Morocco Sustainable Oasis Ecosystems Management Project (WB-P500402)

Countries
  • Morocco
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Aoufous and Akka Oasis
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
May 20, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Morocco - Agence Nationale pour le Développement des Zones Oasiennes et de l'Arganier
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Climate and Environment
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 12.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 16.30 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Aug 1, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Aug 20, 2023

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project development objective (PDO) is to strengthen the sustainable oasis ecosystems management for climate resilience in Aoufouss and Akka Oasis and develop a national standard for integrated oasis management.

Components
Component 1: Institutional Strengthening and Sharing of Innovative Oasis Knowledge
Component 2: Restoration of Oasis Ecosystems and Livelihoods
Component 3: Project Management

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The overall rating of environmental risk is Substantial. Given the nature of the activities and ecosystems involved in the project, which are not overly complex, the environmental and social and impacts are deemed Substantial. The effects of the project on areas of high biodiversity value or sensitivity, such as traditional oases, are expected to be lower than High risk projects. According to rapid screening using the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), the oases of Aoufous and Akka are sensitive areas due to the presence of species of conservation concern 50 kilometers from the targeted oases. Component 2 is expected to have limited adverse impacts during the construction of small hydraulic and/or access infrastructure, which may present risks or impacts linked to the generation of waste including hazardous waste, air emissions, and noise.

The project's social risk rating is Moderate, with most risks emanating from the second component, focused on the revitalization of oasis ecosystems and the enhancement of local livelihoods. Specifically, the rehabilitation of climate resilient traditional water infrastructure and the improvement of rural roads have the potential to spark social tensions due to issues like temporary limitations on land and water access and usage, occupational health and safety concerns, as well as minor, land acquisition.

 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

A PROPOSED GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF US$12 MILLION

Counterpart Funding (National Government): US$4,3 MILLION


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

World Bank

Amos Abu
Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist

Kimberly Vilar
Senior Social Development Specialist

Borrower/Client/Recipient

Ministry of Finance
Abdelmajid Mellouki
Coordonnateur des Relations avec le Groupe de la Banque mond
m.mellouki@tresor.finances.gov.ma

Implementing Agencies

Agence Nationale pour le Développement des Zones Oasiennes et de l'Arganier (ANDZOA)
Ahmed Amrani
Chef de division stratégie & partenariats
felusamrani@andzoa.ma

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE 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. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works