Environment and Social

The World Bank Group considers that no country, community, or economy can achieve its potential or meet the challenges of the 21st century without the full and equal participation of women and men, girls and boys. It is committed to closing gaps between males and females globally for lasting impact in tackling poverty and driving sustainable economic growth that benefits all.

Thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced either non-partner sexual violence or physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) (WHO 2013), both manifestations of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Major civil works can exacerbate the risk of GBV in both public and private spaces by a range of perpetrators in a number of ways.

This 'Good Practice Note' provides guidance on how to address the increased risk of GBV which is induced through civil works projects. It draws heavily on the pioneering work that we did in the Pacific Islands from 2014 under our aviation program. It sets out the activities that projects must do to ensure that the risks are minimized, and that appropriate mechanisms are in place to address any incidents that may arise.

Presentation to the 2018 NZ NAMS Conference on how we need to adapt our approach to asset management because of the changing environment due to climate change.

Presentation on how we considered the biodiversity needs on the Hubei Yiba Highway Project by conducting detailed surveys of caves. Resulted in the discovery of a new species/genus - named Superbrochetus Bennetti (after the TTL Chris Bennett!).

Paper to the 2017 Transportation Research Board Conference. 

Describes work on ensuring that transportation designs cater for mobility impaired people.

This Note provides guidance on identifying, assessing and managing the risks of adverse social and environmental impacts that are associated with the temporary influx of labor resulting from Banksupported projects. The Note contains guiding principles and recommendations to be considered as part of the design and implementation of projects with civil works that require labor from outside the project’s area of influence. This Note does not introduce new requirements, but rather seeks to provide concrete guidance on how to approach temporary labor influx within the environmental and social assessment process.

Training course conducted in September 2016 at World Bank headquarters on environmental management of projects.

Paper to the 14th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Persons With Disability.

Describes a review done of transport infrastructure provisions in Pacific Island countries for persons with impaired mobility in land transport, maritime and aviation sectors.

Presentation on EHS on projects - including best practice.

Presentation to 2014 international donor's 'Community of Practice' on the how negative environmental impacts were minimized on the Hubei Yiba Highway Project. Includes video on cave biodiversity.

Knowledge about men and women’s transportation needs and patterns cannot be taken for granted. In many transportation projects in developing countries, the relevant social and cultural context of gender differences is not analyzed. Without such knowledge, transport interventions meant to cater to both men and women’s transport burdens cannot be tailored. To capture evidence of the challenges and needs of project road beneficiaries, and women in particular, social benefit surveys that included focus group consultations were piloted in the context of two road rehabilitation projects in the Pacific Island region. The surveys which took place in 2011-2012 covered nine villages with 209 households from Kiribati and ten villages with 360 households from Timor Leste. The results provided examples of constraints affecting the transport access, mobility and safety needs of men and women as well as missed opportunities for improvement. The findings highlighted the challenges and concerns of the intended project beneficiaries regarding road use. No significant differences between men and women were found in relation to the appreciation of road conditions. No gender link was shown in relation to perceived road condition and increased employment opportunities or agricultural productivity. However, there were gender differences in relation to use of modes of transport, personal safety issues and accessing services such as health and education. This review demonstrates the critical importance of collecting gender-disaggregated data for planning and implementing road transport projects, and ensuring that these data are used to adapt project investments to maximize opportunities for both men and women. 

Natural Resources Forum

The growing demand for construction materials in South Tarawa, a remote atoll in the South Pacific, provides an example of the environmental and social challenges associated with the use of non-renewable resources in the context of small island countries threatened by coastal erosion and climate change. In many small Pacific island countries, the availability of construction materials is limited, with the majority mined from beaches and coastal reefs in an unsustainable manner.

Growing demand for construction aggregates is resulting in more widespread sand mining by communities along vulnerable sections of exposed beach and reefs. This has serious consequences for coastal erosion and impacts on reef ecosystem processes, consequences that cannot be easily managed. Construction materials are also in high demand for infrastructure projects which are financed in part with support from international development agencies and donors. This paper reviews the various challenges and risks that aggregate mining poses to reefs, fish, and the coastal health of South Tarawa and argues that the long term consequences from ad hoc beach/reef mining over large areas are likely to be far greater than the impacts associated with environmentally sustainable, organized extraction. The paper concludes with policy recommendations that are also relevant for neighbouring island countries facing similar challenges.

Accessibility of transport is not always a priority in transport planning and implementation. There can be barriers in the physical environment and delivery of services that render transport inaccessible. The principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) brings new momentum to ensuring accessibility in the delivery of transport infrastructure and services. This note summarizes the analysis done of the accessibility features of recent transport projects in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. It seeks to highlight good practice in national laws, policies and project implementation to improve the welfare of transport users across projects. The overarching objective is to suggest how to improve the implementation of accessibility features in transport projects for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility.

Paper to the 5th International Congress on Sustainability of Road Infrastructure.

Of some 33.8 million km. of classified roads that girdle the globe, nearly all unsealed roads and an estimated 85% of paved roads are low-volume roads (LVRs) with ADT of less than 1000 vehicles/day. Rural LVRs have a critical role in economic growth and poverty reduction, and a prominent function in emergency preparedness, disaster relief and rural job creation. This paper discuses the meaning of sustainability and its more practical subset--livability, in relation to rural roads and how the application of context sensitive solutions could help achieve a better balance among the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability.

For a lecture at the University of Auckland. There is a short video to go with the presentation showing some positive social benefits from road investments.

Presentation accompanying paper for 2011 Low Volume Roads Conference. Paper is here.

Presented at 2011 TRB Low Volume Roads Conference. In late 2008, the Republic of Armenia requested World Bank assistance to help mitigate the local impact of the global financial crisis. This paper describes how the Lifeline Road Improvement Project (LRIP) in Armenia was prepared and implemented as a Rapid Response Stimulus Package to respond to the crisis. The project was prepared in just six weeks. This project helped rehabilitate over 150 km of low-volume rural roads and generated about 15,000 person-months of employment over an eight- month period from May to December 2009. The World Bank’s Operational Policy 8.0 ‘Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies’ was applied to the design and implementation of this project. This operational policy is invoked when there are major adverse economic and social impacts resulting from natural disasters or man-made crises and triggers the use of a set of streamlined procedures for rapid project preparation and implementation. The lessons learned from the design and implementation of this stimulus package offer useful guidance for preparing rapid response infrastructure programs and projects under similar conditions and circumstances in other countries. The accompanying presentation is here.

World Bank Transport Note TRN-42.

Transport has been identified as a sector that is particularly vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. For this reason, explicit provisions for HIV prevention and awareness training are now embedded in the World Bank standard bidding documents for procurement of works in excess of US$10 million.

These provisions were developed for countries with high national prevalence rates for HIV/AIDS. However, countries of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) have low prevalence rates of 1 percent or below, even in the worst affected countries of the region such as Ukraine, Russian Federation, Belarus, and Moldova. Using funds from the Transport and HIV/AIDS Incentive Trust Fund supported by the Global AIDS Program (GHAP), a study was undertaken on the viability of developing a risk-based approach for HIV/AIDS interventions to be applied in low prevalence countries.

This note summarizes the findings of the work and presents an approach for addressing HIV/AIDS issues in transport projects in the South Caucasus.

Presentation showing issues encountered on road projects with the environment.

Presentation to accompany the conference paper with the same name.

Paper prepared for 2010 Conference on Involuntary Displacement and Resettlement.

Resettlement can be a challenge in any transport project, particularly in China with its high population densities and limited available unused land. However, when a project’s resettlement activities are properly designed and have the full support of the client, it is possible to overcome the challenges and achieve a successful outcome for those affected by the project.

When properly designed and implemented, involuntary resettlement on highway projects can be used to improve overall living conditions and alleviate poverty for those affected by the project. This paper describes how this was achieved on the World Bank financed Shiyan-Manchuangan (Shiman) Expressway project in Hubei China.

By focusing on sustainable land development, better housing standards and infrastructure access, and centralized resettlement communities, the project has improved living standards and raised incomes for most affected residents. Moreover, the project was able to realize some RMB 10 million (US$ 1.5 m) in economic benefits to these affected residents from the policies.

Public participation and continuous dialogue with affected parties throughout the project helped address residents’ concerns and contributed to the positive outcome. These practices can be applied elsewhere to help achieve satisfactory resettlement outcomes.

A Technical Note prepared for the World Bank describing how some 12,000 person-months of employment were created on the Armenia Lifeline Roads Improvement Project through the rehabilitation of some 150 km of rural roads.

Presentation on the findings from a thematic review of environmental performance on road projects in the South Caucasus

Presentation given to George Washington University on resettlement issues on World Bank projects. Consists of (i) presentation with speaker's notes; (ii) a background note on resettlement describing some experiences from China; and, (iii) an example of a resettlement action plan from Georgia.

The files are in a self-extracting archive.

Presentation on how involuntary resettlement is addressed on World Bank financed projects.

When properly designed and implemented, involuntary resettlement on highway projects can be used to improve overall living conditions and alleviate poverty for those affected by the project.  

This technical note describes how this was achieved on the Shiyan-Manchuangan Expressway project in Hubei China. By focusing on sustainable land development, better housing standards and infrastructure access, and centralized resettlement communities, the project has improved living standards and raised incomes for most affected residents. Public participation and continuous dialogue with affected parties throughout the project helped address residents’ concerns and contributed to the positive outcome. These practices can be applied elsewhere to help achieve satisfactory resettlement outcomes.

Short World Bank paper on activities combatting HIV/AIDS in transport projects. The focus is on the China projects and what has worked. There is an accompanying presentation filed in the presentations folder.