Initial Environmental Examination Document Project Number: 33209-01 June 2009 Nepal: Community -Managed Irrigated Agricultural Sector Project Jayapuri Jogimara Irrigation Subproject, Dhading District Project Proponent: Department of Irrigation Prepared by Central Irrigation Development Division No. 3 (Dhading) 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. ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank CMIASP - Community-Managed Irrigated Agricultural Sector Project CPMO - Center Project Management Office DADO - District Agriculture Development Office DB - Design Branch DDC - District Development Committee DOI - Department of Irrigation EB - Environment Branch EMP - Environmental Monitoring Plan FMIS - Farmer-managed irrigation systems ha - Hectare IDD - Irrigation Development Division IDSD - Irrigation Development Sub-division IEE - Initial Environmental Examination IPM - Integrated Pest Management ISPM - Institutional Strengthening and Project Management km - Kilo Meter lps - Liter Per Second MEQCB - Monitoring, Evaluation, and Quality Control Branch MoEST - Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology NGO - Non Governmental Organization O&M - Operation and Maintenance PDMED - Planning, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Division RCC - Reinforce Concrete Cement Rs. - Rupees SISP - Second Irrigation Sector Project SWD - Surface Water Division VDC - Village Development Committee VRB - Village Road Bridge WECS - Water Energy Commission Secretariat WUA - Water User’s Association ZoI - Zone of Influence WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha - hectare km - kilometer l - liter m - meter mo - month s - second t - ton yr - year CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 31 March 2009) Currency Unit - Nepalese Rupee (NR) NR 1.00 = $0.01226 $1.00 = NRs 81.54 NOTE In this report, “$” refers to US Dollars. GLOSSARY Terai The southernmost strip of land in Nep al, bordered to the north b y Himalayan foothills and to the south by the Ganges River. The area was originally covered wit h tropical vegetation, but has been almost completely converted to agricultur al product ion. The Terai is now th e breadbasket of Nepal and is covered with farms.˜ Command Area It is the agriculture or cultivable area which receives assured irrigation through canals, waters, courses, and field channels up to farmers field. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBPROJECT 2 III. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 6 Physical Environment 6 Ecological Resources 6 Socio-economic Environment 7 IV. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 8 V. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND MITIGATION MEASURES 12 Environmental Problem Related to Project Design 12 Environmental Problems Related to Construction Stage: 13 Environmental Problems Resulting from Subproject Operations 15 Realization of Enhancement Potentials 15 VI. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES 16 VII. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS 17 VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 19 IX. PUBLIC CONSULTATION AND DISCLOSURE 23 X. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 XI. CONCLUSION 25 Annex 1: Details of Proposed Intervention in the Subproject 26 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Community-Manag ed Irrigated Agricultural Sector Pro ject is designed to improve the agricult ural product ivity and su stainability of farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMI Ss) while strengthening the policies, investment plans, and institutio ns f or irrigated agriculture , following the lessons learned during the Loa n 1437-NEP: Second Irrigation Sector Project (SISP). The Project will be located in the Easter n and Central regions o f Nepal and comprises two parts: (i) participa tory irrigated agricultur e development for FMIS; and (ii) institutional strengthening and proj ect management (ISPM). Under the first pa rt, 210 FMIS will be rehabilitated, resulti ng i n improvements in i rrigated agriculture over 34,000 he ctares (ha ) benefiting a bout 270,000 people. The second component comprises t he development an d implementation of improved institutional mechani sms for FMIS de velopment, further improved policies and regulations, strengthening of the key stakeholders agencies and their linkages. 2. An initial environmenta l examinati on (I EE) was undertaken for the core subproject s based on data collected during the Detailed Design Period. The overall objective of the IEE is to analyze the adverse environmental impacts arising from site selection, design, construction, and operation of the Project can be mitigated to acceptable levels through implementation of a set of clearly defined and cost ed mitigation measures which have been inclu ded in the Project cost estimates. For each additional su bproject, an IEE, and an environmental impact assessmen t (EIA) if warranted, will be carried out in accor dance with the Bank's guidelines a nd relevant government's environmental requir ements during the pr eparation o f subproject feasibility studies. 3. This Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) Report for the Jayapuri Jo gimara Irrigation Subproject has been pr epared to meet the Asia n Development Bank’s ( ADB) requirements for environmental assessment process and documentat ion prior to Subproject approval, followin g the procedu res in ADB’s Environmental Asse ssment Guidelines (2 003), and th e Project’s Environmental Assessment and Review Procedures and Arrangements. - 1 - II. DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBPROJECT 4. Project Location. The Jayapuri Jogimara Irrigation subproje ct is located at ward no 1-4 of Jogimara VDC in Dhading distr ict, Bagmati zone. It is located between the l atitude and longitude of 270 46’ 39.5”N to 270 48’ 45”N and 840 38’ 58”E to 840 41’ 8.75”E, respectively. The headworks lie in ward N o. 3 of Kaule VDC. The elevation of the area is about 132 0.00 m from MSL 5. Accessibility. The subproject area is easily accessible. It is one hour walking dista nce from Prithivi Highway. The nearest Agricultural Service Center, Benighat, is 14 km far from sub project. 6. Existing Situation. The proposed Jayapuri Jogimara Irrigation Sub-Project is a traditional old irrigation system de veloped through the indigenous knowledge and hard work b y the farmers of the command area. I t is reported that the i nitiation was made so me 28 years back to cut the t rack all the way from the present intak e point to the Jayapuri Bhanjyang (Jayapuri summit- 105 0 above MSL) but du e to the difficult topography onl y 800 m of the canal could run with the water. However, farmers did not stop their effort to get the water to the command area. The difficult la ndscape, rock out crop s in the alignment co mpelled the farmers to look for governme nt agencies. The project wa s taken up under SI SP and effort was made to complet e the project to irrigate targeted 12 0 ha of ara ble land. T he projec t was completed in the later year of the SISP and but crit ical infrastructures like the dro ps (The alignment encounters 3 major drops of 50 m, 200m and 115m at 3+182, 3+585 and 4+178 respectively) were left undeveloped. Th e project was left defunct. In the due course of time th e alignment encountered landslides and damaged the li ned as well as earthen canal. The subproject has high potential for the irrigation and the farme rs are als o enthusiastic. But comp letion of th e critical st ructures was beyond the farmers ’ capacit y. They were looking for the support from th e external source in the completion of critica l structure. With the additional support, the l arge area could be brought und er irrigation where there is really need. The sub project was critically revi ewed b y ISPMC an d recommended for the implementation. 7. Project Components. In order to meet the aspiration of t he farmers it is propo sed and designed to extend, re habilitate a nd strengthen the existing system. In this approach, the damaged potion of the lined canal shall be rebuilt. The damaged plaster work shall be scrapped out and ne w plastering work will b e done with the ch icken mesh for better adhe sion of the plaster with the old masonry walls. The extension of the canal beyond 5.5 km shall have a small section of RCC lining as the existing ground slope is higher. The detail survey shows that apart from maintenance of existing lined canal, 3 num bers of super passages, 1250m RCC lining, retaining structures at v arious chainages, 12 nu mbers of Foot Bridge, Pipe cascade drops and 30 numbers of outlets are required to complete the infrastructure of the proposed system. 8. There is on ly one main canal which runs on t he right sid e of the Hatthibang Khola. There are 2 branch canals off main canal (BC-1 to BC-2) and 2 tertiary branch cana ls off BC-1 and three t ertiary branches from BC-2 .The lay out map of the su b projects is presented in Figure 1. A list of proposed structu res of the subproject is presented in Annex 1. The salient features of the subproject is presented in Table 1. - 2 - Figure 1: Location Map of the Subproject - 3 - Figure 2: A Layout Map of the Sub project - 4 - Table 1: Salient Features of the Jayapuri Jogimara Irrigation Subproject 1. Name of Subproject Jayapuri Jogimara Irrigation Subproject 2. Subproje ct Classification Rehabilitation 3. Location (VDC and Ward No) Jogimara Ward No: 1, 2, 3, & 4 4. Dist rict Dhading 5. District Headquarter Dhading Besi 6. Zone Bagmati 7. Develo pment Region Central 8. Number of Households 165 9. General Elevation of the Subproject Area 1320 msl 10. Slope and Topography of the Subproject Area undulating to rolling (8 to 30% slope) 11. Population 1,189 12. Total Canal Length a) Main Canal 7.1 km b) Branch Canal 55 m (BC-1) and 475 m (BC-2) 13.