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Social Safeguards. “Procedures and approaches that can help to ensure that “do no harm” to people or the environment, but rather enhance social and environmental benefits” Benefits of Social Safeguards Better living conditions through provision of adequate access to services and facilities
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Social Safeguards • “Procedures and approaches that can help to ensure that “do no harm” to people or the environment, but rather enhance social and environmental benefits” • Benefits of Social Safeguards • Better living conditions through provision of adequate access to services and facilities • Improve benefit sharing • Improve livelihood & poverty alleviation • Investment in alternative livelihood and employment • Food security • Social inclusion & gender empowerment • Minimize social gap
Social Safeguards & Risk management • Stakeholder engagement through meaningful consultation for transparency and ownership • Increased responsiveness and attention by adaptive risk management and proportionality • More room for Informed Judgment, stronger decision-making structures, support to avoid forced eviction • Mitigate unavoidable adverse Impacts from land acquisition • Contains criterion for voluntary transactions, land donations and eminent domain • Protect cultural heritage from adverse impacts of project activities and support its preservation
Objectives of ESMS Social Safeguards • Avoidance of resettlement and negative impacts on communities of the project area due to land acquisition or resettlement. • Contrive a supportive mechanism to avoid the land losses or other assets to mitigate the negative impacts as result of physical dislocation, loss of income, or other adverse impacts. • Mitigation of adverse impacts on people and the surrounding communities. • Reduce and manage resettlement risk of projects and avoid resettlement where possible i.e. avoid or minimize the involuntary resettlement and displacement of people.
National Laws and Regulatory Obligations Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan (1973) clearly addresses the protection of property rights (Article 24) such that “no person shall be deprived of his property saved in accordance with law” (Article 24(1)), and “No property shall be compulsorily acquired or taken in possession of sake of public purpose, and save by the authority of law which provides for compensation therefore and either fixes the amount of compensation or specifies the principles on and the manner in which compensation is to be determined and given” (Article 24(2)). Land Acquisition Act The LAA 1894 requires an impact assessment and valuation of land, structures, crops, trees and other physical assets are to be compensated in cash at market rate to titled landowners and registered land tenants/users/leaseholders. In addition, a 15% compulsory acquisition surcharge is provided on the value of land.
Resettlement Resettlement planning and rehabilitation is a process by which those adversely affected are assisted in their efforts to improve, or at least to restore, their incomes and living standards. • Project Resettlement and Indigenous Peoples Categorization • Category A: Projects 40 HHs or 200 population full scale resettlement • Category B: Projects less than 40 HHs short/abbreviated resettlement plan • Category C: Having no or least resettlement due diligence report
Resettlement Planning Requirements • Socioeconomic and demographic profile • Project impacts and area profile • Alternative analysis • Community and public assets • Community participation, consultation and RAP disclosure • Institutional framework • Eligibility/ Entitlement Matrix • Loss of business and employment • Affected vulnerable families • Resettlements budgets & financing • Implementation schedule • Complaints and grievances • Grievance redressed/resolution Mechanism • Construction schedule
Special Care for Vulnerable People • Any HHs who might suffer disproportionately or face the risk of being marginalized from the effects of resettlement and includes; • Female-headed households with dependents • Disabled household heads • Poor households (within the meaning given previously) • Landless • Elderly households with no means of support • Households without security of tenure • Ethnic minorities; and • Marginal farmers (with landholdings of five acres or less)
Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP) • Identification of all impacts (positive & negative) on IPs; social assessment, informed consultation and participation (ICP) to Indigenous peoples’ development plan (IPDP). • Affected persons/household (AP/AH) - people (households) affected by project-related changes in use of land, water or other natural resources. • A time-bound action plan with budget setting out resettlement strategy, objectives, entitlement, actions, responsibilities, monitoring and evaluation.
Helping Documents/International Best Practices • ESMS of NDRMF • ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement of 2009. • ADB Policy & Procedures on Resettlement • Resettlement Gender Checklist (2003) • ADB Policy & Procedures on Resettlement • World Bank Involuntary Resettlement Policy OP/BP # 4.12 • Land Acquisition Act 1894
Involuntary Resettlement It’s all about the land Investment with a physical footprint (needs land) New construction or expansion of infrastructure; land use changesThe land is being occupied or used by someone Legal or illegal/informal; permanent or sporadic; verify on the ground! X Involuntary Resettlement Voluntary Land Donation