Environmental and Social Risk Management Framework PREFOREST CONGO - Project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from forests in five departments in the Republic of Congo Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations February 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................4 ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................6 1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................7 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................7 2.1. Project Background ..................................................................................................7 2.2. Project Intervention Area ........................................................................................7 2.3. Project Objectives, Components and Activities .......................................................9 2.4. Implementation Procedures ..................................................................................25 3. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC SITUATION ..................................................26 3.1. Departments of Pool and Plateaux ........................................................................26 3.2. Department of Bouenza.........................................................................................27 3.3. Departments of Kouilou and Niari .........................................................................28 Labor and working conditions in the targeted departments ............................................42 4. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ..............................................................................................42 5. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS FRAMEWORK ........................................49 5.1. The GCF’s Environmental and Social Policy ...........................................................49 5.2. The FAO’s Environmental and Social Management Guidelines .............................52 5.3. The Congolese REDD+ Principles, Criteria and Indicators and the Cancun REDD+ Safeguards ........................................................................................................................55 6. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK PLAN (ESMFP) .............56 6.1. Methodological approach ......................................................................................56 6.2. Risks identified ......................................................................................................56 6.3. Mitigation measures ..............................................................................................58 6.4. Project Risk Category .............................................................................................68 6.5. Other Elements in the ESMFP ................................................................................68 6.5.1. Miscellaneous ........................................................................................................................ 68 6.5.2. Cultural heritage .................................................................................................................... 68 6.5.3. Stakeholder engagement and information disclosure ............................................................. 68 6.5.4. Biodiversity management plan ............................................................................................... 69 6.5.5 Gender action plan ........................................................................................................................ 70 6.6. Adaptive management ..........................................................................................72 6.7. Complaints and appeals management mechanism ...............................................73 6.8. Organizational structures, roles and responsibilities .............................................73 6.9. Screening of initiatives (sub-activities) and evaluation of environmental and social risks ...............................................................................................................................75 6.10. Chronogram for the implementation .................................................................80 6.11. ESIA provisional Budget .....................................................................................81 ANNEXES ..............................................................................................................................83 Annex 1: FAO environmental and social impact assessment check list ............................83 Annex 2: Environmental and social screening form ....................................................... 100 Annex 3: Terms of reference framework for ESIA studies .............................................. 103 Annex 4: Summary of consultations with stakeholders in the field ............................... 106 Annex 5: Gender Action Plan.......................................................................................... 113 Annex 6 Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework ......................................................... 119 List of tables Table 1: Forest Cover Loss between 2000-2016 ...................................................................................9 Table 2: Breakdown of roles for Project implementation entities by components ............................. 26 Table 3: Socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the Department of POOL .......................... 29 Table 4: Socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the Department of Plateaux ..................... 32 Table 5: Socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the Department of Kouilou ....................... 35 Table 6: Socioeconomic and environmental conditions in the Departments of Niari and Bouenza ..... 38 Table 7: Strengths and weaknesses of the legal framework ............................................................... 44 Table 8: Correlations between GCF/IFC safeguards, and FAO safeguards .......................................... 54 Table 9: Links between the risks and the FAO, REDD and Cancun environmental and social safeguards ......................................................................................................................................................... 57 Table 10: Responsibilities of the subcommittees and the relevant FAO standards for each risk ......... 78 List of figures Figure 1: National map of forest cover loss 2000-2016 and location of the Project area ......................8 Figure 2: Deforestation and degradation hotspots and potential locations for the Project in the Department of Pool .......................................................................................................................... 31 Figure 3: Deforestation and degradation hotspots and potential locations for the Project in the Department of Plateaux .................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 4: Deforestation and degradation hotspots and potential locations for the Project in the Department of Kouilou ..................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 5: Deforestation and degradation hotspots and potential locations for the Project in the Department of Niari .......................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 6: Deforestation and degradation hotspots and potential locations for the Project in the Department of Bouenza .................................................................................................................... 41 P a g e 3 | 131 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Government of the Republic of Congo requested FAO support in developing a climate change mitigation and adaptation project to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund for financing. The FAO engaged an international consultant to conduct an environmental and social risk identification, analysis and management study, as well as to develop the management framework for these risks. The study was conducted between mid-May and the end of July 2019. By the end of the fieldwork in May 2019, the project team found 13 villages with resident indigenous populations in the district of Ngo. The risk analysis and management consultant also conducted an analysis of the situation of these indigenous populations and developed a Planning Framework for Indigenous Peoples, which is the subject of a separate report. The Project addresses the main causes of deforestation and forest degradation, which are slash-and- burn farming and over-logging of natural forest for fuelwood. It is structured into three components: 1) System change enabling activities for sustainable low emission agroforestry and forestry practices; 2) Establishment of agroforestry and forestry systems for climate change mitigation; and 3) Strengthening national agricultural financing structures, business capacities and value chains. Risk identification and analysis is based on: Documentary analyses, including feasibility studies conducted by the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development