ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT

Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR)

Agricultural Research Center (ARC)

Soils & Water and Environment Research InstITUTE. (SWERI)

EGYPT FARM- LEVEL IRRIGATION MODERNIZATION PROJECT (EFIMP)

“Action plan”

Environmental & Social Impact Assessment and Management Plan

By SWERI

6

Introduction

Given the current water shortages in Egypt, the most important output of On-Farm Water Management interventions is improving water productivity by saving water while improving crop yield and quality, together with mitigating the negative impacts on the environment. The benefits to farmers stem from reduction of production costs due to reducing the water applied and hence reducing energy costs and labor for irrigation.

This report provides a modified Environmental and Social Management Action Plan (ESMP) of the development areas of field irrigation for Kafr El-Sheikh and El-Beheira governorates in light of the project restructuring, triggering a new safeguards policy (OP 4.12: Involuntary Resettlement) and preparation of a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF). The original ESMP report was prepared in June 2010 by the research team of the Soils, Water and the Environment Research Institute (SWERI, ARC) after a visit to the central regions of Al Manaifa, El Mahmudiya, and El Wasat according to the standards of the World Bank. The World Bank has approved the project since 2011. The work of the project is started since 2013.

Modification of the ESMP was needed to ensure more enhanced level of consideration for the social dimension. Specifically: (i) indicating that an RPF has been prepared because there is a possibility of involuntary changes in the use of land. (ii) If during the implantation of electricity poles, poles are installed without free endorsement from the farmer, the PMU will prepare RAP(s)/ARAP(s) in such cases; (iii) ensure sufficient coverage exists for consultation, (iv) handling complaints, and (v) documentation and reporting. In addition, rationalization of estimated budget of the ESMP is required due to the increased inflation in Egypt nowadays. Therefore, some of the items changed and social safeguards duties added to the action plan. In addition, during the project implementation, it was noticed that some of the pump station rehabilitation works include removal of asbestos ceilings, therefore the ESMP has been also updated to include measures for safe handling and disposal of asbestos waste.

Proposed Action Plan

Environmental & Social Impact Assessment and Management Plan

The activities include:

1-  Monitoring & Assessment (Changed).

§  Assess and mitigate any site-specific excess residues from fertilizers & pesticides and per the above-mentioned existing national mandate/program of MALR.

§  Assess and mitigate any site-specific increase in water salinity and soil salinity & alkalinzation or erosion.

§  Ensure that the civil-works contractors abide by the EMP-related clauses of the contract.

§  Evaluate water table depth, salinity and contaminated levels of groundwater, and suggest solutions.

§  Monitor soil fertility and crop quality and production.

§  The representative samples should be collected before and after the construction of the project. Water samples will be collected at the beginning and tail-end of each Marwa of FIMP command areas at Kafr El-Sheikh and El- Beheira governorates (Table 1).

The analysis of samples included the following parameters:

o  PH, EC, Cations, Anions, RSC and SAR.

o  Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, B, K, P, NO3-N and NH4-N.

o  Pb, Cd, Cr, Co and Ni.

o  Pesticides residues (Positive / Negative).

o  COD and BOD.

o  Bacteria (Total Coliforms, Feacal Coliforms, Salmonella and Shigella).

o  Parasites.

The work will be started at the selected canals of FIMP command areas as follows:

a)  Kafr ElSheikh: Shaba- Lasefr – Bahr Alshikh Ibraheem –Basees – Dakalt.

b)  El Beheira: El Kamaheen – Bsentway – El Fakhoura – Sidi Azab – Mahlet Keil.

The proposed change from the original ESMP will be on the frequencies of measurements, the proposed ESMP will have the measurements before and after implementation of the project at each location while the frequency of measurements in the original ESMP was twice a year.

Table 1—Environmental Monitoring: Parameters Monitored and Frequency.

Indicators / Methods and frequency / Monitored sites
Pesticides
Soil / Sampling twice for lab analysis before and after the implementation. / 27 sites
Crop
Water
Salinity
Soil / Sampling twice for lab analysis before and after the implementation. / 27 sites
Water / Sampling twice for lab analysis before and after the implementation. / 27 sites
Fertilizers & Nutrients
Soil / Sampling twice for lab analysis before and after the implementation. / 27 sites
Crop
Water Microbiology
Summer / Sampling twice for lab analysis before and after the implementation. / 27 sites
Winter
Water Table Level
Water Table / In-situ / §  27 sites
§  3 observation wells per site

2-Technical Assistance (no changes).

§  Develop nutrient management practice at farm level.

§  Develop pest management practice at farm level.

§  Support EFIMP (EALIP) by providing the M&E indicators on the EMP-related negative and positive impacts.

3-  Public Awareness (no changes).

§  Improve farmer public awareness on on-farm environmental management.

4-  Capacity Building (no changes).

§  Enhance capacity building of SWERI and EALIP in the field of environmental impact assessment and management, through:

o  Study tours.

o  Conferences/workshops and tailored training programs.

§  Enhance knowledge transfer through.

o  Develop knowledge transfer plan.

o  Conduct meetings and workshops with relevant stakeholders.

The proposed programs (attached) will be focus on these topics:

o  Recycling of soil crop Residues for producing Biogas and compost.

o  Environmental Impacts of Development of Field Irrigation.

o  Technical methods of Irrigation to raise its efficiency in field.

o  Soil Improving and Maintenance.

o  Training programs on Lab. Instruments.

5-  Safe handling of asbestos waste (new item).

This item has been added to the ESMP as some of the old pumping stations in Beheira Governorate has asbestos ceilings, and those ceilings will be replaced with reinforced concrete, therefore there will be dismantling and disposal of asbestos waste that should be done with diligence. The following are considered minimum measures for the safe handling of asbestos:

·  Wetting the asbestos surfaces before dismantling

·  Remove nails with minimum disturbance to the asbestos surface.

·  Removed asbestos sheets should be tightly covered with polyethylene sheets

·  Workers dismantling the asbestos should wear adequate PPE with masks, overalls and gloves, which should be disposed off after use according to the same procedures as above

·  Covered asbestos sheets should be transported to a hazardous waste landfill (such as Nasserya landfill in Alexandria Governorate) and the contractor should provide receipts from the landfill verifying the amount of asbestos delivered there.

·  Payments to contractors could be made upon verification of receipts from the landfill.

6-  Social Safeguards Duties (new item)[1].

RPF Preparation: The PMU has developed a Resettlement Policy Framework in order to mitigate potential social risks associated with the implantation of electricity poles. Specifically, while the geographic area and the general alignment of the plans are known, the final specific siting is not known and therefore a possibility exists of involuntary displacement.

RAPs/ARAPs to be prepared: If during the implantation of electricity poles, poles are installed without free endorsement from the farmer, the PMU will prepare RAP(s)/ARAP(s) in such cases and monitored closely to ensure compensation is provided to farmers in a timely manner.

Design and operate a local level grievance redress mechanism:

·  In coordination with the local level entities (Marwa Committee, the Advisory Department, the Agriculture Association…etc.), design appropriate local level Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) to ensure concerns, queries and complaints of farmers on the local level are properly and promptly handled within clear and announced time intervals.

·  Ensure the designed GRM is well announced and published to the farmers on the local level.

·  Design simple tracking system for the received complaints to ensure that they well documented including the status of addressing the complaints and the provision of feedback to the complainers.

·  Follow up with the local level entities to ensure that the farmers’ grievances are handled and that timely feedbacks are delivered to the farmers.

Consultation with farmers and other stakeholders:

·  Ensure meaningful and well represented consultations with farmers are conducted as part of the various stages of the project.

·  Conduct sessions of outreach to local farmers and civil society organizations to raise awareness about the project, its implementation schedule and to monitor the impacts of the project.

Monitor the implementation of the project:

·  Provide close monitoring, guidance and follow up to ensure efficient implementation for the project. This includes close coordination with the extension team, the Marwa Committees (MC) and the contractors.

·  Participate in the implementation of the Environmental and Social Monitoring Plan (ESMP) according to the specified roles and responsibilities determined in the approved ESIA and based on the discussion with the World Bank.

·  Monitor the impacts of the project on the socioeconomic conditions of the farmers and their households and ensure appropriate contribution is provided to the M&E component.

·  Follow up on the potential negative impacts of the project and ensure that mitigation measures are implemented, monitored and documented. This applies to the potential damage for crops as a result of the different components of the project. The Social Officer should ensure that fair compensations (as per the announced prices) are paid to affected farmers. The Social Officer should also ensure that all records relate to farmers’ compensation are properly documented and reflected in the progress report.

Coordination with the World Bank:

·  Coordinate closely with the Bank social safeguards team to ensure the social aspects are well-considered along the various stages of the project.

·  Flag and discuss any potentially emerging challenges on the ground to reach agreed upon measures to tackle these challenges.

·  Contribute to the regular environmental and social report to be submitted to the Bank. The reports should include all the needed support documents for the various conducted activities.

Additional tasks:

·  Keep close supervision to ensure compliance to the Bank safeguards policies along the project cycle.

Annex 3 attached includes support templates to help the PMU social team in handling the various issues related to the documentation of consultation and awareness raising activities, grievance redress mechanism, and regular reporting.

7-  Follow up contractors Environmental impacts (no changes).

The contractors will follow a wide range of management and construction techniques and procedures to minimize and/or eliminate the pollution hazard, including: adopt suppression measures during the processing and filling operation; minimize visual intrusion and noise during construction by following the national recommendations; maximize daylight operations to minimize noise disturbance to residents of village; provide sanitation facilities and safeguard health of laborers and conduct environmental monitoring during and after construction for concerned ecological elements.

8-  Institutional Setup for the implementation (no changes)

ARC (represented by SWERI) will lead the ESMP implementation with support of other MALR entities, each per its mandate, as follows:

§  SWERI: To take the water-quality samples, do the lab and desk analysis of the samples, undertake TA studies, and hence provide recommendations to guide the implementation of the ESMP. SWERI will also provide training (for MALR staff) in-situ as well as on its premises, and will provide EALIP (PMU) with the M&E progress reports of the ESMP.

§  CAAE of MALR: To reach out to farmers to help SWERI and EALIP to execute the farmer-level training/extension/awareness activities of the ESMP.

§  CASWE of MALR: To help MALR/EALIP to enforce the on-farm water-quality regulations as per the ESMP.

§  EALIP (PMU): will synthesize the progress reports received from SWERI, and will be responsible for the ESMP prevention/mitigation measures related to civil works.

9-  Reporting (no changes)

The reports would be prepared half yearly by a team of experienced consultants with relevant experience in water, groundwater table, soil, and crop. The team is familiar with World Bank Safeguard procedures. The progress reports will cover the following:

§  Activities to be done (planned) during the reporting period.

§  Conducted field trips.

§  Monitoring activities and summary analysis results.

§  Conducted public Awareness Campaigns.

§  Conducted capacity building activities including local training, workshops and study tours.

§  Pesticides analysis and pest management practice in the project area.

§  Provided technical assistant.

§  Monitoring of civil works under Component 1 of the project.

§  Summary procurement.

§  Red flags and constraints.

§  Next bi-annual plan.

Nabil kandil

Focal person

SWERI, ARC, GIZA

Mohamed Ismail

Director

SWERI, ARC, GIZA

9-Annexes

Annex1:

Table (7.1): Original Environmental Monitoring: Parameters Monitored and Monitoring Frequency.

Indicators / Methods and frequency / Monitored sites
Pesticides
Soil / §  Sampling for lab analysis
§  Sampling twice a year for two seasons
§  (First and last year will be sampled once a year for one season) / 27 sites
Crop
Water
Salinity and Alkalinity
Soil / §  Sampling for lab analysis
§  Sampling twice a year for two seasons
§  (First and last year will be samples once a year for one season) / 27 sites
Water / §  Portable EC meter & Sampling for lab analysis
§  Sampling four time a year
§  (First and last year will be sampled twice a year for one season) / 27 sites
Fertilizers & Nutrients
Soil / §  Sampling for lab analysis
§  Sampling twice a year for two seasons
§  (First and last year will be samples once a year for one season)
§  Five crops per season will be sampled / 27 sites
Crop
Water Microbiology
Summer / §  Sampling twice a year for two seasons
§  (First and last year will be samples once a year for one season) / §  27 sites
Winter
Water Table Level
Water Table / §  In-situ / §  27 sites
§  3 observation wells per site

Annex 2: Institutional Setup for the implementation:

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في المحافظة

مهام وحدات التنسيق بالمحافظات

وحدة المتابعة والتقييم البيئي