PROJECT PROPOSAL TO THE ADAPTATION FUND Table of Contents PART I: PROJECT INFORMATION ............................................................. 3 A. Project Background and Context ..............................................................................................................3 B. Project area and Target groups ............................................................................................................. 10 C. Project Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 12 D. Project Components and Financing ....................................................................................................... 13 E. Projected Calendar ................................................................................................................................ 14 PART II: PROJECT JUSTIFICATION .................................................................. 15 A. Project components .............................................................................................................................. 15 Component 1: Knowledge, awareness and capacities on climate change impact and adaptation options are increased(1,264,511 $) ........................................................................................................................ 15 Component 2: Households have the information needed to better manage and minimize the impacts on their livelihoods of climate variability and weather events (1,900,000$)................................................. 19 Component 3: Communities apply adaptation measures on their productive activities (5,120,500 $) ... 22 B. Economic, social and environmental benefits of the project and avoiding or mitigating negative impacts .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 C. Cost-effectiveness of the proposed project. ......................................................................................... 28 D. The project alignment with national or sub-national sustainable development strategies ................. 33 E. Project alignment with relevant national technical standards, guidelines and regulations ................. 35 F. Other funding sources ........................................................................................................................... 36 G. Learning and knowledge management. ................................................................................................ 39 H. Consultative process.............................................................................................................................. 40 I. Justification for funding requested, focusing on the full cost of adaptation reasoning. ...................... 42 J. Sustainability of the project. ................................................................................................................. 45 K. Environmental and social impacts and risks. ........................................................................................ 46 1 PART III: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............................................... 52 A. Project implementation. ....................................................................................................................... 52 B. Measures for financial and project risk management. ......................................................................... 55 C. Measures for environmental and social risk management ................................................................... 56 D. Monitoring, evaluation arrangements and budgeted M&E plan. ......................................................... 57 E. Results framework for the project proposal, including milestones, targets and indicators. ................ 59 F. Project alignment with the Results Framework of the Adaptation Fund ............................................. 64 G. Detailed budget with budget notes, a budget on the Implementing Entity management fee use, and an explanation and a breakdown of the execution costs. ............................................................................ 67 H. Disbursement schedule with time-bound milestones. ......................................................................... 78 PART IV: ENDORSEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AND CERTIFICATION BY THE IMPLEMENTING ENTITY............................................................................................................ 81 ANNEXES ........................................................................................................ 84 ANNEX 1: LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... 84 ANNEX 2: TARGETED VILLAGES ..................................................................................................................... 86 ANNEX 3: LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTED AND SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS ..................................... 90 ANNEX 4: COMMUNITIES CONSULTATIONS ................................................................................................ 102 ANNEX 5: PROCESS FOR OBTAINING FREE PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT (FPIC) FROM THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ....................................................................................................................................................... 120 ANNEX 6: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SCREENING, IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN ............................................................................................................................................................ 126 ANNEX 7: GRIEVANCE MECHANISM ............................................................................................................ 151 ANNEX 8: INITIAL GENDER ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................... 154 2 PART I: PROJECT INFORMATION Project Category: PROJECT Country: REPUBLIC OF CONGO Title of Project: Building adaptive capacity to climate change in vulnerable communities living in the Congo River Basin Type of Implementing Entity: MULTILATERAL IMPLEMENTING ENTITY Implementing Entity: WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME Executing Entity: Ministry of Tourism and Environment Amount of Financing Requested: USD 9,999,909 $ (5 years) A. Project Background and Context 1. Geography and Climate The Republic of Congo (RoC) is located in central Africa and extends over 342 000 km². Congo is located around the equator. The country is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Angolan enclave of Cabinda. The Atlantic Ocean borders the Congo in the south west on 170 km. Access to the ocean is a major asset for the country as it is a business opportunity and a gateway for the whole central African region (Fig. 1). Congo's hydrographic network includes the Congo River, the second largest river in the world by discharge volume, following only the Amazon. There are several secondary rivers like the Sangha, the Djoué, the Léfini, the Oubangui, and the Alima. This large water network is an advantage for the country as it provides opportunities for transport, irrigation, biodiversity, and energy among others. Generally, the climate in Congo is humid and hot, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons, with rainfalls usually between September and December, and from April to May (Figure 2). More specifically, there are 3 distinct climatic zones: • the equatorial climate in the north of the country, Figure 1: Map of the Republic of Congo and its characterized by high humidity and rainfall of more than 1,700 mm with an average Departments temperature between 24°C and 26°C; • the humid tropical climate in the southwest, where average annual rainfall ranges from 1,200 mm in the south to 1,700 mm in the hills near Gabon; with the average monthly temperature between 21°C and 27°C; 3 • the sub-equatorial climate, in the plateau and basin regions, intermediate between the two previous ones; with average annual rainfall of about 1,600 mm.1 Figure 2, Congo average monthly temperature and rainfall 1901-2012 (World Bank RoC Dashboard) There are two types of landscapes in the country: the forest, which represents 69% of the country, and the savannah2. The RoC is home to 23.5 million hectares of the Congo Basin forest, the world’s second-largest swath of tropical rainforest3. Forestry, mining, agricultural practices and growing populations in forest areas pose challenges to biodiversity conservation and protection of the existing forest stock. In 2017, scientists from the University of Leeds and University College London discovered the world’s largest tropical peatland located in the Cuvette Centrale in the central Congo basin. The peatlands are estimated to cover 145,500 sq km (1/3 are located in the RoC, the rest are in DRC) and could lock in 30bn tons of carbon that was previously not known to exist, making the region one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. Despite the country's commitment to promote a green and blue economy, the induced effects of human activities have an impact on Congo’s environment. The country is facing sustained degradation of its natural 1 Ministry of Tourism and Environment 2 National Development Plan 2018-2022, June 2018 3 REDD+ Investment Plan, 2018 4 resources and environment due to anthropogenic pressures from overexploitation of forest