Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES)

The PROCARIBE+ project is committed to protecting people and nature while advancing a sustainable Blue Economy across the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems. To achieve this, the project applies the UNDP Social and Environmental Standards (SES), which ensure that activities are designed and implemented responsibly, inclusively, and with lasting benefits.

What this means in practice?

Listening to communities: by ensuring that local people, especially women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and small-scale fishers, have a voice in project decisions and benefit from project activities.

Gender equality: Women play a central role in coastal and marine economies. PROCARIBE+ actively promotes their participation and leadership in ocean governance and blue economy opportunities.

Protecting rights and livelihoods: If there are risks that project actions could limit access to resources or affect traditional practices, we work with communities to find solutions that protect livelihoods and cultural heritage.

Protecting nature: Any activities that could harm marine or coastal ecosystems are carefully reviewed to avoid or reduce negative impacts.

A fair process for concerns: A Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) is available so that anyone affected by the project can raise concerns and know they will be addressed openly and fairly.

Stronger climate resilience: All activities are designed to help communities and ecosystems withstand the growing challenges of climate change.

How safeguards are applied in the project?

The project as a whole has been screened for social and environmental risks during project preparation and again at project inception. PROCARIBE+ has been classified as a Substantial Risk project, which means enhanced safeguards are applied to prevent, reduce, or mitigate negative impacts.
During project preparation, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Gender Action Plan (GAP), Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), and Indigenous Peoples Planning Framework (IPPF) were prepared.
The ESMF is the tool which outlines how potential adverse social and environmental impacts associated with project activities (identified in the screening) will be managed.
At project inception, a Safeguard Action Plan was developed to provide an update to the ESMF, presenting the revised measures to ensure project activities address potential social and environmental risks.

Social and environmental safeguard tools and procedures

Activities to be implemented by co-executing partners

Considering the size of the project area, the diversity of activities and potential sites, and certain unknowns during the project preparation, the ESMF had proposed that site activities be screened during project implementation. This would allow a more detailed risk assessment for site activities, adapted to the context, stakeholders, and particularities of each site and project. This is being done by co-executing partners with support and oversight from the PROCARIBE+ PMCU. The PMCU has delivered training and prepared a guidance document to support co-executing partners through this process.

Co-executing partners are required to complete a social and environmental screening (SESP) for each site/project. Once the risks and categorization are agreed with the Project Management and Coordination Unit (PMCU), and depending on the level of risks identified, this can trigger specific assessments and/or management plans to be developed by the co-executing partner prior to the implementation of the site activities.

Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA)

The project involves the development of a new Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the sustainable management of the shared living marine resources of the Caribbean and North Brazil shelf large marine ecosystems. The strategies and actions which will be proposed for the new SAP will undergo a Strategic Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) to assess the potential risks and impacts of these, and ensure measures to avoid and mitigate key social and environmental risks are mainstreamed into the SAP. The SESA will be based on the outline and ToRs provided by UNDP SES.

Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM)

PROCARIBE+ has put in place a GRM for the project to ensure that individuals and communities can raise concerns related to project activities in a transparent, accessible, and responsive manner.

More information on the GRM is available here.

Our commitment

Through these safeguards, PROCARIBE+ ensures that project activities not only deliver environmental benefits but also respect human rights, reduce inequalities, and strengthen the resilience of coastal and marine communities.