General

IFC is considering a potential investment consisting of debt and/or equity in Ballarpur International Graphic Paper Holdings (BIGPH), a company incorporated in the Netherlands. BIGPH owns subsidiaries which are leading pulp and paper manufacturers in India and Malaysia. BIGPH is a step-down subsidiary of Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT or the Company and BILT together with its subsidiaries referred to as the Group), which is head quartered in India and is an IFC investee company (# 10066 in 2000) and (# 20798 in 2003). Part of the investment proceeds may be directed to Sabah Forest Industries (SFI), whose operations are located in Sabah state of Malaysia.

Objectives

1. The Company will support rural households by sourcing wood from several thousand farmers, including marginal ones. In its existing locations, the Company helps farmers use more modern farming techniques to improve yield and provides an incentive to farms to meet quality standards. 2. IFC has shared with the Company some of the best available technology and practices to increase the efficiency of the forestry operations. Throughout the investment, IFC will support the Company''s efforts to implement the changes and improve its operations. 3. The Project will implement and obtain FSC or a similar certification of sustainable forest and land management that conserves biodiversity, soil and water resources and safeguards the health and ecological functions of ecosystems, and lead to a strong demonstration effect. 4. The pulp & paper industry in India remains fragmented. BILT is one of two high grade product (coated paper) producers in the country, and much of the demand is imported. Supporting the Company through restructuring will thus contribute to the overall modernization of the industry.

General

Fostering women’s empowerment and access to political, legal, economic, and social rights is a core dimension of peacebuilding efforts. In Sierra Leone, land tenure and access to natural resources with economic exclusion lie at the heart of this debate. The complex land tenure and ownership system and unequal access to natural resources are among the primary causes of conflicts in Sierra Leone. Farmers – particularly women – operate in an informal and precarious system without sufficient legal safeguards. The project is time-sensitive, as the new Government has committed to the implementation of a long overdue land reform as well as a National Gender Strategy, both of which, on paper commit to non-discrimination and gender equality within an overhauled land tenure system. The project is innovative, being the only initiative in the country that combines the promotion of women’s land tenure security, economic empowerment, and peacebuilding, anchored on the implementation of land policy. The project will enhance women’s access to and control over land and at the same time strengthen their economic opportunities through business skills and knowledge, gender-sensitive financial products and ability to cooperate effectively. The project is also in line with the Government’s efforts to foster national cohesion, as dialogue will augment local conflict preventions and peaceful resolution of disputes, with the support of a network of trained insider mediators. The project relies on innovative methods in its implementation, including the use of an innovative geospatial technology “System for Open Land Administration (SOLA)” an Open Tenure software developed by FAO, with a gender-sensitive, community-based approach to record land rights and tenure relationships in the field, including rules on tenure dispute resolution. Improving the governance of tenure will require engaging a broad range of stakeholders with different and sometimes conflicting interests. Building on the existing wide consensus on the need to strengthen women’s empowerment and participation at all levels of society, as well as to sustain social cohesion by preventing escalation and political use of land conflicts. The project will serve as catalyst to mobilize local and national political will to engage powerful elites who benefit from weak tenure governance and in a system that engenders women’s exclusion.

General

It is now widely accepted that climate change has considerable consequences and creates conflicts between populations in both urban and rural areas. This makes the living conditions of communities, especially those of women and girls, even more difficult in a context where 81% of women are poor in rural areas compared to 69% of men. These conflicts cause security and development problems on an unprecedented scale, particularly for the CAR where the majority of population is female (50.2%) and depends on agriculture (the main source of income for 90% of households in rural areas), fisheries and livestock for the livelihoods of female-headed households. This Outcome aims to respond to the urgent problem of climate change that has long been a cause of conflicts in the Central African Republic with consequences for the resilience of women and girls, since most of them are farmers to see their fields destroyed without a legal response. They do not have control or land rights.

General

Establishing systems for sustainable integrated land-use planning across New-Britain Island in Papua New Guinea

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Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management (SLM) into development planning: Making Environmental Land Use Planning (ELUP) Operational in Argentina