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Plastic Waste Public Disclosure Authorized South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) Plastic free Rivers and Seas for South Asia Public Disclosure Authorized (P171269) Public Disclosure Authorized ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT (ESA) Public Disclosure Authorized 26 February 2020 Draft Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) Plastic-free Rivers and Seas for South Asia Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 6 1 PROJECT INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Regional, Sectoral and Institutional Contexts ........................................................... 1 1.2 Project Development Objective ................................................................................... 4 1.3 Project Components ..................................................................................................... 5 1.3.1 Component 1: Regional Competitive Block Grants to Reduce Plastic Waste ........................... 5 1.3.2 Component 2: Leveraging Private Sector Engagement and Solutions ..................................... 7 1.3.3 Component 3: Promoting Educational Partnerships, Awareness, and Behavioral Change ...... 8 1.3.4 Component 4: Strengthening Regional Integration and Project Management .......................... 9 1.4 Project Beneficiaries ................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Objectives of the Environmental and Social Assessment ...................................... 11 1.6 Implementing Agency ................................................................................................. 12 2 SAR COUNTRY ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILES ................................................................... 14 2.1 Regional Urban Development .................................................................................... 14 2.2 Environmental Profiles ............................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 Afghanistan............................................................................................................................. 16 2.2.2 Bangladesh............................................................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 Bhutan .................................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.4 India ........................................................................................................................................ 18 2.2.5 Maldives ................................................................................................................................. 20 2.2.6 Nepal ...................................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.7 Pakistan .................................................................................................................................. 22 2.2.8 Sri Lanka ................................................................................................................................ 24 3 PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE SOUTH ASIA REGION ........................................................ 26 3.1 Plastics Overview ........................................................................................................ 26 3.1.1 Types, sources, and uses of plastics ...................................................................................... 26 3.1.2 Micro-plastics .......................................................................................................................... 27 3.1.3 Generating plastic waste ........................................................................................................ 28 3.2 State of Surface, Coastal, and Marine Plastic Pollution ......................................... 31 3.2.1 Brief global scenario ............................................................................................................... 31 3.2.2 Regional scenario ................................................................................................................... 32 3.2.3 Country scenario in the South Asian Seas ............................................................................. 33 3.3 Risk and Impacts of Plastic Pollution ....................................................................... 35 3.3.1 Ecological impacts .................................................................................................................. 35 3.3.2 Economic impacts .................................................................................................................. 38 3.3.3 Social impacts ........................................................................................................................ 39 3.4 Major Marine Litter Management Challenges in the Region ................................... 40 4 CURRENT APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE REGION ... 42 4.1 Global and Regional Initiatives .................................................................................. 43 4.1.1 Prevention .............................................................................................................................. 43 Draft Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) Plastic-free Rivers and Seas for South Asia 4.1.2 Mitigation ................................................................................................................................ 45 4.1.3 Cleanup .................................................................................................................................. 50 4.2 National/Local Initiatives/Technologies in the SAR ................................................ 53 4.2.1 Enabling environment (government policies, campaigns, and movements) ........................... 53 4.2.2 Prevention .............................................................................................................................. 55 4.2.3 Mitigation ................................................................................................................................ 56 4.2.4 Cleanups ................................................................................................................................ 57 4.3 Gaps, Needs, and Challenges in the SAR ................................................................ 58 4.3.1 Lack of marine litter data in the SAS Region .......................................................................... 58 4.3.2 Poor institutional system for management of marine litter ...................................................... 58 4.3.3 Non-availability of legal framework for marine litter management .......................................... 58 4.3.4 Poor and insufficient enforcement of international conventions, agreements, laws, regulations, and treaties ............................................................................................................................................. 59 4.3.5 Limited implementation of direct development activities for marine management .................. 59 4.3.6 Lack of research and surveys on marine litter ........................................................................ 59 4.3.7 Weak formulation and enforcement of regulatory framework ................................................. 60 4.3.8 Lack of marine litter production and consumption policy and strategies ................................. 60 4.3.9 Lack of education and awareness program for marine litter management ............................. 60 4.3.10 Lack of marketing and economic instruments for marine litter management .......................... 61 4.4 Potential Project Activities to Address the Challenges in SAR ............................. 61 5 POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL RISKS AND IMPACTS .................................... 63 5.1 Environmental Risks ................................................................................................... 63 5.2 Social Risks ................................................................................................................. 64 5.3 Anticipated Impacts, Issues and Risks ..................................................................... 64 5.4 Risk from Micro-plastics ............................................................................................ 66 5.5 Risks from Recovery and Processing of Plastics from E-Wastes ......................... 66 5.6 Negative List ................................................................................................................ 67 6 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT ..................................................... 69 6.1 Environmental and Social Risk Classification ......................................................... 69 6.2 Managing Risks ........................................................................................................... 69 7 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 71 7.1 Set-up and Implementation Arrangements .............................................................. 71 7.1.1 The Governing Council ........................................................................................................... 71 7.1.2
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