in project implementation and need to be engaged in various ways. The stakeholders involved are shown in Table 1, emphasizing characteristics, relative importance and influence of each group. The key measures for stakeholder engagement in the project are also included in the table, along with the party responsible for ensuring the participation.

2 2 Beneficiary Households Communitybased Organizations (Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Committees, Drinking Water and Irrigation User s, Women s s, Community Forestry Users s (CFUG), etc.) Table 1: s Analysis and Participation Plan Food insecure. Enhancing skills/technical knowledge in Poor health status. watershed management High rate of illiteracy. Supporting construction and Low income levels and maintenance of water infrastructure seasonal male migration. Facilitate preparation of catchment Traditional farming systems. management plans and agreements Affected by landslides, soil Facilitating intra-village and inter-village erosion and river bank erosion. dialogue on water use allocation Limited knowledge of watershed Organizing targeted training and management and soil coaching for woman and disadvantaged conservation. group (DAG) on involvement in Social, caste and gender subproject planning and implementation discrimination Conducts training in improved water and soil conservation practices, with separate training sessions for women and DAGs. Shared group interest Few are active and members do not know their roles Limited numbers of CBOs active in project area Some members are active in multiple groups CFUGs have resource advantage Low level of awareness and understanding in majority of members Work with existing Agriculture, Forestry and Environment Committees (AFEC) on subwatershed planning and provide institutional strengthening. All district-based CBOs are members of the District Implementation Coordination Committee and will provide feedback on subproject selection and implementation Project will facilitate linkages to other development initiatives in the same district through communication with CBOs and other line agencies. CBOs will help ensure grievance redress for social and environmental safeguards. Project will report gender and social inclusion impacts to CBOs and solicit their feedback. Field technical teams (FTTs) NGO engaged for the training program Project management unit (PMU) District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCOs), PMU PMU, Department of Soil Conservation and Water Shed Management

3 3 District Development Committee (DDC) and Village Development Committee (VDC) Interested in attracting increased resources to district. Interested in infrastructure development and farm-tomarket connectivity. Interested in the conservation and development of watersheds and protection of forests. VDC funds channeled through DDC. No elected representative in DDCs and VDCs for 12 years Local development officer (LDO)of DDC chairs DICC DDCs monitor implementation progress DDCs approve annual budgets get subwatershed management plans endorsed by DDC VDC secretary facilitates subproject applications and planning VDC secretary may receive complaints from affected people LDOs and chief development officers resolve conflicts / address grievances (DSCWM) Knowledge and DSCOs District-Level Offices of Line Agencies (agriculture, forestry, irrigation and water supply) and District Technical Office Central Line Agencies (agriculture, forestry, irrigation, local infrastructure development, Services guided by the Tenth Plan, APP and departmental policies and priorities. Line agencies have network of Service Centres/Sub-Service Centres and Range Posts to work at the community level Understaffed with inadequate incentives and human resource development Limited coordination between district line agencies Conflicting relation with NGOs/private sector Policy, plans and programs for rural development. Expertise in agriculture, forestry and rural infrastructure development Limited coordination among agencies reporting to different These agencies are key members of DICC. Meetings will also make them aware of community needs assessments, planning and project reviews. Key personnel will serve as training resource persons. Consulted for subwatershed plan preparation; reviews subwatershed plans. Review subproject preparation reports as part of Feasibility Approval Committees. Members of Project Steering Committee Members of Technical Working Advisors on water and soil conservation, training program Advisors to subwatershed management planning process /DDCs NGO training service provider, PMU DSCWM, MOFSC DSCWM, PMU NGO Training Service Provider, facilitated by PMU PMU

4 4 and water supply) ministries. Interested in attracting resources to their programs. Performance targets are articulated in national development plan Key stakeholders in knowledge management program Build linkages between project and other related programs/projects Advisors and reviewers of applied hydrology research DSCWM Knowledge PMU Project Research Institute, facilitated by PMU Local NGOs Local Leaders/ Political Parties Development Partners working on climate change and/or Over 240 local NGOs registered, but very few are active. Depends essentially on volunteers and short-term grants/contracts. Potential to work with most vulnerable groups. Experience in limited sectors only (where donor resources are available). Primarily interested in 'infrastructure' development. Respected and have authority No people's representative due to vacant local government for 12 years Political party's mechanism at district and village development committees without legal provisions Development and services for local levels Provide financing and technical assistance Suggest sector for development and investment Encourage involvement of local NGOs in the design and preparation of subwatershed management plans. Use NGOs to disseminate project information to subproject areas and help generate subproject applications. Partner on water and soil conservation training program. Some local NGOs will be DICC members and will help monitor project progress. Provide support for activities with women and DAGs. Involve them in the preparation of subproject plans. Involve them in resolving any conflicts in subproject areas. Keep district-level parties informed of project progress. Report progress and results to them regularly Consult them on detailed terms of reference for studies and knowledge NGO Training Service Provider, FTTs, facilitated by LDOs PMU, ADB Research institute, DSCWM Knowledge Management

5 5 rural development Interested in the country's inclusive development Apolitical and promotion of fundamental basic needs like climate change and environment protection Strong focus on climate change adaptation at national, sectoral, and local levels Focus on building government capacity at all levels to manage climate variability and change Key agencies directly contribute to and monitor progress of SPCR products Share project progress and challenges regularly with JICA as they are also working with DSCWM Share project progress and challenges regularly with Finland as they are implementing the complementary Rural Village Water Resources Management Project Interaction between government and other agencies on good practice in the water resources Networking to share experience, promote collaboration, avoid duplication; and maintain consistency in climate change adaptation projects and programs Unit PMU, DSCWM Knowledge PMU, DSCWM Knowledge DSCWM Knowledge MOSTE-led Multistakeholder Climate Change Implementation Coordination Committee, MOSTE-led Climate Change Program Coordination Committee, Donor Coordination on Climate Change

6 6 C. Key Participation and Communications Activities 6. This section describes the key CPC activities that will be implemented under the project. It is organized by the entity responsible for the activity. The PMU will monitor the CPC Plan and will be expected to report on the status of implementation of each of the activities listed below in their progress reports and during ADB review missions. interests and needs may change during the implementation period, and if so the activities needed to engage various stakeholders will also change. The PMU will keep the CPC activity plan updated. 1. District Soil Conservation Offices (DSCOs). (iv) DSCOs will be responsible for convening regular DICC meetings as the main mechanism for keeping district-level stakeholders informed about project progress. The DSCOs will likewise meet with DDC political parties (either separately or together) on a regular basis and at least twice a year to brief them on project progress. Either through DICC meetings or through interactions with specific government agencies or NGOs, the DSCOs will facilitate linkages to other development initiatives in the same district through communication with CBOs and other line agencies. As the conveners of the DICCs, the DSCOs will facilitate the registration and resolution of any complaints by project affected people. In their preparation of subwatershed management plans, the DSCOs will consult with all appropriate line agencies, the district technical office, and development NGOs working in the district. 2. Field Technical Teams (FTTs) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) The Senior Social Development Specialist will produce guidelines and visual materials for communicating the project to communities, and the FTTs will implement the information dissemination program in subproject areas and generate applications from potential beneficiary groups. Once the subprojects have been selected for preparation, the social mobilizers from the FFTs conduct screening of Janajati and Dalits and identify specific measures for ensuring the meaningful participation of Janajati, Dalits, women and any other disadvantaged persons in subproject preparation and implementation. The Senior Social Development Specialist will supervise the social mobilizers in this and endorse the activity plans. The social mobilizers will facilitate the subproject preparation process, including negotiating of catchment management plans and their associated agreements (with the assistance of the watershed management technicians). They will facilitate intra-village and inter-village dialogue on water use allocation, as needed. The FFTs will raise awareness among communities of the project s grievance redress mechanism and facilitate receiving complaints from affected people. The Senior Social Development Specialist and FTT Mobile Team sociologists will conduct one training session for each DICC in mediation and conflict resolution during the first year of the project, and will conduct one refresher training annually thereafter. The FTTs will ensure the village-level leaders of political parties are kept informed regarding subproject plans and implementation progress. The FTTs will also ensure that information about the subproject and its schemes, including costs and contracts for construction and conservation works, is posted in a public location in the VDC.

7 7 3. Project (PMU, with assistance of DSCWM s Knowledge ) (iv) The PMU will share project progress and challenges regularly with the JICAfunded project team working with DSCWM The PMU will share project progress and challenges regularly with Finlandfunded Rural Village Water Resources Management Project team The PMU will report project progress and results to national-level stakeholders (including NGOs and development partners) at least twice a year, either through convening a meeting or disseminating a newsletter. The PMU will develop and maintain a project website that includes current project status and all project documents. 4. DSCWM s Knowledge Management (KM) Unit The KM Unit will report gender and social inclusion impacts to NGOs at both national and district levels and solicit their feedback. They will consult development partners on the detailed terms of reference for project-related studies and knowledge products before they are commissioned. The KM Unit will develop and implement a mechanism for regular dialogue between government and other agencies on good practices in the water resources. 5. NGO Training Service Provider The NGO that will be engaged to provide water and soil conservation training in subproject areas will ensure separate training sessions are held for women and DAGs. The NGO will engage district-level agency personnel and other NGOs working in the project districts as resource persons in the training program