Environmental, Social and Economic Review Note (ESERN)
I. Project Overview
Identification | |
Project Title | Mekong EbA South: Enhancing Climate Resilience in the Greater Mekong Sub-region through Ecosystem-based Adaptation in the Context of South-South Cooperation |
Managing Division | Ecosystem Division |
Type/Location | Regional |
Region | Asia Pacific |
List Countries | Thailand and Vietnam |
Project Description | The proposed AF project will implement innovative, on-the-ground adaptation technologies and share implementation lessons across the GMS. Adaptation technologies will be demonstrated in the middle (in the Young Basin in Thailand), and lower (surrounding Tram Chim National Park in Vietnam) reaches of the Mekong River basin to build climate resilience and generate adaptation knowledge from diverse environmental and socio-economic contexts. These adaptation technologies will complement existing or planned interventions taking place in the upper reaches (China and Myanmar) as well as ongoing LDCF1 and AF projects in Cambodia and Lao PDR. The proposed project will increase the resilience of beneficiary communities to the effects of droughts and floods by implementing a suite of adaptation interventions2 – with a focus on EbA – including inter alia: i) living check-dams; ii) integrated home gardening; iii) agroforestry; iv) forest regeneration; v) water distribution canals; vi) NTFP-based and additional livelihood options; vii) climate-resilient crop varieties; and viii) natural resource-based community cooperatives. Additionally, knowledge-sharing and awareness-raising in local communities surrounding project beneficiaries will be accomplished through inter alia: i) knowledge-sharing days; ii) local field visits; iii) the dissemination of awareness-raising and training materials; iv) climate change centres at local schools3; v) grassroots adaptation sharing events; and vi) regional exchange visits. Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation, as well as small-scale research projects, will be conducted with local institutions to generate knowledge products4 on context-specific lessons learned. The knowledge generated at the country level will be shared regionally on ways to combat drought and flood risk– specifically EbA – across the GMS in the different ecosystems of the GMS. Scaling up such measures at a Basin scale could reduce the impacts of climate change in the given country and downstream in the Mekong River Basin. Discussions on a scaling up adaptation strategy will be promoted under Component 3 linking the project experience with the available scientific information on climate change risks and the political processes in the GMS. An assessment will be undertaken to inform future decisions on the cost-effectiveness of EbA in the GMS under different socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Additionally, relevant knowledge to EbA in the GMS will be collated to produce policy briefs to inform the development and implementation of future adaptation projects and strategies across the region. These knowledge products, as well as the results of monitoring and evaluation at implementation sites, will be made widely available through existing online information platforms related to the GMS and climate change adaptation5. Knowledge-sharing and project coordination across the GMS – including China, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar – will be achieved through participation in regional climate change adaptation forums. The knowledge gained through the proposed project will be used to strengthen regional coordination on climate change adaptation, and will be incorporated into future versions of regional and national adaptation plans across the GMS6 through: i) continuous sharing of information to national and regional stakeholders; ii) participation in adaptation planning and policy workshops; and iii) the provision of policy briefs and papers. The UN Environment-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP) in Beijing, hosted by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will execute the knowledge-sharing and regional coordination aspects of the project. Coordinating the project from Beijing will provide strategic advantages to: i) facilitate the South-South exchange of knowledge between CAS and other GMS countries, particularly lessons learned from the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network7; and ii) strengthen engagement with the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) 8 mechanism, also hosted in Beijing, and thereby promote regional coordination on climate change adaptation. Indeed, the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center (CAEC), which hosts the Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center, has expressed their willingness to work with the proposed project and collaborate with the other GMS countries (see Annex IV). Engagement with Chinese institutions is a highlight of the proposed project. For decades, the robust cooperation on transboundary resources management in the region has been limited to the middle and lower Mekong countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam), through institutions such as the Mekong River Commission. Engagement with Chinese institutions in this proposed project will, therefore, facilitate engagement between upstream- and downstream countries that will enhance regional cooperation on climate change adaptation and promote South-South knowledge exchange. |
Estimated duration of project: | 2018 - 2022 (48 months) |
Estimated cost of the project : | US$ 7,000,000 |
| Funding Source: | Adaptation Fund |
II. Environmental Social and Economic Screening Determination
Summary of the Safeguard Risks Triggered
Safeguard Standard Triggered by the Project | Impact of Risk (1-5) | Probability of Risk (1-5) | Significance of Risk (L, M, H)* |
SS 1: Biodiversity, natural habitat and Sustainable Management of Living Resources | 2 | 2 | L |
SS 2: Resource Efficiency, Pollution Prevention and Management of Chemicals and Wastes | 2 | 1 | L |
SS 3: Safety of Dams | 1 | 1 | L |
SS 4: Involuntary resettlement | 3 | 1 | L |
SS 5: Indigenous peoples | 2 | 1 | L |
SS 6: Labor and working conditions | 1 | 1 | L |
SS 7: Cultural Heritage | 1 | 1 | L |
SS 8: Gender equity | 3 | 1 | L |
SS 9: Economic Sustainability | 2 | 2 | L |
Additional Safeguard questions for projects seeking GCF-funding (Section IV) | NA | NA | NA |
*Refer to the UNEP ESES Framework (Chapter 2) and the UNEP’s ESES Guidelines
ESE Screening Decision
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Development of ESE Review Note and Screening Decision
| ESERN Prepared by: | Name: Moon Shresta | Date: |
| Conforms to ESES Framework | Name: Yunae Yi | Date: |
| Accepted by Project Manager: | Name: | Date: |
Recommended further action from the Safeguard Advisor
The safeguard advisor considers that based on the project document, it is likely to be a low risk project although the project has not fully identified the specific approaches yet, because the none of potential safeguard challenges are not likely to be pre-existing or pre-conditioned. The potential risks can be managed through precautionary approach based on the latest science, local knowledge and close involvement of relevant public and key stakeholders.
The project intends to improve drought and flood management and reduce climate impact for the local communities who have been affected by the unpredictable and deteriorating climate and environment conditions. Water, natural resources and soil fertility will be critical as the agricultural sector is expected to grow and add increasing burden to the natural resources. Such condition can add greater economic burden to poor and marginalized communities than others, if their concerns and roles are not adequately incorporated.
To avoid, minimize or mitigate indirect or unintended environment and socio-economic harms and elevate opportunities, the Safeguards Advisor suggests development of stakeholder engagement plan at each site in consultation with the affected local communities. The stakeholder engagement plans should i) identify local population, both duty-bearers and right-holders; ii) pay attention to marginalized and vulnerable communities; iii) lay out the engagement approaches, which include frequency, venues, language support, methods of engagement and the feedback mechanism; iv) state how they can engage in project management, monitoring and reporting; v) inform how they can get information on project and the stakeholder engagement plan implementation, and; v) also state grievance redress mechanism and related support available.
The project states that one-size fits all approach does not work here and each project site will have tailored approaches. In this increasingly unstable economic and environmental context, protecting and supporting the livelihood against the climate change will be challenging. Livelihood issues during and after the project is critical as failure will bring hardship to the affected communities, continuation of deforestation and loss of soil fertility. This, again, can be mitigated through empowerment and support of the local communities.
Climate adaptation strategy should consider building resilience against the climate change and reverse environmental mismanagement not only for the existing challenges of vulnerability but also the projected future scenarios.