BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.21
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The EBRD Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) completed a Compliance Review of the Lukoil Shah Deniz Stage II Project (46766) in Azerbaijan in May 2018, identifying seven instances of noncompliance and seven instances of partial compliance with the EBRD’s 2008 Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Trend reports citing EBRD.
The Compliance Review found that Bank Management did not meet its obligations around meaningful dialogue and informed consultation; the public disclosure of key environmental and social information; the verification of Project-level grievance mechanism effectiveness; or the differentiated assessment of, and engagement with, vulnerable peoples affected by the Project (PR10.17, PR 10.8, PR 10.9, PR 10.11, 10.25). It also determined that the Bank did not adequately monitor impacts on vulnerable groups, or the implementation of Client commitments in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan and Environmental and Social Management Plans (PR 1.14 and 1.17).
The Compliance Review identified that Bank Management only partially met its obligations around the adequate and timely disclosure of important Project information to affected communities. This included insufficient disclosure of the Project Summary Document; the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment; the Project Stakeholder Engagement Plan; the Environmental and Social Management Plans (PRs 10.12, 10.13, 10.14 and 10.15); or the outcomes of Project-level grievance mechanism cases (PR 5.13). The Bank was also found only partially compliant with provisions 14 and 15 of the 2008 ESP, as the Expert identified that the Project’s environmental and social approach did not meet the spirit and intent of the Policy, given that the Project structure resulted in a limited ability to influence the environmental and social appraisal, due diligence or project outcomes.
The independent PCM Expert responsible for the Compliance Review made 19 recommendations to Bank Management, including nine procedural/systemic (i.e., general) recommendations and ten Project-specific recommendations, outlined in their Compliance Review Report.
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