27781 - Republic of Mariy El

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

27781

Company Name

REPUBLIC OF MARYI EL

Date ESRS Disclosed

Jan 23, 2009

Country

Russian Federation

Region

Europe

Last Updated Date

Nov 30, 2016

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Apr 1, 2009
Signed : Apr 10, 2009
Invested : May 8, 2009

Sector

Highway Operations (Includes Toll Roads)

Industry

Infrastructure

Department

Regional Industry INF LAC & EUR

Project Description

The proposed project will assist the Republic of Maryi El in its effort to preserve and selectively improve the road network of the Republic during 2009, as well as in debt refinancing. The investments will primarily focus on roads forming part of the core network identified by the Republic: repair and rehabilitation of road sections in bad condition, upgrade of roads needing increased capacity due to higher traffic, and selected improvement of “black spots” with excessive pedestrian accident rates to upgrade these stretches to a sustainable and safe standard.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The review of this project consisted of appraising technical, environmental, health & safety and social information received from the Maryi El authorities during an onsite appraisal of the road and road management systems of the Republic of Maryi El in November 2008. Main sections of the Republics road network were inspected and the road maintenance and quality control organization of the Republic was also visited.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

While all Performance Standards (PS) are applicable to this investment, IFC’s environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards:

-PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems;
-PS2: Labor and Working Conditions;
-PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement;
-PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security;

No land acquisitions are foreseen as a consequence of the project, since the project is focusing on (re-)establishing a sustainable quality of the existing road network. The project will therefore also not affect natural or modified habitats, and no impacts are expected on cultural heritage. The Republic of Maryi El has two main ethnic groups; Ethnic Russians represent approximately 47 % of the population, while the Mari ethnic group represents approximately 43% of the population. The Mari ethnic population is present in both rural and urban areas of the Republic and is represented in the local legislative and executive bodies of the Government. The Republic of Maryi El has two accepted languages used in its school system, based on local preference Mari and Russian. The Mari are thus not considered Indigenous Peoples under the Performance Standards. It is also worth noting that all segments of the population will benefit from improvements in the road infrastructure

This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review procedures because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized Performance Standards, guidelines or design criteria. The project’s main impacts will be improvement in the Republic’s core road network to the benefit of the broader population and no negative effect with respect to environmental or social impacts, land acquisition, natural resources or cultural/indigenous people are foreseen.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

The Republic of Maryi El has presented plans to address any adverse impacts and to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific agreed measures, comply with the environmental and social requirements – Russian Federation laws and regulations and IFC PS. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by the project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.

PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems:

Under Russian legislation, all new developments are required to be evaluated through environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies. This entails the evaluation of the potential environmental and social risks (E&S risks) associated with the project, including associated facilities; comparison of reasonable alternatives; and development of measures to avoid, minimize, mitigate, or compensate for adverse social and environmental impacts. The EIA is the responsibility of the project designers. Public consultations should be carried out as an integral part of the EIA process. Local authorities are responsible for organizing a consultation process with stakeholders affected by road construction. The EIA outcomes are reviewed for E&S compliance with Russian law by a local agency under the Ministry of Construction before construction activities can commence.

While the above mentioned procedures provide adequate capacity to manage direct impacts of new road projects, they do not necessarily cover aspects of reconstruction of existing roads and they do not include the effect of monitoring for and planning against “black spots”, as done by the Maryi El road authorities. The latter is especially important to include, as road safety remains a significant concern and 40% of all registered accident in the Republic are related to motor vehicles hitting pedestrians. Since the current project focuses on the rehabilitation of selected parts of the existing road network and elimination of selected “black spots” the road authorities will, facilitated by IFC, strengthen the internal capacity to assess and manage broader environmental and social risks of the road maintenance and upgrading project by providing training to employees, road designers and selected contractors in social, environmental and safety management and monitoring.

Further, as the actual work will be carried out by contractors the bidding documents used to select the contractors for the road upgrades will need to include contract specifications ensuring effective implementation of environmental, health and safety performance criteria by the winning bidder.

The Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), which is attached to this ESRS, contains specific tasks that the road authorities of the Republic of Maryi El will undertake to mitigate perceived risks and impacts from the planned road upgrades, and to ensure compliance with IFC’s Performance Standards.

PS2: Labor and Working Conditions:

Occupational health and safety (OHS) impacts associated with the construction and maintenance of roads primarily include noise, physical and chemical hazards, and risk posed by the existing traffic. Through appropriate contract specifications and OHS accident statistics monitoring, the road authorities will set a goal of a zero accidents among road workers (whether direct contractor employees or subcontractors).

The hiring, both within the road agency and among contractors is conducted in accordance with the Russian Labor Code with a strict policy against discrimination based on gender, race, age, ethnic association or nationality, hereby fulfilling IFC’s Performance Standards.

Protection of the work force in Russia is provided through legislation, in particular the Labor Code. The Labor Code was updated in 2006 to provide extensive protection for workers and ensure that a large array of social benefits must be provided. The project does not result in any direct retrenchment and the authorities strictly follow the commitment to minimum age requirements for all employees and contractors. OHS issues are addressed via training for all staff and through the provision of appropriate personal protective equipment for staff.

PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement:

Potential environmental impacts during the reconstruction and operation of roads mainly include increased rate of surface water runoff; generation of solid waste; air emissions; and traffic and heavy equipment noise. The road authorities will develop specific plans for each reconstruction to minimize adverse social and environmental impacts to appropriate levels. Implementation of mitigation measures is supervised by the relevant republican and federal services/agencies and the Maryi El Ministry of Natural Resources. Through contract specifications and monitoring the road authorities will ensure effective implementation of the subprojects. In addition, the road authorities will minimize broader environmental and social risks associated with the reconstructions through appropriate inclusion of specific EH&S conditions in the contracts for road construction, repair and maintenance, thereby ensuring contractor compliance with local regulations and IFC’s Performance Standards (see attached ESAP). By following these criteria the reconstruction projects are not likely to cause significant adverse environmental impact.

PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security:

Significant community health and safety issues associated with road rehabilitation projects include dust and noise generation, pedestrian safety, traffic safety and emergency preparedness. Potential risks to community health, safety and security are evaluated in the planning and design stage and appropriate measures are incorporated in the specific projects. This includes proper design of roads and installation and maintenance of all signs, signals, marking and other devices to regulate traffic. The planning process for the reconstruction also includes the implementation of special measures where roads in the past have revealed “black spot” locations.

There are no other significant community health risks associated with this investment.

Stakeholder Engagement

Client Documentation

File Name	Actions
Maryi El ESAP.pdf
Maryi El ESRS Russian.pdf
Maryi El ESAP Russian.pdf

**Information on IFC's Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability can be found at www.ifc.org/sustainability

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by IFC to disclose its findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding potential investments. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC's activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this ESRS is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein.
It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors' consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following ESRS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP).

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

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