ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts sets out the Borrower’s responsibilities for assessing, managing and monitoring environmental and social risks and impacts associated with each stage of a project supported by the Bank through Investment Project Financing (IPF), in order to achieve environmental and social outcomes consistent with the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs).
ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions recognizes the importance of employment creation and income generation in the pursuit of poverty reduction and inclusive economic growth. Borrowers can promote sound worker-management relationships and enhance the development benefits of a project by treating workers in the project fairly and providing safe and healthy working conditions.
ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management recognizes that economic activity and urbanization often generate pollution to air, water, and land, and consume finite resources that may threaten people, ecosystem services and the environment at the local, regional, and global levels. This ESS sets out the requirements to address resource efficiency and pollution prevention and management throughout the project life-cycle.
ESS4: Community Health and Safety addresses the health, safety, and security risks and impacts on project-affected communities and the corresponding responsibility of Borrowers to avoid or minimize such risks and impacts, with particular attention to people who, because of their particular circumstances, may be vulnerable.
ESS5: Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement - involuntary resettlement should be avoided. Where involuntary resettlement is unavoidable, it will be minimized and appropriate measures to mitigate adverse impacts on displaced persons (and on host communities receiving displaced persons) will be carefully planned and implemented.
ESS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources recognizes that protecting and conserving biodiversity and sustainably managing living natural resources are fundamental to sustainable development and it recognizes the importance of maintaining core ecological functions of habitats, including forests, and the biodiversity they support. ESS6 also addresses sustainable management of primary production and harvesting of living natural resources, and recognizes the need to consider the livelihood of project-affected parties, including Indigenous Peoples, whose access to, or use of, biodiversity or living natural resources may be affected by a project.
ESS7: Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities ensures that the development process fosters full respect for the human rights, dignity, aspirations, identity, culture, and natural resource-based livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities. ESS7 is also meant to avoid adverse impacts of projects on Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities, or when avoidance is not possible, to minimize, mitigate and/or compensate for such impacts.
ESS8: Cultural Heritage recognizes that cultural heritage provides continuity in tangible and intangible forms between the past, present and future. ESS8 sets out measures designed to protect cultural heritage throughout the project life-cycle.
ESS9: Financial Intermediaries (FIs) recognizes that strong domestic capital and financial markets and access to finance are important for economic development, growth and poverty reduction. FIs are required to monitor and manage the environmental and social risks and impacts of their portfolio and FI subprojects, and monitor portfolio risk, as appropriate to the nature of intermediated financing. The way in which the FI will manage its portfolio will take various forms, depending on a number of considerations, including the capacity of the FI and the nature and scope of the funding to be provided by the FI.
ESS10: Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure recognizes the importance of open and transparent engagement between the Borrower and project stakeholders as an essential element of good international practice. Effective stakeholder engagement can improve the environmental and social sustainability of projects, enhance project acceptance, and make a significant contribution to successful project design and implementation.
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