Solomon Islands: Emergency assistance project - Resettlement framework

A. Project Background

1. The Project will rehabilitate infrastructure that was damaged by the 2 April 2007 earthquake and tsunami in Choiseul and Western provinces, including (i) approximately 35 kilometers of rural and town roads, along with about 19 bridges and 35 culverts, (ii) about four wharves and one jetty, and (iii) the Gizo town water supply and sanitation system. The Project will be implemented via a sector approach.

2. All civil works are expected to be conducted on existing facilities within existing rights of way, therefore they will most likely not require land acquisition or involuntary resettlement. However it is possible that construction clearing to original designs and minor realignments necessitated by disaster damage could cause resettlement impacts. Therefore, this framework provides a screening mechanism, which will identify possible resettlement impacts for each rehabilitation activity before the commencement of civil works, and provides guidelines on how to address them if they occur. In any case, the number of potentially affected households is small and within the category of "insignificant resettlement impacts" under ADB's policy on Involuntary Resettlement (1995).

3. In the rare event that an activity requires physical or economic displacement, Resettlement Plans (RP) will be prepared. This Resettlement Framework (RF) outlines the resettlement policy principles, procedures, and institutional arrangements to ensure that if resettlement needs are identified, the project Executing Agency (EA) follows the procedures for involuntary resettlement in compliance with the Government's applicable laws and regulations, and ADB's policy on Involuntary Resettlement (1995) and Handbook on Resettlement (1998), and the agreed resettlement framework for the Project.