Public Disclosure Authorized PAKISTAN WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (WAPDA) Public Disclosure Authorized Dasu Hydropower Project ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ASSESSMENT Public Disclosure Authorized EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Report by Independent Environment and Social Consultants Public Disclosure Authorized April 2014 Contents List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................iv 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 1.1. Background ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. The Proposed Project ............................................................................................... 1 1.3. The Environmental and Social Assessment ............................................................... 3 1.4. Composition of Study Team..................................................................................... 3 2. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework ...............................................................4 2.1. Applicable Legislation and Policies in Pakistan ........................................................ 4 2.2. Environmental Procedures ....................................................................................... 5 2.3. World Bank Safeguard Policies................................................................................ 6 2.4. Compliance Status with Pakistani Legislation and World Bank Policies .................... 7 3. Project Description ........................................................................................................8 3.1. Background ............................................................................................................. 8 3.2. Project Objective ..................................................................................................... 9 3.3. Location of the project ............................................................................................. 9 3.4. Project Components............................................................................................... 11 3.5. Phasing ................................................................................................................. 12 3.6. Project Cost........................................................................................................... 13 4. Project Alternatives .....................................................................................................13 4.1. Alternatives to the Project ...................................................................................... 13 4.2. Site selection of main structure and hydraulic and electrical infrastructure ............... 14 4.3. Alternatives for the type of structure ...................................................................... 14 4.4. Alternatives for the lay-out of intake and tail race tunnels ....................................... 14 4.5. Alternative sources of construction material ........................................................... 15 4.6. Alternatives for the selection of generating equipment ............................................ 15 4.7. Alternative construction schedules ......................................................................... 15 4.8. Alternatives for resettlement .................................................................................. 16 5. Description of Environment .........................................................................................16 5.1. Physical Environment ............................................................................................ 16 5.2. Biological Environment ......................................................................................... 18 5.3. Social and Economic Environment......................................................................... 20 5.4. Soc ial and Cult ura l Aspects ................................................................................... 22 5.5. Physica l Cult ura l Resources ................................................................................... 23 6. Other Relevant Issues ..................................................................................................23 6.1. Risk of earthquakes ............................................................................................... 23 6.2. Risk of landslides .................................................................................................. 23 6.3. Risk of flooding..................................................................................................... 24 6.4. Climate change...................................................................................................... 24 6.5. Greenhouse gas emissions...................................................................................... 25 7. Potential Impacts and Mitigation Measures ................................................................25 7.1. General ................................................................................................................. 25 ii Dasu Hydropower Project 7.2. Impact Assessment Methodology ........................................................................... 25 7.3. Summary of Assessed Impacts ............................................................................... 26 7.4. Environmental impacts due to project siting ........................................................... 31 7.5. Social Impacts during Pre-construction Stage ......................................................... 34 7.6. Environmental Impacts during Construction Stage.................................................. 35 7.7. Social Impacts during Construction Stage............................................................... 37 7.8. Environmental Impacts during Operation and Maintenance..................................... 38 7.9. Social Issues during Operation and Maintenance Stage ........................................... 42 8. Cumulative Impact Assessment Frame work ...............................................................43 8.1. Background ........................................................................................................... 43 8.2. Context of DHP..................................................................................................... 43 8.3. Expected developments in the Upper Indus Basin ................................................... 45 8.4. Cumulative impacts and trends to be expected ........................................................ 46 8.5. Mitigations to be implemented under DHP ............................................................. 51 8.6. Summary of major cumulative environmental and social concerns and mitigations .. 52 9. Environmental and Social Management Plan..............................................................53 9.1. General ................................................................................................................. 53 9.2. Institutional Arrangements ..................................................................................... 54 9.3. Environmental and Social Management.................................................................. 54 9.4. Overview of Impacts and Mitigating Measures ....................................................... 57 9.5. Monitoring P lan .................................................................................................... 64 9.6. Capacity Building and Training.............................................................................. 65 9.7. International Panel of Experts ................................................................................ 66 9.8. Audits ................................................................................................................... 66 9.9. Annual Review of ESMP and SRMP...................................................................... 66 9.10. Reporting and Grievances ...................................................................................... 66 9.11. Cost of EMP and SRMP ........................................................................................ 67 10. Stakeholder Consultations and Disclosure...................................................................67 10.1. Overview .............................................................................................................. 67 10.2. Community Consultations...................................................................................... 68 10.3. Consultation Workshops ........................................................................................ 69 10.4. Disc los ure ............................................................................................................. 71 iii Dasu Hydropower Project List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Compliance of Project with GoP Legislation and World Bank Safeguard Policies ...... 7 Table 2: Staged Development of DHP in Relation to Diamer-Basha ........................................ 13 Table 3: Overall Estimate of Project Cost (Million Dollars) ..................................................... 13 Table 4: Comparison of GHG Emissions from DHP and Thermal Alternatives ...................... 25 Table 5: Significance of Impact Criteria ................................................................................... 26 Table 6: Potential