USAID DCHA1 ENVIRONMENTAL THRESHOLD DECISION

The program, sponsored by ACDI/VOCA, aims to promote sustainable nutrition and agriculture practices in the country. The Environmental Threshold Decision (ETD) was approved by the DCHA Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO) with conditions. The conditions require ACDI/VOCA to ensure that all necessary protective measures are being used by fumigation service providers, following international standards and best practices. This includes ensuring that fumigation service providers adhere to international standards and best practices, as achieved by ACDI/VOCA regionally, such as the Title II program in Burkina Faso. The ETD also addresses the potential indirect environmental impacts of direct distribution of food aid commodities. The BEO notes that direct distribution can have indirect impacts on the environment, such as the use of biomass for energy. To mitigate these impacts, ACDI/VOCA is required to consider the role of food basket items in affecting fuel requirements and natural energy resources, promote efficient fuel use, and potentially address social impacts such as competition, inequitable distribution, or conflict over scarce energy resources. The BEO also announces the Global Environmental Management Support (GEMS) contract, which will provide institutional capacity support to the BEO for DCHA, as well as for other Bureaus and Missions in USAID. The GEMS contract will facilitate improved oversight and review of environmental management in FFP programs, provide technical assistance and develop operational guidelines in environmental budgeting and monitoring and evaluation, and develop a Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the use of the pesticide Aluminum Phosphide in the protection of food aid commodity. Annual reporting requirements are also outlined in the ETD. ACDI/VOCA must submit an Environmental Status Report (ESR) for the FY13 activities with the Annual Pipeline Resource Estimate Proposal (PREP), and each year after for the preceding activity year. The ESR must report on the status of compliance for the IEE conditions, and a copy of the Environmental Management and Mitigation Plan (EMMP) must also be included. The BEO expects to receive relevant reports on related environmental performance issues, such as relevant environmental indicators, monitoring visits, trainings provided, and budget allocated.