Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (KPIAIP)
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Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (KPIAIP) ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL Public Disclosure Authorized MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK Public Disclosure Authorized March 2019 Directorate of On-Farm Water Management Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (KPIAIP) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, through its Directorate of On-Farm Water Management under the Department of Agriculture, is planning to undertake Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project and seeks the World Bank assistance for its implementation. In line with the prevailing legislation in the country and the World Bank Operational Policies, an environmental and social assessment of the proposed project was carried out and the present Environmental and Social Management Framework was prepared. Project: Background – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province contributes to over one-tenth of the national Gross Domestic Product, ranking as the third largest economy among the provinces in the country. In the province, agriculture generates more than one-fifth of the provincial Gross Domestic Product and employs 44% of the labor force. About half of that share in total GDP comes from crop agriculture. Most of the cultivatable land are owned by smallholder farmers. Inefficiency of irrigation infrastructure, fragility of uncultivated land and urbanization are some of the main factors causing competition for natural resources. Agricultural productivity is low, which is often attributed to scarcity of water and poor quality of inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the most vulnerable provinces of Pakistan to climate change. Objective – The objective of the project is to improve the performance of irrigated agriculture in the project area.The project consists of three components on the following themes in agriculture: community irrigation system; technologies for efficient water use; and productivity, value addition and diversification. The project will also support capacity buidling, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic studies on topics related to water and agricutluer sector to solidify the knowledge base for sustainable development. For implementation, a Project Implementation Unit will be established. Regulatory and Policy: Many national and provincial legislations as well as international treaties ratified by the country are applicable to the implementation process of the project, from protection of wetlands to respect of human rights. The World Bank Operational Policies that the borrower has the obligation to abide by for the project are Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01), Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12), Pest Management (OP 4.09), Safety of Dams (OP 4.37), Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies (OP 8.00), Cultural Property (OP 4.11), Indigenous People (OP 4.10) and its policy on access to information. The necessity to conduct environmental and social assessment itself stems from the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environment Protection Act 2014 and the World Bank Operational Policy on Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01). Environmental and Social Baseline: Ecosystems– Khyber Pakhtunkhwa boasts a varied terrain and a wide range of climates and ecosystems. An important portion of freshwater available in the country originates in glacier melt and snow in the mountainous areas, which include the province. The north of the province is relatively abundant in water, given their proximity to the source and lower ambient temperature. The southern districts are lower in altitude, drier and hotter, forcing the farmers to rely increasingly on groundwater whose sustainable extraction rates are unknown. Biodiversity – Thanks to the forests, the north is also home to numerous flora and fauna, many of them endemic or indigenous. Deforestation, climate change and hunting are among the i | P a g e Environment and Social Management Framework Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (KPIAIP) factors that threaten their existence. Agrobiodiversity has been in decline since the Green Revolution, which led to considerable reduction in cultivation of local varieties. Climate change – Climate change has raised average temperature without exception in the province and caused many extreme weather events, such as flooding and droughts. The areas affected by waterlogging is considered large, and severe flooding that climate change brings about is expected to exacerbate the situation. The alluvial plain, the economic hub of the province, is prone to waterlogging. Higher temperatures have brought new pests and more of familiar ones, to which the farmers have responded by increase in pesticide application. Water in the country is highly contaminated with agrochemicals, many of which are persistent organic pollutants and harmful to human beings. Human capital – In 2017-18, the national literacy rates were 52% and 73% for women and men, respectively. The literacy rates in the province were: 39% for women and 73% for men. While the literacy rate among men is almost uniform around the country, women’s rate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the second lowest among the five provinces. Although close to half of the school-aged children are out of school in the country, such incidences appear fewer in the province. More than 60% of the out-of-school children were girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Poverty – Province wide poverty rate is high, affecting almost half of the population, and even higher in the north. Very few people are covered by social protection measures. Rapid growth in its urban population took place in the 1980s and the 2000s, caused by floods and conflict. Population growth and urbanization have shrunk the agricultural lands, including pasture. Share cropping is the most dominant form of land tenancy arrangements in the province, and the second dominant contract is fixed-rent tenancy. From both environmental and socioeconomic points of view, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa population is considered quite vulnerable to climate change. Women and Other Vulnerable Groups - In terms of social groups, indigenous people, women, youth, elderly and handicapped persons have the least access to resources and opportunities. As a consequence, they are the poorest. Similarly, the people in the rural areas are more socioeconomically vulnerable than those in the urban areas. The Kalash tribe in the province represents one of the oldest minorities, whose presence dates back to more than 3,000 years. Their population and influence are slowly decreasing, due to conversion to Islam, high infant and maternal mortality rates among Kalash women and increasing migration of Muslim outsiders to their areas. Kalash people consider themselves indigenous because of their distinct language, folklore, and polytheistic religion; they differentiate themselves from the other communities in the area who migrated later to Chitral. Women not only have less access to resources, including education and information, but they also participate less in decision making, even when it concerns their own health. It has been estimated that per capita income in the province could be several times higher in 2050 compared to 2015, if the fertility rate declines rapidly. The education level and the fertility rate are negatively correlated in Pakistan as in the rest of the world. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registers the highest fertility rate in the country. The rates are higher in rural areas and among poorer households. Stakeholder Consultations: The stakeholders singled out the less-than-desirable amount of water available on the farm as the limiting factor in production, while at the same time pointed to the necessity of water saving technologies. Many farmers recognize vegetables and fruits as Environment and Social Management Framework ii | P a g e ` Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (KPIAIP) high-value crops and are willing to cultivate them to increase income. They did not seem to be conscious of what would be involved in earning income beyond production in the modern economy. Many officials are familiar with integrated pest management, which is yet to be implemented in the province. The concerns of the Kalash people related to agriculture are similar to those of other peoples in the province, except that the livestock plays an important role in their festivals and rituals. The presence of people from outside the communities is considered a serious issue in terms of their culture. Harassment of women by tourists has been particularly problematic. Potential Impacts and Mitigation: There is no negative impact envisaged a priori by the implementation of the project; exact impacts and appropriate mitigation measures hinge on the details of the subprojects. For the project to avoid widening the wealth gap among the population, vulnerable groups must be separately targeted by interventions appropriate to them. Watercourse Rehabilitation – The chances are very small that land acquisition becomes necessary for watercourse rehabilitation. Acquisition should be avoided, since it could entail further reduction of rangelands, forests and agricultural lands, and will require resettlement of the population who live off the land. If land acquisition becomes inevitable, the Resettlement Plan Framework, an accompanying document, must be followed. Some of the waterbodies are considered sacred by the Kalash,