Vietnam Irrigated Agricultural Improvement Project (WB7, Hoa Binh Subproject Ethnic Minority

Vietnam Irrigated Agricultural Improvement Project (WB7, Hoa Binh Subproject Ethnic Minority Development Plan

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

IRRIGATED AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (IAIP)

ETHNIC MINORITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

HOA BINH PROVINCE

(Draft 2)

Prepared by

Hoa Binh Provincial Project Management Unit

July, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS

DEFINITION OF TERMS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I.INTRODUCTION

1. Project and Subproject Description

2. Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project- Hoa Binh Subproject

2.1. Subproject 01: Improvement and upgrading of turbine and electric pump stations

2.2. Overall objectives of the subproject improvement

2.3. Impacts of the subproject on the ethnic minority community

II.LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ETHNIC MINORITY PEOPLE

1.The national legal and policy framework of Vietnam for ethnic minority people

2.The policies related to ethnic minorities

3.Participation/grassroots democracy

4.The World Bank’s operational policy on ethnic minority peoples (OP 4.10)

III.SOCIAL ASSESSMENT RESULTS

1.Socio-economic status of the project area

2.Socio-economic profile of the affected households

2.1.Demography

2.2.Education

2.3.Health

2.4.Clean Water and Energy

3.Ethnic minority communities in the project area

3.1.Muong community in Hoa Binh Province

3.2.Thai Community in Mai Chau

IV.SUMMARY OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION RESULTS WITH THE ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITIES

V.CONSULTATION FRAMEWORK WITH THE ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITIES

1.Consultation framework with the ethnic minority communities during the project implementation

2.Disclosure of EMDP

VI.ACTION PLAN FOR MITIGATION MEASURES OR COMPENSATION FOR ADVERSE IMPACTS CAUSED BY THE PROJECT

VII.ESTIMATED COST BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR EMDP IMPLEMENTION

VIII.GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM

1.The key principles of the grievance redress mechanism

2.Grievance Redress Mechanism

IX.MONITORING AND EVALUATION MECHANISM

1.Monitoring Principles

2.Internal Monitoring

3.External Monitoring and Evaluation

ANNEXES

ANNEX 1. PROJECT AREA

PHỤ LỤC 2 - SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORM

ANNEX 3. BASIC INFORMATION OF THE PROJECT COMMUNES

ANNEX 4. SUMARY OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION RESULTS

LIST OF TABLES AND CHART

Table 1. Legal documents relating to ethnic minorities

Table 2. Number of project affected households

Table 3. Summary of consultation results

Table 4. Action plans which involve the participation of the ethnic minorities

Table 5. Budget for EMDP Implementation

Chart 1. Everage Income Level of Population in Effected Communes

ABBREVIATIONS

APsAffected people

CPCCommune People's Committee

CPOCentral Project Office

DARDDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development

DMSDetailed Measurement Survey

DPCDistrict People's Committee

DRCDistrict Resettlement Committee

EMPFEthnic Minority Policy Framework

EMDPEthnic Minority Development Plan

EMPEthnic Minority People

GOV Government of Vietnam

HHHousehold

IOLInventory of Losses

MOLISAMinistry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs

MOF Ministry of Finance

LURCLand Use Rights Certificate

NGONon-Governmental Organization

OP4.10Operation Procedures on Ethnic Minority Peoples

PADProject Appraisal Documents

PRAParticipatory Rural Appraisal a

PPMU Provincial Project Management Unit

PPCProvincial People's Committee

RPResettlement Plan

TORTerms of Reference

VNDVietnam Dong

WBWorld Bank

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Vietnam Irrigated Agricultural Improvement Project (WB7, Hoa Binh Subproject Ethnic Minority Development Plan

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Project impact / Means positive and negative impacts on EMs caused by all project components. Adverse impacts are often consequences immediately related to the taking of a parcel of land or to restrictions in the use of legally designated parks or protected areas. People directly affected by land acquisition may lose their home, farmland, property, business, or other means of livelihood. In other words, they lose their ownership, occupancy, or use rights, because of land acquisition or restriction of access.
Displaced (affected) people / Refers to individuals or organizations that are directly affected socially and economically by Bank-assisted investment projects caused by the involuntary taking of land and other assets that results in (i) relocation or loss of shelter; (ii) loss of assets or access to assets; or (iii) loss of income sources or means of livelihood, whether or not the affected persons must move to another location. The involuntary taking of land includes the exercise of possession when the proprietor has allowed and benefited from others' occupation of the area. In addition, displaced person is one for whom involuntary restriction of access to legally designated parks and protected areas that result in adverse impacts on livelihoods also; this category of displaced person would be unlikely in the urban area, however.
Indigenous Peoples / Equivalent with ethnic minority peoples in Viet Nam to refer to a distinct, vulnerable, social and cultural group possessing the following characteristics in varying degrees: (i) self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identify by others; (ii) collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories; (iii) customary cultural, social, economic, social or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and (iv) an indigenous language, often different from the official language of the country or region.
Vulnerable groups / Distinct groups of people who might suffer disproportionately or face the risk of being further marginalized by the effects of resettlement and specifically include: (i) women headed household (widow, disabled husband with elderly or children), (ii) disable or the elderly alone, (iii) poor people (living below the state poverty threshold), (iv) the landless, and (v) ethnic minority groups.
Culturally appropriate / Means having regard for all facets of the cultures, and being sensitive to their dynamics.
Free, prior and informed consultation / Is a consultation that occurs freely and voluntarily, without any external manipulation, interference, or coercion, for which the parties consulted have prior access to information on the intent and scope of the proposed project in a culturally appropriate manner, form, and language.
Collective attachment / Means that for generations there has been a physical presence in and economic ties to lands and territories traditionally owned, or customarily used or occupied, by the group concerned, including areas that hold special significance for it, such as sacred sites. “Collective attachment” also refers to the attachment of transhumant/nomadic groups to the territory they use on a seasonal or cyclical basis.
Customary rights to lands and resources / Refers to patterns of long-standing community land and resource usage in accordance with Ethnic Minority Peoples’ customary laws, values, customs, and traditions, including seasonal or cyclical use, rather than formal legal title to land and resources issued by the State.

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Vietnam Irrigated Agricultural Improvement Project (WB7, Hoa Binh Subproject Ethnic Minority Development Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Hoa Binh Subproject 01 aims to improve 9 hydraulic pump stations and 1 electric pump station in 10 communes of 5 districts in Hoa Binh province. This Ethnic Minority Development Plan (EMDP) is formulated based on the Ethnic Minority Policy Framework (EMPF) of Viet Nam Irrigated AgriculturalImprovement Project (VIAIP), social assessment and socio-economic survey of the sub-component area and an inventory of losses of this Sub-component in the Hoa Binh Province;
2. Among 10 improved pump stations, three stations will have impacts on land acquisition. They are stations namely Nhot, in Thanh Hoi commune, Tan Lac district; Bai Ve in Pieng Ve commune and Xuan Tien in Xam Khoe (Mai Chau district);
3. Affected ethnic minority communities of the Sub-component include the Thai community in Mai Chau District and the Muong ethnic community in all five project districts;
4. Three communes are affected by the improvement of the water pumps, namely Pieng Ve, Xam Khoe (Mai Chau District) and Thanh Hoi (Tan Lac District);
5. 17 ethnic minority households are affected by the sub-component, including six Thai households (three households in Pieng Ve Commune and three households in Xam Khoe Commune) and 11 Muong households (2 households in Xam Khoe and 9 households in Thanh Hoi);
6. Muong and Thai communities in the affected communes are long-standing ethnic minority communities in Hoa Binh Province. In Mai Chau District, due to the history of co-existencebetween Thai and Muong people, during the development process, they influence each other with regards to cultural factors. However, both Muong and Thai communities in Hoa Binh Province still maintain the traditional features of their own groups.
7. All affected ethnic minority households have a level of education of secondary school and 100% of the households are engaged in agriculture, thus their main income source is from agriculture. The average income level of these households, although lower than the average income level of the communes, is higher than the poverty threshold standard established by MOLISA.
8. The affected Ethnic Minority (EM)households lose a total of 271 m2 of agricultural land (land for growing groundnuts) and 10 china trees (xoan). No structuresare affected by the project or less than 10% of their landholdings are affected by the project. Among 17 affected EM households, there is 1 household headed by single woman and 1 poor household.
9. The consultation results show that the affected EM households and EM communities in the communes expect that the Project will be implemented as soon as possible because they are clearly aware of the benefits brought by the Sub-component. The civil works Sub-component mainly carried out on the existing canals; therefore, the construction workswill not affect any places of worship, pagoda, temple or religious structure of the EM communities in the project area.
10. An Action Plan aiming to minimize the negative impacts is developed incorporating activities of the RAP and EMP. Costs of these activities are included in the RAP and EMP.
11. The PPMU is responsible for fully disclosing the project’s information to the EM communities in respect to their traditions and customs. The PPMU also ensures the consultation with and participation of EM communities in the project implementation process. An external monitoring agency is responsible for monitoring of EMDP activities.

I.INTRODUCTION

1. Project and Subproject Description

Vietnam Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project (WB7)

The Government of Vietnam proposed to the World Bank for a loan to carry out a project called Irrigated Agriculture Improvement (WB7) to provide support for development of agriculture in 07 provinces in the Central Coastal and Northern mountainous provinces including Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, Ha Giang, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Nam and Quang Tri. The proposed project consists of the following components (i) Institution and Policy to support water resources management; (ii) Upgrade of irrigation scheme; (iii) Climate smart agriculture support services; and (iv) Monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Development objectives of the Project

The development objective of the project is the improvement of sustainability of irrigated agriculture production system in the selected provinces of Central coastal and Northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam. The project was proposed in the context that the Government prioritizes restructuring of agriculture, increase in efficiency for public spending, resilience to climate change and a broader framework for sustainable development of water resources. This development objective will be realized through rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage services, provisions of complementary advisory services, and strengthening institutional capacity at the provincial level, scheme and farm/community levels.

2. Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Project- Hoa Binh Subproject

2.1. Subproject 01: Improvement and upgrading of turbine and electric pump stations

Subproject No. 01: Improvement and upgrading of 10 turbine pump stations and 1 electric pump station together with the irrigation system in 10 communes including Mai Hich, Pieng Ve, Xam Khoe, Thanh Hoi, Gio Nhan, Lo Son, Gia Mo, Tan Vinh, Cao Phong Town, and Tan My belonging to 5 districts, namely Luong Son, Lac Son, Tan Lac, Cao Phong and Mai Chau of Hoa Binh Province.

2.2. Overall objectives of the subproject improvement

The objectives of the Project will be achieved through the following specific activities: (i) the Project will provide the advisory activities in order to strengthen the institutional capacity at provincial level, scheme and farm/community levels toimprove irrigation and drainage services,; (ii) support more flexible and more diverse land use, increase water use efficiency, and minimize adverse impacts on the environment (including greenhouse gas emissions through a “Climate-Smart Agriculture” approach in different ecological contexts will); and (iii) design and introduce a water management approach based on water productivity to encourage institutional improvements at provincial, IMC and scheme levels.

Specific objectives of the Subproject No. 01: Improvement and Upgrading of Turbine and Electric Pump Stations

• Assure supply of reliable gravity irrigation for 1,048 ha of agricultural land including 648 ha of rice-growing land and 400 ha of land for growing oranges trees and other crops.
• Supply domestic water for people and water for livestock husbandry purposes.
• Increase assured water-supplied area.
• Increase rice yield by 1.5 tons per ha (from 4.5 tons/ha to 6.0 tons/ha).
• Increase crops, from one-crop rice to two-crop rice.
• Increase area of rain-fed crops.

2.3. Impacts of the subproject on the ethnic minority community

Positive impacts

Subproject 01 irrigated for 1,048 ha and has 5,352 benefited households. Total number of beneficiaries of Subproject 01 is 21,448 people; of which 80.6% is ethnic minorities.

The hydraulic pump stations and electric pump station of Subproject 01 were constructed with the main objective which is to supply irrigating water for fields in the communes; in addition, to husk, generate electricity or supply water for fish pond of the ethnic minority households. Due to the fact that the construction time was long ago, currently, the stations are degraded, the canal system is leaking, and there is not enough water for the designed fields’ irrigation.

The consultations show that the improvement of the stations will bring ethnic minority communities effectiveness in production and indirectly increase the people’s income. These positive impacts are presented in following aspects:

• Increasing irrigated area of land for rice; therefore, number of rice harvest season can be risen from 1 to 2 for the ethnic minority communities;
• It can utilized to intercrop to make a more diversified livelihood for the ethnic minority communities;
• Increasing area of fish pond of the households, especially Thai ethnic households – ones are really good at aquaculture;
• Upgraded stations will reduce competitiveness in using irrigating water; thus, disputes and disunity of the ethnic minority households will be decreased;

Negative impacts

• 17 ethnic minority households (11 Muong households and 6 Thai households) will be affected by the construction of the turbine stations
• All of these households are affected on their productive land and no household is affected on residential land and structures.
• The total land area to be acquired is 264 m2 and no household loses more than 10% of their agricultural landholdings.

II.LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ETHNIC MINORITY PEOPLE

1.The national legal and policy framework of Vietnam for ethnic minority people

The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (enacted in 1992 and amended 2001) acknowledges the equality among ethnic groups and includes the following general principles as stipulated in Article 5, Article 30, Article 36 and Article 39 of the Constitution:

• Viet Nam is a united nation of all ethnic groups living within the country.
• The State applies a policy of equality, solidarity and mutual support among the various ethnic communities and prohibits all acts of ethnic discrimination and division.
• All ethnic groups have the right to use their own languages and writing systems and to preserve their traditional customs and culture.
• The State implements policies of all-round development aimed at gradually improving and raising the material and spiritual and living conditions of ethnic minorities.
• The State will take charge of and will ensure the promotion of the cultural values of all nationalities in Viet Nam.
• The State gives priority for the development of education and health care to mountain inhabitants and ethnic minorities.

2.The policies related to ethnic minorities

The Government of Viet Nam has passed a series of policies related to ethnic minority development, particularly in remote mountainous areas. One of the most relevant of these is Decision No.134/2004/QD-TTg (referred to as “Program 134”) of the Prime Minister, dated on 20 July 2004, which includes a number of policies to provide some land support policies for agricultural production, residential land, dwelling houses and clean water for daily-life to poor ethnic minority households meeting with difficulties. .

Decree No.60/2008/ND-CP of the Prime Minister, dated 9 May 2008, prescribes the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA). This ministerial level agency is under the Government, which performs its functions of state management on ethnic minority affairs nationwide and on public services within its authorities, and provincial departments. Provinces with a numerous ethnic minority population have Departments of Ethnic Minority Affairs under the Provincial People’s Committees. The functions of a CEMA ranges from the development of laws to the implementation of programmes, monitoring and acting as an inter-agency of different ministries of Viet Nam and cooperating with international organizations within its authorities regulated by law. In 1995, CEMA developed a framework for external assistance with the development of ethnic minorities. This framework resulted in a strategy for the development of ethnic minority people within the Government's goal of stability, sustainable growth and reduction of poverty. The key points of this framework are: a) To fight against poverty; b) To encourage the active participation of the populations of ethnic minorities in their own development; c) To reinforce the institutions involving ethnic minorities; d) To develop natural and human resources in a sustainable manner; and e) To ensure mutual respect and increase responsibility of the parties involved.

3.Participation/grassroots democracy

The Government’s documents on the grassroots democracy and public participation are also relevant to this EMPF. Ordinance No.34/2007/PL-UBTVQH11, dated 20 April, 2007 (superseding Decree No.79/2003/ND-CP dated 7 July 2003) on the implementation of democracy in commune, ward and township levels, provides the basis for the community participation and supervision in the preparation and development of plans in Viet Nam. The Prime Minister’s Decision No.80/2005/QD-TTg, dated 18 April 2005, promulgates the regulations on the community investment supervision.