CI-GCF/GEF’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SAFEGUARD (ESS) SCREENING FORM Preliminary Screening (check if performed Secondary Screening (check if performed at at GCF Concept Note (CN) Stage or GEF Project GCF Project Preparation Facility (PPF) Stage or Identification Form (PIF) Stage GEF Project Preparation Grant (PPG) Stage 1. The CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency undertakes environmental and social safeguard screening for every project at the beginning of the full proposal development1 phase to determine the risk categorization for the project, the safeguard policies triggered by the project, and the mitigation measures to be put in place by the project. 2. The CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency classifies the project into one of three categories, depending on the type, location, sensitivity and scale of the project and the nature and magnitude of its potential environmental and social impacts. The descriptions of the categories and lists of types of projects identified are presented in Appendix I of the CI-GCF/GEF ESS Policy. These descriptions are meant to serve as guidance and are not exhaustive. 3. CI-GCF/GEF does not fund projects that involve the construction or rehabilitation of large or complex dams, and resettlement of people. CI cannot support projects that contradict its mission and policies. 4. The Executing Entity (EE-GCF) or Executing Agency (EA- GEF) is responsible for providing accurate responses to each question in this screening form and to submit the completed form to CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency in a timely manner. 5. The CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency is responsible for ensuring that the project complies with the CI- GCF/GEF ESS, Gender and Stakeholder Engagement policies and will use the completed screening form to determine the mitigation measures for the EA to implement. 6. In addition to preparing and implementing mitigation plans for the ESS policies triggered, the EE/EA will also need to prepare a Gender Mainstreaming Plan and a Stakeholder Engagement Plan. 7. The EE/EA is responsible for informing the CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency in a timely manner, if at any time during the preparation and implementation of the project, the information provided in this Screening Form changes in a way that results in the risks of the project being increased. I. PROJECT INFORMATION GCF/GEF Project ID: 10551 Country: Regional (Botswana, Mozambique, Republic of Congo, Republic of South Sudan) Project Title: The deployment of EarthRanger, a data visualization and analysis software to strengthen Protected Area Management Effectiveness in Africa’s National Parks. Name of the Executing Entity/Agency: Vulcan Inc. Partners: 1. Conservation International - Africa Field Division (Vital Signs) 2. The State Protected Area Authorities: − Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Botswana, − Ministry of Tourism and Environment in the Republic of Congo, 1 For GCF projects this is the phase when the Funding Proposal is developed, with GCF Project Preparation Facility funds or other resources. For the GEF projects this is the phase when the Project Document is being developed, using a Project Preparation Grant (PPG). CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency Environmental & Social Safeguards Screening Form Updated 2020-02-01 Page 1 of 24 − National Sustainable Development Fund (FNDS) in Mozambique and − Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism in the Republic of South Sudan. 3. Other partners: 1. Botswana: Connected Conservation/CISCO; Wilderness Conservation Trust; National Geographic/Wild Bird Trust; Rhino Conservation Botswana 2. Mozambique: Peace Parks, Wilderness Safari; World Bank (Mozbio II project) 3. Republic of Congo: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) 4. South-Sudan: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Length of Project: 45 months Proposed Start date: Anticipated End date: January, 2022 September, 2026 GCF Results Area(s) / GEF Focal Area(s): Biodiversity GCF/GEF Project Amount: USD 2,407,360 Co-Financing Amount: USD 3,793,000 (This amount will be updated as PPG progresses) Project Objectives: To strengthen management effectiveness of priority Protected Areas (PAs) in Africa to deliver Global Environmental Benefits through deployment of the EarthRanger Protected Area Management system and related technologies. Project components and proposed main activities: Component 1: Installation of Earth Ranger software together with other required technologies and infrastructure to achieve Earth Ranger readiness Outcome 1.1: Strengthened institutional and technical capacity of participating countries to effectively manage protected areas Activities include: 1. Construction (where required) or refurbishment of control room infrastructure sufficient for effective 24- hour, 7-day a week operation. 2. Installation of the necessary computer hardware in each control room 3. Installation of comfort accessories as required in each control room (e.g. toilet facilities, air conditioner, fire extinguisher) 4. Installation of the required hardware to enable suitable backhaul capabilities for reliable access to the internet. This will include contracts with internet service providers for up to 3 years. 5. Installation of the Earth Ranger software on the control room computer equipment as an aggregator of real-time data feeds 6. Installation of a digital radio communication system or other suitable communications facilities for the environment of the protected area system across each selected protected area to enable reliable voice communications on hand-held, vehicle and base-station radios, with the co-benefits of these systems enabling live tracking of personnel and assets and a real-time SOS function. 7. Where required to support the flow of data in real-time from the field and LoRa WAN systems will be installed to provide connectivity across each protected area. These systems support tens of thousands of transmitters which can be readily and affordably installed on almost all assets for two-way, low bandwidth data communication. Once installed there is no recurrent cost. 8. Installation of sensor and tracking technologies that are considered fit-for-purpose for a particular protected area to detect illegal activities and/or to monitor key wildlife species or other assets. 9. Aggregation of open-source data feeds on Earth Ranger that will improve management decision-making (e.g. NASA FIRMS to track occurrence and spread of fires). CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency Environmental & Social Safeguards Screening Form Updated 2020-02-01 Page 2 of 24 10. Training of management and control room staff on all technologies that are deployed in a particular protected area. Component 2: Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Knowledge Management Outcome 2.1: Additional African countries interested and committed to install Earth Ranger technology. Outcome 2.2: A monitoring and evaluation framework for the project Activities include: 1. Sharing of project’s lessons, success stories and best practices through supporting exposure site visits by other African countries to selected PAs and dissemination of information through various modes of communication. 2. Success stories, lessons learnt and best practices from this project will be disseminated through the Earth Ranger Website (https://earthranger.com/About-Us.aspx ), other media outlets and social media platforms that will be identified during the PPG Phase 3. A monitoring and evaluation framework that will improve project management and ensure realization of the project’s target results. Safeguard Screening Form Completed by: Green Approaches Limited (PPG Consultant) Date of Submission/Resubmission of Completed Form to CI-GCF/GEF: xxx CI-GCF/GEF Comments: II. PROJECT CONTEXT PROJECT LOCATION Botswana (latitudes 220 00’S and longitudes 240 00’E) is a landlocked country in Southern Africa bordered by Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It covers 581,730 km2 of which 97.42% is land and 2.58% is water. The population is 2,351,627 people. The climate is mostly subtropical. Botswana has a flat landscape that lies at an altitude of about 1000 m to 1100 m. The highest point is Monalanong Hill (1494m) south of Gaborone and the junction of Limpopo and Shashe Rivers is the lowest point (513 m). The country is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface. The Okavango Delta, one of the world's largest inland deltas, is in the northwest, the Makgadikgadi Pan lies in the north. A plain with semi-arid grass, shrub and tree savannah forms the center of the Kalahari Basin. Botswana has experienced radical changes in its information and communication technology (ICT ) institutional and regulatory framework to allow internet service providers (ISPs) to provide voice over internet protocol ( VoIP), the mobile operators to build their own infrastructure and the international voice gateway to be opened to competition2. VSAT service provides access to internet via satellite in Botswana through iDirect, UHP, Newtec and Comtech VSAT technology. It allows connections to remote locations via satellite3. Republic of the Congo (latitudes 4°N and 5°S, and longitudes 11° and 19°E) is located in the western coast of Central Africa and covers 342,000 km². It is bordered by Gabon to the west, Cameroon to the northwest, Central African Republic to the northeast, the DRC to the southeast, Angola to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. The population is 5,558,793 people. The climate is equatorial with average daily temperature is 24 °C. Rainy season begins in October and ends in May with a short dry season in January-February. Congo’s landscape consists of coastal plains, mountains, plateaus and valleys. The highest point mountain is Mont Nabemba (1,020 2 Steve Esselaar and Sebusang Sebusang 2013. What is happening in ICT in Botswana - A supply- and demand- side analysis of the ICT sector. Evidence for ICT Policy ActionPolicy Paper 1. Accessed from website https://researchictafrica.net/publications/Evidence_for_ICT_in_Botswana.pdf. 3 VSAT Internet Satellite Services in Botswana 2020. Accessed from website https://www.nt-vsat.com/vsat-services-in-botswana/ on 25 October 202 at 0140 hours. CI-GCF/GEF Project Agency Environmental & Social Safeguards Screening Form Updated 2020-02-01 Page 3 of 24 m).