Managing our impacts
The Mocuba project was developed in compliance with Mozambican law and the IFC’s Performance Standards. At the beginning of the project, an Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was developed in close dialogue with project and financing partners. The assessment identified 223 households or Project Affected People (PAPs) who were using the designated area for small-scale farming.
A Compensation and Livelihood Restoration Plan was developed to compensate all the local households or PAPs in accordance with IFC Performance Standard 5. This Standard requires a project to ensure that affected local households are assisted in adapting to the new situation and restoring their livelihoods to pre-project standards at a minimum, and preferably improving the standards.
Several consultations were held in the communities affected. These included visits to all the households affected and the collection of data about the land and the crops that were being cultivated. A Community Liaison Officer (CLO) based in Mocuba was hired permanently to ensure positive working relations with communities. The project also established a Technical Working Group with representatives from PAPs and local community leaders.
The Livelihood Restoration Plan was successfully implemented with an extension of activities to ensure that all affected households were properly assisted. The plan also included the construction of two bridges and two new drinking water boreholes.
The project partners provided USD 80,000 in funding for E&S initiatives including a Malaria Vector Control programme, construction of bridges for the PAPs and extension of the Livelihood Restoration Plan.
The Malaria programme covered about 700 construction workers and their households, and the project recruited and trained four individuals from local communities to become spray operators.
