Indigenous Peoples Plan February 2021 LAO: Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project – Additional Financing Prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for the Asian Development Bank. This indigenous peoples plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Ethnic Group Development Plan Nam Tha 3 PRI Subproject List of Abbreviations ADB : Asian Development Bank AF : Additional Financing CDO : Community Development Officer DAFO : District Agriculture and Forestry Office DCO : District Coordination Office DLWU : District Lao Women’s Union DMU : District Management Unit DOI : Department of Irrigation DOP : Department of Planning EA : Executing Agency EGDF : Ethnic Group Development Framework EGDP : Ethnic Group Development Plan EIA : Environmental Impact Assessment EIRR : Economic Internal Rate of Return EMP : Environmental Management Plan FS : Feasibility Study FHH : Female-Headed Household FPG : Farmers’ Production Group GAP : Gender Action Plan GIC : Grant Implementation Consultant GOL : Government of Lao PDR HH : Household HYV : High Yielding Variety IA : Implementing Agency IEE : Initial Environmental Examination IPP : Indigenous Peoples Plan ISA : Initial Social Assessment LLHH : Landless Households LNFC : Lao National Front for Construction LWU : Lao Women’s Union ISF : Irrigation Service Fee Lao PDR : Lao People’s Democratic Republic MAF : Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry MOM : Management, Operation and Maintenance i List of Abbreviations NAFRI : National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute NAFES : National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project – NRI-AF : Additional Financing NSC : National Steering Committee NPM : National Project Manager NPMO : National Project Management Office O&M : Operation and Maintenance PAM : Project Administration Manual PAFO : Provincial Agriculture Forestry Office PBME : Project Benefit Monitoring and Evaluation PLUP : Participatory Land Use Planning PPO : Provincial Project Office PRI : Productive Rural Infrastructure RMC : Road Maintenance Committee SIR : Subproject Investment Report SPRSS : Summary Poverty Reduction and Social Strategy SRI : System of Rice Intensification TA : Technical Assistance TOR : Terms of Reference WUG : Water Users Group WUGA : Water Users Group Association UNITS Cm : Centimeter Ha : Hectare Kg : Kilogram Km : Kilometer l : Liter m : Meter m2 : Square meter m3 : Cubic meter mm : Millimeter ii Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ vi 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Objectives of the Ethnic Group Development Plan (EGDP) ..................................... 1 1.2 The Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project (NRIDSP) ............... 1 1.3 The Nam Tha 3 PRI subproject ................................................................................ 2 2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................. 3 2.1 Ethnic Groups in Lao PDR ........................................................................................ 3 2.2 Ethnic Groups and Development: Policy Context ..................................................... 3 2.3 ADB Safeguards for Indigenous Peoples .................................................................. 4 2.4 Ethnic Group Development Framework (EGDF) for NRIDSP ................................... 5 3. SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT .................................................................................. 5 3.1 Ethnic Groups in the Subproject Area ....................................................................... 5 3.2 Socio-Economic Status ............................................................................................. 8 3.2.1 Land ................................................................................................................... 9 3.2.2 Language ........................................................................................................... 9 3.2.3 Gender ............................................................................................................. 10 3.2.4 Health and Hygiene .......................................................................................... 10 3.2.5 Social Impact and Inequality ............................................................................ 10 3.2.6 Social Benefits .................................................................................................. 11 3.2.7 Expected Sustainable Outcomes ..................................................................... 12 4. BENEFICIAL AND MITIGATING MEASURES ........................................................... 12 5. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION ............... 13 6. COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM .................................... 17 7. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT ............................................................................ 17 8. BUDGET AND FINANCING PLAN ............................................................................. 17 9. MONITORING ............................................................................................................ 18 9.1 Internal Monitoring .................................................................................................. 18 9.2 External Monitoring ................................................................................................. 18 iii Figure 1. NRI-AF Subprojects Location Map iv Figure 2. Nam Tha 3 PRI Subproject Map v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Introduction 1. The proposed Nam Tha 3 PRI Subproject is located in Luang Namtha District, Luang Namtha Province. The Subproject is expected to benefit eleven (11) villages: (i) Papoua, (ii) Namthoung, (iii) Thongchai Tai, (iv) Thongdy, (v) Thongchai Neua, (vi) Viengtai, (vii) Donesamphan, (viii) Thong Om, (ix) Houakhoua, (x) Viengneua, and (xi) Poung. The villages are located at the range of 0 to 14 km from Luang Namtha District center, and 1 to 8 km from the Luang Namtha Provincial center1. 2. The eleven (11) beneficiary villages have a total of 2,223 households (HHs) composed of Lao- Tai 2,099 HHs (94%) (mainly Tai Dam, Tai Youan and Lue), Mon-Khmer 83 HHs (4%) (Khmu), Hmong- Mien 5 HHs (0.2%) (Hmong) and Sino-Tibetan 36 HHs (2%) (Mostly Phunoi and Hor). 3. In the subproject area, Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic group, firstly, came to settle in Luang Namtha Plan a couple of hundred years ago. Tai Youan ethnic group, a Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic group, gradually moved to the center of Namtha Plan from 17 to 19 centuries to establish the villages including Vieng Neua. Following the Tai Youan people, Tai Dam ethnic group, which also belongs to a Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic group, came to the plain to set up the villages such as Thong Om, Houa Khoua and Phong. After the 2nd Indochina War, non-Lao-Tai ethno-linguistic groups living along the mountain slopes surrounding Luang Namtha Plain moved down to the lowland area. All eleven (11) beneficiary villages are located near the Provincial and District centers, and many households of various ethnic groups have moved into the area as the provincial economy is getting developed for the past decade. 4. Application of the Indigenous Peoples Screening Checklist shows that the Subproject could be classified as Category B (refer to Annex 7)–the Subproject will benefit Lue, Tai Dam, Phunoi and Khmu ethnic groups through the rehabilitation and improvement of the irrigation system. The subproject will not impact or interfere with the socio-cultural patterns or qualities of the ethnic groups in the area, nor will it disadvantage any of the ethnic groups in the subproject area. The subproject is expected to improve irrigation water availability and expand irrigated area, hence, yield and production of agricultural crops (rice and other crops), as well as income of farmers. Indirect benefits will accrue to villagers in the form of additional demand on farm labor as well as potential employment during subproject construction. 5. This Ethnic Group Development Plan (EGDP) is prepared for the Nam Tha 3 PRI Subproject located in Luang Namtha District, Luang Namtha Province under the Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Sector Project (NRIDSP). The EGDP is prepared in accordance with the Lao PDR Constitution, relevant laws and policies, the ADB’s Safeguards Policy Statement (SPS) 2009 and the Indigenous People Planning Framework (2000) developed for NRIDSP (updated June 2015 as Ethnic Group Development Framework). Sources of data and information for the EGDP include: i) Annex 7 – Social Impact Assessment of the Feasibility Study Report for the Subproject. 6. The Plan emphasizes a specific action plan for the Nam Tha 3 PRI Subproject in order to:(i) address appropriate requirements for, including consultations with, the affected ethnic groups