Priority River Basins Flood Risk Management Project (RRP NEP 52195) Initial Environmental Examination Project Number: 52195-001 September 2020 Nepal: Priority River Basins Flood Risk Management Project (West Rapti River) Prepared by Water Resources Project Preparatory Facility, Department of Water Resources and Irrigation for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination (IEE) 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 on ADB’s 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 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank AP – Affected Person CAMC – Conservation Area Management Committee CBDRM – Community Based Disaster Risk Management CFUG – Community Forestry User’s Group CITES – Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species CO – Carbon Monoxide COVID-19 – coronavirus disease DFO – District Forest Office DWIDM – Department of Water Induced Disaster Management DWRI – Department of Water Resources and Irrigation EIA – Environmental Impact Assessment EMP – Environmental Management Plan EPA – Environmental Protection Act EPR – Environmental Protection Regulation FFEWS – Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System FGD – Focus Group Discussion FHRMP – Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Management Project GHG – Green House Gas GRC – Grievance Redress Committee GRM – Grievance Redress Mechanism IEE – Initial Environmental Examination ILO – International Labour Organization LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas MEA – Multilateral Environmental Agreements MOFE – Ministry of Forest and Environment MEWRI – Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation NAPA – National Adaptation Plan of Action NAP – National Adaptation Plan NDC – Nationally Determined Contribution OHS – Occupational Health and Safety RCP – Representative Concentration Pathways REDD – Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation SEA – Strategic Environmental Assessment SEMP – site-specific environmental management plan SNC – Second National Communication SRES – Special Report on Emission Scenarios TOR – Terms of Reference TSP – Total Suspended Particulates UNFCCC – United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change UNCBD – United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity WRPPF – Water Resources Project Preparatory Facility WUA – Water User’s Association CONTENTS Executive Summary i I. Introduction 1 Background and Purpose of the Report 1 Objective 1 Methodology for the Initial Environmental Examination Study 2 IEE Study Team 2 II. Review of Policy and Legislative Framework 3 ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement, 2009 3 National Laws, Policies, Acts and Rules 4 Multilateral Environmental Agreements 9 III. Description of Project Proposal 11 Project Location and Study Area 11 Description of Site and Surroundings 12 Priority River Protection Works 12 Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Systems (FFEWS) and Flood Shelters 15 Clearance of Vegetation 20 Machines to be used 21 Energy to be used 21 Area of Land Required 21 Public Infrastructure to be Affected 21 Source and Quantity of Construction Materials 21 Human Resources Required 22 IV. Description of Environment (Baseline Data) 23 Physical Environment 23 Biological Environment 30 Socio-economic Environment 32 V. Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures 35 A. Anticipated Beneficial Impacts 35 B. Anticipated Adverse Environmental Impacts 36 VI. Analysis of Alternatives 48 A. No Project Alternative 48 B. Locational Alternatives 48 C. Technology Alternatives 48 VII. Information Disclosure, Consultation and Participation 51 Methodology in Information Disclosure, Consultation and Participation 51 Summary of Comments and Suggestions Received from Local Governments and Communities 51 Consultations and Information Disclosure During Implementation 53 VIII. Institutional Arrangement and Grievance Redress Mechanism 55 Institutional Arrangement 55 The Grievance Redress Mechanism 55 Other Dispute Redress Mechanisms 57 IX. Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan 58 Environmental Monitoring Plan 58 Environmental Management Plan 58 X. Conclusion 70 References 71 Annexes 72 Annex I: Rapid Environmental Assessment Checklist 73 Annex II: Section of Embankments, Revetments and Spurs 76 Annex III: Consultation During Field Survey 79 Annex IV: Notices and Recommendations from Local 80 Annex V: Attendance and Minutes of Consultation Meeting 89 Annex VI: Quotation for Environmental Quality Monitoring 98 Annex VII: Environmental Codes of Practice 100 Annex VII: Outline of Environmental Due Diligence Report (DDR) 106 Annex IX: Standard Construction Contract Environmental Clauses 107 Annex X: Nepal’s Drinking Water Quality Standards 111 List of Tables Table 2-1: Policy and Legislative Frameworks of Government of Nepal ..................................... 4 Table 3-1: Salient Features of the Proposal ..............................................................................12 Table 3-2: Proposed West Rapti River Training works in Dang and Banke District ...................14 Table 3-3: Estimated Quantity of Construction Materials ...........................................................22 Table 4-1: Type of Vegetation in the Area .................................................................................30 Table 4-2: Commonly found Mammal Species in the Area ........................................................31 Table 4-3: Commonly found Bird Species in the Area ...............................................................31 Table 4-4: Herpetofauna in the Area .........................................................................................32 Table 4-5: Demography of Sub Project Area .............................................................................32 Table 7-1: Summery of Recommendations or Comments from Local Bodies ............................52 Table 7-2: Recommendations Made during Public Consultation Meetings ................................53 Table 9-1: Environment Monitoring Plan ...................................................................................60 Table 9-2: Environmental Management Plan (EMP) .................................................................62 List of Figures Figure 3-1: West Rapti Location Map 11 Figure 3-2: Proposed Flood Protection Works in West Rapti (Dang District) 13 Figure 3-3: Proposed Flood Protection Works in West Rapti (Banke District) 13 Figure 3-4: Locations of existing and proposed equipment of rain gauges in West Rapti Basin 16 Figure 3-5: Locations of existing and proposed equipment of water level and discharge equipment in Bakraha Basin 17 Figure 3-6: Example of Flood Shelter 19 Figure 3-7: Locations of Construction Materials in the Area (Field Survey, Oct 2018) 22 Figure 4-1: Land use in the West Rapti Basin 23 Figure 4-2: Geology and structure of hill slope catchment in West Rapti basin 25 Figure 4-3: Return period of 50 years without (left) and with structures (right) 26 Figure 4-4: Average Monthly Temperature and Precipitation at Lamahi 27 Figure 4-5: Change in Daily Maximum Temperature CMIP5 ensemble projection for 2050 27 Figure 4-6: Number of Days with Very Heavy Precipitation, CMIP5 Ensemble Projection 28 Figure 4-7: Change in Mean Monthly Precipitation, CMIP5, Ensemble Projection for 2050 28 Figure 4-8: Crusher Industry in the Sub-Project Area 29 Figure 5-1: Vegetation along the Riverbanks 40 Figure 6-1: Example of environmental friendly embankment (bio-engineering) 50 Figure 8-1: Grievance Redress Mechanism 57 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Description of Project 1. The Priority River Basins Flood Risk Management Project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and implemented by the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, aims to manage the flows through rivers to reduce the incidence of severe floods and provide protection to people, houses, public infrastructure and agricultural land in selected river basins in the Terai region of southern Nepal. The Project has prioritized seven river basins in the Terai region, divided into six sub-projects. One of the priority river basins is West Rapti basin, located in the Terai of Western Nepal in Dang and Banke districts of State 5. Directly impacted municipalities and rural municipalities are Gadhawa Rural Municipality and Lamahi Municipality in Dang District and Narainpur and Rapti Sonari Rural Municipalities in Banke District. For designing the flood protection structures, a 1 in 50 years return period including the impact of climate change (scenario RCP4.5) is used. The selection of priority works was done in close cooperation with the WRPPF and DWIDM field office, following a three-step approach: identifying tentative priority areas; verifying priority areas; and defining the priority areas. The proposed flood protection structures in West Rapti River basin will be of 12.53 km long within the stretch of Rapti River in Banke and Dang District. In addition to these structures for flood protection, the sub- project will have two other components: a “Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System” and “Community Based Disaster Risk Management”, which will help the people to know the likelihood of