Review and Finalize ‘Environmental and Social Operations Manual’ for the Lao Swedish Road Sector Project 3; Environmental and Social Capacity Development in the Road Sector

ORGUT supports the Environment and Social Division (ESD) of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to improve its institutional capacity for effectively and efficiently carrying out its mandate of mainstreaming harmonized environmental and social safeguards in the countries’ road sector.
The overall objective of this project is to improve capacity and clarify the institutional role of ESD so that it can effectively carry out its mandate in the road sector with harmonised environmental and social safeguards at the central, provincial and district level. Aim of the technical assistance intervention is to strengthen ESD by a series of qualified input activities so that at the end of the project ESD is able to competently implement and manage harmonised environmental and social safeguards in a more participatory way to increase the sustainability of infrastructure investments.

The Environmental and Social Operations Manual (ESOM) for the Environmental and Social Division is a crucial guiding document. It also presents an important part in the country systems that donors supporting the transport sector in Laos will increasingly use in their programme implementation. This assignment focused on finalizing a draft ESOM prepared by the Technical Assistance Team, World Bank, ADB and IUCN. In consultation and discussions with stakeholders and the ESD and based on a desk study of relevant literature and documents the consultant reviewed, edited and finalized the document.