Comoros - Additional Financing and Restructuring for Services Support Credit Project : environmental assessment

The third phase of the Comoros Social Fund Project intends to support the Government of Comoros' efforts to address the incidence of poverty among the country's poorer communities through the replenishment of a social fund designed to (a) increase access to basic social services for the poorest; (b) stimulate economic activities at the community level; and (c) promote institutional development at the local government and community levels. The overall potential negative environmental and social impacts predicted under the social fund project are based on the following reasons: (a) Comorian life in general and rural life in particular is complex and this is also coupled with the fact that rural livelihoods vary from one island to the other and so does the level of complexity vis-a-vis the environment. (b) It is recognized from this study that there is a significant lack of both human and institutional capacity at all levels of the system to be able to carry out environmental and social screening of the anticipated sub-projects. This may increase the existing environmental and social impacts within the areas of intervention; (c) Differential impacts of training and level of investment may result in some vulnerable groups relying to a greater extent than their wealthier counterparts on unsustainable use of natural resources; (d) Introduced land tenure systems and systems of governance versus traditional/religious systems may create conflict, or contradictions may result in unsustainable agricultural and natural resources management practices and for a fragile ecosystem as Comoros that can have severe consequences on the environment and social fabric; (e) Rising population pressures, a deteriorating resource base, climate change and agricultural extension can lead to an increase in land-related conflicts on all the three islands. Most of the sub-projects planned under the proposed social development fund will be small scale, therefore the significance of the direct negative social and environmental impacts are likely to be minimal.