The findings of the project review indicate that no impacts are expected that need to be managed consistent with the following Performance Standards:

PS5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement: all subprojects will be built within existing road and rail rights of way, therefore no need for land acquisition or economic displacement.

PS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources: all subprojects will be built in dense commercial / residential neighbourhoods with only limited presence of green spaces.   

PS7: Indigenous Peoples: none of the proposed subprojects are located on or near any lands owned, used or claimed by Indigenous Peoples.

PS8: Cultural Heritage: construction of the proposed subprojects will not impact any cultural heritage.  

According to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability this is a Category B project. E&S impacts and risks are expected to be limited, generally site-specific, and readily addressed through standard mitigation measures. Key E&S impacts and risks are those typically associated with the construction phase of urban infrastructure improvements and minor rainwater drainage solutions. These include localized temporary interruptions to power and water services, traffic disruptions, increased noise and dust, occupational health and safety (OHS), contractor management, community safety, and waste management. Key positive E&S impacts include improved public safety and reduced vulnerability to floods.

The Municipality of San Jose’s environmental and social management system (ESMS) is based on national and municipal E&S laws, policies, standards, regulations and lessons learned from experience. IFC’s review of the MSJ’s ESMS found it to be appropriate to the nature and scale of the project and commensurate with the level of its environmental and social risks and impacts. The following paragraphs of this section review the consistency of the key project-related elements of MSJ’s ESMS with IFC PS1.   

Policy

MSJ defines its mission as follows: “The Municipality of San Jose directs, conducts and manages the sustainable development of the Canton of San José as a geopolitical, economic, social and cultural center, in order to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. This development is achieved through: i) active, conscious and democratic participation, which guarantees transparency and accountability; ii) quality and efficient services provided to inhabitants and user entities; and iii) continuous increase of the skills and knowledge of its officials and the community.”

MSJ implements these broad policy commitments through a series of supporting tools and regulations, including: Manual of Ethical Principles, Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety, and Emergency Preparedness and Response regulations, among others, and staff induction and training/capacity building program. Article 3 of MSJ’s Environmental Management regulation establishes that “In everything related to environmental matters, risk management, attention to emergencies and disasters, the Municipality is called to promote and adapt its management to the policies of sustainable development and environmental protection.” These instruments are endorsed by municipal executives and generally assign clear implementation responsibilities.       

Identification of Risks and Impacts

Identification, management and mitigation of E&S risks and impacts of this project will primarily be done by the contractors selected through competitive bidding processes for construction of the two components.  Component #1 subproject designs were completed by qualified consulting engineers. These designs have identified the relevant E&S impacts and risks associated with the construction phase (ex: noise, dust, electrical hazards, traffic accidents, etc.), and propose appropriate measures for their mitigation, including hiring social promotors (specifically acting as liaison with those living in the affected areas) and independent environmental inspectors. The bidding documents that will use these designs will require that construction contractors prepare Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for approval by Costa Rica’s national environmental regulatory agency SETENA (Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental).  

The E&S impacts and risks of Component #2 subproject (rainwater drainage) are expected to be minor. The engineers and contractors responsible for design and construction of the drainage works will have to obtain SETENA environmental licences for any of the relevant civil works that would affect existing waterways. Implementation of good construction practices and compliance with national and municipal environmental, health and safety requirements are expected to adequately identify and mitigate the relatively minor E&S risks and impacts of Component no.2 subprojects.    

Management Programs 

MSJ has several regulations and procedures that describe mitigation and performance management measures which are relevant to the E&S risks and impacts of the proposed investment. These include: Instruction Manual on Occupational Health and Safety for Contractors and Subcontractors, Regulations for Environmental Management, Risk Management, and Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Regulation for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment, among others. National regulations like Costa Rica’s Municipal Code and the SETENA’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulation, establish additional applicable E&S requirements.

Further, MSJ investigate environmental threats of natural and human origin as input for decision making in urban planning. MSJ do this by managing territorial information, education campaigns, risk audit studies for municipal facilities, and investments in mitigation works. IFC considers these regulations, procedures and programs to be appropriate to the nature and scale of the project and commensurate with the level of its environmental and social risks and impacts.

Organizational Capacity and Competency

Municipalities in Costa Rica are regulated by the Municipal Code which establishes their main responsibilities. The Municipal Code expands on the functions, structures, and characteristics that all municipal governments must abide by in their development planning, provision of services, management of municipal revenues, etc. For example, Article 49 of the Municipal Code establishes that all municipal governments must appoint members to permanent inter-departmental commissions for Public Works, Social Affairs, Governance and Administration, Environmental Affairs, Cultural Affairs, and the Status of Women and Accessibility. These inter-departmental commissions help to design and integrate municipal E&S policy priorities across management programs and services. 

MSJ’s Environmental Management, Occupational Health and Safety, and Emergency Preparedness and Response regulation establishes that the Mayor designates the members of the municipal Commission for Environmental Management. This Commission is responsible for coordinating all actions in these matters across the various municipal commissions, agencies and programs. MSJ staff members with E&S responsibilities are organized according to three major Departments: Services, Urban Development, and Finance and Administration. The Services Department is the main operational department and includes separate dedicated Environmental Services and Socio-Economic (Gender) Divisions. Urban Development oversees municipal planning activities with its own dedicated Environmental Management Division. Legal and Human Resource directors report directly to the Mayor. The E&S responsibilities of relevant staff are clearly articulated in national and municipal regulations. The IFC team met with staff from each of these divisions during the October 2019 site visit and found them to be competent senior professionals with many years of E&S related experience, both in and out of government.  As indicated above, at the project level there will be a requirement for social promotors and independent environmental inspectors.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

As indicated above, flooding, landslides and earthquakes are natural disasters which San Jose’s area is at risk of. The MSJ Office of Disaster Risk Management is responsible for emergency preparedness and response. This office has an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan that defines threat vulnerabilities and coordinates actions between hospitals, fire departments, civil protection, and private sector actors to promote environmental management and disaster risk reduction. For example, MSJ environmental auditors promote civic participation in environmental issues through capacity building and public education campaigns about how to deal with natural disasters and extreme events.

Municipal buildings have clearly identified evacuation routes and provide visual instructions in key locations (near stairs, doors, and elevators) about what to do in various emergency situations. MSJ staff also participate in emergency preparedness and response trainings and simulation drills. In case of emergency, contractors are required follow the procedures of the Municipal Office of Disaster Risk Management, including to immediately notify the Project Manager and Municipal Occupational Health Section. IFC’s review of the MSJ’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (dated September 2017) found it to be comprehensive and operational. MSJ will review and update the Plan prior to start of construction (ESAP1) to reflect changing conditions since 2017 and to ensure that a specific instrument (e.g., project emergency response plan) will be prepared to respond to accidental and emergency situations associated with the project in a manner appropriate to prevent and mitigate any harm to people and/or the environment. The municipality will provide appropriate information to the affected community.

Monitoring and Review

MSJ’s Instruction Manual on Occupational Health and Safety for Contractors and Subcontractors requires municipal officials to supervise contractor compliance with national and municipal E&S regulations. These officials perform regular onsite compliance inspections for a minimum of eight hours per week. Their observations, assessments and recommendations are reported in the project logbook and shared with SETENA, as relevant. For Component 1 subprojects that require EIAs, the contractor-hired social promotors and independent environmental inspectors will monitor contractor’s management of E&S risks and impacts, and report to both municipal and national environmental authorities. MSJ’s Environmental Auditors and SETENA officials may also conduct periodic site visits to assess contractors’ compliance with E&S requirements.              

As a constitutionally mandated governmental entity, the Municipality of San Jose is legally obliged to abide by all national labor and working conditions legislation and policy requirements. As of October 2019, MSJ had a total of 2980 municipal employees, of whom slightly less than 25% are female. This section reports IFC’s review of the extent of MSJ’s compliance with PS2 requirements.

Human Resources Policies and Procedures

All employer-employee relationships in Costa Rica are subject to the legal dispositions of the Costa Rican Labor Code. Under the Labor Code, employers are obliged to register and contribute on behalf of their employees to the Costa Rican Social Security Administration and the National Insurance Institute (INS) for Worker’s Compensation. Child and forced labor are expressly prohibited. MSJ performs Human Resources (HR) inductions to familiarize new staff with their rights under national labor and employment law, terms of municipal employment contracts, collective agreements, etc. MSJ has adopted an anti-sexual harassment policy. The Municipality also provides regular HR related training, information and consultation campaigns to ensure that all staff continue to be aware of how new developments with these policies and procedures affect them.

Worker’s Organizations

Freedom of association is a fundamental right enshrined in article 60 of Costa Rican Constitution (Constitución Política), which establishes that both employers and workers can unionize freely. Costa Rica has also ratified International Labor Organization Agreements Nos. 87, 98 and 135 on freedom of association, collective bargaining, and workers' representatives. Workers can also exercise the right to strike through the trade union or a coalition of workers. Several workers organizations represent the municipal employees organized by functions. Different groups of municipal employees have organized labor strikes and legal proceedings against MSJ over job security, pensions, and overtime pay, among others. In several cases, MSJ has reached negotiated agreements with these workers, in others they were legally required to accept and abide by court rulings in favor of their staff.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity

Costa Rica amended its Labor Code in 2016 extending criteria for discrimination to include ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and union membership. MSJ also has a Manual of Ethical Principles adopted in 2009. The Manual stresses the importance of personal values like honesty, accountability, and respect, to guide municipal workers in the performance of their duties and accountabilities. The Manual also establishes clear management responsibilities to ensure that employment decisions are made according to documented transparent procedures, and not based on personal characteristics unrelated to job requirements.     

Grievance Mechanism

MSJ’s grievance mechanism is managed by a committee composed of Human Resources, Legal and Workers Organization representatives. MSJ explains the mechanism to staff during employee induction sessions. This committee receives and reviews employee complaints in person, and by written formal or anonymous communication. Staff can and often do pursue grievance redress through the national Labor Court.

Occupational Health and Safety

The National Insurance Institute (INS) is the Costa Rican government owned insurance monopoly that oversees the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Policy known locally as “Riesgos del Trabajo”. The policy covers work related accidents and illness. Every employer is under the legal obligation to provide a Worker’s Compensation Insurance Policy for their employees. MSJ also has their own Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policy. This policy is implemented by a dedicated Occupational Health unit tasked to ensure that the personnel of the Municipality have the necessary knowledge, equipment, clothing and appropriate environments to improve work practices and mitigate OHS risks.

The proposed IFC investment will not alter or increase OHS risks for MSJ employees, especially as most of the civil works to be financed will be built by experienced and accredited third-party contractors. The few drainage works expected to be built with MSJ in-house construction capacity will present some moderate OHS risks - for example: falls from heights, failure to use proper personal protective equipment – that are well known and routinely managed by the staff of the MSJ’s Drainage Department.    

Workers Engaged by Third Parties

Third party engineering and construction firms will complete all proposed works under Component #1, as well as some of the drainage works of Component #2. These firms are subject to the same national labor regulations as described above for MSJ. As described above, the Municipality has an Instruction Manual on Occupational Health and Safety for Contractors and Subcontractors that assigns responsibilities for monitoring contractor compliance with national regulations and labor and working conditions to a section called Quality of Labor Conditions – Occupational Health that reports to the Department of Environmental Services. Municipal contracts also specify that contractors must comply with INS construction industry good practice guidelines and technical specifications.    

IFC considers MSJ’s labor and working conditions policies, regulations and procedures to be satisfactory for managing civil works projects of this scope and nature, i.e. covering the relevant risks and impacts at an appropriate level of detail.                                       

The E&S risks and impacts of the proposed investment with respect to resource efficiency and pollution prevention are expected to be moderate and manageable through compliance with national E&S requirements and construction industry good practices. The project does not require the use of hazardous materials or pesticides.

The Instruction Manual on Occupational Health and Safety for Contractors and Subcontractors requires contractors to use energy and water efficiently, and to prevent all sources of pollution and inappropriate management of wastes through maintenance, segregation, and authorized disposal. Project specific pollution prevention and waste management requirements are appended to contract bidding documents as technical specifications. These specifications apply to all aspects of the required services, including worker transportation, materials storage, sanitation, signage, control of erosion, etc.

MSJ also has a set of Construction Rules. These rules specify the basic concepts and minimum requirements in the planning of construction works, including electrical, mechanical and sanitary design, materials quality standards, and rules for repair, alteration and demolition works. These rules are governed by the Costa Rican Federal College of Engineers and Architects, and contractors are required to provide College certification credential for all their technical directors, resident engineers and project managers. Contractor must also comply with the provisions established in the SETENA’s Code of Good Environmental Practices. IFC considers these regulations to be appropriate for nature and scope of this project, and consistent with PS3.

Consistent with the scope of the project, community health, safety and security impacts and risks are expected to be limited, generally site-specific, largely reversible, and readily addressed through good industry practice mitigation measures. The following paragraphs of this section present IFC’s review of the extent of MSJ’s compliance with PS4 requirements.

Infrastructure and Equipment Design and Safety

Component #1 subproject designs and construction specifications include consideration of safety risks to third parties and affected communities during both construction and operation of the upgraded urban corridors. These designs reflect concerns to prioritize multi-modal pedestrian, bicycle and public transit use. Other guiding design principles include road safety considerations (i.e., increasing visibility of speed limit signs, narrowing the carriage width available to vehicle, raised cross-walks, etc.), in addition to civic values that promote social interaction, green spaces, and maximize the value of local neighbourhood characteristics. Component #2 subprojects are localized flood risk mitigation and drainage remediation works that are unlikely to produce safety risks to third parties during construction and are aimed at mitigating flooding risks, hence contributing to community safety. Both components will apply national and municipal construction health and safety regulations and good international industry practice to improve public safety and reduce public exposure to operational accidents and natural disasters. MSJ will ensure these outcomes by requiring that contractors provide safe temporary alternative access routes for pedestrian and vehicle traffic, including installation of transit signs and safety barriers and hiring of social promoters who will be tasked to communicate project construction’s health and safety risks and associated mitigation measures to surrounding communities. These measures include disclosure of information about emergency preparedness and response.  

Security Personnel

Contractors responsible for Component #1 subprojects may elect to retain security service providers to protect their temporary storage sites for equipment and materials. MSJ does not use security services during routine drainage construction works. MSJ will incorporate the security personnel requirements of PS4 in all legal agreements with third-party contractors (ESAP2). These requirements will include screening of past records of security personnel employed; training on avoidance of human rights violations; and recording security incidents, among others.

The following paragraphs of this section review how MSJ manages stakeholder engagement, as well as receives and responds to external communications and/or grievances from affected communities. IFC considers these measures to be appropriate for nature and scope of this project, and generally consistent with PS1 stakeholder engagement requirements.

Stakeholder Identification and Analysis and Engagement Planning

One subproject of Component #1, Calle 33 in Barrio Escalante, has been presented to affected communities through a participatory process lead by the design engineers. The proposed works were discussed with over 200 community members who participated in 10 neighborhood planning workshops. The consultants who designed the other two subprojects (Transversal 24 and Calle 78) did not conduct participatory consultations. However, in recognition of this fact, the design consultants have included the role of Social Promotor among the administrative costs that the construction contractors will have to incorporate in their bid proposals. For these specific subprojects MSJ will provide relevant information to affected stakeholders about (i) project timing, impacts, mitigation and benefits, and (ii) the envisaged consultation process and grievance mechanism (ESAP3). 

External Communication and Grievance Mechanism

MSJ maintains an active two-way dialogue with citizens through means such as social media platforms. Their internet page (https://www.msj.go.cr) also provides interested stakeholders with an online format for submitting questions and/or complaints. Paper formats for submission are also available at municipal buildings and are reviewed and responded to by the municipal Service Comptroller (Controlaria de Servicios).   Subproject technical specifications require contractors to install standardized metallic signs at the project sites that display the project name, total cost, contract number, and awarded contractor. These signs also prominently display MSJ logo. MSJ will include contact information for the municipal Service Comptroller on these signs (ESAP4).                                            

Alcaldía Municipal de San Jose

Avenida 10, 10103 San José, Costa Rica

Tel: +506 2547 6000            

Email: infomsj@msj.go.cr

Internet: https://www.msj.go.cr