This Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) was prepared by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) as one of a set of instruments required to address and manage environmental and social (E&S) risks and impacts associated with the Somali Water for Rural Resilience (WRR), or “BARWAAQO” Project. The project, to be financed by the World Bank, will be implemented by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). The Ministry of Planning and International and Economic Development (MoPIED), in close collaboration with relevant technical ministries at federal government and federal member states, local government and community levels. The proposed project will build on the progress made under the Biyoole project which has been under implementation since January 2020 seeking to address the climatic shocks faced by Somali communities to reduce associated risks and the impacts of these shocks on livelihoods by investing not only in water, agriculture, livestock, and environmental services but also in the institutions that manage them so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The project will expand interventions from Puntland, Galmudug and South West State to Hirshabelle, Jubaland and Somaliland.

The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to develop water and agricultural services among agro-pastoralist communities in dryland areas of Somalia. The project has four components:

Component 1: Support Development of Multiuse Water Sources. Implemented by the Ministries of Water in Somaliland and Puntland, Southwest, Galmudug, Hirshabele and Jubaland. This component aims to improve water availability for domestic, agriculture, and livestock, and to address the effects of climate induced droughts and floods by developing a slew of water supply infrastructure that provides reliable year-round supplies, including small sand and subsurface dams in dry riverbeds (wadis) and surface water storage infrastructure (for example, berkads and hafir dams).

Component 2: Support Development of Agriculture and Livestock Services around Water Points. Implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock in FMS and Somaliland, this component will support interventions aimed at creating and strengthening sustainable and productive livelihoods for communities, ensuring that they benefit from the water point investments while improving SLM and addressing vulnerabilities to flood and drought.

Component 3: Development of Environmental Upstream Catchment Services. Implemented by the Ministries of Environment in FMS and Somaliland, this component—which represents an addition compared to the original Biyoole project design—aims to address vulnerabilities to floods and droughts and enhance the benefits from the sustainable management of upstream catchments.

Component 4: Project Management, Community Development and Enhancing Livelihoods Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and Knowledge Management and Learning. This component will finance the operational costs of the project management units in participating FMSs and a project coordinator and fiduciary support unit at the FGS level.