INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA14965 0 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 15-Sep-2015 o Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 18-Sep-2015 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Tajikistan Project ID: P154561 Project Name: Real Estate Registration Project (P15456 1) Task Team Victoria Stanley Leader(s): Estimated 28-Sep-2015 Estimated 21-Jan-2016 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: GSULN Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Central government administration (50%), General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (30%), Information technology (20%) Theme(s): Land administration and management (80%), Personal and property rights (20%) Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP No 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies)? Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 10.00 Total Bank Financing: 10.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 10.00 Total 10.00 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? 2. Project Development Objective(s) The development objective of the project is to support the implementation of a real estate registration system nationwide which is reliable, transparent and efficient. 3. Project Description The Project will be financed with US$10.0 million IDA credit. The Project components are: Page 1 of 6 A) Real Estate Registration System Development (US$2.8 million) This component would support the establishment of a national real estate registration system and the institutional development of SUERIP. The component would include: physical infrastructure improvements, improving customer O U services and transparency, support to planning and institutional sustainability, support further development of policy and the regulatory framework for registration, and support training activities. B) IT Software Development and Data Management (US$5.9 million) This component would support the digitizing/conversion of paper documents into a database and development of IT software, with required hardware. The component would include activities such as: data conversion, data capture and incorporation into the new system (paper and digital), conversion of mortgage information (currently help by the Ministry of Justice) and incorporation into the new system, software development, IT hardware, and a web portal for professionals and the public. C) Public Awareness and Education, Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Management (US$1.3 million) This component would include: support to SUERIP to manage the project through financing a small project unit, monitoring and evaluation, and public awareness and education campaigns and outreach activities. Public awareness and education activities would explain registration services, requirements and benefits to the public as well as special groups (women, rural citizens, and elderly). Monitoring and evaluation would include gender disaggregated data on registration as is already collected for issuance of use rights certificates. Monitoring would also include a citizen feedback mechanism to track improvements in customer service and confidence in the system. The component will also support strengthening SUERIP's grievance redress mechanism for registration. 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The project will be national. The project will be mostly office work - scanning and document management, IT systems development, training, public awareness, legal analysis, policies and procedures. U 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Angela Nyawira Khaminwa (GSURR) O German Stanislavovich Kust (GENO3) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Yes Though the proposed project will mostly be office work - Assessment OP/BP 4.01 development of systems, procedures, processes, HR capacity - there will be office renovations. The type of expected environmental impacts of concern are localized in nature and more adequately addressed through environment permits and good construction practice, or in the case of World Bank policies, through implementation of site specific EMPs (in the case of renovations). It is anticipated that environmental risks related to rehabilitation and renovation would be easily predictable and mitigated. As sites for renovations to be funded are not yet known, an Environmental Management Framework (EMF) will Page 2 of 6 be prepared prior to Appraisal, with site-specific EMPs to be prepared as needed during project implementation. At present it is expected that all renovations will be sufficiently minor that Checklist EMPs can be used for the subprojects. Therefore, the project level EMF will also use the Checklist EMP template, completed based on general project information rather than site-specific details. If during project preparation it becomes evident that more substantial renovations requiring regular (non- Checklist) EMPs for some of the subprojects, the format of the EMF will be adjusted accordingly. The project team will meet with RSA to discuss this at an appropriate point during project preparation, possibly around the QER. Natural Habitats OP/BP No 4.04 Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Pest Management OP 4.09 No Physical Cultural Yes 4.11 is triggered as a precaution. It is not known which Resources OP/BP 4.11 buildings will be renovated and it is possible one or more may be cultural resources. However the list of renovation sites is not available and may not be known at appraisal. Cultural resources will be included in the EMP Checklist and site specific EMP-checklists prepared during implementation as sites are known. Indigenous Peoples OP/ No Indigenous Peoples as defined by OP 4.10 are not present BP 4.10 in the project area. Involuntary Resettlement No Any civil works under Component 1 will be limited to OP/BP 4.12 office renovations and will occur within the footprint of existing premises. No OP 4.12 impacts are expected. Safety of Dams OP/BP No 4.37 Projects on International No Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed No Areas OP/BP 7.60 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's environmental risks are moderate and connected with minor civil works associated with office rehabilitation and repair. Though no social safeguards are triggered, a social Page 3 of 6 assessment is underway to, among other things, identify vulnerable groups, and in so doing better inform project design and implementation and ensure widest possible impact. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: The long term environmental impacts are positive. Improving land tenure and land management generally leads to better environmental management of land and other natural resources. The long term social impacts are also positive and the project will seek to broaden tenure security to all through public awareness raising, improved service delivery and other specialized interventions as determined by the social assessment underway. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. The project considered building new offices, but this was deemed to be too expensive and would potentially have greater environmental and social impacts. 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. The Borrower plans to address safeguards policies through application of national environmental laws and regulation, including permits and permissions from the responsible governmental body (State Committee for Environmental Protection - SCEP) and the use of site-specific EMPs. Nevertheless, SUERIP's's capacity is weak and therefore a part-time environmental specialist consultant will be hired as part of the Project Implementation Group (IG) to directly oversee safeguards implementation and compliance. The specialist consultant will work in close collaboration with the M&E and procurement specialists of the IG and will be responsible for: 1) supervising and assisting contractors in the preparation of full EMPs and checklists, 2) control of environmental aspects of the contracts for civil works (associated with office rehabilitation and repair), 3) control of environmental monitoring within these contracts, and 4) overall implementation of the project Environmental Management Framework (EMF). The specialist consultant will also be responsible for contacting relevant representatives of SCEP (including solving possible problems), and for training existing agency staff throughout the project implementation in order to build borrower capacity. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure O on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. The EMF was disclosed via publication in the newspaper and displayed on public notice boards in all local SUERIP offices. Comments will be accepted and incorporated. Once the specific office locations and the schedule for renovation is known, the site-specific EMPs will be posted in the relevant offices and advertised locally for comment. B. Disclosure Requirements Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other Date of receipt by the Bank 15-Jul-2015 Date of submission to InfoShop 12-Aug-2015 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive 00000000 Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Page 4 of 6 "In country" Disclosure Tajikistan 04-Sep-2015 Comments: The Environmental Management Framework has been published in the national newspapers "Asia Plus" (dated September 3, 2015, in Russian) and "Sado Mardum" (dated September 4, 2015, in Tajik). It has been posted at the same time on the website: info.cadastre.tj And the EMF has been posted on all public notice boards in all SUERIP offices around the country. 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 OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] report? If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit or Practice Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] Manager (PM) review and approve the EA report? Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] in the credit/loan? OP/BP 4.11 - Physical Cultural Resources Does the EA include adequate measures related to cultural Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] property? Does the credit/loan incorporate mechanisms to mitigate the Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] potential adverse impacts on cultural property? The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] 0 World Bank's Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] 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 [X] No [ ] NA [ ] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ X] No [ ] NA [ ] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Page 5 of 6 Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ X] No[ ]NA [] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? III. APPROVALS O Task Team Leader(s): Name: Victoria Stanley Approved By Practice Manager/ Name: Jorge A. Munoz (PMGR) Date: 18-Sep-2015 Manager: Page 6 of 6