Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) for the Implementation of a Sustainable Financing Mechanism in the Republic of Congo

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Congo and with support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), is advancing an ambitious Sustainable Financing Mechanism to help the country meet its conservation commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and its Nationally Determined Contributions.

A key element of this effort is ensuring that project objectives and activities align with internationally recognized environmental and social safeguards (ESS). To achieve this, AAE will develop an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) that will guide conservation activities throughout the project’s lifetime, ensuring compliance with ESS standards and mitigating potential risks to both communities and the environment.

Main tasks include:

• Reviewing existing environmental and social policies and identifying gaps.
• Conduct stakeholder consultations, including with local communities.
• Conduct an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project and its objectives.
• Develop an Action Plan with mitigation measures and actions based on the ESIA.
• Develop an ESMF for the Sustainable Financing Mechanism.
• Ensure the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF), which will be responsible for disbursement of funds under this project, is in alignment with the ESMF.

Main outputs:

• Stakeholder analysis and Stakeholder Engagement Plan.
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).
• Action Plan and Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF).
• Report summary, gap analysis and action plan of CTF-level environmental and social management approach.