Social and Environmental Enhancement in the Pacific (SEEP) Project

dropped

The proposed regional IDA investment program aims to strengthen the capacity of a participating regional partner and at least two Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to manage environmental and social (E&S) risks. The characteristic of the of PICs, including small size and remoteness, means that there is limited in-country capacity to address environmental and social challenges associated with project investments. Managing E&S risks requires technical capacity, strong institutions with adequate resources and engaged communities. Improved ES risk identification and management involves systematic improvements, political commitment and adequate capacity of regulatory and implementing authorities. Development of a capable in-country cohort of E&S practitioners to effectively identify, assess, and deliver development projects is also critical to ensure E&S risks are managed and opportunities for improving sustainable development outcomes identified. To date, some sectoral work has been achieved toward building PIC capacity for E&S risk management.The proposed regional IDA investment program will build on, and scale up, the activities completed under the DFAT funded World Bank Australia Safeguard Partnership (WBASP) which was a multi-year Trust Fund which supported the development of the “Pacific Learning Partnership for Environmental and Social Standards” (Pacific Learning Partnership [PLP]). The PLP highlighted demand for increased focus on E&S capacity building in the region. The PLP was established in 2014 between the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, University of the South Pacific and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). The PLP forms the foundations for capacity building progress in terms of relationships and systems for promoting durable E&S capacity in the Pacific. The PLP is founded on the key institutions “working their strengths”; SPREP the “go-to” entity for PIC governments when seeking operational and institutional guidance and support on E&S issues; and USP –the regional university which provides academic courses as part of a structured training program run by PIC institutions to address Pacific issues. The PLP has enabled the delivery of a range of capacity building activities between 2019 and 2022 including training needs assessment, virtual training, mentoring program, and enhanced academic offerings on social risk at USP. In recent years, the infrastructure, environment, social and economic demands in the PICs have significantly increased, so a lot of important work lays ahead for the Bank, the PICs and other stakeholders to leverage the foundational work completed in the PLP so that the objective of adequate, Pacific-informed, durable and country-driven capacity is achieved. To this end, SPREP is a key institutional stakeholder for E&S risk management in the Pacific. SPREP comprises 21 member-countries across the region and plays a key role in promoting cooperation in the Pacific region towards protecting and improving its environment and to ensure sustainable development for present and future generations. SPREP has technical strengths in its core priority areas of climate change resilience; environmental governance; island and ocean ecosystem services and waste management and pollution control. Notwithstanding this, SPREP has weaknesses in technical capacity around some specific environmental risk areas and has limited capacity to address social risks. Importantly, SPREP has had limited experience in supporting Governments in relation to the specific E&S issues which are critical to infrastructure and other development project identification, assessment and delivery which Pacific countries are increasingly needing. The proposed investment project responds directly to the PIC-9 Regional Partnership Framework (RPF), which documents the Bank’s commitment to scale up support for environmental and social safeguards. The considerable risks associated with thin capacity in the Pacific in terms of implementation of World Bank projects and their sustainability is recognized in the RPF. The RPF outlines the Bank’s plan to scale up its own capacity in the field, to support the establishment of safeguard learning centers (or similar) and to adopt a common safeguards framework with other donors. The approach aims to facilitate effective integration of E&S issues and support existing systems which drive decision making in project design and implementation. Further, the RPF recognizes the opportunities associated with accessing regional IDA for activities that have spillover benefits for the region. The RPF commits the Bank to continue to promote regional and platform-based approaches and collaboration with regional organizations to address common issues and exploit efficiencies. The RPF also identifies the relationship with SPREP in the preparation of a “Common Approach” (now known as the “Shared Approach”) as a tool for improved project outcomes and capacity development as one of its areas of coordination and partnership. The Project will strengthen regional standards and practices (implemented by regional entity- SPREP). This will include building SPREP capacity to address relevant E&S issues across the region, preparation and implementation of regional capacity building activities and implementation support and logistics.The Project is part of a Series of-Projects (SOP) to allow each country to work independently but within an over-arching framework. Two additional projects will be prepared and assessed individually and form part of the SOP focusing on technical assistance at the country level to support three streams of capacity development including for regulatory and planning agencies, sectoral support agencies and implementation support logistics.