Bi-annual Environmental Monitoring Report Bi annual Report September 2018 PAK: Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – Azad Jammu Kashmir (Haveli, Kotli and Poonch Districts) Roads Component Prepared by Communication & Works Department (C&W) AJK for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) The Bi-annual Environmental Monitoring Report 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 of the ADB 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 judgements as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Bi-Annual Environmental Monitoring Report Project Number: 49038-001 Pakistan Flood Emergency Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Project (FERRP) – AJK Component Reporting Period: January – June 2018 Prepared by Communication & Works Department (C&W) - AJK for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component Table of Content PART– I 6 1.0 Background 6 1.1 Details of Sub-Projects 7 1.2 Project Organization and Environmental Management Team 8 1.3 Relationship with the Contractor and the Engineer 10 PART– II 11 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING 11 2.1 Environmental Monitoring Summary 11 2.2 Monthly Due Diligence Monitoring 11 2.2.1 Air Quality 11 2.2.2 Health & Safety aspects 12 2.2.3 Noise 12 2.2.4 Surface and Ground Water 12 2.2.5 Flora and Fauna 13 2.2.6 Top Soil Erosion 13 2.2.7 Cultural Heritage Sites 14 2.2.8 Waste Disposal 14 PART–III 15 3.1.1 Field Visits to the construction sites 15 3.1.2 Trainings 16 3.1.3 Follow up Audits 16 3 Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component 3.1.4 Safety Provisions 16 3.1.5 EMP Compliance Checklist 17 3.1.6 Conclusions and Recommendations 17 Annexures Annexure I – Non-compliances observed during sub-project Works Annexure II – SSEMP for Thalair-Kotli bridge List of Tables Table 1.1: Details of Sub-projects under AJK Component………………………………7 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Organizational Chart for Implementation of Environmental Management……9 4 Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS As of 16th August 2018 Currency Unit – Pak Rupees (Pak Rs.) Pak Rs 1.00 = $ 0.0083 US$1.00 = Pak Rs. 120 Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank FERRP Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project AJK Azad Jammu and Kashmir C&W Communication and Works SPS Safeguard Policy Statement EMP Environmental Management Plan GoP Government of Pakistan IEE Initial Environmental Examination NEQS National Environmental Quality Standards RoW Right of Way PIU Project Implementation Unit 5 Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component PART– I INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background 1. Since September 2014, heavy monsoon rains and raised water levels in major rivers across Pakistan have claimed the lives of hundreds of people. In AJ&K, the 2014 floods affected 769 people and 120 villages. Also, 1,785 houses were completely destroyed while 3,712 houses were partially damaged across the AJ&K.1 2. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting the efforts of the Government of Pakistan (GoP) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure in the sectors of transport (primarily roads and bridges) under the AJ&K Communication & Works (C&W) department component. The assistance will be provided through the Flood Reconstruction and Resilience (FERRP) project. ADB support will be provided for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged roads and bridges. 3. This document is the bi-annual Environmental Monitoring Report (BAEMR) for the period from January to June 2018 for the road and bridge sub-projects across Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) being constructed under the AJK component of FERRP. 4. Each road and bridge sub-project was categorized using Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) Checklists provided in the ADB’s Environmental Assessment and Review Framework (EARF). All sub-projects were categorized as ‘C’ using REA Checklists with the exception of the bridge sub-project (Thalair – Kotli bridge), which was categorized as ‘B’ since it is located in a protected area and thus an IEE was prepared. No sub-projects were assessed to be Category ‘A’. All environmental due diligence documents for the sub-projects were disclosed on the ADB website as soon as they were ready for disclosure. 5. A total of twelve sub-projects are presently being undertaken, consisting of eleven roads and one bridge sub-project. REA checklists were completed for each sub-project and the projects were accordingly categorized. The EMP for each sub-project was prepared and included in the relevant bidding documents (BOQ). Environmental approvals were obtained from ADB as well as from the AJK EPA, being the national environmental regulatory authority. 6. Environmental due diligence visits were conducted for all the sub-projects on an intermittent basis to assess the level of compliance with the EMP of each sub-project activity and to advise necessary corrective measures to the project Contractor. The Project Management Consultant (PMC) and C&W AJK are responsible for the environmental monitoring of the sub-projects. 7. Furthermore, ADB has also been monitoring the environmental compliance of sub-project activities through TA consultants. A generic environmental monitoring checklist was prepared by the TA consultant and was provided on site to the PIU, PMC and Contractor 1 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) 6 Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component staff. The checklist was based on the EMP that was developed for each sub-project and PMC’s Environment Specialist has been conducting monthly monitoring of all the sub- projects. 8. The TA Consultant has also developed and provided to the Contractor a customized form for obtaining the approval of any location for installation of a batching or asphalt plant. Only once the Contractor provided the complete information for each proposed site, the TA Consultant conducted a due diligence visit and based on the findings of the visit and consultations with the key receptors and local communities in the area, it was decided whether to allow installation of the plant at the proposed site or to advise an alternate site to be proposed. 1.1 Details of Sub-Projects 9. The road and bridge sub-projects under the AJK component are provided in Table 1.1 below. All these sub-projects are presently under progress with an expected date of completion of December 2018. Table 1.1: Details of Sub-projects under AJK Component S/No. Sub-project Name Sub-Project Completion Status Length (km) Road Sub-project 1 Azad Pattan - Rawalakot road 20 Ongoing (61% physical progress) 2 Rawalakot - Hajira road 22 Ongoing (77% physical progress) 3 Tatta Pani – Hajira road 19 Ongoing (78% physical progress) 4 Hajira – Abbaspur road 29 Ongoing (56% physical progress) 5 Abbaspur – Mahmood Gali 30 Ongoing (65% physical progress) road 6 Kotli – Tatta Pani road 13.2 Ongoing (80% physical progress) 7 Lasdana - Mahmood Gali road 10 Ongoing (84% physical progress) 8 Tarar Khel- Hajira road 16.568 Ongoing (92% physical progress) 9 Khaigalla - Ali Sojal- Chura 15 Ongoing (75% physical progress) Gali road 10 Thalair Bridge Kotli - Tatta 13 Ongoing (80% physical progress) Pani road 11 Repair work of Kotli- 8 Ongoing (80% physical progress) Sahuratta Samror Road Bridge Sub-project 7 Flood Emergency Reconstruction and Resilience Project – BAEMR for FERRP AJK Component 1 Thalair – Kotli bridge 134 m long, Ongoing (41% physical progress) 9 m wide 1.2 Project Organization and Environmental Management Team 10. AJK C&W is the implementation Agency (IA) for reconstruction of roads and bridges under this project. The basic purpose of the IA is to ensure that the implementation of environmental safeguards and monitoring requirements for FERRP according to the Environmental Assessment and Review Framework (EARF) is carried out. 11. The objective of the EARF is to establish systems and functions that ensure that conditionality is built into each initiative at its design stage in a manner that through reconstruction and rehabilitation, improved and environmentally sustainable structures are built that have improved resistance to natural calamities (such as floods). The conditions stated in the EARF are in line with the ADB SPS 2009 and have been mentioned to ensure inclusion of environmental mitigation measures in the proposed developmental activity and to ensure their integration and inclusion in the contract document. 12. The AJK C&W had established an Environmental and Social Unit (ESU) that was made responsible for environmental and social review based on the selection criteria, preparation, submission, implementation and environmental management & monitoring and evaluation of all the sub-projects. ADB had provided technical support to ESU by providing an Environment and a Social specialist under the Technical Assistance (TA). The TA Environment Specialist has been responsible for explaining policy requirements to ESU, supporting them to meet these requirements, building capacity and monitoring implementation of agreed safeguards. 13. Furthermore,