World Bank Document

E696 Azerbaijan Republic Ministry of Education Education Sector Development Project Environmental Mitigation Plan (EMP) and Public Disclosure Authorized Disclosure and Consultation Process Introduction. 1. The First Phase of the proposed Education Sector Reform Program proposes to finance the renovation of a selected number of schools in the three pilot districts (i.e., Ali Bayramli City, Ismayilli and Ujar districts). In the three districts, there are a total of 154 schools (i.e., 15 schools in Ali Bayramli, 45 schools in Ujar and 94 schools in Ismailli). The Project would finance rehabilitation and refurbishment of a selected number of schools based on the district rationalization plans. This note outlines strategies and summarizes the disclosure and consultation process for mitigating the environmental risks associated with school renovations under the Project. Annex 1 also presents the draft Environmental Mitigation Plan (EMP), which has been disclosed and discussed with various stakeholders. Public Disclosure Authorized 2. Programs to repair and modernize existing structures pose a number of serious challenges. First, the extent of decay can rarely be determined prior to tearing out or dismantling existing construction. As a consequence, the cost of repairs and the time and materials required to complete work cannot be reliably estimated in advance. Second, architectural and mechanical plans: are rarely implemented faithfully and as-built drawings are rarely provided. The design of works therefore must be based on detailed field studies. Third, repairs of buildings ought to be executed if possible during the summer academic recess in order to minimize disruption of schooling. Scheduling of construction is further complicated by the likelihood of encountering unforeseen problems. Finally, discovery of serious structural and mechanical problems during either the survey or construction phase poses very serious ethical, legal and financial challenges. Professional engineers and architects cannot ethically fail to deal with problems that pose a Public Disclosure Authorized serious threat to the health or lives of students. Moreover, both the Bank and the Government are obliged by public opinion and by law to correct life-threatening problems of which they are aware. 3. School renovation projects generally attack four kinds of problems. First, they rectify safety hazards created by the decay or misuse of structures. Second, they arrest the deterioration of buildings by repairing essential elements such as roofs and foundations. Third, they re- optimize the design of major elements to reflect new technologies and changes in input prices. And 'fourth, renovation projects increase the capacity of facilities to meet educational needs. 4. (i) Addressing Safety and Health Problems. Some school buildings that have been neglected for a long period of time often suffer from problems that threaten the life or health of occupants. The most common of these problems are the result of leaky roofs or poor drainage around foundations. Leaky roofs if not promptly repaired will result in damage to structural Public Disclosure Authorized components of buildings. The most common problem is decay of the timber trusses that support the roof. Rotting of these structurally essential components can result in the collapse of the roof onto the building's occupants. The decay of roof trusses can also lead to the weight of the roof being exerted laterally on supporting walls and lead to the collapse of the entire building. FILE CORY1 Inadequate drainage of storm water from the foundations of a building can undercut support for exterior walls and lead to the collapse of load bearing walls. If surveys of the condition of buildings reveal such structural problems, architects and engineers are ethically bound to ensure that repairs are made. 5. Neglect of routine maintenance can also lead to the deterioration of important interior components of buildings. The most common problems are worn, broken or missing stair treads, loose or missing stair rails and broken floorboards. These building defects pose especially serious threats to the lives of occupants in the event of an emergency such as a fire, but also can endanger the lives of individual students. As in the case of serious structural defects, faulty interior components must be repair if discovered by professional engineers or architects. 6. (ii) Halting the Deterioration of a Building. Failure to maintain roofs and storm water drainage systems, to replace broken window glass, to repair loose stair treads and floorboards or to paint exterior wood trims will accelerate the deterioration of a building. The proposed Project would address these issues on a set timetable. The longer maintenance is deferred, the more rapidly buildings will deteriorate. Like in other transitional economies, shortages of funds have led to the neglect of routine maintenance and minor repairs for more than a decade. Many structures are now approaching a state beyond which the building must be replaced. While these problems do not threaten human life and may not yet seriously compromise a building's serviceability, they do pose an economic risk. Renovation may be a cost-effective alternative to future replacement of a structure. 7. (iii) Re-optimization of Building Design. The cost of occupying buildings has risen dramatically in most former Soviet republics as a result of the liberalization of energy prices. The cost of energy has increased by more than two orders of magnitude in many instances. The cost of heating and lighting buildings has gone from being a negligible part of the education budget to as much as a third of total expenditure in some countries. Improving building insulation, caulking gaps between masonry walls and window and door frames, installing thermostatic controls on radiators and convectors, installing double pained windows and upgrading lighting systems have become highly cost-effective as a result. Renovation of a building may reduce its cost of operation by enough to repay investments in as few as two or three years in many instances. Where very large windows were installed, thermal losses may no longer justify the savings in lighting costs. Therefore window replacement may increase comfort and reduce costs at the same time. 8. The addition of computer facilities and science laboratories may necessitate the upgrading of electrical or plumbing services. Where upgrading is required, modernization or replacement of other old systems may be cost-effective. Designers of school renovations aimed at enabling new educational technologies should be aware of the possibility that small additional expenditures may produce substantial benefits, either as reduced operating costs or enhanced services. 9. (iv) Expanding Capacity. Azerbaijan needs to consolidate small schools to form more economical units wherever practical. Consolidation of schools will require the construction of additional classroom capacity at the receiving school. In most cases, merging two schools will not result in cost savings unless the capacity of individual classrooms is increased substantially; adding additional classrooms would simply replicate the original diseconomies of scale. Therefore, constructing new school buildings, or substantially remodeling existing 2 buildings, will be necessary. The design principles for expanding the capacity of schools that are to accommodate the enrollment of neighboring schools should also ensure that additional construction is designed to efficiently meet the school's projected requirements for computer and laboratory space. 10. A Strategy for Renovation of Schools. Improving school buildings could absorb far more resources than Azerbaijan can hope to mobilize from domestic and international sources combined. Therefore, setting priorities will be achieved through the preparation of district rationalization plans. As noted earlier, renovation programs are plagued by uncertainty about the precise needs of any building; only as work progresses can the full scale of problems be determined. 11. The MOE plans a two-stage procedure in order not only to minimize potential risks associated with school renovation, but also to maximize the return on expenditures. The first stage would seek to define needs. A survey of the present condition of school buildings will be conducted in order to determine the scale and character of needs. The survey will rely on a well-documented protocol for describing the condition of the school and its anticipated needs. The protocol will be prepared in such a way that well-educated laypersons, such as a school director, will be able to carry out the instructions. The survey will encompass not only the current condition of the school, but also its anticipated use. The survey should inquire about the condition of the major building element (roof, foundations, load bearing walls), interior components (floors, staircases, windows), mechanical systems (lighting, heating, water supply, sanitation), and capacities (classroom numbers and sizes, catering facilities, health clinics, playing fields). In addition, the survey will inquire about the projected enrollment of the school, the prospects for merger with neighboring schools, and the availability of land for expansion of the school. 12. The school survey will be analyzed by the rayon education department in order to obtain a rough sense for the scale of needs and the options for prioritizing them. The purpose of such an analysis would be

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