Consulting Services for the Development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) For the construction of an Emergency Operations Centre incorporating the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Headquarters.

Sierra Leone

Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSLP)

Grant No.: D8420-SL

Project Id: P168608

Issue date: 21st January 2024

Assignment Title: Consulting Services for the Development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) For the construction of an Emergency Operations Centre incorporating the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Headquarters

Reference No.: SL-MoF-470850-CS-INDV

Sierra Leone is a tropical country in West Africa, on the Atlantic coast between Guinea and Liberia. Apart from the undulating Freetown area and white-sand beaches, it is mainly composed of low-lying coastal plains and plateau, rising to mountainous uplands in the north-east. Previously, there were distinct dry and wet seasons, however, data and seasonal trends and events will demonstrate the climate is now ever-changing.

Flooding represents the most prevalent natural hazard in Sierra Leone. Intense rainfalls, the tropical monsoon climate, an interior jungle environment, aspect of slope and impacts of coastal erosion and climate change all contribute. Urbanization- induced hazards such as fire and human-centric incidents are becoming more frequent and severe. This leaves a detrimental impact on the vulnerable and exposed and puts considerable strain on emergency and disaster management systems and resources.

In June 2021, the World Bank approved a $56.7 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the Resilient Urban Sierra Leone Project (RUSL-P). The project will improve integrated urban management, service delivery, and disaster risk management in the Western Area and selected secondary cities across the country. It will help address the needs of the capital Freetown as the economic hub of Sierra Leone, while catering to the unique opportunities and challenges in the district capitals: Bo, Makeni, Kenema, Koidu, Port Loko and Bonthe.

Sub-component 3.1 of the project will support activities aimed at strengthening the NDMA with institutional development tools (organizational structure, detailed functions and procedures manuals, management training), equipment, infrastructure, technology, training, contingency planning and budgeting, strategy formulation; design and delivery of early warning services; capacity building across all the organizational structures (district committees, emergency operation centers (EOCs), command posts, and incident command teams); equipment; training; operational plans and procedures; critical infrastructure; and facilities.

RUSL-P builds on the work of a previous project in Sierra Leone, the Freetown Emergency Recovery Project (FERP). In addition to new legislation and a new agency, FERP seen supported the introduction of a new Disaster Risk Policy and Framework National and Regional Preparedness and Response Plans which also incorporated the Sierra Leone Incident Management System (SLIMS).

The NDMA is headquartered in Freetown with five regional offices (Bo, Makeni, Port Loko, Kenema and Western Area). According to the 2020 Act which has been enacted by Parliament, the NDMA is mandated to manage disasters and similar emergencies throughout Sierra Leone and to develop the capacity of communities to respond effectively to disaster and emergencies.

The National Disaster Management Agency has developed and implemented a multi-agency Sierra Leone Incident Management System (SLIMS) which includes field and EOC operational structures and requirements. The Emergency Operations Centre is an essential component of the Incident Management System with the purpose of major emergency or disaster incident management. The EOC will facilitate the command, control, communication, and coordination of NDMA led interoperable response.

Currently, the NDMA headquarters is in Aberdeen, Freetown. The building serves its purpose with space and offices but does not have any communications equipment or a suitable location for an EOC. The current building houses 52 staff, including substantive and voluntary personnel. A temporary EOC has been established in a secondary meeting room. Therefore, the National Disaster Management Agency now wish to construct it Headquarters with a National Operations Centre at Hastings Airfield complex, Hastings in Western Area Rural.

The proposed site is located at Hastings about 21.2Km east of Freetown. The site was owned by the Ministry of Transport and Aviation and transferred to the National Disaster Management Agency, it is a 1.84 acres plot situated within the perimeter of the Hastings Airfield with boundary coordinates (8.394048 13.123548, 8.393955 13.123428, 8.394345 13.123532, 8.394732 13.122444) on a relatively gentle slope. It can be accessed through a rugged community road 0.6Km from the Hastings Toll Gate. There is a deposit of excavated laterite material (spoil) on site, the site has sparsely scattered vegetation and very few trees, it lies about 0.03Km from a stream and about 1Km from the nearest wetland. The site is enclosed by a makeshift fence (made of bush sticks and corrugated Iron sheets) on it southern boundary along the access road.

Objectives of the Assignment

The First Schedule {Sections 24(1) and 25 (1)} of the Environment Protection Act enlisted projects whose activities require the conduct of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of which decisions are made after screening of such activities.

RUSL-P is required to comply with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) which requires the Borrower to carry out appropriate environmental and social assessment of subprojects and prepare and implement Environmental and Social (E&S) instruments, in accordance with the E&S Standards of the ESF and requirements of national legal framework.

In line with the World Bank ESF and Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) guidelines, a Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) Checklist was prepared for the proposed EOC (See screening report). In addition, the Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency’s “Guidelines for the Preparation and Review of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Reports” is also consulted. As per the guidelines, the proposed project does not fall in the First Schedule of section 24(1) and 25(1) of the EPA Act and does not require the preparation of an ESIA instead an Environmental and Social Management Plan should be prepared and submitted to SLEPA for review and necessary approval.

The ESMP should be developed, adopted, disclosed and implemented in line with the project’s Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), LMP and SEA/SH action plan in a manner that is satisfactory to the Bank.

Overall objective

The overall objective of this assignment is to prepare an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), and budget for implementing the ESMP for the proposed construction of the NDMA HQ and EOC in line with national regulations and WB E&S framework and relevant WBG EHS Guidelines.

The ESMP should identify feasible and cost-effective measures that may reduce potentially significant adverse environmental and social impacts to acceptable levels. The plan should include compensatory measures if mitigation measures are not feasible, cost-effective, or sufficient.

Specifically, the ESMP should:

• Identify and summarize all anticipated significant adverse environmental and social risks and impacts (including those involving cultural heritage or involuntary resettlement, if applicable);

• Description of potential environmental and social risks and impacts

• Describes with technical details--each mitigation measure for all anticipated adverse environmental and social impacts identified, the mitigating measures, the agencies responsible for the mitigation, the timeline, and the estimate of each of the measures

• Provides linkage with any other mitigation plans (e.g., for traffic management, occupational health and safety, waste management, labour management etc) required for the project.

• Describe the monitoring measures including the parameters to be measured, measurement procedures, sampling locations, frequency of measurements, the agency responsible for the monitoring, and the associated cost for each monitoring measure with linkages to the impacts assessed in the report and the mitigation measures described therein.

• Describe the institutional arrangement to implement the ESMP, agency responsible for the mitigation and monitoring measures; and the training required to support the implementation and mitigation measures

Preparation of an appropriate grievance redress mechanism that is aligned to the existing Grievance Mechanism that has been instituted at project level to ensure affordable and accessible procedures for third-party settlement of disputes arising from the implementation of the activity. The different forms of receiving complaints and stages of going through the process should be clearly described in a flowchart. This should be attached to the ESMP, appropriate documentation including grievance registration and resolution forms to be used as defined in existing Grievance mechanism that has been instituted at project level The overall objective of this assignment is to recruit a consultant to prepare an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), with clear timelines and budget for the proposed construction of the NDMA HQ and EOC in line with national regulations and ESF and relevant WBG EHS Guidelines.

The ESMP should identify feasible and cost-effective measures that may reduce potentially significant adverse environmental and social risks and impacts to acceptable levels. The plan should include compensatory measures if mitigation measures are not feasible, cost-effective, or sufficient.

Scope of Work AND TASKS

Scope of Assignment

In conducting the tasks described in the scope of w