Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 09/30/2005 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AC1761 Country: South Africa Project ID: P086528 Project Name: Development, Empowerment and Conservation in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park and Surrounding Region Task Team Leader: Aziz Bouzaher GEF Focal Area: Biodiversity Global Supplemental ID: Estimated Appraisal Date: July 14, 2006 Estimated Board Date: November 30, 2006 Managing Unit: AFTS1 Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (100%) Theme: Biodiversity (P);Land administration and management (S) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 9.50 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT 44.00 44.00 B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN] The overall objective of the project is to assist the Wetlands Park Authority â the dedicated management authority created when the Park was proclaimed in 2000â and local government implement a long-term initiative to protect the exceptional biodiversity of the greater St Lucia wetland area through conservation, sustainable resource use, rational land-use planning, and local economic development.the challenge faced by the Wetlands Park and local authorities is to respond to the twin imperative of conservation and development in a manner that aligns with the shift in national (and global) priorities from a strong focus on conservation-in-isolation to a new approach that integrates biodiversity conservation with regional development. Unless its poor rural neighbors see GWP as a source of employment and other tangible benefits, the political support required for its continued existence will be severely eroded. The need to optimize the flow of tangible benefits from GWP to its neighboring communities (estimated about half a million people within 20 km around the Park area) is therefore both an economic but and a conservation imperative.
Performance Indicators. Achievement of project objectives will be measured by indicators in three main areas: (i) ecologically, through the restoration of critical habitats and rehabilitation of important processes, as well as the establishment of coherent data acquisition and monitoring systems; (ii) institutionally, through enhanced capacity of the Wetlands Authority, interagency coordination, and integration of the Parkâ s Management Plan with the local governmentâ s IDPs;and (iii) socio-economically, through â œownershipâ of local area plans, and improved benefit flows to local communities. C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN] Preliminary project description - Three main components are envisaged: Component 1: Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystems functioning (estimated cost $30.5 million; GEF contribution: $6 million): This component would finance: (a) Support for habitat restoration and rehabilitation of important ecological processes, focusing on: indigenous wildlife; coastal dunes; management alien invasive species; bush encroachment, and rare swamp forests; (b) Support for catchment management and hydrological processes critical for maintaining the Wetland Parkâ sintegrity, focusing on: ecological flow requirements (EFR), the functioning of the St Lucia estuary; small-scale buffer zone forestry; and catchment management (erosion, siltation, pollution, and water management); and (c) Support for a wildlife protection program, in collaboration with local communities, focused on: illegal developments and poaching; visitor activities; and sustainable fish harvesting for livelihood support to neighboring communities. Component 2: Promoting local economic and cultural development (estimated cost $19m; GEF contribution: $2.5m). This component would finance:(a) Economic empowerment of local communities, through formal ownership or equity interests by disadvantaged communities in the Parkâ s productive assets; involvement of communities in core Park activities (management, employment, enterprise linkages between the economic activities of the Park and suppliers of goods and services); a land claims support program, designed to build the skills and capacity of restitution beneficiaries to participate in the development and management of the Park; and implementation of a sustainable resource use programs, both within and around the Park; (b) Capacity building of local communities, including: a tourism-skills program; a comprehensive Cultural Heritage management program; and a natural resource use planning and monitoring program; and (c) Strengthening the service delivery capacity of local government, through implementation of a training and awareness program with district council and local municipalities to achieve alignment and integration between the Parkâ s Integrated Management Plan, and the local governmentâ s IDPs Component 3: Strengthening institutions for sustainable development (estimated cost $4m; GEF contribution: $1m). The Wetlands Park Authority operates within a highly complex legal and institutional environment, involving a large number of government agencies and other stakeholders. The Park falls within the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, which is subdivided into five smaller local municipalities. The Wetlands Park is a separate District Management Area. The proposed project will build consensus regarding approaches, provide support for the co-ordination of policies across all sectors, and assist with the definition of institutional responsibilities for co-ordination, project approval, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. More specifically, this component would finance: (a) Strengthening the institutional capacity of the Wetlands Park Authority, through staff training and management
capacity. It is envisaged that the project will be managed in-house, reporting directly to the Authorityâ s CEO, under the supervision of a Stakeholders Steering Committee; (b) Strengthening the institutional capacity and coordination with other key agencies, including ZKN Wildlife, Agriculture, Land Affairs, Water Affaires and Forestry, local and district municipalities, as well as with local communities and NGOs; (c) Development and implementation of regional and site-specific community-driven local area plans, consistent with the Parkâ s Integrated Management Plan and local IDPs; and (d) Development of an integrated M & E system, including: information database and analytical and GIS-based mapping tools; socio-ecological data acquisition (through annual surveys); and establishment of a project performance monitoring and evaluation system; and (e) Incremental support for project management. D. Project location (if known) The St Lucia Greater Wetlands Park (GWP), on South Africaâ s Northeast coast, isa natural and cultural asset of local and global significance, located in Kwazu Natal, one of the poorest provinces of the country. Its biodiversity and cultural resources have been recognized globally (made the World Heritage List in December 1999; contains 4 of the 15 Ramsar Sites in South Africa; and forms the largest and best-protected area in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Biodiversity Hotspot). GWP also forms the core of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI), a trilateral regional program aimed at stimulating development in a severely impoverished zone encompassing northern KwaZulu-Natal, southern Mozambique and eastern Swaziland. The proclamation of the Wetlands Park and the establishment of the Wetlands Authority in 2000 consolidated 16 parcels of previously fragmented land into a single protected area covering approximately 300 000 ha and extending 230 kms from the Mozambique border to Mapelane south of St Lucia. In the east, the Park is fringed by the Indian Ocean â the boundary runs three nautical miles out to sea andparallels the coast for the entire length of the Park â but the western boundaryis convoluted and extends between one and 54 kms westwards from the coast. Administratively, the Park falls within the local government boundaries of the umkhanyakude District Municipality (DC27), which is one of the poorest in South Africa. About half a million people live within 20 kilometers of the St Lucia Wetlands Park. Because of the history of the region (as indicated by land claims on parts of the Park), several areas of the Park are either encroached or under pressure from local communities. Most of the pressure is from the west (mountenous areas) towards the coastal plateau where the Park is located, and to the south where the St Lucia Lake lies. As far as fishing is concerned, because the marine area along the length of the Park is a formally declared Marine Protected Area, fishing is stricly regulated, but with a provision for special access granted to local communities. These issues of encroachment on both terrestrial and marine Park resources will be the subject of a thorough assessment and baseline household survey to be undertaken during project preparation. Project activities will involve restoration and conservation of ecological processes within the Park, institutional strengthening, as well as community-based activities of communities in the Grater Wetlands Park region.
E. Borrower s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies [from PCN] The borrower has strong capacity for Safeguard policies, including a regulatory framework, implemetation capacity, and a proven track record for high quality environmental work in domestic projects. Given the borrower s capacity, the country has been selected to participate in the safeguards pilot program "Use of Country Systems (UCS)," and the proposed project will be the first project in Soth Africa to be undertaken under the USC framework. Under the Bankâ s program to pilot the use of borrower safeguards systems, the Bank is considering the potential use of South African systems to address environmental and social safeguard issues in this project in any or all of the following areas: (a) environmental assessment, (b) natural habitats, (c) resettlement, and (d) cultural property. Before a final determination is made of the areas for piloting, diagnostic work will be undertaken to assess (i) the equivalence of South African systems and World Bank requirements and (ii) the acceptability of implementation practices, track record and capacity of the agencies involved. For the areas selected for piloting, OP/BP 4.00 Piloting the Use of Borrower Systems to Address Environmental and Social Safeguards Issues in Bank-Supported Project will apply. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Mohamed Arbi Ben-Achour (AFTS1) Mr Panneer Selvam Lakshminarayanan (ESDQC) Mr Aziz Bouzaher (AFTS1) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) The proposed project is expected to result in significant environmental and social benefits resulting from a major focus on restoration and conservation of terrestrial and aquatic ecological process and catchement management of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, as well as support for a number of local development initiatives, including employement and livelihood generating activities, integration of the Park's management plan with the local area, minicipal, and district economic developementb plans. Therefore, the project is not expected to have potential negative social or environmental impacts. However, because of the expected extensive stakeholder involvement under the project, and the ecological restoration envisaged, OP/PB 4.01 should be trigerred. Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) The ecological focus of the project is in essence about natural habitat conservation and rehabilitation. Therefore further evaluation will be undertaken during project preparation. Forests (OP/BP 4.36) Some buffer forest management will be undertaken as part of the ecological restoration of the Park, but most likely not involve any natural forest. Further assessment will be undertaken during project preparation. Pest Management (OP 4.09) Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) The project area being a World Heritage Site, the Wetlands Park Authority intensds to
Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD strengthen its community-oriented cultural heritage program. Further evaluation should be undertaken during project preparation; expert analysis and action planning will be done as part of the EA and the actions set out in the ESMF. Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) Some key project activities may involve: (i) developement of sustainable management plans that may involve restriction of access to resources (e.g., ecological corridors along key rivers, marine parks, buffer zone around the Park); (ii) voluntary ressettlement from encroached areas; (iii) concessioning process of certain Park assests for tourism and SMME development; and (iv) resolution of pending land claims. Two resettlement instruments will need to be prepared: a Resettlement Process Framework will be needed to outline the steps by which encroached areas and park resource restrictions will be analyzed and addressed; and a Resettlement Policy Framework for any displacement that may be required in the corridors and zones, including the buffer zone, outside the Park. Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) Environmental Category: B - Partial Assessment III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Target date for the Quality Enhancement Review (QER), at which time the PAD-stage ISDS would be prepared: 04/20/2006 B. For simple projects that will not require a QER, the target date for preparing the PAD-stage ISDS: N/A C. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing 1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS. Draft Safeguards documentation will be ready by May 2006, before the expected June 2006 appraisal of the project. To assess the nature of the social pressures on the park, the uses being made of its resources and the resources impinging on park sustainability, and to carry out the extensive consultations needed on how best to organize the equity shares, benefit streams, and community inputs required to address the poverty issues around the Park, a social assessment will be carried out by 15 February 2006. The contribution of this assessment to the ESMF, and the appropriate resettlement planning, will then follow on, and will be submitted to the 1 Reminder: The Bank s Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in-country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons.
Bank by 30 April 2006. This will enable the various documents to be accepted by RSA authorities and the Bank before Appraisal is authorized. IV. APPROVALS Signed and submitted by: Task Team Leader: Mr Aziz Bouzaher 10/03/2005 Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Thomas E. Walton 10/03/2005 Comments: Sector Manager: Mr Richard G. Scobey 10/03/2005 Comments: