Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Trincomalee Development Plan Central Environmental Authority

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED TRINCOMALEE DEVELOPMENT PLAN VOLUME 1 : EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Soa -<=><s - UNIVERSITY OF MORATUWA * T« APRIL 2008 STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED TRINCOMALEE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FINAL REPORT VOLUME 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY CEA Library DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF MORATUWA APRIL 2008 Major Projects envisaged in the Plan are: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Coal Power Plant • Special Economic Zone • Small & Medium Industries Zone The potential of Trincomalee Area for rapid economic development has been attracting the • Administrative Secretariat attention of respective governments since 1980's due to several factors, including its natural • New Fishery Harbour resource potential, location advantage and its importance derived from having the second largest • New Town Development natural harbour in the world. Despite the preparation of previous comprehensive development • Road Development plans to promote industrialization and agricultural diversification, the development of Northern " Tourist Resorts and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka has been severely curtailed during the last two- and a half • Commercial Farming decades due to the on-going civil disturbances. However, recent advances made by the security, forces, notably in the Trincomalee District and the re-establishment of government In the above Plan, UDA (2007) had developed a zoning map, comprising 15 zones for the study administration has paved the way for the policy makers to prioritize the development of area, as shown in Fig la, and Planning Regulations, which have identified the activities that Trincomalee area. would be allowed in each of the zones. Any of the activities listed in the Planning Regulations would be allowed within the areas assigned for a particular zone, provided it does not affect The need for accelerated development in the Eastern Province is not contested. Development is a neighboring premises in terms of noise, vehicular congestion etc. It is also required that all key to maintain long-lasting peace in the region, as it will provide an opportunity for the activities will be subjected to local authority regulations and environmental regulations, upliftment of the standard of living of the people, giving hope to the people, particularly youth, pertaining to discharges and emissions of waste water, solid waste and air pollutants and EPL who have been living in the midst of war, hostility and poverty for almost their whole lives. Nor and EI A requirements for prescribed projects. In this study, Fig la was prepared by numbering can development take place without international support both for facilitating the peace process each and every geographic area, using a system denoting the category of zoning and the and for implementing development projects. Nevertheless, the desire for development should not- particular site in that category. override or compromise the uniqueness of Trincomalee, its bay area including the natural port and scenic beauty of the. coastal system, its countryside, its history, its culture and its The necessity of conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for Trincomalee biodiversity. * Development Plan has been recognized by the Central Environmental Authority and several other respective stakeholder government institutions such as the NARA, Ports Authority, Coast The study focused on the 'Trincomalee Metro Urban Area Development Plan' prepared by the Conservation Department, and BOI. This will facilitate the systematic and comprehensive Urban Development Authority in January 2007. According to UDA (2007), the above Plan has evaluation of environmental consequences of the proposed development plan and its alternatives. been prepared based the concepts of Green Development and Integrated Physical Development. Moreover, this will also ensure that such consequences are appropriately addressed at the earliest The main features of the Plan have been noted as: - appropriate stage, thus aiding the decision-making process to identify strategies emphasizing on sustainable development. In the process, the development plan can be tailored to meet the needs • Conservation of Trincomalee Harbour & surrounding areas as a green zone and demands of the stakeholders with least environmental damages by taking into consideration • Development of Inner Ring Road and Outer Ring Road around the harbour as the opportunities provided by the environment as well as its limitations and constraints. development axes • Shifting the industrial activities outside the Trincomalee town and locating them along The objective of this Strategic Environmental Assessment was to assess the Proposed the ring roads Trincomalee Development Plan systematically, in order to evaluate the possible environmental • Greater integration between existing urban centres and proposed new development areas impacts of the plan ana to provide guidance and to reorient the development plan where • Fast economic growth encouraging industrial, tourism, fisheries and agricultural necessary in order to mitigate any adverse environmental impacts, conserving the unique development environmental features of Trincomalee, paying special attention to the long term protection of • Release of lands for appropriate uses harnessing environment and strategic areas the marine environment and Trincomalee Bay in particular, consisting of Kodiyar Bay, Inner • Improvement of accessibility and availability of modern infrastructure facilities Harbour and Thambalagam Bay. • Integration of natural environment and green areas to physical development The Strategic Environmental Assessment studies the social and environmental acceptability of The following Planning Targets have been set for the proposed development: the proposed Zoning Plan, with respect to the probable impacts of activities permitted under each . Planning Horizon 2007 -2030 zone, taking into account the vulnerability, resource availability and the potential for • Estimated Population 600,000 in 2030 as against development of the local environment, and recommends measures for mitigation of impacts and 337,711 in 2006 alternative zoning for enhancement of the resources where the proposed zoning is unsuitable. The • Housing Requirement - main approach of the study was to identify any conflicts in the development plan with the natural • New Construction 58,500 and social environment, and to determine whether the zoning plan proposed was acceptable as.it • Replacement of existing stock 37,500 is, if it was acceptable after mitigation of conflicting situations, or if any components were Units for relocation sites 15,000 unacceptable or could be improved by alternative proposals. •> Total Requirement 111,000 by 2030 9772 1 2 If any of the activities that would be allowed in a zone is likely to cause significant impacts to any environmental attribute that could not be mitigated within reasonable costs, that activity cannot be allowed in that particular location, and therefore, the respective zoning is not acceptable. There are also some sites in the Plan, where the potential for exploitation of resources was not harnessed for development, due to improper zoning. These zones were also identified as unacceptable. In such situations, this study recommends an alternative zoning for the entire geographical area of that zone at that particular site or a part of it, which would avoid the harmful environmental impacts or enhance the benefits of development. Special attention was paid to the major projects that are already proposed in the area, such as the Special Economic Zone proposed by the Board of Investment, Industrial Estate proposed by the Ministry of Industrial Development, Coal Power Plant/s proposed by the Ceylon Electricity Board and the proposed Port related industries, with respect to their impacts on the marine environment, environmentally sensitive areas, physical infrastructure, social environment and ethnic harmony, and the visual quality and unique features of the study area. A major thrust of the Strategic Environmental Assessment is the proposed Eco Industrial Estate at Kappalthurai, which would probably be the first in the country, aimed at realization of the 'Green Development' envisaged in the Development Plan. Along with the Eco industrial estate, it is proposed to use the treated wastewater of the estate, which would create unacceptable environmental impacts on the marine ecosystem if discharged into the sea, for irrigation of a Jatropha or similar plantation which could be used for production of Bio Diesel. This would be a win-win situation, as a solution to the wastewater disposal problem as well as the reduction of fossil fuel use. An Environmental Baseline Study was carried out to assess the current state of the environment and environmental characteristics of the area demarcated for development under the proposed 'Development Plan for Trincomalee Metro Urban Development Area'. A thorough evaluation of the existing situation in the area with regard to the physical, ecological and social environment along with any plans for development already in place is very important for an SEA. Due to the security situation in the Trincomalee area, this study had to be limited to two field visits, and collection of information from available resources in the form of books, reports, other publications and personal communications. The two field visits were facilitated by

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