IPP38
Revised
KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Provincial and Rural Infrastructure Project (PRIP)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK
Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Ministry of Rural Development
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
June, 2003
FIL      C 



I. Introduction
1.    The overall goals of the proposed Provincial and Rural Infrastructure Project
(PRIP) are to reduce rural poverty and expand economic and social development, and to
contribute to the national re-integration of the project provinces into the mainstream
national development. The development objective of the project is to provide
sustainable, year-round, and safe improvements in rural accessibility to markets and
essential services in the four provinces of Siem Reap, Odtar Mean Chey, Kampong
Thom, and Preah Vihear.
2.    The PRIP will rehabilitate and maintain strategic secondary and tertiary roads in
the four northwest provinces covered by the project. Since the project will rehabilitate
existing roads, no significant acquisition of private assets and displacement of population
are foreseen. Three of the project provinces are known to have some indigenous ethnic
minorities. Preliminary information suggests that several indigenous minorities live in the
forest areas, some distance away from the existing roads. Some indigenous minority
communities live close to the provincial roads or villages and are likely to benefit from
the project in terms of improved access to markets and new opportunities for income
generation. No significant adverse impacts on indigenous minority groups are foreseen
but in some cases their access to community resources may be affected. It is also
possible that rehabilitation of some road sections and development of market areas may
result in increased in-migration, creating pressure on the land. The Indigenous Peoples
Development Framework, presented below, addresses the principles and procedures for
sub-projects in areas where indigenous ethnic minorities reside.
II. PRIP and Operational Directive 4.20
3.    As a prerequisite to World Bank support, PRIP must meet the requirements of
Operational Directive 4.20 (Indigenous Peoples). This policy directive requires that
special measures be established to protect the interests of ethnic minorities, i.e. social
groups with a social and cultural identity distinct from the dominant society that makes
them vulnerable to being disadvantaged in the development process. Indigenous peoples
can be identified in particular geographical areas by the presence in varying degrees of
the following characteristics:
(a) a close attachment to ancestral terTitories and to the natural resources in
these areas;
(b) self-identification and identification by others as members of a distinct
cultural group;
(c) an indigenous language, often different from the national language;
(d) presence of customary social and political institutions; and
(e) primarily subsistence-oriented production.
4.    The largest ethnic minority groups in Cambodia include people of Vietnamese
and Chinese descent, Muslim Chams and ethnic Lao, all of whom, although (b), (c), and
(d) above are present, are generally not considered to be indigenous to the area where
they live in Cambodia, and therefore not covered under the OD 4.20. However, the Bank



has determined that OD 4.20 applies with reference to indigenous minorities, often
referred to as "Highland Peoples", because these groups are indigenous to the area where
they reside, and maintain cultural and socioeconomic practices different than those
practiced by the Khmer national majority. Though their numbers are relatively small in
proportion to the national population, the Highland Peoples are estimated to represent a
majority of the population in Ratanakiri and Mondolkiri provinces, both in the northeast.
They represent much smaller proportions in other provinces. These groups, among them
the Tampuan, Kuy, Jarai, Phnong, Kreung, Kavaet, Brou, Stieng, Lun and others, are
estimated to total about 120,000 people, or about one percent of the national population.
5.    It is estimated that indigenous communities are present in three of the four PRIP
Provinces: Preah Vihear (Kuy), Kampong Thom (Pear and Kuy), and Siem Reap (Kuy).
PRIP activities will not affect land tenure or otherwise cause any direct adverse impacts.
However 'Highland Peoples' lifestyles and livelihoods are under pressure in some areas
because of in-migration by others, forestry concession programs, and discouragement of
shifting cultivation practices. PRIP-related improvements of roads and infrastructure
could well induce futul-e in-migration and pressure on access to resources. For these
reasons, the Highland Peoples are considered potentially vulnerable to being
disadvantaged in the development process, and this plan reviews actions taken, or to be
taken, to safeguard their interests.
6.    In the context of this project, it is important to note that the OD 4.20 refers to
social groups and not to individual families. The identification of ethnic minorities in the
project area will therefor-e be triggered by the identification of groups of ethnic minority
families and individuals.
7.    The primary objectives of OD 4.20 are:
*    to ensure that such groups are afforded meaningful opportunities to participate in
planning that affects them;
*    to ensure that opportunities to provide such groups with culturally appropriate
benefits are considered; and
*    to ensure that any project impacts that adversely affect them are avoided or
otherwise minimized and mitigated.
8.    The following general principles and procedures will be applied during project
preparation and implementationi, if ethnic minorities are identified in any of the project
areas. For the purpose of this Framework, the project areas are defined as the area
influenced by the upgrading of the road (approximately within 3 km from the road). In
the PRIP project the purpose of the Framework is to ensure culturally appropriate
consultation with indigenous minorities (where present), an opportunity to participate in
the project, and additional SUppolrt needed for coping with the impact of improved access.



III. The Cambodian Legal Context
9.    Under the Cambodian constitution, the Highland Peoples are afforded Cambodian
citizenship. However, at present there is no comprehensive legislation or regulation
relating specifically to protection of Highland Peoples rights or interests.
10.   In 1997, a special Inter-ministerial Committee for Highland Peoples Development
released a draft "General Policy for Highland Peoples Development." The draft,
culminating from a long process of consultations among local groups, NGOs,
international development agencies and government, has never been formally adopted by
the govemment. The policy statement would provide a number of protections for
Highland Peoples, many relating to land rights and access to resources. Of particular
importance in the context of RILGP are these provisions in the general policy statement:
*     the government "shall promote understanding and respect of cultural
diversity and ensure that Highland Peoples can practice their own cultures"
(para. 1);
"Highland Peoples shall have the right to be fully informed about,
determine the priorities for and to exercise control over their economic, social and
cultural development" (para. 6);
and this provision in the policy guidelines section of the document:
"Highland Peoples' communities shall be given the opportunity to
participate and take responsibility in all decisions regarding infrastructure projects
that affect them. The affected community and persons must have agreed, after
being fully informed in a language that they clearly understand, of the project and
all its consequences for them and their natural environment, before any
development project may proceed" (para. 7.2).
11.   For the purposes of PRIP, the above policy provisions have guided project design
and implementation arrangements. Specific measures to ensure adequate opportunities to
participate in both village and commune decision-making processes are explained in the
sections that follow.
IV. Framework for identifying and assisting indigenous minority communities
under the project
12.   After the overall prioritization of roads to be rehabilitated has been done in a
participatory process of stakeholders at the provincial level, and the next years roads
identified, the detailed planning starts. The road-by-road social assessment is one of the
activities incorporated into the detailed planning of works to be calTied out on individual
roads. This will follow the Project Implementation Plan, which specifies the technical,
environmental and social procedures and standards. With regard to social aspects, the
major areas of activities are (i) Information dissemination and consultation, (ii)
identification of the need for land acquisition, after minimization (alternatives) has been



considered, and (iii) the identification of indigenous minorities for whom special
measures would have to be taken.
13.   For each subproject witlh indigenous minorities, the project authorities will
prepare a standalone Indigenous Peoples Development Plan, based on extensive
consultations, and will be part of the annual work program to be approved by the project
authorities and submitted to IDA for review.
14.   A social impact assessment and consultations would be carried out in preparation
of the Indigenous People Development Plan (IPDP). The impact assessment will include
the following information:
(a)  Household ownership of economic and productive assets;
(b)  Annual income from primary and secondary opportunities;
(c)  Economic information on the community (e.g., brief information on economic and
natural resources, productive and livelihood systems, tenure systems);
(d)  Social information on the community (brief description of kinship, value system,
type of social organizations of formal and informal groups, farming groups, etc.,
especially those that can help the group in adjusting to the potential impacts of the
project and including an assessment of the degree of inclusiveness and
representativeness of those groups, particularly with regard to vulnerable, marginal,
and poor groups);
(e)  Potential impact on basic services (e.g., water supply, health center, and school);
and
(f)  Potential impact of the project on social and economic livelihood.
15.   In order for meaningful consultation and participation to take place, specific steps
will include: a) information dissemination conducted in the local language; b) an
indigenous minority representative/leader and an independent assigned NGO representative
or a social scientist knowledgeable in indigenous peoples history and tradition are present
in all discussions with clusters of indigenous peoples; and c) all meetings are properly
documented and shared with the concerned indigenous peoples.
If the preliminary social assessmnent indicates that the potential imnpact of the proposed
sub-project will be significcantly adverse, the sub-project will not go forward.
V. Indligenous People Development Plan (IPDP)
16.   If the indigenous people conclude that the project will be beneficial, measures and
assistance will be developed in consultation with tribal elders, community groups, and
independent assigned NGOs, and the planned activities will be documented in an IPDP in
addition to the information clescribed above. The assistance should include institutional
strengthening and capacity building of tribal elders and community groups working on
activities (e.g. resettlem-ent if any) within the project.
17.   Where indigenous people are adversely affected by a sub-project, either by land
acquisition or by other induced negative impacts, the IPDP, a standalone document,



would have to, in addition to support mentioned above, include measures to mitigate
adverse impacts. Acquisition of land and other assets will be governed by the
Resettlement Policy Framework.
18.   The implementation of the IPDP will be carried out by the community, assisted by
appropriate staff from MRD and Commune Council, facilitated by an NGO, where
available and appropriate.
Costs and Budget
19.   Necessary funds for planning and implementation of IPDP will be provided by
the project authorities. The project authorities will also provide for all costs related to
mitigating adverse social impacts based on budgetary requir-ements established in the
Resettlement Plans. All of these costs are to be a part of the total sub-project cost.
Monitoring Arrangements
20.   In PRIP, responsibility for project monitoring is divided among national,
provincial, and commune authorities. For most activities, monitoring includes recording
of attendance and minutes of proceedings. Opportunities are also provided for
participatory monitoring at the village level during implementation. Each year, the
Commune Council will disseminate a report on the status of program implementation.
Each village may review this report for general accuracy. Additionally, each year the
village chief will review project activities within its boundaries, to confirm whether
construction, contracting arrangements, and other aspects have been implemented
appropriately. The project authorities will regularly inspect and monitor the
implementation of all IPDPs.
Conflict Resolution Procedures
21.   In general, Highland Peoples resort to traditional leadership and institutional
arrangements to resolve conflicts arising from within the village. PRIP views these
arrangements as the most appropriate venue for initial airing of project-related conflicts.
If mediation fails, disputes relating to sub-projects will be addressed by the Commune
Council prior to sub-project approval. Disputes arising in the course of implementation of
the IPDP will be addressed by the village chief/elders for submission to the project
authorities and other relevant authorities.
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