Nepal - Road Maintenance and Development Project - environmental assessment (Vol. 2 of 6)

HIS MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL MINISTRY OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT OF ROADS ROAD MAINTENANCE AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NEW ROAD DEVELOPMENT - __ aAND UPGRADING COMPONENT FINAL REPORT E-257 VOL. 2 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ____ ASSESSMENT New Road Construction SMEC International Pty. Ltd., Cooma, NSW, Australia ASMEC in association witfi CEMAT Consultants (Pvt.) Ltd., Nepal June 1999  Table of Contents Project Proponent i Executive Summary i 1. Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Project Description 1 1.3 Aims of Environmental Assessment 3 2. Legislation, Policies and Standards 5 2.1 Environmental Assessment Requirements 5 2.1.1 NTational Legislation 5 2.1.2 World Bank Requirements 6 2.1.3 Departrent of Roads Standards 7 2.2 Road Development Requirements 7 2.2.1 National Legislation 7 2.2.2 International Conventions and Treaties 9 2.2.3 National Policies 9 3. Methodology 11 3.1 EIA Scoping 11 3).2 Alignment Inspection 12 3.2.1 Alignent Selection 12 3.2.2 Collection of Alinment Information 13 3.3 District Interviewvs 14 3.4 Inspection of Existing Roads 14 35 Assessment of Environmental Issues 15 4. Analysis of Alternatives 20 4.1 Alternative Roads 20 4.1.1 PrioritylnvestmentPlanProject 20 4.1.2 RMD Project Screeningc 21 4.2 Alternative Road Aligrunents 28 4.3 Alignment Refinement 3 1 5. Existing Access, Proposed Alignments and Projected Traffic 33 5.1 Existing Access 33 5.1.1 Darchula Access 33 5.1.2 Martadi Access 34 5.1.3 Mangalsen Access 34 5.1.4 Jumla Access 35 5.1.5 Jajarkot Access 35  5.2 Existing Traffic Volumes 36 5.3 Proposed Alignments 36 5.4 Projected Vehicle Traffic 37 6. Bio-Physical Environment 38 6.1 Physiographic Regions 38 6.2 Topography 39 6.3 Climate 40 6.4 Geology 41 6.5 Soils 44 6.6 Seismicity 45 6.7 Lanid Use 45 6.8 Forest Cover and Use 47 6.8.1 District Forest Cover 47 6.8.2 Forest Cover in the Region of Influence 48 6.8.3 Forest Use 52 6.9 Wildlife and Fish 54 6.10 Protected Areas 55 6.11 Rivers Basins, Wetlands and W'ater Quality 57 6.12 Archaeological, Religious and Cultural Sites 58 6.13 Noise and Air Quality . 59 7. Socio-Economic Environment 60 7.1 Regional, District and VDC Context 60 7.2 Demographic Profiles and Settlement Patterns 62 7.3 Economic Activities and Subsistence 66 7.4 Key Social Services and Facilities 72 7.4.1 Education 72 7.4.2 Health 74 8. Potential Environmental Impacts 75 8.1 Direct and Indirect Environrmental Impacts 75 8.2 Extent of Environmental Impacts 76 8.3 Duration of Environmental Impacts 76 8.4 Primar) and Secondary Envirornmental Issues 76 8.5 Bio-physical Environmental Impacts 77 8.5.1 Land Use 77 8.5.2 Land Stability 80 -.5.3 Fcology 84 8.5.4 Archaeology, Religious and Cultural Sites 89 8.5.5 Noise and Vibration 90 &.5.6 Air Quality 91 8.5.7 Other Pollution 92 8.5.8 Drinking Water Catchments 93 8.5.9 Future Likely Impacts 94 8.6 Socio-economic Impacts 95  8.6.1 Loss of Buildings and Structures 96 8.6.2 Loss of Cultivation Land and Other Natural Resources 99 8.6.3 Population Displacement 101 8.6.4 Road Construction Employment 103 8.6.i Impact of Foreign Construction Workers 106 8.6.6 Social Change and Development 106 9. Design, Construction and Maintenance Mitigation Measures 112 9.1 Alignment Planning 112 9.2 Road Design Mitigation Measures 114 9.2.1 Excavation and Road Formation 114 9.2.2 Drainage 116 9.3 Road Construction MitiQation Measures 119 9.3.1 Construction Programme 119 9.3.2 Construction Methods 120 9.3.3 Construction Management and Certification of Works 121 9.3.4 Training 122 9.3.5 Worksite Survey, Pegging and Approval 123 9.3.6 Additional Road Design 123 9.3.7 Vegetation Clearance 124 9.3.8 Retaining Wall Construction 124 9.3.9 Excavation and Embankment Construction 125 9.3.10 Topsoil Saving and Re-use 125 9.3.11 Fill Disposal 126 9.3.12 Reinstatement of Services 126 9.3.13 Quarries and Borrow Pits 127 9.3.14 Stockpiling 128 9.3.15 Workforce Camp 128 9.3.16 Workforce Management 129 9.3.17 Noise Pollution 129 9.3.18 Hazards and Hazardous Materials 129 9.3.19 Revegetation 130 9.3.20 Ancillary Site Rehabilitation 131l 9.4 Maintenance Recommendations 131 9.5 Mitigation of Direct Socio-economic Impacts 132 9.5.1 Objectives 132 9.5.2 Entitlement Policy 133 9.5.3 Land Acquisition 137 10. Improvement Proposals 138 10.1 Improvement of Degraded Environmental Features 139 10.1.1 Comunity Forest Establishment and Support 139 10.1.2 Trail Improvement 143 10.1.3 Revegetation of Degraded Land 144 10.1.4 Landslide Stabilisation 145 10.2 Improvements Relating to the Proposed Roads 145  10.2.1 Road Head and Market Centre Plannin; 145 10.2.2 Cash Crop Development 147 11. Project Benefits and Costs 148 11.1 Project Benefits 148 11.2 Project Costs 148 11.2.1 Road Construction Costs 148 11-2.2 Environmental Mitigation Costs 148 11.2.3 Environmental Improvement Costs 10 12. Public Consultation 151 12.1 EIA Scoping 152 12.2 Data Collection and Alignment Selection 152 12.2.1 Data Collection 152 12.2.2 Alignment Selection 154 12.3 Formulation of Mitigation and Improvement Measures 154 13. Conclusions 155 14. References 158 Appendices 1. Design Standards for Road Construction 2. District Officials and Others Interviewed 3. Scoping Workshop Participants 4. EIA Scoping Issues 5. Road Alignment Recommendations 6. Alignmnent Data Sheets 7. Forest Use and Protected Species Interview Sheets 8. District Interview Sheets 9. Proposed Road Alignments 10. Forest Species Associations in the ROIs 11. Cormnunity Forests Within the ROIs 12. Protected Plant Species Reported Within the Road ROls 13. Mammals Reported Within the Road ROIs 14. Protected Birds Reported Within the Road ROIs 15. Wetlands in Road Districts 16. Historical/Cultural/Archaeological Sites in the Road Districts 17. District Cultivation Areas and Average Crop Yields 18. Improvement Proposal Cost Estimates Figures I. Proposed New Roads 2. Proposed Darchula Road 3. Proposed Martadi and Mangalsen Roads  4. Proposed Jumla Road D . Proposed Jajarkot Road 6. Pysiographic Regions 7. Example of a Preliminarv Design Drawing 8. Impact Areas of Different Road Construction Techniques 114 9. Location of Road Drains at Natural Drainage Lines 18 10. Sequence of Construction Activities 124 11. Replacement of Existing Water Supply Line with a Standpipe 127 Diagrams I1. Projec7t Incorporation of Environmental Mitigation Measures 4 2. Main Constraints, Mitigation Measures and Likely Benefits and Impacts 156 Tables 1. Roads Proposed for Construction 2 2. Survey Social Sample 14 3. Initially Viable Roads Proposed in the PIP Study 21 4. Candidate Construction Roads Screened 22 5. Environmental Screening Scores for Candidate Construction Roads 25 6. - Social Screening Scores for Candidate Construction Roads 27 7. Overall Screening Scores 27 8. Average Daily Traffic 36 9. Projected TNormal' Vehicle Traffic Composition 37 10. Projected 'Normal' Daily Vehicle Traffic Volume 37 1 1. Physiographic Regions of Nepal 38 12. Physiographic Regions of Proposed Roads 38 13. Topographic Features Along the Proposed Aligmnents 39 14. Climatic Zones Along the Proposed Roads 40 15. Recorded Seismic Activity Along the Proposed Road Corridors 45 16. DistrictLand Use 46 17. District Forest Cover 47 18. District Forest Cover Type by Physiographic Region 48 19. Forest Stock Change 1979-1994 48 20. Forest Types Within the Region of Influence 49 21. Forest Density Within the Region of Influence 50 22. Forest Maturity Within the Region of Influence 50 23. District Per Capita Fuelwood Consumption by Enduse 53 24. Major River Features 58 25. Road Districts and Potentially Influenced Districts 60 26. VDCs Crossed by Proposed Roads 60 27. Road Districts by Key Development Indicators 61 28. District Population Figures 62 29. Households and Population in the Road VDCs, 1991 and 1998 63 30. Ethnic/Caste Composition of the Road Districts Population (1991) 64 31. Demographic Features of the Household Population 64  32. Out-Migrants in the Mid-, West-, and Far-Western Census Regions (1981-1991) 65 33. Residential Status of the Household Population (n= 1,558 persons) 66 34. Occupational Status of Economically Active Population by Road District 66 35. Occupational Status of the Household Population 67 36. Landholdings by Road District 68 37. Reported Household Landholding Size 68 38. Livestock Ownership 69 39. Nominal Houselhold Income and Per Capita Income by Development Region 70 40. Income by Source and Development Region 70 41. Reported Sources of Income During the Previous Year 71 42. Expenditure by Type 72 43. Schools and Students in the Road Districts (1996) 73 44. Educational Levels of the Household Population. 6 years and older 73 45. Health Facilities in the Road Districts (1996/97) 74 46. Primary Environmental Issues and Associated Impacts 77 47. Land Use Types Within the Right-of-Way 78 48. Forest Types and Densities Within the Right-of-Way 79 49. Regional Fuelwood and Wood Conversion Factors 80 50. Estimated Fuelwood Yield Within the Right-of-Way 80 51. Estimated Wood Yield Within the Right-of-Way 80 52. Rock Slope Haard Ratings 8 1 53. Soil Slope Hazard Ratings 82 54. Slope Hazard Classification 82 55. Alignment Slope Hazards 83 56. Archaeological, Religious and Cultural Sites Within Alignment VDCs 90 57. Approximate Annual Exhaust Emissions From Vehicle Traffic 92 58. Houses and Other Private Buildings in the Two Corridors 96 59. Distribution of Affected Houses by VDC 97 60. Distribution of Commercial Establishments by VDC 97 61. Distribution of Sheds by VDC 98 62. Other Structures in the 15 m ROW 98 63. Buildings by Construction Types 99 64. Private Land by Proposed Road 100 65. Distribution of Land Losses by VDC 100 66. Affected Property Owners by Category of Loss in the 15 m ROW 103 67. Embankment Design Guidelines 115 68. Forester Man-month Requirement per Road ROI 140  69. Jumila Trails for Improvement 144 70. Intemal Rate of Return of Project Roads 148 71. Road Construction Cost Estimates 148 72. Cost Estimates of Environmental Mitigation Measures 149 73. Bio-engineering Cost Rates 149 74. Cost Estimates of Environmental Improvement Measures 150 75. Summary of Public Consultation 151 76. Summary of Major Potential Environmental Impacts and 157 Associated Mitigation Measures   List of Abbreviations AADT Annual averaae daily traffic. CBS Central Bureau of Statistics, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. CDC Compensation Determnination Committee. CITES The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. dBA Unit of noise measured in decibels, weighted for human hearing. DDC District Development Committee. DFO District Forest Office. DMG Department of Mines and Geology, Ministrv of Industry, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. DNPWC Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, His Majestv's Government of Nepal. DOA Department of Archeology, Ministry of Sports and Culture, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. DOF Department of Forests, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. DOR Department of Roads, Ministry of Works and Transport, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. DOSC Department of Soil Conservation, His Majesty's Governmnent of Nepal. EA Environmental Assessment. EIA Environmental Impact Assessment. EMAP Environmental Management (or Monitoring) Plan. EP Entitled Person. FR1N Major Feeder Road. The Major Feeder Roads are the roads linking the National Highways to the District Headquarters and Zonal Headquarters as well as to the major places of industry, tourism, public utilities and power stations. FWDR Far-Western Development Region. FY Fiscal Year (in Nepal, this is from mid-July to mid-July). GDP Gross Domestic Product. GEIJ Geo-Environmental Unit, Department of Roads, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. GNP Gross National Product. IEE Initial Environmental Examination. Preliminarily analysis undertaken to ascertain whether there are likely significant adverse impacts to warrant a full' EIA. IUCIN The World Conservation Union (formnerly International Union for Conservation of Nature). LRMP Land Resource Mapping Project (HMG-Canada). Aerial photo survey of land use in Nepal in 1978/79, published from 1982-86.  MCT Main Central Thrust. MOALR Ministry' of Agriculture and Land Reform. His Majesty's Government of Nepal. MOFSC Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, His Majestv's Government of Nepal. MOLD Ministry of Local Development, His Majesty's Govemnment of Nepal. MOPE Ministry of Population and Environment, His Majestv's Govemment of Nepal. MOWT Ministry of Works and Transport, His Majesty's Government of Nepal. MWDR Mid-Western Development Region. NBAPP National Bio-diversity Action Plan Project. 1N7BCP National Bio-diversity Conservation Project. NGO Non Governmental Organisation. NE National Highway. National Highways are the main arterial routes passing through the length and breadth of the country as a whole. The roads connecting the National Highways to Regional Headquarters are also classified as National Higlhways. These highwvays directly serve the greater portion of the long distance travel, provide consistently a higher level of service and serve the inter-communirv transport needs of regional interest. PAP Project Affected Person. PlY Priority Investment Plan. RAP Resettlement Action Plan. RM:D Project Road Maintenance and Development Project. ROI Region of Influence. The area over which long-terrn, indirect environmental impacts are liklely to occur. In this report the area is defined as 5 km linear either side of the road alignment, roughly equivalent to half a day's walk. ROW Right of Way. The legally reserved corridor of land within which the road is constructed. This land is legally acquired and owned by HMGN. A minimum ROW width of 15 m is proposed for all RMD Project roads, with the width increasing where necessary to accommodate the road formnation (carriageway, road shoulder, side drains and cut and fill embankments). Rs. Rupees. Nepalese rupees at the conversion rate of Rs. 68 to US$1 as of 1/1 1/98. SCF Seasonal correction factor. SMEC Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation International Pty. Ltd. SR,N Strategic Road Network. The National Highhways and Feeder Roads constitute the Strategic Road Network and command top priority in the allocation of the government resources. TOR Terms of Reference. VDC Village Development Committee. WB World Bank. WECS Water anc Energy Commission Secretariat. WDR Westem Development Region.  PROJECT PROPONENT The proponent of the Road Maintenance and Development Project (RMD Project) is His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Ministry of Works and Transport, Department of Roads. The Ministry of Works and Transport, Department of Roads, is proposing the RMD Project as part of its responsibilities to develop and maintain National Highways and Feeder Roads throughout Nepal. The RMD Project will provide road access to five non-road connected District Headquarters in the districts of Darchula, Martadi, Mangalsen, Jumla and Jajarkot.  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. Background The policy of His Majesty's Goverment of Nepal Government (HIMGN), as detailed in the Eighth Plan (HMGN, 1992), includes the construction of motorable roads to all non-road connected District Headquarters. The Priority Investment Plan (PIP) Project, completed in 1997, identified 10 potential new roads that would provide connections to 12 districts. The PIP Project screened and prioritized these potential roads, most of which were under construction as earth roads. The Road Maintenance and Development Project has the primary objective of advancing "the planning and preparation of selected components from among the Tecomnmendations of the PIP Master Plan to form the basis of a further Road Project" for World Bank funding (DOR, 1998). In the RMD Project Inception Report (SNEC, 1998), seven candidate construction roads (356 kin) and five candidate upgrading roads (281 kin) were screened, based on economic, environmental and social factors. From this. five roads totalling 204 km were -recommended for detailed construction design to fair weather earth standard, whilst four roads totalling 265 kIn were recommended for upgrading design to fair weather gravel standard. The Department of Roads (DOR) and the World Bank subsequently approved these roads for design. 2. Project Description This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) assesses the potential impacts that are likely to result from the construction of the five selected construction roads (see Table 1). These five proposed roads were verified at 196.4 km due to recent construction. The environmental assessment of the selected upgrading roads has been undertaken separately in an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE). Table 1: Roads Proposed for Construction Road Length r DOR Road Classification* Road Districts | (kin) _Number Crossed Chameliva - Darchula 35.4 National Hiighwav H14 Darchula Sanfebasar - Martadi 3 6.9 Classification not available Bajura Sanfebacar - Mangalsen 14.7 Classification not availablc Aclham Kalikot - Jumila 88.4. National Highway H I133 Kalikot. Jumrla Dhaira - Jajarkot j 21.0 Major Feeder Road F47 Jajarkot Total 196.4 Clssfiato adDs,nSnar, O,19 Source: Classification and Desigrn Standards, DOR, 1994.  The five roads are proposed for construction to "Construction Development Stage II(ii) (FWET) - Fair Weather Earth Track" standards (DOR, 1977) for hillv terrain, to provide a "basic level of dry season vehicular access". During the preparation of the EIA, environmental mitigation measures have been incorporated in the project design, as indicated in Figure 1. Detailed road design measures will be incorporated during the second phase of road design, whilst constructon and maintenance mitigation and management measures have been proposed in the EMAP and will be incorporated into the construction contract conditions. Figure 1: Project Incorporation of Environmental Mitigation Measures Impact Mitigation Measures Project Stage _Alignment refinement Incorporated during walkover surveys and detailed surveys. Preliminary road design Incorporated during preliminary road measures g design.