I. Background A. PNPM-Green: It is a pilot-project which is designed in part to mainstream natural resource management and renewable energy issues within the core operations of the national PNPM-Rural program. On Sulawesi Island (North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi), PNPM-Green has been active since 2008, and in 2010, the pilot program expanded into four provinces on Sumatra Island (Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Bengkulu). A key component of PNPM-Green – to which approximately USD 5.3 million has been allocated – is the technical assistance provided by Indonesian and international civil society organizations (CSO). The CSO partners are responsible for delivering environmental awareness raising and training activities to the pilot’s community beneficiaries and local government officials to assist in the design and implementation of viable ‘green sub-projects’. These sub-projects are financed through the PNPM-Green block grants and are focused in improved NRM practices, environmental conservation, environmentally-sound income generating activities and renewable energy (RE). As PNPM-Green is currently designed, there is CSO coverage in the eight target provinces. B. Operation Wallacea Trust (OWT): It is a CSO has Grant Agreement (TF 090977) with the World Bank to conduct environmental awareness and training to local community, actors and stakeholders in the Pilot PNPM-Green in Buton, Muna and Kolaka Districts, Southeast Sulawesi Province (October 2007 to October 2012). On March 14, 2012, we received additional grant on the existing TF 090977 to extent our facilitation areas to cover Maros, Wajo and Tana Toraja Districts, South Sulawesi Province. Considering several pilot districts in Sumatra had not yet received CSO supports, on April 24, 2012, we signed another GA (TF 011930) to cover Padang Pariaman and Agam Districts (West-Sumatra) and Lebong District (Bengkulu Province). TF 090977 had been ended on 31 October 2012, while TF 011930 which was originally planned to end on 31 December 2012; had been proposed to be extended until 30 June 2013. All the documents for the no-cost extension have been submitted to the Task Team Leader (Mrs. Chloe Oliver) on 31 October 2012. C. OWT intervention and approach: Since 2008, our interventions have been focused at village and sub-district level, in the form of environmental awareness and training, technical assistance and facilitation to ensure the program and its associated block-grant will enable to raise the quality of beneficiaries’ livelihoods. Community based environmental program will only be sustainable if they enable to open new opportunities to local community livelihoods. NRM and RE initiatives within PNPM-Green will only be sustainable if they can enhance IGA or at least reduce poor household expenditure. Green block-grant only acts as a ‘starter’ or ‘stimulant’, whether those end-up to environment and livelihoods improvement or not will heavily depend on the quality of community facilitation. Taking this in mind, the success of PNPM-Green will require extra ordinary facilitation efforts at grass-root level.
II. Executive Summary 01. Facilitated PNPM-Green in Sumatra: Following up the Bank’s supervision mission in December 2011 and responding to a letter sent by GOI (Directorate General of Village and Community Empowerment/PMD) addressed to the Bank regarding the need to have additional support (awareness raising and capacity building) in South Sulawesi and three districts in Sumatra (Agam, Padang Pariaman and Lebong), OWT was requested by the Bank to involve for the technical assistance. In response to the request, for the case of 4