Ministerio De Agricultura

April 28, 2005 MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE IRRIGATION SUBSECTOR PROJECT “PROGRAM TO EXPAND THE IRRIGATION SUBSECTOR PROJECT UNDER THE FRAMEWORK OF IBRD LOAN 4076-PE”

THE PROJECT’S ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

BACKGROUND

From 1997 to 2004, the Peruvian Government put into practice an innovative strategy to: (i) develop the capacity of JUs for decentralized, efficient management of irrigation systems; (ii) reduce the public sector’s role in irrigation; and (iii) ensure the recovery of irrigation system investment, operation, and maintenance costs through the execution of the Irrigation Subsector Project (PSI). This project, with the financial participation of the World Bank (Loan N° 4076-PE) totaling US$85 million, included the execution of four technical components:

 Rehabilitation and improvement of irrigation infrastructure.  Institutional strengthening of water users’ organizations.  Incentives for the technification of irrigation.  Emergency dam safety program.

The project complied with its specific, established aim, purpose, and objectives, contributing to the increase in extensive and intensive land use, to rural institutional strengthening, and to a lesser degree to agricultural production and productivity and thus to the incomes of farmers on the Costa. One of the most important achievements has been the improvement in irrigation system efficiency (80 to 81% in conveyance, and 70 to 79% in distribution), and at on-farm level (55 to 63% in technified gravity irrigation and up to 85% in pressurized irrigation).

Due to the PSI’s success in its first phase, the Peruvian Government has decided to continue with the execution of this project. In this so-called second phase of the PSI, whose total investment cost is US$22.02 million, four complementary groups of actions will be carried out: (i) improvement of irrigation infrastructure in small-scale community rehabilitation works; (ii) implementation of infrastructure aimed at the development of irrigation technology; (iii) training in management for Users’ Committees and in technical aspects of irrigation for farmers; and (iv) increase in the formalization of water rights. In addition, studies will be carried out in a comprehensive manner with the aim of planning future interventions in irrigated agriculture on the Costa.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PSI WORKS IN RELATION TO THEIR IMPACTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The PSI’s execution during its second stage basically contemplates two types of works: (i) rehabilitation and improvement of irrigation infrastructure in existing public irrigation systems; and (ii) on-farm technified irrigation. With regard to their environmental impacts, these works are considered to be Category B, because of their simple characteristics, relatively low cost, and ease of execution, to the point that consideration has been given to allowing the construction of these works to be administered by Irrigation Water Users’ Organizations, under the title of “Community Works” in the case of irrigation improvement works, and by groups of beneficiary farmers in the case of the implementation of technified irrigation systems.

Because these works are aimed at improving efficiency in the use of irrigation water, they will produce highly favorable effects on the environment because they will reduce water losses, thus contributing to reduce problems of flooding and soil salinization. Consequently, this will greatly alleviate the sanitation and health problems that occur in neighboring towns caused by insects and animals that often transmit pests and contagious diseases.

The historical-cultural heritage existing in the region is not expected to be affected by the execution of project works, since these form part of existing irrigation systems which, at the appropriate time, had to respect the presence of such historical-cultural testimonies when they were built.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK PREVENTION AND MITIGATION PLAN, UNDER THE IRRIGATION SUBSECTOR PROJECT

There is a remote possibility that the execution of project works may cause significant environmental damage, because the project’s design, components, strategies, and modalities of execution and its specific activities comprise a Plan aimed not only at complying with the project’s specific objectives, but also at achieving these objectives under the framework of natural resources and environmental preservation and conservation. The execution of works and their operation and maintenance include three specific technical supports: (i) the training program for institutional strengthening of irrigation water users’ organizations; (ii) the on-farm irrigation extension program and technical assistance for crop practices aimed at farmers, to be implemented with technified irrigation systems; and (iii) support for the formalization of water rights, aimed at allocating to irrigation users a basic supply of water for agricultural use, in terms of available resources and their efficient, fair, and sustainable use. Furthermore, the opinions of specialists conclude that the Irrigation Subsector Project will contribute to improving the current environmental conditions in areas where the project will have a presence or will intervene.

Another important mention of the subject is the forthcoming execution, with World Bank financing, of the Study on “Environmental Analysis in Peru,” which incorporates aspects related to pesticide management that will be very useful for diagnostics, risk identification, proposed prevention and mitigation measures, surveillance of the implementation of corrective measures, etc.

Should such negative effects on the environment arise or appear as a consequence of the execution of works, the following measures will be implemented:

3.1 Respect for cultural heritage (World Bank Safeguard OPN 11.03/OP 4.11)

This problem may arise from the execution of irrigation infrastructure rehabilitation and improvement works. In such cases, the measures are:

Preventive efforts: Special care will be taken in reviewing the technical files for those works (due to changes in the layout of canals or the location of hydraulic structures in zones with archeological remains) that do not affect areas declared or presumed to contain assets that constitute cultural heritage. In such cases, these technical files will be rejected, unless they include the respective documents authorizing the execution of works, issued by the relevant authority (National Institute of Culture-INC). Mitigation Efforts: In fact, INC does not authorize the execution of works in areas declared to be of cultural heritage. In areas not declared to be of cultural heritage, if for any reason during the execution of the work any pieces or objects are found that constitute cultural heritage, the PSI Coordinating Unit (UCPSI) will utilize the procedures established by INC for these cases, i.e. it will: (i) notify the respective Regional Office of INC by letter, about the findings; (ii) deliver the items of cultural heritage found, to the regional representative of INC; and (iii) prepare document verifying the delivery of items, to be signed by the representative of UCPSI and the regional representative of INC.

3.2 Respect for the management of agrochemical products (World Bank Safeguard OP 4.09)

This problem may arise due to the execution of technified irrigation works that involve an area of nearly 3,000 ha (0.5% of the irrigated area on the Costa) and with nearly 1,000 farmers. In these cases, the measures are:

Preventive efforts: By the power granted by the National System of Public Investment (SNIP) to UCPSI, to prevent any risk to the environment, UCPSI will not approve the execution of works: (i) whose pre-investment studies have not developed the environmental aspects established by SNIP; and (ii) whose environmental aspects developed in the pre-investment stage indicate that the negative impact on the environment is intensive and that mitigation measures are either insufficient or significantly costly and thus affect the subproject’s profitability.

Mitigation efforts: UCPSI and the National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA) will supervise the application of necessary mitigation measures by each Group of Technified Irrigation Farmers responsible for their respective subproject. The possible mitigation efforts to be applied are: (i) training for farmers in aspects of pesticide management; (ii) linkage of producers to share experiences and validate them in other zones of the region or country; (iii) coordination of actions with public and private institutions dealing with pesticide management; (iv) coordination of NGO services through strategic alliances with agroindustrial enterprises and purchasers of products and with private technicians, to implement adequate pesticide management programs; (v) promotion of the use of adequate agronomic practices; (vi) carrying out ongoing evaluations of crop development and pest control, and verifying the execution of planned actions in this regard; and (vii) verifying that the established agrochemical control is applied on the basis of monitoring of pests and their natural enemies and according to the crop’s phenological stage, among others.

A concrete measure that the project will implement to mitigate the environment impact of pesticide management, is to carry out case studies (Pilot Project) on this matter, in one of the major crops (paprika) expected to replace traditional crops. The environmental impact of pesticide use will be monitored, as well as the effect of corrective measures implemented to counter any negative environmental impacts that may arise. The results of these case studies will make it possible to extrapolate the results obtained and extend them to other crops that are being considered for introduction.

Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance Efforts: UCPSI, WUOs, and farmers involved will supervise and oversee compliance with provisions, aimed at: (i) verifying that the proposed mitigation or correction measures have been executed and are effective; (ii) detecting impacts that were unforeseen in the EIA and proposing adequate corrective measures; (iii) checking and verifying expected impacts; and (iv) validating the prediction methods applied. Table 1. MATRIX OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK PREVENTION AND MITIGATION PLAN, UNDER THE IRRIGATION SUBSECTOR PROJECT

APPLICABLE MEASURES AGENCIES EXECU- RISKS TYPE SPECIFIC MEASURES RESPON- TION FINANCING SIBLE PERIOD Rejection of works with pre-investment studies that lack environmental impact OSM-UCPSI studies Contemplated in Rejection of works whose mitigation OSM-UCPSI project

S measures are costly or insufficient execution A Rejection of works whose technical files E

R indicate that they affect historic-cultural DIR-UCPSI A

During

E PREVEN- areas project G TIVE Not included in A execution

T project cost. I Training of users organizations on R PES-UCPSI Requires E environmental aspects H

additional

L financing. A

R Contemplated in

U Allocation of basic supplies of water in

T IRH-INRENA project - blocks, and formalization of water rights L execution U

C Application of environmental protection

R measures established for the work WUOs O construction process C I

R Supervision of the application of During Contemplated in

O MITIGA- DIR-UCPSI

T environmental protection measures project project

S TION ATDRs

I established for the work construction process execution execution H Application of procedures established in case N

O historical-cultural remains are found during DIR-UCPSI

S the execution of works T

C Verification of the execution and E ENVIRON- DIR-UCPSI F effectiveness of proposed mitigation or Not included in F MENTAL WUOs After E correction measures project cost. MONITOR- execution Detection of unforeseen environmental Requires ING AND of each impacts and proposal of adequate corrective DIR-UCPSI additional SURVEIL- work measures financing. LANCE Validation of the mitigation methods applied OSM-UCPSI OTHER EFFECTS ON ENVIRON-MENT EFFECTS OF PESTICIDE MANAGE-MENT N MITIGATIO LANCE SURVEIL- ING AND MONITOR- MENTAL ENVIRON- TION MITIGA- TIVE PREVEN- constructed worksconstructed on landscape and effects negative protect of to avoid works Construction temporary habitat through naturalwildlife on vehicular individual traffic restriction and period, execution work and in the Reduction forest of species felling Avoid indiscriminate soils. of and reforestation slopes and Stabilization applied of measures corrective the evaluation and bypesticide use, caused impacts environmental studies to monitor Case efforts control control, pest of execution and and ofdevelopment Ongoing evaluations crop agronomic practices applicationadequate of the of Promotion programsmanagement adequate pesticide to implement institutions among private Consensus and public management on pesticide private institutions and public share with and to experiences, coordination among zones producers Linkage of different in pesticide managementfarmers and education for training Environmental Group Irrigation AT-Technified UCPSI PERAT- Group Irrigation AT-Technified UCPSI PERAT- UCPSI PERAT- WUOs DIR-UCPSI UCPSI PERAT- Group Irrigation AT-Technified process productive of execution During process productive of execution during and Plan Business n of formulatio During process productive of execution During worksof execution Prior to of worksof execution During process productive after andDuring process productive of execution During execution. project in Contemplated financing. additional Requires project cost. in Not included needed.) if works, on the files technical includedare in measures (These execution. project in Contemplated financing. additional Requires project cost. in Not included