LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC E4119
PEACE INDEPENDENCE DEMOCRACY UNITY PROSPERITY
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
Environmental Management Framework
(EMF)
Scaling-up Participatory Sustainable Forest Management (SUPSFM)
Lao Forest Investment Plan
SUPSFM Preparation Team
Vientiane, Lao PDR
January 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1Introduction
1.1Background
1.2Further Scaling Up of PSFM
1.3FOMACOP/SUFORD/SUFORD AF/Feasibility study FIP
1.4Goals and Objectives of SU-PSFM
1.5Project Components of SU-PSFM
1.6FIP Responsible agencies
1.6.1World Bank
1.6.2Project Oversight
1.7Commitment to environmental safeguards
1.7.1World Bank and IFC Guidelines and Policies
1.8Safeguards Implementation
1.9Government of Lao PDR environmental commitments
2Implementation experiences from SUFORD: a summary of key issues and actions under SU-PSFM
2.1Illegal wildlife trade
2.2Illegal logging
2.3Pesticide Use
2.4Physical cultural resources
2.6Fire control
2.7Shifting cultivation
2.8Baseline assessment procedures for biodiversity values
2.9Monitoring and evaluation
3Information and reporting
3.1Environmental data
3.2GIS datasets
3.3Harvesting planning and operation procedures
3.4Incident reporting
3.5Communication of EMF
3.6Audit and Review
3.7Budget for environmental management and monitoring
4Mitigation External Factors
4.1Illegal wildlife trade
4.2 Pesticide Management
4.3Physical Cultural Resources
4.4Concessions granting
4.5Fire Control
4.6Illegal logging
4.7Forest conversion from shifting cultivation
5.FIP Components mitigation and management
5.1Mitigation and management
Component 1 Strengthening and Expanding PSFM in PFA
Component 2:Piloting Landscape PSFM
Component 3:Enabling Legal and Regulatory Environment
Component 4: Project Management
5.2FIP Activities within PFAs and landscapes - Forestry
5.3FIP Activities within PFAs and landscapes - Livelihoods
References
Appendix 1
Integrated environmental safeguards screening process: how to use
Project Risk Consequence vs Likelihood Matrix
Appendix 2
Negative Checklist
Step 1: Negative (-ve) Checklist Screening
Step 2: Identification of safeguard issues and preparation of mitigations measures.
Step 3: Safeguard documentation and information disclosure
Step 4: safeguard clearances and implementation
Step 5: Supervision, monitoring and reporting
Appendix 3
Performa’s and Project Environmental Impact Evaluation Checklists
Appendix 4
FIP Environmental Impact Legal Obligation Setting
Summary of key Lao PDR laws relating to forestry resources sector
1Introduction
The Environmental Management Framework (EMF) aims to provide guidance to Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR, its staff, agencies involved in planning and implementation, consultants, provincial and district government, and beneficiary communities on the environmental safeguards in the implementation of the Lao PDR Forest Investment Program. The EMF outlines the environmental risks and proposes appropriate mitigation required. The EMF is derived from the Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which provides detailed information on the project. The EMF summarizescommitments and providesmitigation, management, and monitoring programs. A Community Engagement Processes Framework, which outlines social and environmental issues, has been prepared as a separate document.The EMF mitigation measures also aims to ensure all project activities are in compliance with Lao PDR and World Bank environmental safeguards.
The EMF is a dynamic document, subject to review at least annually or when there is a major change in FIPdesign or activities.
This EMF includes the following:
- Abackground to SUFORD, and description of FIP SU-PSFM Components
- World Bank and Government of Lao policies, commitments and legislative requirements relating to the environmental management of SU-PSFM activities
- A summary of the environmental context of FIP SU-PSFM and its potential impacts
- Environmental management and mitigation measures relating to key environmental issues learnt from SUFORD; and
- Detailed environmental monitoring program.
1.1Background
Lao PDR is one of the least developed countries in Southeast Asia. The country has considerable natural resources in forests, water resources, and minerals and these are significant for economic and cultural development, and environment protection. Its forests cover about 40% of the country, the highest percentage in Southeast Asia, but the total area of forest has been declining dramatically from 70% of the land area of 26.5 million ha in 1940, to 49% in 1982, and to only 40% or about 9.5 million ha in 2010. Data on changes in forest cover suggest that during the 1990s the annual loss of forest cover was around 1.4% annually, giving an average annual loss of forest cover of about 134,000 ha.
In addition to the decline forest area, there has been a steady fragmentation of forests and a decline in the average growing stock within the residual forest, which have both reduced carbon values and had a negative impact on biodiversity. Annual emissions from deforestation and forest degradation were estimated at 95.3 million tCO2e in 1982, declining to 60.6 million tCO2e by 2010. For the period from 2012-20, the average annual emission is estimated at 51.1 million tCO2e.
The program themes of the Lao Forest Investment Plan (FIP) to which this EMF relates, have been developed to support the Forestry Sector 2020 target to attain a 70% forest cover in Lao PDR. The program themes have been developed to directly address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation identified. The underlying idea is that grassroots forest managers operating in any and all forest areas will become more active and vigilant in protecting the forests in their areas from the drivers of deforestation and degradation, and will rehabilitate degraded lands using land management systems that will provide them with livelihood benefits, while enhancing carbon stocks.
1.2Further Scaling Up of PSFM
As the completion of SUFORD drew near, the Government (GOL) proposed the Lao Investment Plan to the Forest Investment Program (FIP) of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) with the core objective of reducing GHG emissions from forests by reducing deforestation and forest degradation, conserving and enhancing carbon stocks, and sustainable management of forests (five GHG emission-reducing activities that together constitute REDD+). The Lao Investment Plan includes components on managing five categories of forest areas, i.e. PSFM in three categories of state forest areas (production/ conservation/protection), village forestry in village-use forests, and smallholder forestry in land allocated to villagers, as well as a component on enabling policy and regulatory mechanisms. The proposal was favorably considered by FIP with funding provided for three projects, namely: (a) Protecting Forests for Ecosystems Services with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as the designated Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) partner, (b) Smallholder Forestry with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as the designated MDB partner, and (c) Scaling up PSFM (SU-PSFM or the Project) with WB as the designated MDB partner.
1.3FOMACOP/SUFORD/SUFORD AF/Feasibility study FIP
The current implementation of Participatory Sustainable Forest Management (PSFM) in Production Forest Areas (PFAs) has its roots in village forestry, which was piloted in the late 1990s covering two state production forests (Dong Sithouane in Savannakhet Province and Dong Phousoi in Khammouane Province). The piloting of village forestry was undertaken by the Forest Management and Conservation Project (FOMACOP) with technical assistance provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFAF) and financial support by the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank (WB). The appropriateness of the village forestry systems and procedures has been shown by the inclusion of Dong Sithouane and Dong Phousoi in the FAO List of Exemplary Managed Forests in Asia in the early 2000s, as well as by the certification as sustainably managed forests of forest management units (FMUs) in the two forest areas by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 2005-2010 with extension for the period 2010-2015.
The piloting of village forestry was followed by the institution of participatory management of production forests for nation-wide application as an official government policy in the early 2000s. Much of the current PSFM concepts, systems, and operating guidelines have been formulated based on the pilot village forestry model. PSFM was first applied in 2004-2008 in 8 PFAs, which have a total area of 0.66 million ha and are located in 4 provinces in Southern Lao. This was undertaken by the Sustainable Forestry and Rural Development Project (SUFORD), which like FOMACOP were provided with technical assistance support by MFAF and financial support by IDA. MFAF and IDA continued their support through SUFORD-AF in expanding the application of PSFM to cover a total of 16 PFAs, which have a total area of 1.28 million ha and are located in 9 provinces in Southern and Central Lao.
SUFORD was the main pillar of World Bank/GOL engagement in forestry in Lao PDR and focuses on sustainable management of natural production forests. SUFORD The project is financed until December 2008 through an IDA Credit of US$9.9 million with parallel financing from GOF in the amount of EUR8 million. SUFORD currently operates in 8 Production Forest Areas (PFAs) in Champasak, Khammouane, Savannakhet, and Salavan. The development objective of the project is to achieve the sustainable management of natural production forests to alleviate rural poverty. Specific project objectives are to: (a) Improve the policy, legal and incentive framework enabling the expansion of Participatory Sustainable Forest Management (PSFM) throughout the country; (b) Bring the country’s priority natural production forests under PSFM; and (c) Improve villagers’ well-being and livelihoods through benefits from sustainable forestry, community development and development of viable livelihood systems.
The project also contributed to in situ biodiversity conservation through the maintenance of natural forest composition and structure, through the establishment of “high conservation value forests” within PFAs, and through creating buffers around and connectivity between National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCAs). Sustainable management of production forest areas has entailed management of all resources: commercial timber; household wood; botanical NTFPs; biodiversity; and environmental services provided by the forest landscape. Forest management and control systemssufficient to achieve initial forest certification by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have been established.
Considering SUFORD’s implementation successes and GOL’s obvious commitment, the World Bank and GOF provided further support to the project. ”Additional Financing” (under World Bank Operational Policy 13.20), is an instrument that provided additional IDA resources (on IDA grant terms), and allowed for a project extension of up to 3 years after the current closing date. GOF grant resources complemented IDA resources, which was governed by bilateral agreement between the Governments of Finland and Lao PDR.
The SUFORD-Additional Finance (AF) project 2009-2011 was a continuation of a first phase from 2003-2008. The AF phase took place in five new provinces, where the majority of the population comprised ethnic groups that needed special attention and culturally appropriate communication to make them partners in the project. Additional and extra special attention was also further needed to involve ethnic group women in the project. SUFORD-AF extended project implementation into five new provinces (Xayaboury, Vientiane, Bolikhamxay, Sekong, and Attapeu) and included 8 new PFAs with a total area of 539,630 ha. About 438,660 ha are intact forest, and of this about 352,150 ha are on slopes that were potentially harvestable. The 311 villages of SUFORD-AF were inside or on the border or maximum 5 km from the border of a Production Forest Area (PFA).
The project was implemented by the Department of Forestry together with NAFES and supported by the World Bank (WB) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Government of Finland. All agencies attach great importance to ensuring that vulnerable groups such as ethnic groups and women share equally in the benefits derived from the project and ensure that adverse impacts are either avoided, or if unavoidable, mitigated. The SUFORD-AF works on ethnic group issues through relations established to the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC), Department of Ethnic Affairs, and the Lao Women Union (LWU) and the Division for the Advancement of Women in MAF.
The aim of the SUFORD-AF project was to achieve the sustainable management of natural production forests, including sustainable logging for rural poverty reduction through, among others, revenue sharing with villages, and improve the policy, legal and incentive framework for this. Sustainable logging was planned based on forest inventories established with villagers’ participation. Improvement of villagers’ livelihoods through benefits from casual labor, selective revenue sharing from sustainable production forestry and village development grants was anticipated in the short and long run. Villagers were expected to take an active part in implementing forest management activities such as land and forest zoning, forest inventories as well as in designing a forest management plan at the sub-Forest Management Area (FMA) that coincides with the khumban area comprising a number of villages.
1.4Goals and Objectives of SU-PSFM
The objectives of the SU-PSFM are broader than the SUFORD objectives. The main thrust of SUFORD is linked to timber extraction in a sustainable manner with livelihood co-benefits according to a management plan for demarcated PFAs and SFMAs (benefits are labor opportunities and share of timber revenue for a limited number of villages and village grants for all project villages). SU-PSFM objectives are linked to REDD+ and climate change mitigation leading to CO2emission reductions and the protection of forest carbon stocks. Its justification is the combating of carbon emissions caused by a decrease in the forest cover. A future global Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) under the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) will provide finance for targeted programs in selected developing countries to pilot new approaches.
Project Development Objective
The project development objective (PDO) is to significantly reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by:
(a) Scaling up participatory sustainable forest management to cover 2.3 million ha of PFAs,
(b) Developing new approaches to management of forests at landscape scale, and
(c) Further strengthening the enabling policy and regulatory frameworks
1.5Project Components of SU-PSFM
The SU-PSFM Project will build on lessons learned from SUFORD and take advantage of existing and emerging opportunities for collaboration with development partners. Key lessons from SUFORD, which have been factored into project design, include mechanisms to increase capacity of the Department of Forestry (DOF) and Department of Forest Inspection (DOFI) for effective planning and implementation; improved project management by bringing consistency to deployment of capacitated staff in project areas; creating sustainable institutional mechanisms through a rigorous community engagement framework; improved safeguard mechanisms through capacity building, additional staff, partnerships with CSOs, and monitoring; expanding incentive options through sustainable livelihoods, PES, and REDD+ benefits; and deployment of dedicated staff, integration in project design, capacity building, and monitoring to mainstream equity and gender issues in all project activities.
Opportunities for collaboration exist with ongoing and planned investments by development partners in PFAs, conservation, protection and village-use forests, and in forest law enforcement. These include KfW investments in protection and conservation forest areas in Northern Lao, ADB and IFC in Southern Lao, and GIZ-EU on forest law enforcement, in addition to linkages with ongoing WB projects in poverty reduction, biodiversity, food security, and trade. The Project will include four components designed for the attainment of the PDO, as follows:
Component 1: Strengthening and expanding PSFM in Production Forest Areas
There are 34 PFAs with a total area of 1.91 million ha located in the 9 SUFORD provinces in Central and Southern Lao, but SUFORD provided support to only 16 PFAs with a total area of 1.28 million ha. The Project will continue to support activities in the 16 PFAs covered by SUFORD, but will expand PSFM implementation to cover all 34 PFAs, while adding 7 more PFAs with a total area of 0.39 million ha located in 3 Northern Lao provinces. Thus the Project will support the implementation of PSFM in 41 PFAs with a total area of 2.30 million ha. Table 1 lists the 41 PFAs and provides some relevant information about them. Component 1 will have three sub-components, namely:
- Sub-component 1A: Capacity Building and Partnerships: The sub-component is aimed at establishing mechanisms to ensure the availability of adequate and effective capacity for project implementation. The Project will take advantage of increased capacity in the natural resources and civil society sectors, as well as utilize from the outside those skills that are not available in the country. The sub-component will include the following main activities:
- Sub-component 1B: Community Engagement and PSFM Management Planning:Investments in capacity and partnerships will permit the Project to engage effectively with communities and initiate PSFM management planning in PFAs. Approaches to strengthen tenure and expand sustainable livelihood options are embedded within the community engagement process. The sub-component will include the following main activities:
- Sub-component 1C: Implementing PSFM plans in Production Forest Areas:Capacity building and community engagement will provide the foundation to effective implementation of PSFM management plans. This sub-component will focus on PFA management, consolidation and expansion of forest areas under certification, and implementation arrangements for livelihoods. The sub-component will include the following main activities:
Component 2: Piloting landscape PSFM
Landscape PSFM offers a cross-sectoral and integrated approach to manage development activities, minimize negative environmental impacts, mitigate climate change, and reduce poverty. Although this approach has not yet been implemented in Lao PDR, interest and support for working at the landscape scale is growing, e.g. ADB and KFW work on biodiversity conservation and corridors using PSFM as a model. This component is aimed at developing frameworks for managing forests at landscape scale and will pilot the application of the framework a Northern Lao biodiversity corridor in cooperation with KfW and in a Southern Lao biodiversity corridor with ADB. L-PSFM plan implementation will be limited only to PFAs within the forest landscapes in conjunction with Component 1.
- Sub-component 2A: Developing Methodologies and Frameworks for L-PSFM
- Sub-component 2B: Establishing Pilot L-PSFM Models
Component 3: Enabling legal and regulatory environment