Brazil: Espirito Santo Water Security Management Project

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The Project will seek to foster integrated water resources and disaster risk management at the state level, promote sustainable land use practices at the river basin level, while also implementing flood risk reduction investments in select municipalities. This approach will help the state move the needle on reducing its water security risks while promoting climate adaptation. Proposed interventions are grouped around three components focused on the following geographic scales: statewide (Component 1), river basin (Component 2) and municipal (Component 3) levels as well as support to Project management (Component 4) and a zero-fund Contingent Emergency Response (Component 5 - CERC):Component 1 – Building the Borrower’s capacity for water security in a changing climate. This component will strengthen the state’s capacity to manage water security risks by strengthening both SIGERH-ES' and CEPDEC's water resources and disaster management capacities, respectively, and fostering their better integration. Component 2 – Demonstrating climate-smart integrated water security risk reduction approaches in selected basins. This component will contribute to reduce water security risks by reducing water contamination and sediment loads as well as flood and dry season water deficits, while promoting biodiversity conservation and enhancing existing carbon sinks in soil and aboveground biomass, leading to significant climate adaptation and mitigation benefits. Component 3 – Reducing flood risk reduction in targeted municipalities. This component aims to reduce floods risks in targeted municipalities which have faced strong flood episodes over the past few years. It will finance (i) Design and Build contracts for the implementation of urgent flood risk reduction investments in three municipalities for which technical solutions have been identified, but feasibility studies need revisions; and (ii) the carrying out of studies to identify more innovative integrated structural and non-structural solutions to reduce flood risks in two additional municipalities.Component 4 – Project Management. This component aims to strengthen the State´s capacity to carry-out Project activities, including fiduciary, technical, environmental and social, and monitoring and evaluation aspects. To this end, it will finance the provision of technical assistance, consulting and non-consulting services, training and goods to key government agencies necessary to effectively carrying out activities associated with Project implementation, including hiring of a consulting firm to provide technical and operational support. Component 5 – Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC). This component will support the State of Espirito Santo, following an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, to respond to emergency situations associated with hydrological events. This disaster recovery contingency zero-fund component could be triggered following the declaration of a disaster or emergency, defined as “an event that has caused, or is likely to imminently cause, a major adverse economic and/or social impact associated with natural or man-made crises or disasters.” Relationship to the CPF and higher level objectives: The proposed operation is fully aligned with the World Bank Group's (WBG) FY18-FY23 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Brazil and informed by the WBG’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) and the Brazil Country Climate and Development Report (under preparation). It fits within the CPF’s Focus Area 3, Inclusive and Sustainable Development and contributes to Objectives 3.1 (Support achievement of Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement with a particular focus on land use) and 3.2 (Provide more inclusive and sustainable urban services), by addressing the vulnerability and exposure of people and assets to increased water security risks, which are the main manifestations of climate change impacts in SES, contributing to adaptation objectives, as well as increasing carbon sequestration through increased forested area, thus supporting mitigation targets. In addition, by investing in institutional strengthening and more effective WRM tools, the Project will help enhance the SES water sector’s governance, operational efficiency, and sustainability, increasing resilience to flood and drought risk.