Land and Maritime Connectivity Project (RRP SOL 53421-001) Initial Environmental Examination Project No.: 53421-001 Status: Draft Date: August 2020 Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project – Multi-tranche Financing Facility Wharves Component Prepared by Ministry of Infrastructure Development This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the ADB’s Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to any 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. Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Wharves Component – Initial Environmental Examination Table of Contents Table of Contents ii Abbreviations iv Executive Summary vi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the Project 1 1.2 Scope of the Environmental Assessment 5 2 Legal and Institutional Framework 6 2.1 Legal and Planning Framework 6 2.1.1 Country safeguard system 6 2.1.2 Other legislation supporting the CSS 7 2.1.3 Procedures for implementing the CSS 9 2.2 National Strategy and Plans 10 2.3 Safeguard Policy Statement 11 3 Description of the Component 12 3.1 Kirakira – San Cristobal 12 3.1.1 Existing site and conditions 12 3.1.2 Proposed wharf development at Kirakira 15 3.2 Ahanga - Bellona Island Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.1 Existing conditions Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.2 Proposed wharf development at Ahanga 19 3.3 Construction Activities 1 3.3.1 Equipment and workforce 1 3.3.2 Development of borrow areas 2 4 Description of Existing Environment 4 4.1 Physical Components 4 4.1.1 Geology and soils 4 4.1.2 Air quality, climate and climate change 5 4.1.3 Hazards- volcano, earthquakes, tsunami 10 4.2 Biological Resources 11 4.2.1 Overview of marine and coastal habitat 11 4.2.2 Threatened and protected species 13 June 2020 Page ii Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Wharves Component – Initial Environmental Examination 4.2.3 Protected areas 15 4.2.4 Marine ecology at subproject sites Error! Bookmark not defined. 4.2.5 Terrestrial habitat, flora and fauna 3 4.2.6 Freshwater habitats, flora and fauna 5 4.3 Socio-economic Resources 6 4.3.1 Population and demography 6 4.3.2 Economics and services 9 4.3.3 Cultural and historic sites and resources 10 4.3.4 Ambient noise levels 11 5 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures 13 5.1 Significance of Impacts 13 5.2 Impacts during Pre-Construction 13 5.3 Impacts During Construction 18 5.3.1 Construction impacts on physical environment 18 5.3.2 Construction impacts on the biological environment 22 5.3.3 Construction impacts on the socio-economic environment 25 5.4 Operational Impacts 32 6 Consultation and Information Disclosure 34 6.1 Consultation 34 6.2 Information Disclosure 36 7 Environmental Management Plan 37 7.1 Introduction 37 7.2 Institutional Arrangements 38 7.3 Grievance Redress Mechanism 43 7.4 Environmental Monitoring and Reporting 44 7.5 Environmental Management Plan 45 8 Findings and Conclusions 66 8.1 Project Benefits 66 8.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 66 Appendixes Appendix A: Relevant Intentional / Regional Treaties & Agreements 69 Appendix B: List of Marine Protected Areas within the Solomon Islands 71 Appendix C: List of Terrestrial Protected Areas within the Solomon Islands 73 Appendix D: Globally Threatened Avifauna in the Solomon Islands 77 Appendix E: Environmental Risk Matrices 90 June 2020 Page iii Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Wharves Component – Initial Environmental Examination Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AEP Aggregate extraction plan BMP Building Material Permit BSI Biosecurity Solomon Islands (Department of MAL) CCP Communications and Consultation Plan (of the project) CEMP Construction Environmental Management Plan (of the contractor) CPIU Central Project Implementation Unit (within MID) CSS Country safeguards system DSC Design and supervision consultant DMM Department of Mines and Minerals (in MMERE) ECD Environment and Conservation Department (in MECDM) EHSG Environment, Health and Safety Guidelines (of World Bank Group) EHSO Environment, Health and Safety Officer (of the contractor) EIA Environment Impact Assessment EIS Environment Impact Statement EMP Environmental Management Plan ENSO El Nino Southern Oscillation HSP Health and Safety Plan ERP Emergency Response Plan GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism HCC Honiara City Council HSMP Hazardous Substances Management Plan IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IEE Initial Environmental Examination MECDM Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology MOFT Ministry of Finance and Treasury MID Ministry of Infrastructure and Development MMERE Ministry of Mines, and Energy and Rural Electrification NTP National Transport Plan 2016 - 2036 PACCSAP Pacific-Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning PER Public Environment Report PPE Personal Protective Equipment SECP Sedimentation and erosion control plan SIPA Solomon Island Ports Authority SPM Safeguards Procedures Manual (of MID) SPS Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 (of ADB) TMP Traffic Management Plan TOR Terms of Reference WMP Waste Management Plan June 2020 Page iv Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Wharves Component – Initial Environmental Examination Definitions associated with wharfs and wharf operation Bollard A short, vertical post on a ship or wharf / jetty used for mooring boats, Boat Jetty A structure built in the water at the edge of the sea used by people getting on and off OMB LCT (Landing Craft) Small flat-bottomed vessels designed for transporting and landing of equipment / supplies onto / or across a beach or (in this project) up a prepared ramp. Usually equipped with a lowerable ramp, rather than a conventional bow. OMB Outboard Motor Boat. Inshore craft, usually with a Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) hull, petrol powered by a 6 to 60HP outboard motor. Used for fishing, small goods island transfer and moored offshore boat to shore transfer. Wharf A structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers June 2020 Page v Solomon Islands: Land and Maritime Connectivity Project Wharves Component – Initial Environmental Examination Executive Summary 1. Background. Recognizing that domestic transport connectivity is critical to social and economic development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been assisting three Pacific countries—Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu—improve road and inter-island shipping transport to provide access to essential services, improve trade and tourism, and facilitate access to domestic and international markets. There are several common obstacles to the effective maintenance and resilience of transport assets including: • Insufficient capacity of the institutions responsible for infrastructure delivery to implement sustainable routine and periodic maintenance programs; • Inadequate fiscal budgets to allocate required financial resources for recurrent maintenance and rehabilitation; • Vulnerability to natural disasters and anticipated climate change; and • Limited transport sector policy and legislation. 2. The project. To address these constraints, ADB provided technical assistance through TA 9331-REG: Strengthening Domestic Transport Connectivity in the Pacific and the Transport Sector Project Development Facility (TSPDF). The technical assistance supported preparation of projects in each of the three countries to improve national and regional connectivity through new investments. In Solomon Islands the project—Land and Maritime Connectivity Project (LMCP)— proposes to improve urban and rural roads on Guadalcanal, upgrade the Honiara port, and construct and/or upgrade and repair wharves at two locations in two provinces. The LMCP is proposed as a four-year, time sliced multi-tranche financing facility with a tentative amount of $171 million. The subprojects and components have been fully prepared, and this includes conducting and reporting safeguards due diligence. 3. Wharf component. Outlying provinces in the Solomon Islands rely on sea trading routes to transport both goods and passengers as air cargo and passenger transportation is too expensive for many and is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, a component to potentially improve wharf capacity in six provinces was considered during the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies. The study focused on seven potential wharf improvements, upgrading or new wharf construction. The wharfs initially considered included: (i) Viru wharf, Western Province; (ii) Buala wharf, Isabel Province; (iii) Matangasi wharf, Malaita Province; (iv) Waisisi wharf, Malaita Province; (v) Moli wharf, Choiseul Province; (vi) Kirakira wharf, Makira-Uluwa Province; and (vii) Ahanga wharf, Rennell-Bellona Province. During the studies, and according to the priorities set out in the National Transport Plan, However, it was decided that the lack of formal wharf facilities at Kirakira and Ahanga meant that these sites would be priorities and are included in the LMCP. 4. Institutional arrangements. The executing agency will be Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MOFT) and the implementing agencies will be the Ministry