Environmental and Social Management Framework (esmf)

6. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

282. 
     As part of the environmental and social procedures, the Bank classifies all projects into one of four classifications: High Risk, Substantial Risk, Moderate Risk or Low Risk. In determining the appropriate risk classification, the Bank takes into account relevant issues, such as the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the project; the nature and magnitude of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts; and the capacity and commitment of the Client to manage the environmental and social risks and impacts in a manner consistent with the ESSs.
     
283. 
     The Environmental Risk Rating is Moderate. The Project will support scaling up of the Government-implemented SEP, including the provison of in-kind grants for the activities to be identified based on demands of potential recipients, and not financing any physical works associated with the use of those in-kind grants, and shall ensure that the General and Industry Specific EHSGs, are duly incorporated into the training programs to be delivered under the project to potential job seekers and new businesses. The training program will cover OHS and other environmental issues associated with the occupations to be identified under Azerbaijan SEP.
     
284. 
     The environmental aspects of the project are mainly those associated with introduction of the best environmental management practices and OHS through various training programs aimed at development of specific skills to improve employability of job seekers, especially vulnerable groups of population, through advisory services to promote access to affordable financial products for the participants of AzSEP who would like to turn their livelihood activities into growing businesses, and through up scaling and diversifying vocational training. Subprojects envisaged under the project, for which the project will provide in-kind transfer of assets, are mainly of a small scale. Potential environmental impacts are expected to be easily mitigated.
     
285. 
     These impacts may include increased pollution due to improper care, handling and storage of material and waste, generation of excessive noise and dust levels, and, possibly, health impacts related to inadequate disposal of hazardous and medical wastes, asbestos containing material. The ESMF will ensure that high and substantial risk activities are screened out, and those activities are supported where the potential environmental and social risks and impacts are predictable, not significant in magnitude and site-specific with low probability of serious adverse effects to human health and/or environment. Any activities that entail land acquisition, resettlement, or negative impacts on private assets or livelihoods will be considered ineligible under the project. Project beneficiaries will be required to present evidence or legal ownership of land use rights to any land that will be used in the project supported self-employment activities.
     
286. 
     The social risk of the Project is rated as moderate. Overall, the Project doesn’t have significant negative social impacts and the project aims to improve employment opportunities among vulnerable groups of jobseekers: youth, women, internally displaced people, individuals with disabilities and those with lower levels of education, including beneficiaries of the TSSA program. The Project will achieve this primarily through improving the effectiveness and enhancing the scale of the existing AzSEP and by strengthening the capacity of SES to deliver employment services. The interventions will be in the form of (i) expanding the program scale and scope of support, (ii) testing the introduction of complementary business support services for AzSEP beneficiaries, (iii) improving the coordination between the AzSEP and the TSSA program, (iv) strengthening SES’s capacity to deliver employment services (v) foster job-relevant skills development through up scaling and diversifying vocational training. At this stage, data on the potential beneficiaries are not known. There is a risk for exclusion error and inclusion error. Exclusion error fails to target people that actually need to benefit, whereas, inclusion error may cause inefficient targeting of the project beneficiaries. From the social perspective exclusion error is more significant. Also, as part of Component 1, it is proposed to improve the targeting of AzSEP by a screening of individuals for their entrepreneurial attitude and knowledge to business development in sectors other than agriculture. Since not all job seekers will have the motivation or be able to become a successful entrepreneur, therefore, accessing TSSA and SES will become critical to project-affected parties. Continuation of education for youth, housekeeping and childcare responsibilities for women, disabilities or low wages may cause inactivity and non-participation in the labor force