Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone
Ministry of Energy and Power Public Disclosure Authorized
Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project Environmental Impact Assessment Draft Final Report – Executive Summary Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized
January 2005 Public Disclosure Authorized in association with
BMT Cordah Ltd Document Orientation
Document Orientation
The present EIA report is split into three separate but closely related documents as follows:
Volume1 – Executive Summary
Volume 2 – Main Report
Volume 3 – Appendices
This document is Volume 1 – Executive Summary.
Nippon Koei UK, BMT Cordah and Environmental Foundation for Africa i Glossary
Glossary of Acronyms
AD Anno Domini AfDB African Development Bank AIDS Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome ANC Antenatal Care BCC Behavioural Change Communication BHP Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project BWMA Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand BP Bank Procedure (World Bank) CBD Convention on Biodiversity CHC Community Health Centre CHO Community Health Officer CHP Community Health Post CLC Community Liaison Committee COD Chemical Oxygen Demand dbh diameter at breast height DFID Department for International Development (UK) DHMT District Health Management Team DOC Dissolved Organic Carbon DRP Dam Review Panel DUC Dams Under Construction EA Environmental Assessment ECA Export Credit Agency EFA Environmental Foundation for Africa EHS Environment, Health and Safety EHSO Environment, Health and Safety Officer EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan EPA Environmental Protection Act EPD Department of the Environment EPI Expanded Programme on Immunisation EPP Emergency Preparedness Plan ESAP Environmental and Social Advisory Panel ESCG Environmental and Scientific Consulting Group, Freetown EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation (of the United Nations) FSL Full Supply Level GEF Global Environment Fund GIS Geographic Information System GOI Government of Italy GOSL Government of Sierra Leone GWh Giga-watts per hour ha Hectare HEP Hydro-Electric Power HH Household HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HQ Headquarters
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IDA International Development Association IEC Information, Education and Communication IFC International Finance Corporation IRBM Integrated River Basin Management ISWL Insulated Shield Wire Line IUCN World Conservation Union IWES Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management km Kilometre kV Kilovolt LAIR Livelihood Assessment and Income Restoration LAWCLA Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance LSA Late Stone Age MAFFS Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security MCH-Aid Maternal and Child Health Aid MCH-FP Provision of Mother and Child Health Services, including Family Planning MCHP Maternal and Child Health Post MEP Ministry of Energy and Power mg Milligramme Mm3 Million Cubic Metres mm millimetre MOHS Ministry of Health and Sanitation MPT Multi-Purpose Tree MVA Megavoltampere MW Megawatt NaCSA National Commission for Social Action NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan NCC National Compensation Commission NEP National Environmental Policy NEPB National Environmental Protection Board NGO Non Governmental Organisation NKUK Nippon Koei UK Co. Ltd. NPA National Power Authority OP Operational Policy (World Bank) OCP Onchocerciasis Control Programme ORT Oral Dehydration Therapy PAPs Project Affected Persons PCDP Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan PHU Peripheral Health Unit PIU Project Implementation Unit PMF Probable Maximum Flood ppm Parts per million PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper RAP Resettlement Action Plan RESU Regional Environment Sector Unit RO Resettlement Officers ROW Right of Way SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SHARP Sierra Leone HIV/AIDS Response Project
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SIV Species Importance Value SRDA Seli River Development Authority STD Sexually Transmitted Disease STI Sexually Transmitted Infection TBA Traditional Birth Attendant ToR Terms of Reference UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees US United States (of America) VIP (latrine) Ventilation-Improved VRC Village Resettlement Committees WCB Wildlife Conservation Branch WHO World Health Organisation
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Executive Summary
This Executive Summary is intended as an overview of the content of the omnibus EIA report, and therefore cannot convey all the details of what is a fairly complex report. It is therefore necessary to consult the main report, particularly to comprehend the content of individual plans such as the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and the outline EMPs for the contractors. In some cases it may also be advisable to consult original documents, e.g. the Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), for essential details.
The Executive Summary is structured to mirror the chapter headings of the main report. The material in the voluminous appendices has not been summarised.
1. Introduction
This omnibus Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report relates to the first phase of the Bumbuna Hydro-electric Project (BHP), located upstream of Bumbuna Falls on the Seli River. An original EIA report on the project was published by Electrowatt Engineering Services Ltd and Techsult Co. Ltd. in 1996, by which time the project was close to the 85% completion point at which construction was stopped due to the civil war. (The World Bank had not been involved in financing the project up to that point.) In July 2004, Nippon Koei UK Co. Ltd. (NKUK), in association with BMT-Cordah (Cordah) of the UK and the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA) based in Sierra Leone, was appointed to conduct a range of additional studies to update the EIA consisting of 18 tasks, including field studies in various disciplines. The object of the present report is to bring together the results of the original EIA, the update studies and various other sources to produce an omnibus document. The other sources of information drawn upon include the following: - The Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the transmission line (Azimut 2005) - The RAP for the reservoir basin (Electrowatt-Ekono 2005) - The Bumbuna Retrospective Review / Options Assessment Study (Haas 2005) - The Upper Seli Community Development Initiative study (Vincent 2005) - The first report of the Bumbuna Environmental and Social Advisory Panel (ESAP, 2004) - The first report of the Bumbuna Dam Review Panel (DRP, 2004) - New information collected concerning public health in the project area (NKUK, 2004).
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2. Project History
The BHP has had a very long and complicated gestation period since it was first proposed in a 1970/71 UNDP study. The history of the project has been reviewed over four distinct periods, as follows:
From the first nationwide hydropower inventory through feasibility study and 1970-1985 initial site preparation works. From financing of the project through the main period of dam construction to 1986-1997 abandonment of the project in May 1997 when it was 85% complete. From the intensification of the rebel war to its official end in January 2002, 1998-2002 during which time no work on the project was undertaken. From the post-war national election of May 2002, to refinancing discussions and 2002-present day PPF studies that aim to complete and commission the BHP by the end of 2006
The Chapter 2 historical review plots the various design changes that have occurred over time, and has also reviewed the extent to which options were properly assessed during the development process. It concludes that comprehensive options assessment was not conducted in the past, but is currently being applied, for example in the up-dating of the EIA and the conduct of RAP studies. The benefits of applying such an approach to both the future development of Bumbuna and the Sierra Leonean power industry are discussed.
3. The Present Project
Phase 1 of the Bumbuna hydro-electric project, as constructed, is a large ‘run-of-river’ scheme on the upper Seli River, 2.4 km above Bumbuna Falls. The project infrastructure, which is situated in Kalansogoia chiefdom of Tonkolili District, consists of an 88m high asphalt-faced rockfill dam with a 50 MW (2x25 MW) powerhouse at the foot of the dam. The conical ‘morning glory’ spillway intakes, which discharge through left and right bank tunnels have a total design discharge of 3,000 m3/s. The right bank tunnel will be used as both the power tunnel and also as an auxiliary spillway. The intake to the power tunnel is at the foot of a 93m high tower with a screen-protected inlet.
After impoundment, the dam will create a Y-shaped 30 km reservoir with a surface area of 21 km2 and a maximum operating capacity of 350 Mm3 (see Figure I). In the main narrow, steep-sided river valley, the reservoir will be 0.2 – 1.0 km wide. The maximum seasonal drawdown of the reservoir will be about 31m, and the daily fluctuation of reservoir level is expected to be 0.1 m during the dry season.
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Once completed, the Phase 1 BHP will function at its full 50 MW capacity throughout the wet season, and will be used for peak production (with thermal power baseload) during the 3-4 month dry season, equivalent to 18 MW continuous capacity.
The electricity generated at Bumbuna will be supplied to a substation in the Freetown Peninsula via a 200 km 161 kV single-circuit transmission line. In the short-term, a low- cost method of supplying towns along the line will be employed, using the ‘shield wire’ above the main conductor to supply Makeni from Bumbuna and supply Lunsar from Freetown at 35.5 kV.
At the time of the present report, the dam is in place, but the river is in free-flow through the 9 m diameter left bank spillway tunnel (and the right bank spillway tunnel during wet season flow). The completion of construction is due to begin in 2005, and the filling of the reservoir and subsequent commissioning are due to start in early 2006.
Completion of the BHP is being supervised by the Bumbuna Project Implementation Unit (PIU), which is recruiting a single environmental specialist. In addition, two panels of experts are providing over-sight of the project, the Environmental and Social Advisory Panel (ESAP) and the Dam Review Panel (DRP). The two panels will meet half-yearly, and at the time of writing had met once in November 2004. The ESAP has specified a minimum downstream (environmental) flow of 6 cumecs during the dry season and 100cumecs in the wet season. The DRP has specified a number of safety features that are to be included in the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP).
Operation of BHP will require the prior resettlement of people from the reservoir basin and the transmission line route, as discussed in chapters 9 and 10 respectively.
Operation will result in an increase in downstream Seli river flow during the January– May dry season period, a delay of about five weeks in the onset of downstream flood conditions at the start of the rainy season, and possible reductions in flow at night and weekends during the dry season, all of which is discussed in chapter 8.
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Intake Tower Upstream “Morning Glory” Spillways Cofferdam
Kafogo Fulatown Sierra Leone
Main Dam
1000km N
Powerhouse Left Outlet Republic of Guinea Dian Kawungulu Tailrace
Kawungulu
Sula Mountains
Seli / Rokel River
Approximate Transmission Seli / Rokel River Line Route Kakutan SIERRA LEONE “Project Area” Boundary Waia Plant Store and Workshops Liberia Expected Extent of Reservoir
Atlantic Kasokira Ocean 100km N 1km N
Figure I: Maps Showing Project Location and Details
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4. Future Seli Power Development Opportunities
The development of the 50 MW Bumbuna project is envisaged as the first of five phases of power development on the upper Seli River, with an ultimate potential of 275 MW (135 MW firm power). There are several different alternatives of the sequence to optimise phasing after Phase 1, but all variants involve two dams (the existing dam 2.4 km upstream of Bumbuna Falls and a second dam 28 km further upstream at Yiben), and three locations for additional powerhouses: below the Bumbuna dam (on the left or right bank), below the Yiben dam, and downstream of Bumbuna Falls (supplied by power tunnels from the existing dam). The Yiben reservoir would be very much larger than the Bumbuna reservoir, and a Regional Environmental Assessment (a type of Strategic Environmental Assessment) is required before any further development planning.
5. Policy, Legal and Institutional Context
The national administration of environmental management is discussed, particularly the functions of the Department of the Environment (EPD) of the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and Environment, and the Wildlife Conservation Branch (WCB) of the Forestry and Wildlife Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security. The capacity of these institutions to monitor a large project such as BHP is noted to be limited (and recommendations for capacity-building are made in chapter 12).
The national EIA Procedures of 2002 are discussed, and it is noted that recent work to update the EIA, including the consultation procedures, is in compliance with the official procedures.
The BHP is reviewed with respect to the World Bank ‘safeguard policies’, in particular the following Operational Policies (OPs):
• Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01) • Management of Cultural Property (OP Note 11.03) • Natural Habitat (OP 4.04) • Forests (OP 4.36) • Dam Safety (OP 4.37) • Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12) • Projects on International Waterways (OP 7.50) • Indigenous People (OP 4.20)
The conclusion is that the project and its recent studies (EIA update, two RAPs, etc.) are either in compliance with the safeguard policies, or, as in the case of the last two, the policies are not applicable. A Regional Environmental Assessment would be required before any further development of the Bumbuna power development programme.
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In addition to the above review, the BHP is reviewed with respect to international good practice in development planning. The issues considered were as follows:
• Past / Existing Projects • Compensation • Public Consultation • Benefit Sharing • Analysis of Alternatives • Downstream River Flows • Contingency Planning • Strategic Environmental Assessment • Capacity Building.
In each case, the conclusion is that, whilst the project may not have adopted appropriate international best practice in the past, it is now so doing.
6. Public Consultation and Disclosure
Some public consultation was conducted as part of the original EIA. Further consultation of stakeholders was conducted in the project area and in Freetown during the recent EIA update studies. Moreover, plans were made for further consultation as the project is completed and operated. This was done through the medium of a formal Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan (PCDP), which was issued during the update study period. The consultations anticipated in the PCDP were as follows:
• on the ToR of the recent EIA studies, known as ‘scoping’; • during conduct of the further EIA studies; • on the present EIA report; and • during project completion, commissioning and operation.
The findings of the ‘scoping’ consultations were summarised in a Scoping Report, which was also issued during the present study. This was used to refine the scope of work for the additional EIA studies. The scoping meetings also discussed future consultation requirements, resulting in a framework and mechanisms for consultation at and beyond project completion. The mechanisms, which are compatible with the current national and local-level institutional and regulatory context, include the establishment of a Community Liaison Committee and a Grievance Procedure.
7. Existing Environment
The existing environment of the area of influence of the BHP has been summarised, using data derived from the original EIA, the additional EIA field studies, and other published information.
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The physical conditions of the project area are described. Perhaps the most important element is the rainfall and river flow, which will ‘drive’ the hydropower project. The catchment has very distinct dry and wet seasons, the latter extending from May to October. The average annual rainfall for Bumbuna is 2,635 mm, with a maximum of 594 mm in August and a minimum of virtually zero in February. The maximum average monthly flow in the Seli at Bumbuna is 331 m3/s in September, and the minimum is 6.1 m3/s in March. Peak flows are greatest between July and October (600 to 1200 m3/s). The mean annual discharge of 113 m3/s is equivalent to around 890 mm of annual rainfall.
The river valley above the dam follows a north-south fault. However, there is no evidence of movement of such faults since the Cretaceous Period, some 65 million years ago. There is some potential for reservoir induced seismicity, and the dam is designed to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale, with an epicentre 5 km from the dam site.
Gold occurs in the upper catchment and for around 10 km downstream of the dam, and approximately 10,000 kg were mined between 1930 and 1956, mainly from alluvial workings in and around the greenstone belt in the Sula Mountains and Kangari Hills. Artisanal alluvial mining is still conducted by local people panning the gravels of the river bed and banks, and this is considered to be a significant part of their subsistence at the end of the dry season.
The soils of the project area reflect the leaching effect of high rainfall, in being strongly acidic and of low fertility, with most of the nutrient in the decaying vegetation of the uppermost horizon. The current agricultural response to this situation is the ‘slash-and- burn’ system, in which land is used for short periods of cultivation between long periods of fallow. This is an inefficient farming method, which requires the cyclical manual clearing of large areas of land with only a small area under crops at any given time. The increasing pressure on land resources results in the shortening of fallow periods and reduced productivity of cropland. Moreover, agricultural pressure is resulting in a progression to the clearing of more marginal land, in particular higher and steeper land which has a greater potential for soil erosion. The frequent burning of grassland in the north of the reservoir catchment also reduces soil fertility. Agriculture in the area is beset with a number of other problems, some of which derive from the evacuations and resettlements during the civil war period. A new integrated approach to agriculture is needed encompassing planning, improved land management, soil conservation and stewardship of natural resources.
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Figure II: Deforested Slopes Upstream of the Dam Site in 1994 Source: Electrowatt/Techsult (1996)
Water quality in the Seli is typical of West African rivers, in that the main influences are the wide seasonal variations in rainfall and flow, and the land use practices in the watershed as described above. The main characteristics of Seli water are:
• Low concentrations of dissolved salts (electrical conductivity, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, etc);
• Low concentrations of plant nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, phosphate);
• Reasonably high levels of oxygen, and low values of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD);
• Little evidence of pollution by sewage bacteria (faecal coliforms), organic matter (Dissolved Organic Carbon: DOC), fertilizers, pesticides, etc;
• No major differences in the quality of water upstream and downstream, or over the 24-year period of observations;
• One exception is the level of suspended sediment, which averaged 3 mg/l in 1980, and was over 100 mg/l in August 2004.
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Figure III: River Seli / Rokel between Bumbuna and Magburaka. The colour of the water indicates relatively high levels of suspended solids.
The vegetation can generally be described as forest-savannah mosaic, within which the various vegetation sub-types were investigated and documented in different parts of the project area. In August-September 2004, the vegetation of the immediate catchment (between Bumbuna and Waia in the east and Kasasi in the west), plus representative parts of the wider catchment (woodland savannah at Badala, and Mawaloko River between Kakeko and Kabendugu) and the transmission line route (including Occra Hill Forest Reserve) were surveyed. Tree inventories were also conducted of the main forest types in the immediate catchment i.e. young farmbush (5-10 years old) near the dam, mixed woodland savannah at Fullah Town, and riparian forest at Waia Road, Yankala East, and Lower- Middle- and Upper- Kasasi. Trees and vines were identified and measured, and their relative frequency, density, dominance, and Species Importance Value (SIV) were calculated.
In the mixed woodland savannah 87 tree species were recorded in 1994 and 155 in 2004, but this does not suggest an increase in diversity, as the recent surveys were more detailed and covered a larger area. One species, Tieghemella heckelii, was recorded in 1994 and not in 2004, and recent information indicates that it is endangered.
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Figure IV: Examples of the Flora and Fauna encountered during the 2004 Forest Inventory Studies
Four other species were found which are classed as vulnerable (Entandrophragma utile, Lovoa trichilioides, Nauclea diderrichii and Terminalia ivorensis), and these occur in other rainforest in the east and southeast of Sierra Leone. Species composition of these areas is similar to the remaining fragments of riparian forest in the immediate and upper catchment, which is probably now the northern limit of the once widespread Upper Guinean Rainforest Belt of West Africa. It is estimated that riparian forest in the reservoir basin has decreased in extent by 15% since 1987.
In 2004, thirteen species of mammals were recorded in the immediate catchment, of which one, the Western Chimpanzee is endangered and was surveyed in detail (see below). Hoof-prints of the yellow-backed duiker (a vulnerable species) were found in a sacred grove at Fullah Town, outside the reservoir area. Three rodents (the rats Praomys jacksoni and Malacomys sp. and the soft-furred mouse Praomys tullbergi) were captured in the reservoir area and downstream, and there is a population of bats (Taphozous peli) roosting in the reservoir draw-off tower. Further mammal field studies are planned, during which more species can be expected to be recorded.
A primate field study was conducted during August and September 2004, at the peak of the wet season. The study approach was to conduct reconnaissance walks, along with interviews of informants from villages throughout the Bumbuna reservoir basin.
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The principal finding was that there are chimpanzees living in the vicinity of the BHP. The chimpanzees are not present in large numbers, but they are not just a few isolated individuals either. The survey team found physical evidence of at least three communities of chimpanzees living in the southern portion of the project area (two to the west of the Seli River, and one to the east), and received verbal reports of at least two additional communities further north. Because it was not possible to survey the whole reservoir basin area within the timescale of the study, the total number of chimpanzees inhabiting the area was not determined for certain. However, on the evidence of the chimpanzee groups observed and the nature of the vegetation, it is possible that ten to fifteen groups of chimpanzees utilise the area. The group observed nearest to the dam site was estimated to consist of at least twelve individuals.
These chimpanzees were recorded above the future full supply level (FSL) of the reservoir, on both sides of the river. However, they may range around the project area, including visits to the riverine forest at certain times of the year according to food availability, unless the disturbance of human pedestrian traffic is keeping them away from the vicinity of the river.
Figure V: Evidence of the Presence of Pan troglodytes verus, the Western Chimpanzee, in the Project Area (2004)
On the important question of whether the project area is ‘critical habitat’ for chimpanzees as defined in the World Bank OP/BP 4.04, the study has concluded that it is not. However, the described presence of several groups of chimpanzees indicates that at least
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parts of the resulting forest-savannah mosaic are still a habitat that can be favourably utilised by chimpanzees.
Further field studies on the Bumbuna chimpanzee population are due to be conducted over a period of one full year. This will enable their numbers, distribution and movements to be better defined, and provide the information needed to further elaborate appropriate mitigation measures during implementation of the project.
A number of other primates were observed or heard vocalising, including species of both sub-families of Old World monkeys (Cercopithecidae): the Cercopithecinae, which are frequent crop raiders, and the Colobinae, which feed mainly on leaves high in the trees. Ceropithecines recorded in the area include vervets, mangabeys, patas, spot-nosed monkeys and Campbell’s monkeys, and although none of these are officially threatened or endangered, their status could be overestimated because of the lack of recent surveys. Of the Colobines, interviews reported the Black and White Colobus monkey as being present, but none were seen, and as their skin is highly sought after for use in ceremonies, this could indicate that the species is on the decline in the Bumbuna area. Also of concern is the apparent absence of the endangered Bay Colobus (Red Colobus Procolobus badius badius), which was formerly present throughout much of northern Sierra Leone, but is now greatly reduced because of hunting pressure.
128 bird species were recorded, of which 12 are rare and none endangered, although the endemic Baumann’s greenbul occurs in the nearby Loma Mountains and may also inhabit the study area. Timed Species Counts were conducted in forest, farm-bush, woodland savannah and riparian forest habitats. Sixty-six species were recorded, and the most common were the little greenbul, black-crowned tchagr, village weaver, bronze manikin, simple leaf love, Senegal coucal and common garden bulbul.
Twelve species of amphibian were recorded in 2004, and no doubt more will be found in the additional field surveys planned for 2005. Six species of reptile were recorded, and the combined 1996 and 2004 data indicates there to be 14 or more species in total. No crocodiles were observed, although residents of Kakeko and Fadugu reported their occurrence in the Mawaloko River.
The aquatic ecology of the Seli/Rokel River is typical of a West African river having a strong disparity in wet / dry seasonal flow. There are few aquatic plants, but the many riparian trees and shrubs perform similar ecological functions. Extensive seasonal drying of much of the riverbed limits colonisation to temporary inhabitants. The invertebrate fauna is dominated by insects, and includes the vectors of several major human diseases, most notably the mosquitoes (Anopheles) which carry malaria and dengue fever and lay their eggs in swamps and areas of calm water in the river. The blackfly Simulium
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damnosum, lays eggs on rocks and vegetation in ‘white water’ areas, and carries the nematode Onchocerca volvulus which causes onchocerciasis (river blindness). Schistosomiasis (bilharzia) is present where the aquatic vegetation of slow moving parts of the river is inhabited by the snails Bulinus and Biomphalaria, which are the secondary host of the trematode Schistosoma, the larvae of which penetrate the skin of people bathing or swimming in infected water.
The fish and fishery of the river were investigated upstream of Bumbuna Falls in 1994 and downstream in the river and estuary in 2004. The spread of observations from upper to lower reaches of the river and across a ten-year interval, provides qualitative information on aspects of fish ecology, including distribution, reproduction and certain critical habitats. Thirty-six species were recorded, and the data suggest that, as in most African rivers, Cichlidae, Cyprinidae, Mormyridae, Characidae and Clariidae are the most important families. As expected, the greatest number of species was reported from the middle reach, 23, compared with 16 in the upper reach and 13 in the lower reach. The middle reach is normally the most diverse part of a river, as at different times of the year it can include permanent and semi-permanent residents and temporary visitors. Seven species were only reported from the upper reach, five appear exclusive to the middle reach, and eight were only found in the estuary.
Figure VI: Bumbuna Falls: Early Wet Season (27th July 2004)
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Nine species were recorded both above and below Bumbuna Falls (Hemichromis bimaculatus, H fasciatus, Tilapia zillii, T monodi, Lates niloticus, Synodontis clarias, Petrocephalus simus, Clarias anguillaris and Labeo chariensis). A more detailed survey, over a longer period will be undertaken to identify the specific habitats and areas that are critical to the many different fish species in the river, and to determine with more certainty whether any rare or endemic species are present. However, certain comments of relevance to the BHP can be made from the data collected to date, as follows:
• The severe gradient of Bumbuna Falls, coupled with the extreme force of water during the rainy season and the very low flows in the dry season, almost certainly prevent upstream migration by fish. The populations of nine fish species recorded both above and below Bumbuna Falls were probably connected in the geological past, but are now separated by the falls. The upstream and downstream populations are now likely to be almost completely separate, inter-connected only when individuals or eggs from above the Falls are washed downstream in the rainy season (or in the rarer event when eggs are carried over the Falls on the beaks or feet of predatory birds).
• As the reproductive cycles of many species involve at least some upstream migration, the area immediately below Bumbuna Falls is likely to be one of the most important habitats in the river, as it is probably the upstream limit of migration for many fish, and is therefore the location where they would breed. Local fishermen are very aware of this phenomenon, and frequently catch large gravid fish here. Species living upstream of the Falls migrate farther upstream to breed, and in the absence of a floodplain, critical habitats for spawning in these species are the smaller rivers and streams feeding into the main river.
• Other critical habitats for fish inhabiting the middle reaches are the large floodplain swamps between Magburaka and Lunsar, where many fish breed in the mid-late rains, and also the smaller streams feeding the many tributaries that flow into the middle reach of the Seli, where other species breed.
Downstream of Rokel Bridge the aquatic ecology changes under the influence of saline water. Mudflats at the edge of the channel are periodically uncovered by the tide, and are colonised by mangroves, including Laguncularia sp. at the head of the estuary and Avicennia marina, Rhizophora racemosa and others where conditions are more saline. The fauna includes fiddler crabs (Uca tangeri) and mudskippers (Periophthalmus koelreuteri), which live in burrows, and oysters and barnacles, which are attached to the aerial roots of the mangroves. The mangroves are extensive in the creeks and channels of the Seli / Rokel estuary, which act as nursery grounds for many species of marine fish and crustaceans.
In most cases, the 2004 field surveys of the flora and fauna provided a rapid assessment, and the more detailed studies listed below will now be undertaken over a longer period to provide a more complete inventory. However, the area contains no unique ecological or
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geographical features, so it is unlikely that the terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna would differ significantly from those found in similar regions of Sierra Leone.
Reference has been made to the degradation of the project area over time. This may have had several causes including the slash-and-burn agricultural practice, development actions and the movements of population due to the civil war, but it is not now possible to determine the precise cause, especially given the confusion of a post-conflict situation. The data suggest that many terrestrial species are under continuing threat of habitat loss and hunting, but there is no evidence so far that any species are endemic to the immediate catchment or are endangered and requiring immediate protection, apart from the Western Chimpanzee. Terrestrial animal species in the vicinity of Bumbuna appear to be adapting to changing vegetation patterns over time, but it is likely that, without improved landuse management, some populations will eventually become locally unviable, due to the continuing reduction and fragmentation of habitats, caused mainly by the clearance of land for agriculture.
The flora, fauna and ecology of the Loma Mountains to the north-east of Bumbuna have also been described, as this area, which similar to the BHP project area, would be an appropriate opportunity for improved biodiversity conservation when the BHP is implemented.
The information on flora and fauna summarised above represents the level of detail achieved within the original EIA studies and the field studies conducted in 2004 for the present report. This information will be supplemented by some additional studies that will be conducted during the period before filling of the reservoir (and will be the start of an on-going monitoring programme). These studies will comprise the following:
Fish One-year fish survey of the Seli/Rokel to identify spawning and nursery grounds, other critical habitats, migration, and determine presence of any rare or endemic fish species. Limnology Two-month limnological field and desk study to determine whether thermal stratification will occur in the reservoir, and identify and plan how it should be mitigated. Primates One-year study of chimpanzees and other primates in and around the reservoir area to determine the number, size, social organisation, habitat requirements and range of primate groups. Birds Three-month survey of birds to identify the species and numbers present in the riparian forest of the reservoir area, and to determine whether the same species are present in the Loma and Sula Mountains. Butterflies Three-month survey to catalogue the butterfly species present in the various vegetation types in the reservoir area and the Loma and Sula Mountains. Reptiles & Three-month survey of reptiles and amphibians in the reservoir area Amphibians and in the Loma and Sula Mountains to produce an inventory of species, population densities, and habitat types.
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Small Three-month survey of small mammals and bats in the reservoir area Mammals and in the Loma and Sula Mountains to produce an inventory of species, population densities, and habitat types. Flora Six-month survey of trees, flora and plant communities/habitats in and around the reservoir area and in the Loma and Sula Mountains, comparing species, quality and importance with those of similar areas elsewhere in West Africa. Conservation Two-month desk study to assess the merits of establishing a Bumbuna areas Conservation Area as an offset to compensate for losses at Bumbuna, and its modus operandi. Also to assess the Loma Hills and Sula Mountains as potential targets for improved biodiversity conservation. Archaeology Two-month field and desk study to further explore the archaeological potential of the reservoir and resettlement areas, to be carried out in the dry season after the clearance of vegetation.
Some information on the human environment was provided in the original EIA, and several new studies were conducted in 2004 to update information on socio-economics, health and culture, as mentioned in section 1 above.
The project is located in the Northern Province. Three Chiefdoms in two Districts are directly affected by the Project: Kassunko and Diang Chiefdoms in Koinadugu District, and Kalansogia Chiefdom in Tonkolili District.
The region is relatively isolated and underdeveloped, except for Bumbuna village which has been largely rebuilt since the war, but still has houses of a poor standard. Bumbuna has experienced some growth due to the influx of both construction workers and of people who lost their land during BHP construction up to 1997.
There are some 60 small settlements in the vicinity of the reservoir basin and the project area. These villages are widely spread out and access to most of them is by footpaths, tracks and footbridges, not all of which can be used during the rainy season.
The main ethnic group in the project area is the Limba, with smaller proportions of Mende, Fula, and Temne. These have their own traditions, but there are broad cultural similarities among them, including the traditional secret societies, use of Krio language, and their religions (traditional, Christianity and Islam). The sacred sites of cultural importance include male and female secret society groves, ancestral cemeteries, shrines, sacred stones, etc. Education levels in the project area are low and illiteracy rates are high, with many families unable to afford formal or informal school fees.
Slash-and-burn agriculture is the predominant land use and income source. Almost all farmers are involved in rice farming, but other food crops are grown including cassava, potato, yam, and fruits like bananas, pineapples, oranges, grapefruits, mangoes etc. Other sources of income include gold mining, palm wine tapping, fishing, petty trading, etc. Bartering is commonly practised.
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The level of social services and infrastructure in the project area is very poor. None of the villages has power, although poles have been erected in Bumbuna village, which will be electrified when the BHP is completed. The village now has a police post to ensure a return of security after the war. There is a Community Health Centre at Bumbuna, which also caters for the surrounding villages of the chiefdom. At present, the seriously ill have to go as far as Magburaka for hospital treatment.
KASUNKO
Kasasi Key
= Tonkolili District Kakeko = Bombali District Kafogo = Koinadugu District
= Chiefdom Boundary • FADUGU • KONDEMBAIA Fula Town NAMES IN RED = chiefdoms belonging to Upper Seli DIANG Community Development Initiative. Fogo BIRIWA Kafene Kania N 10km
• KAMABAI Kamera Bumban Waia KALAN Kamapore SOGOIA Kakambaya SAMBAIA SAFROKO LIMBA • BUMBUNA TOWN BENDUGU Kabumba Nunkikoro • BINKOLO
• MABONTHO MAKARI GBANTI KAFE BOMBALI SIMIRIA SEBORA
• MAGBURAKA
KHOLIFA ROWALA Figure VII: Boundaries of the Kalansogoia
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Source: Vincent (2005) Executive Summary
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A clinic also exists in Fadugu, but this means that some villagers have to walk about 20 km to get medical assistance. Some of the villages have at least a hand pump or a water point installed by an NGO, but most villages collect drinking water from communal wells, dams, springs and streams, while river water is used for washing. Sanitation facilities (latrines) are rare. Primary schools exist in at least the larger villages. Only one motorable road exists in the north, connecting Fadugu, Kafogo and Kamayimbo. Bumbuna is also on a motorable road, and the two roads meet at Magburaka and Makeni.
Archaeological field studies conducted in both the original EIA and the more recent studies did not identify any archaeological sites or artefacts. Similarly, local interviews and literature reviews have not indicated any potential sites of interest. On the balance of evidence, it is therefore unlikely that there are any significant archaeological remains within the area of influence of the project, although this will be checked in a further field study campaign.
There is virtually no existing tourism in the vicinity of the project, with the exception of the small number of expatriates who have the opportunity to visit the spectacle of Bumbuna Falls. The Falls had previously been a minor tourist destination before the civil war, and no doubt will be again once confidence in the tourism sector has returned.
8. Environmental Impact Assessment
The predicted environmental and social impacts of the construction and operation of the BHP, their significance and their proposed mitigation, are summarised in the table below. The responsibilities, timing and costs of the proposed mitigation measures are summarised in the table of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) in |Chapter 12, which also outlines the EMP requirements for the construction and operation contractors.
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Highly Negative Negative No Impacts Positive Highly Positive
REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 Climate No change in local No mitigation Generation of electricity Will contribute to reducing global No mitigation necessary climate. No effect necessary by hydropower instead of climate change by reducing CO2 globally by thermal or diesel fuel emissions and maintaining Sierra stations will greatly Leone’s positive carbon balance. reduce CO2 emissions Hydrology Above dam Impoundment is likely to Changes will only affect the No mitigation A river with wide Will only affect a river length of 30 No mitigation necessary begin in Jan 2006 and reservoir area, which is necessary seasonal changes in flow km. Hydrology upstream of Yiben continue for several relatively small. Hydrology will become a lake, with will be unaltered. months. Slow flowing upstream of Yiben will be a surface area of 21 km2. dry season river will unaltered gradually become a lake Downstream As the reservoir is filling Downstream flow will Proposed actions Increased dry season flow Increases in dry season flow will be No mitigation necessary a minimum downstream maintain natural dry season should avoid (Jan-May) from 6-20 beneficial by avoiding severe environmental flow of 6 conditions and provide downstream impacts m3/s to 33 m3/s. Below reductions in river area that occur m3/s will be maintained rainy season flow of less on hydrology, normal flow in June-Aug naturally. Rainy season impacts in dry season, and 100 than the average monthly ecology, human as reservoir refills, will not be significant as peak flood m3/s in Sept-Nov. Flows maximum flow (350 m3/s) users and other delaying flood conditions flows (Sept-Nov) and downstream will vary in the final 2 if the reservoir is filled in factors. No further by 5 weeks. Possible inundation will not change. 5-week months of impoundment Sept-Nov. An operational mitigation is reductions in flow reduction in onset is also not of as the scheme is tested rule will be introduced to necessary. (evening/weekend) to major importance with respect to (Commissioning). prevent sudden flow retain water for times of hydrology. Unlikely to be any changes during peak demand. impact in estuary as changes will commissioning. be masked by normal flows from the many tributaries downstream Sediment Above dam River sediment will be Only small amounts will be No mitigation Most sediment in the Data suggest that sediment carried Will be investigated further Load and retained by dam once retained during the short necessary river upstream will be by the river has increased, so by water quality and Channel impoundment begins filling period. retained by the dam sediment retention in the reservoir sedimentation studies and Morphology could be an important issue. mitigated by improved land management in catchment. Downstream Excavation of riverbed Disturbed material could be Reduced sediment load Erosion and downstream deposition No mitigation necessary for 300 m below the dam carried downstream by river will not cause erosion during extreme floods will be to create the profile flow, but this will be a downstream because infrequent and will decrease with necessary to allow safe temporary impact and is most flows will not be distance downstream because passage of peak flood thus not greatly significant. strong enough to mobilise sediment carried by tributaries will flows. Addition of riprap mainly coarse sediments. provide the normal base load. Any and gabions to protect May be some erosion in changes in channel will therefore riverbanks. extreme floods. be small and not significant Mineral Farmers pan for gold in Not a major issue during the No mitigation Alluvial gold is found on Some people will move up- and Affected people will be
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 Resources the river to supplement relatively short period of necessary in this the river bed so panning down-stream to continue panning. included in measures income and will be reservoir filling. phase. will not be possible in the However journeys will be too far implemented through the unable to do so as reservoir. for people living near the reservoir RAP to stimulate small reservoir fills. centre so incomes will be reduced. business enterprises (crafts, tourism, local services) as alternative livelihood means Geology Above dam Landslips could occur Landslips are unlikely as Reservoir slopes Landslips could occur Unlikely to be a major issue as Forest will be planted in a during reservoir filling reservoir will fill gradually will be monitored from wave action or by reservoir shape will reduce wave 100 m strip along the from soil wetting and (in dry season) so soils will during impoundment increased pore pressure in incidence, and drawdown will be reservoir border to retain lubrication adjust to changing hydraulic for early detection of fractured rocks during the gradual not sudden. soil. conditions earth movements annual drawdown. Seismicity Little potential for No significant impacts. Seismograph will be No impact No further mitigation impoundment to induce installed near dam to necessary over the longer seismicity because dam is detect any variations term. in a stable area with no in background tectonic structures seismicity to allow showing recent activity. remedial action. Agriculture, Above dam Small-scale changes in No significant impacts as all Loss of cultivated (250 Loss of land is not significant in Land management and Soil and land use as remaining new structures etc will be ha) and fallow land terms of agriculture, as affected agricultural practices in the Land Use buildings, access roads, within footprint of existing beneath reservoir. farmers will be provided with immediate catchment will etc are constructed. scheme Increased forest clearance alternative land on which they can be improved by the creation Gradual inundation and on slopes above reservoir continue to farm. However this of a Bumbuna Watershed loss of cultivated and See columns 6 and 7 (right) as farmers move uphill. land is likely to be acquired from Management Authority fallow land within for impacts of impoundment Loss of soil from existing farmers, increasing the (BWMA), who will prepare reservoir area as deforested areas and pressure on land by reducing fallow and implement a Water and impoundment progresses. reduction in soil fertility. periods, exacerbating existing Land Management Strategy Likely increase in Improved transport of problems of poor soil fertility and and Action Plan. This clearing and agriculture produce to market by erosion of soil from hillslopes. includes measures to reduce on upper slopes as a reservoir boats. soil erosion and improve result. soil conservation, fertility and productivity. Downstream No change in existing No impact No mitigation Agriculture could expand Potential benefit from an expanded No mitigation necessary situation necessary if some of the increased, agricultural sector, providing reliable river flow is used sufficient water remains in the river for irrigation. 20,000 ha at all times to maintain a healthy of land could be supplied ecology and fishery. (if controlled). Water Supply Above dam No change, as where Reservoir will increase Minor benefit A community education communities use river availability of untreated campaign will be water for domestic water for domestic implemented to increase supply this is taken from purposes awareness of the risks of
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 streams, not the main drinking untreated water river and the benefits of simple treatment, eg by boiling. Downstream Variations in availability Provision of a minimum No mitigation Increased dry season flow Minor benefit No mitigation necessary of river water during environmental flow should necessary will increase availability commissioning ensure that water continues of water for domestic use to be available for downstream users Groundwater Upstream Water table will No impact on water supply No mitigation Water table will be Water supply from new wells in the RAP requires that resettled gradually rise in vicinity or agriculture as villages necessary higher in vicinity of vicinity could reduce in the dry communities are provided of reservoir as will be relocated and new reservoir season as reservoir level drops. with water supplies. Prior impoundment proceeds. wells and farms will be investigation will ensure established at the new sites. that these are not affected by variations in reservoir. Downstream Environmental flow No impact No mitigation Increased dry season flow Not significant with respect to No mitigation necessary should ensure that necessary may prevent some groundwater groundwater downstream swamps from seasonal is not affected drying Water Upstream Poor quality (low Temporary impact, but Large vegetation Because of its shape and This could be highly negative as it The Dam Safety Panel do Quality oxygen, high BOD and could hinder development will be removed lack of water movement will limit the development of not consider that the nutrients) from decay of of aquatic ecology and from reservoir area the reservoir is likely to ecology and the fishery in the reservoir will stratify, so a terrestrial vegetation in fishery in reservoir. before impounding. become stratified, with a reservoir and discharge poor limnological study will be reservoir and organic Water quality will large lower layer, devoid quality water downstream, again carried out to confirm this, matter in flooded soil. be monitored and of oxygen because of a limiting the development of and to determine the most further action taken lack of mixing. ecology and fisheries. suitable method of if necessary. artificially circulating the water if necessary. This will then be installed in the reservoir. Downstream Excavation of riverbed Spills of fuels, cement etc Spills will be Improved quality river Benefit for aquatic ecology and No mitigation necessary and provision of concrete could be toxic for aquatic prevented by safe water as dam will retain human users of river water & riprap bank protection organisms and human users. use and storage of suspended sediment downstream of dam Increased sediment could materials on site. could wash soil and other affect aquatic plants and Excavation and materials into river. animals and make water construction in the unsuitable for human use river will be carried Water released from Not of major significance as out in the dry season reservoir will be poor in impact will be temporary to reduce entry of quality because of and agitation of water by sediment into water decaying vegetation. Bumbuna Falls will raise and transportation oxygen level in rainy season downstream
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 Primates Chimpanzees and other Unlikely to be significant as Removal of trees Although the patchy Highly negative impact as chimps Surveys will be carried out primates could be impoundment is likely to from reservoir area forest mosaic in reservoir are a protected and endangered for 1 year to determine the stranded in trees as occur mainly in the dry to maintain water is not ideal habitat for species. Habitat which several number, size and status of reservoir fills. season, so water levels will quality will avoid chimps, it probably groups use will be lost, and chimps all chimp communities in rise slowly and any possibility of supports several will be forced to move to other reservoir area. Then chimpanzees will probably chimpanzees being communities at certain areas where they will come into mitigation specific to each move gradually to higher stranded by rising times of the year. Loss of conflict with humans and primates group will be planned and ground in response. water. these areas will force already inhabiting these areas. implemented. This could chimps to move include: establishing forest elsewhere to land that ridge as a protected area; will come under further reforesting other areas pressure from farmers nearby; protecting and also displaced from maintaining similar habitat reservoir. elsewhere in Sierra Leone. Other Some animals inhabiting This could be significant, as Vegetation will be Riparian forest alongside Negative impact, but not highly Conservation of these Terrestrial the reservoir area will it may include rare and removed from the Seli River will be lost, significant as these habitats are species will be improved by Fauna drown as the area is endangered primates and reservoir area causing habitat squeeze small, so small numbers of animals the BWMA implementing inundated and others will duikers, plus many other systematically as primates, duikers and will be affected. This can be the Water and Land be exposed to increased species. before impoundment other animals have to mitigated by improved land Management Strategy and predation (including (S to N; valley floor move to other areas. New management to increase and Action Plan. This contains hunting) as they move up to upper slopes) so water body would allow improve forest habitat (see below). measures to: strengthen the hillside as the animals will move populations of aquatic The reservoir will increase the protection of all remaining impounded water rises. away in response to and semi aquatic numbers and diversity of aquatic forest via community the disturbance. amphibians, reptiles, life, which will be of benefit to the education; raise awareness Hunting will be mammals and birds to environment and the community of effects of hunting and banned during this expand Further field surveys to collect bushmeat consumption; exercise. baseline data on primates, birds, establish a protected area in butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, the immediate catchment; small mammals and bats will be extend community based conducted, as required by ESAP. arms collection Work done to date suggests that it is unlikely that riparian forest in the reservoir area supports significant endemic, endangered or otherwise special species or populations. Terrestrial Riparian forest in the Although riparian forest exists as a The Water and Land Flora Upper Seli catchment is strip only 10-25 m wide along Management Strategy and probably the most riverbanks, given its reduction over Action Plan includes northerly remaining area the whole of Sierra Leone and measures to compensate for of Upper Guinean elsewhere, this loss would be these losses. These are to: Rainforest. Part of this highly significant. protect remaining riparian
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 will be lost, together with Further field surveys to collect forest in the Upper Seli other closed moist forest baseline data on trees and other catchment by raising and forest regrowth as plants will be conducted, as awareness; set up a fund resettled farmers clear required by ESAP. and promote community new land. forests & reforestation- afforestation programmes; allow plants to regenerate in Bumbuna quarry; establish funding to implement the National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan to safeguard critical habitats elsewhere in Sierra Leone Forest Clearing vegetation from Loss of timber will have a The Contractor Loss of vegetation in Loss of forest within and outside The Water and Land reservoir will remove negative impact on local appointed to clear reservoir will increase the reservoir would be significant Management Strategy and 1570 ha of forest, communities who use the vegetation from the pressure on remaining in an area in which the resource is Action Plan will including 380 ha of resource for fuel, building, reservoir before tree and forest resources already greatly depleted. compensate for losses by riparian and 450 ha of manufacture, etc. impoundment will in the catchment, causing Associated soil loss and land initiating community mixed tree savannah, be required to further loss of soil and degradation would exacerbate forestry in the immediate including commercially employ local labour land degradation. existing problems. catchment to manage valuable trees with trunk and provide timber existing forest and promote volume of >500,000 m3. to the community reforestation and free of charge. afforestation. Catchment Increased conversion of Further soil degradation could be The Water and Land Management forest to cultivated land very significant because as well as Management Strategy will by resettled farmers, reducing agricultural productivity, address these and other particularly on hillslopes, any increased sediment carried by problems caused by will increase soil erosion rivers upstream will increase the inappropriate land use and and further reduce soil sediment retained by the reservoir. management practices (see fertility above) Aquatic Upstream If terrestrial vegetation is If vegetation were not As much vegetation Action will be taken to Reservoir will have positive The water column will be Ecology not removed, poor water removed ecological impacts as possible will be prevent stratification of impacts by providing a lake habitat artificially mixed if quality will severely limit would be very negative as it removed from the the water column if in an area where no lakes exist necessary, and this will the ecology of the lake, would prevent development reservoir area before necessary, and as water naturally. Benefits could increase if ensure positive impacts by as few organisms will of a healthy ecology and impoundment. quality stabilises, a fish populations developed enough allowing aquatic survive in conditions of fishery. slightly impoverished to support viable fisheries. The dam communities including fish low oxygen. lake community will will not significantly affect fish to develop. The Water and If vegetation is removed, Removal of vegetation will develop (eg the periodic migration, as Bumbuna Falls Land Management Strategy lake flora and fauna will allow the development of drying of reservoir edges prevents migration beyond this will enhance beneficial develop gradually, with new aquatic habitats and will prevent significant point. impacts by monitoring initial population communities. This will be a growth of attached Further field surveys to collect development of aquatic
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 fluctuations, as washout positive impact. macrophytes). baseline data on fish and their communities and managing of organic matter from habitats will be conducted, as the reservoir to develop soil will cause eutrophic required by ESAP. Work done to fisheries plus habitats and conditions. date suggests that no endemic, organisms (eg birds) to endangered or otherwise special attract tourists. BWMA will species or populations will be provide equipment and found training to local people for reservoir fishing. Downstream Excavation of riverbed Direct losses by excavation Spills will be Increased dry season flow If plants and animals establish Studies will be conducted to and provision of bank will affect a relatively small prevented by safe should allow plants and permanent communities at river devise an operating rule that protection downstream of area and thus be of little use and storage of animals to inhabit river margins this will be a significant maintains a downstream dam will remove flora significance. Depending on materials on site and margins permanently, so increase in habitat and populations. flow sufficient to cover the and fauna. Downstream quantities spilled and work will be carried habitat and populations This will include fish so catches whole riverbed at all times. flora and fauna could toxicity of materials, site out in the dry season will increase. and incomes could increase. This Downstream fish also be affected by spillages could have more to reduce entry of Fish reproduction could will not occur however if reservoir populations and catches will sediment and spilled damaging impacts over a sediment into water be disrupted by the less- discharges reduce significantly at be monitored during 1st year materials if they enter wider area and transportation than-normal flows in the evenings or weekends to retain of operation, and the BHP water. downstream. early rainy season, which water. operator will compensate Downstream aquatic could disturb cues in the Reduced breeding success in fish fishers if breeding, catches ecology will not change environment that could be highly negative in terms and income are reduced. greatly during reservoir stimulate gonad of ecology, biodiversity, the fishery An ichthyological survey filling as environmental No significant impacts on development and and the community, if it caused will determine whether the flows will be the most aquatic flora and fauna spawning migrations. populations to decline. river supports rare or minimum natural flow in during reservoir filling. These changes would probably not endemic species, so that dry season (6 m3/s), and be significant in the estuary where conservation measures can discharges during flow from upstream of the dam is a be devised if necessary. commissioning will be relatively minor component of the similar to those that total volume. occur naturally at the Further field surveys to collect same time of year (in the baseline data on fish and their early rains). The flora habitats will be conducted, as and fauna should required by ESAP. Work done to therefore not experience date suggests that no endemic, unusual harsh conditions. endangered or otherwise special species or populations will be found Socio- Dam and Some employment Small scale socio-economic See column 8 Permanent inundation This would be a very highly A Dam and Reservoir Area economics Reservoir opportunities for local benefits from increases in and loss of 1 village negative impact if affected people Resettlement Action Plan unskilled labour during income in the local housing an estimated 135 were not resettled, as one village has been prepared, which 2005 when the remaining community people. Loss of assets in would be destroyed, 135 people will provide new housing, construction is 26 other villages would lose their homes, and 3648 farmland and other facilities
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 completed. (farmland, crops, timber others would lose land and assets. (schools, markets, etc) at an Gradual inundation of and fruit trees, village alternative location (to be farmland, houses and land, footpaths, etc). An determined), and includes other areas and assets. estimated 3648 people in assistance with alternative Current estimates See column 7 499 households will lose Living conditions will improve livelihood strategies in indicate that 1 village between 20 and 60% of significantly for those people who agriculture, fisheries, etc. will be inundated their land. receive and are able to afford the This will be agreed with the completely and 26 others The BHP will provide new supply of electricity. communities, who will then will lose land in the electricity to several be resettled. reservoir area, located major towns and below FSL substantial parts of Freetown, inhabited by upwards of two million people. Transmission Displacement of people This would be a very highly A Transmission The BHP will provide Living conditions will improve Alternatives to relocation Line Route inhabiting land along the negative impact if affected Line Resettlement electricity to several significantly for those people who are also being actively Transmission Line, to people were not resettled, as Action Plan has major towns and receive and are able to afford the considered where allow access for significant numbers of been prepared, substantial parts of new supply of electricity. appropriate, including re- reconstruction and avoid people would be displaced through which PAPs Freetown, inhabited by routing parts of the line to potential health and and denied acces to their will be provided upwards of two million avoid areas of major safety impacts to people homes, farms and other with land outside the people. inhabitation, and raising living near the assets. ROW and financial electricity pylons so that transmission line. and technical electromagnetic fields do Currently 4168 persons, assistance which not impinge upon people at in 367 households are they may use to ground level. If located in the 30 m wide construct improved implemented this would Right of Way and 35% of housing. Financial reduce considerably the these fall within the compensation will number of people to be Exclusion Zone so will also be provided for resettled. need to be relocated. loss of assets. Culture, Dam and Gradual inundation of See column 7 See column 8 Inundation and loss of This would be a highly negative Through the RAP, affected History, Reservoir sacred shrines, other sites sacred shrines, other sites impact if no preventative action communities will be Archaeology and artefacts, plus any and artefacts, and loss of were taken, as such sites are of provided with financial archaeological material. access to any as yet considerable cultural and religious compensation for loss of undiscovered importance and their destruction sacred sites, and they will archaeological sites or could affect people psychologically be able to hold ceremonies material. and in other ways, and cause to relocate sites and dissatisfaction and social unrest artefacts to the new village sites. Recent archaeological surveys were constrained by the density of the vegetation
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 and soil and other conditions in the rains, so additional surveys will be carried out in the dry season when the land is cleared of vegetation, to determine the area’s full archaeological potential. Transmission If people are resettled to No impact No mitigation In the long-term, resettled No impact No mitigation necessary Line Route sites outside the ROW necessary people will probably they will still be able to establish new sacred sites visit sacred shrines and near their new houses, so other sites and artefacts visits to sites in the ROW within the ROW. Re- will probably diminish. stringing the towers will not involve significant ground disturbance, so there should be no damage to any undiscovered archaeological material Tourism and Dam and Bumbuna Falls would Not a significant impact as No mitigation Bumbuna Falls will Increased dry season flow will The BWMA will encourage Recreation Reservoir experience variable flows Bumbuna Falls is not a necessary receive increased river extend the period in which and fund tourism initiatives during Commissioning major tourism site, and flows in the dry season, Bumbuna Falls is an attractive by the local community there are no other sites of and reduced wet season waterfall. This plus the other water (including provision of tourism interest in the study flow in July-August. and landscape features (reservoir accommodation and area BHP will create new and dam) could create socio- infrastructure) to increase features of potential economic benefits for the local visitor numbers and provide tourism interest including community if action was taken to new revenue for the the dam and reservoir and stimulate tourist interest in the area. community. possible nature reserve to protect chimp habitat. Transmission No sites with any tourism No impact No mitigation No impact No mitigation necessary Line Route potential along ROW necessary Public Health Dam and The fast flowing river 30 km of fast flowing river See Column 8 Permanent loss of 30 km The permanent removal of blackfly A health protection Reservoir will gradually change to that was suitable for egg (right) for mitigation of fast flowing water habitat will be a highly significant programme will be a relatively static and laying by blackfly will be of increased suitable for egg laying by benefit as it will reduce the implemented in the expanding water body as lost. This will be a positive incidence of malaria. blackfly. Creation of a incidence of river blindness in the immediate catchment impoundment proceeds. impact, as it will prevent small area of new similar community. The small increase in through the Upper Seli new incidents of river habitat at the power habitat at the discharge point is not Community Development blindness. station outlet (through significant in comparison, but Initiative, with additional
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REMAINING CONSTRUCTION & PRE-OPERATION OPERATION Issue Location Impact Significance Mitigation1 Impact Significance Mitigation1 which water will flow action should be taken to protect support from the BHP However the edges of the rapidly). workers and the community from operator and BWMA. This filling reservoir may be The reservoir will also Onchocerciasis. will include: functioning suitable for mosquito provide new areas that and well equipped and breeding so there could be a are suitable for mosquito An increase in the mosquito staffed health centres short-term increase in the larvae, at the edges, and population will be highly negative providing free healthcare; incidence of malaria during particularly in pools that as it will increase the incidence of identification and removal impoundment. will form during malaria. by flattening or improved drawdown periods. Increased contact with slow drainage of all pools of The presence of a lake moving water by swimming, standing water in the draw may result in more bathing, washing clothes, etc, may down area; public education people coming into increase both urinary and intestinal on water borne diseases and contact with slow moving Schistosomiasis, especially the prevention of infection; water. latter. This would be a significant action to break the parasite- negative impact host cycle including removal of aquatic vectors and public health treatment (this will cover all main diseases, including Schistosomiasis, Onchocerciasis & Malaria) Transmission Remaining construction No impact No mitigation People living beneath the As yet there is no widespread Implementation of the RAP Line Route and pre-operational necessary transmission lines may be agreement on whether electric and to resettle people from the testing will not affect exposed to electromagnetic fields cause cancer Transmission Line will river flow or drainage of electromagnetic and other health problems in avoid potential or actual swamps radiation, about which humans as has been claimed. These impacts on human health there are human health would be highly negative impacts, and reassure the public as to concerns. if they occurred so irrespective of the safety of the BHP. whether or not they are likely, Alternative action is also mitigation should be implemented being considered, such as raising pylons so that electromagnetic radiation is not significant at ground level.
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9. Social Impact Assessment
The Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) for the reservoir & dam area and for the transmission line route have been summarised in chapters 9 and 10 respectively of the present EIA report. The methodology for asset valuation was co-ordinated between the two RAP teams.
Survey work for the Dam & Reservoir RAP has indicated varying degrees of effect on the villages of the area, from the loss of <20% of land to complete inundation. It is expected that only one village, comprising 16 households and a population of 135, will need to be completely resettled. House-for-house resettlement arrangements are proposed, but potential resettlement sites have not yet been considered. Compensation will also be payable for the loss of all other assets including land, trees, structures, etc. Communal assets such as shrines, footpaths, etc., will also be moved / reinstated at the cost of the project. In addition, some compensation will be payable for the land that was expropriated without any compensation during the construction period up until 1997, for the construction of the dam, contractors’ camp, quarry, etc. The total cost of resettlement is estimated to be about $ 6.5 million.
The Reservoir RAP includes a number of recommendations for the re-establishment of livelihoods following resettlement. It also notes that implementation of the RAP will require an adequate institutional set-up which would include the establishment of:
• Additional staffing and institutional strengthening of the Bumbuna Project Implementation Unit (PIU);
• A Resettlement Unit (RU), staffed and equipped to carry out the implementation work under contract from the PIU;
• An appropriate NGO, qualified to undertake the parcel of activities under the Livelihood Assessment & Income Restoration (LAIR) programme;
• Resettlement Officers (RO), each dealing with four or five villages;
• Legal counsel to Project Affected Persons (PAPs), to be provided continuously throughout the resettlement process e.g. the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance (LAWCLA);
• Village Resettlement Committees (VRC), one per affected village, organised for direct representation of the PAPs, including representatives of vulnerable groups;
• A Resettlement Advisory Group, as a steering committee on which all stakeholders will be represented;
• Monitoring by different actors, including day to day routine monitoring by the RU;
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• A Witness NGO for witnessing specific activities, e.g. compensation payments or signing of agreements;
• A Panel of Experts for periodic external monitoring (appointed October 2004).
It is noted that all of this institutional infrastructure needs to be in place well before the start of reservoir impoundment in early 2006.
The various methods of ‘benefit sharing’ have been discussed, i.e. methods of sharing the tangible benefits of the project with the members of its ‘host’ community. It is expected that development funds will be made available to those areas not in receipt of funds for resettlement and compensation, as defined in the $1.14 million programme of the Upper Seli Community Development Initiative (Vincent, 2004). These funds will pay for, for example, education and health facilities, and vocational training. Funding for the preparation of proposals under this Initiative has been made available from the Japanese Social Development Fund, which is managed by the World Bank. In addition, a type of revenue sharing has been proposed, in that it has been agreed that a portion of the electricity tariff should be paid into a Watershed Management Fund, which will support the activities of the proposed Watershed Management Authority. (It is likely that the BHP will also be in receipt of carbon credit funds from the GEF, which will probably be credited to a Trust Fund.) Finally, other project related fees will effectively be transferred to local beneficiaries on a one-time basis by the electrification of Bumbuna village. Village houses are expected to be connected to the power supply free of charge, but householders will have to pay for the electricity consumed.
During both the completion of construction and the many years of future operation, there will be interaction between BHP and its ‘host’ community. It is essential for all parties that good relations are maintained. As specified in the EMP (Chapter 12), the construction contractors and the operating company will each be required to employ a Community Liaison Officer. In addition, as mentioned in Chapter 6, a Local Consultative Committee will be formed to act as the forum for all stakeholders, and a Grievance Procedure has been devised to deal with problems or complaints that cannot be resolved by the other two means.
The construction and operation of the BHP may influence the health of the surrounding communities in the following ways:
• Changes in the incidence of vector borne diseases, due to changes in vector habitat; • Social impacts resulting in the increased incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs); • Gastro-intestinal problems due to changes in water quality and water use.
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Figure VIII: Members of the NKUK Team carrying out fieldwork during the 2004 Studies
Whilst these are three separate types of health impact, they are addressed together below because in the remote area of the project site, the health of communities can best be monitored and treated by a single primary health care programme (with the addition of specialist treatments / programmes where needed).
The specific issues to be addressed are as follows:
• Malaria - The new reservoir will create additional breeding sites for the mosquito vectors of malaria. This could be particularly prevalent during drawdown, which can be expected to leave a number of small isolated pools of water. In addition, some villages that are presently not near the river, will become within mosquito flying distance of the reservoir. However, the increase in dry season discharge downstream of the dam is likely to eliminate some of the pools of stagnant water which presently form in the river bed during the dry season.
• Bilharzia - The slow-moving water at the margins of the reservoir will also create new habitat for the snails that are the intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis (bilharzia), which is already prevalent in the area.
• Onchocerciasis - The agitated water at the tailrace of the power plant can be expected to create a new breeding site for Simulium blackflies, the vector of onchocerciasis (river blindness), which is also prevalent in the area. However, the new reservoir will inundate various river rapids which create ‘white water’ Simulium breeding sites. The reduction of white water will be far greater than the
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small increase at the tailrace and therefore the project should lead to a significant reduction in river blindness along the 30 km reservoir.
• Public Health - Communities that have not previously had river access, will find themselves adjacent to a very large water body. This will be very tempting both as a source of water and a site for washing, defaecation, waste disposal, etc. This will demand a strenuous effort in public awareness to prevent the transmission of both gastro-intestinal disease and bilharzias. Moreover, the resettlement of PAPs in new locations with unfamiliar sources of food and water, will expose people to new health risks. Proper water supply and sanitation will need to be provided at resettlement sites.
• Construction Workers - The construction and operation of the power plant will attract people into the project area. They might settle in temporary housing having unsanitary living conditions and may not have access to proper health care. Some diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are nationally on the increase. HIV/AIDS and other STDs are classically spread by migrant workers, truck drivers and other itinerant or temporary labourers at construction sites. Awareness, prevention measures and access to care must be provided in the BHP project area. (This issue is also addressed in chapter 12 within the contractors’ EMPs.)
The health infrastructure in the project area is very weak and functions badly. Even without the BHP, it needs to be strengthened to assure access to primary health care for the whole population, to guarantee proper treatment for common diseases and injuries, and to warrant timely referral of complicated cases.
The potential health impacts referred to above cannot be quantified, so the approach must be to plan for their minimisation by both the provision of health services and environmental engineering for vector control. Given the weakness of existing health facilities referred to above, it will be necessary for the project to take the initiative for appropriate improvements, in co-operation with the health programmes of the Ministry of Health and donors operating in the area.
Attention has been drawn to the local importance of cultural issues, in particular shrines, cemeteries and the sacred groves used as meeting places for the male and female secret societies which exist in almost all villages. Those sacred sites in the reservoir basin will have to be replaced or relocated prior to inundation, and financial support will have to be provided for the various rites of consecration that are required on such occasions.
Archaeological field studies conducted in the original EIA and the additional field studies did not identify any archaeological sites or artefacts, and local interviews and literature reviews have not indicated any potential sites of interest within the area of influence of the project. This will be verified by further field studies once the major vegetation of the reservoir basin has been cleared. In the circumstances, no immediate archaeological mitigation measures have been proposed. However, given the possibility
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that archaeological material might be uncovered during the final stage of construction, or in the reservoir drawdown zone during operation, instructions are included within the contractors’ EMPs to protect or preserve any such materials.
10. Transmission Line Issues
The 161 kV single circuit transmission line, 203 km in length, was constructed between Freetown and Bumbuna during the period 1994-96. By the cessation of construction, most of the towers (540) had been constructed and approximately 80 km of the line had been strung. By the end of hostilities, 29 of the towers had been destroyed or badly damaged. These will have to be rebuilt and some others will need restoration work. In addition, the whole of the line will have to be restrung with new cables. A small number of additional towers will be built during the restoration work, to detour around some areas of housing that have been constructed in the intervening years.
Given that the transmission line was virtually complete at the termination of construction in 1996, any environmental effects of construction occurred a decade ago. The main impact at that time would have been the clearance of vegetation from the ROW and the access tracks to it. However, the route passes through mainly cultivated swamps, farm- bush and human settlements, all of which are ecologically unremarkable. There are three transmission towers in the Occra Hills Forest Reserve near Masiaka, but this is a production reserve designed to protect the steep hill slopes from erosion, and is planted with exotic tree species of no ecological interest. None of the transmission line passes through the Western Area Forest Reserve, located on the mountain chain of the Freetown Peninsula.
Construction of the transmission line involved the demolition of some buildings and the loss of economic trees within the 30m wide Right of Way (ROW). In 1994, a valuation exercise was carried out and plans made for compensation of the affected people. However, no compensation was paid, which is a source of continuing disquiet. This issue has been addressed in the RAP for the transmission line, by including a figure of $3,300,000 to settle these old claims (with interest). In the rural areas, where households have to be moved resettlement can largely be achieved by providing people with replacement housing a short distance from their existing house, often on the same plot of land. Funds will be provided for the new houses, and the employment of Project Affected People (PAPs) in the building work will be encouraged, thus increasing their personal benefit from resettlement. The RAP has noted that funds will be required for substitute land, construction costs, removal costs, loss of crop assets, and loss of income for small businesses. Given that this is a linear development, there are no plans to
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establish new communal resettlement sites, which will avoid any potential host community problem. As in the Reservoir RAP, the Transmission RAP has noted the need for an effective institutional framework for its implementation, involving a number of different government, NGOs and private bodies.
The restoration of the transmission line will require engineering access to all of the tower sites. In almost all places, the track along the ROW has continued to be used by local people. Similarly, the original access tracks from roads to the powerline have been kept open by local use. Rehabilitation of the powerline will therefore not cause any adverse effects on flora and fauna additional to the original effects of its construction. Vegetation will be cleared mechanically where necessary, and herbicides will not be used.
Restoration of the ROW could theoretically involve the resettlement of those people who have settled within the 30m wide exclusion zone since the line was first constructed. In a few cases, the construction of small detours of the transmission line may be made to avoid the need for resettlement (e.g. between Kissy Cemetery and Fourah Bay College). The RAP has recorded the number of households and people within the ROW to be as follows:
Transmission Line Sections Households Individuals
Kingtom to Hillcot Road, Freetown 119 1,574 Hillcot Road to Bumbuna (except 141 1,342 Makeni) In Makeni 107 1,252
Total 367 4,168
A reduced Exclusion Zone has now been defined, based on a minimum distance of 7m between conductors and houses. This is recognised as a safe separation distance for this type of power line in Europe, America and other developed countries. This clearance also meets the most recent and stringent Electromagnetic Field (EMF) exposure standard of 3 µT (micro-tesla) just under the conductors, applied by the Government of Italy (which is the strictest in the EU).
This Exclusion Zone has been estimated to be 35% of the ROW. Of the 367 households in the ROW, only 129 are stated to be within the new Exclusion Zone, so the social impacts can be much reduced.
About 60% of households within the ROW are in the two urban locations, about half of them in the 1.5 km between Kingtom and Hillcot Road in Freetown, and the other half in Makeni. If all or some of these households were able to remain in place, the requirement
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for resettlement would be drastically reduced. This issue has been considered by the PIU and the ESAP, and the following alternative solutions have emerged:
Makeni – Divert the line through open countryside to the north of the town, so that resettlement requirements would be negligible. This would involve moving 15 of the existing towers and locating the new sub-station on the north side of the town. At the time of writing, this alternative is under active and positive consideration.
Freetown – For the urban area of Freetown, the following alternatives to clearing the ROW have been considered, in order to minimise resettlement:
• Relocation of the end-of-line 161 kV sub-station from the Kingtom power station site to a new location in the Lester Peak area (or Wilberforce), close to the perimeter of the city on the existing alignment. (This alternative now abandoned on grounds of cost.)
• Raise the towers at critical sections where public health issues may be a concern (i.e. to reduce exposure to transmission field effects to below the international guidelines), and in parallel, adopt measures to mitigate hazards or perceptions of hazard.
While the initial concern was that electric field effects may be the critical criterion, analysis has concluded that another key issue is to demonstrate adequate provision of public safety and access to the towers for routine maintenance and emergency repair. This issue had not been finalised at January 2005 and as part of the normal PAP consultation on the completed draft final report of the Transmission RAP, PAP feedback will be obtained on the overpass alternative, with the option of raising critical towers.
However, it can be concluded that satisfactory mitigation options are available to either resettle people from the Exclusion Zone, or design an engineering solution that would provide an adequate level of safety and health protection for any people remaining in the ROW.
The total cost of implementing the transmission line RAP would be $4,796,263 if resettlement is restricted to the newly defined Exclusion Zone. (This may reduce further if alternative solutions are implemented.)
11. Development Context
The project design and the landform, geographical and meteorological conditions at the Bumbuna site endow it with a number of natural advantages, such that the negative impacts of the first phase of BHP are relatively modest when compared with many other hydropower schemes. For example, any effects of this run-of-river scheme on the
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downstream river and its associated flora, fauna, fisheries, wetlands and water resources will be slight, because there will be relatively little change in the river flow regime. Nevertheless, the EIA has identified the several small and large potential negative environmental and social impacts of the scheme, and the mitigation and management measures needed to avoid or minimise them. By way of contrast, this chapter has also identified the positive impacts of the scheme, in terms of its economic, social and environmental development benefits.
The induced regional impacts expected of the BHP have also been identified, and these are mostly positive in development terms.
In addition, an Upper Seli Community Development Initiative has been prepared (Vincent 2005) relating to the chiefdoms of Kasunko, Diang, Sambaia Bendugu, Kafe Simiria, Safroko Limba and Biriwa, which surround the ‘core’ chiefdom of Kalansogia (HQ in Bumbuna village) in which the main infrastructure of BHP is located. (Of these, Kasunko and Diang will experience some direct impacts due to inundation of the reservoir basin.) The objective of the initiative is to share the benefits of the BHP over a broader area than those villages directly affected by the project. The outcome was a number of recommendations for infrastructure improvements (roads, electrification, health and educational facilities) and a series of proposals for village-level community sub-projects. The latter consist of physical projects (schools, clinics, water supply, etc.) and socio-economic support projects (training, micro-credit, trading, agriculture, tourism etc).
The potential for tourism has also been considered in the EIA, with the conclusion that the BHP will increase local opportunities for income generation from tourism. A combination of the spectacle of Bumbuna Falls, the interest of the dam and hydropower station, and various kinds of ecotourism on and around the reservoir, create an attractive tourism package. In addition, the former BHP construction camp can provide accommodation, research and teaching facilities which will further enhance the tourism potential of the area.
Finally, recommendations are made for the Regional Environmental Assessment (a type of Strategic Environmental Assessment) that will be needed before any further planning of Bumbuna-Yiben power development opportunities (see Chapter 4). The Regional EA will improve and underpin the development planning process by:
• Early identification of important issues; • Evaluation of alternatives; • Assessment of cumulative impacts; • Assessment of risks.
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The proposed structure and content of both the required studies and the resulting report are presented.
12. Environmental Management Plan
A large number of mitigation, management and monitoring measures for BHP have been identified as listed in the Chapter 8 table above. It is important that arrangements are made for the implementation of these measures. They have therefore been brought together in summary form in Chapter 12, to indicate the responsibilities, timing and costs of their implementation, with indicative sources of funding. The items and their costs are summarised below.
One off Annual Description (US$) (US$) Establish and administer the BWMA 513,100 235,000 Construction measures 98,100 Clearing the reservoir area 703,500 Baseline bird survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline butterfly survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline reptile and amphibian survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline small mammal survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline flora survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline limnological study Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline fisheries survey Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline primate survey and monitoring programme Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Baseline archaeological field investigation Not for disclosure Not for disclosure Desk study on Bumbuna conservation area 67,700 Community participation and awareness 306,000 106,600 Establish the Water and Land Management Strategy and Action Plan 217,900 Land and soil management programme 351,050 132,575 Downstream fisheries management programme 281,900 187,300 Reservoir fisheries management programme 281,900 187,300 Environmental flow sufficiency 132,200 Agroforestry and forestry programme 342,900 132,900 Agricultural development programme 320,900 123,600 Study and mapping of land use and vegetation 221,500 46,450 Ecological and ecotourism survey 122,500 Establish and administer the BCA 320,500 92,700 Social and health measures 1,298,100 710,000 Technical assistance programme for a project supervision unit in the Dept of the Environment 109,900 71,900 Total 5,689,650 2,026,325
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An important ‘core’ of this management initiative is the Land Management Strategy and Action Plan, which is intended to influence agricultural improvement, soil conservation, forest conservation, river water quality protection and wildlife management. Implementation of this strategy and action plan will be by an administratively ‘lean’ Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority, which would also deal with the proposed conservation area and management of the BHP environmental offset. The authority and its activities would be financed from a fund, which could receive inputs from various sources including the electricity tariff (or a tax on the operating company).
Figure IX: Some of the People of Bumbuna
Another very important element of environmental management relates to the actions of the construction contractors, and subsequently the operation contractors. Outline Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) have been elaborated for these two groups, with the added intention that ‘daughter’ EMPs should be prepared for any sub- contractors that work on BHP. The detailed contractors’ EMPs will be subject to approval by the PIU, and could also be used as one of the selection criteria for contractors. These EMPs should be implemented within the overall Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) of the companies concerned. The EMPs include some important basic requirements such as the elaboration of an Environmental Policy,
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employment by the contractors of an Environmental Manager and a Community Liaison Officer, and the preparation of an Emergency Plan and a Decommissioning Plan.
Finally, capacity-building will be needed to ensure that those institutions with responsibility for environmental management, supervision or monitoring of BHP, are capable of executing their responsibilities. Recommendations have therefore been made for capacity-building programmes and activities for the following:
• BHP Operators; • Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority; • Seli Catchment Management; • Department of the Environment; • Wildlife and Conservation Branch; • Bumbuna Project Implementation Unit (PIU).
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