SUMMARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE SHENMU-YANAN RAILWAY PROJECT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA October 1996 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (1 September 1996) Currency Unit — Yuan (Y) Y1.00 = $0.1200 $1.00 = Y8.336 As of 1 January 1994, the PRC’s dual exchange rate system was unified. The exchange rate of the yuan is now determined under a managed floating exchange rate system. ABBREVIATIONS BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment FSDI - First Survey and Design Institute MOR - Ministry of Railways PRC - People’s Republic of China SEIA - Summary Environmental Impact Assessment SPPC - Shaanxi Province Planning Commussion SXRC - Shaanxi Xiyan Railway Company TSP - Total Suspended Particles WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha - hectare m - meter m3 - cubic meter mg/l - milligram per liter mg/m3 - milligram per cubic meter kg - kilogram km - kilometer NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government and its agencies ends on 31 December. (ii) In this Report, ”$” refers to US dollars. CONTENTS Page MAP 1: Railway Network in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) MAP 2: Shenmu-Yanan Railway Project in the PRC A. Introduction 1 B. Description of the Project 1 C. Description of the Environment 2 D. Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures 3 E. Alternatives 10 F. Cost-benefit Analyses 10 G. Institutional Arrangement and Environmental 11 Monitoring Program H. Public Involvement 12 I. Conclusions 12 Appendixes A. Introduction 1. The Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has requested for assistance from the Asian Development Bank (the Bank) for financing the construction of the Shenmu-Yanan Railway Project (the Project). This summary environmental impact assessment (SEIA) is intended to identify and evaluate environmental impacts during the implementation and operation of the Project and ensure that related environmental management measures are adequately considered and incorporated in the Project. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Project was prepared by the First Survey and Design Institute (FSDI) of the Ministry of Railways and has been approved by the PRC's National Environment Protection Agency on 30 August 1995. This SEIA is based on the EIA which was reviewed by the consultants,1 and other baseline environmental data.2 This SEIA is prepared in accordance with the Bank's requirements and format. The results of the environmental examination are summarized in Appendix 1. B. Description of the Project 2. The proposed new railway line between Shenmu and Yanan (see Maps 1 and 2), with a length of about 386 kilometers (km), will traverse Yulin and Yanan prefectures in northern Shaanxi Province. The proposed railway line will be connected with two existing railway lines at Shenmu and Yanan, and will complete the missing link in the north-south corridor between Xian, capital of Shaanxi Province, and Baotou, in Inner Mongolia. The Project is planned to be completed in five years, from 1997 to 2002. The Shaanxi Xiyan Railway Company (SXRC) will be the Executing Agency for the Project. The total Project cost is estimated at $870.0 million. 3. The proposed railway is a single track with the standard gauge (1.435 meters [m]). The width of the corridor averages about 30 m. Between Shenmu and Yanan, 26 stations will be constructed. Construction of three long tunnels (Sizehe5,360 m, Yangmahe3,830 m, and Guanhupo3,190 m) will be the most time-consuming aspect of the Project. Diesel locomotives with a 2,430 kilowatt power rating will be used. During the earlier years of operation, freight traffic is forecast to increase from about 8.3 million tons in 2003, to 34.8 million tons in 2010, equivalent to an average annual growth of 22.7 percent. In subsequent years, overall annual traffic growth rates are projected to be lower, with traffic rising to about 40.3 million tons in 2015 and 43.9 million tons in 2022. Coal is estimated to constitute about 70-80 percent of the total freight traffic. Annual passenger numbers are forecast to increase from about 2.1 million in 2003 to about 8.6 million in 2022. 4. Despite abundant natural energy resources of coal, oil, and gas, the economic development of northern Shaanxi Province has lagged because of the lack of infrastructure, particularly transport facilities. Completion of the new railway will provide an economic and environmentally friendly means of transport for natural resources, particularly coal, and will promote efficient economic growth and poverty reduction in a relatively underdeveloped area of Shaanxi Province. Although railways are generally considered an environmentally friendly 1 Engaged under Bank-financed PPTA No. 2325-PRC: Shenmu-Yanan Railway Project. The consultants were from Japan, United Kingdom, and United States. 2 Reference was made to the geographic information system and baseline environmental data collected under the Bank-funded TA 1615- PRC: Monitoring and Management of Fragile Ecosystem in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia, for $600,000, approved on 27 November 1991, and completed in August 1994. transport mode, some adverse impacts are likely on the natural and social environment during the construction and operation stages. C. Description of the Environment 1. Physical Resources 5. The area to be traversed by the new railway line has special geological conditions and weak ecosystems. The salient physical features of the area include the Maowusu Desert and the transition belt between the desert and the northern Shaanxi Loess Plateau, which is interspersed with hills and gullies that form a part of the Yellow River system. The terrain of this area is roughly divided into two main segments, a Shenmu-Yulin portion and a Yulin-Yanan portion. The former segment is mostly on Maowusu sandy desert with a relatively fluctuating landform having height differences of 20-150 m. The land surface is widely covered with Holocene aeolian fine sand and silt, with sand thicknesses varying from 2 to 10 m. There are also, to some extent, Pleistocene alluvial and lacustrine clay soils and sands with thicknesses between 10 and 15 m. 6. The Project area belongs to mesotemperate and semi-arid climate zones, with the obvious features of continental monsoon climate. Desert climate features are found in the north of Yulin: cold in winter and hot in summer with temperature changing rapidly while very windy and sandy in winter and spring with strong evaporation and concentrated scarce rainfall. Toward the south of Yulin, the rainfall gradually increases and the wind strength decreases. 7. Soil erosion caused by wind is a problem throughout the desert area, which covers the upper and middle sections of the drainage basin of three major tributaries of the Yellow River, i.e., the Wudinge, Kuyie, and Tuwei rivers. The latter segment traverses two types of landforms, river valleys along the Yuxi and Wudinge rivers and the Rutianshan and Maotianshan mountain ranges with peaks of 1,340 m and 1,405 m, respectively. The proposed railway line will traverse river valleys in the relatively flat section between Yulin and Suide. On the section between Suide and North Yanan, the railway will pass through two mountain ranges and a large number of tunnels, the longest being Sizehe5,360 m. Soil deposits in this segment are mainly composed of loess sandy clay and loessal sandy ravine, both of which are vulnerable to soil erosion caused by wind and rainfall. 2. Ecological Resources 8. As characterized by the climate, the vegetation on this relatively barren area is classified as semi-arid. The forests in the Project area are mostly artificial. In the north, shrubs are the dominant afforestation tree species. In the south, trees such as polar, willow, oak and pine are the dominant afforestation species. 9. In Shenmu County, there is a sabina vulgari nature reserve with an area of 7,666 hectares (ha). Sabina vulgari, also called sand cypress, belongs to evergreen shrub cypress family. It plays an important role in fixing sand and improving soil structure, and is an ideal species for afforestation in the windy and sandy semi-arid area. 10. The railroad alignment will generally pass through unpopulated areas. There is no large wildlife. Fauna consists of small wild animals such as rats, hares, yellow weasels, and hedgehogs. There is no endangered species or wild animal nature reserve along the alignment. 3. Human and Economic Development 11. In 1994, the total population of the prefectures through which the Project railway passes was 4.32 million, accounting for 12.4 percent of the population of the province, with a population density of 71 persons per square kilometer. The natural population increase rate was 1.18 percent, slightly higher than the provincial average of 1.11 percent. 12. Farming is mainly conducted in afforested land in the Project area. Afforestation efforts have contributed significantly to transforming the area from barren sand to cultivable land. Many agricultural crop fields are near the proposed railway line particularly in the section between Yulin and Suide. Further south in the mountainous area, crop fields are found even in the terraces in the middle of mountains. The main crops are maize, wheat, corn, and beans. Animal husbandry is also important in this region. 4. Quality of Life Values 13. The rural population in the Project railway influence area is largely dependent on an agricultural system of low productivity and suffers from relatively low levels of socioeconomic development. The present inadequate transport system inhibits effective economic growth and poverty reduction efforts. There are no important aesthetic, archeological, or historical resources that would be affected by the Project railway. Although the Project railway line will cross the line of the Great Wall, no remains of the Great Wall are found at the point of crossing; consequently, the Project is considered to have no impact on the Great Wall.3 Other cultural properties along the railway line are sufficiently far away to be unaffected by the Project.