Hydropower and Agricultural Development Project

World Bank Safeguard Policies Training, Dushanbe, September 28-October 1, 2009

CASE STUDY 1

URLANDIA:

Hydropower and Agricultural Development Project

Project Description

WB has been asked to finance construction of a dam for hydropower and irrigation in the Urlan Mountains, on the Pristinus River, along with associated infrastructure. The dam will be used for electricity generation and will also supply water for irrigation downstream of the dam site on the central plains of Urlandia. The dam will also serve a flood control function, retaining flood water from snow melt in the Lunar Mountains during the early spring and releasing it throughout the summer and fall for hydropower and irrigation.

Component 1: Construction of dam with hydropower plant and associated infrastructure:

The main element of the project is a rock fill dam 30 m high with an asphaltic core. The reservoir volume will be 18 million m3 (reservoir lake of 150 hectares). The dam will be constructed of locally sourced materials. The plant will have a power station with four turbines (200 megawatt capacity) and a spillway with gates. The turbine room will be excavated inside the mountain. Other infrastructure elements are: a 2 lane, 3 km access road connecting the dam site to the Trans-Urlandia highway, a control / service building and switchyard. and a 100km transmission line to Kampala and Owen Falls with two substations

Component 2: Construction of overhead transmission lines (OHTL).

Two 220 kV OHTL will be constructed to evacuate power from the hydropower plant. One line will go northwards across the Lunar Mountains to an existing substation at the border from which it will feed into a regional power scheme. Eighty percent of the electricity generated from the hydropower plant will be exported in this way. The WB-financed project aims to assist the Government to find a private investor to design, build and operate this northern transmission line.

The second transmission line will carry the remaining 20% of the electricity to the central Urlandia plains to provide power for irrigation and processing plants for expansion of the agricultural export industry. This transmission line will be financed by the Government of Urlandia as its main contribution to the project.

In parallel with the dam construction, the Government will implement a program to develop irrigated agriculture in central Urlandia. This program, which will be jointly financed by the Government, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Japanese government (JICA). The objective is to convert about 250,000 ha of semi-arid, sparsely populated steppe land into a highly productive agricultural area of large scale commercial farms producing cotton, flowers and high-value garden vegetables for export. Success of the program depends on regulated water supply from the Lunar Mountain dam.

Site Description

The Pristinus River originates from dozens of small tributaries and springs in theLunar Mountains, in the northwestern corner of Urlandia. The river flows southwards across the broad steppe of central Urlandia, until it reaches the southern border and enters the neighboring country of Wasabia (the world’s number one exporter of very hot radishes). After crossing through the eastern part of Wasabia the Pristina empties into the Mediterranean Sea, where it forms the Emerald Delta, an internationally significant wetland registered under the RAMSAR convention.

Environment and nature aspects

The mountains at and around the dam site are largely undeveloped. Native evergreen and broadleaf forests cover the lower elevations and alpine meadows and glaciers are found at higher elevations, above the treeline. The high peaks of the northern Lunar Mountains have been declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserveas they are home to a number of and rare plant and animal species including the endemic Curly-Headed Mountain Goat and the Lunar Ice Flower. In the lower elevations much of the forest has been degraded through unregulated logging, forest fires and clearing for small scale agriculture and grazing, but there remain several large tracts of pristine forest particularly on the steeper slopes. The Government is presently considering a local private investor’s proposal to build a 5-star international ski resort in the Lunar mountains. The viability of this investment depends on the availability of electricity from the Lunar Mountain dam (to be taken from the northern OHTL).

The Pristinus River Canyon, which is located 1 km downstream of the proposed dam site, is a National Reserve and is a recognized Important Bird Area. It is believed to be one of three remaining nesting areas Europe for the Great Crested Dipper, a bird which feeds mainly on native trout in the river rapids. The Pristinus River is also well known for the annual migration of Leopard Eels from the Mediterranean to their spawning grounds in the small streams high up in the Lunar Mountains.

Social aspects

The Lunar Mountains are sparsely populated, and are losing population due to outmigration. About two dozen small villages with a total population of about 6,000 are scattered through the mountains, including seven which fall within the proposed inundation area of the Lunar Mountain dam. Residents of these mountain villages live mainly from sheep herding, taking the flocks from winter pastures in the river valleys to summer pastures at higher elevations. The area is famous for its local endemic breed of Urlan sheep whose wool is considered to be unique for its fine texture, fiber length and ivory color. Most of the wool production is sold by the villagers to itinerate traders, and is eventually used to make luxury shawls, scarves and long underwear for the European market. Some residents of Rustic Village, which is located 1 km upstream of the proposed dam site within the inundation area, also earn income as tour guides or run small inns or “Bed and Breakfast” establishments catering to tourists who come to see the famous Dawn Caves, with their cave drawings believed to date back to the Cro Magnon period. The entrance to theDawnCaves also lies just below the proposed high water line for the reservoir.

Along the Pristinus River downstream of the proposed dam there are three towns (Upper Town, Middle Town and Lower Town, populations 6,000, 9,000 and 15,000 respectively). There are also numerous small villages (populations ranging from 200-800) . The main economic activities in these towns and villages are fishing and small scale recession agriculture (i.e., planting on land which is flooded during the early Spring when rivers are high with snow melt, but which are uncovered as the flood waters recede by early summer).

Institutional Aspects:

The project will be implemented by the Provincial Water Management Agency of North Urlandia Province (dam construction and operation) the State-owned Urlandia Electricity Company(hydropower plant and southern OHTL) and the Ministry of Economic Development (northern OHTL). Up to now the PWMA has only implemented projects for construction of run-of-the-river hydropower plants and dams for domestic water supply.

Task # 1: Indicate what is the EA Category for this project, and why

Task #2: Indicate which Safeguard policies are likely to be triggered by this project and why

Task #3: Identify 5 significant potential negative environmental impacts of this project which will need to be mitigated (fill in the lefthand column of the table).

Task #4: Fill in the following Entitlement Matrix for at least three groups/categories of “Project Affected People,”in accordance with the provisions of OP 4.12, indicating the type of impact/loss on project affected people and their associated entitlement to assistance.

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