Environmental Guidelines and Framework
The Rural Energy II Project (the Project) is classified as Category B for environmental assessment (EA, see OP/BP/GP 4.01 Environmental Assessment). The project may include both positive and negative impacts. Negative impacts are minor, and temporary and are primarily associated with preconstruction and construction activities. Positive impacts are mostly incurred during operation, and are likely to be significant because of their longer term nature at both the local and regional level.
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Ministry of Industry
Rural Energy II Project
Environmental Guidelines and Framework
Attachment to Ministry of Industry’s Decision
Number: Date:
January, 2004
Environmental Guidelines and Framework
VIETNAM: Rural Energy II
1. Introduction
The Rural Energy II Project (the Project) is classified as Category B for environmental
assessment (EA, see OP/BP/GP 4.01 Environmental Assessment). The project may include
both positive and negative impacts. Negative impacts are minor, and temporary and are
primarily associated with preconstruction and construction activities. Positive impacts are
mostly incurred during operation, and are likely to be significant because of their longer term
nature at both the local and regional level.
2. Overview
This framework document will provide guidance on the EA process to be adopted for
subprojects to be considered for financing under the Project. Basically, there are eight
elements involved for the EA process during project preparation and three elements involved
with project implementation. These are listed below:
Investment Preparation
Screening
EA Documentation/Document Content
Consultation
Disclosure
EA Review and Approval
Subloan Conditionality and Approval
Environmental Performance Standards
Licensing and Permitting
Investment Implementation
Institutional Responsibilities for Environmental Management
Supervision Responsibilities for Mitigation and Monitoring
Permits and Licensing
A discussion of each of these elements will define the EA process to be followed for
subprojects to be considered for financing under the Project.
INVESTMENT PREPARATION
Screening
The Client will prepare an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) document for the
subproject (see next section for content of an IEE document). to determine the magnitude and
nature of the impacts.
If the PMU determines that the subproject impacts are significant and adverse and/or
unprecedented, such a project would be considered Category A under the World Bank EA
policy, and therefore would not be considered further for financing. Where the IEE indicates
no significant environmental issues (most cases) the subprojects are eligible for financing
under the Project.
2
The DONRE will determine if the subproject requires an EIA in accordance with Vietnamese
criteria or if no further study is necessary.
If an EIA is required by DONRE for subprojects which the PMU assesses to be Category B
an EIA acceptable to the Government of Vietnam and an Environmental Management Plan
(EMP) acceptable to the WB and DONRE will be required for further processing of the
subproject.
If an EIA is not required by DONRE for subprojects which the PMU assesses to be Category
B an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) acceptable to the WB and an environmental
certificate as required by DONRE will be the only environmental requirement for further
processing of the subproject.
EA Documentation/Document Content
Preparation of all EA documentation is the responsibility of the Client.
An IEE should include the following sections:
• Project Description (see Annex 1)
• Screening of Potential Environmental Issues AND Rationale for Their
Significance Grading
An EMP should be developed from the Environmental Template Document, which
has been suggested by WB and the final version is yet to be endorsed by EVN and MOI
An EIA or environmental certificate should be prepared in accordance with
Vietnamese guidelines as presented in the GOV Circular 490/KHCNMT
All EA documents (IEE, EMP, and EIA) should be consistent. For example, priority
issues identified should be the same for all EA documents as well as the proposed measures to
mitigate these issues. Similarly, institutional responsibilities for mitigation, monitoring etc.
should be the same in all EA documents.
Consultation
The Client will be required to conduct a consultation with project affected people and
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The purpose of the consultation is to identify
environmental issues of concern to project affected groups and NGOs, so that they may be
included in the EA documents. Therefore consultation may take place either before the EMP
is prepared or after a draft EMP is available. In either case, the final EMP should include any
appropriate environmental issues identified at the consultation.
The consultation can be conducted in any of several forms: door to door survey,
public meeting, circulation of questionnaires, call-in to local radio or TV station, etc.
Detailed documentation of the consultation (see Annex F of the Environmental
Template Document) should be included in the EMP and IEE/EIA.
Disclosure
The Client will be required to provide a Vietnamese language version of the EMP and
IEE/EIA in a public location easily accessible to project affected people. An English language
3
version of the EMP and IEE/EIA should also be provided by the Client to the World Bank
Office in Hanoi for display in its library (VDIC) and in the InfoShop in Washington DC
EA Review and Approval
The Client will be responsible for delivering IEE/EIA and EMP documents of quality
acceptable to the Bank for the Bank’s review and clearance.
In the final submission to the Bank, the Client should provide evidence to the PMU
(e.g. copies of the letters of approval, environmental certificate) that all necessary approvals
of the IEE/EIA have been obtained from the responsible Vietnamese authorities.
Subloan Conditionality and Approval
It is the responsibility of the Client to assure that subloan agreements include a
statement which commits the Client to implementing the EMP. The following sample may be
useful:
“The Client (or sub-Borrower) agrees to implement the Environmental Management Plan
(EMP) as presented in (indicate where the officially approved EMP is located----it could be
included as an Annex in the loan documents or situated in a project file)”
From the environmental view, a subloan may only be approved after the Client has:
(a) agreed to the conditionality for EMP implementation, (b) has successfully conducted and
documented the public consultation and (c) demonstrated that all appropriate EA documents
have been disclosed.
Environmental Performance Standards
If either construction or operation aspects of the subproject are subject to specific
Vietnamese environmental standards, for example: electric and magnetic field strength,
prohibition of the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), noise, dust, etc. These items
should be included in the Environmental Monitoring Program section of the EMP (see Annex
C of the Environmental Template Document). It is the Clients’ responsibility to assure that all
Vietnamese environmental performance standards are met in the design, construction and
operation of the subproject. It is the responsibility of the Vietnamese environmental
authorities to assure these standards are obeyed. From time to time, if necessary, the
Vietnamese environmental authorities may wish to seek support of the PMU in meeting their
responsibility.
Licensing and Permitting
It is the responsibility of the Client to secure and maintain any necessary licenses or
permits which are either issued by or require approval of any Vietnamese environmental
authorities during both subproject construction and operation phases for the life of the project.
INVESTMENT IMPLEMENTATION
Supervision Responsibilities for Mitigation and Monitoring
It is the responsibility of the PMU, possibly in collaboration with Vietnamese
environmental authorities to supervise both the mitigation and monitoring activities which
have been agreed to by the Client in the subloan documentation. The supervision effort should
be a regular on-going activity. Additionally, if there are complaints from local project-
4
affected groups, the PMU should be prepared to send staff in a timely fashion to assess the
validity of complaints and take any necessary actions to remedy the situation.
Institutional Responsibilities for Environmental Management
Institutional responsibilities for environmental management must be carefully
delineated and described in the EMP. Annex C of the Environmental Template Document
indicates the type of information which is required. A clear line of responsibility must be
indicated from data collection (numbers, observations), to analysis (information based upon
data), to reporting (information flow) to management (decision makers).
The PMU will be responsible for monitoring of the implementation of a Site EMP
(SEMP) by the contractors. An independent safeguard consultant will be hired by the Client
to monitor the general impacts of the project and the EMP implementation. The head of the
project’s communes will be sending to the PMU a monthly monitoring report. Based on this
reporting line, the PMU will consolidate the implementation of EMP in its quarterly progress
report submitted to the Bank, copied to respective DONREs.
Permits and Licensing
Vietnamese environmental authorities are responsible for assuring that any
permits or licenses which they either issue or approve for the subproject are maintained. It is
the Clients’ responsibility to maintain all such licenses and permits current. From time to
time, if necessary, the Vietnamese environmental authorities may wish to seek support of the
PMU in assuring the Client meets this responsibility.
5
Annex 1: RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
(Applied for rapid environmental assessment in the Project site)
Project's name: Rural Energy II - phase 1b
Province:
District
Commune
Screening Question Yes No Remarks
1. Project's sitting: - In the case select "yes", describe detailed
information such as: name of historical property,
Is the Project site adjacent to or within nearest distance from the sensitive area to the
any of the following environmental Project site etc..
sensitive areas?
• Cultural heritage site
• Protected areas
• Wetland
• Forest under Program 661
• Estuary
• Buffer zone of Protected areas
• Nature reserves like bird yard,
mangrove forest etc.
Rivers and reservoirs - Name of main water bodies (rivers), lakes,
reservoirs and nearest distance to the Project site
• Canals and irrigation system - Assess the density of the canal system in the
Project's area
2. Potential environmental impacts If select " yes", please describe and briefly assess
impact's level
Will the Project cause:
Encroachment on historical/cultural areas
Encroachment on critical ecosystem (e.g.
sensitive or protected area, national park,
nature reserve etc....)
Disfiguration of landscape and increase
waste generation
Change of surface water quality or water If select " yes", please list of main reasons
flows
• Increase water turbidity due to
run- off and erosion
• Waste water from camping sites
6
Screening Question Yes No Remarks
are directly discharged to the
surface water resources or not?
• Construction waste are directly
discharged to the surface water or
not?
Increase the dust level ? If select " yes", please list of main reasons
Increase noise and/or vibration? If select " yes", please list of main reasons
Permanent land acquisition If select " yes", please list of land area for
permanent acquisition, type of soils, and purpose of
acquisition
Temporary land acquisition If select " yes", please list of land area for
permanent acquisition, type of soils, and purpose of
acquisition, duration of acquisition
Is there any household need to be
relocated? If yes, how many households?
Would the resettlement site is If select “yes” briefly describe the potential
environmentally and/or culturally impacts
sensitive
Is there any risk of disease dissemination - Estimated number of groups of workers to be
from construction workers to the local hired for project construction in the
commune/district
peoples (and vice versia) ?
Is there any potential for conflict between
construction workers and local peoples
(and vice versia)?
Are explosive and hazardous chemicals - If select "yes", please list of these materials
used within the Project?
In the past, there was any accident
incurred due to landmines or explosive
materials remaining from the war?
Will Project's construction cause - If select "yes", please assess the impact level:
disturbance to the transportation in the + Significant impact
Project's site? + Medium impact
+ Minor
Project's construction will cause any
damage to the existing rural roads system?
Will soil excavation during Project's - If select "yes", please assess the impact level:
construction cause soil erosion ? + Significant impact
+ Medium impact
+ Minor
Will Project need to open new access - If select "yes", please briefly estimate number of
roads? temporary access roads and their locations
Will Project cause fragmentation of - If select "yes", please describe
habitat of flora and fauna?
Will Project cause impact on air
transportation?
Will Project cause risk to safety and If select “yes” ", please describe
human health (EMF, electric shock etc.)?
7
CHECK LIST FOR RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
(Applied for rapid environmental assessment of the Project's province)
1.Description of microclimate condition of the Project's
province
• Average rainfall
• Average temperature
• Prevalent wind direction
• Main seasons and time for each season in the year
2.General geography/ physical environment
• Topography
• Soil type
3. Natural resources
• Fauna resource
• Flora resource
8
CHECK LIST FOR RAPID SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
(This check list is applied for rapid socio-economic assessment of the Project's Province)
Project's name RURAL ENERGY 2 - PHASE 1b
Province
Parameter Information
A. Land use
1 Land use pattern in the Project's province - Agriculture (%):
- Fishery and aquaculture (%):
- Forest (%):
- Residential (%):
- Specific purpose (%):
- Other (%):
2 If there is a substantial different of land use - Agriculture (%):
pattern in Project's province and Project's district, - Fishery and aquaculture (%):
please add information about landuse pattern in
- Forest (%):
the district
- Residential (%):
- Specific purpose (%):
- Other (%):
B. Population
3 Province's demographic figure
4 Demographic figure of the Project's district
C. Education and health care service
5 Percentage of children going to school
6 Average number of healthcare stations in each
commune
D. Infrastructure
7 Source of water for daily use (river, stream, tap or
rain water?)
8 Is there any system for waste water collection in
the Project's district/communes?
9 Is there any system for solid waste collection in
the Project's district or Project's commune?
10 Number and condition of roads in the
province/district/commune area
E. Industrial activities
11 Please list main industrial activities in the
Project's district/commune?
9