IPP281 rev.

EL FONDO DE INVERSION SOCIAL DE EMERGENCIA (NUEVO FISE)

NICARAGUA WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROJECT

PLAN PARA LOS PUEBLOS INDIGENAS Y COMUNIDADES ETNICAS DE NICARAGUA

(INDIGENOUS AND AFRO-DESCENDANT PEOPLES PLAN(IAPP))

World Bank Operational Policy 4.10

FINAL VERSION

April 10, 2008

Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean Peoples Plan(IPP)

  1. An Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean Peoples Plan (IPP) was formulated by FISE in consultation with the Regional and Territory Governments of RAAN, RAAS, and the Pacific, and respective Indigenous organizations. The objective of the IPP is to support GoN efforts to ensure that Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean Peoples have equal access to the benefits of the water and sanitation project and to ensure the services offered by the project are offered and delivered in a culturally appropriate manner. Component 2 is exclusively dedicated to increasing coverage of water and sanitation in the RAAN and RAAS regions, and the communities of the AltoCocoRiver, where the bulk of the indigenous and Afro-Caribbean peoples live. However, other distinctive activities are being included in the IPP to ensure adjustments are made to manuals and other FISE instruments to factor in the participation of beneficiaries (particularly women) and stakeholders.
  2. The Indigenous Peoples Plan includes:

For Component 1: Coverage Increase of Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas of the countries except for Atlantic Coast; and Component 2: Coverage Increase of Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas of RAAN, RAAS, and 60 communities on the Alto Coco River.

(a) Capitalize on FISE’s previous experience working with indigenous and Afro-Caribbean peoples

  1. The current project will seek to capitalize on FISE’s and other agencies’ experience in the W&S sectors in Nicaragua by carrying out an evaluation of the different interventions, modalities, service levels, technical options offered, financial policies, social intervention strategies, and so forth to arrive at an intervention strategy for RAAN and RAAS that is agreed on with the Regional and Territory Governments. On the basis of the assessment, the project will improve the cultural adaptation of institutional processes, procedures, and methodologies to respond to the needs of the different ethnic groups of the country, considering their geographic location and their socioeconomic and linguistic constraints. Manuals and other materials will be revised for bilingual use in indigenous and Afro-descendant areas.
  2. (b) Training and Social Intervention in Indigenous Communities
  3. For the whole project, the social and technical intervention provided through NGOs to indigenous communities before, during, and after the civil works will preferably be done by human resources hired locally, in the language of beneficiaries, with user-friendly and culturally adequate materials, and in-situ training (aprender-haciendo).
  4. For Component 2, the strategy recommends the use of two local universities operating in RAAN and RAAS for training activities in situ: the RegionalUniversity of the Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) in Bilwi, and the Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (BICU) in Bluefields. URACCAN has four campuses (Siuna, Bilwi, Bluefields, Nueva Guinea) and six Extension Programs (Rosita, Bonanza, Waslala, Waspan, Laguna de Perlas, and Desembocadura de Rio Grande). Their mission is to strengthen the autonomy of the AtlanticCoast by training human resources in the region and for the region, by making room for the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to preserve natural resources while promoting sustainability and creating local capacity.
  5. For the communities of the AltoCocoRiver (Miskito) along Waspan and Jinotega, the project intervention will include a substantive social and technical intervention to ensure W&S installations are appropriate to withstand harsh weather conditions.
  6. It will carry out sensitivity training for mayors and Technical Units in Municipalities of municipalities with larger numbers of indigenous peoples, to review eligibility and selection criteria of projects originating in indigenous communities, to avoid neglect due of lower financial contribution capacity.
  7. It will prepare a sensitivity training module for NGOs and contractors to include, address, and train the indigenous in participating communities.

(c) Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific, Central, and Northern Regions

  1. As opposed to previous Bank-financed projects, the current project will take into account the presence of ethnic groups in the Pacific, Central, and Northern regions of Nicaragua and ensure the targeting mechanism includes positive discrimination criteria that will prioritize disadvantaged groups.

(d) Project Promotion and Marketing for Indigenous and Afro-CaribbeanCommunities

  1. In indigenous and Afro-Caribbean communities, particularly those with low health indicators associated with waterborne diseases (diarrhea, parasitic and gastrointestinal infections) and high child mortality rates, the project will use a (bilingual) communications campaign to induce the demand for secure water and/or “improved” sanitation facilities and handwashing. The project promotion will ensure that different technical options are offered to each community (such as latrines and basic sanitary units with shower and washbasin). Also, the marketing strategies will be tailored to the culture and cosmovision of the indigenous and Afro-Caribbean communities. The radio spots and materials to convey concepts and messages regarding water and sanitation use and social values will be created from the point of view of the local cosmovision, not as a translation but in a bilingual form, and produced locally.

(e) Targeting Mechanisms at the FISE Level and at the Municipal Level

  1. Improve targeting mechanisms of FISE to transfer resources to municipalities with (a) deficits of W&S, (b) with larger number of indigenous people,and (c) organized Technical Unit in Municipalities.
  2. Likewise, improve targeting mechanisms of municipalities to select subprojects on the basis of (a) deficits of W&S, (b) larger number of indigenous people, and (c) organized community and contribution (evaluation table).

For Component 4: Institutional Strengthening and Project Management

  • Inclusion of the “ethnic group” and “native language” variables in the information system of FISE, ENACAL, INAA, and so forth in order to record access of indigenous and Afro-descendant groups to water and sanitation subprojects.
  • Technical workshops with the Regional and Territory Governments of RAAN and RAAS on the administrative, technical, and social aspects of the project. Signing of coordination agreements.
  • Sign an agreement with the Education Council (Atlantic) and the Ministry of Education (Pacific) to include hygiene education, handwashing, and waterborne disease awareness in the school curriculum.

Table A10.4: Nicaragua: Indigenous and Afro-Caribbean Peoples Plan for the Rural Water and Sanitation Project

Component / Activities / Modality / Responsible / Budget US$ / Year
1. Coverage Increase of Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas (Pacific, Central, North).. / (a) Assessment of PGC in finished projects in Center and North of Nicaragua and revision of manuals and instruments to make necessary changes. / Consultancy / FISE / 15,000 / 1
(b) Bilingual promotion communications campaign addressed to indigenous before, during, and after the subprojects (radio, posters). / 15,000 / 1
(c) Production of manuals and other materials for Pacific, Center, and North. / Consultancy / FISE / 12,000 / 1
(d) Sensitivity training of NGOs, mayors, and FISE teams in indigenous areas of North, Center, and Pacific. / 10,000 / 1
2. Coverage Increase of Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas of RAAN and RAAS. / (a) Component 2. Water and Sanitation Projects in RAAN and RAAS, to respond to demand. Social-technical intervention by local NGOs. Impact Evaluation. / FISE / (Included in Component 2) / 1, 2,
3, 4
(b) Component 2. Provision of Water and Sanitation subprojects for communities of the AltoCocoRiver, along the municipalities of Waspan and Jinotega. / Regional Governments / (Included in Component 2) / 1,2,
3,4
(c) Revision of Manuals and instruments and necessary adjustments, as recommended by strategy for RAAN-RAAS. / Consultancy / FISE, Regional Governments / 30,000 / 1,3
(d) Bilingual promotion communications campaign addressed to indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples before, during, and after the subprojects at 12,000/year. / FISE, Regional Governments / 60,000 / 1,2,3,
4,5
(e) Communications campaigns through radio for RAAN and RAAS. / Consultancy / FISE / 30,000 / 1,2,3,
4,5
(f) Sensitivity training of NGOs and mayors in indigenous areas of RAAN and RAAS, at 10,000/year. / Consultancy / URACCAN-BICU / 40,000 / 1,2,3,
4
(g) Social intervention by NGOs to communities and municipalities at 25,000/year. / Consultancies / URACCAN-BICU / 100,000 / 1,2,3,
4
4. Institutional Strengthening and Project Management. / (a) Inclusion of the “ethnic group” and “native language” variables in the information system of FISE, ENACAL, and INAA. / FISE, ENACAL, INAA / 0
(b) Technical workshops with the Regional and Territory Governments of RAAN, RAAS and Alto Coco on the administrative, technical, and social aspects of the project. Sign agreements. / 12 Workshops
(4 RAAN, 4 RAAS, 4 Alto Coco) / FISE, Regional Governments / 60,000 / 1,2,3,
4
(c) Find agreement with SEAR (Atlantic) and Ministry of Education (Pacific) to include in school curriculum topics such as hygiene education, handwashing, waterborne disease awareness, etc. / FISE, Education Council (Ministry of Education) / 20,000 / 1
  1. Implementing and Monitoring the Agreed Plans

The decentralized new FISE offices in Bilwi (RAAN) and Bluefields (RAAS) are equipped to implement the project including the IPP. FISE has an umbrella agreement with the Regional Governments of RAAN and RAAS, which will be revised and updated. The institutional strengthening of the municipalities and the Regional Governments are included in the IPP and the project.

15. Arrangements for Funding and a Schedule of Implementation of the Plans

Funding for the IPP is included in the project components, as described in Table A10.4, where the schedule is also included.

16. Mechanisms to Monitor the Implementation of the Agreed Plans

FISE will sign a coordination agreement with the Regional and Territory Governments of RAAN and RAAS and with indigenous organizations of the Pacific, Center, and North. For projects in RAAN and RAAS, the above governments will be part of the Program Commission, which will guarantee pro-poor subproject selection and implementation by municipalities. For the AltoCocoRiver intervention, the Regional Government will assist the Territory Government of Alto Coco in the implementation of the intervention.

17. Arrangements, Including Staffing and Resources, for Supervising the Implementation of the Agreed Plans

Bank supervision will include supervision of the Indigenous Peoples Plan.

18. Complaints and Grievances

Following Law No. 620 (2007), Chapter XXIII, Art. 108. Sanctions. Complaints and grievances in the water sector should be submitted to the Regional or Territory Government, which in turn would address the case to FISE.[1]

[1] Law No. 620, Regulation. Chapter XXIII, Art. 108, in publication by ENACAL (2007). ABC sobre el Recurso Agua y su Situación en Nicaragua, p. 198.