Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Converter And
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REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND WATER RESOURCES OSHC “BARKI TOJIK” Public Disclosure Authorized CASA 1000 Project Public Disclosure Authorized Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Converter and Electrode Stations Public Disclosure Authorized July 10, 2019 Public Disclosure Authorized 1 ABBREVIATIONS AC ─ Alternative current ALRI ─ Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation ARAMS ─ Avian Risk Assessment and Management Study BT ─ Barki Tojik CAREC ─ Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation CEP ─ Committee for environmental protection COI ─ Center of Influence DC ─ direct current EA ─ Executive Agency EBRD ─ European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EHS ─ Environmental Health and Safety ESIA ─ Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP ─ Environment and Social Management Plan GC ─ Governmental Council GIS ─ Geographic information system HVDC ─ High Voltage Direct Current IFI ─ International Financial Institutions LARF ─ Land Acquisition and Resettlement Frameworks MoEWR ─ Ministry of Energy and Water resources MP ─ Management Plan NGO ─ Non-Governmental Organization OTL ─ Overhead Transmission Lines PMU ES ─ Project Management Unit of the Energy Sector REA ─ Regional Environmental Assessment RPF ─ Resettlement Policy Frameworks RT ─ Republic of Tajikistan TL ─ Transmission line ToRs ─ Terms of Reference WB ─ World Bank UNITS km ─ kilometers kV ─ Kilovolts MW ─ MegaWatt 2 Content EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 7 I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Description of the overall CASA 1000 project ........................................................... 11 1.2 The proposed Subproject ............................................................................................ 11 1.3 Purpose of the ESIA .................................................................................................... 12 1.4 Approach and methodology of the ESIA .................................................................... 13 1.5 Organization of the ESIA report ................................................................................. 13 II. POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS ..................................................... 14 2.1 Applicable policy and regulations of Tajikistan ......................................................... 14 2.2 Environmental Acts/Codes/Regulations ..................................................................... 14 2.3 Environmental assessment process ............................................................................. 15 2.4 Land Acquisition and resettlement polices/laws/regulations ...................................... 18 2.5 Other important social and environment regulations in Tajikistan related to the project ........................................................................................................................................... 20 2.6. Gender issues ............................................................................................................. 24 2.7. International Treaties related to environment and social standards signed by Tajikistan ........................................................................................................................................... 25 III. WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS ............ 28 3.1. The comparison of National and WB EA requirements ............................................ 32 IV. THE PROPOSED SUBPROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................... 35 4.1. Description of Converter station ................................................................................ 35 4.2. Description of the Converter Station Equipment ....................................................... 35 4.2.1. Other components of the Converter station ......................................................... 38 4.3. Description of the Electrode Station Equipment ....................................................... 40 4.4. Construction Activities .............................................................................................. 41 4.5. Operation and maintenance........................................................................................ 42 4.5.1. Decommissioning ................................................................................................ 42 4.6. Analysis of Sangtuda Subproject Alternatives .......................................................... 43 4.6.1. No Project Alternative ......................................................................................... 43 4.6.2. Alternative locations ............................................................................................ 43 4.6.3. Alternative Construction Methods ....................................................................... 45 4.7. Implementation Schedule ........................................................................................... 45 V. ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE ............................................................................... 46 5.1. Physical Environment ................................................................................................ 46 5.1.1 Project Influence Area .......................................................................................... 46 5.1.2 Physiography and Land Use ................................................................................. 46 5.1.3. Soils...................................................................................................................... 48 5.1.4 Climate .................................................................................................................. 50 5.1.5. Climate change..................................................................................................... 51 5.1.6 Water resources ..................................................................................................... 53 5.1.7 Groundwater ......................................................................................................... 54 3 5.1.8 Seismicity .............................................................................................................. 55 5.1.9. Geology ................................................................................................................ 55 5.1.10 Air and Noise Quality ......................................................................................... 56 5.2. Biological Environment ............................................................................................. 56 5.2.1 General Ecosystem................................................................................................ 56 5.2.2. Flora and forest resources .................................................................................... 57 5.2.3 Fauna ..................................................................................................................... 58 5.2.4 Aviafauna and IBA ............................................................................................... 60 5.2.5 Protected areas and natural habitats ...................................................................... 61 VI. SOCIO-ECONOMIC BASELINE ............................................................................. 63 6.1. Socio-economic Baseline of the subproject site ........................................................ 63 6.1.1 Administrative Setup ............................................................................................ 63 6.1.2 Population and Demography................................................................................. 64 6.1.3. Agriculture ........................................................................................................... 69 6.1.4. Occupation, Income and Expenditure .................................................................. 69 6.1.5 Access to Infrastructure facilities .......................................................................... 71 6.1.6. Gender and Social Divisions (Status of Women and their role in local development) ........................................................................................................ 76 6.2. Number of social institutions in the target districts ................................................... 77 6.3. Length of roads in target districts .............................................................................. 78 6.4. Small enterprises ........................................................................................................ 78 6.5. Number of disabled people, who receive social benefits ........................................... 78 VII. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION .................... 81 7.1 Impact Assessment Methodology ............................................................................... 81 7.2 Environmental Considerations During Project Design ............................................... 86 7.2.1 Noise Generated from Equipment ........................................................................ 86 Mitigation ....................................................................................................................... 86 7.2.2 Exposure to EMF and Radio Interference ............................................................ 87 7.2.3 Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation and Drainage Facilities ....................................