IRCCNH Environmental and Social Management Framework

The Increasing Resilience to Climate Change and Natural Hazards Project (IRCCNH) is a program of works for Vanuatu to improve the resilience of smallholders and communities to the impact of climate variability and change on food, household water security and livelihoods. The project has been effective since April 2013, but in February 2017 the Government of Vanuatu (GoV) requested a restructure to simplify the project and focus on community-level investments following Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam.The revised Project Development Objective is to strengthen disaster risk management systems and pilot investments in select villages in the Recipient’s territory to increase resilience to the impacts of natural hazards and climate variability and change. The proposed support will focus on resilient livelihoods through increased access to fresh water and improved agricultural methods, and will be implemented by the Project Management Unit in the Vanuatu Metrology and Geo-hazards Department (VMGD).This Environment and Social Management Framework (ESMF) sets out the principles and procedures for managing the environmental and social aspects of the restructured project, and supersedes the previous ESMF dated 20 March 2012. The rationale of applying a framework is that specific details of the project activities will only be known during project implementation. The purpose of a framework is to guide the VMGD on how to screen the activities and manage any issues during implementation.The EMSF report outlines the IRCCNH project, its components, the possible environmental and social impacts, institutional arrangements and the appropriate mitigation measures. The ESMF is consistent with the laws of Vanuatu and World Bank Safeguard Policies. A Land Acquisition Framework, dated May 2017, covers aspects of the Project in relation to OP4.12 Involuntary Resettlement.This document is final version and will form part of the legal agreements between GoV and the World Bank. It will be officially disclosed by both partners, and may be amended from time to time as agreed between the partners.