Chapter 1: introduction

Chapter VIII: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN, MONITORING PLAN AND AUDIT

8.1 Environmental Management Plan

This Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Kabeli “A” Hydroelectric Project (KAHEP) identifies the principles, approach, procedures and methods that will be used to control and minimize the environmental and social impacts of all construction and operational activities associated with the project development. It is intended to ensure that commitments made by the Kabeli Energy Limited (KEL) to minimize project’s related environmental and social impacts are upheld throughout all project phases.

The EMP is also a companion document to the Social Action Plan which includes a Resettlement Compensation and Livelihood Assistance Plan (RCLAP) which aims to mitigate resettlement impacts and avoid or minimize social impacts arising from the project. The SAP is an integrated part of the EMP; the SAP includes:

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  Resettlement Compensation and Livelihood Assistance Plan
  
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  Indigenous and Vulnerable Community Development Plan
  
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  Health and Safety Measures
  
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  Benefit Sharing Measures
  
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  Public Consultation Plan and Communication Strategy
  
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  Implementation Arrangements
  
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  Monitoring and Evaluation
  
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  Costs and Budget
  

The SAP also includes actions to address impacts on religious ritual sites downstream of the project . The basic principles under which the EMP will be implemented are:

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  Fulfill all environmental and social conditions associated with the project at-approval requirements;
  
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  Develop, promote and foster a shared sense of responsibility for environmental and social performance of the project;
  
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  Promote environmental awareness and understanding among employees and contractors through training, identification of roles and responsibilities towards environmental and social management and linking project performance to overall environmental performance;
  
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  Encourage an understanding of social and cultural sensitivities in local communities and the importance of minimizing project impacts on local lifestyles and culture;
  
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  Monitor environmental and social performance throughout the project and implement an adaptive management approach to continuous improvement;
  
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  Work with local communities and project affected stakeholders to ensure that they benefit as a result of the project development; and
  
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  Maintain an ongoing commitment to informing, engaging and involving local stakeholders throughout all phases of the project.
  

8.2 EMP Structure and Organization

This environmental management plan has two components; the environmental management activities and the activities implementing agency.

8.2.1 Environmental Management Actions

The environmental management activities is a synthesised plan incorporating the elements of environmental mitigation and enhanement measures. The environmental mitigation and enhancement measures are bundled in a series of activities in the project life cycle. While developing the environmental management plans, the capacity of the implementing organs (institutions/stakeholders) have also been taken into considerations (refer section 8.2.3).

The environmental management actions for the project are broadly described in the following sectioons:

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  Management of Construction Impacts
  
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  Adaptative Management of Selected Environmental Issues
  

8.2.1.1 Management of Construction Impacts

This managment addresses all the issues that are associated with impacts from the construction activities. Other mitigation measures, such as fish ladder, are already included in the project design or are part of the Social Action Plan. Main mitigation measures include:

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  Fish ladder and fish hatchery
  
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  Infrastructure for cremation sites
  
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  Protection of sacred trees during construction
  
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  Slope stability of all earth cuts
  
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  Maintaining minimum environmental flows
  
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  Forest compensation and reforestation plans
  

The Contractor will be responsible for designing and implementing the following plans which will be approved by the Supervision Engineer/environmental and social team prior to the intiation of work:

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  Permits and Approval Plan;
  
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  Environmental Training Plan,
  
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  Construction Camps and Traffic Management Plan;
  
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  Pollution Abatement Plan;
  
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  Terrestrial Ecology Management Plan,
  
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  Aquatic Ecology Management Plan,
  
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  Erosion Abatement and Muck/spoil Management Plan,
  
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  Public Health and Occupational Safety Management Plan,
  
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  Emergency Management Plan,
  
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  Rehabilitation Management Plan
  
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  Chance find procedures
  
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  Labor Law compliance,
  
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  Security personnel
  
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  Grievance Redress Plan.
  

Broad content of these plans are described in Section 8.2.3 of this chapter. Based on the above Plans, Contractors responsibilities during construction in all of these plans will be detailed in a separate “Environmental Specifications for Contractors” which will be included in bidding documents and contracts and enforced by the Supervision Engineeer. These specifications will be prepared before the start of the bidding process. The Contractor, during implementation, is responsible for preparing Environmental Management and Execution Plan (EMEP) detailing in a site specific manner each of the above topics and obtaining approval from the project’s supervision team/ environmental officer prior to the start of works.

8.2.1.2 Adaptive Management of Selected Environmental Issues

This includes preparation of additional studies, complementation of baseline conditions before construction or before operation, and monitoring of key parameters to improve or assess the effectiveness of proposed mitigation measures.