w ip: egg Bw
                            (Q             Pan<?I   I   IBRD•IDA I   WORLOBANKGROUP




IMRANA JALAL
Chair
The Inspection Panel
                                                                                 IPN REQUEST RQ 19/13

                                                                                      September 26, 2019

                                     NOTICE OF REGISTRATION

                                          Request for Inspection

                   Republic of Poland: Odra-Vistula Flood Management Project (P147460)

     Summary

    1. On September 20, 2019, the Inspection Panel (the Panel") received a Request for Inspection
    of the Odra-Vistula Flood Management Project (the Project") in Poland. The Request was
    submitted by members of the Save the Rivers Coalition (the Requesters"). The Requesters raise
    concerns about the Project's impact on biodiversity, including protected species, in protected areas
    in Poland and in the transboundary Odra region. They claim that the Project will increase flooding
    risks, that the planned river regulation is excessive and that public participation and consultation
    with citizens and experts were insufficient. The Requesters are concerned that the earlier-
    abandoned work plans affecting the Miedzyodrze wetland would be taken up again under this
    Project. They also express concern about involuntary resettlemertt in the Klodzko Valley and in
    some locations in the Upper Vistula area and argue that the construction of dry reservoirs in the
    Klodzko Valley significantly interferes with the local landscape, cultural values and integrity of
    some towns.

    2. On September 25, 2019, the Panel acknowledged receipt 'of this Request on its website. This
    is the eighth Request the Panel has received concerning the Project. The Panel issued a Notice of
    Registration for the seven earlier Requests on September 17, 2019, and intends to process all eight
    Requests jointly for reasons of economy and efficiency.

    3. After conducting initial due diligence and confirming that the Request meets the Panel's
    admissibility criteria, I am notifying you that I have, on September 26, 2019, registered this
    Request.

    The Project

    4. The Odra-Vistula Flood Management Project (P147460) was approved on July 23, 2015, for
    US$504 million (IBRD Investment Project Financing). The total Project cost is $US$1.3 billion.
    The Borrower is co-financing the Project with US$210 million, the European Union (EU) with
    US$219 million, the Council of Europe Development Bank with US$329 million and the Polish
    National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management with US$55 million. The



                                  1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433
                                                  -2-                           September 26, 2019

expected closing date of the Project is June 15, 2023. It is a Category B Project and was 15 percent
disbursed at the time of receipt of the Request.

5. The development objectives of the Project are to "increase access to flood protection f   or
people living in selected areas of the Odra River and the U    pper Vistula River basins and to
strengthen the institutional capacity of the Borrower to mitigate the impact of floods more
effectively."' The Project triggered the following safeguard policies: Environmental Assessment
(OP/BP 4.01); Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04); Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11);
Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12); Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37); and Projects on
International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50).

6. The Project is structured in five components: Component 1: Flood protection of Middle and
Lower Odra; Component 2: Flood protection of the Nysa Klodzka Valley; Component 3: Flood
protection of Upper Vistula; Component 4: Institutional strengthening and enhanced forecasting;
and Component 5: Project management and studies. Component 1 aims to enhance protection
against summer and winter floods for cities and towns along the Odra River, while component 2
aims at protecting Klodzka town, other small valley towns and the city of Bardo. Component 3
aims at protecting the Krakow agglomeration and Nowa Huta industrial area, the Sandomierz-
Tarnobrzeg industrial and agricultural area, and selected towns on tributaries in the sub-basins of
the San and Raba rivers. 2

The Request

7. The Request states that the Project affects many protected areas, including EU Natura 2000
sites and national parks, and the "incredible almost 'amazonian' biodiversity in the [Odra} river
and its valley." The Requesters explain that there is an abundant population of protected species
in the branches of the river. According to the Requesters, the Project infringes EU environmental
law, specifically Natura 2000 directives and the Water Framework Directive, increases flooding
risks and affects the German-Polish transboundary region. The Requesters argue that the planned
river regulation investments are excessive. They claim that under the pretext of flood protection
and the maintenance of the icebreaking route, the investments are actually planned for waterway
development. They explicitly refer to the construction of a railway bridge and dredging works as
serving the goals of improving shipping on the river, rather than flood protection.

8. The Requesters explain that one subcomponent of the Project, which relates to the
Miedzyodrze wetland, was abandoned by the Project after the completion of analytical studies.
However, the Requesters are concerned that there are attempts to take up these works again under
the Project.

9. The Request further states that in the Klodzko Valley and in some locations in Upper Vistula
people are being involuntarily resettled and social protests have taken place. The Requesters refer
to an online petition that has gathered the support of about 3,000 signatories opposing the Project. 3

    1
     Project Appraisal Document for the Project, p. 4.
   °Ibid., pp. 6-8.
   3
     Petition by Sojusz Ziemi Klodzkiej (Alliance for Klodzko Land)
   https://secure.avaaz.org/pl/community petitions/Bank STOP finansowania planow zwiekszania suchej
     retencji na Ziemi Klodzkiej 3
                                                  -3-                           September 26, 2019

 According to the Requesters, the Project exacerbates social conflict on a large scale, especially
 because the construction of dry reservoirs would significantly interfere with the local landscape,
 cultural values and the integrity of some towns. The Requesters explain that the dry reservoirs
 have been rescaled, resulting in more impact on the environment than would be necessary to
 achieve the expected goals. The Requesters state that there are suspicions that under the pretext of
 constructing dry reservoirs, the implementation of wet reservoirs is planned, which would be much
 less effective for flood protection purposes but would serve other political goals.

 10. The Request further argues that the need to achieve a dynamic balance of river sediment was
 not taken into account and the alternative of expanding the potential floodplain in order to stop the
 energy of the rivers has never been seriously examined. The Requesters fear that the pressure
 against the dry reservoirs will lead to even greater interference in the river beds.

 11. According to the Request, public participation and consultation with citizens and experts were
 insufficient. The Requesters also argue that the quality of the Environmental Assessment is low
 and disregards impact on protect areas in the Odra Valley. The Requesters also believe that the
 Project should have been categorized as a Category A, not B, especially when comparing it to the
 closely related Odra River Basin Flood Protection Project (P086768), which is a Category A
project.

 12. The Request contains as attachments a June 2019 report with recommendations on how to
 improve flood protection for Szczecin and surrounding cities, villages and counties and a
 newspaper article.

 Initial Due Diligence

  13. After receipt of the Request, the Panel conducted its initial due diligence and verified that the
 Request meets the admissibility criteria for registration, as follows: The Request is not frivolous,
 absurd or anonymous, and was submitted by members of a Polish environmental umbrella non-
 governmental organization (NGO), the Save the Rivers Coalition. The Requesters explain that they
 have had several interactions about their concerns with World Bank staff and shared with the Panel
 a letter they sent to the World Bank Country Office in May 2018, as well as the Bank's response.
 They also explain that they had a meeting at the Country Office in 2016 and had personal contact
 with Bank mission teams in 2018 and 2019. They further mention that they participated in the
 preparation of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and complained about the Project
 to the European Commission. The Panel also verified that the subject matter of the Request does
 not concern issues of procurement, and at the time of receipt of the Request the Project was 15
 percent disbursed. The Panel has not previously made a recommendation on the issues raised in
 this Request.                                  ·

 14. The Panel had a phone call with one of the Requesters on September 24, 2019, to better
 understand the Requesters' concerns, seek clarifications and explain the Panel's process and
 mandate. The Requester explained in more detail the concerns about the environmental impact of
 the Project and told the Panel that the Save the Rivers Coalition has been closely monitoring the
 Project for several years. In regard to concerns about involuntary resettlement, the Requester
 explained that the NGO has been in contact with one woman in the Klodzko Valley who lives
 close to Project works, has suffered adverse impact and should be adequately informed about the
                                                     -4-                              September 26, 2019

Project and compensated. The Requester also explained that the online petition mentioned above
includes concerns about involuntary resettlement more broadly.

Registration of the Request

15. As provided in paragraph 17 of the IBRD Resolution ("the Resolution") that established the
Panel, "the Chairperson of the Panel shall inform the Executive Directors and the President of the
Bank promptly upon receiving a request for inspection." With this notice, I am notifying you that
I have, on September 26, 2019, registered the above-mentioned Request.

16. The Panel's registration implies no judgment whatsoever concerning the merits of a Request
for Inspection. As provided in paragraph 18 of the Resolution, and paragraphs 2 and 8 of the
"Conclusions of the Board's Second Review of the Inspection Panel" ("the 1999 Clarification"),
Bank Management must provide the Panel within 21 business days (by October 30, 2019) a
response to the issues raised in the Requests for Inspection. The subject matter that Management
must deal with in the response to the Requests is set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the 1999
Clarification.

17. After receiving the Management Response, the Panel will, as outlined in the 1999 Clarification
and as provided by paragraph 19 of the Resolution, "determine whether the Request meets the
eligibility criteria set out in paragraphs 12 to 14 [ of the Resolution] and shall make a
recommendation to the Executive Directors as to whether the matter should be investigated."5 This
Request has been assigned IPN Request Number RQ 19/13.



                                             Yours sincerely,




Attachments

Mr. David Malpass, President
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The Executive Directors and Alternates
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Save the Rivers Coalition



   4
     Resolution Establishing the Panel (September 22, 1993), Resolution No. IBRD 93-10,
   http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/PanelMandateDocuments/Resolutionl 993 .pdf
   5
     Ibid.