Preparatory Environmental Study Report

1. Title of the Cooperation Project and Names of Project Proponent Title of the Cooperation Project: The Study on Mater Plan on Renewable Water Resources Development in the South West Region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Project Proponent : Ministry of Water and Electricity (MOWE) Main responsible Agency : Deputy Minister for Water Affaires, MOWE

2. Outline of the Project （1） Background and Location of the Project Saudi Arabia is a desert country with the mean annual rainfall of less than 100mm. More than 80% of water is used for agriculture. The water resources mainly rely on non-renewable deep groundwater (57% of the total use). The desalinated water (4%) is also a major source as it is used only for domestic/drinking water. The government has a policy not to develop non-renewable groundwater any more. In addition, the desalinated water is more or less costly. So it is necessary for the country to develop alternative water resources. The south-west region is the only area, with comparatively high mountains, where annual rainfall is over 500mm.

The Saudi Arabian government requested the Japanese government to carry out the study on water resources development and management in the south-west region (five provinces; Makkah, Al Bahah, Asir, Jizan, and Najran), with priority consideration on the development of renewable surface water and shallow ground water. JICA dispatched a preparatory study mission to see the actual conditions and discussed with the Ministry of Water and Electricity (MOWE) on the scope of work for the Study. As of February in 2007, the JICA study on master plan is scheduled to start in mid. 2007.

（2） Present Conditions of the Study Area ① Water Supply and Sewage Facilities/Services The water supply and sewage facilities in Saudi Arabia are developed well in Riyadh, the capital city. But, in the other regions including the Study area, the diffusion rate of these facilities is relatively low. And the rate of unaccounted for water including the leakage loss is high in most water supply system and it is estimated at 20-30% in general.

The actual conditions of water supply and sewage are different by provinces, but the general conditions in the Study area are described as follows: • The water supply system is mostly poor at present. Only some cities have its water supply

1 pipeline networks in some limited districts. The main water supply relies on water-tank trucks in most districts. • There are three kinds of water sources for the water supply. The locations of surface water sources are limited as only some dam-reservoirs impound in the dry season. The groundwater sources with wells are common in most districts and provinces. The desalinated water is well used in the Study area, except Najiran province, for domestic/drinking purpose. • There are sewage systems only in a few cities at present. • In every province, some water supply and/or sewage facilities are under construction at present or to be constructed in the near future.

② Agriculture and Irrigation Facilities The general conditions of agriculture and irrigation are as follows: • There is only one comparatively large irrigation project in the Study area. The irrigation project in Jizan province has a dam with impounding water for irrigation and the irrigation area with canals and control structures. But, the system is not well used at present. • There are many private small scale irrigation systems with water source from wells. • The government has been nurturing the development of agriculture by providing subsidiary aids. • There are no newly proposed irrigation schemes by the government.

③ Meteorological and Hydrological Monitoring Meteorological monitoring ・ There are some meteorological observatories and/or rainfall stations in every province, which are under management of MOWE. The records are collected at the MOWE head office and compiled in the database. ・ There are the other synthetic 28 meteorological observatories with automatic recorders, which may be under management of PME. Six of them are located within the Study area. ・ The observation and facility management by MOWE is generally subcontracted to private companies; however there are also some provincial offices or staffs of MOWE in charge of meteorological and hydrological monitoring. ・ The records are periodically sent to the MOWE head office. The consumables and spare parts are sent to the sites from the head office in general. ・ In addition, some researches or studies of a project base established monitoring facilities for respective purposes.

Hydrological monitoring

2 ・ There were some runoff-gauging stations with automatic recorders in every province in the Study area, before nearly 20 years ago. However, all the stations are abandoned due to flush-out during flood, vandalism, thief, and/or poor maintenance/repair. ・ There are no runoff-gauging stations with automatic recorders at present. ・ There are some new staff gauge stations which are established mostly within recent some years.

Groundwater monitoring ・ According to the information from MOWE, there are 11 wells in Makkah province, 9 wells in Jizan province, 9 wells in Najran province, respectively for observation purpose. There are no observation wells in Asir and Al Baha provinces. ・ In general, only the groundwater level is measured, but electric conductivity is also measured in Jizan province. ・ SGS（Jeddah）office also carries out groundwater monitoring in some areas near Makkah City.

Water Quality monitoring ・ MOWE prepared water/soil quality standards with the management regulations in 2006 for domestic/drinking water, effluent from sewerage treatment plant (STP), and soil for agricultural uses. ・ The PME office also has water quality standards for effluent to public water bodies and to drainage pipelines/channels. ・ There is water quality laboratory (or laboratories) in every province. The water quality monitoring is carried out for domestic water (water supply network, water trucks, etc.), water sources, and effluent from STP.

④ Surface Water Resources Development Existing dams Dam is the major surface water development structure. There are approximately 230 dams in the country at present. The summary of existing dams as of 2004 is shown in the following table:

Summary of dam numbers and reservoir volume in each province (2004)

Province Main purpose Total Reservoir

3 Domestic Flood Recharge Irrigation number volume water control Million m3 Asir* 14 16 34 64 378.1 Makkah* 2 3 20 25 108.0 Jizan* 1 1 1 3 51.4 Najran* 3 3 6 88.2 Al Baha* 1 3 21 1 26 31.2 Riyadh 18 42 60 80.4 Medina 6 10 16 80.7 Qassim 1 2 3 3.1 Hail 3 4 17 9.3 Jouf 3 3 5.2 Total 18 57 146 2 223 835.6 （Note：Provinces without dams are not shown. Provinces with * are located in the Study area）

The following points are found from the table above: ・ Number of dams in the Study area is 124 in total, which is 56% of those in the whole country. ・ Asir province is the No.1 province in numbers as well as reservoir volume. ・ The total reservoir volume in the Study area is 656.9 Million m3, which is 79% of that in the whole country. ・ More than half of existing dams have the main purpose of recharge and the second one is flood control, then the third one is domestic water use. There are only two dams with the main purpose of irrigation. But, it is noted that many dams have actually multi-purposes.

Although it is not shown in the table, there are two existing underground dams, which are located in Makkah province.

Dams under construction and planning In recent some years, many dam projects started suddenly after nearly 20 years period without remarkable development, mainly due to economic recovery. The dams under construction and/or planning in the Study area are summarized in the following table:

Number of Dams under construction or planning in the Study area Province Existing dam Under construction／ Total

4 Planning Asir 64 70 134 Najran 6 12 18 Jizan 3 13 16 Makkah 25 15 40 Al Baha 26 18 44 Total 124 128 252

It is more or less surprise that the number of new (under construction／planning) dams will be more than that of existing dams. There are several underground dams included in the number of new dams.

Shallow Wells There are a lot of shallow wells in every province. Most wells are located in wadi bed or low lands. Some wadis have many wells in a group, which is developed as a project. The number of wells varies from 10 to 80 in general and the depth varies 10 to 40m in general at each wadi. The pumping and pipeline facilities are connected to each well. The water pumped up from wells is sent to towns, villages, or water injection facilities to water-tank trucks, but through storage tank, distribution reservoir, or purification plant, according to the individual conditions of water uses and locations.

⑤ Deep Ground Water Development The deep groundwater is the major water source in Saudi Arabia. The groundwater is generally used for agriculture/irrigation.

There are nearly 100 thousands wells registered in MOWE. But, it is informed that there are also many wells, which are not registered yet. Majority of wells are private uses and agricultural uses. There is no reliable detailed information for wells in the Study area.

Although the non-renewable deep ground water is the major water source for the country, the uses of water from deep groundwater are not common in the Study area, except very limited locations, due to hydro-geological formation in the south-west region.

⑥ Desalination Plants and Reclaimed Water Use Desalination Plant Development

5 Saudi Arabia has history of desalination water development since 1928. The Saline Water Conversion Corporation（SWCC）is the national monopoly and has 30 plants (at 15 locations) in the country in 2005. The desalination plants are mostly located together with power plants, of which power is used for the desalination process and the extra power is sold to Saudi Electricity Company （SEC）. The list of desalination plants in the Study area is shown in the following table. All the plants are located in front of the Red Sea.

SWCC Desalination Plants in the Study Area Name of Plant Capacity Power （m3/day） (MW) Jeddah Ⅱ 37,916 771 Ⅲ 75,987 Ⅳ 190,555 RO. 1 48,848 RO. 2 48,848 Al Shoaibah Ⅰ 191,780 497 Ⅱ 390,909 Al Shuqaig Ⅰ 83,432 62 Al Birk Ⅰ 1,952 － Farasan Ⅰ 430 Trans. １ 1,075 － Total 1,071,732 1,330

These plants generally use Multi-stage Bush evaporation process (MSF), of which energy efficiency is relatively low. There are only two plants in Jeddah with Reverse osmosis membrane process (RO), of which efficiency is higher. The cost performance of recent desalination plant has been improving , especially for large facilities, of which production cost (without transmission cost) is approximately 1 SR /ｍ3.

The locations and the supply volume from desalination plants in 2005 are summarized in the following table:

Supply and Volume of Desalinated Water（2005） Location to be supplied Supply volume

6 （MCM/year） Jeddah 225.0 Mekkah 92.6 Taif 40.0 Abha 11.1 Khamis Mushiyt 10.8 Ahud Rufidha 3.4 Al Birk 0.6 Farasan 0.5 Total 384.0

There are the following two new plants to be constructed:

Desalination Plant to be constructed Name Production Power Capacity （MW） （m3/day） Al Shoaibah Ⅲ 880,000 900 Al Shuqaig Ⅱ 212,000 900

The Al Shoaibah Ⅲ will supply water to Taif and Al Baha and the Al Shuqaig Ⅱ to Jizan, and Ahud Al Masarihah(Asir).

Reclaimed Water Use In the 8th five year national development plan (2004-2009), it is estimated that annual reclaimed water uses may be increased from 260MCM to 380MCM, which becomes nearly 2.08％ of the total water demand in the country. The reclaimed water is generally used mainly for agriculture and secondary for tree plantation, industrial water, and landscaping. There are only three existing governmental projects of reclaimed water at present; in Riyadh, Hassh, and Taif. The study on reclaimed water uses in the country has started in January 2007 by Italian consultant.

3. Legal Framework of Environmental and Social Considerations

(1) Related Organizations Presidency of Meteorology and Environment （PME）is the representative agency in charge of environmental management in Saudi Arabia. The general introduction of PME is explained below: ・ Direct organization under Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General ・ PME is composed of Meteorological division and Environmental division. The

7 Environmental division is called Meteorology and Environment Protection Administration (MEPA). ・ MEPA is composed of several departments for EIA, Standards, Human Ecology, Natural Resources, Sustainable development, License/Permit/Punishment/penalties, etc. in addition to provincial offices.

It seems that PME/MEPA does not have sufficient capacity for environmental management as the national representative agency, due to shortage of experiences.

Besides PME/MEPA, there are some other organizations/agencies related to environmental management as listed below: • National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD): A committee for natural environmental conservation in Saudi Arabia • Ministry of Agriculture: Management of pasture, forest, livestock, national parks, etc. by Natural Resources Department • Ministry of Water and Energy: Environmental management of water resources, water supply, sewerage, electrical power. But no environmental section exists yet. • Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources: Environmental management of mineral resources and industry related to petroleum. • Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affaires: Management/services for hygiene in urban area, solid waste, cleaning and landscaping in urban area • Ministry of Health: Management for disposal of medical goods, consumables, and equipment. • Ministry of Interior: Management and coordination of emission gas from vehicles. The coordination among ministries is also carried out by this ministry, if necessary. • Ministry of Culture and Information: Campaign for enhancing Environmental consciousness

The following agencies/offices may be also related to environmental management, although the information of function is not yet obtained: ・ Saudi Arabian Satandards Organization ・ Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu ・ King Abdulazis City for Science and Technology ・ Saudi Aramco ・ SABIC(Saudi basic Industry Corporation)

(2) Environmental Laws and Environmental License

8 The detailed information of environmental laws in Saudi Arabia could be obtained from neither MOWE nor PME, possibly due to shortage of available information. The former is the executing agency of the Study and the latter is the representative agency of environmental management in Saudi Arabia. PME just showed「General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation」, which was prepared in 2006, as the representative environmental laws and regulations. It was also explained from PME that no other environmental guidelines may be available in Saudi Arabia.

It was, however, found later that “General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation” does not gazette yet. That is, the regulations and rules are still not effective to be used officially. In addition, no governmental offices/agencies follow or use yet the PME regulations against the PME’s expectation. However, it is expected that the PME regulations may be officially approved in the future (2007 according to PME). Some reference points in the regulations are presented as follows:

・ Licensing agency is a respective governmental agency/ministry in charge of project implementation. ・ Implementation agency of a project has to establish the detailed regulations and standards for environmental management in competent field and carry out environmental impact assessment in consultation with PME. ・ Implementation agency of a project has to take countermeasures for mitigation against anticipated adverse impacts. ・ The EIA is required to be carried out at feasibility study stage. But, the requirement of EIA is decided in reference to categories-lists shown in the regulations. ・ The existing project also has to improve the current conditions within 5 years following to the regulations. ・ The Violations and penalties are described relatively in detail for strict management. ・ Environmental protection standards are shown for air quality and water quality (effluent). ・ There are three categories of project for requirement of environmental impact assessment and documents. The First category is for a project with anticipation of no definite impacts, the second category is for some significant impacts, and the third category is for serious impacts. The types/kinds of project for respective category are also listed. However, it seems that review and improvement of the lists is required, mainly due to insufficient explanation in scale, definition, conditions, etc.

Note: The Guideline for Classification of Industrial and Development Project, a part of General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepared by PME, is attached for reference as Appendix (5 pages).

9 4. Outline of the Location (1) Natural Environment The total Study area is approximately 370 thousands km2 and nearly１7% of the whole country. But, it is nearly equivalent to the whole area of Japan.

The south west region, the Study area, is extended along the Red Sea and the mountain range is located along the coastal line. The temperature and rainfall varies generally by altitude of location. And the vegetation also varies according to the altitude in general. There are different ways to divide the area such as the following examples: (a) Six divisions based on altitude and vegetation ・ Coastal plain：El. 0～300m ・ Foothills：El. 300～1000m ・ Lower escarpment：El. 1000～1600m ・ Upper escarpment：El. 1600～2200m ・ High mountains：El. 2200～3000m ・ Rain shadow slopes：El. 1700～2200m

(b) Two divisions by mountain ridge ・ West side area of the mountain ridge line: Area between the Red Sea and the mountain ridge line (Hijas mountains on the north and Asir mountains on the south), which is located nearly 100km away from the sea ・ East side area of the mountain ridge line

(c ) Three divisions based on topography ・ Coastal plain along the Red Sea ・ Mountain range/area (Hijas and Asir mountains) ・ Desert/semi-desert area located on east side of the mountain range

Among the above divisions, the natural conditions are to be described for the three divisions as follows:

Coastal plain： Along the Red Sea, there is coastal plain with approximately 20 – 30km wide, although it is narrow at some locations.

The coastal plain has less rainfall than the mountain area. The annual rainfall is generally less than 200mm and less than 100mm in the areas close to the coast. Accordingly, the vegetation is rare except urban or residential areas, where artificial sprinkling of water is common. The

10 typical land of coastal plain is desert or semi-desert except areas near towns/villages or wadis. There are many wadis coming from the mountain area, but most of them have no flow for whole year and some of them have no channel, as the flow is generally submerged in the coastal zone.

The wadi bed is usually dried up and there is flow only a few times (2-5 times) in a year, when relatively heavy rainfall occurs in the basin. The flow period is usually only from some hours to a few days. Some wadis have no flow at all in the lower section for whole year. However, there is submerged underground water in wadis within a few meters from the bed. And there are bushes and grasses in such places. In addition, it seems that the soils layers has relatively high water- retentivity, from viewpoints of observation in the field.

It may be comfortable to stay in the coastal plain from November to February, however, it is very hot in the other months. The temperature exceeds 40℃ in July and August.

In addition to the landside, it may be necessary to pay attention to the seaside along the coast. According to the information from PERSAGA, the regional organization for the conservation of the environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Red sea is renowned for their diversity of ecosystems, habitats and species, the number of endemic species and their bio-geographic significance. Along the coastal line of the study area, there are coral reefs at many locations.

Mountain range： In the north of the Study area, the Hijas mountains with approximately El. 1000m at the peaks run along the coast. The altitude of mountain range becomes relatively lower, El. 600m near Makkah City. The Asir mountains, with the peaks between 2000 and 3000m in altitude, are extended to the south from the Makkah area to the Yemen side. The area of higher altitude （2500～3000m）forms relatively steep slope. Especially on the Red Sea (west) side, the altitude goes down sharply to nearly 1000m. But the altitude becomes higher on the further west to 1500～2000m in elevation. Then gentle slope is formed from the low mountains of El. 700-1000m to the coastal plain, although some low peaks of mountain/hill interrupt on the way.

On the east of the mountain ridge, the mountain slope is comparatively gentle as the elevation is high in the desert, nearly 1000m at a location nearly 200 km away.

The mountain range in the Study area is a precious land for the country of Saudi Arabia. In summer, many people visit for escaping from very hot weather in the most other areas of the country. In addition, the annual rainfall is generally 300～500mm, which is much more than that of the other areas. There are forest areas, which are also significant as natural resources for the country.

11 Desert/semi-desert area on the east： The desert extended on the east side of the mountain range continues to the Persian (Arabian) gulf located on the east end of the country. The desert area does not have remarkable value for land uses, as far as neither oil nor groundwater source is found. There are many wadi-routes even in the desert area, but all of them disappear on the way.

(2) Protection/Reserve Area

It is informed that areas and numbers of trees/plants and animals were diminished in early 20th century by human activities. The government has special concern for recovering the natural conditions as much as possible. The mountain range of the Study area is notable for such objective, due to its different climate and topography from the other areas.

There are the following kinds of protection areas in Saudi Arabia: ・ Pasturage Protection Area ・ Forest Protection Area ・ Wild Animal Protection Area

Besides the above classification, the current information on the protection areas in the Study area is described as follows: • There are national parks/natural reserves in the mountain range of the Study area. The representative one is the Asir National Park, where the forest extends widely. • NCWCD established special protection areas. The following five areas are located in the Study area: ・ Farasan Island(Jizan) ・ Raklah(Asir) ・ Shada (Al Baha) ・ Araq Bani(Najran) ・ Mahazat Saki(Makkah) • Forest protection areas are mainly located in Asir and Al Baha provinces. • There is an old traditional protected area called “Hema” in the Study area. • Al Baha National Park will be newly approved soon as a new protection area. • Many activities such as camping, cutting, etc. are prohibited in these protection areas.

In addition to the protected area presented above, there is Farasan Islands Marin Protected Area approximately 45 km offshore from Jizan town. There are 12 marine protected areas identified in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by SAP, Startegic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

12 (3) Socio-Economic Environment The area and the population in respective province (Makkah、Al Baha、Asir、Jizan、and Najran) of the Study area is summarized in the following table:

Area and Population in the Study Area Province Area Total Foreigner Density （ｋｍ２） population* （person/km２） Makkah 148,500 5,797,971 2,211,406 39.04 Al Baha 10,690 377,739 49,496 35.34 Asir 68,460 1,688,368 253,609 24.66 Jizan 13,470 1,186,139 192,464 88.06 Najran 129,875 419,457 70,768 3.23 Total 370,995 9,469,674 2,777,743 25.53 Source：Statistical Yearbook, 2005 *: Including foreigner population

The Study area has population of approximately 9.5 million (2005), which is nearly 37% of the total population of the country. The province of Makkah has the largest population in Saudi Arabia, as there are three large cities; Jeddah(3.5 million)、Makkah（0.8 million）、Taif（0.5 million）. In addition, there are nearly 2 million Makkah pilgrims every year and nearly 1 million illegal sojourners in the province.

The province is divided by city and districts. For example, the Makkah province is divided into 21 cities/districts.

The Jeddah City with international seaport and airport is the commercial & industrial center of the western Saudi Arabia. It is also the entrance city to the holy land of Makkah. The provinces of Al Baha and Asir (Abha City) are recently popular as summer resorts and the commercial business become more active. The Jizan province has comparatively larger agricultural production, in addition to the commercial activities. The Najiran City is developed as traffic hub site and agriculture center in the Najiran valley.

In the coastal plain, there are many cities/towns/villages, represented by Jeddah City with 3 – 4 million people and Jizan City, a capital city of Jizan province. These cities/towns/villages are generally located away each other with certain distance between them. The land uses are generally limited in and around these cities/towns/villages and along main roads. There is a good paved road

13 connecting the north and the south in the Study area along the coast. From this coastal road, there are not a few roads connecting to the mountain side. The road condition is generally very good and high speed of driving is common outside town areas. In the sea side of the coastal road, there are some large development areas for desalination plants, fish/prawn ponds, etc. along the coast.

In the mountain range, there are Abha City (the capital of Asir province), Al-Baha (the capital of Al-Baha province), Taif City (the third city in Makkah province). These cities has individual airport. The major cities and towns are well connected by paved roads.

In the desert area, Najran City is the representative location, as it is the capital of Najiran province and the center of traffic, agricultural, and commercial activities. Najiarn City is nearly 300 km away from Abha City.

5. Categorization and its Reason The project to be proposed by the Study is tentatively assumed as “Category B”

It is quite difficult to assume the project features/conditions proposed by the JICA Study. The Study area is very wide and there are various alternatives considerable for planning of water resources development.

However, it may be sure that dam projects are included in the proposed plan, as it is required to develop non-renewable water resources. The dam development is the most effective measure in general in the Study area, as the wadis (rivers) in the Study area have stream flow only during or after heavy rainfall.

In addition, a dam project gets usually great concern from the environmental view points. Accordingly, it is assumed for this report that the proposed project by the Study is a project with dam construction.

A dam project is usually categorized as “A”, sometimes without specific considerations. In other words, the name of dam has been painted in lurid colors in these 10 or15 years. It was considered as a kind of environmental destroyer from typical environmental specialists, who do not have enough experiences of engineering aspects of dam.

It is, however, decided at this study stage that a dam project in the Study area in Saudi Arabia should be Category “B”.

A dam project, as a representative type of water resources development to be proposed by the Study may not cause any remarkable impacts, due to overall considerations including the following points:

14 ・ The project site is located in a rural district without inhabitants and remarkable land uses are not seen. ・ It is also not considerable to have adverse impact to present eco-system. The natural conditions may be rather improved by the project. ・ Accordingly no significant adverse impacts are predicted at present. Only possible slight impacts may happen during the construction, if any reasonable management is not done for safety, waste disposal, hygiene, water contamination, etc. ・ However, the definite project plan is not known yet and there are some unknown site conditions. Accordingly it is considered necessary to carry out the environmental survey and assessment study (IEE at M/P level) to confirm the impacts and propose measures to mitigate some slight impacts if any.

6. Provisional Scoping (1) Hearing for Scoping The hearing survey was carried out to the following people: ・ Some engineers and managers of MOWE head office and provincial offices ・ Consultants for supervision at dam construction sites ・ Contractors at dam construction sites ・ Engineers/specialists of some engineering/environmental consulting companies

Actual situation of Environmental Impact Assessment Saudi Arabia already ratified most major international conventions of environmental fields, such as Conventions on Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, and Law of the Sea and Ozon Layer Protection. That is, the country has good consciousness for environmental protection. However, it seems that actual environmental management is not so active, possibly due to magnificent land comparing with the population and rapid economic development.

As already mentioned, the establishment of environmental laws and regulations are not sufficient yet. So the actual situation of environmental impact assessment is more or less poor as explained as follows: ・ 「General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation」is prepared in 2006 and does not gazette yet. ・ No government agencies including MOWE provide the attitude of cooperation to use or refer to the “Environmental Regulations and Rules”. That is, almost all the ministries neglect the regulation by PME at present, nevertheless PME considers that the all the projects have to follow the regulation even if it is not yet officially authorized.

15 ・ MOWE is the implementation agency of dam construction. There are many dams constructed in the past and under construction at present. However, the environmental impact assessment has never been carried out. And there is no schedule of EIA for the future. ・ The Study on reclaimed water development projects in Saudi Arabia by Italian consultant was started in January 2007, however, there is no schedule of EIA for the study. ・ In Riyadih, no EIA was carried out for the construction of large project of sewerage treatment plant. There are large scale sewerage projects of expansion and extension at present, however, EIA is not required to be carried out. ・ GTZ is now on the way of a large scale groundwater development study; Wajid Water Resources Study. Although the consultants of GTZ explained that all the necessary studies are included, there is no schedule of EIA in their TOR.

Hearing Information from Director General of MOWE provincial offices ・ In Jizan province, there is no example of EIA in the past projects and it seems that the necessity is also not identified. No information of projects has been given to PME in the past. However, it is usual that some government agencies concerned hold meetings for discussion about the project, including the environmental matters. As of now, no environmental license is required for any projects by MOWE. PME has never send any explanation or documents concerning the regulation or licenses. ・ (as a personal opinion) For projects by Makkah provincial office, it is considered necessary to carry out the environmental impact assessment for sewerage project which discharges contaminated water to public water bodies. However, many other projects may be not required to carry out EIA. If the EIA study is considered necessary, the study is carried out by a consulting firm registered for environmental study. There is, however, no EIA reports prepared for this office at present. ・ Al-Bahaｈ province considers that the environmental impact assessment study is not a matter of the provincial office, but the head office, even if required.

From the actual present situation in Saudi Arabia, it may become a special case if the JICA Study carries out the study of EIA or IEE. Then it is noted that the EIA study may be necessary at Feasibility Study Stage (not at the M/P stage), even if “Environmental Regulations and Rules” can be officially approve in the near future. That is, the EIA or IEE has to be carried out only for the convenience of the JICA side.

Concerning the Stakeholder Meeting, it is unusual to have such meeting at least during the study stage. The meetings are held among government agencies concerned, when any issues are identified. There is no case for NGOs or local inhabitants to participate in such meetings. However, Saudi Arabia is democratic in regard to listen opinions or desires from the local people. It often happens

16 that a development project is implemented after their petition to the authorities concerned. Accordingly there may be no objections from the government side to have stakeholder meetings.

MOWE informed, however, that it may be difficult to specify the stakeholders from inhabitants as the proposed project plan is not precise at the M/P stage.

Hearing and Observation on Environmental Impact for actual Dam Construction As far as the information from interview with some government officers and consultants, no environmental issues/impacts were reported. They rather explained that a dam project is essential for water resources development and may give positive impacts to the environment from natural, economic, and social viewpoints.

Issues concerning relocation of local people are usually most notable concerns in case of dam project. But, such issue may not happen in Saudi Arabia, from the following observation and considerations: • There are no inhabitants living in dam site and proposed reservoir area, as far as observed during the site visit to nearly 10 dam sites(existing and under construction). In other words, it is difficult for people to live in such location. Abha dam was the only site located in a city area; however, it seems that there were no people when the dam was constructed. People came to the nearby dam site after the dam construction because of good landscape, improvement of traffic network, and availability of drinking water. • It is dangerous to live in wadi valley, as a flood comes suddenly. And people know such conditions. • There is no spring water in mountain area, except very limited locations. Domestic water is generally available in locations with water supply pipeline or tank-truck services. There are no services to such isolated locations. • Even if there are some people living in a proposed dam site, it is expected that they have no objection to relocate. They may not have strong instinctive hold on housing location as there are too many wide lands available to use. • People understand the importance of water resources development.

(2) Screening and Scoping (a) Screening

As already explained above, the environmental impact assessment is not required and actually not carried out at least for the governmental projects for MOWE. However, the screening and scoping is to be carried out as it is required from the JICA guideline.

Although it is difficult to assume the project features and environmental conditions at this time of

17 study, it is decided to assume a dam project of which environmental descriptions are summarized in Table 1. These assumptions are prepared in reference to the actual conditions of 5 or 6 dams of under construction, where the site visit has been carried out during the preparatory study.

Table 1 Descriptions of Assumed Project （Assumed Project：Dam development. The conditions are assumed in reference to some examles of actual dam projects under construction at present.)

Item Descriptions

Dam construction for water resources development （Note:The following conditions are assumed for scoping purpose.) ; Location (Wadi Hali basin, Assumed location of dam site is shown in Fig 1, Basin area is approximately 4,000 km2), Fill type dam (approximately 80m Project Features high, approximately 2 million m3 in embankment volume ), Spillway (concrete, design discharge 8,000m3/s), Foundation grouting (30m deep), Quarry sites of embankment materials and aggregate are located nearby the dam site.

Local community No local people live in and around the dam site and the proposed reservoir area

No particular landuse is seen except temporary traffic on wadi bed. But, there are existing wells located in wadi bed. The water pumped up from the wells is transmitted to a town in Social Landuse the downstream area for domestic uses and then distributed to the other towns/villages by Environment water-tank trucks.

No remakable econimic activities are seen as no inhabitants live there, although there is a Economy／Traffc town about 10 km downstream.

The wadi bed is approximately 200m wide and there is hard rock steep slope on the both Topography and banks.There is nealy 20 m deep gravel layer on the wadi bed. The valley sections more or Geology less vary in the reserpoir area, but the landscape and the geoplogical conditions are basically the same in the whole valley.

Natural The wadi mouth is located in the Red Sea, of which coastal line has straignt or gentle Coast & Marine Environment alignment and with comparatively narrow sand beach.

Most areas have scarce vegetation with some bushes only in local parts. No animals are seen, Valuable species of although a group of monkey occasionally appears and some reptiles such as lizards may live there. There is no information about any endangered species. There are no aquatic plants. fauna & flora and There are, however, coral reefs located along the coastal line in the Red Sea. Some corals are ecosystem endangerded species to be protected. In Fig 2, the general location map of coral reefs and marine protected area is shown for a reference.

Air pollution, Water contamination, There are no such pollution sources due to no activities which cause any pollutions. Noise, etc. Pollution Current Not necessary to take countermeasures. contermeasures

Other remarkable points In Saudi Arabia, it is generally considered that dam constuction is important for water resources development and positive environmental impacts may be expected.

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The screening is carried out by using a check list commonly used for JICA study. The results are summarized in Table 2. It is judged that there are no items with definite significant impacts, but the following four items are considered to be “Not sure” at this stage.

・ Health and Hygiene ・ Waste disposal ・ Disaster/accident ・ Fauna and Flora (especially marine fauna) ・ Water pollution

The reasons of “Not sure” are described in the table. As a conclusion, it is considered necessary to carry out the IEE study, although no significant adverse impacts are predictable.

19 Table 2 Screening

Items Descriptions Impact Remarks Relocation and/or land acquisition due to project 1 Relocation and land acquisition No No inhabitants facilities or construction works. Decrease of production. Change of economic 2 Economic activity No No economic activity structure. Traffic congestion, Accident, Effect on public No minus conditions, transportaion system becomes 3 Traffic/Public facilities No facilities beneficial. Separation of local communities due to blocking of 4 Division of Communities No No local community/village. transportation system. Archaeological/Cultural Decrease or deterioration of archaeological/cultural 5 No No objective sites Heritage sites.

6 Vested Right Right for fishery, water use, logging ,etc. No No uses at peresent

No impacts have happened at dam sites in the past. Degradation of hygienic conditions caused by

Social Environment 7 Health and Hygiene Not sure But, the careful management during construction may waste disposal and vector insects. be required. Careful control may be required for disposal of Construction waste/debris, contaminated mud, 8 Waste Disposal Not sure wastes generated by construction activities and sludge, general wastes, etc. operation of facilities. The slope in damsite is stable against land-sliding and Increase of danger on ground collapse, land sliding, 9 Disaster/Accident Not sure slope failure. But, it may be required to manage well construction accident, etc. for safety control during construction. Land may be reformed at dam site, but no Change of significant land forms and geological remarakable impacts are predicted due to no land 10 Topography & Geology No features caused by earthwork, etc. uses at present. Earthquake is not induced by impounding as the fiundation is geologically stable. Soil erosion originated by runoff through Surface soil is thin or nothing. Rock outcrop is 11 Soil erosion No earthworks, logging , etc. common in dam site. Water contamination or reduction of groundwater Pumping of groundwater, if any, is carried out at a 12 Ground water caused by excessive pumping, seepage of No local area. No impacts on water level and water contaminated water, etc. quality in the surrounding areas are predicted. Change of discharge, velocity, riverbed due to No adverse impacts may happen by changes of flow 13 River & Lake No reclamation, new channel construction , etc. discharge, velocity, and wadi bed.

Scouring or sedimentation at coastal area due to No impacts to coastal environment by a dam project 14 Coast No change of drifting sands and waves. have been imformed in the past.

Natural Environment Natural No endangered/protected speies of fauna and flora in Reduction of breeding and extermination of 15 Fauna & Flora Not sure the land. There are corals living along the coast in the endangered species. Red Sea. Climate change arising by implementation of large No remarkable/significant changes of nature, which 16 Climate No scale development of earthworks and structures. may cause climate changes.

Change of landscape due to earth works and new Present landscape has no remarkable valuable sites. 17 Landscape No structures. The landscape may be much improved by the project.

Air pollution caused by exhaust gas and poisonous No remarkable quantity of emmission gas may be 18 Air pollution No gas from vehicles and factories. occurred. Low level contaminated water is discharged during Water contamination caused by inflow of soil, construction. Some countermeasure to reduce the 19 Water pollution Not sure chemical substances, oil, etc. contamination may be desired, although the impacts may not be singnificant, even if happens. Soil contamination caused by runoff and diffusion 20 Soil contamination No No toxic substances are discharged to the ground. of effluent, poisonous substances, etc.

Pollution Some noise and vibration may happen, but it does not Noise and vibration caused by running vehicle, 21 Noise/Vibration No make any nuissance as no inhabitants living nearby pumping operation, etc. dam site. Ground surface subsidence caused by change of Ground suvsidence may not happen by the project 22 Ground Subsidence foundation condition and lowering of ground water No implementation. level. Odor may not happen during construction and 23 Odor Occurrence of exhaust gas and odour. No operation.

It can be assumed that no significant impacts may happen, however, it is desirable to take careful Overall assessment：Necessity of ＩＥＥ or ＥＩＡ Yes environmental management during construction for reducing the level of slight impacts. Accordingly, it is recommended to carry out the IEE study.

20 (b) Scoping The scoping was carried out as summarized in Table 3. Assessment is done by the following 4 categories/classifications:

・ A: Significant adverse impacts are anticipated ・ B: Slight adverse impacts are anticipated ・ C: Unknown (subject to further verification) ・ D: No or Almost no adverse impacts are anticipated

21 Table 3 Provisional Scoping

Impact Items Reasons Level

1 Relocation and land acquisition D No inhabitants living nearby damsite and in proposed reservoir area.

2 Economic activity D No remarkable economic activity at present.

No minus impacts are considerable. Accessibility and transportation in and around dam site 3 Traffic/Public facilities D may be improved.

No impacts will be found on this item as any villages are not located in and aroud the project 4 Division of Communities D site.

Archaeological/Cultural 5 D No objective sites or structures exist in and around the project site. Heritage

6 Vested Right D Neither water uses nor legal vested right is reported in the area. Social Environment

No adverse hygiene impacts are reported in the existing dam construction. However, carefull 7 Health and Hygiene C management may be required during construction stage as many people from various places come together. Management and treatment of wastes will be necessary accompanied by construction works 8 Waste Disposal C and operation of facilities. The impacts may be within a permissible level, if such management/treatment is made properly.

The geological and topografic conditions are stable enough against land-sliding and slope 9 Disaster/Accident C failure. But, the possibility of accidents during construction can not be denied.

No negative impacts to topography and geology are anticipated. No induced earthquake may 10 Topography & Geology D happen due to stable rock foundation.

11 Soil erosion D No soil erosion is anticipated. Soil layer is generally shallow and outcrop of rocks is typical

Pumping of groundwater, if any, is carried out at a local area. No impacts on water level and 12 Ground water D water quality in the surrounding areas are predicted.

No adverse impacts are considered due to changes of discharge, flow velocity and wadi bed 13 River & Lake D movement.

14 Coast D The impacts to coastal line did not happen in the past cases of dam construction.

Natural Environment Natural It was informed that no endangered species might live in and aroud the project area. There 15 Fauna & Flora C are, however, coral reef along the coast in the Red Sea. The impacts to the reef are not sure at this tme without detailed study of proposed plan.

16 Climate D No impacts to climate changes are sure in case of like this type of project and scale.

17 Landscape D There is no valuable landscape at present. The landscape may be rather improved.

18 Air pollution D No remarkable emission of polluted air/gas is anticipated.

The possibility of water contamination may be negligibly small, however, the water 19 Water pollution C conatamination may happen during the construction if any proper measeres are taken..

20 Soil contamination D No toxic substances will be discharged on soils in the project area.

Pollution The noise and vibration during construction is limited and the residential areas are located 21 Noise/Vibration D sufficiently away from the working site.

22 Ground Subsidence D No ground subsidence is expected due to type of construction works and rock foundation.

No odor is expected during the construction and after starting the operation as no odor 23 Odor D sources are considered. .

22 There are no items categorized as “A” or “B” and most items are judged to be “D”. However, the same 5 items selected as “Not sure” in the screening are categorized as “C”.

These 5 items, however, are considered to be categorized as “D”, if proper countermeasures are taken during the construction stage. The overall evaluation for these 5 items is summarized in Table 4.

Table 4 Overall Assessment （for Study/Survey and Countermeasures）

Items Impact Necessary survey/study/mitigation Remarks

Study on hygiene facilities such as toilet, Significant health and hygiene issues may waste disposal system, waste water not happen, but careful control during discharge system, water supply, and clinic construction may be required . Many 7 Health and Hygiene C to be used during construction. workers come to dam site during Recommendation on periodical health construction from different locations not examination, consultation, education for only in Saudi Arabia but also in the other hygien and health. countries.

No remakable toxic substances may be used Study and survey on disposal/removal of for the project. No remakable significant surplus soil and facilities used for impacts on waste disposal are predicted. 8 Waste Disposal C construction. Planning for waste disposal But, it may be required to take careful generated by construction workers is also countermeasures to avoid possibility of necessary. slight impacts.

Safety measures may be required for Construction site is topograpfically and stability of excavated slope, use of geologically stable, but accidents by 9 Disaster/Accident C explosives, fighting during flood, traffic construction activities may happen if careful accident, falling/collapse at construction management on safety is not sufficient. site.

The survey of locations, area, and conditions of coral reef in the coastal sea At this time of study, it is quite difficult to near the river mouth is required in the area know the details of proposed plan(s), near the mouth of a river, where a dam including location. It is usual that there are construction is proposed by the study. The no coral reefs living near a large river mouth 10 Fauna & Flora C mitigation measures such as construction as the conditions of water quality, especially of guide dike of flood flow, control of salinity, are not good for corals. However, discharge and sediments at the dam site, without any survey, it may be reasonable to etc. are taken if it is considered necessary confirm the actual condition at feasiblity and effective. In addition, monitoring of study in the future. coral conditions is also carried out

Analyses of water quality of Significant impacts on water pollution may groundwater/wells before the construction. not happen if proper control of waste water Periodical monitoring of water quality discharge is carried out. However, it may 19 Water pollution C during construction. Study on construction become social issues, if any water methods and treatment facilities for contamination is found in wells located reducing contaminated water discharging downstram. from the construction site.

23 (3) Envisioned Mitigation Measures and Alternatives It seems too early to study on mitigation measures and alternatives at present stage. In addition, it is judged that most items are categorized as ‘D’, for which no impact is anticipated, and only some items are categorized as ‘C’, which may not cause any significant impacts if proper management is carried out during construction stage.

However, due to the guideline by JICA, it is required to make assessment even before the proposed plan is prepared, to find any environmental issues at earlier stage of the project. Accordingly the tentative general considerations are made as summarized as follows:

Envisioned Mitigation Measures ① Mitigation measures for Health and Hygiene • Health check before employment of labors/workers • Periodical health check at project site • Inspection and observation of daily activities and movement of labors • Education and guidance to workers for self control of health and hygiene • Provision of hygiene facilities (toilet, water supply, etc.) • Cleaning of the project site • Hygienic dining and food supply ② Mitigation measures for Waste disposal • Establishment of waste collection and treatment/disposal system • Cleaning of the project site • Periodical inspection and monitoring (at the project site and the disposal site) • Removal of aged or abandoned facilities, equipment, and materials ③ Mitigation measures for Disaster/Accident • Strict guidance and control of traffic rules • Insurance of accident • Education of safety at construction site • Establishment of organization and measures of activity at emergency case of accident ④ Mitigation measures for Fauna and Flora (Especially for Coral Reefs) • Sediments discharge control at the dam site • Construction of guide dike at the river mouth for preventing direct flow to a coral reef zone. • Construction of a reservoir to regulate the flood discharge and sediments in a coastal plain between the dam site and the river mouth. ⑤ Mitigation measures for Water contamination • Strict guidance and control of waste water discharge

24 • Inspection of water sites • Provision of Water treatment facilities • Proper maintenance of facilities and machineries • Periodical water quality monitoring and analyses

Alternatives The proposed plan is not sure yet at present, but it is unlikely to have significant adverse impacts as far as proper management is carried out during the construction stage. Accordingly, it may be not reasonable to consider any alternatives of a proposed dam project from environmental view points. Alternative study may be required mainly from engineering and economic viewpoints.

(End of Text)

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