Environmental and Social Management Framework Pakistan
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Environmental and Social Management Public Disclosure Authorized Framework Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Draft Public Disclosure Authorized Sanjh Preet Organization Date: June 30, 2020 Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project Executive Summary Introduction Outbreak of COVID-19 since March 2020 has worsened the educational situation in Pakistan. The disruption of education services during the COVID-19 pandemic will disproportionately affect disadvantaged and unreached children, including girls and young women. Despite an increasing trend in the enrollment rate in the pre-pandemic time, a large number of children still remained out-of-school, the situation is likely to be worsened. The National Education Management Information Systems (NEMIS) estimates that around 22 million children were out of school in 2016/17, of which there were more than 5 million out-of-school children in primary school ages 5–9 years, more than 11 million in ages 10–14 years, and 6.2 million in age 15–16 years. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, education systems in both Punjab and Sindh provinces faced major challenges, including limited school access and low retention rates. Provincial governments are responsible for providing free and compulsory education to all children aged 5-16 years in their respective provinces. School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) in Sindh and Literacy & Non-Formal Basic Education Department (LNFBED) in Punjab are respectively responsible for non-formal education. In both provinces, lack of school access and high dropout rates, especially at the primary level, are responsible for its large out-of-school population. Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project proposes interventions to fill in the gaps where public sector service delivery is not currently reaching and establishing a new model of providing non-formal education. The objective is to develop integrated skills and literacy programs for non-formal education, and pilot them to train 4,400 male and 6,600 female beneficiaries aged 8 to 35 who are uneducated and illiterate in three districts of South Punjab and two districts of rural Sindh provinces in Pakistan. The project proposes to establish Community Learning Centers (CLCs) for the provision of i) Accelerated Learning Programs for out-of-school children to enable them to join the formal education system; and, ii) Integrated Literacy and Skills, including pre-vocational trade modules and life skills courses, for illiterate and uneducated adolescents (11-16 years) and young adults (17-35 years). CLCs will also offer support functions to beneficiaries, including counseling and psychosocial support for beneficiaries. To respond to the unknown and unpredictable emergency situation associated with COVID-19 pandemic, the project offers flexible and three- level coping strategies to achieve the project outcomes besides the core project approach and these options will be used depending on the emergency level declared by the federal and provincial governments. The project is to be implemented in partnership with the Sanjh Preet Organization (SPO), a non-governmental organization based in Pakistan who will be responsible for coordinating with and involving multiple-level key stakeholders in this Program. These stakeholders include (a) provincial governments led by Literacy or Non-formal education Units of School Education Departments, (b) district and taluka education offices, (c) federal government entities including NAVTTC for accreditation of the pre-vocational programs and federal level NFE unit under the Ministry of Education, and (d) community leaders and volunteers. As the exact location (sub-districts, tehsils/villages) are not identified for project activities at this stage, the project will use a framework approach for assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts; and accordingly this Environmental and Social Executive Summary Page | i Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project Management Framework (ESMF) is prepared. This ESMF shall guide the preparation and use of environmental and social screening and monitoring checklists, plans and procedures required to for the management of environmental and social risks associated with the project activities. Regulatory Framework The Punjab Environment Protection Act 2012 and Sindh Environment Protection Act 2014 are the main environmental legislations applicable to the Project. The National Environmental Quality Standards 2000 provide standards for air quality, emissions and effluents from project activities. The Punjab Epidemic Diseases Act 1958 and Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act 2014 are relevant for measures and SOPs for COVID-19 response. Labor Law Constitutional provisions and Employment of Child Act 1991 are also relevant for the project. The World Bank has defined specific Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs), which are designed to avoid, minimize, reduce or mitigate the adverse environmental and social risks and impacts of projects. These standards apply to projects supported through Investment Project Financing by the World Bank in accordance with this Environmental and Social Policy for Investment Project Financing. ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts is relevant for the project, and this Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF), including an environment and social (E&S) assessment, has been prepared in accordance with ESS1. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions is relevant for all project workers including SPO staff, contractors, CLC staff, community workers and primary supply workers. Labor Management Procedures (LMP) have been prepared in accordance with ESS2 and provide a set of policies and procedures to address labor related risks and to guide SPO to prepare requisite plans such as for Occupational Health and Safety and mitigation of gender based violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation and abuse/sexual harrassment (SEA/SH) risks. The LMP also provides guidance for establishing a grievance redress mechanism for labor. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management is relevant for the project and will require the preparation of E-Waste Management Procedures. ESS4 Community Health and Safety is relevant for the project, and will require the preparation of Community Health & Safety Plan, COVID-19 Response Plan, and GBV Action Plan. Under ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) has been prepared for the project to address risks relevant to stakeholder engagement. Environmental and Social Baseline The Project will be implemented in Karachi-Malir, and Sujawal districts of Sindh; and Multan, Muzaffargarh, and Bahawalpur districts of South Punjab. Approximately 10 locations (tehsils/village) per district will be selected in which CLCs will be created. Physical Environment: The project areas in South Punjab have a desert climate with virtually no rainfall during the year. The highest recorded temperature is approximately 54 °C (129 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature is approximately −1 °C (30 °F). The average rainfall ranges from 127 mm to 200 mm. In Sindh districts, the annual mean maximum temperatures averaged at 32.6°C, whereas, the annual mean minimum temperatures at 21.8°C. Highest recorded temperatures 45 °C . July and August are the wettest months and that the maximum rainfall recorded in Karachi from 2001 to 2013 was 324.9 mm during the year 2003. In Sujawal, the average annual rainfall was about 220 mm. Districts Muzaffargarh and Sujawal suffer from flooding due to rains and villages in Sujawal along the coast also suffer from Executive Summary Page | ii Pakistan Integrated Literacy and Skills Development for Youth Project cyclones. The districts of Multan, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh and Sujawal are located in Seismic Zone 2A, while that of Malir is in Seismic Zone 2B. Natural surface water quality in Punjab is quite good (TDS 125-250 PPM) but high level of bacterial contamination is a serious problem. Physical and chemical data of shallow groundwater in Sindh shows that the shallow wells, located in the vicinity of coast and in the proximity of polluted rivers, in Karachi have relatively higher values of electrical conductivity, salinity and population of Coliform bacteria. More than 80% of lands in Sindh are underlain by saline groundwater unfit for irrigation that is a major constraint in irrigated agriculture. Biological Environment: Bahawalpur District has 2797 acres of forests, while Muzaffargarh district has 80,600 acres of forests. Sindh Forest Department controls an area of 241,198 hectares in the Riverine tract of the province which is categorized as "Riverine Forests"; locally known as Kacho forests. There are no protected areas in Karachi-Malir and Sujawal. In Punjab, the district of Bahawalpur is home to the Lal Suhanra National Park which is a Protected Area as well as a protected wetland and a UNESCO declared biosphere reserve. Cholistan and Chak Kotora Reserve Forest are classified as Wildlife Sanctuaries in Bahawalpur. In Muzaffargarh, the Taunsa Barrage and Kotla Issan Reserve Forest are classified as wildlife sanctuaries. Socioeconomic Profile: The three project districts of Punjab have a combined population of 20.5 million. The districts of Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur have a predominantly rural population