Brazil – Emergency Fire Prevention and Control Project E: Summary Project Analysis
Brazil
Emergency Fire Prevention and Control Project
E: Summary Project Analysis
(Detailed assessments are in the project file, see Annex 8)
1. Economic (supported by Annex 4):
[ X ] Cost-Benefit Analysis : N/A [ ] Cost Effectiveness Analysis: N/A
A formal economic analysis has not been undertaken. . However a very preliminary exercise indicates that the costs of this project are far lower than the potential costs of catastrophic fires (Annex 4). The actual benefits from the project depend on two imponderables: the extent to which actual wildland fires break out in the region, and (b) the effectiveness of the project in helping to control these fires. However, it would appear that the potential benefit in foregone losses is a multiple of the proposed project cost. . The additional benefits of strengthening emergency preparedness capacity in Brazil have not been estimated, but they are potentially substantial.
2. Financial (see Annex 5):
The financial management system to be implemented before project effectiveness at IBAMA will be adapted from the systems currently being used by other Bank-financed projects within MMA. This system is structured to provide planning, monitoring and expenditure control. This system has demonstrated its capacity to maintain adequate accounting, financial reporting, and auditing systems to ensure the provision of accurate and timely information regarding project resources and expenditures to project management, auditors and the Bank. Similar systems have been operating in other Bank-supported projects for at least 2 years.
3. Technical:
IBAMA, Civil Defense, Armed Forces, and several State Fire Companies theCorpo de Bombeiros have trained personnel that possess a substantial degree of technical know-how and first-hand experience in forest -fire fighting. . The National Forest Fires Prevention and Combat System (PREVEFOGO), created in 1989 under the auspices of IBAMA, has acquired technical skills in monitoring, education and training, rural extension, and research. . This program aims at prevention, detection and suppression of wildland fires, especially in federal conservation units. . The Roraima fire event of 1998 contributed to building the technical capacity of involved agencies in like PREVEFOGO and the Fire Department in relation to fire-fighting equipment, deployment of brigades, and patterns and methods to combat tropical forest combustion.
4. Institutional
Executing agencies:
The primary executing agency would be IBAMA where the PCU would be established. . IBAMA would collaborate with the Secretariat for Regional Affairs in the Ministry of Planning where the Federal Civil Defense system is located. . It would also establish specific linkages with each State in the Deforestation Arc and with SEPRE. See Annex 2 for more details on the Institutional Arrangements.
Project Management:
IBAMA is already involved in the implementation of several World Bank supported projects, including the Conservation Units component of the National Environmental Project, and the Extractive Reserves Project under the Pilot Program to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest (PP-G7). IBAMA has temporarily borrowed staff members from the Bank-supported National Environmental Project (MMA), and is in the process of adapting procedural manuals for procurement and financial management developed for that project. Further, the President of IBAMA signed an order (Portaria No. 101/98N., of July 14, 1998) establishing a Project Coordination Unit (PCU).
with a Coordinator, Deputy Coordinator, and officers responsible for Risk Assessment, Fire Prevention, Suppression, Inter-Institutional Relations, Civil Society Relations, Procurement, Financial Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation.
The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) would be set up at IBAMAs Headquarters in Brasília with qualified staff, drawn from IBAMAs staff and contracted externally. As established in the Portaria, the PCU would report to the Control and Enforcement Directorate (DIRCOF) and would be supervised by IBAMAs President. The PCU would be responsible for procurement of works, goods, equipment and consulting services. The PCU would consist of the following staff: (a) Project Manager; (b) Deputy Project Manager and Chief of Staff; (c) Financial Manager; (d) Procurement Officer; (e) Inter-Institutional Relations Manager; (f) Community Relations Coordinator; (g) Risk Analysis and Monitoring Coordinator; (h) Fire Prevention Coordinator; (i) Fire Suppression Coordinator; and support staff as needed. IBAMA would provide adequate office space, telephones, support services, microcomputers, printers, fax, copying machines, office materials and maintenance.
IBAMA would establish a separate project performance monitoring procedure for monitoring project indicators and performance targets.
Project Oversight
An Advisory Group would be established and sustained throughout the life of the project. This Advisory Group would be comprised of representatives of MMA, MPO, the Northern Chapter of the Brazilian Association of Environmental Entities (ABEMA Zona Norte), and a NGO based in the Legal Amazon. The primary responsibilities of said Group would be to provide policy and technical recommendations for the Project and to monitor Project implementation. The Group would have full access to all records and data pertaining to the Project and would promptly provide the minutes of each meeting to the Bank.
For further information regarding Project Management, see Annex 2.
5. Social:
The project would rely on existing social capital, particularly in regard to fire prevention and suppression. The project would seek to strengthen and build on existing systems of social control at the community level to prevent irresponsible burning and consequent fire escapes during the coming dry season. It would also rely on knowledge and ideas that already exist in Amazon communities on how to burn safely. The fire prevention campaign would encourage farmers and ranchers to join together to assist in the burning of fields to prevent fire escapes. The publicity campaign would stress the importance of relying on neighbors and the need to avoid damaging neighbors fields and the surrounding forests. As indicated above, NGOs and existing associations would help to form community fire brigades that would be trained and equipped to control small and intermediate fires before they develop into large, uncontrollable fires.
6. Environmental assessment:
Environmental Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C
The project would be implemented in the Brazilian Amazon region, where the natural environment consists of humid tropical forest, growing on relatively fragile tropical soils, with many small, medium and large watercourses and natural lakes. The Risk Analysis conducted to date shows that the most vulnerable areas are those where there has already been significant anthropic disturbance, through clearing, burning, pasture formation, roads and other infrastructure, urban development, and selective logging. There are still vast, relatively undisturbed, undegraded habitats in the region but most of these are fairly secure from burning because they are inaccessible and relatively fireproof.
The main thrust of this project would be to prevent or abate environmental damage resulting from uncontrolled forest fires. However, the project has the potential to cause relatively small, localized environmental impacts (possibly in Indigenous Areas), such as in the clearing of firebreaks; clearing of areas for air-and ground-support operations; use of backfires; and transport and storage of fuel. Since there is insufficient time (due to the emergency nature of the project) to conduct a thorough Impact Assessment of specific potential impacts, project activities that have potentially negative environmental impacts would be identified during Appraisal. Procedures acceptable to the Bank to address these impacts would then be incorporated into the early stages of the project.
7. Participatory approach [key stakeholders, how involved, and what they have influenced; if participatory approach not used, describe why not applicable]:
Participatory approach Identification / Preparation Implementation / Operation Beneficiaries/community groups COL Intermediary NGOs IS + CON+COL COL Academic Institutions CON COL Private Sector IS + CON COL Local governments IS + CON + COL State Environmental Agencies IS + CON IS + COL Local Communities COL Other donors IS + CON+COL COL
(IS, Information Sharing; CON, Consultation; COL, Collaboration)
Participation in project preparation:
The Amazon Research Institute (IPAM), of Belém do Pará, participated in project preparation, especially in preparation of the Arc Map and risk analysis model. GTA (a coalition of more than 200 NGOs from the Amazon region) participated in the design of the prevention component.
During implementation/operation:
GTA and its affiliate NGOs would help implement the community mobilization and training campaign. In addition, Municipal Civil Defense Committees (COMDECs) would help implement the local fire prevention and suppression activities. Community members would also participate in fire prevention activities, particularly in community burnings.
