44382-023: Initial Environmental Examination
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Initial Environmental Examination Project No. 44382 August 2014 SOL: Broadband for Development Project (Additional Financing) Prepared by Solomon Oceanic Cable Company for the Asian Development Bank. This 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. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section of this website. 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. Project information, including the draft and final IEE, will be made available for public review and comment as per ADB Public Communications Policy 2011. The IEE, or a summary of it, will be uploaded to ADB website and will be disclosed locally. This is an updated version of the draft originally posted in July 2012 available on {http://www.adb.org/projects/xxxxx-xxx/documents}. i CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 12 August 2014) Currency unit – Solomon Islands dollar/s (SBD) $1.00 = SBD$7.25163 SBD$1.00 = $0.13790 ABBREVIATIONS – ACMA Australian Communications and Media Authority ADB – Asian Development Bank AP – affected persons BMH – beach manhole BU – branching unit CLS – cable landing station ECD – Environmental and Conservation Division (within MECDM) EMP – environmental management plan EPBCA – Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (in Australia) HDD – horizontal directional drilling IAIA – International Association for Impact Assessment ICT – Pacific Regional Information and Communication Technology IEE – initial environmental examination IPP – indigenous people’s plan LW – lightweight LWP – lightweight protection MECDM – Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology MID – Ministry Infrastructure Development MNES – Matters of Environmental Significance MOFT – Ministry of Finance and Treasury NGO – nongovernment organization OADM – optical add-drop multiplexer PDMC – Pacific developing member country PER – public environmental report PPC – PIPE Pacific Cable ROV – remotely operated submersible vehicle RP – resettlement plan SIA – social impact assessment SOCC – Solomon’s Oceanic Cable Company SPS – Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) STL – Solomon Telekom Limited TCSL – Telecommunications Commission of the Solomon Islands TOR – terms of reference UXO – unexploded ordnance NOTE In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. ii Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Project Overview 1.2. Purpose and Objective of Initial Environmental Examination 1.3. Scope and Structure of the Initial Environmental Examination 2. IEE Methodology 4 2.1. Introduction 2.2. Overview and Approach to the IEE 2.3. Regulatory and Legislative Framework 2.4. Limitations of the Study Report 3. Description of the Solomon Islands Cable System 20 3.1. Description of proposed works 3.2. Design phase 3.3. Construction Phase – Cable Placement Methods 3.4. Operation Phase 3.5. Alternatives Considered 37 4. Description of the Environment 4.1. Location, Setting and Review of Existing Information 4.2. Physical Environment 4.3. Biological Environment 4.4. Natural Hazards 5. Assessment of Potential Environmental Impacts 57 5.1. General 5.2. Physical Environment 5.3. Biological Environment 5.4. Natural Hazards 5.5. Additional Potential Impacts 6. Environmental Management Plan 63 6.1. General 6.2. Institutional Assessment to Undertake Impact Management 6.3. Grievance Management Procedure 6.4. Environmental Management Plan 6.5. Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms 6.6. Equator Principles 6.7. Conclusions and Recommendations iii Executive Summary 1. Background. Under the Pacific Regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Connectivity Project, the government of the Solomon Islands is seeking assistance through Asian Development Bank (ADB) to part finance the Solomon Islands Broadband for Development Project (the project). Part of this support is required for the construction of the international submarine cable system that will link to an existing regional cable, and two domestic spurs within the Solomon Islands. 2. The project was approved by the ADB Board on 25 September 2012. The assumption was that the international cable would connect to the Pipe Pacific Cable 1 (PPC1) which was laid between Sydney and Guam in 2009. The project’s primary plan was to connect to the existing PPC1 at the closest point of approach to the Solomon Islands, which was identified as a beach landing site approximately 2km west of the center of Honiara. The project experienced significant delays in finalizing international connectivity arrangements due to difficulty negotiating with PIPE Networks. The alternative option to connect via existing Branching Unit 3 on PPC-1 (near Port Moresby) connecting the Solomon Islands to the submarine cable network in partnership with Independent Public Business Corporation of Papua New Guinea also did not materialize due to lack of response from PIPE Networks in carrying forward this option. 3. The proposed additional financing project. The preferred option now, for international connectivity, is to build a cable directly between Sydney and Honiara. The landing point of the international cable on Honiara is changed to a new location, a site owned by a SOCC shareholder, Solomon Islands National Provident Fund. There are no substantive changes to the previously selected routes and landing points for the domestic cable systems. In light of the new international cable route, the existing safeguards and social assessments need to be updated to identify and assess any additional environmental and social issues according to the requirements of ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 (SPS). 4. The cable system will comprise an international cable from Sydney, Australia to Honiara, Solomon Islands and two domestic spurs from Honiara to Noro (Western Province) and Auki (Malaita Province). The international cable is proposed to originate from Sydney and be delivered directly to Honiara at an identified beach landing site approximately 0.5 km from the central telecommunication building. Domestic distribution will be via a single cable departing Honiara to be split into two separate cables, one to Western Province, and one to Malaita. The cable to Western Province will terminate in Noro on New Georgia Island, approximately 400 km from its departure point from Honiara. The cable to Malaita will land in Auki, running approximately 140 km from Honiara. 5. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework. The project shall comply with requirements of the Environment Act 1998 and the Environment Regulations 2008 which require that for prescribed activities, a development consent must be obtained from the Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Disaster Management. A development consent application must include an environmental assessment which complies with Environment Act and Environment Regulations requirements. iv 6. The project will also comply with the requirements of the SPS. Government environmental clearance and development consent (and other permits) must be obtained before any works commence. 7. The most significant change associated with this project is the environmental requirements for the cable to connect to Sydney, Australia. With the exception of identifying, on a preliminary basis, the laws and requirements that will apply, the Australian landing site aspect of the potential project is not covered under this study (this will be Solomon’s Oceanic Cable Company responsibility and will be completed when the third party (service provider in Australia) is determined). 8. Safeguards due diligence. This report has been prepared to update the initial environmental examination (IEE) prepared in 2012 to provide additional environmental information pertaining to the changes made to the proposed delivery of a submarine telecommunication cable (international and domestic) to the Solomon Islands. The basis of this report is the approved IEE and the original information and format have been retained and supplemented where necessary. Specific changes relate to the environmental procedures required for a new international cable to be sourced directly from Sydney, Australia to the Solomon Islands and the inclusion of marine and coastal environmental profile assessments to address minor location changes to the three domestic landing sites (Honiara, Noro and Auki). This report should also be read in conjunction with the updated social assessment and the resettlement plan. 9. Categorization The subproject is classified as Category B in accordance with ADB's SPS, as the project’s potential adverse environmental impacts are site-specific, few if any of them are irreversible, and in most cases mitigation measures can be designed readily. The IEE was carried out in July and August 2014 and results of this IEE and the environmental management plan (EMP) will be updated as required following survey and detailed design. 10. Anticipated environmental impacts. The project will impact a corridor about 0.3-0.5 m wide on the sea floor, and in some locations up to 0.75 m beneath the sediment. The cable, 2- 5cmm in diameter, will be either sitting on the floor of deep ocean or buried as it passes through the natural marine environment of the Solomon