3.2Implication of GoB Polices, Acts and Rules on CEIP & Classification -
The CEIP project intervention Legislative bases for environmental assessment in Bangladesh are the Environmental Conservation Act 1995 (ECA'95) and the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 (ECR'97). Department of Environment (DOE), under the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), is the regulatory body responsible for enforcing the ECA'95 and ECR'97. According to the Rule 7 (1) of the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997; for the purpose of issuance of Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), every industrial units or projects, in consideration of their site and impact on the environment, will be classified into the four categories and they are: Category I (green), Category II (Orange-A), Category III (Orange B) and Category IV (Red). According to the categorization, all construction/reconstruction/expansion of flood control embankment/polder/dykes etc falls under Red Category. Therefore Coastal Embankment Improvement Project falls under the ‘Red’ category.
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It is the responsibility of the proponent to conduct an EIA of development proposal, the responsibility to review EIAs for the purpose of issuing Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) rests on DOE. The procedures for “Red” Category include submission of:
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An Initial Environmental Examination (IEE)
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An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
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An Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
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Environment clearance has to be obtained by the respective implementing agency or project proponent (private sector) from Department of Environment (DOE). The environmental clearance procedure for Red Category projects can be summarized as follows:
A pplication to DOE Obtaining Site Clearance Applying for Environmental Clearance Obtaining Environmental Clearance Clearance Subject to annual renewal
3.3Detailed Steps of In Country Environmental Clearance Procedure -
Legislative bases for EIA in Bangladesh are the Environmental Conservation Act
1995 (ECA'95) and the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 (ECR'97). Department
of Environment (DOE), under the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), is the regulatory
body responsible for enforcing the ECA'95 and ECR'97. According to the Environment Conservation Act 1995 no industrial unit or project will be established or undertaken without obtaining, in the manner prescribed by the Environment Conservation Rules 1997, an Environmental Clearance Certificate from the Director General. Therefore, every development projects/industries which are specified under the Schedule –1 of the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997 require obtaining site clearance and environmental clearance from DoE. For ‘Red’ category, it is mandatory to carry out an EIA including an EMP and where necessary develop a Resettlement Plan for getting environmental clearance from DoE. The application procedure for obtaining site clearance and environmental clearance for the sub-projects of Red category is shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3 2: Process of obtaining Clearance certificate from DoE
3.4World Bank's Environmental Safeguards Policy 3.4.1General Description of World Bank Safeguard Policy -
The World Bank has developed a number of Safeguard Operation Policies to ensure that all possible impacts are considered and mitigation measures are spelled out prior to the implementation of any proposed project. These policies ensure that the quality of operations is uniform across different settings worldwide. If the decision is taken that a Safeguard Policy should be applied, mitigation measures and plans must be developed and in place before the implementation of a proposed project.
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The Bank requires environmental screening and classification for all investment projects2 (including ones financed by Trust Funds, Project Preparation Facilities and Guarantees) proposed for Bank financing, to help ensure that they are environmentally and socially sound and sustainable. Screening and classification take into account the natural environment (air, water, and land); human health and safety; social aspects (involuntary resettlement, Indigenous Peoples); cultural property; and trans-boundary and global environmental aspects.
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The objectives of environmental screening and classification are: to evaluate the environmental risks associated with a proposed operation; to determine the depth and breadth of Environmental Assessment (EA); and to recommend an appropriate choice of EA instrument(s) suitable for a given project. The Bank recognizes that environmental screening and classification is not absolute and involves professional judgment on a case by case basis. When screening, careful consideration needs to be given to potential environmental impacts and risks associated with the proposed project. Judgment is exercised with reference to the policy expectations and guidance; real impacts on the ground; and established regional and Bank-wide precedence and good practice.
3.4.2OP 4.01 Environmental Assessment
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The World Bank requires environmental assessment (EA) of projects proposed for Bank support to ensure that they are environmentally sound and sustainable, and thus to improve decision making. EA is a process whose breadth, depth, and type of analysis depend on the nature, scale, and potential environmental impact of the proposed project. EA evaluates a project's potential environmental risks and impacts in its area of influence; examines project alternatives; identifies ways of improving project selection, siting, planning, design, and implementation by preventing, minimizing, mitigating, or compensating for adverse environmental impacts and enhancing positive impacts; and includes the process of mitigating and managing adverse environmental impacts throughout project implementation. EA takes into account the natural environment (air, water and land); human health and safety; social aspects (involuntary resettlement, indigenous peoples and physical cultural resources); and trans-boundary and global environmental aspects. The borrower is responsible for carrying out the EA and the Bank advises the borrower on the Bank's EA requirements.
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The World Bank classifies the proposed project into three major categories, depending on the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the project and the nature and magnitude of its potential environmental impacts.
Category A: The proposed project is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts that are sensitive, diverse, or unprecedented. These impacts may affect an area broader than the sites or facilities subject to physical works.
Category B: The proposed project's potential adverse environmental impacts on human population or environmentally important areas-including wetlands, forests, grasslands, or other natural habitats- are less adverse than those of ‘Category A’ projects. These impacts are site specific; few if any of them are irreversible; and in most cases mitigation measures can be designed more readily than Category A projects.
Category C: The proposed project is likely to have minimal or no adverse environmental impacts.
3.4.3OP 4.04: Natural Habitats -
The policy describes the conservation of natural habitats, like other measures that protect and enhance the environment, is essential for long-term sustainable development. The Bank therefore supports the protection, maintenance, and rehabilitation of natural habitats and their functions in its economic and sector work, project financing, and policy dialogue. The Bank also supports, and expects borrowers to apply, a precautionary approach to natural resource management to ensure opportunities for environmentally sustainable development. The Bank- promotes and- supports natural habitat conservation and improved land use by financing projects designed to integrate into national and regional development the conservation of natural habitats and the maintenance of ecological functions. Furthermore, the Bank promotes the rehabilitation of degraded natural habitats. The Bank does not support projects that involve the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats.
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The OP 4.07 policy is intended to ensure the international standard for water resources management. The Bank’s involvement in water resources management entails support for providing potable water, sanitation facilities, flood control, and water for productive activities in a manner that is economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and socially equitable. The Bank assists borrowers in many priority areas, among which developing a comprehensive framework for designing water resource investments, policies, and institutions is very important. Within this framework, when the borrower develops and allocates water resources, it considers cross-sectoral impacts in a regional setting (e.g., a river basin). Restoring and preserving aquatic ecosystems and guarding against overexploitation of groundwater resources are also given priority to the provision of adequate water and sanitation services for the poor. Furthermore, special attentions are needed by the borrowers to avoid the water logging and salinity problems associated with irrigation investments by (i) monitoring water tables and implementing drainage networks where necessary, and (ii) adopting best management practices to control water pollution.
3.4.5OP 4.11: Physical Cultural Resources -
Physical cultural resources are defined as movable or immovable objects, sites, structures, groups of structures, and natural features and landscapes that have archaeological, paleontological, historical, architectural, religious, aesthetic, or other cultural significance. Their cultural interest may be at the local, provincial or national level, or within the international community. Physical cultural resources are important as sources of valuable scientific and historical information, as assets for economic and social development, and as integral parts of a people's cultural identity and practices. The Bank assists countries to avoid or mitigate adverse impacts on physical cultural resources from development projects that it finances. The impacts on physical cultural resources resulting from project activities, including mitigating measures, may not contravene either the borrower’s national legislation, or its obligations under relevant international environmental treaties and agreements. The borrower should address the impacts on physical cultural resources in projects proposed for Bank financing, as an integral part of the environmental assessment (EA) process.
3.4.6OP 4.36: Forests -
The OP 4.36 is concerned about the management, conservation, and sustainable development of forest ecosystems and their associated resources. The bank believe that forests are very much essential for poverty reduction and sustainable development irrespective of their location in the world. Since some part of the coastal zone of Bangladesh is covered by mangrove and other type of forest, the assessment of impacts of CEIP project on the forest ecosystems need special attention while doing environmental assessment.
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The Bank assists borrowers with forest restoration activities that maintain or enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. The Bank also assists borrowers with the establishment and sustainable management of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable forest plantations to help meet growing demands for forest goods and services. The Bank does not finance projects that, in its opinion, would involve significant conversion or degradation of critical forest areas or related critical natural habitats. If a project involves the significant conversion or degradation of natural forests or related natural habitats that the Bank determines are not critical, and the Bank determines that there are no feasible alternatives to the project and its siting, and comprehensive analysis demonstrates that overall benefits from the project substantially outweigh the environmental costs, the Bank may finance the project provided that it incorporates appropriate mitigation measures. The Bank does not finance projects that contravene applicable international environmental agreements. The bank insist that the plantation projects should be designed carefully to avoid introduction of invasive species and threaten biodiversity.
3.4.7IFC Environmental Health & Safety Guideline -
The Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), 2008 is the safeguard guidelines for environment, health and safety for the development of the industrial and other projects. They contain performance levels and measures that are considered to be achievable in new facilities at reasonable costs using existing technologies.
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