47296-001: Northwest Region Power Transmission Line Project
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Initial Environmental Examination Supplemental Report – Framework Biodiversity Action Plan Document: Initial Environmental Examination (Draft) Date: December 2020 Loan 3285-UZB: Northwest Region Power Transmission Line Project: Syrdarya TPP – Zafarabad Substation 220kV Transmission Line Project Prepared by the Joint-Stock Company National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU) for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Initial Environmental Examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Preparing Sustainable Energy Investment Projects, Regional Energy Transmission and Dispatch Enhancement, Uzbekistan Syrdarya TPP – Zafarabad Substation 220kV Transmission Line Project Framework Biodiversity Action Plan (F- BAP) Date: December 2020 Prepared by the Joint-Stock Company National Electrical Networks of Uzbekistan (NENU) for Asian Development Bank (ADB), Uzbekistan. The Framework Biodiversity Action Plan is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Syrdarya TPP – Zafarabad Substation 220kV Transmission Line Project Framework Biodiversity Action Plan Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.1. OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.2. SCOPE .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.4. PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................ 5 1.5. APPLICATION OF THE MITIGATION HIERARCHY ........................................................................... 6 2. F-BAP IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ........................................................................................ 8 3. BIODIVERSITY CONTEXT .......................................................................................................... 11 3.1. SENSITIVE HABITAT AND SPECIES ........................................................................................... 11 4. ACTION PLANS FOR SENSITIVE SPECIES ............................................................................. 15 4.1. EGYPTIAN VULTURE ACTION PLAN .......................................................................................... 15 4.1.1. Egyptian Vulture Current Status ...................................................................................... 15 4.1.2. Project Approach to the Egyptian Vulture ....................................................................... 15 4.2. SAKER FALCON ACTION PLAN ................................................................................................. 21 4.2.1. Saker Falcon Current Status ........................................................................................... 21 4.2.2. Project Approach to the Saker Falcon ............................................................................ 23 4.3. GENERAL BIRD ACTION PLAN ................................................................................................. 27 4.3.1. General Bird Action Plan Overview ................................................................................. 27 4.3.2. Project Approach to the General Bird Action Plan .......................................................... 29 5. F-BAP MONITORING AND EVALUATION ................................................................................. 31 5.1. AIM AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................. 31 5.2. MONITORING, EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION ...................................................................... 31 5.3. RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................... 31 6. F-BAP INDICATIVE COSTS ........................................................................................................ 32 2 Syrdarya TPP – Zafarabad Substation 220kV Transmission Line Project Framework Biodiversity Action Plan 1. Introduction 1.1. Overview 1. National Energy Grids of Uzbekistan (NEGU), the executing agency, is seeking to construct a new 220kV transmission lines between Syrdarya and Zafarabad, and a new substation in Zafarabad, central Uzbekistan to provide reliable power supply to new large enterprises and household consumers in the Jizzak region (henceforth, the Project). 2. The Project is being funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of the larger Regional Energy Transmission and Dispatch Enhancement Project. An Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) has been prepared together with a Critical Habitat Assessment (CHA). The IEE and CHA confirmed that the project will not result in any significant residual adverse effects or trigger Critical Habitat, however, the regional population of the endangered Egyptian vulture is present in numbers that are close to triggering Critical Habitat. Any material changes in this population may therefore trigger Critical Habitat. Further, this work confirmed the likely presence of Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) species that could be adversely affected by the Project. 3. The IEE provides mitigation that will help avoid and minimise significant effects but ADB Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 (SPS) requires that the Project also avoids a reduction in the population of any recognized endangered or critically endangered species (no net loss, NNL). The IEE and CHA both recommended a Framework Biodiversity Action Plan (F-BAP) to ensure the Project achieves NNL for all species, and net gain if considered appropriate. 1.2. Scope 4. The IEE identified a large number of notable ecological receptors that are present or potentially present near the Project. The CHA confirmed 16 internationally vulnerable or endangered species and/or species of national importance that are likely to be present in the Project’s Area of Influence (AoI) and may be affected: Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus: EN) Saker falcon (Falco cherrug: EN) Pallas’s fish eagle, (Haliaeetus leucoryphus: EN) European turtledove (Streptopelia turtur: VU) Yellow-eyed pigeon, (Columba eversmanni: VU) Marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna: VU) White stork (Ciconia Ciconia: LC) 5. Migratory Birds were also identified as being of particular concern, namely: Sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarious: CR) Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis: EN) White-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala: EN) Asian houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii: VU) Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus: VU) Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris: VU) Common pochard (Aythya farina: VU) 3 Syrdarya TPP – Zafarabad Substation 220kV Transmission Line Project Framework Biodiversity Action Plan Greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga: VU) Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliacal: VU) 6. Several species including birds are particularly susceptible to the risks associated with transmission lines. High voltage transmission lines typically pose less risk of electrocution to birds than lower voltage power lines (e.g. distribution lines), mainly due to the size and the spacing between the transmission wires. Nonetheless, most size birds are still at risk of electrocution during a short circuit and large birds, birds with poor manoeuvrability, narrow visual field or birds that fly at night are at particularly at risk of collision. 7. Of the threatened species mentioned above, the Egyptian vulture and Saker falcon are identified as breeding in the wider Project area. As they are endangered and particularly susceptible to electrocution special provisions are described in this F-BAP to ensure NNL as a result of the Project. The CHA assessed that the Egyptian vulture was close to triggering IFC thresholds for Critical Habitat and measures may be required to achieve net gain (NG) if appropriate. 8. A number of other threatened raptors have been identified as at risk from the Project. The Pallas’s fish eagle and Steppe eagle are both not thought to occur regularly in the Project AoI but are present locally, they are endangered and at risk from electrocution, and as such monitoring will be required to ensure NNL from the Project. The Greater-spotted eagle and Eastern imperial eagle are vulnerable and potentially present in passage, they too will be monitored for any required adaptive management measures. 9. Asian houbara is a large bird that might potentially be present in passage, although