Environmental and Social Assessment and Management Framework
for
Bhutan Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management
Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation
March 2013
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Table of contents
Acronyms
Bhutanese Terms
Executive Summary
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1Objective of the Assessment and Management Framework
1.2Methodology of the Study
Chapter 2 – BTFEC’s Grant Program
2.1Objectives
2.2Coverage
2.3Strategic priorities and activities
2.4Current practices of integrating environmental and social concerns
Chapter 3 – Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management Project
3.1 Project Area Profile
3.1.1 Location
3.1.2 Objective
3.1.3 Project Components
3.2 Description of Project Area Environment
3.2.1 Country Overview
3.2.2 Project Area Environment Overview
3.2.3 Profile of the project area
Chapter 4 – Environmental and Social Assessment
4.1 Existing Pressures
4.1.1Environmental Pressures
4.1.2 Social Pressures
4.2 Potential Environmental and Social Impacts of the BTFEC overall grant program and the project
4.2.1 Overall impacts
4.2.2 Impacts of Infrastructure works
4.2.4 Impacts on Natural Habitats
4.2.5 Impacts due to chemical pesticide use
4.3 Environmental Policy, Regulations and Institutions
4.3.1 RGOB’s Policies, Regulations and Guidelines
4.3.2 WB Safeguards Policies Applicable to the Project
4.3.3 Institutions and environmental and social management capacity
Chapter 5 – Social and Environmental Management Framework
5.1 Negative List of Activities
5.2 Environmental and Social Safeguards Processing Steps
5.2.2Social and Environmental Screening and Assessment
5.2.3 Environmental and Social Recommendations and Project DPR
5.2.4Environmental Clearance (EC) and Social Clearances
5.2.5Social Management Plan (Resettlement Framework)
5.2.6Site-Environmental Management Plan
5.2.7Compliance and final monitoring
5.3 Consultations and Grievance Addressing
5.4 Environmental and Social Management Cost
5.5Specific considerations on Natural Habitats, Forestry, Pest Management and Physical Cultural Resources
5.5.1Natural Habitats
5.5.2Forestry
5.5.3Pest Management
5.5.4Physical Cultural Resources
Chapter 6 – Institutional Arrangements and Capacity
Annex 1. List of officials and stakeholders
Annex 2. Summary of consultation
Annex 3. Project area Gewog map
Annex 4. National Policies and Acts
Annex 5. Permissible pesticides list to Bhutan
Annex 6. Environmental Clearance Requirements
Annex 7. Sample Checklist for Environmental Risk Identification and Analysis
Annex 8. Sample Social Screening format
Annex 9. Recommended Format for a Pest Management Plan
Annex 10. PCR Chance Find Procedure
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Acronyms
BTFECBhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation
BMSBomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary
CBOCommunity Based Organization
CSOCivil Society Organization
FNCAForest and Nature Conservation Act
FYPFive-Year Plan
GYTGewog Yargay Tshongdu
ICRImplementation Completion Report
JDNPJigme Dorji National Park
M&EMonitoring and Evaluation
MOAMinistry of Agriculture
MoAFMinistry of Agriculture and Forests
MoEAMinistry of Economic Affairs
MoWHSMinistry of Work and Human Settlement
NBCNational Biodiversity Center
NECSNational Environment Commission Secretariat
NGONon-Governmental Organization
NuNgultrum
PESPayments for Environmental Services
RECOPRegulation for the Environmental Clearance of Projects, 2002
REDD+Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
RGoBRoyal Government of Bhutan
RNRRenewable Natural Resources
SMFSocial Management Framework
UNDPUnited Nations Development Programme
WCPWangchuck Centennial Park
WHOWorld Health Organisation
WWFWorld Wildlife Fund
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Bhutanese Terms
ChiwogVillage
ChathrimAct, rules and regulations, codes of conduct
DungkhagSub District
DzongdagDistrict Administrator
DzongkhagDistrict
DzongkhagAdministrative block
GupElected head of a Dzongkhag
GewogBlock (group of villages)
NgultrumBhutanese currency, pegged to Indian Rupee
SokshingForest registered in a household’s name for collection of leaf
litter for use in farmyard manure
TsamdoLand over which a community or household has customary
grazing rights
TseriSlash and burn cultivation
Yartsa-GuenbobCordyceps is agenusofascomycetefungi(sac fungi)
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Executive Summary
The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGOB) through the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) has prepared a project on Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management with a grant from the GEF/World Bank.
The project’s objective is to improve the operational effectiveness and institutional sustainability of the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environment Conservation through (1) enhanced operational effectiveness and sustainability of the BTFEC; (2) improved conservation management of the high altitude northern areas landscape (including protected areas and associated alpine meadows, forests and agricultural ecosystems; and (3) mainstreamed conservation and sustainable forest and natural resources management approaches in policy, strategy and plans.
The proposed project will be implemented in the administrative jurisdiction of three northern protected areas namely Jigme Dorji National Park, Wangchuck Centennial Park and Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary. The project area would consist of 27 Gewogs in ten Dzongkhags of north western, north central and north eastern Bhutan including Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue, Gasa, Bumthang, Trongsa, Trashi Yangtse, Mongar and Lhuntse.
An assessment of the social and environmental consequences of the proposed project was necessary to understand the risks and to identify potential ways to avoid, minimize, mitigate and manage any adverse effects that might arise. The initial assessment of the project activities have indicated that environmental and social impacts are most likely as part of the grant making under the component 2 of the project. While the individual scope of activities under grants will be small with low impacts, due to the project siting in important natural habitats and forest areas more concerted effort and due diligence will be required to ensure the project activities do not contribute towards habitat loss and degradation. In addition, the project is also focused on improving protected area management and land-use planning which on long-term may have impacts towards the local communities depending on natural resources unless strong participation and other governance principles that includes communities and other key stakeholders are integrated in the overall grant making and implementation process..
While, exact activities under the Component 2 are unknown, based on past grant making and the project design, an initial Environmental and Social Assessment has been conducted to get an understanding of the current environmental and social-economic status of the project area. As part of the assessment, consultations were held both centrally and locally and the stakeholder concerns have been incorporated as a guide during grant selection and implementation. In addition, an Environmental and Social Management Framework is developed based on field visits, interview with the local community and local governance representatives, as well as the RGOB and World Bank policy requirements.
While the project is classified as environmental category B, the overall project outcome is expected to be beneficial from environmental and social perspectives. However, the risks associated with implementation of activities inside protected areas, which are areas of ecological sensitivity and of high conservation value, both nationally and internationally, could be high requiring extra diligence. Past experience has shown that when protected area and forest reserve improvement/development activities which may have adverse environmental and social impacts are undertaken by responsible national agencies, the need to carry out environmental and social assessments has been overlooked. The proposed project activities will likely to have limited adverse social impacts.
One of the main findings is that there are no serious adverse environmental and social impacts due to project activities and many of the potential impacts can be easily mitigated through well-established measures and community participation. The framework has also identified a negative list eliminating activities that will impact key natural ecosystems. It was also noted that capacity building of the local institutions and local communities is essential in order to implement the projects. Further, concern of forest and land degradation in the areas and need for reforestation and afforestation programs to recuperate for better productivity has been identified.
The project would improve community livelihood conditions through development of pasture, supply of more number of breeding bulls and better breed of livestock, distribution of high yielding fodder tree seedlings, fodder grass seeds, promotion of organic farming and vegetable production, and yak product diversification. The main impact that may take place is livelihood impacts as a result of land-use changes to ensure sustainable agriculture and livestock practices. There are also concerns such as cultural disintegration and leading to loss of rural values and possible migration due to increased income from the project.
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
With the guidance of the Fourth King of Bhutan, the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) was established in 1992 as a collaborative venture among the Royal Government of Bhutan, the United Nations Development Program and the World Wildlife Fund. From the early 1990s, the BTFEC has supported through grants in the establishment of protected area system in Bhutan, training of Bhutanese individuals, strengthening existing and launching new institutions to manage protected areas, and carrying out research to inform policy makers, environmental leaders and conservation practitioners.
The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) through the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) has initiated the process of preparing Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management Project with a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank. The Project is based on the Conservation Management plans (2012-2017) of Wildlife Conservation Division of RGoB, BTFEC Action Plan (2011 – 2015) and BTFEC Strategic Plan (2010 – 2015).
The proposed Project will be implemented in the administrative jurisdiction of three northern protected areas namely Jigme Dorji National Park, Wangchuck Centennial Park and Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary. The Project area would consist of 27 Gewogs in ten Dzongkhags of north western, north central and north eastern Bhutan including Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue, Gasa, Bumthang, Trongsa, Trashi Yangtse, Mongar and Lhuntse.
An assessment of the social and environmental consequences of the proposed Project was necessary to understand the risks associated with project activities and to identify potential ways to avoid, minimize, mitigate and manage any adverse effects that might arise due to project investments, as well as long-term activities of the BTFEC. Project envisages several small-scale community infrastructures and activities to sustain livelihoods dependent on natural resources spread far and wide in three national parks within ten different Dzongkhags. As precise locations of the potential project activities, and their exact scope are not known during preparation, an initial assessment of the current environmental and social status of the Project area, as well as a Social and Environmental Management Framework (SEMF) as a guide to be used during implementation, when project/activity location and scope will be known has been developed.
1.1Objective of the Assessment and Management Framework
The overall objective of the current assignment is to conduct an Environmental and Social Assessment (ESA) and prepare a Social and Environment Management Framework (SEMF) for the proposed project. Following are the specific objectives:
- Conduct a combined sectoral social and environmental analysis of BTFEC’s overall grant program and not excluding grant activities proposed under component 2;
- Develop a combined Social and Environment Management Framework and procedures that could be suitably applied to grant activities likely to be proposed as part of this project as well as be applied more broadly to the range of activities in BTFEC’s national conservation grant programs
1.2Methodology of the Study
The assessment and the social and environmental management framework present in this report are based on analysis of information collected through literature review, consultative meetings/ interviews and field visits. Documents reviewed include various policies, legislations, regulations, guidelines and relevant documents of RGOB and the World Bank Safeguard Policies. In addition, other relevant documents such as the conservation management plans of operational protected areas, 10th Five-Year Plan (FYP) Main Document, Wildlife Conservation Division, and Conservation Management Plan – 2012 – 2017 were reviewed.
Consultative meetings and interviews were held with a number of institutions and inidviduals, ranging from officials of government agencies at the central level, Dzongkhag Tshogdu (GT) members, and local villagers in the field. Field visits included visits to Nubi in Trongsa, Gangzur in Lhuntse, Mangme of Sephu and gewog clerk of Tang in Bumthang. During the field consultations, the consultant was assisted by park officials and RNR agents of various gewogs visited during the course of field work. The consultations were held in two forms: (1) group discussions with cross-section of men and women, including some GYT members; and, (2), interviews of individual households, particularly those considered as vulnerable. The vulnerable households were determined in terms of low cash income, landlessness or small land holdings, recurrent food deficit, high proportion of dependents (young children, old parents, disable members), women headed households due to death/illness of husband or divorce. In each field consultation site/gewog, either Tsogpas or Mangme were requested to identify vulnerable households. See Annex 1 (List of officials and stakeholders met), and Annex 2 (Summary of Consultations).
Chapter 2 – BTFEC’s Grant Program
This chapter provides the BTFEC grant program in order to provide the context of the existing system which will be supported through the proposed Project.
2.1Objectives
The main objective of BTFEC’s grant program is aimed at improving the operational effectiveness and sustainability of the institute and to achieve the following three outcomes:
- Enhanced operational effectiveness and sustainability of the BTFEC
- Improved conservation management of the high altitude northern areas landscape (including protected areas and associated alpine meadows, forests and agricultural ecosystems)
- Mainstreamed conservation and sustainable forest and natural resources management approaches in policy, strategy and plans.
2.2Coverage
The programs which the Trust Fund was mandated to support aligned clearly with the national priorities and the themes for BTFEC support were as following:
(a)Training professionals in ecology, natural resources, management, forestry and environment;
(b)Assessing biological resources and develop an ecological information base;
(c)Developing and implementing protected area management plans;
(d)Public awareness and environmental education in schools;
(e)Institutional support to related sectors/agencies; and
(f)Projects integrating conservation and development.
2.3Strategic priorities and activities
The first Strategic Plan was adopted as the guiding document of BTFEC activities in 1997. The plan had a twenty-year horizon that envisioned the BTFEC becoming a contributor across the entire green sector by the end of that period. Fine-tuning of the plan was delegated to the Technical Advisory Panel, which was mandated to develop five-year plans that would achieve the broad goals and to review and evaluate grants consistent with the medium-term plans the Board would approve.
The long-term goals for the BTFEC included developing a fully functioning protected areas system comprised of nine areas, catalyzing funding to build a conservation information management system and helping to incorporate environmental awareness and education into the education system. At the time the first Strategic Plan was developed, experience with the first five years of grant-making had shown that the capacity of grantees to prepare proposals and implement activities was inadequate and that the institutions required to manage all aspects of conservation were weak. The BTFEC thus concluded that its priority objective was to strengthen institutions to promote effective management of conservation programs and build capacity of its grantees to implement field activities[1].
2.4Current practices of integrating environmental and social concerns
In terms of achievement, it has been concluded that the 92 grants valued at Nu 450 million (US$ 10 million) approved through 2009/2010 were substantively consistent with the broad goals of the Strategic Plan, as well as with the program and funding objectives that determined the areas of grant support. The long-term strategy itself was implemented with very positive outlook, but not fully completed and require further improvements to ensure sustainability.
The current practices of integrating environment and social concerns to the grant program are at its infant stage, although all efforts are made to follow existing RGOB’s environmental policy. With the support of the proposed Project, BTFEC intends to incorporate and improve the international environmental and social practices that are also in line with national requirements as part of operationalizing of the grant program. Hence the tools proposed as part of this framework will be piloted on the ground for their practicality and effectiveness and will be included as part of the BTFEC’s Operations Manual that will be improved during the project implementation.
Chapter 3 – Sustainable Financing for Biodiversity Conservation and Natural Resources Management Project
The proposed project is consistent with the GEF strategy under GEF 5 “Improve Sustainability of Protected Area Systems” which supports the objectives of improving the sustainability of the protected areas located in the high altitude northern areas (HANAS) landscape of Bhutan and improving the long term financial sustainability of these protected areas. The project will work through the existing Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC) to improve its operational effectiveness, transparency and capacity to manage funds required for management of the HANAS landscape, and more importantly become an effective instrument for sustainable financing for biodiversity conservation in Bhutan as a whole.
The HANAS landscape occupies around 1,500,000 hectares consisting of three protected areas (Map 1), intervening biological corridors, agricultural lands and village settlements, alpine grazing lands and reserved forestlands. Within the HANAS landscape, the project will support efforts to expand and improve the management effectiveness of three existing protected areas and intervening forest corridors through review and update of existing management plans, zonation, monitoring of critical species, research, inventory and surveys and engagement of local communities in habitat management and community stewardship. It will also support efforts to reduce negative impacts on productive sectors and community actions, particularly outside the protected areas and support mainstreaming of biodiversity in local and sector policies and programs through targeted capacity building, documentation and dissemination of best practices, and highlight the contribution of biodiversity to ecotourism, and livestock and forest management.