ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL COMMITMENT PLAN
- The Democratic Republic of Congo (hereinafter "the Recipient") shall implement the Access, Governance and Reform for the Electricity and Water Sectors Project, AGREE, (the Project) with the involvement of the following Ministries and agencies: Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity (MRHE) in its UCM (overall coordination; component 2, Sub-component 3.2 in urban areas, Sub-component 4.1; Sub-component 4.3) and with the involvement of the Ministry of Portfolio (MoP)/COPIREP (Comité de Pilotage de la Réforme des Entreprises du Portefeuille)- for the implementation of component 1, as well as with the National Agency for Electrification and Energy Services in Rural and Peri-urban Areas (ANSER), for the implementation of sub-component 3.2 in peri-urban areas, REDIGESO/CEP-O (component 4.2 and component 1.3 ), Autorité de Régulation de l’Électricité (Sub-component 3.1) and Office Congolais des Eaux (OCE) for Component 3.3(a)(i) The International Development Association (hereinafter "the Association") has agreed to provide funding for the Project.
- The Recipient shall implement material measures and actions so that the Project is implemented in accordance with the World Bank's Environmental and Social Standards (ESS) and World Bank Group’s Performance Standards, including the recommendations of the Good Practice Note on addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and Sexual Harassment in the Context of Financing Investment Projects Involving Major Civil Works (NBP-SEA/SH). This Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) sets out material measures and actions, any specific documents or plans, as well as the timing for each these.
- The Recipient shall also comply with the provisions of any other Environmental and Social (E&S) documents required under the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and referred to in this ESCP, such as the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), including in an annex the Action Plan for the Prevention and Mitigation of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and Sexual Harassment (SH); the Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF); Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) for the works and associated Environmental and Social Management Plans; the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP); the Labor Management Procedure (LMP), and the timelines specified in those E&S documents. Other instruments shall be prepared as needed during the implementation of the Project, such as Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs), Asbestos Management Plan, hazardous waste management plan, sludge and effluent management disposal and/or reuse plan, Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP), Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), Grievance Mechanism sensitive to SEA/SH (GRM), Security Risk Assessment (SRA)/Security Management Plan (SMP) ),
- Additionally, the private operators under component 3 shall be required to have in place ESMSs acceptable to the Association prior to receiving funding.
- The Recipient shall be responsible for compliance with all requirements of the ESCP, even when the implementation of specific measures and actions is carried out by the Ministry or agency, or unit referenced in paragraph 1 above.
- The implementation of the concrete measures and actions set out in this ESCP shall be monitored and reported to the Association by the Recipient through the Project Coordination and Management Unit (UCM) under the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity and the Project Implementation Unit (CEP-O) under the National Water Utility (REDIGESO), , as required by the ESCP and the conditions of the legal agreement, and the Association shall monitor and assess progress and completion of the material measures and actions throughout implementation of the Project.,
- As agreed upon by the Association and the Recipient, this ESCP may be revised from time to time during Project implementation, to reflect adaptive management of Project changes and unforeseen circumstances or in response to assessment of Project performance conducted under the ESCP itself. In such circumstances, the Recipient through the Project Coordination and Management Unit of the Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity (UCM), shall agree to the changes with the Association and shall update the ESCP to reflect such changes. Agreement on changes to the ESCP shall be documented through the exchange of letters signed between the Association and the Recipient. The Recipient shall promptly disclose the updated ESCP.
- Where Project changes, unforeseen circumstances, or Project performance result in changes to the risks and impacts during Project implementation, the Recipient shall provide additional funds, if needed, to implement actions and measures to address such risks and impacts, which may include environmental risks such as environmental, health and safety effects, flooding, erosion, the appearance of animal or plant epidemics, the influx of labor, the risk of degradation of natural resources and pollution of the environment (air, soil and water pollution, reduction of vegetation in the event of tree felling and deforestation, nuisances due to activities and construction site waste); risks of disruption of free movement and socio-economic activities; risks of social conflicts in case of non-local employment or non-respect of customs and habits; risks to the health and safety of the populations including COVID19 (emergence of diseases among the populations and workers, accidents related to construction site activities, health risks related to poor management of hazardous waste, including biomedical waste, loss of land, property and sources of income, gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment ; and risks related to child labor and forced labor.
- The table below provides a summary of the concrete measures and actions required the responsibilities of the actors involved, and the timeframe for implementing the selected measures and actions.
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