Project Name: Kazakhstan: Drylands Management Project

PROJECT BRIEF

1. IDENTIFIERS

Project name: Kazakhstan: Drylands Management Project

Duration: 5 years

Implementing agency: The World Bank

Executing agency: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (MNREP)

Requesting country: Kazakhstan

Eligibility: CBD ratified on September 4, 1994; UNFCC ratified on May 17, 1995; CCD ratified on July 9, 1997; Kyoto Protocol signed on May 12, 1999.

GEF focal area: Biodiversity, Land Degradation, International Waters

GEF programming framework: OP 12: Integrated Ecosystems Management; OP 1: Arid and Semi-Arid Zone Ecosystems; OP 8: International Waters

2. SUMMARY

The overall development objective is the conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable utilization of natural resources in marginal cereal growing areas in the Shetsky Rayon of Karaganda Oblast in Kazakhstan. In support of this objective, the project, with the active participation of local communities, will assist the Government of Kazakhstan to: (i) develop alternate land uses that are economically feasible, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable, while, at the same time, rehabilitate ecosystems for the conservation of important plant and animal species; (ii) develop a coherent framework and national capacity to quantify and monitor carbon sequestration under different land use systems; and (iii) build institutional capacity, promote public awareness and develop a replication strategy so that project activities could serve as a model and be replicated in similar areas of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian Region. These activities are directly linked to the priority topics of OP12 cited above, through reversing land degradation, improving carbon sequestration, enhancing biodiversity and increasing agricultural production. The project’s holistic approach on combining good pastoral/arable practices with ecologically sustainable land use management is the first of its kind: it is envisaged that it will serve as a model for the GEF OP-12.

3. COST AND FINANCING (MILLION US$)

GEF: -Project 5.01

-PDF-B 0.35

Subtotal GEF: 5.36

COFINANCING:

-Government 2.71

-Beneficiaries & Other donors 2.56

(donors include IFAD, GM, USDA)

-Subtotal Co-financing: 5.27

TOTAL PROJECT COST (WITH PDF-B) 10.63

TOTAL PROJECT COST (WITHOUT PDF-B) 10.28

4. ASSOCIATED FINANCING: (MILLION US$)

5. OPERATIONAL FOCAL POINT ENDORSEMENT

Name: His Excellency S. Daukeev Title: Minister

Organization: Min. of Natural Resources & Env. Protection Date of endorsement: 12/22/1999

6. IMPLEMENTING AGENCY CONTACT

Emilia Battaglini Jitendra Srivastava

ECA Regional GEF Coordinator Lead Agriculturist

Email: JSrivastava@worldbank. org

Tel. (202) 473-3232 Tel. (202) 473-8975

Fax. (202) 614-0696 Fax. (202) 614-0696

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS

(Exchange Rate Effective March 2002)

Currency Unit / = / Tenge
US$ 1 / = / Tenge 152

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AU
CAS
CDB
DMP
EU
FCCC
FMR
FMS
GEF
GHG
GM
GOK
IFAD
NAP
NEAP
MOA
MOF
MNREP
NGO
PMU
PPU
PSC
PY
SA
SOE
UN-CCD
WB / Animal Unit
Country Assistance Strategy
Convention on Biodiversity
Drylands Management Project
European Union
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Financial Monitoring Reports
Financial Monitoring System
Global Environment Facility
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
UNCCD-Global Mechanism
Government of Kazakhstan
International Fund for Agricultural Development
National Action Plan
National Environmental Action Plan
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
Non-Governmental Organization
Project Management Unit
Project Preparation Unit
Project Steering Committee
Project Year
Special Account
Statement of Expenditure
United Nations’ Convention to Combat Desertification
World Bank
Vice President: / Johannes Linn
Country Manager/Director: / Dennis de Tray
Sector Manager/Director: / Marjory-Anne Bromhead
Task Team Leader: / Jitendra Srivastava

KAZAKHSTAN

DRYLANDS MANAGEMENT PROJECT (GEF)

CONTENTS

A. Project Development Objective / Page
1. Project Development Objective / 2
2. Key Performance Indicators / 2
B. Strategic Context / 3
1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) Goal Supported by the Project / 3
2. Global Operational Strategy/Program addressed by the Project / 3
3. Main Sector Issues and Government Strategy
4. Sector Issues to be Addressed by the Project and Strategic Choices / 4
7
C. Project Description Summary / 9
1. Project Components / 9
2. Key Policy and Institutional Reforms Supported by the Project
3. Benefits and target population
4. Institutional and implementation arrangements
D. Project Rationale
1. Project Alternatives considered and reasons for rejection
2. Major related projects financed by the Bank and other development agencies
3. Lessons learned and reflected in the project design
4. Indications of borrower commitment and ownership
5. Value added of Bank support in this project
E. Summary Project Analysis
1. Economic
2. Financial
3. Technical
4. Institutional
5. Environmental
6. Social
7. Safeguard Policies
F. Sustainability and Risks
1. Sustainability
2. Critical risks
3. Possible controversial aspects
G. Main Conditions
1. Effectiveness Condition
2. Other
H. Readiness for Implementation
I. Compliance with Bank Policies
Annexes
Annex 1: Project Design Summary
Annex 2: Incremental Cost Analysis
Annex 3: STAP Review / 12
13
14
15
16
17
17
18
19
19
20
20
21
24
26
27
27
28
30
30
30
30
30

KAZAKHSTAN

DRYLANDS MANAGEMENT PROJECT (GEF)

Project Concept Document

Europe and Central Asia Region

ECSSD

Date: March 11, 2002 / Team Leader: Jitendra P. Srivastava
Country Manager/Director: / Sector Manager/Director: Marjory-Anne Bromhead
Project ID: P071525 / Sector(s): VM - Natural Resources Management
Theme(s): Environment; Rural Development
Focal Area: B – Biodiversity / Poverty Targeted Intervention: N
Program Financing Data
[ ] Loan [ ] Credit [X] Grant [ ] Guarantee [ ] Other:
For Loans/Credits/Others:
Total Bank Financing (US$ m): 5.0 million
Financing Plan (US$ m): Source / Local / Foreign / Total
BORROWER / 2.71
BENEFICIARIES & OTHER / 2.56
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY / 5.01
Total: / 0.00 / 0.00 / 10.28
Borrower/Recipient: GOVERNMENT OF KAZAKSTAN
Responsible agency: MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
Contact Person: MR. Shukputoe, MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
Tel: (3162) 5-62-42 Fax: (3162) 5-06-20 Email:
Estimated disbursements (Bank FY/US$ m):
FY
Annual
Cumulative
Project implementation period: 5 years

OCS PAD Form: Rev. March, 2000

A. Project Development Objective.

1. Project’s Development Objective. (see Annex 1).

These actions are consistent with the Ministry of Agriculture’s (MOA) and the National Environmental Action Plan’s (NEAP) overall strategy to reduce cereal cultivation in marginal dry areas, to increase farm incomes in a sustainable way and to restore and conserve the vegetative cover of the drylands. The project also responds to agricultural and environmental issues identified in the Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Kazakhstan.

2. Project’s Global Environmental Objectives

The proposed Drylands Management Project (DMP) will promote activities that are directly linked to protecting and enhancing the environment through reversing land degradation, improving carbon sequestration, improving available water quantity and quality, and enhancing biodiversity. Thus, global benefits will result from not only improving biodiversity, but also from rehabilitating these steppe areas resulting in increased sequestering of atmospheric carbon dioxide that could ultimately be traded as carbon credits with industrialized nations that are sources of CO2 emissions. Therefore, the project is promoting global environmental initiatives.

The project objectives are in line with the Government’s strategy for desertification control, as articulated in the National Action Plan (NAP) prepared in accordance with the United Nations’ Convention to Combat Desertification (UN-CCD). In addition, the Republic of Kazakhstan has joined the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC). It has identified the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as a priority environmental problem of global significance in their NEAP.

3. Key performance indicators. (see Annex 1).

These are detailed in Annex 1, Table 1.

Performance indicators will be developed in the course of project preparation. Indicators for the achievement of the project’s development objective will include the successful demonstration of alternative land uses, particularly in low-income farming families. This includes: regressing abandoned land; improved management of rangelands; providing access to distant pastures; and increasing perennials on all land use types. The impact on income generation for rural households, especially in poor households, will be measured. Indicators for the global environment objectives will include the measurement of increased carbon sequestration from the regeneration of abandoned lands/rangelands and the impact on biodiversity and water quality.

B. Strategic Context.

1. Sector-related Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) goal supported by the project: (see Annex 1). Click here to get to the CAS Document.

Document number: 21607 KZ Date of latest CAS discussion: January 16, 2001.

1.1 Project linkage to CAS Objectives.

Protecting and enhancing the environment is a major challenge identified in Kazakhstan’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS). The overarching objective of the Bank Group’s CAS is poverty reduction and improvement of living standards. The CAS identifies four main areas for investment in support of this objective: reforming the public sector, promoting broad based private sector growth, supporting the most vulnerable in the population and protecting the environment. A key focus of the Bank’s assistance strategy in agriculture (as part of support for broad based private sector growth) will be to help the Government in its efforts to address the problems of declining productivity in the ailing farm sector, on both large and small farms. The CAS supports an extensive program aimed at restoring agricultural viability and includes support for the: (i) ongoing Agricultural Post-Privatization Project which has supported the development of rural advisory services and financial services for rural enterprises through commercial banks; (ii) a new Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) that will assist in delineating public and private sector roles in the provision of services to farms and provide targeted investment in infrastructure and training to demonstrate delivery of services to clients in the areas of farm production and marketing. The CAS highlights the proposed project on Drylands Ecosystems Management, both as part of the drive for broader-based development as well as taking action to deal with reducing environmental degradation. The Project will pilot an effort, with GEF funds, to support the Government’s policy to restore marginal dry lands back to natural vegetation, and develop more sustainable uses of such lands. The project will address the possibilities for growth and development of the livestock industry in Kazakhstan on marginal farming lands and thus build on the measures implemented under the Bank’s ongoing Agricultural Post-Privatization Project and proposed ASSP to improve farm productivity and rural incomes. In Kazakhstan, there are an estimated 59 million ha. have degraded rangelands of which 10 million ha. have been ploughed and abandoned. With reseeding and improved management of these areas, it is possible to substantially increase animal and/or animal product off-take (meat, milk, milk products, hides and wool etc.) and directly benefit about 0.5 million people (120,000 farming families) in the dryland areas of Kazakhstan.

In addition, the Bank will: (i) continue its joint work alongside the TACIS and other partners such as GL/CRSP, ICARDA, IFAD, GM, USDA and JICA to help Kazakhstan’s counterparts implement the NEAP through strengthening the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection; (ii) ensure that environmental issues are fully addressed in the Bank’s sector work such as private sector development, energy and in particular agriculture; and (iii) support selected investments, including GEF operations.

1.2 Global Operational Strategy/Program addressed by the project.

The proposed project is consistent with the newly created Operational Program 12, (GEF OP-12) “Integrated Ecosystems Management” which promotes land generation and biodiversity. It provides a comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to addressing many of the goals of global environment conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB), UNFCC and CCD. The project provides an integrated approach to achieving ecological, economic and social goals to achieve both local and global benefits. It addresses three program objectives of OP 12 as follows:

(a) Conserving and sustainably using biological diversity, as well as the equitable sharing of benefits arising from bio-diversity use, for example, promoting eco-tourism and using biomass for energy;

(b) Reducing net emissions and increasing storage of greenhouse gases in terrestrial ecosystems; and

The Project activities to be implemented in the context of sustainable development will provide for human resource development in integrated ecosystem management as well as investments in rehabilitation and improved management of rangelands to restore indigenous vegetation and improve water management. These activities are directly linked to the priority topics of OP12 cited above, through reversing land degradation, improving carbon sequestration, enhancing biodiversity and increasing agricultural production. The project’s holistic approach on combining good pastoral/arable practices with ecologically sustainable land use management is the first of its kind: it is envisaged that it will serve as a model for the GEF OP-12.

The Project will also implement priority actions identified in the NEAP, the CAS and the Bank’s ongoing Agricultural Post-Privatization Project, through support by GEF. It will build on the experiences of the ongoing WB/GEF Central Asia Trans-boundary Biodiversity Project covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Amongst other things the project addresses agro-biodiversity conservation through active local participation and promotes economic incentives and alternative livelihood opportunities. In addition, it complements the UNDP/GEF’s Small Grant’s Programme (SGP) that provides assistance to a number of initiatives. These cover technical support for MNREP, biological diversity, land degradation, climate change and international waters. The SGP includes: i) “Assistance to the GOK in the development of a strategy to implement the conservation of biological diversity” (KAZ/96/G31) and ii) “Programme for implementation of the 1998-2000 strategic plan: ecology and natural resources” (KAZ/98/002/A/01/99). These are documented in the UNDP/GEF SGP for Kazakhstan (August 1999) and are listed in Table 3.