INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET
CONCEPT STAGE
Report No.: AC2973

Public Disclosure Authorized
Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 08/21/2007

I. BASIC INFORMATION

A. Basic Project Data

Country: Africa
Project ID: P091099
Project Name: ENSAP: Water Shed Project
Task Team Leader: Astrid Hillers
Estimated Appraisal Date: February 8,
Estimated Board Date: May 8, 2008
2008
Managing Unit: AFTWR
Lending Instrument: Specific Investment
Public Disclosure Authorized
Loan
Sector: General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (60%);General water, sanitation
and flood protection sector (40%)
Theme: Other rural development (P);Other environment and natural resources
management (S)
IBRD Amount (US$m.):
0.00
IDA Amount (US$m.):
35.00
GEF Amount (US$m.):
0.00
PCF Amount (US$m.):
0.00
Other financing amounts by source:
BORROWER/RECIPIENT
10.00

Global Environment Facility - IBRD as Implementing Agency
6.00
Public Disclosure Authorized
Bilateral
Agencies
(unidentified)
30.00
Financing
Gap
0.00
46.00
B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN]
As agreed by the Nile Basin institutions, the overall goal of the program is to develop a
sustainable, transboundary framework for watershed management in the Eastern Nile basins and
to improve natural-resource based livelihoods and reduce land degradation in selected
watersheds.

Specific development objectives of the program are to
?
Develop and sustain a mechanism for generation and exchange of information and
Public Disclosure Authorized
expertise for decision making on the management of the natural resources of the Eastern Nile
?
Implement successful model interventions for livelihoods based catchment management.

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This program objective directly links to the global objectives of the Strategic Investment
Program for Sustainable Land Management in Sub-Saharan Africa (SIP) in addressing the
incremental costs of the Eastern Nile transboundary development plans to improve the integrated
management of shared land and water resources. In that it advances and enhances the regional
institution to advance SLM though combined community based measures, policy dialogue, and
strengthening coalitions on the regional and national level. It also aims at improving natural
resource based livelihoods in the Eastern Nile Sub-basins by preventing and reversing land
degradation and preventing climate vulnerability to farmers, e.g. through crop diversification,
water harvesting, increasing soil moisture retention and improved access to credit.

C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN]
The overall goal of the proposed program is to assist Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to develop and
implement coordinated approaches and planning frameworks for integrated land and water
management in selected watersheds in the Eastern Nile to improve environmental management
and the living standards of local communities. The program would have two sub-programs ? (a)
Regional Cooperative Action; and (b) Strategic Watershed Investments ? which represent two of
the program priorities that have emerged from the on-going Cooperative Regional Assessment
(CRA) process being undertaken by the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO). The
CRA process is a practical tool to: (a) identify, assess, and foster opportunities for cooperative
actions among the riparian countries of the Eastern Nile; and (b) optimize the benefits of
cooperation and promote synergistic effects of interventions across sectors. The Cooperative
Program for Transboundary Watershed Management is, therefore, aimed at supporting system-
wide change at the level of the shared sub-basins in the Eastern Nile to enable integrated
management of land and water resources.

1. Sub-program 1 ? Regional Cooperative Action (approx. 5 ? 6 million): The Regional
Cooperative Action sub-program is aimed at enhancing the capacity of relevant institutions in the
three countries and the existing regional Eastern Nile institution, (ENTRO), to facilitate
exchange of information and expertise on watershed management and ecosystem health, as well
as on the mainstreaming sustainable land management into planned large infrastructure
investments in the Eastern Nile watershed. It will thus strengthen African owned institutions and
national coalitions to upscale SLM in the larger regional investment and development plans.

Specific activities to be implemented under this sub-program are outlined below:
?
Regional coordination and cooperation: Development of mechanisms for exchange of
expertise, such as staff exchange, to facilitate continued networking and technical cooperation on
watershed management among experts from the riparian countries. This component will be
coordinated by ENTRO.
?
Regional information management & expertise to support planning: Establishment of a
regional function/unit acting as active promoter for exchange of information and as a repository
of knowledge on the Eastern Nile on SLM and related issues. This function would be anchored
within the existing Eastern Nile institutional structures; its responsibilities would include
knowledge management and dissemination as well as providing advice and technical
backstopping to respective agencies at national level as well as national Nile Basin Initiative
(NBI) offices. It could also provide small grants to support research on key topics relevant to
sound environmental management and climate change adaptation in the Eastern Nile. It would

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also promote and/or pilot innovative public goods financing mechanisms, such as payment for
environment services, bio-carbon and other carbon finance, etc.
?
Identify & facilitate priority regional investments and interventions. The ongoing CRA is
leading to initial recommendations for strategic investments in sustainable land management
from a regional opportunities & benefits view. The regional program/function would keep the
CRA alive as an ongoing process leading to advice on investments & adapting to evolving
regional needs. It may include provision of small, matching funds to provide technical support on
competitive basis for the development of project concepts by national agencies.
?
Regional sediment monitoring: Establishment of a harmonized regional/networked
sediment monitoring system in the riparian countries to assess trends in soil erosion and sediment
load. The system would be established in a phased way to ensure sustainability and be linked
with other Eastern Nile institutional units monitoring flood/flow.
?
Regional M&E framework: A robust M&E system would be established to monitor
trends and the impacts of various watershed management interventions on promoting sustainable
land and water management practices, improving ecosystem health, rural livelihoods and
incomes, etc. The Eastern Nile M&E system will incorporate key indicators and M&E
tools/indices of the SIP.

2. Sub-program 2 ? Strategic Watershed Investments (approx. 60 - 80 million): The Strategic
Watershed Investments sub-program is aimed at addressing bottlenecks to sustainable land and
water management through targeted interventions to: (a) reverse devegetation and deforestation;
(b) improve and sustain agriculture productivity; and (c) improve natural resource based
livelihoods, through increasing rural household incomes and (d) reduce erosion, sedimentation
and siltation. It therefore directly contributes to the attainment of MDG 1 to eradicate extreme
poverty and hunger in the project areas and MDG 7 to enhance environmental sustainability.

This sub-program would focus on the following model activities (sub-program components)
which have already been endorsed by the three riparian countries. Sites were selected through an
evaluation process based on a set of shared criteria. Lessons from these models would facilitate
scaling-up of sound watershed management practices across the Eastern Nile watershed. Type of
interventions may include local institutional strengthening; water harvesting & small scale rain-
fed agricultural production; soil fertility management; improved grazing & range management;
reforestation/agro-forestry/increased vegetation cover; alternative energy; access to productive
capacity for women and other vulnerable groups; and mechanisms to decrease vulnerability to
climate shocks. The interventions will provide an opportunity to develop a sub-basin based
subset of a future country-wide Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) and will
strengthen country based coalitions in- and outside governments.

?
Ethiopia: Integrated watershed management. Interventions to be implemented would
focus on community-based watershed management activities in three sub-watersheds of the
Eastern Nile, specifically in Lake Tana.. The objective of this component is to maintain eco-
systems functions of the Lake as well as protect large infrastructure development planned around
the Lake Tana through reducing erosion and sedimentation, as well as assuring that rural
population benefit form development around a planned ?Tana-Growth-Pole?.The project would
be part of the larger IDA-financed Tana Beles Integrated Water Resources Development

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(TBIWRD) Project. Interventions are part of the EN regional agenda, yet on the other hand will
maintain close cooperation and represent a sub-set of the Ethiopia Country SLM interventions.
?
Sudan: Sustainable Land Management: Targeted community based watershed activities
would focus on areas of key needs, build on existing local knowledge and actions, and represent
a range of landscapes and issues in Sudan. Pilot sites include the lower Atbara reaches, areas
surrounding the Dinder National Park, and the Ingessena Mountains (Bau locality; bordering
Southern Blue Nile State). [a site in Southern Sudan possibly to be added].
?
Egypt: Sedimentation in Lake Nasser. This set of activities would involve further
enhancement of the existing sediment monitoring network to assess the impact of up-stream
interventions on the lake and a Lake Nasser/Nubia Management Framework for sustainable
economic and social development in the lake area without endangering unique ecosystems. It
would also facilitate the formulation of strategies to prevent additional direct deposit from sand
encroachment and siltation from upstream sources.

D. Project location (if known)
The regional component will be anchored at ENTRO. Physical interventions will be limited to a
number of key monitoring stations. The country absed activities cover distinct locations: Ribb,
Gumera, and Jama Watersheds in Ethiopia; Lower Atbara, Dinder area, and Ingessena in Sudan;
and lake Nasser/Nuba spanning between Egypt and Sudan.

E. Borrower's Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies [from PCN]
The borrowers institutional capacity for implementation of safeguard policies varies among
countries. While Ethiopia has implemented a number of similar community based activties
successfully; Sudan has little track record on successful implementation and weak institutional
capacity. The experience on resettlement is especially weak; resettlement issues expected in this
project are limited to possible small scale temporary area closures. Egypt is the most advanced in
terms of institutional capacity and has solid experience and track record in implementing
safeguard policies.

F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists
Ms Roxanne Hakim (AFTCS)
Ms Astrid Hillers (AFTWR)

II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY
Safeguard Policies Triggered
Yes No TBD
Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01)
X
An ESMF will be prepared for the project to cover community based interventions as well as
outline EA process for possible small scale water storage structures. Chapters will address
specific implementation issue for activities on regional and national levels and refer to the
country specific institutional and legal frameworks. These will be translated in relevant
languages and the ESMF disclosed in all three countries. Issues that relate to safeguards marked
as not triggered will be listed on an ?exclusion list? in the ESMF (e.g. acquisition of pesticides
under the project will not be funded). Chance find procedures and procedures to follow in case of
unforeseen circumstances will be specified in order for the project to be able to handle such
issues systematically.

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Safeguard Policies Triggered
Yes No TBD
Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04)

X
The project will support conservation and protection efforts in Dinder national park. I is not
expected that any conversion of protected areas is involved; yet there are ten villages presently
within the national park boundaries and handling of this needs tBD with the government
Forests (OP/BP 4.36)
X
Pest Management (OP 4.09)
X
Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11)
X
Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10)

X
The social assessment will determine whether the group inhabiting Dinder Park in Sudan is
deemed Indigenous using the WB policy criteria.
Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12)
X
A RPF will be prepared to address situation e.g. in case of temporary local area closures.
Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37)
X
Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50)
X
The project is supporting sustainable land management measures in selcted Eastern Nile
watersheds. This will likley involve a limited number of water harvesting and small scale
storages. while these are minor, do not store stream and only cature rainwater, this may be seen
as a minue implication to the overall water balance. Hence OP 7.50 is triggered. The project was
adopted in concept at the Nile Council of Ministers meeting in 2001. Notification on deatiled
project design will be carried through the Nile Basin Initiative secretariat at early stages of
preparation.
Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60)
X
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: 12/10/2007

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 timing1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS.
The national project coordinators within the Ministries of Water Resources in Egypt,
Ethiopia, and Sudan will be responsible for disclosing safeguard related studies at the project
sites/in-country (ESMF, Resettlement Policy Framework, and other as needed); these
documents are expected to be available in final draft in November/December 2007.

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.

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IV. APPROVALS

Signed and submitted by:

Task Team Leader:
Ms Astrid Hillers
08/21/2007
Approved by:

Regional Safeguards Coordinator:
Mr Warren Waters

Comments:
Sector Manager:
Mr Ashok K. Subramanian
08/21/2007
Comments:

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