AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK MULTINATIONAL EAST AFRICAN SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM (EASSy) PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) May 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 1 3. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK......................................... 1 4. PROJECT ALTERNATIVES............................................................................................... 2 5. DESCRPTION OF PROJECT ENVIRONMENT ............................................................... 2 PROJECT SETTING........................................................................................................................... 2 SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENT ALONG THE EASSY ROUTE................................................................... 3 PROTECTED AREAS ALONG OR NEAR THE EASSY ROUTE ............................................................. 4 PROTECTED/ ENDANGERED SPECIES............................................................................................... 4 SUMMARY OF IN COUNTRY CONDITIONS ........................................................................................ 5 6. POTENTIAL IMPACTS.......................................................................................................7 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ............................................................................................................ 7 SOCIAL IMPACTS ............................................................................................................................ 8 POSITIVE IMPACTS.......................................................................................................................... 9 7. IMPACT MITIGATION..................................................................................................... 10 MITIGATION IN THE OPEN SEA ..................................................................................................... 10 IMPACT SCALE.............................................................................................................................. 12 MITIGATION FOR COASTAL IMPACTS............................................................................................ 12 MITIGATION FOR NATIONAL IMPACTS.......................................................................................... 12 8. PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS............................................................................................... 14 9. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN (ESMP) ......................... 14 UMBRELLA ESMP........................................................................................................................ 14 NATIONAL ESMP......................................................................................................................... 15 SHALLOW WATER CABLE LAYING................................................................................................. 15 10. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................. 16 LIST OF ACRONYMS AEWA African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds BMH Beach Man Hole C&MA Construction and Maintenance Agreement CMS Convention on Migratory Species EAP Environmental Action Plan EASSy East African Submarine Cable System EPCM Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Management ESIA Environment and Social Impact Assessment ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan GDP Gross Domestic Product ICT Information and Communication Technologies LSA Local Study Area nESIA national Environmental Impacts Assessment NGO Non-Governmental Organization SAFE South Africa Far East cable system TOR Terms of Reference Figure :The proposed EASSy Telecommunication Network 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This document contains a summary of the Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment (ESIA) for the proposed East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) submarine cable project. The ESIA Report was prepared and finalized by the Earth Science & Survey (EGS) in February 2007. The ESIA Summary is prepared in accordance with the African Development Bank’s 2001 Environmental & Social Impacts Assessment Procedures (ESAP). The summary will be posted on the Bank’s website and also distributed to the Bank’s Boards in at least 60 days prior to presenting the investment proposal for Board approval to comply with the Bank’s Information disclosure and public consultation requirements. As part of the ESIA, visits were made to all the participating countries except Somalia between 1st and 21st November 2006. Meetings were held with the Somalia EIA consultant to ascertain conditions in Mogadishu. An Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) has been developed to monitor compliance with the required Standards during installation, maintenance and decommissioning of the EASSy cable system. 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 In the past most African countries’ telecommunication carriers heavily relied on radio or satellite system to carry the bulk of their international traffic. With the advent of optical fiber cable systems and the inherent quality and increased bandwidth that they provide, carriers have switched to submarine cables as their primary communication medium. Currently, Eastern Africa lacks a fiber optic cable system and has to rely exclusively on satellite links for voice and data transmission at about ten times the cost and transmission speeds of less than a quarter of those of fiber optic links. The EASSy project is therefore an optimum means to improve the communication sector in the region, allowing more people to access at the same time and at cheaper rates. The EASSy project involves laying of approximately 9,900km of submarine communication cable (Figure 1), from South Africa to Sudan, with connecting cables from trunk route to landing points in Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. 2.2 The EASSy backbone transmission network will consist of a submarine fiber cable and state-of- the-art transmission technology. The network will facilitate transmission of voice, data of various bandwidths, Internet and television signals. Of particular significance is the fact that the network will facilitate inter-country transmission thereby reducing and to a large extent eliminating the need to transit via third countries outside the region for country to country communication and information exchange. The configuration extends from Mtunzini (South Africa) northward through the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to Port Sudan. As shown in Figure 1. EASSy will allow closing of the ring of submarine fiber optic cables around the African continent and will allow EASSy to integrate into the global backbone network of existing submarine cable systems. 3. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK 3.1 The financing of the EASSy project is under consideration by the various Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) and the Bank. The EASSy ESIA study was carried out with in accordance with the Environmental Policy, Procedures and Guidelines of the DFIs and the Bank, which are typified by International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards 2 PS1 to PS8. The ESIA also conform with the African Development Bank’s Environmental and Social Assessment Procedures (ESAP, 2001). The ESIAs for the near shore and the onshore portion also conform to the national regulations of countries in which the landing points are situated. 4. PROJECT ALTERNATIVES 4.1 Many of the countries along the EASSy system currently rely on terrestrial cable, satellite and microwave links for their data and communication transmissions. Without fibre optic connections to the rest of the world, internet services will remain slow and expensive, hampering the integration of the region into the global economy. In principle, land based fibre optic cables offer an alternative to the proposed EASSy system for parts of the configuration, though clearly not for connections to Madagascar. In practice, it has been found that the installation costs are higher for terrestrial systems, permitting is complex and time consuming, and cable faults are more frequent. In addition to these practical and security issues, there are also clearly potential environmental and social impacts associated with terrestrial cable burial and the microwave and radio link alternatives for a system of several thousand km. Thus a marine optical fibre system offers the best practical alternative for a substantial increase in bandwidth at the present time. 5. DESCRPTION OF PROJECT ENVIRONMENT Project Setting 5.1 Geography: The project spans an area from around 29°S to 20°N, with onshore habitats ranging from Savannah through semi-arid coastal regions and tropical rain forest. Offshore, the route heads northwards from Mtunzini in South Africa up the coast of East Africa to pass through the Mozambique Channel separating Madagascar from the mainland before heading northeast round the Horn of Africa and the island of Socotra to enter the Gulf of Aden. It travels west along the Gulf of Aden to enter the Red Sea through the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb and then north to Port Sudan in Sudan. Spurs join this trunk route to landing points at Maputo in Mozambique, Toliary in Madagascar, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Mombasa in Kenya, Mogadishu in Somalia and Djibouti town in Djibouti.