Domin of The WorldBank FM OFFOL USEuONl Public Disclosure Authorized ReportNo 12284-AL MEMORANDUMAND RECOMMENDATION OF THE DIRECTOR MAGHREBAND IRAN DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BA&K FOR RECONSTRUCTIONAND DEVELOPMENT TO THE Public Disclosure Authorized REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT ON A GRANT FROM THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTTRUST FUND IN AN AMOUNT EQUIVALENT TO SDR 6.7 MILLION (US$9.2 MILLION) TO THE DEMOCRATIC AND POPULAR REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA FOR AN Public Disclosure Authorized EL KALA NATIONAL PARK AND WETLANDSCOMPLEX MANAGEMENT PROJECT PART I: MEMORANDUMAND RECOMMENDATION April 22, 1994 MI CROGRAPHICS Agriculture Operations Division 1 AL CountryDepartment I Report No: 12284 Niddle East and North Africa Region Type: MOD Public Disclosure Authorized This doument bas a restricted distribution and may be usedby recets only in the performance of thdir ofricial dudes. Its contents may not otherwise be discked witout World Bank authorization. CURRENCY EOUIVAMENTS (As of January 1, 1994) Currency unit Algerian Dinar (DA) 23.50 - US$1.00 DA 1.00 US$0.04255 SDR 1.00 - US$1.38107 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES The metric system is used throughout this report GLOSSARYOF ABBREVIATIONS ANN - Agence Nationalepour la Conservationde la Nature EIA - EnvironmentalImpact Assessment EKNP - El Kala National Park GEF - Global Environment Facility GET - Global EnvironmentTrust Fund GIS - GeographicInformation System GOA - Government of Algeria IBRD - InternationalBank for Reconstructionand Development ICB - InternationalCompetitive Bidding LCB - Local Competitive Bidding METAP - MediterraneanEnvironmental Technical Assistance Program MOA - Ministry of Agriculture NGO - Non-GovernmentalOrganization PIU - Project Implementation Unit FISCAL YEAR January I - December 31 FOROFFICIAL USE ONLY ALGERIA EL KAJA NATIONAL PARK AND WETLANDSCOMPLEX MANAGEMENT PROJECT GRANT AND PR.OJECT SUMMARY Recipient: The Government of Algeria Cofinancier: Not Applicable Beneficiaries: Ministry of Agriculture, National Conservation Agency of Natural Resources (ANN) and El Tarf Wilaya Amount: 6.7 million SDR (US$9.2 million) Terms: Grant Financing Plan: GET US$ 9.32 million 1 GOA US$ 2.36 million Total US$11.68 million Economic Rate of Return: Not applicable map: IBRD No. 24763 21 of which a Project Preparation Advance (PPA) of US$117,700 from the GEF and a GET grant of US$9.2 million. Thisdocument has a resticteddistnuton and maybe used by reipients only in thepformane of ther official duics Its contents may not otise be disclosed without World Bank authzoz MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATIONOF THE DIRECTOR MAGHREB AND IRAN DEPARTMENT TO THE REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT 1. I submit for your approval the following _.morandum and recommendation * on a proposed Global EnvironmentTrust Fund (GET) grant to the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria for SDR 6.7 million, the equivalent of US$9.2 million, to help finance the El Kala National Park and Wetlands Complex * Management Project. Tne Governmentof Algeria requestedand obtained a Project PreparationAdvance (PPA) of SDR 84,600, the equivalent of about US$117,700,to finali2i project preparation. 2. Background: The El Kala National Park (EKNP) and surroundingregion in the northeast corner of Algeria contain one of the most importantwetlands areas in the Mediterranean,.including a unique mixture of marine, coastal dune, wetlands, lake, and forest habitats, that are each significantboth in quality and quantity. The EKNP has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; and two of the lakes in the EKNP, Lake Oubeira and Lake Tonga, have been designated as Ramsar vI Convention sites. This extensivewetlands complex is a critical winter site for Palaearcticwaterfowl, a breeding ground for several endangeredbird species includingthe white-headedduck Oxyura leucoceRhala,and the home range of a significantpopulation of the threatened barbary deer Cervus elaphus ssp barbarus. The area also has many outstanding archaeologicalsites, includingmegaliths in the mountains and remains of Carthageniantowns along the coasts. 3. The El Kala wetlands region stretchesin the northeast of the country from the Tunisian border to the industrialcity of Annaba. Presentlyabout 100,000 people live in the EKNP and the wetlands,which are a major source of water for the 500,000 inhabitantsof Annaba, only 50 km away. In the El :ala area, the pressure of populationand developmenthas led to severe degradation of the environmentdue to expandingurban areas, pollution,and overuse of water and land resources. 4. Should this unique ensemble of natural resources,habitats, and environmentbe further degraded or destroyed,the result would be an irreversibleloss of natural resourcesthat are critical not only to Algeria, but to the entire Mediterraneanregion. It is thereforeimperative that solutionsresulting in ecologicallysustainable development be found to protect this area. In this respect, the GEF project is particularlytimely and appropriate. Moreover,Algeria, with a most recent per capita GDP of about US$1,721 in 1993, fully qualifiesfor GEF financing. 5. Currently,Algeria has no integratedmanagement plan for natural resourceuse or enforcementof pollution controlmeasures to protect ecologicallysensitive areas. However, a whole host of laws aimed at proLecting such areas already exist the implementationof which is conditioned by the elaborationof a National EnvironmentalAction Plan. Meanwhile, the countrywhich is a party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention,has signed I/ Ramsar sites are wetlands areas of internationalimportance afforded protectionunder the Ramsar Conventionwhich Algeria signed in 1971, to which Algeria became a party in 1984. most of the resolutionsand protocolsproduced since the Barcelona Convention in 1975 (which led to the adoption of the MediterraneanAction Plan), includingthe 1982 protocol on MediterraneanSpecially ProtectedAreas. The Government is currentlycarrying out environmentalactivities with the support of the Bank. In particular,an EnvironmentSector Study has been conducted and will be discussedwith the authoritiesshortly. The status of the environmenthas become a top priority,particularly at the local level. In recognizingthe need for both preservationand ecologicallysustainable developmentof Its natural resources, the Government of Algeria (GOA) has requestedfunds from the Global EnvironmentFacility (GEF) to design and Implementa national.park and wetlands complex managementplan at El Kala. 6. Algeria has a substantialbody of environmentallegislation and a number of institutionsinvolved in it. Although, the country does not yet have a comprehensiveenvironmental policy it is committed, through its National Commission,to elaborate such a polity. Also, some laws and regulations pertaining to the protection of the environmentwill need to be revised. Both the Agence Nationalepour la Conservationde la Nature (ANN) and the El Kala National Park, which have the necessary authority to enforce environmentallaws and regulations,will need their staff reinforced to be able to carry out public awareness and enforcementactivities and to preserve, within the region, the national heritage of natural and cultural assets in a balanced and well-plannedfashion. The Government is accordinghigh priority to the project and has indicatedits full support to the new visioII as well as to the project concept and objectives. 7. Proiect Objectives: The proposed project would have three main objectives. The first would be to mitigate the degradationof biodiversity within EKNP and wetlands complex. The second would be to establish at the El Tarf Wilaya level a methodologyand procedures for cenductingenvironmental impact assessment studies. She third would be for the Project to serve as a model for the management and rational use of natural resourcesin populated, albeit protected, areas. 8. Proiect Description: The project would develop and implementa management plan for the EKNP and wetlands complex in the El Tarf Wilaya over a 3-year period. The project would: (i) prepare and implementa national park and wetlan 3 complex managementplan beginning in the first project year; (ii) launch priority surveys and studies to improve the basic knowledgeof the area and potentials for better c ntrol and management; (iii) initiate immediateactions to stop furthe:degradation of the environmentwhile the management plan is being prepared; (iv) begin studies and adaptativeresearch programs in specific sectors likely to trigger sustainabledevelopment from the use of natural resources; (v) develop environmentalassessment capability of the ANN and the Wilaya to evaluate,regulate, and monitor the impacts of developmenton the area's natural resources; (vi) launch environmental education and public awarenessprograms to muster the population'ssupport; (vii) introducethe participatoryapproach in the local communitiesand seek the narticipationof national and local NGOs; and (viii) strengthengovernment institutions,including ANN, the EKNP, and the Wilaya. 9. Proiect Components:The grant would finance the preparationof a management plan and commencementof its implementationno later than June 30, -3- 1995. More specifically,the three-yearproject would include the following components: A. NATIONAL PARK AND WETLANDSCOMPLEX MANAGEMENT PLAN: The managemetit plan would update the zoning of the park based on preservationand developmentcriteria and would assign to each zone: (i) objectives; (ii) human, financialand technica±resources to meet said objectives; and (iii) a supervisingauthority, taking into account applicable