communities, in particular construction sites, if mitigation measures are not applied. Inadequate environmental supervision stemming from insufficient human and financial resources in the cities may lead to incomplete implementation of environmental protection measures. environmental and worker safety issues due to poor construction supervision and low compliance by contractors. construction monitoring; environmental management capacity for the participating cities/provinces; the environmental screening and assessment process; and environmental monitoring and supervision through adequate staffing Sustainability Improvements in environmental and social performance/ capacity need to be institutionalized in to ensure sustainability after the Program ends. Moderate environmental and social capacity in the participating cities/provinces, including adequate staffing of agencies; and the implementation of national social and environmental regulations and guidelines.
Institutional capacities/ complexities For smaller investments, the DONRE and city authorities have jurisdiction; while for larger investments, it is the province. Unclear responsibilities and mandates may lead to delays in approval of sub-projects. Land acquisition activities are conducted by the city’s specialized organizations so inadequate coordination between these organizations and the PMU could cause delays and complexities in the land acquisition process. Weak capacity of the PMU would limit effective consultation with local people, including ethnic minorities. Substantial Clarify the roles and responsibilities of DONRE, the city authorities and the provinces for approval of sub-projects, including revising operational guidelines and procedures; Develop guidelines and procedures through the POM to strengthen the implementation of national regulations relating to land acquisition; and Build capacity of PMUs and develop guidelines for consultation including with ethnic minorities. Reputational There are differences in implementation practices of involuntary resettlement Moderate PAP actions on community participation and consultation, land
activities. In cases of land acquisition where compensation is delayed and/or not paid at market rates, complaints may be filed and lead to reputational risks. Support to “chunky” (larger) infrastructure may be perceived as atypical of PforR operations which have mainly supported low- to investments. acquisition and compensation and grievance redress mechanisms (reflected in DLI verification protocol); and Program should carefully consider the potential social and environment risks when appraising larger infrastructure sub-projects to mitigate reputational risks. Main Conclusions and Recommendations Past Program performance The World Bank has partnered with Vietnam on several road, transport and other urban infrastructure projects. Recent operations include: the Vietnam Road Asset Management Project (VRAMP); Da Nang Sustainable City Development Project (SCDP); the Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project (VUUP); and the Mekong Delta Region – Urban Upgrading Project (MDR-UUP). Following a review of the relevant environmental records and site visits by task teams to these operations, no significant environmental issues were identified. Many roads and bridges in Vietnam have been constructed, rehabilitated and maintained during the implementation of these operations and no major environmental issue was reported or identified during field supervision. Institutionally, the environmental management function is fully established from the central to the city level and is capable of managing the environmental aspects associated with the vast majority of investments identified for the RBNUDP-NM. However, shortcomings in the performance of the environmental management system have been identified, including: (a) weaknesses in environmental screening and assessment; (b) weaknesses in post-EIA monitoring and supervision practices, and (c) challenges in ensuring environmental compliance during the construction phase. Given the proposed type and scale of investments under the Program, its geographic focus, and previous experience with similar sub-projects in
Strengthen environmental management capacity From March 2015 MOC, Provincial People’s Committees (PPCs), PMUs, DONREs, environmental staff and consultants, contractors, design consultants, benefited communities Clarify roles and responsibilities of DONRE, city, provincial authorities MOC, through POM Improve environmental screening and assessment process On-going MOC, CPCs, environmental staff Improve post-EIA environmental monitoring and supervision From March 2015 PPCs, PMUs, environmental staff, construction supervision consultants Promote community participation in sub-project design and construction monitoring. as part of preparation PMUs, design consultants, contractors, benefited/affected communities Consider carefully environment risks when appraising larger infrastructure sub-projects to mitigate potential reputational risks WB, MOC, PPCs, PPMUs Gaps in the social management legal framework have been identified in regard to social screening and assessment, involuntary resettlement, participation and social accountability, including for Ethnic Minorities. In addition, weakness has been found in the existing capacity for effective management of social aspects at the provincial and city levels, leading to a lack of institutional sustainability. From the social management perspective, the following Program measures are recommended (and summarized in Table 3): Improve the transparency and accountability of implementing organizations through the maintenance of a database on corruption/fiduciary/procurement and Program implementation feedback and complaints. This should be included as an action in the Program Action Plan. Conduct social screening to maximize project benefits and minimize adverse impact to local communities especially on land acquisition. Specific information on social screening processes to be used under the Program should be included in the POM in order to make it a condition for Program negotiations. If land acquisition is unavoidable, provinces and cities will ensure that people affected by loss of land and assets will be compensated so that they are no worse off than before that loss. An appropriate mechanism will be developed to assess the value of lost land and other assets so that they are reflective of market value, and to determine adequate compensation (for legal users) and assistance (for illegal land users). This should be included as an action in the Program Action Plan. Agree on and approve detailed screening criteria and procedures regarding ‘voluntary donation’ of land. This should be done prior to commencement of civil works to ensure people are not worse off after the donation. Program funds may be project
roads, lighting, drainage Localized flooding from materials loading Disturbance to farming/gardening production activities at road side land Negative impacts on landscape, localized flooding at borrow pits and quarries Social disturbance: lives and business are affected/disrupted, accessibility to roadside building interrupted Smoke from bitumen heating Accessibility to main road from roadside houses may be reduced if road surface is significantly different from existing ground elevation rehabilitation Social disturbance: daily lives and business are affected/disrupted, accessibility to roadside building interrupted Disruption to existing public services such as water supply, drainage Smoke from bitumen heating Reduce roads safety risks Bridge construction River/stream pollution due to construction wastes and materials Disturbance to aquatic life Disturbance to waterway traffic Disturbance to fishing activities High level of noise from pile driving Smoke from bitumen heating High safety risk during flood discharge from hydropower upstream Hoa Binh Changes in landscape Erosion risks discharge points and slopes created Increased localized level of dust, noise and vibration Accessibility of waterway traffic means on river Further appropriate mitigation measures will be detailed in the POM Bridge rehabilitation Disruption to existing access on road way Disruption to water way transport River/stream water pollution High level of noise and vibration from piling Drainage channels, detention reservoirs Odor from dredged materials Visual impacts, localized flooding related to temporary loading of dredged materials Improved landscape Less mosquito and water-borne diseases; insects and vermin Construction of infrastructure in resettlement areas Waste and wastewater generation Underground channels Disruption to existing services such as power supply, water supply and cables Infrastructure in LIAs Disruption of accessibility to houses Disruption of existing drains, water supply, power supply
Annex 3: Comparison of EIA requirements of World Bank and Vietnam WB EA requirements (OP4.01, 4.11, and 4.04) Vietnamese EIA requirements Comments /Applicability of Vietnamese requirements to RB NUUP-NM Guiding principles OP4.01 statements “The Bank requires EA of projects proposed for Bank financing to help ensure that they are environmentally sound and sustainable, and thus to improve decision making” The Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) Article 1: This Law provides regulations on environmental protection activities, on policies, measures and resources for environmental protection; rights and responsibilities of entities regarding environmental protection. Article 3: Environmental protection activities refers to the activities that keep the environment clean and beautiful, that prevent and reduce negative environmental impacts, that respond to environmental hazards that rehabilitate the environment from pollution / degradation, and environmental improvement, biodiversity protection etc… Article 4. “Environmental protection should be combined with development to ensure sustainable development; environmental protection for the country should adhere to regional and global environmental protection”. OP 4.01 and the Environmental Law statements agree on sustainable development and environmental protection principles. It is an obligation for the RB NUUP-NM to comply with the Environmental Law of Vietnam follows sustainable development principles. OP4.01 statements “EA is a process whose breadth, depth, and type of analysis depend on the nature, scale, and potential environmental impact of the proposed project” LEP - Decree 29/2011/ND-CP Article 12: “Projects that EA is required for are listed in Annex II of this Decree”; “Investment Projects with Characteristics, scale, capacity not listed or below the threshold specified in Annex II of this Decree” are required to prepare EPC (Article 29). OP4.01 and Decree 29/2011 are in agreement that all sub-projects are required to prepare EA based on the level of impacts and risks. Among the 94 proposed sub-projects, 12 sub-projects are subjected to EA: (a) Dredging of 3 retention lakes with areas > 1 ha; (b) Lining of 5 river embankments with L>1 km, and lining of one drainage channel with L>5 km; and (c) Construction of 3 new bridges with L> 200 m excluding the access road. The remaining 82 sub-projects are subjected to EPC preparation.
Section 2.1 Physical environment: This section covers baseline conditions including geography and geology, meteorology, hydrology and components of the physical environment (air, water, soil) Section 2.2.2 – Social background: “mentions population, characteristics of ethnic groups, name and location of cultural/religious/historical structures, residential clusters, urban centres and other relevant structures located within the project areas or areas potentially affected by the project. … It also takes into account … the country's overall policy framework, national legislation, and institutional capacities related to the environment and social aspects. LEP - Decree 29/2011/ND-CP - Circular 26/2011/BTNMT Annex 2.5 – specify requirements on each section of EA report Executive Summary Section 1 – Project origin: 1.3 The relationship between the project with development plans appraised and approved by relevant authorities Section 2 – Legal and technical basis Provide a list of legal and technical documents as the basis for EA Section 4: EA arrangements Provide a list of the EA team including members as well as Project owners and consultants, specify the qualifications of each member EAs of RB NUUP- NM subprojects will follow the instructions in Circular 26, that allows the country's overall policy framework, national legislation, and institutional capacities related to the environment and social aspects are taken into account
OP 4.11 The borrower addresses impacts on physical cultural resources…as an integral part of the environmental assessment (EA) process. The elaborated below follow the EA sequence of: screening; developing terms of reference (TORs); collecting baseline data; impact assessment; and formulating mitigating measures and a management plan. LEP - Decree 29/2011/ND-CP - Circular 26 Annexes 2.5 (contents of EA report) and 5.2 (contents of EPC document) require screening for the present of known physical cultural resources in the project area as part of discussions on geographical characteristics of the project area “…cultural, historical, religious structures and objects etc…” were explicitly spelled out The Law on Cultural Heritage Article 8: cultural heritages present within the territory of Vietnam, regardless of in-country or external origin, regardless of ownership, all are protected and values are promoted Article 32 specifies zoning of protected areas for PCRs Article 36 specifies that at appraisal stage for projects located outside the protection zone of PCR with potential environmental impacts including impacts on the landscape of the area, written appraisal documentation prepared by the relevant cultural management authorities is required. EAs of RB NUUP-NM sub-projects will follow the instructions in Circular 26, which allows PCRs to be screened at the EA stage so that potential impacts can be avoided, assessed and mitigated in a timely manner OP4.04 statements The Bank does not support projects that, in the Bank's opinion, involve the significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats. The revised Law on Biodiversity Protection (2008) 78 Articles presented 8 Chapters provide detailed regulations on biodiversity conservation and the rights and responsibilities of individuals and entities on biodiversity conservation and promotion. Article 3: Biodiversity conservation means the protection for the diversity of critical, typical or representative Primary screening of sub-projects shows that no will affect legally protected areas specified in the revised Law on Biodiversity Protection. No subprojects will affect specified in item 2 of Annex 3, Decree 29 that requires MONRE appraisal of EA. projects
Wherever feasible, projects are sited on lands already converted (excluding any lands that in the Bank's opinion were converted in anticipation of the project). If the environmental assessment indicates that a project would significantly convert or degrade natural habitats, the project includes mitigation measures acceptable to the Bank. Such mitigation measures include, as appropriate, minimizing habitat loss (e.g., strategic habitat retention and restoration) and establishing and maintaining an ecologically similar protected area. ecological systems, to protect permanent or seasonal natural habitats of wildlife, environmental landscape, unique natural beauty etc. Article 16: Conservation areas include national parks, biosphere conservation area, areas for species and habitat and landscape conservation. LEP - Decree 29/2011/ND-CP –Annex 3 Projects with EA subjected to MONRE appraisal “2. Projects using land within national parks, nature reserves, world heritage sites, classified historical/cultural/landscape conservation sites, and areas within biosphere conservation areas” The Law on Forest Protection and Management also covers protection of specialized forests, which was defined as forests for biodiversity, ecological and landscape protection purposes. Preliminary screening found that affected areas of will be existing urban land or peri-urban land and agricultural land. However, OP 4.01 focuses on the risks, impacts and areas of influence of sub-projects while Decree 29 considers the types of projects. Therefore, the OM should include a mechanism for impacts screening for sub-projects, particularly for sub-projects where there is a higher uncertainty over the potential impacts such as new roads or bridges projects
Annex 4: Environmental and Social Assessment and Action Plan Summary Core Principle 1: Environmental and social management procedures and processes are designed to: (a) minimize or mitigate against adverse impacts; (b) promote environmental and social sustainability in program design; and (c) promote informed decision making relating to a program’s environmental and social effects. Key Elements System Requirements Key Findings Recommendations 1.1 Program procedures are backed by an adequate legal framework and regulatory authority to guide environmental and social impact assessments at the Program level The Constitution (Articles 29 and 31) and various laws, including the LEP, provide provisions relevant to the core principles. The LEP stipulates: (a) formulation and application of environmental standards (Article 8); (b) strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment, and environmental protection commitment (Chapter III, Articles 14-27); (c) Promotion of conservation and rational use of natural resources including nature conservation (Article 29), biodiversity protection (Article 30), protection physical cultural resources (Article 4) and development of natural landscape (Article 31); (d) environmental protection in production business and service activities (Articles 35-41, 49); (e) environmental protection in centers and residential areas (Article 50-54); (f) environmental protection in marine, river and other water resource environment; (g) waste management, including hazardous waste management (Articles 66-82), and management and control of dust, gases, noise, vibration, light and radiation (Articles 83-85); (h) prevention of and response to environmental incidents, and Lack of political will and low capacity of project proponents, contractors, consultants, and appraisal authorities in the implementation of environmental regulations. This results in limited integration of environmental and social considerations in programs, strategies and urban master plans. Support capacity building programs including basic orientation, skills development and on-the-job trainings for DONREs and city Environmental Divisions. Recruit and maintain a qualified environmental specialist engaged at central level to provide technical advisory to the PMUs in the early stage of the Program and to prepare an environmental training plan for the Program. The environmental training plan should cover all key stakeholders including PMU Environmental Officers, construction supervisors, and contractor site engineers.
Annex 1.2 of Circular 26/2011/BTNMT specifies: At the strategy, planning, and plan the EA regulation requires that the SEA report assess and compare different development options for the strategies and plans (Decree 29/2011/ND-CP, Article 5), including trend analysis of the major environmental issues in case no strategy or plan will be implemented 1.2c explicit assessment of potential induced, cumulative and impacts; Cumulative impact assessments have not been explicitly required in the LEP and Decree 29/2011. Experiences indicate that most projects usually overlooked or inadequately assessed cumulative effects. Only generic potential impacts are discussed. Most commonly direct impacts are assessed: assessment of indirect impacts is generally weak. Induced, cumulative and impacts are not covered Consideration of cumulative impacts with EIA is a desirable long term objective which should be recommended to project authorities, especially when considering larger infrastructure projects such as the Yen Bai bridge which is justified on the grounds that it will support long term expansion of the city. Environmental management can be improved by including in the bidding documents, environmental clauses to request contractors to reduce negative impacts during construction phase. 1.2d Identification of measures to mitigate Circular 26/2011 provides guidance on the required scope of EIA documents. It is rather The 26/2011 does not include requirements for: (a) the The Program Operational Manual (POM) will advise PMUs on ensuring proper
adverse environmental or social impacts that cannot be otherwise avoided or minimized. comprehensive and expects typical EIA reports to cover: description of the existing environment; description of the project; environmental impact scoping and assessment; and environmental management and monitoring program including responsibilities and budget. detailed consideration of socio-economic impacts; (b) analysis of project alternatives, though description of site selection options is required; and (c) consideration of cumulative and strategic impacts. Practice shows that in many cases, site selection was decided before EIA or EPC is initiated. construction practices following Vietnamese Law on Civil Works to mitigate temporary construction impacts. 1.2e Clear articulation of institutional responsibilities and resources to support implementation of plans. Institutional responsibilities and resources for preparation, implementation monitoring, and inspection are clearly spelled out by relevant regulations (Article 37, Decree 29/2011). Provide technical assistance to strengthen the expertise for the monitoring and inspection agencies to enforce post-EIA responsibilities of project owners by involving their participation in the Program. Environmental performance indicators on post EA compliance can be developed to help the local authorities enforce environmental safeguard implementation.
no requirement or detailed guidance provided on more effective consultation methods. The fact that consultation is conducted through the local government (commune Peoples’ Committee) limits objective outcomes of consultation because in most cases CPC is under pressure from the higher level of government to agree with projects. Core Principle 2: Environmental and social management procedures and processes are designed to avoid, minimize and mitigate against adverse effects on natural habitats and physical cultural resources resulting from the Program. Key Elements System Requirements Key Findings Recommendations 2.1 Includes appropriate measures for early identification and screening of potentially important biodiversity This ESSA details the within participating cities of potential importance for biodiversity or cultural resources. is a need to improve the screening criteria for the projects under the Program. More detailed initial guidance will be developed for the Program in which the sub-project type, scale,
value and to meet any necessary transitional expenses, paid prior to taking of land or restricting access; people relocated to the sub-project resettlement site. Compensation for structures is equal to the newly-built structure cost. Compensation payment must be done before land clearance. annually is not always reflective of market value creating risks for affected people. At district level the rate used is not necessarily the one at provincial level and there is inconsistency on to whether the used rate is reflective of market value. 4.4 Provide supplemental livelihood improvement or restoration measures if taking of land causes loss of income generating opportunity (e.g., loss of crop production or employment) In principle, the 2003 Land Law required that the resettlement condition of new resettlement must be better or at least equal to the original living condition and the resettlement area must be planned as part of the whole provincial plan with access to good infrastructure. Income restoration measures must also be provided. Supplemental measures are provided for livelihood restoration but no monitoring or follow-up actions taken after measure delivery. 4.5 Restore or replace public infrastructure and community services that may be adversely affected. Article 28.3 (decree 69/2009/ND-CP) provided that affected technical and social infrastructures will be compensated as built ones in accordance with the standard of competent ministries. No significant gaps
distributional equity and cultural sensitivities 5: Photos of Proposed Sub-project Areas Proposed embankment lining for a stream in Yen Bai for slope stabilization and to prevent encroachment by residents Road rehabilitation proposed in Tuyen Quang to improve accessibility and reduce accident risk at junction for local people Proposed bridge in Hoa Binh Typical, traditional house of Tay people in Bac Kan will be avoided when siting the alignment of bridge access road Improving drains, road and lighting in LIA proposed in Bac Kan A bridge has been proposed at this location in Thai Nguyen Urban development near the proposed access to the bridge on one river bank Some houses will need relocation; but 100 year old tree and temple will remain Dredging/excavation proposed in retention lake (Thai Nguyen); cultivation in dry season