Transcript Overview of Environment & Safeguards

Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environment and Safeguards
Case Study: ADB Policies
Session on Planning & Policy
Rita Nangia
Asian Development Bank
The views expressed here are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies
of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Session Description
• The Session covers topics at both macroeconomic
level and at project and policy planning levels.
 Environmental
 Problems
 Project
 ADB’s
 Good
study
challenges
of urbanization and resettlement
level Issues
guidelines
practice: Northern Economic Corridor case
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Contents
• Why do infrastructure planners need to worry about
environment?
• Policy and project level Issues
 Special
challenges of cross-border projects
• ADB’s guidelines
• Good practice: Northern Economic Corridor
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Why Do We Need to Worry
About the Environment?
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environmental Dynamics in Asia
• Decline in quality and quantity of natural resources
• Degradation of fundamental ecosystems, (e.g., natural
cycling of water and nutrients and biological dynamics)
• Increased climate related environmental hazards such
as floods and droughts
• Water and air pollution
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
• Degradation of natural resources
• Air pollution

Freshwater resources


Marine and coastal
environment
Urban air pollution (3 - 6
million life years lost)

Cross-border (transboundary) air pollution

Climate change

Land degradation

Deforestation

Loss of biodiversity
• Others
• Ecosystems

Loss of fish catch (e.g.,
average hourly catch fallen
from 250 kgs to 18 kgs in
Gulf of Thailand)

Solid waste problems
(more than ten-fold
increases)

Hazardous substances and
wastes
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Major Causes of Environmental Stress
• High income growth

Rapid production increases in agriculture +60%

Industrial production growth +40%
• Rapid globalization in Asia leads to

Leads to global consumption patterns

High urbanization rates

High energy use and low energy efficiency
• Development model biased towards economic growth
• Weak institutions, policy and planning
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Cross-Border Environmental Conditions
• Haze incidence of 1997-98

Losses around $9 billion

9 million hectares of land

70 million people affected
• Atmospheric brown clouds
• Air pollution due to SOx and NOx

Resulting losses due to acid rain
• Even difficult to assign responsibility for relatively simple
impacts such as logging and loss of biodiversity across borders.
• Weak institutions, policy and planning
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Policy Level Issues
• Differences in policy environment to deal with
environmental and social offences
• Differences in institutional framework and legal
remedial measures
• Quality of institutions
• Often remote areas difficulties in monitoring
• Negotiations to who pays the costs and system of
compensation for those impacted difficult to arrive at
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Safeguards: Why?
• Belief that nobody should be worse off due to projects
and programs
• Prevent and mitigate harm to people and their
environment in the development process
• Improve environmental and social sustainability of
projects

Improving overall development outcomes
• Address reputational risk to ADB
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
ADB’s Safeguards Policies
Environmental Considerations
(Environmental Assessment)
EA
Subject to ADB’s
accountability
mechanism
IR
Involuntary
Resettlement
SP
Applies to all
public and private
sector projects
IP
Indigenous
Peoples
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environmental Assessment
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environmental Considerations
• Potential environmental impacts are identified including
indirect and cumulative impacts, and their significance
assessed
• Alternatives are examined
• Least-cost (mitigation) measures are designed to avoid or
minimize negative impacts and achieve environmental
standards
• Environmental management plans prepared (with
institutional arrangements, monitoring program, time plan
and budget)
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environment Policy
• Promote environmental interventions to reduce poverty
• Mainstream environmental considerations in economic
growth
• Maintain global and regional life support systems
• Build partnerships
• Integrate environmental safeguards in ADB operations
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environmental Assessment
• A process of environmental analysis, planning and
management
 To
mitigate environmental impacts
• Integrated with assessment of other aspects of project
(technology, economic viability, social analysis, etc.)
 To
establish project feasibility
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Environmental Assessment
• An ongoing process
• Starts early and continues throughout project cycle
• Required for all public and private sector projects
• Required for all project components whether financed
by ADB, government or co-financiers
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Guiding Principles
• Avoid, minimize, mitigate and compensate
environmental impacts
• Screen, classify and assess significance of impacts
• Examine alternatives
• Design least-cost mitigation measures
• Achieve environmental standards
• Categorization based on significance of impact of most
sensitive component

Location sensitivity

Scale, nature, and…
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Guiding Principles
• Categorization … (continued)

Magnitude availability of cost-effective mitigation measures

Classify early (after concept clearance)

Ongoing process, category may change

In case of major change in scope during implementation,
classify change
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Process
• Prepare environmental management plan

Mitigation measures

Institutional arrangements

Monitoring program

Budget
• Disclose information and consult affected people and
public

Category A required at least twice

Category B projects at least once

Borrower’s responsibility to consult
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Process
• Disclose information… (continued)

Groups affected by the proposed project and local NGOs

Borrower to provide information in form and language(s)
accessible to those being consulted

Disclose SEIA to public through web, 120 days in advance
of Board consideration; Need to make EIA available on
request

Make environmental monitoring reports publicly available
upon submission
• Monitor and report results
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Contents of EMP
Before ADB Board Approval
Detailed Engineering Design
Draft EMP
Final EMP
• Environmental impacts
• Proposed mitigation measures
• Monitoring programs
• Public consultation activities
• Responsibilities for mitigation
and monitoring
• Initial cost estimate
• Final EMP broken down into
contract level-EMPs
• Mechanisms for feedback and
adjustment
• Final responsibilities for
review, monitoring and
reporting
• Final cost estimates
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Involuntary Resettlement
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Involuntary Resettlement
• IR addresses social and economic impacts caused by
acquisition of land or fixed assets, change in land use,
restriction on access to land
• IR is to be avoided, where feasible, and minimized
• If IR unavoidable, compensate affected people at
replacement cost of assets and/or through livelihood/
income restoration and social rehabilitation measures
• IR measures to be designed with time-bound actions,
adequate budget, institutional arrangement and
monitoring program
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Indigenous Peoples
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Indigenous Peoples
• IPs include groups with social or cultural identities distinct
from the dominant or mainstream society
• Interventions should:
 Achieve reduction of poverty among affected IPs and
extend benefits to them

Be designed with their informed participation

Be equitable and consistent with their needs and
aspirations

Minimize, and mitigate negative impacts, if unavoidable
• IP development plan to be prepared if IPs are affected
significantly or adversely
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Common Features
• Involves a structured process of screening, assessment,
planning and management to address the impacts of
projects
• Starts as soon as potential projects for ADB financing are
identified and continues throughout the project cycle
• Applies to all projects, including private sector operations
and to all project components whether financed by ADB,
Government or co-financiers
• Information disclosure and consultation specified in ADB’s
public communications policy
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Common Features (continued)
• Information on environmental, IR and IP issues is made
available to affected people before or during
consultation with affected people/groups and local
NGOs
• Safeguard reports are made publicly available
• Information disclosure and public consultation apply to
Category A and B projects (three safeguards policies)
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Project Classification
• All projects are classified (ongoing process)
• Category (A, B, C, FI) based on most sensitive component
• Significance of impacts

Environment: Depends on type, sensitivity, scale and
location of the project, the nature and magnitude of potential
environmental impacts

Involuntary Resettlement: Depends on number of people
physically displaced and/or income and productive assets
lost

Indigenous Peoples: Depends on nature of impacts
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Safeguard Documentation
• Reports requirements depend on significance of impacts (A, B, C)
and lending modalities
• Environment  Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
 Initial Environmental Effects (IEE)
 Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
• Involuntary Resettlement  Resettlement Plan (RP)
 Summary Resettlement Plan (SRP) and/or Resettlement
Framework (RF)
• Indigenous Peoples  Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP)
 Indigenous Peoples Development Framework, or Specific Action
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Categorization
Project
Category
Safeguard Policies
Impacts
EA
IR
IP
A
Significant
EIA
Full RP
IPDP
B
Less significant
Non-significant
IEE
Short RP
Sp. Action
C
Little or no impact
Review
--
--
FI
Project involves a
Financial Intermediary
EMS
--
--
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Role and Responsibility of ADB
and the Borrower in Safeguards
Preparation and Implementation
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Borrower and the ADB: Who Does What?
Borrower
• Responsible for
implementation of
safeguard policies
ADB
• Advises borrower on
safeguard requirements
• Assists borrowers in
meeting requirements
• Monitors implementation of
agreed safeguards
• Capacity development
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Some Final Points
• Distinction between procedural and substantive
compliance
• Need for continued awareness raising and training
• Building country level capacity
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Loan Documentation
• Environmental requirements included in loan
documentation
• Government clearance of IEE or EIA if not issued before
loan negotiations
• EA process to be adopted (special studies and mitigation
measures) in case of uncertainties in alignments or
location of facilities before loan approval
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Northern Economic Corridor Project
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Basic Information
• A 228 kilometer road project in Northern Laos connecting
Kunming to Chiang Rai
• 98% of population ethnic minorities
• Poverty widespread
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Complexities: Safeguard Aspects
• Project was in Lao PDR
• No GMS framework about cross-border projects
 Thailand’s process
• Weak institutional arrangements in Lao PDR
• Significant local impacts
• Significant cross-border impacts with uneven distribution
of costs and benefits
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Impacts
• Category A project
• Passes along Nam Ha protected area
 An important habitat to at least 37 mammals and 288 bird
species, including a number of endangered and threatened
species such as wild Asian elephants, tigers, and bears.
• Project would require in Lao PDR
 Land acquisition of 122 hectares of mainly rice land
 1.7 hectares of residential land,
 Affecting 2,550 people in 502 families,
 543 dwellings,
 61 small retail shops, and
 133 rice storage bins, all of which would need to be relocated.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Table 1: Logging in Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces
Louang Namtha
Bokeo
Year
Planned Quota
(in m3)
Actual Utilization
(in m3)
Planned Quota
(in m3)
Actual Utilization
(in m3)
1996–1997
3,000
3,000
2,500
290
1997–1998
3,300
2,172
3,000
3,000
1998–1999
2,300
4,160
1,000
1,613
1999–2000
2,000
2,000
500
500
2000–2001
2,300
2,320
500
500
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Lao PDR
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Summary Environmental Matrix
(See Appendix 1 of SEIA)
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Summary Resettlement Matrix
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Type of Loss
Entitled persons
Compensation
Dwellings
Registered taxpayer or
occupant identified
during survey
Full replacement cost so as to enable affected persons
to have a dwelling of the same size and standard.
Residential land
Registered taxpayer or
occupant identified
during survey
Replacement land as a priority or sufficient cash at full
replacement cost at current market value.
Expenses of
residential relocation
Registered taxpayer or
occupant identified
during survey
Lump sum payment sufficient to cover all relocation
costs
Rice storage bins
Owner identified during
survey
Lump sum payment sufficient to cover all relocation
costs
Small retail shops
Owner identified during
survey
Lump sum payment sufficient to cover all relocation
costs
Agricultural land
Owner or person with
use rights identified
during survey
Replacement land of comparable yield
Source: Draft Resettlement Plan.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Type of Loss
Entitled persons
Compensation
Crops and trees
Owner or person with
customary use rights
Full compensation of anticipated harvest at market
value
Common property
resources
Community losing the
resources
(a) Restoration of affected community buildings and
structures to at least previous condition;
(b) Replacement in areas identified in consultation with
affected communities and relevant authorities
(c) Full compensation for loss of income.
Temporary impact
during construction
Owner or person with
use rights identified
during survey
(a) Extreme care by contractors to avoid damaging
property.
(b) Where damage does occur, the contractor will be
required to pay compensation immediately to
affected families, groups, communities, or
government agencies.
(c) Damaged property will be restored immediately to its
former condition.
Source: Draft Resettlement Plan.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Participative Process
• Had to get multi-country agreement between four parties
(Governments of Lao PDR, Thailand and PRC; and ADB)
• Working groups meetings
• Series of meetings on project design, alignment, environmental costs,
and investments for mitigation
• Standards to follow
• PRC agreed to meet Lao PDR standards
• ADB had to ensure that its policies were met by Lao PDR
• Instruments used
 Loan documents
 Capacity building
 Third party monitoring
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Participative Process
• Environment Management. The Government will ensure that the
approved SEIA will be implemented for the project road irrespective of
contractual and financing arrangements.
• The Government will inform the bilateral financing partners of its
safeguard obligations on ADB's loans and incorporate these aspects
in bilateral loan agreements.
• Environment impacts of the Project will be minimized through the
appropriate mitigative measures recommended in the SEIA.
• The Government will ensure that appropriate prohibitions are built into
the contract documents for the contractors' work financed under loans
from the governments of Thailand and the PRC so that negative
environmental and social impacts are mitigated during construction.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Participative Process
• The SEIA will be attached to the bidding documents and
appropriate clauses inserted into the contract documents for
all sections of the project road. In such cases where
contracting is carried out directly by the financiers, loan
documents will clearly specify these requirements.
• Within 6 months of loan effectiveness, Department of Roads
will strengthen the capabilities of the Environment and
Social Division in social analysis, particularly to monitor
social impacts of road projects. Additional staff resources
will be provided in areas of social development issues.
Cross-Border Infrastructure: A Toolkit
Key Messages
• The environment can be a real challenge and barrier to
economic growth and poverty reduction in the region.
• Integrating these concerns at the planning stage can
be the best solution;
• Need to address cross-border environmental and social
(positive and negative) impacts;
• Policy harmonization is necessary to set acceptable
standards of environmental considerations across
countries.