Initial Environmental Examination August 2017 VAN: Cyclone Pam School Reconstruction Project Prepared by the Ministry of Education and Training for the Asian Development Bank. This is an updated version of the draft originally posted in November 2015 available on http://www.adb.org/projects/49320-001/documents. CYCLONE PAM SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT – Initial Environmental Examination PREPARED FOR: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, PORT VILA VANUATU 9 AUGUST 2017 Document Number: 16116V IEE REV B Revision C Kramer Ausenco Project No. 16116V ADB Grant no. 9181 VAN 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. 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. 1 | Page Contact Information Document Information Kramer Ausenco (Vanuatu) LTD Prepare for: Ministry of Education and Training Level 1, Former Bank of Hawaii Building Project Name: Cyclone Pam School Reconstruction Project Lini Highway, Port Vila, Vanuatu File Reference: 16116v 170406 final draft iee with photos hi res Telephone: +678 23457 Email: [email protected] Job Reference 16116V Email: [email protected] Date 09 August 2017 Revision Status Revi Date Description Author Approver sion First Name Position Title First Name Last Position Title Last Name Name Environmental Team Leader/Lead A 2q/03/2017 IEE EMP Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham Architect Specialist Environmental IEE EMP – Final with Team Leader/Lead B 11/04/2017 Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham ADB MOET comments Architect Specialist Environmental IEE EMP – Containing Team Leader/Lead C 09/08/2017 Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham design changes Architect Specialist Issue Status Revision Date Description Author Approver First Name Last Position Title First Name Last Position Title Name Name Environmental Team Leader/Lead A 21/03/2017 IEE EMP Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham Architect Specialist Environmental Team Leader/Lead B 11/04/2017 IEE EMP Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham Architect Specialist Environmental Team Leader/Lead C 09/08/2017 IEE EMP Iain Haggarty Safeguard Saju Abraham Architect Specialist Copyright The copyright of the material herein is vested in Kramer Ausenco (Vanuatu) Ltd. All rights are reserved. Neither the whole nor any part of this document may be disclosed to any third party or reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, reprographic, recording or otherwise) without the prior consent of the copyright owner. Level 1, Former Bank of Hawaii Building, Lini Hwy, Port Vila, Vanuatu Telephone (+678) 23457 2 | Page ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS ADB - Asian Development Bank DEPC - Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation CCP - Community Consultation Plan CEMP - Construction Environmental Management Plan CLO - Community Liaison Officer CS - Construction Supervisor CSS - Contractor’s Site Supervisor DDR - Due Diligence Report DGMWR - Department of Geology, Mines and Water Resources DRR - Disaster Risk Reduction DSC - Design and Supervision Consultant EARF - Environmental Assessment and Review Framework EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment ES - Environment Specialist EMP - Environmental and Social Management Plan EMMP - Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan EPC Act - Environmental Protection and Conservation Act ESMF - Environmental Safeguards Management Framework Government - Government of the Republic of Vanuatu IEE - Initial Environmental Examination MIPU - Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities MOIA - Ministry of Internal Affairs MOET - Ministry of Education and Training NDMO - National Disaster Management Office NEPIP - National Environment Policy Implementation Plan NES - National Environment Specialist NGO - Non-Governmental Organisation NSDP - National Sustainable Development Plan NWMCPS - National Waste Management and Pollution Control Strategy 3 | Page PEA - Preliminary Environmental Assessment PEO - Provincial Education Officer PPE - Personal Protective Equipment PMU - Project Management Unit SPS - Safeguard Policy Statement TOR - Terms of Reference 4 | Page CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of xxxx) Currency unit – Vatu (Vt) Vt1.00 = $0.XX $1.00 = Vtxx NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Vanuatu and its agencies ends on the 31 December. “FY” before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2011 ends on 31 December 2011. (ii) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars unless otherwise stated. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. 5 | Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Background. On 12–14 March 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu as an extremely destructive category 5 cyclone, with estimated wind speeds of 250 kilometres/hour and wind gusts that peaked at around 320 kilometres/hour. Severe and widespread damage was worst on the larger islands of Tanna, Erromango, and Efate. Eleven fatalities were subsequently confirmed in Tafea and Shefa provinces. An estimated 65,000 people were displaced from their homes. About 17,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Cyclone Pam destroyed crops on a large scale and compromised the livelihoods of at least 80% of Vanuatu’s rural population. The government estimates the total economic damage and loss to be about Vt48.6 billion ($441.35 million). This is equivalent to 64.1% of Vanuatu’s gross domestic product (GDP). 2. Project rationale and location. For the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the rehabilitation of school buildings is a priority. Reconstruction and retrofitting will follow the “build back better” principles— disaster-resilient technology, stronger learning environment and service delivery, and selective additional features such as emergency power and communication facilities, and community emergency shelters. Non- structural aspects are also included considered to improve disaster risk management and the preparedness of schools, schoolchildren, and the surrounding communities. This includes interventions such as revising school emergency plans, and disaster-preparedness and awareness training for schools and communities. The project location is work at four schools across Tanna: Kwataparen, Ineaula, Lowiepeng and Imaki. 3. Institutional arrangements. A project management unit (PMU) in the MOET will administer the project and has appointed a Design and Supervision Consultant (DSC) to undertake all design and project support work. The DSC has appointed a project support team and is responsible for design, documentation and tendering and contract supervision of 4 schools within Tanna, part of this service includes social and environmental safeguards including this Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The DSC will be responsible for ensuring safeguards measures are followed by the Contractor. 4. Description of the project. The project is in two related parts; the first part aims to rebuild or upgrade at least five junior secondary high schools in Tafea Province. The second part is to improve both Community and MOET management capacities for disaster risk reduction and preparedness are strengthened. This will include using upgraded school buildings as emergency shelters during natural disasters. 5. Impacts and mitigation. The project is classified as category B for environment. Reconstruction of buildings and facilities at four existing school sites is expected to have limited, only site-specific and, in most cases, temporary adverse impacts on the environment. Any impacts will be readily mitigated and managed through a construction-focused environmental management plan. The overall impacts of the project are generally positive with only minor or temporary negative impacts over the project construction phase. Mitigation measures included in the IEE and EMP will be updated during detailed design and included in tender and contract documents to ensure they are undertaken by the Contractor. 6. Environmental management plan. An EMP has been developed and covers the potential impacts of the project as well as monitoring requirements. The EMP matrix is included in this IEE, the Contractor, once appointed will also be required to develop a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) for each project work site. 7. Consultation and disclosure. The DSC has met with school or community representatives at each school site during initial site visit in November and December 2016. A community communications plan (CCP) is to be prepared by the DSC as part of its formal outputs. A due diligence report (DDR) is also to be prepared by the DSC and will include conformation on land lease arrangement as well as other due diligence issues such as natural and other hazards. It is intended that the Contractor nominates a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) for the project and that the project grievance redress mechanism is adapted to meet site specific and community specific requirements. 6 | Page 8. Grievance redress. A grievance redress mechanism (GRM) is proposed and included in this IEE. The GRM will be presented to communities at each site and adapted to include any site specific