Public Disclosure Authorized THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA OROMIA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE FORESTED LANDSCAPE PROGRAM Public Disclosure Authorized Environmental and Social Review of the Bale Mountains Eco-region REDD+ Project and REDD+ Joint Forest Management in the five districts of Ilu Abba Bora Zone, Oromia Regional State, South-West Ethiopia - Phase II Project Public Disclosure Authorized FINAL REPORT Public Disclosure Authorized July 2018 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... i List of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction and Background ............................................................................................ 22 1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 22 1.2. Brief description of the REDD+ Projects ........................................................................................ 23 1.2.1. The Bale Mountains Eco-region REDD+ Project ..................................................................... 23 1.2.2. REDD+ Joint Forest Management in five districts of Ilu Abba Bora Zone, Oromia, South- West Ethiopia - Phase II (REJFMA-SW Ethiopia II) Project ............................................................. 25 1.3. Rationale for Conducting Environmental and Social Review ......................................................... 27 1.4. Environmental and Social Management Requirements ................................................................... 28 2. Objectives, Methodology and Methods of the ESR ............................................................. 31 2.1. General Objective ............................................................................................................................ 31 2.2. Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 31 2.3. Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 32 2.4. Methods of data collection ............................................................................................................... 36 2.5. Data Collection Tools ...................................................................................................................... 39 2.6. Methods of Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 40 2.7. Ethical Issues ................................................................................................................................... 41 3. REDD+ Projects: Activities, Processes and Operations ...................................................... 41 3.1. Project based activities of the two REDD+ Projects:.................................................................. 42 3.2. Non-REDD+ (GOV, NGOs, and Community-based) initiatives in the two REDD+ project areas 45 3.2.1. GoE, NGOs and other investment project activities ................................................................. 45 i 3.2.2. Community-based initiatives/activities ..................................................................................... 46 4. National Environmental and Social Legislative and Regulatory Frameworks, and the WB Environmental and Social Safeguards Policies ................................................................ 47 4.1. Policy Framework ................................................................................................................ 47 4.1.1 Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ................................................... 47 4.1.2. Environmental Policy of Ethiopia ............................................................................................. 48 4.1.3. National and Regional Conservation Strategy .......................................................................... 49 4.1.4. Forest Conservation and Utilization Policy and Strategy, 2007 ............................................... 50 4.1.5 National Energy Policy .............................................................................................................. 50 4.1.6 National Health Policy ............................................................................................................... 52 4.1.7 Land Tenure Policy .................................................................................................................... 52 4.1.8 National Biodiversity Policy ...................................................................................................... 53 4.1.9 National Policy for Women ....................................................................................................... 54 4.2. Legislative Framework ..................................................................................................................... 54 4.2.1 Environmental Impact Assessment (Proclamation No, 299/2002) ............................................ 54 4.2.2 Forest Development, Conservation and Utilization Proclamation (No. 542/2007) ................... 56 4.2.3 Environmental Pollution Control (Proclamation No. 300/2002) ............................................... 58 4.2.3 Public Health Proclamation ....................................................................................................... 58 4.2.4 Rural Land Administration and Use .......................................................................................... 58 4.2.5 Expropriation of Landholdings for Public Purposes and Payment of Compensation Proclamation ....................................................................................................................................... 59 4.2.6 Payment of Compensation for Properties Situated on Landholdings Expropriated for Public Use (Regulation No.135/2007) ........................................................................................................... 60 4.3 International Conventions relevant to the projects............................................................................ 60 4.3.1 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ................................. 61 4.3.2 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) .............................................. 64 ii 4.3.3 Other International Agreements ................................................................................................. 65 4.4 The World Bank’s Operational Policies on Environmental and Social Safeguards ................... 65 4.4.1 Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) ............................................................................... 66 4.4.2 Natural Habitat (OP/BP 4.04) .................................................................................................. 66 4.4.3 Pest Management (OP/BP 4.09) ................................................................................................ 67 4.4.4 Indigenous/underserved Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) ....................................................................... 68 4.4.5 Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) ................................................................................ 69 4.4.6 Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) .................................................................................. 69 4.4.7 Forests (OP/BP 4.36) ................................................................................................................. 70 4.4.8 Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4. 37) ................................................................................................. 71 5. Key Findings from Community Consultations ................................................................... 72 5.1. Forest and REDD+ Initiative in the Eyes of the Community .......................................................... 72 5.2. Land acquisition and resettlement .................................................................................................... 73 5.3. Membership and Membership Criteria ............................................................................................ 74 5.4. Grievance Redress Mechanism ........................................................................................................ 75 5.5. Traditional institutions of resource management and conflict resolution ........................................ 76 5.6. Gender .............................................................................................................................................. 78 5.7. Conflicts of Interest .......................................................................................................................... 79 5.8. Benefit sharing and Unmet Expectation .......................................................................................... 81 5.9. Environmental Benefits ................................................................................................................... 82 5.10. Bale Mountains National Park: Designation and the risk of Resettlement