Initial Environmental Examination
Final Report
Project No.: 49370-002
October 2020
Turkmenistan: National Power Grid Strengthening Project
Volume 2
Prepared by the Ministry of Energy, Government of Turkmenistan for the Asian Development Bank.
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.
49370-002: TKM TKM Power Sector Development Project
4.3. Physical Environment Topography 48. Most of the surface located in Turkmenistan is a flat desert. The Garagum (Kara Kum) desert occupies all of central Turkmenistan, from the northern to the southern border. The Kopetdag Range extends along the central part of the southern border with Iran. In far eastern Turkmenistan, extent of the Pamir–Alay Range includes the country’s highest point, Mount Ayrybaba, which is 3,137 meters high. The Krasnovodsk and Ustirt plateaus dominate north- western Turkmenistan. Along the Caspian coast, elevations are at or below sea level for as much as 150 km inland. Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan lies in an oasis at the northern foot of the Kopet-Dag range and on the edge of the Karakum Desert, about 19 miles (30 km) from the Iranian frontier. The topographical map of Turkmenistan is given in Figure 4.3.
: Topographical Map of Turkmenistan
49. The Ashgabat (Gurtly) to Balknabad Transmission line of phase I alignment traverses through the desert and is in foot hills of the Kpet Dag mountain. Topography throughout the transmission line alignment and substation area are almost flat. The elevation along the alignment varies from 80-200 m amsl. The Dashoguz to Balkan alignment also runs entirely in flat desert area.
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50. The transmission line alignment between Akhal to Mary of Phase II also traverses through the desert area and agricultural area. Alignment largely passes through flat land with elevation varying from 155 – 341 m amsl. Hills are towards the South direction of proposed alignment at approx 4-5 km.
Geography of Turkmenistan 51. Turkmenistan lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N, and longitudes 52° and 67° E. Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert with a peculiar environment combining contrasting environmental factors, some in excess, some in short supply. The desert is the habitat for highly specialized types of plants and animals whose genealogical linkages with the arid conditions are old and deep. The centre of the country is dominated by the Turan Depression In the south this depression gradually slopes upward, transitioning to the foothills of Kopetdag and Parapamiz. The Kopet Dag Range, along the southwestern border, reaches 2,912 metres (9,554 feet) at Kuh-e Rizeh (Mount Rizeh). Map showing geography of Turkmenistan is given in Figure 4.4.
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: Topographical Map of Turkmenistan
52. Geomorphologically, the phase II alignment area is associated with the upper quarternary-contemporary alluvial deltoid plain of the Tejen river, within the limits of a poorly broken, low drainage Inklabian delta. The terrain is mild, sloping generally to the north. Drainage and Land Use pattern 53. Almost 80 percent of the territory of Turkmenistan lacks a constant source of surface water flow. The main rivers of this region located only in the southern and eastern peripheries and few smaller rivers lies on the northern slopes of the Kopetdag. The most important river is the Amu Darya, which has a total length of 2,540 kilometres from its farthest tributary, making it the longest river in Central Asia. The Amu Darya flows across north-eastern Turkmenistan and is the main source of water for irrigation and other work in Turkmenistan through network of canal. River's average annual flow is 1,940 cubic meters per second. Other major rivers are the Tejen (1,124 kilometres); the Murgap (852 km); and the Atrek (660 km). A total of 49.12 million hectares are irrigated and drained which are located in all velayats (district), but largest irrigated areas are in Balkan and Akhal velayats.
54. The hydrology of Turkmenistan is determined by the runoff of the Amudarya, Tedjen, and Murghab Rivers and the major man-made “river” – the Karakum ( Gragum local name) Canal. Alignment of phase I and Phase II does not traverse through any waterbody. (Refer Figure 4.4 & 4.6 for drainage pattern). However , The Karakum canal runs along the proposed alignment from Ashgabat to Balkanbat in phase I and crosses the phase II alignment area. All water bodies in phase I alignment were bypassed while finalizing the transmission line alignment. Phase II alignment is following the existing line alignment with presence of no water body.
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(Source: Subject expert preparation based on data analysis and site verifications visits) Drainage Pattern of Turkmenistan
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(Source: Subject expert preparation based on data analysis ) Drainage Pattern of Turkmenistan-Phase II
55. The entire transmission line from Dashoguz -Balkan of phase I alignment pass through desert area. The Asghabat-Balkanabat of phase I alignment also passes mostly through barren & desert area. Land use of RoW (50m) of alignment and 2 km buffer is given in Figure 4.7. Proposed project will not alter the land use of the area.
56. Alignment of transmission line in Phase II, i.e. Akhal to Mary also traverses through agricultural and desert area. Project will not impact the existing land use. Land use of RoW (50 m) of alignment and 2 km buffer of Phase II alignment is given in Figure 4.8.
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49370-002: TKM TKM Power Sector Development Project
(Source: subject expert preparation based on data analysis and site verifications visits) : Land use Map of Alignment RoW and 2 km Buffer Area of Phase I
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(Source: subject expert preparation based on data analysis)
: Land use Map of Alignment RoW and 2 km Buffer Area-Phase II
Geology & Soil 57. Sandy desert and grey-brown soils cover the largest area of the country. The dominant soil type is desert sandy soil (38.7 per cent of the territory) and sierozem, grey desert soil (25.5 per cent). Pure sands cover 9.1 per cent of the territory and often move under pressure of the wind (deflation). These sand drifts are called barkhans. Takyr5 and takyr-like soil cover 10.4 per cent of the territory. Saline soils (solontchaks) occur in 5.5 per cent of the territory. The remainder includes alluvial soil (0.2 per cent), mountain brown soil (0.6 per cent), humic gley soil (2.7 per cent) and bare soil (7.5 per cent).
Seismicity 58. As per Seismic Hazard Distribution Map, provided by world health organization, in 2010, the region from Asghabat to Balkanabat lies in high risk zone with peak ground acceleration range of 2.4 to 4 m/s2, and the region from Dashoguz to Balkanbad lies in low to medium risk zone with peak ground acceleration of 0.2 to 2.4 m/s2 as shown in Figure 4.9.
5 It is a type of relief occurring in the deserts of Central Asia, similar to a playa in the south-western United States. A takyr is usually formed in a shallow depressed area with a heavy clay soil, which is submerged by water after seasonal rains. After the water evaporates, a dried crust with fissures forms on the surface. The crust is primarily formed by filamentous cyanobacteria.
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59. According to Turkmenistan’s national seismic map, the Mary-Tejen construction site of phase II is located in the zone with seismic intensity of 7-8 points, Tejen-Akhal - 8-9 points
(Source: WHO Publications 2010) : Seismic Hazard Distribution Map (Source: WHO, 2010) 60. In recent past 10 Earthquakes of small magnitude varying from 4.1 to 4.9 was felt between 6th Feb 2017 to 7th Jan 2018 with centre located in Balkan region (near Turkmenbasy, Serdar, Gumdag, Balkanabat, and Bojnurd) Natural Disasters 61. Major natural disaster in the country is earthquake only. Other than earthquake, other natural disasters includes mudslides, droughts, dust storms and floods. Flood hazard map of the Turkmenistan is given in Figure 4.10. As per flood hazard map, project area lies in low and very low flood hazard area.
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Source: National Committee for Hydrometry, the cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Flood Hazard Map of Turkmenistan 4.4. Climate 62. The climate of Turkmenistan is continental and extremely dry. This is due to the peculiarities of atmospheric circulation, the intracontinental location of the country, the nature of the underlying surface, and the presence of mountain ranges in the south-east and south. Summers are usually very hot and dry. Air temperature is highest in July. In the south-west, and in the central part of the Karakum Desert, the average monthly temperature of the air in July exceeds 32º C. Elsewhere, it varies from 27-30º C. The absolute maximum (48-50º C) was recorded in the central and south-eastern Karakum Desert. Precipitation occurs mainly in the spring and ranges from about 80 mm per year in the northwest desert to as much as 305 inches in the mountains.
63. Ashgabat has an arid climate with hot, dry summers and cool, short winters. The average January high temperature is 8.6 °C (47.5 °F), and the average low temperature is −0.4 °C (31.3 °F). Snow is infrequent in the area. Annual precipitation is only 201 mm. March and April are the wettest months, and summer drought, from late June to September, is virtually absolute. In Balkanabat, the average annual temperature is 17.6 °C. About 140 mm of precipitation falls annually. The climate of Dashoguz is a cold desert with long and hot summers. Winters are relatively short, but quite cold. The precipitation is scarce throughout the year, with an average of 100 mm (3.93 in). The minimum and maximum temperature in city is 11 °C and 23 °C respectively. The average wind speed in the region is 15 km/hr from 2017 to 2018.
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53. Akhalski and Maryiski velayats are situated in the arid climatic zone with a hot and dry summer and a short and cool winter. The maximum average monthly temperature in January is 8,6°C, and the minimum average monthly temperature is -0,4°C . It doesn’t snow often in Akhala and Mary. Annual precipitation is only 201 mm. The wettest months of the year are March and April, and the summer drought from the end of June till September is almost absolute (meaning that there is zero precipitation for 14 days and more). Average annual temperature in Akhala and Mary is between 17.7°C and 18.1°C. Annual precipitation is 160-190 mm. Winters are relatively short, but quite cold. The annual wind patterns are mostly eastwardly during the winter (31%) and north-westwardly during the summer (41%).
4.5. Water Environment 64. The surface water resources are river Amu Darya and other small rivers. There is practically no surface run-off on the territory of Turkmenistan. The episodic run-off can occur only in some places after rains of more than 3-5 mm. This local run-off and reserves of groundwater form the water resources of the desert of Turkmenistan. The annual water discharge from all water resources of Turkmenistan is given at Table 4.3
: Available water resources River/source Annual discharge km3/year Amu Darya River 22.000 Murgab River 1.631 Tejen River 0.869 Atrek River 0.354 Small rivers, large 0.150 springs Total surface water 25.004 Total groundwater 1.269 Total 26.273 Sources: NEAP, 2002; Ministry of Nature Protection, 2011.
65. Surface Water Resources: Turkmenistan’s surface water resources include (i) the rivers formed beyond the country’s boundaries, such as the Amu Darya, Atrek, Murgab and Tejen Rivers, and small rivers of the eastern and central Kopetdag area and (ii) 20 small rivers of the northern slopes of the Kopetdag Mountains and more than 350 dry river beds in Greater and Lesser Balkhanov and Köýtendag. The Amu Darya River is classified as being moderately polluted. More than 5.3 billion m3 of collector-drainage water is discharged into the river from irrigated land. During the period of spring floods, the mineralization level reduces to 0.43-1.38 g/l. The chemical composition of water in the Karakum Canal corresponds to the chemical composition in the Amu Darya River. This canal width is small (about 50 to 60 m). Water to the canal is not perineal in nature and water flow to the canal is controlled at source. The small water reservoirs is located away from the (about 500 M) from the transmission line alignment.
66. Ground Water Resources: Ground Water aquifers are dispersed and occupy relatively small areas. About 134 locations are identified where fresh water is available in the country of expected capacity of more than 3.3 km3/year. At present 1.12 km3, 689 m3/year is being extracted at present.
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4.6. Air Environment
67. Air quality in Turkmenistan is mostly influenced by the geographical character of the country i.e. deserts and semi-deserts which represent 80 per cent of the total area, and seashore, very low air humidity and generally good dispersion conditions. One specific problem lies in the increasing areas which are saline and polluted by dust blowing from the dried seabed of the Aral Sea to Dashoguz Province. Of the total agricultural land (40.2 million ha), more than 1.7 million ha (4.2 per cent) are affected by increasingly frequent salt dust storms. Figure 4.11 below shows emissions segregated for 1990 and over the period of 2000-2013
(data from the Digest of the State Statistics Committee) in Turkmenistan region. : Pollutant emissions in 2000-2013
68. Environmental performance review of Turkmenistan was performed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Newyork and Geneva, in 2012. Air quality monitoring was carried out of seventeen manual monitoring stations located in six big cities including Ashgabat, Balkanabat. Dust (TSP), SO2, NO and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are measured at all stations, CO at Ashgabat, formaldehyde and phenol in Ashgabat, and chlorine in Balkanabat6. Annual average concentrations of major air pollutants in Ashgabat, Balkanbat, Dashoguz, Mary and Turkmenbashy from 2005 to 2009 are given at Table 4.4. : Air Quality of Study Area
6 Environment control service of State committee on Environment Protection and Land resources of Turkmenistan, atmospheric air monitoring is done both regularly at fixed monitoring stations as well as periodically by way of route and under-plume observations. Samples are collected as per the established procedures 3 times a day, namely at 7 am, 1 and 7 pm by monitoring stations (14 in total) set up in major national cities, including 5 in Ashgabat.
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City Pollutant 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Averaging Turkmenistan EU WHO USA period µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3 µg/m3 Ashgabat Dust (TSP) 400 400 400 400 200 24 hrs 150 - - - Max value 500 SO2 30 40 40 40 20 24 hrs 50 125 20 365 Max value 500 - - - Hour - 150 - - CO 3000 3000 3000 3000 2000 24 hrs 3000 - - - Max value 5000 - - - 8 hrs - 10000 10000 10000 NO2 40 40 40 40 40 24 hrs 40 - - - Max value 85 - - - Hours - 200 200 - Year - 40 - 100 NO 10 10 10 10 20 24 hrs 60 - - - Max value 400 - - - Phenol 5 5 5 5 5 24 hrs 30 - - - Max value 100 - - - Formaldeh 18 18 18 17 15 24 hrs 3 - 100 (0.5 hr) - yde Max value 35 - - - Balkanab Dust (TSP) 200 200 400 300 300 24 hrs 150 - - - at Max value 500 SO2 10 10 20 20 20 24 hrs 50 125 20 365 Max value 500 - - - Hour - 150 - - NO2 10 10 20 20 20 24 hrs 40 - - - Max value 85 - - - Hours - 200 200 - Year - 40 - 100 NO 10 10 20 10 10 24 hrs 60 - - - Max value 400 - - - Chlorine 10 10 10 10 10 24 hrs 30 - - - (Cl) Max value 100 - - - Dashoguz Dust (TSP) 300 300 300 400 300 24 hrs 150 - - - Max value 500 SO2 50 50 50 50 50 24 hrs 50 125 20 365 Max value 500 - - - Hour - 150 - - NO2 40 40 40 40 40 24 hrs 40 - - - Max value 85 - - - Hours - 200 200 - Year - 40 - 100 NO 30 20 30 30 30 24 hrs 60 - - - Max value 400 - - - Mary Dust (TSP) 200 200 300 200 300 24 hrs 150 - - - Max value 500 SO2 20 20 20 30 20 24 hrs 50 125 20 365 Max value 500 - - - Hour - 150 - - CO 4000 3000 4000 3000 3000 24 hrs 3000 - - - Max value 5000 - - - 8 hrs - 10000 10000 10000 NO2 20 20 20 20 20 24 hrs 40 - - - Max value 85 - - - Hours - 200 200 - Year - 40 - 100 NO 20 20 20 20 20 24 hrs 60 - - - Max value 400 - - - Turkmenb Dust (TSP) 300 300 200 200 200 24 hrs 150 - - - ashy Max value 500 SO2 200 190 220 210 200 24 hrs 50 125 20 365 Max value 500 - - - Hour - 150 - - CO 4000 4000 5000 4000 4000 24 hrs 3000 - - - Max value 5000 - - - 8 hrs - 10000 10000 10000 NO2 60 60 60 70 70 24 hrs 40 - - - Max value 85 - - - Hours - 200 200 - Year - 40 - 100 NO 30 20 30 20 20 24 hrs 60 - - - Max value 400 - - - H2S 1 5 5 04 04 24 hrs 8 - - -
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Max value Source: Ministry of Nature Protection, 2010; European Union; World Health Organization; United States; Environmental Protection Agency
69. All the parameters were found within Turkmenistan standards as per max value but as per 24 hours averaging value, dust value is higher than the given standards for all the locations which can be explained by the considerable contribution of total suspended pollutants of natural origin. Similarly, SO2 level at location Ashgabat is within standards of Turkmenistan, but it is high as per WHO standards. At locations, Mary and Turkmenbashy, CO level (24 hours averaging) value is high as per Turkmenistan standards.
4.7. Biological Environment
70. Turkmenistan’s biodiversity is globally and regionally important because of its biogeographically location between the European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian floral and faunal regions includes at least 20,000 species described, including more than 7,000 plant species (of which about 3,200 higher and nearly 4,000 lower plant species, about 13,000 species of animals, including 720 vertebrates and about 12 thousand - invertebrates).
71. The landscapes of Turkmenistan are dominated by the low land deserts and xeric shrublands of the Karakum Desert, which account for some 79 per cent of the country’s area (Figure 4.12). There are also lakes (many temporary) and smaller rivers, most of which end blindly in the Karakum Desert or are entirely used for irrigation. Anthropogenic landscapes include oases and the 1,445 km Karakum Canal. Although the medium-height mountainous areas of Kopetdag, Badkhyz, Balkhan and Kugitang occupy only 2 per cent of the territory, they harbour two thirds of the country’s species. The alluvial plain of the Amu Darya River in the north-east includes significant tugai forests. All the landscape types comprise a variety of ecosystems with their specific flora and fauna the project areas are lies in barren and desert area with no vegetation except sparse bushes. Climate is dry and does not support good vegetation growth also.
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