INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE . Report No.: 105100 . Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: April 25, 2016 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Liberia Project ID: P159493 Project Name: Girls Ebola Recovery Livelihood Support (GERLS) Project Task Team Leader(s): Suleiman Namara Estimated Board Date: 30-June-2016 Managing Unit: GSP07 Sector(s): Other social services (100%) Theme(s): Social Safety Nets/Social Assistance & Social Care Services (100%) Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP No 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies)? Project Financing Data (in USD Million) Total Project Cost: 0.53 Total Bank Financing: 0.53 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 ERR 0.53 Total 0.53 Environmental Category: C - Not Required Is this a Repeater project? No Is this a Transferred project? No . 2. Project Development Objective(s) The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to provide income generation support to Ebola- affected adolescent girls. 3. Project Description The proposed project will provide livelihood recovery support through trainings and cash 1 grants to selected vulnerable adolescent girls who are susceptible to post EVD shocks. The project will be implemented in the following counties, which were some of the worst hit counties by the EVD crisis: Montserrado (4502 cases, 1853 deaths), Grand Bassa (180 cases, 79 deaths), and Margibi (1261 cases, 576 deaths) and also all have participated in MGCSP labor market programs for adolescent girls The proposed project is expected to have the following components: Component 1: Life and Business Skills Support for Targeted Adolescent Girls ($130,000) The objective of this component is to support the reentry and participation of targeted adolescent girls into the labor market through life and business skills training.' Specific attention will be given to addressing behavioral constraints such as negative attitudes towards work and lack of non-cognitive skills that inhibit business growth. The component will specifically include the following activities: (i) beneficiary selection and enrollment; (ii) a needs assessment to inform training; (iii) the formation of Beneficiary Business Groups for business implementation; and (iv) life and business skills training This component will particularly be useful to all beneficiaries, regardless of previous participation in life and business skills training programs. For beneficiaries who have received similar training prior to this project, these activities will serve as a refresher and would include new elements to bolster resilience and positive coping mechanisms in light of the recent economic shock from the EVD outbreak. Prior to initiating training, the Project Management team will select and enroll 2,000 beneficiaries, half of whom have benefited from MGCSP labor market programs. Upon completion of the enrollment, a pre-training assessment will be conducted to tailor the trainings to the beneficiaries' needs. Component 2: Livelihood Recovery Support for Adolescent Girls ($320,000) The objective of this component is support to start or restart the livelihoods of beneficiaries who have completed life and business skills, have formed Beneficiary Business Groups (BBGs), and have approved business plans, and provide them with cash grants. This component will finance cash grants which will provide a financial stimulant to restart or grow their businesses Component 3: Project Management and Coordination ($80,000) The objective of this component is to finance activities related to project management and coordination under the MGCSP for project implementation. This includes staff costs, equipment, fuel, and communications costs, as well as incremental project-related operating costs for implementation of Components 1 and 2. This will include support for the procurement of service providers to carry out the needs assessment, trainings, and disbursement of grants. This component will also support coordination and consolidation of annual and quarterly reports and auditing of the project. The MGCSP will ensure collaboration across sectors and counties, as well as linkages with other ministries and policyrnakers in the overall implementation of GERLS project. 2 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The project will be implemented in 3 counties, which were some ofthe worst hit counties by the EVD crisis: Montserrado (4502 cases, 1853 deaths), Grand Bassa (180 cases, 79 deaths), and Margibi (1261 cases, 576 deaths). 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Gloria Malia Mahama (GSU01 ) Sekou Abou Kamara (GEN01 ) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OPIBP 4.01 No Assessment of the project components shows that the core activities to be financed-Business and Life Skills Development and Business Recovery Grants-are likely to have no negative impacts on the environmental. Businesses to be financed under Component 2 are not defined at this stage. To ensure that recipients of business recovery grants do not engage in businesses that could generate some negative environmental and social impacts, the project implementation manual will be strengthened to contain detailed targeting and enrollment requirements to will exclude activities that could generate adverse environmental impacts This will mainly be in the form of a "negative" or "exclusion" list against which activities are screened before enrollment. Some generic environmental best practices will also be included in the operation manual to guide project activities. Natural Habitats OPIBP 4.04 No This project will not invest in 3 activities likely to affect the natural ecosystem Forests OP/BP 4.36 No No investment in forest or protected areas is involved Pest Management OP 4.09 No Project activities will not require the procurement, use, transportation or storage of pesticides Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 No the project avoids impact on sites with any cultural significance Indigenous Peoples OPIBP 4.10 No There are no Indigenous Peoples in the project area. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 No The project activities envisioned under Component 1 and 2 are 1arge1 y for business skills training and cash transfer for reviving businesses such as tailoring, catering etc. No civil works are envisaged under the Project, and therefore OP 4.12 on involuntary resettlement policy is not triggered. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No No dam construction is involved and Project activities will not rely on any existing dam structures Projects on International Waterways OP/BP No the project activities will not be 7.50 supporting activities with potential impact on international water ways Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No The project is not located in a disputed area II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: The project is rated as Category C. The activities envisioned under Component 1 (Life and Business Skills Support for Targeted Adolescent Girls) and component 2 (Livelihood Recovery Support for Targeted Adolescent Girls) do not envisage any significant or irreversible environmental and social impacts. 4 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: Long term impacts of this project are expected to be positive. The life and business skills component will primarily focus on increasing girls' participation in the labor market by improving their readiness to restart or expand their businesses. The Livelihood Recovery support component will provide support to enable beneficiaries revive their livelihoods through the provision of cash grants. Sustainability of the project will be enhanced through harmonization and coordination with existing country programs and systems under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) including the SCT-REPLI and EP AG projects. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. The project presents minimal environmental and social impacts and as such no alternatives were considered. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. Although no adverse environmental and social impacts are anticipated, the project will develop a menu of business opportunities to be financed by component 2 in the POM. The subproject technical manual will also include technical design, work productivity norms, and social and environmental mitigation measures that any potential negative impacts are addressed. The ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection will bear the overall responsibility of ensuring the effective implementation of this project through the GERLS PM team. MGCSP has the capacity and draws experience from implementing the WB funded safety cash transfers programs in Liberia. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. The key stakeholders will be the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), NGOs or a consortium of organizations who will provide training and other activities under Components 1 and 2, local community leaders and mentors and the direct beneficiaries (vulnerable adolescent girls) in the selected counties. The project will develop communications strategies for engagement with stakeholders with the aim to improve transparency and accountability, and strengthen social cohesion between the project participants and their communities. The project will partner with existing social protection and EVD-targeted programs that have ongoing public communications campaigns to ensure efficiency in the use of resources, and consistency of messages and tools. Further details on the communications strategy and action plan will be detailed in the POM. A GRM will also be used to enable both beneficiaries and citizens to lodge complaints and grievances regarding any aspect of the subproject cycle and to provide feedback. The existing 5 Safety Nets Management Information Systems (MIS) will be used for collecting and addressing grievances at the town/community, district, county, and national levels and will be detailed in the POM as well. No safeguards policies are triggered and as such no instruments are required for disclosure. However this ISDS after approval will be disclosed together with the PAD. B. Disclosure Requirements If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] World Bank's Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [x] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? 6 III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader( s): Name: Suleiman Namara Approved By: Safeguards Advisor: J Date: l{ 2S) 2-0 / 6 Practice Manager/Manager: 7