REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT & COMMON MARKET FOR EASTERN & INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT INCORPORATING ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN for the proposed REHABILITATION OF 200 km GWANDA – BEITBRIDGE ROAD IN MATEBELE LAND SOUTH, ZIMBABWE AUGUST 2017 Prepared by: TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY VII 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Project Costs 1 1.2 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Team 3 2 POLICIES, LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND GUIDELINES 4 2.1 Introduction 4 2.2 Institutional Framework 4 2.2.1 Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate 4 2.2.2 National Environmental Council 5 2.2.3 Environmental Management Agency 5 2.2.4 Environmental Management Board 6 2.2.5 National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe 7 2.2.6 Department of Water 7 2.3 Legal Framework 8 2.3.1 Environmental Management Act 20:27 of 2002 9 2.3.2 Environmental Management (Environmental Impact Assessment and Ecosystems Protection) Regulations, SI No. 7 of 2007 10 2.3.3 Environmental Impact Assessment Policy Guidelines (1997) 11 2.4 Parks and Wildlife Act 20:14 12 2.5 Forestry Act 13 2.6 Water Act 20:24 13 2.7 Environmental Management (Effluent and Solid Waste Disposal) Regulations, 2007 SI 6 13 2.8 Roads act chapter 13:18 14 2.8.1 Other Relevant Environmental and Social Legislation 14 2.8.2 Treaties and Conventions to which Zimbabwe is a Signatory 22 2.8.3 International and Regional Guidelines and Standards 24 3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 25 3.1 LOCATION OF THE PROJECT AREA 25 3.2 PROJECT CONSTRUCTION COMPONENTS 26 3.2.1 Pre-Construction (Design) Phase 27 3.2.2 Construction Phase 27 3.2.3 Operational Phase 28 3.2.4 Other Ancillary Infrastructure 28 4 BASELINE BIOPHYSICAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 29 4.1 CLIMATE 29 4.2 VEGETATION 29 4.3 WILDLIFE 33 4.4 WATER QUALITY AND LIMNOLOGY 33 I 4.5 FISH AND FISHERIES 33 4.6 LAND USE 34 4.7 SOCIO-ECONOMIC BASELINE SITUATION 34 5 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND CONSULTATION PROCESS (PPCP) 42 5.1 OBJECTIVES OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 42 5.1.1 Screening/Key Stakeholder Engagement Phase 43 5.1.2 Scoping Phase 43 5.1.3 Impact Assessment Phase 44 5.1.4 Decision Making Phase 44 5.2 STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION 44 6 POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES 46 6.1 POTENTIAL PROJECT BENEFITS 46 6.1.1 Socio-economic 46 6.1.2 Employment and Business Creation for the Local Community 46 6.1.3 Market Access, Reduced Travel Time and Cost 48 6.2 NEGATIVE IMPACTS 49 6.2.1 General Impact on Local Communities 49 6.2.2 Impact of noise and vibration 50 6.2.3 Occupational Health and Safety 51 6.2.4 Impacts on Existing Social Services 52 6.2.5 Impacts due to widening of the road 54 6.2.6 Impacts of proposed fencing 55 6.2.7 Possible Impact on Private Land Parcels 57 6.2.8 HIV/AIDS Related Challenges 57 6.3 POTENTIAL NEGATIVE SOCIAL IMPACT 58 6.3.1 Loss of Roadside Structures (temporary shelters, sale points) 58 6.3.2 Involuntary Resettlement 59 6.3.3 Impacts of HIV/AIDS, Pregnancies 59 6.3.4 Impacts on Public Health 59 6.3.5 Impacts on Occupational Health and Safety 60 6.3.6 Strain on Existing Health Facilities 60 6.3.7 Population Influx 60 6.3.8 Land Acquisition and Resettlement 61 6.3.9 Gender Concerns 61 6.4 POTENTIAL BIOPHYSICAL IMPACT 63 6.4.1 Impacts on Land and Soil 63 6.4.2 Impacts on Vegetation 64 6.4.3 Impacts on Water Quality 64 6.4.4 Impacts on Air Quality 65 6.4.5 Impacts on Climate Change 65 6.4.6 Impacts of Quarries and Borrow Pits 66 6.4.7 Impacts on Cultural and Historic Sites 66 6.4.8 Impacts of Noise 66 6.4.9 Impacts on Landscape and Aesthetics 67 6.4.10 Impacts on Land-use and Surrounding Environment 67 II 6.5 MITIGATION MEASURES FOR PROJECT ACTIVITIES 67 7 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN 71 7.2 THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MONITORING PLAN 76 7.2.1 Scope of Work for the Monitoring Team 76 7.2.2 Pre – Construction Monitoring 77 7.2.3 Activity Schedule for the Monitoring Team 77 7.2.4 Implementation Monitoring Project 77 7.2.5 Post Construction Monitoring 78 7.2.6 Reporting 78 10. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 88 10.1 RECOMMENDATIONS 88 10.2 CONCLUSION 89 III TABLE OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 List of Stakeholders Consulted 90 IV LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Summary of Relevant Environmental and Social Legislation 15 Table 2: International conventions and protocols to which Zimbabwe is a Signatory. 22 Table 3 Vegetation and Soil Characteristics along the Project Road 31 Table 4: Structures along the Road 39 Table 5: Rapid Road Assessment – Description from Beitbridge Makavhule Turnoff 40 Table 6 Impacts on Employment Creation 47 Table 7 Impacts on Local Communities 48 Table 8: Impacts on Local Communities 49 Table 9 Noise and vibration: Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 50 Table 10 Noise and Vibration-Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 51 Table 11 Occupational health: Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 52 Table 12 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 53 Table 13 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 54 Table 14 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 54 Table 15 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 55 Table 16 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 56 Table 17 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 57 Table 18 Impact analysis and mitigations proposed 58 Table 19: The table below summarizes the potential negative Social impact associated with the Road Rehabilitation Project 61 Table 20: Impacts and Mitigation Measures for the Road Project 68 Table 21: Environmental and Social Management Plan for Gwanda to Beitbridge Road 72 Table 22: Environmental Monitoring Plan for Gwanda to Beitbridge Road 79 Table 23: Social Management Plan - Mitigation and Management Measures for Impacts with Monitoring 82 V ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMINOLOGY BTC Beitbridge Town Council CITES Committee for International Trade in Endangered Species COMESA Common Market for East and Southern Africa EIS Environmental Impact Statement EMA Environmental Management Agency EMB Environmental Management Board ESA Environmental and Social Assessment ESAP Environmental and Social Assessment Procedures ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMP Environmental and Social Management and Monitoring Plan GRZ Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe I&AP Interested and Affected Party IFC International Finance Corporation IFI International Finance Institution ILO International Labour Organisation IPPF Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature MTID Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development NEC National Environmental Council NEPAD New Partnership for Africa‟s Development NGO Non-Governmental Governmental Organisation NMMZ National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe NSC North South Corridor PPCP Public Participation and Consultation Process RTA Road Traffic Accident SADC Southern African Development Community STI Sexually Transmitted Disease TOR Terms of Reference UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ZERA Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority ZETDC Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company ZINWA Zimbabwe National Water Authority VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe (GRZ) with support from the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) – East African Community (EAC) – Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tripartite has received funding from the African Development Bank hosted New Partnership for Africa‟s Development (NEPAD) Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (IPPF) toward the cost of rehabilitation of two sections of the North South Corridor (NSC) - National Road No. A6 in Zimbabwe. GRZ through its Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, under the Department of Roads, intends to apply part of this grant to payments under a consultancy contract for the Preparation of Feasibility Studies, Detailed Engineering Designs and Tender Documents for the rehabilitation of 200 km of the Gwanda – Beitbridge road section in Zimbabwe (COMESA, 2014). Among the services that are covered under this project are the following: Full feasibility studies for the rehabilitation of the road section, covering technical, economic, environmental, road safety and social issues in order to provide the Tripartite and the Zimbabwean Government with sufficient information for decision making on the preferred cross-sectional width and the best approach to the rehabilitation of the road pavement; Preparation of detailed engineering designs, drawings, cost estimates and tender documents to be included in Works Contract for the improvement of this international road along the NSC. The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite and the Department of Roads, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Zimbabwe shall be the Client and implementing agency respectively and the design stage of the project is to be implemented over a period of about 12 months. The study also involved detailed environmental and socio-economic impact assessment. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was undertaken in accordance with Environmental Management Act of 2002 (Chapter 20:27) which requires environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to be undertaken for projects listed in the First Schedule, which includes (Item 6) Infrastructure: (a) highways. VII Objective of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) The main objective of EIS was to examine the project route and identify possible environmental and socio-economic impacts of the project and their respective mitigation measures. Physical Environment of the Project The existing road runs at almost the same ground level with its surroundings except a few depressed sections without proper side drainage and where they exist, they are shallow and mainly covered with silt and vegetation.