This investment will support the development of transportation infrastructure in Mengzi City and Jianshui County. This will include designated bus lanes, improved bus services, and improved road and intersection design. The Jianshui County component will consist of allocating road space for public transit and pedestrians; creating roads between villages and a railway station, logistics, park, and industrial zone; and strengthening institutional support for the transportation system. The Mengzi City component will consist of improving existing roads and creating new ones; developing bus infrastructure through purchasing more buses, creating designated bus lanes, and constructing bus stops; and creating roads to support school traffic. Mengzi City, which has a population of 241,000, is located 289km south of Kunming and 140km from the Vietnam border. Jianshui county, which has a population of 500,000 people, is 65 km from Mengzi City.

RISK CATEGORIZATION: B

The World Bank has labeled this project as Category B. This is because the project may require involuntary resettlement. It is also to be decided whether physical cultural resources and indigenous peoples will be affected by the project. However, this is based on only a partial assessment.

APPLICABLE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS:

• Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01
• Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11
• Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10
• Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENT

Since the project is in an early identification stage, it is difficult to know what specific human rights impacts it may have. However, given the fact that it is a project that will involve changes in transportation layout, there are a number of rights that may be implicated.

Right to Culture

Mengzi City has a number of historical sites that could be impacted by any kind of expansion of transportation infrastructure. These historic sites include the tomb of Cao Shigui, the station of Bise zhai, the martyrs' cemetery, and the Yuanshidong. Jianshui County is host to the second largest Confucian temple, along with over 100 other ancient temples, 50 ancient bridges, historical residences, and 56 state-protected cultural relics.

Some questions community members and local NGOs should consider asking:

• Do you have reasons to believe the planned investment project could affect the cultural resources of your community?
• Do you have reasons to believe that your ability to participate in cultural life could change as a result of the planned investment project?
• Do the implementing agencies have a chance-finds procedure in case cultural artifacts are encountered during operations?

Right to Food

Mengzi City is 80% agricultural, and much of Jianshui County is also agricultural. Transportation that disrupts farming areas could affect access to food. This disruption could be due to both environmental damage and the acquisition of agricultural land for the project.

Some questions community members and local NGOs should consider asking:

• Have you been informed of any potential changes that could affect your access to food?
• Do you have reasons to believe that your access to the land where you grow food could change once the investment project begins?
• Are there mechanisms through which you can file a complaint and/or obtain a remedy when your right to food has been affected?

Right to Housing and Property

This project involves upgrading and altering transportation infrastructure. This could require involuntary relocation, and could potentially even cause forced eviction.

Some questions community members and local NGOs should consider asking:

• Have you been informed of any potential changes that could affect your access to adequate housing?
• Do you have reasons to believe that your access to adequate housing could change once the investment project begins?
• Are there mechanisms through which you can file a complaint and/or obtain a remedy when your right to adequate housing has been affected?
• Are there human settlements adversely affected by the presence of this project?
• Will the households resettled for this project actually be compensated properly, and will they move voluntarily?
• Will the resettlement area provide access to similar sources of livelihood as previously?

Rights of Marginalized and Discriminated Against Groups

Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province has a population that is 58 percent minority. Jianshui contains inhabitants of Yi, Hani, Hui, Miao, and Dai minorities. Nineteen ethnic minorities live within Mengzi City. This project, which may result in relocations, may discriminate against particular minorities that are politically disadvantaged. Many ethnic minorities live in the countryside, so transportation that increases access to more rural areas could impact these groups.

Some questions community members and local NGOs should consider asking:

• Will the project infringe upon the land of marginalized or discriminated against groups and acquire it without providing just compensation to indigenous or other communities, and does the impl0ementing agency do so knowingly?
• Will the impacts of the projects be felt disproportionately by members of ethnic minorities?

The total project cost is estimated at US$300 million. The World Bank will lend $150 million, while the rest will be financed by the borrower.

PAST WORLD BANK FUNDING:

Since 2009, China has received just over $8 billion in funding from the World Bank. Bank cumulative lending in China, as of October 31, 2012, was about $51 billion for 349 projects. Most projects were targeted at environment, transportation, urban development, rural development, energy, water resources management, and human development.

In 1999 the Western Poverty Reduction Project was brought before the World Bank Inspection Panel. This project was intended to transfer 58,000 Chinese farmers into an area that had traditionally been Tibetan and Mongol. The Inspection Panel reviewed the Qinghai portion of the project after the International Campaign for Tibet filed a claim. The Panel concluded that the project violated six of the Bank's social and environmental policies, including information disclosure, indigenous peoples, involuntary resettlement, agricultural pest management, and environmental assessment. Therefore, the World Bank canceled its funding of this portion of the project.

Honghe Prefecture Government
Mr. Li Guocai (Director)
Tel: 13887351232

CONSULTATION PROCESS:

Not discussed in the report. There has only been a partial assessment.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. You can learn more about the Inspection Panel and how to file a complaint at: http://ewebapps.worldbank.org/apps/ip/Pages/Home.aspx.