Evaluation of the study on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Kinyeti Hydropower Project Elnour Abdalla Elsiddig, Faculty of Forestry, University of Khartoum General As similar to the other two studies (for Sue and Juba hydropower projects) Kinyeti Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study is composed of thirteen chapters following the same sequence from Chapter one (Introduction) to chapter 13 (Conclusion) and ended the report by the list of references. The first four chapters are almost identical in contents for the three projects except in specific information concerning the project name and location map mentioned in the “Project Overview”. The Kinyeti Project is located in Eastern Equatoria State of Southern Sudan. The three reports on the hydropower projects in the Southern Sudan follow similar procedure in the report writing having almost the same sequence of Table of Contents and environmental aspects evaluation particularly on: Physical Environment Biological Environment Socio-economic Environment However, there are some aspects that the three report are lacking: No Executive summary No Acronyms No highlight on the terms of reference Introduction (Chapter 1) The Kinyeti project provided an over view on the project area, location with respect to Gilo, Katire and Torit, describing the catchment. The consultants gave a summary of the scope and objectives of the project, mainly for hydropower to supply power to Torit. The report divided the project area into four parts namely construction area; reservoir area; downstream area and transmission line. 1 The report on Kinyeti Hydropower Project is a comprehensive study which covered major aspects of the environmental and social impacts of the Kinyeti Hydropower Project, giving details on expected impact at pre-construction, during construction and during operation. Administrative and Legal Framework (Chapter 2) Chapter Two in Kinyeti, Sue and Juba are similar in contents covering all legal and administrative frameworks at the national and regional (Southern Sudan) levels. The study covered the background data on administrative organization considering the Ministry of Environment and Physical Development (presently changed to Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Physical Development. The Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources was described in the context of affiliation and mandate. The reports mentioned other institutions relevant to the environment. Strategic and legal frameworks relevant to the ESIA requirements for implementation of the project were listed. In this respect the consultant looked into the constitutions, Acts, sectoral legislations, traditional and customary laws and orders that indicate the importance of paying consideration to the environment and its protection. The consultants also provided a list of policies and legislation of Southern Sudan relevant to the ESIA including the constitution and acts However, the consultant did not look into the regional and international agreements and conventions in order to link between these and the Sudanese legal and institutional framework and extent of compatibility with national and southern legal frameworks. The consultant looked into the International Best Practices considering the African Development Bank and World Bank Group, taking into consideration the guidelines and procedures on ESIA requirements and the Environmental and Social Management Plans. The consultant highlighted on the basis followed for screening and identification the project potential impacts as well as examination of alternatives. Project description and Justification (Chapter 3) The consultant made an overview on electric power demand in the katire-Torit area in eastern Equatoria where there is no public supply of electricity. Accordingly, the main objective for Kinyeti Hydropower project is for power generation. The consultant expected high demand at public and private levels. Table 3.1.1-1 illustrates the power load and the demand over the period 1981 - 2005. The kinyeti project is accordingly expected to contribute to the reduction in energy shortage. 2 The absence of power grid in the Southern Sudan and the demand for electricity in Eastern Equatoria are stated as main justifications for hydropower generation in Kinyeti in Eastern Equatoria to support electricity supply and economic development in the capital Torit and in the State. entral Equatoria State. To fulfill the project objectives and satisfy the required standards, the consultant highlighted on the engineering characteristics as presented in table (3.2-1) covering: The hydrological characteristics, Reservoir, Project benefits index, Immersion loss and permanent land occupation, Main structure, Construction This was then followed by descriptions of the project layout including dam and reservoir, power house and transmission lines. These are associated by construction planning, methods and schedule and other engineering planning accompanied by illustrative tables Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Method (Chapter 4) Based on the background information, the legal and administrative framework and the description of the project, the consultant came to a stage of providing the method they used for the ESIA study. The consultant provided a comprehensive description of the methodology they adopted in the Environmental Impact assessment process which will be the basis for collection of baseline survey on the physical, biological and social Environment. They provided concepts and knowledge on the basis of which they designed the methodology. The consultant indicated that the ESIA contained a comprehensive and deep look into the project components and their impacts which are considered early in the project cycle in order to develop adequate mechanism for monitoring and environmental management. On this basis, the consultants pointed the series of steps followed including: Screening Scoping Prediction and Mitigation Management and Monitoring Audit 3 The methodology has been presented in a diagrammatic illustration in Figure 4.1-1 in the main report. In the case of Juba project, the ESIA is based on past studies for the dam and the transmission lines and on report, research projects, bibliography and official archives, which facilitated the presentation of the background information in chapters 1, 2 and 3. The major impacts identified are related to the dam project construction and its operation and the resettlements of people on the site of the reservoir. With regards to transmission lines the main impacts are related to land acquisition and deforestation along the corridor. The assessment covered all aspects within the framework of three major issues: The physical Environment (Climate, geology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, hydrology, sedimentation, pedology and water quality) Biological Environment (The flora and Fauna and their ecological relationship in the zone of the study) Socio-economic Environment (Social, cultural and economic characteristics of the population potentially affected) The consultants described the method of identification and evaluation of impacts, in their positive and negative forms. In this respect the consultant used criteria that contained three types: Duration of the impact, extent of the impact and intensity of the impact. In relation to this, the consultant determined the various impacts severity as shown in an illustrative chart (Table 4.5-1). The chart links the intensity, the extent and the duration with the severity. For any intensity (strong, average or weak) there are three extents (regional, local and punctual) and for every extent there are two durations (permanent or temporary) and fin relation to duration there is a level of severity (major, average or minor). The Environment Baseline data (Chapter 5) The Physical Environment (Section 5.1) The consultant made a detailed description of the physical environment components indicating major impacts related to runoff and sedimentation in their methodology. 4 The consultants provided a general review of the baseline data concerning the physical environment of the Kinyeti project area. The project climatic zones, the topography of the area, the geology and the hydrography and water resources associated with illustrations using maps and tables. These components of the physical environment are essential for land use in the area particularly with regard to settlement plans and agriculture. The consultant provided mean annual temperature and rainfall in annual averages and ranges over the area. It could be useful if the consultant provided rainfall and temperature over a long period and break the data into sub-periods to evaluate the trend of temperature and rainfall. It could be useful if these figures are given along specified long term period up to 2010. In addition, it would be useful if the long term average per annum is associated with annual amounts in a figure to indicate anomalies over time taking the long term average as zero line. The figure may indicate the fluctuations in rainfall. Wind speed is provided over a long period. However, other physical features of the area are given in general terms for the topography, and geology. Detailed description was provided for the hydrological aspects with some concern about the catchment area, the discharge and runoff. Water mean monthly discharge of Kinyeti hydropower station provided in table 5.1.4-1) provided values for monthly contribution over the year in m3/s. Nile Basin The consultant did not mention the