Additional financing of Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project (RRP BAN 34418-023) Initial Environmental Examination June 2015 (Draft) BAN: Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project–Additional Financing Prepared by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), executing agency for the Asian Development Bank. BWDB also submitted this environmental impact assessment report to the Department of Environment, Government of Bangladesh. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of {day month year}) Currency unit – taka (Tk) Tk 1.00 = $0.01288 $1.00 = Tk77.6 ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank BWDB – Bangladesh Water Development Board ha – hectare FCD/I – flood control, drainage and irrigation IWMP – integrated water management plan khal – small rivers and natural canals O&M – operation and maintenance SIP – subunit implementation plan WMA – water management association WMG – water management group WMO – water management organization NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Bangladesh ends on 30 June. “FY” before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2015 ends on 30 June 2015. (ii) In this report, “$” refers to US dollars. BWDB submitted this environmental impact assessment to the Department of Environment, the Government of Bangladesh. 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. 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. Draft Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Ministry of Water Resources Bangladesh Water Development Board Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project Additional Financing ADB Loan 2200-BAN (SF) / GON Grant 0036 BAN May 2015 Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. VIII 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Extent of EIA ............................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Objectives of EIA ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Scope of Works .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Approach and Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Contents of the Report .............................................................................................................................. 9 1.7 Limitation .................................................................................................................................................... 9 1.8 EIA Study Team ........................................................................................... 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Bookmark not defined.9 2 LEGISLATIVE, REGULATION AND POLICY CONSIDERATION ................................................ 1 2.1 Background .................................................................................................................................................... 1 2.2 National Environmental Policies, Laws and Guidelines ........................................................................ 1 2.3 Categories of Projects ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.4 International Treaties ................................................................................................................................. 8 2.5 Asian Development Bank Policies ........................................................................................................... 8 2.6 National Standards .................................................................................................................................... 9 2.7 Legal and Regulatory Provisions linked to the Project and its Activities ........................................... 9 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................................... 1 3.1 The Project and It’s Location ......................................................................................................................... 1 3.2 Project Components .................................................................................................................................. 3 3.3 Project Activities ........................................................................................................................................ 4 3.4 Project plan, design, standard, specification, quantification ............................................................... 5 3.5 Project Schedule phase and timing for development of the project ................................................... 6 3.6 Resources and utilization demand .......................................................................................................... 6 3.7 Map and Survey information ..................................................................................................................... 7 4 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES .................................................................................................. 8 5 DESCRIPTION OF THE BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ...................................... 1 5.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 5.2 Physical Environment ................................................................................................................................ 2 5.2.1 Geology and Topology ........................................................................................................................................... 2 5.2.2 Geomorphology ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 5.2.3 Land-use ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 5.2.4 Soils ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 5.2.5 Meteorology ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 5.2.6 Hydrology ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 5.3 Ecological Environment .......................................................................................................................... 19 5.3.1 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 19 5.3.2 Flora ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21 5.3.3 Fauna ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 5.3.4 Rare and Endangered Species ............................................................................................................................ 23 5.3.5 Environmental Protected Area ............................................................................................................................. 23 5.4 Environmental Quality ............................................................................................................................. 23 5.4.1 Ground Water Quality .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Page | i Southwest Area Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management Project 5.4.2 Surface Water Quality .......................................................................................................................................... 26 5.4.3 Soil Quality 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