SUMMARY INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION REPORT

Supplementary Appendix to the Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors

on the

GRAIN PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

UZBEKISTAN

The IEE is available on request.

14 November 2003 Supplementary Appendix H 1

PART I: SUMMARY INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXAMINATION

A. INTRODUCTION

1. This report summarizes the results of the initial environmental examination (IEE), which investigated the Project’s negative and positive environmental effects. Quantitative descriptions will be given where the data allow.

B. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

2. The Project is an agricultural improvement project that aims at increasing the efficiency and productivity of wheat cultivation in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. The Project is classified as a category B project.

3. The proposed Project scope comprises four components: (i) wheat varietal selection and seed production; (ii) enhancement of farm management; (iii) agricultural enterprise development, including provision of farm machinery services; and (iv) project management. The last component will have no environmental impacts and is excluded from this examination.

4. The Project activities will center on three focus rayons (districts) of Kuyi-Chirchik (in Tashkent ), Zamin (Djizak) and Katakurgan (). The areas of the three rayons are 146,778 ha, 286,000 ha and 56,000 ha, respectively. The Project will provide broader assistance (introduction to new varieties, seed production quality control, extension technologies) to five provinces () of . These are Tashkent, Syrdarya, Djizak, Samarkand, and Kashkadarya. They are located in the central-east and south-eastern regions of the country.

C. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

1 Physical and Ecological Resources

5. The focus rayon of Kuyi-Chirchik is located in the southern end of the Tashkent oblast. The Chirchik River, a tributary of the Syrdaya that originates in the Kyrgyz Republic, traverses through the district. The land is mostly a gentle sloping plain in which alluvial sediments are the main constituents of the soil, classified by in the local system as sierozems and meadow soils. The admixture of aeolian deposits with sandy alluvium from the mountains has produced moderately fertile soils. The greater part of the irrigable land to the northwest of the district receives water from the Chirchik River. The Angrien River, the upstream and parallel tributary of the Syrdarya, bounds the district to the southeast and provides irrigation water to the southeast zone.

6. The focus rayon of Zamin is the eastern most district in the Djizak oblast. Zamin is bounded to the south and east by the mountains bordering Uzbekistan and . Much of the district is mountainous, with a nature reserve and national park in the higher elevation outside the cultivated agricultural areas. The main cultivated area in the district is the irrigated plain that slopes down gradually from the higher piedmont zone in the south northwards toward the Syrdarya River. The cultivated area is divided into three zones, with the southern most end being marginally1 irrigable. The soil of the area is predominantly sierozem, changing from gray to brown down the slope. Colluvium and alluvium from the hills have

1 Marginally irrigated areas are those that now do not receive any irrigation water or that receive only enough to supplement rainfall.

Supplementary Appendix H 2 formed well-drained, sandy and loamy soils in the upper zone, where the water table is 2-4m deep and too deep to cause salinity problems. Much of the mid-zone is under-lain by a thick and impermeable gypsum horizon at 1.5 to 2 m deep. This horizon interrupts the natural leaching of salts by rain and irrigation water so that not only is the water table in summer about 1.5m deep, but secondary salinity has created a moderate level of salinity over a considerable area. The lower zone receives lateral drainage of groundwater from above so the water table during summer is 1 to 1.5m deep, and a serious level of secondary salinity is common, due to failure of the drainage system.

7. The rayon of Katakurgan is the most westerly district in the Samarkand oblast. The district receives most of its water from the Zarafshan River, a major tributary of the Amudarya that originates in Tajikistan and flows westwards. The central zone of the district is the meadowlands and interfluves of the two rivers; it has flat and fertile alluvial land. The district soils are loams and sandy loams, with relatively high infiltration rate. Most of the land in the district is non-saline. Sixteen percent of riverine land has a summer water table between 1 and 2 m deep and is only slightly saline.

8. Five project oblasts included under the Project cover three of Uzbekistan’ main climatic zones, which are the low plains and dry steppes, foothills, and mountains. Nearly all cultivated lands are in the low plain and steppes zone which is between 400 m mean sea level (MSL) to 1,200 m MSL. Average precipitation in this zone ranges from 250 mm to less than 400 mm per year, with maximum precipitation occurring in March and April, with August and September as driest months. Winter is short and produces little snow cover. Snowfall totals around 2 to 11 cm. Spring is likewise short and can begin as early as late February. The growing season starts in early March in the south, and late March/early April in the Tashkent oblast. Summers are hot and dry and last from early June until September. The hottest months are July and August.

9. Almost 100 percent of surface water resources in the Project area are found in the drainage basins of the two major rivers of Syrdarya and Amudarya flow from east to west with upper watersheds in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajkistan, respectively. The Tashkent, Syrdarya, and Djizak oblasts are in the Syrdarya basin, downstream (i.e., west) of the most fertile agricultural region of Fergana valley in the eastern part of the country (which is outside the Project area). The oblasts of Samarkand, and Kaskadarya, in the southern half of the Project area, are in the Amudarya basin. For the Syrdaya, of the total flow of 46 million m3/year, 28 percent (13 m3) is estimated to be diverted to the oblasts of Tashkent, Syrdarya and Djizak. Of the average total flow of 70 million m3/year on the Amudarya, 15 percent (11 million m3) is diverted to the oblasts of Kaskadarya and Samarkand. More than 95 percent of the surface water diversions are for irrigation.

10. In 2000, the five Project oblasts had a total of 852,700 hectares (ha) of wheat cultivation area distributed to both irrigated and rain fed areas as shown in Table 1. The Table shows that 43.5 per cent of the land cultivated in 2000 was planted to wheat; 28.6 percent was irrigated and 15.0 percent under the rain fed system.

Supplementary Appendix H 3

Table 1: Wheat Production in Project Area in 2000 Total Wheat Area Wheat Wheat Total WheatAgricultural as % of Total Oblast Area Yield Production Land Ag. Land Ha t/ha Tons ha % Irrigated Wheat Djizak 108,500 2.2 239,900 396,000 27.40 Kashkadariya 152,000 2.1 320,560 478,000 31.80 Samarkand 100,000 2.6 260,100 448,000 22.32 Syrdariya 93,700 2.0 190,211 265,000 35.36 Tashkent 105,500 3.3 345,050 372,000 28.36 Total 559,700 1,355,821 1,959,000 28.57 Dryland/Rainfed Wheat Djizak 110,000 0.6 66,000 396,000 27.77 Kashkadariya 92,000 0.6 55,200 478,000 19.25 Samarkand 74,000 0.6 44,400 448,000 16.52 Syrdariya 0 0.6 0 265,000 0.00 Tashkent 17,000 0.6 10,200 372,000 4.57 Total 293,000 175,800 1,959,000 14.96

2 Human and Economic Development

11. Wheat is produced by all types of farms. Wheat is a very common crop on shirkat and private farms. In the case of house plot owners, about 70 percent of house plot owners in Djizak, Samarkand, and Karkadarya grow wheat principally to meet the subsistence needs of poorer households2.

12. Kuyi-Chirchik. The area has a relatively high density of population and is visibly more prosperous than the national average. Although it is within daily commuting distance of the city of Tashkent, the economy of the district is predominantly agricultural. Of the 56,000ha of arable land, 37,500ha is irrigable, with 40% of cotton and 39% of wheat. Population is estimated at 96,000, giving an average density of 2.6 persons per irrigable ha or about 1.7ha of irrigable land per family.

13. Zamin. Some 124,000 people live in the 286,000 km2 of the district, mostly concentrated in the piedmont and lower zones of irrigable land, about 338 km2. Average population density is 3.7 per ha of irrigated land or about 1.4 ha of irrigated land per family. The district has large tracts of rangeland grazing that supports privately owned flocks and herds but there is little employment other than agricultural labor. The district is probably below average in terms of family income.

14. Katakurgan. The total population of 180,000 is fairly densely distributed, many in the urban zone and most of the remainder on the lowland farms. Average population density is 6.8 persons/irrigated ha or about 0.7ha of irrigated land per family. This density is greater than the other two districts but doubtless is weighted by including the large urban population

2 The Ministry of Health, Tashkent annual norm for consumption of bread products per capita was established as 98.6 kg in 0ctober 1990. Actual per capita consumption in 1999 was 167 kg. On the assumption that the average family size is around 6 people, a rural household would therefore need to produce approximately 1 ton of wheat from their house plot to achieve self subsistence. As house plots are generally irrigated to maximize production, this would require a house plot owner to plant 0.25 hectares to wheat per year (i.e. two thirds of the area). It is worth noting that following the harvest of wheat, the land would be planted to short duration vegetable production.

Supplementary Appendix H 4

(the urban population was not available). There are some light industries and non-farming employment opportunities in the area and the general standard of living may be lower when compared with that in Kuyi-chirchik District and higher than that in Zamin District.

3 Quality of Life Values

15. The pertinent indicators of quality of life and water use in Uzbekistan are presented in Table 3. For all practical purposes, these parameters apply to the Project oblasts.

Indicators Present Desired Situation level (UNESCO) Child Mortality (children below 5 years of age per 1,000 births) 50 - 70 <30 Life expectancy at birth in years 68 - 71 >70 Adult Literacy Average availability of food calories per person per day 2200- >3000 2800 Average water use per hectare in cubic meters for wheat, net. 2,500 <3,200 In-field irrigation efficiency, % 40 >75 Off-field irrigation efficiency, % 50 >70 Water available for the environment in cubic km per year 10 >20 Access to drinking water, urban in % 80 - 95 >80 Access to drinking water, rural in % 75 - 85 >60 1. Source: UNICEF 2003

D. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES

1. Environmental Problems Due to Project Location

16. The Project will foster increased and sustainable agricultural production on irrigated and rain-fed lands. Investigation of irrigated areas indicates that project civil works and equipment inputs will have no significant negative impact. Rather, they will benefit the project areas by supporting best practices for the on-farm use of water, cultivation, and machinery that will allow for more rapid and timely field operations, with fewer adverse affects on the soil.

17. The Project’s intervention to increase wheat production in rain-fed areas has the remote potential of creating conditions whereby farmers can expand wheat production into areas the State Committee for Land Resources (SCLR) has demarcated as suitable for grassland pasture. SCLR delineates land-use areas on the basis of relief, soil, and precipitation. Rain-fed arable lands are classified as having more than 300 millimeter (mm) of precipitation per year, and the semiarid to arid lowland pastures are classified as having less than 300 mm/year. This low average precipitation in the pasture areas creates a high-risk situation for farmers.

18. With the Project developing wheat varieties that combine greater drought resistance with timelier scheduling of critical events in the crop cycle (tillering, grain filling, and harvesting), however, if a series of years has greater-than-average precipitation, farmers may decide that the risk is reduced and expand their holdings or relocate to plant in these normally dry areas. When rainfall returns to normal, less-than-sufficient, levels, farmers will abandon these areas and withdraw to the usual rain-fed areas. Then the fragile pasture soil disturbed by planting will be without natural grass cover and thus susceptible to wind and water erosion.

Supplementary Appendix H 5

19. Investigation of this potential negative impact indicates that it is unlikely given regulatory and economic conditions. Farmers are restrained from encroaching onto pastures or other arid lands by (i) their land deed, which specifies where they can grow crops; (ii) SCLR regulations that establish and monitor land use; and (iii) oversight of the rayon government, which is responsible for ensuring that land deeds are adhered to. This local monitoring and regulation is critical to ensure that farmers do not encroach on arid and fragile lands. For while SCLR sets national land-use classification and areas, local authorities make the final decisions, based on local soil, relief, and moisture conditions as well as the area specified in the farmer’s land deed.

20. Farmers wishing to expand their growing area must follow a procedure to obtain approval: submitting a request to the rayon government, which, in consultation with the local farmers’ association, evaluates the request and forwards it, with comments, to the provincial SCLR office, where the request will be evaluated again and forwarded to the national SCLR.3 There final approval is given or withheld based on the local government’s comments.

21. Expansion of rain-fed wheat cultivation under foreseeable economic and climatic4 conditions is unlikely, given the inherently low and fluctuating precipitation outside the Project’s rain-fed areas. This financial constraint is a barrier to encroachment. For although privatization of land ownership gives farmers greater control over their land and cropping decisions, in the last 5 years, farmers have withdrawn from previously farmed marginal, and unprofitable, lands.

22. Risk of encroachment will be mitigated by the Project’s support to strengthening institutions monitoring land use, and by other Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects’ support to SCLR.

23. The Project is expected to have a neutral to positive environmental impact on the desertification and salinization of the Aral Sea region. The Aral Sea, in western Uzbekistan, is fed by the Amu Darya and the Syrdariya rivers. Decreasing stream flows from over-irrigation and other causes has resulted in the sea’s desiccation. Upstream project interventions will introduce water-saving technologies and agronomic practices such as direct seeding, minimum tillage, alternate furrow irrigation, and land leveling, which will help reduce water demand and diversion from the major rivers feeding into the Aral Sea. To stem degradation of the Aral Sea, however, more deliberate and concerted efforts are needed in the Aral Sea basin to reduce diversions from the tributaries in the basin.

24. No other potential environmental impacts have been identified. There are no negative impacts due to project location.

2. Environmental Problems Related to Project Design

25. Project interventions are designed to improve productivity of the wheat sector in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Project design activity that may have a negative environmental impact is provision of field machinery, and minor, urgent repair of irrigation and drainage facilities to (i) stabilize water supplies and improve water management so that farmers adhere to recommended cropping pattern, and (ii) improve irrigation and drainage of seed production farms.

3 This institutional arrangement will form the basis for the Project’s land-use monitoring program. 4 Rainfall is decreasing and becoming more variable.

Supplementary Appendix H 6

26. While these civil works may have a negative environmental impact,5 they are also necessary to form water users’ associations for, as documented,6 without a reliable source of irrigation water, farmers have no incentive to create them.

27. Another aspect of project design that will have positive environmental impacts is the development and extension of recommended crop rotations (for example, rotating chickpeas or legumes, wheat, and land fallowing) and low-tillage farming technologies in rain-fed and marginally irrigable areas. These new practices will improve soil structure and fertility and conserve soil moisture. Other aspects of the project design, such as introduction of drought- resistant and early maturing wheat varieties, will have no negative environmental impacts.

3. Environmental Problems Associated with Construction

28. Project interventions will not include any major construction work. Civil works will involve on-farm repair of the existing irrigation and drainage facilities in the about 8,000 ha of seed-producing areas in the three rayons and minor repair to inter-farm water facilities. These works will have no significant environmental impacts. There will also be minor refurbishment of offices and laboratories; creation of variety testing plots (50 plots, less than 1 ha each); and establishment of demonstration plots (at least 18 plots, less than 2 ha each) on existing farms. The plots will be used for trials and demonstrations of new wheat varieties, alternative wheat husbandry, and improvement of land preparation practices. The Project will have no negative impacts associated with construction.

4. Environmental Problems Resulting from Project Operations.

29. The Project will strengthen and expedite the wheat variety selection and foundation seed production at the Andjian/Galla-Aral Cereal and Legume Breeding Institute (AGCLBI) and the wheat varietal testing by the State Committee for Varietal Testing (SCVT). The Project will help provide fertilizers and agrochemicals to research institutions and regulatory agencies. The impact of such interventions, however, will be minimal since these will involve less than 350 ha of research land, and use of additional agrochemicals will be supervised by the agency scientists. Operations of on-farm varietal and demonstration plots will simulate the existing conditions on farms. As such, the testing/demonstration procedures will not involve additional agrochemical use over and above current levels. Project operations will have no negative impacts.

30. Project-sponsored agriculture service centers will increase availability of agrochemicals insignificantly by 2–3%.

31. Once these civil works are completed, leaching should be managed and concentration of chemicals in drainage water monitored for at least the first few years, otherwise concentration of chemicals will be high.

E. INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAM

1. Institutional Requirements

32. SCLR and State Committee for Nature Protection (SCNP) staff capacity and institutional framework can support the environmental management needs of the Project.

5 This will happen only if repairs are improperly planned, and if the design is then improperly done. There will then be a greater potential for water and soil management problems such as inequitable distribution of water, water logging, and loss of nutrients through denitrification and deep leaching. 6 By ADB, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association.

Supplementary Appendix H 7

However, land-use and water- and soil-monitoring programs should be strengthened to support the data collection, analysis, and information dissemination.

2. Environmental Management Plan

33. The purpose of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is to ensure that no future negative environmental problems arise. The EMP will have three components: the Project Management Office (PMO), which will support the overall monitoring program; SCLR, which will monitor compliance with land use regulations; and SCNP, which will monitor surface and groundwater and soil quality. The PMO will monitor all project activities, from the baseline survey until the Project ends.

34. A land-use monitoring system will be implemented under joint collaboration between the PMO and SCLR, primarily at the rayon level. When farmers request to expand their land or move, SCLR and the rayon government are to ensure that they do not encroach on rangeland and semidesert areas that receive less than 300 mm per year. The PMO will help SCRL financially to inspect the areas requested by the farmers.

35. Support to SCLR to improve land-use zoning will also be provided under a proposed ADB technical assistance for cadastral survey.

36. A joint agreement between Ministry of Agriculture and Water (MAWR), SCNP, and PMO will provide for a water and soil quality-monitoring program to provide farm families with information on their land and to help PMO evaluate the success of project interventions in the project rayons.

37. SCNP collects a range of water and soil information. Under the Project, SCNP will also collect, analyze, and report on irrigation system inflows and outflows. All samples are to be analyzed in the SCNP office in Tashkent. The variables to be analyzed are described in the IEE. Data collection is expected to be done no less than twice a year, before and after each growing season.

38. In operating the wheat research and varietal testing plots, AGCLBI and SVTC will provide routine reports to SCNP on the quantity and types of agrochemicals used in the plots. This data will also be analyzed at SCNP’s Tashkent facilities. SCNP reports intended for farm families will be channeled through the rayon government. All SCNP reports will be copied to the PMO.

39. The monitoring program will include budget provisions for SCNP staff to visit the commercial grain and seed production farms and the research and demonstration plot facilities in the project area to observe growing practices and to obtain soil and water samples, as necessary. A range of soil and water quality variables will be monitored. Initially the reports on water and soil quality will cover (i) soil macro-Nitrogen Phosphorous and Potassium and micro plant nutrient elements; (ii) soil biological conditions; (iii) biological and chemical content of rivers, canals, and lakes; and (iv) soil moisture regime. This list of variables may be revised as project requirements change.

3. Environmental Monitoring Outputs

40. When a farmer requests that farmland be classified as nonarable, SCLR will inspect the land and ensure that the farmer does not expand grain production into fragile land areas. SCLR will also provide local governments and the PMO with a copy of field inspection reports. The EMP will cost an estimated $75,400 over the 5-year project life.

Supplementary Appendix H 8

F. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

41. Project design and environmental assessment involved environmental experts and agencies, including SCNP; SCLR; and agriculture and water resources departments at the central level and their branches in Tashkent, Djizak, and Samarkand, and in the three project districts.

42. In February 2002 and July 2003 field consultations involved more than 80 people, mostly farmers in the project districts, including heads of associations of private and dekhan (Glossary) farmers, household members, and businesspeople. Awareness was raised on the Project’s rationale and components. No concern was raised relating to adverse environmental impacts arising from seed production, farm extension, on-farm irrigation improvement, and provision of farm machinery. Farmers confirmed that project interventions are in line with their priorities and concurred that project support to introduce balanced cropping pattern would help conserve soil and increase farm profits.

43. Awareness raising on project activities will continue during project implementation through public consultations and disclosures by project site offices and local governments, rayon land resource and nature protection staff, whose field visits will be funded by the Project. As per project design, farmers will be consulted before design and repair of on-farm irrigation facilities, and selection of sites for technology demonstration, variety testing, and seed production. A wider beneficiary audience will be contacted and educated as SCLR and SCNP engage in field monitoring.

G. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Evaluation of the Need for an Environmental Impact Assessment

44. Project formulation, location, design, implementation, and operation will have no substantial negative environmental impacts. The findings of this IEE are that a follow-up Environmental Impact Assessment or further detailed environmental impact study is not required.

2. State Committee for Nature Protection Approval of the Environmental Examination

45. SCNP approves environmental examinations and action plans of all externally funded projects. It can begin the approval process once there is a legal basis for the project, such as a memorandum of understanding or loan agreement. SCNP is expected to classify the Project under category 2, medium risk, because of minor repairs to over 7,000 ha of irrigated land. The Rural Restructuring Agency ensures that the IEE submitted to SCNP is supported by all required documents and data. Then the approval process takes up to 3 months.

3. Recommendations

46. Land preparation, crop calendar, and irrigation should be less rigid to ensure effective use of farm inputs with resulting yield increase.

47. The Main Department for Control, Use, and Protection of Water and Land Resources and SCNP should collaborate closely to ensure that the contents and format of the documents submitted to the department conform to its requirements.