E1705 v 1 China Research Academy of Environmental Sciences January 2005 1.1. Purpose and Contents of Report...............................................................................1 1.2. Background................................................................................................................... 1 2.1. EnvironmentalIssues of IAIL2 Project .................................................................. 2 2.2. Assessment ofActual Environmental Impacts of IAIL2 Project ......................3 2.3. EnvironmentalMonitoring........................................................................................ 9 2.4. Summary Conclusionsof IAIL2Environmental ImpactsAssessment ...........11 3. COMPARISON ENVIRONMENTALCONDITIONS OF AND ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS BETWEENIAIL3 AND IAIL2 .......................................................................................... 12 3.1. Comparisonof Project Counties (Cities).............................................................. 12 3.2. Comparisonof Environmental Conditions........................................................... 14 3.3. Comparisonof Project Contents ............................................................................ 15 4.1. EnvironmentalIssues................................................................................................ 16 4.2. Clarificationon Preparationof Environmental Management Plan.................17 1. Introduction 1.1. Purpose and Contents of Report This EnvironmentReport (the Report) is prepared for the appraisalof the proposed World Bank loan-financedIrrigated AgricultureIntensificationProject I11(IAIL3, the Project). The World Bank preparation mission of November 2004 proposed that the environment category of the Project remains to be type B due to the similaritiesbetween the Project and IrrigatedAgriculture IntensificationProject I1(IAIL2) in terms of project areas and basic contents. In order to simplifyprocedures the Bank no longer requires to review a full environmentalassessmentreport for the Project, but requires to 1) assess the actual environmental impacts of the NIL2 Project; 2) compare the environmental conditions of IAIL3 and IAIL2; and 3) prepare environmental management plan by Project provinces. In compliancewith the above requirements the main contents of the Report include: 1) Overview of the actual environmentalimpact assessmentof the IAIL2 Project; 2) Comparisonof environmentalconditionsand contentsbetween NIL3 and IAIL2; 3) Clarificationon the preparation of Environmental Management Plans for IAIL3; 4) EMP of respectiveproject provinces (attachedto the Report). 1.2. Background Since 1998the IAIL2 Project had been implemented in 131counties (cities) of China's five provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui and project implementationwas completedin end 2002. Project implementationhas improved local agriculturalproductive conditions,promoted agriculturalrestructuring, increased farmers' income and improved the level of agriculturaltechnologies,thus achieving remarkableeconomic,social and ecological benefits. To this end, the State Office for Comprehensive Agricultural Development (SOCAD) has decided to continue to implement the IAIL3 Project in the above five provinces. Entrustedby SOCAD the China Research Academy of Environmental Sciences has undertaken to conduct environmental impact assessment(EN) for the Project and prepared the Report accordingto the requirements of the Bank preparation mission. 2. Overall Assessment of EnvironmentalImpacts of IAIL2 Project In June 2004 SOCAD prepared the "EnvironmentalManagement Reportfor theIrrigated Agriculture Intensification Project 11" to be as one of the IAIL2 ICR supporting documents(Reference Document 1).The report summarizesand evaluatesthe environmentalmanagement work, status of implementationof relevant environmental covenants in the Loan Agreement and the actual environmental impacts followingproject implementation.The Report only outlines the actual environmental impacts of IAIL2. 2.1. Environmental Issues of IAIL2 Project The main objectives of the project were to increase agricultural production and farmers' incomethrough improvementand rehabilitationof the existingirrigation facilitiesin the project areas. Main project components include canal lining, constructingon-farm works, rehabilitating existing and building new pumping stations and tube wells, land leveling, improvingfield passageways and building field drainagenetwork and windbreak shelter belts. The project did not involvethe construction of new reservoirs and new main and branch canals. In March 1997the Bank preparation mission rated the project as Category B in terms of its environmentalimpacts. Based on the EIA report of MIL2 the Project Appraisal Document (PAD) specified that there were no significant environmental issues under the project and, the important environmental issues included 1)likely eutrophicationof downstream lakes; 2) likely excessivewater diversion from the Yellow River by Shandong Province; 3) likely groundwateroverdraftby the provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Henan; 4) incidence of soil salinizationin someproject areas, and other environmental issues included environmental impacts of construction activities and control over the application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.These issues are shown in Table 2-1. Table 2-1: Bank PAD-specified EnvironmentalIssues for IAIL2 Environmental Significant Important EnvironmentalIssues Other Environmental Issues Environmental Issues Issues DownstreamLake eutrophication; Environmentalimpacts Likely excessiveYellow River of construction diversionby Shandong; activities; Main Contents None Likely groundwater overdraft in Controlover Shandong; application of Incidenceof soil salinization in some pesticides and project areas. chemicalfertilizers 2.2. Assessment of Actual EnvironmentalImpacts of IAIL2 Project 2.2.1. Significant EnvironmentalIssues Evidences of project implementation have verified the conclusion in the Bank's PAD of "the Project doesn't involve any significant environmentalissues". The project did not see any of them during its implementationand will unlikely see any either in the future. 2.2.2. Important EnvironmentalIssues I) Lake Eutrophication The lakes involved in this project mainly include the Hongze Lake, Luoma Lake (Jiangsu Province), Chaohu Lake (Anhui Province) and Nansi Lakes (Shandong Province). As described in the project EIA, the major pollutant sourcesthat caused above lake eutrophication are industrial wastewater and urban domestic sewage from the project areas (80-go%), and the project areas with irrigation run-off to these lakes accounted for only1-4% of their respective catchment area. Therefore, as shown in the following table, irrigation run-off from the project areas had minor negative impacts on the eutrophication of respective lakes. In fact, during the implementationof the project, each project province adopted a series of measures to reduce chemical fertilizer run-off, such as balanced fertilizer applicationto reduce nitrogen and increase potassium, conservingsoil moisture and fertility by land leveling, and other integrated water saving measures. After project implementation, compared with the existing load of nitrogen andphosphate of these lakes the actual increase of nitrogen and phosphate in downstreamlakes due to irrigation run-off from the project areas was minor. Therefore, the negative impacts due to project implementation on lake eutrophication are negligible. Take Chaohu Lake with the largest proportion of irrigation run-off area out of its catchment area as an example. According to estimations of Anhui Province, during project implementation, due to the measures taken, including land leveling, conservation of soil fertility and moisture as well as balanced fertilization, loss of chemical fertilizers had been greatly reduced, especiallyloss of nitrogen and phosphate was estimatedto be reduced by 36% and 38% respectively. In other words, the annual increment load of nitrogen and phosphate in the lake by run-off from the project areas accounted for only 0.37% and 0.41% respectively of its total nitrogen and phosphate load. Therefore, as shown in Table 2-3 they had tiny impacts on the lake's eutrophication. Table 2-2: Comparison of Project Area with Irrigation Run-off to Lakes and Lake CatchmentArea ItemILakes Hongze Luoma Nansi Chaohu CatchmentArea3ha0 6,302,000 4,900,000 3,170,000 1,300,000 Project area with irrigationrun-off 67,000 53,000 27,000 55,000 likely reaching the lakes (ha) Proportion (%) 1.06% 1.08% 0.85% 4.2% Table 2-3: Impacts of Nitrogen and Phosphate Losses from Project Areas on Chaohu Lake Eutrophication Impact of industrial wastewater and urban sewage 90 % Impact of pollutants from agriculturalnon-point sources < 10% Total catchment area 1.3million ha Project areas with irrigationrun-off direct enteringinto the lake 55,000ha Project areas with irrigationrun-off direct enteringinto the lake out of total 4.2 % catchment area Increase of the nitrogen load by the project out of total nitrogen load of the lake 0.37 % Increase of the phosphorus load by the project out of total phosphorusload of 0.41 % the lake Monitoring results of Anhui Provincial Environmental Monitoring Center show from 1998through 2000 Chaohu Lake was in a status of eutrophication, but its degree was decreasing year by year. Between 2001 and 2002, eutrophication had dropped to the medium level. Although the improvement was largely due to upgraded treatment of industrial wastewater and municipal sewage, the implementation of this project has at least not produced negative impacts on the control of Chaohu Lake eutrophication. 11) Control of Yellow River Diversion by Shandong During the implementation of the project, the Shandong POCAD took no-increase of irrigation water from the Yellow River as one of the project management objectives. Main measures to fulfill the objective include the followings: 1) Reducing irrigation demand through integrated water saving measures; 2) In areas where groundwater level was high and have bigger exploitation potential more tube wells were built to increase groundwater supply to substitute water from the Yellow River; 3) Combined use of surface water and groundwater, which reduced diversion fi-omthe Yellow River and ensured irrigation at the same time. Table 2-4: Volume of Yellow River Diversion by Shandong Province (1998-2002) Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Average Diversion (10*m3) 81.0 85.2 65.0 64.6 61.0 71.5 The table indicates that during the implementation of the project, Shandong Province diverted an annual average of 7.15 billion m3of water from the Yellow River, which was close to the state allocated quota of 7.0 billion m3for the province. This indicates that the implementation of the project has not caused negative impacts on diversion from the Yellow River by Shandong Province. 111) GroundwaterResources Protectionin Hebei, Henan and Shandong During project implementationthe provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandonghad fulfilled the requirements of the Bank Loan Agreement, including: 1) No new wells were built in groundwateroverdraft areas; 2) Permits were obtained for driven well for use of groundwater; 3) Depth of all newly drilled wells did not exceed 50 meters; 4) Groundwater monitoring was conducted. In addition, the significanceof comprehensivewater saving ("real" water saving) was stressed during project implementationthrough implementing a series of measures including engineering, agronomical and management water saving measures, which has produced remarkable water saving benefits. A with-without-projectcomparisonindicates the project had saved significant amount of water (accordingto the statistics of another Bank financed project: the Agricultural Water-SavingProject in Hebei Province, water was saved at a rate of 20-30%) and project implementationhas to some extent relieved the trend of groundwater overdraft and declining groundwatertable. Table 2-5: Statistics of Precipitationin Project Areas During 1998 to 2002 Annual average precipitation (mm) Difference 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 5YA MYA (mm) (mm) Hebei 621.0 366.8 521.9 490.9 366.9 473.5 597.8 -124.3 Shandong766.9 503.2 643.1 538.5 368.9 564.1 664.8 -100.7 Henan 812.3 533.6 894.8 491.3 555.0 657.4 685.7 -28.3 Note: The difference is that between five years average and annual average. It is expressed in positive (negative)value when the five years average is greater (lower) than annual average precipitation. 5YA=five-year average; MYA multi- = year average. However, due to less precipitation more groundwaterwas used for irrigation but such use was within the range of water resources balance. Table 2-6 shows groundwaterextraction for Hebei, Shandong and Henan during 1998and 2002. Table 2-6: GroundwaterExtraction in Hebei, Shandong and Henan (1998-2002) Annual Extraction (l0000rn3) Multi-year Annual Average Five years Resources Difference 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Average (10000m3) ( ~ o o o o ~ ~ ) Hebei 16,103 23,533 17,545 20,359 25,993 20,707 19,947 760 Shandong 46,102 53,822 65,295 85,776 100,141 70,227 92,837 -22,560 Henan 121,517131,023103,952156,445128,358 128,259 156,675 -28,416 Note: The difference is that between five years annual average and the normal availablegroundwaterresources.Positive value indicates that actual extraction is greater than multi-year average groundwaterresources. The above two tables indicate that althoughthe three provinces had less precipitation during project implementation, only project areas in Hebei Province had extractedmore groundwaterthan the multi-year average value. Less precipitation had reduced groundwaterreplenishment,which resulted in declined groundwatertable in the project areas. Comparedwith the multi-year average groundwater depth, groundwatertable for 2002 in the project areas of Hebei, Shandong and Henan dropped 2.21 m, 2.09 m and 1.27m respectively, as shown in Table 2-7. Table 2-7: Annual Average GroundwaterDepth in Project Areas (1998-2002) (m) 2002- 2002- 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 5 YA MYA Province 1998 MYA Hebei 6.38 7.38 7.6 7.74 8.59 7.54 2.21 6.38 2.21 pppp Shandon g 5.73 6.23 5.94 6.44 8.19 6.51 2.46 6.1 2.09 Henan 7.26 7.95 7.30 7.47 7.87 7.57 0.31 6.60 1.27 Note: 5YA=5-Year Average; MYA=Multi-year Average; Analysis on multi-year average groundwaterdepth indicates drop of groundwatertable in the project areas of Hebei, Shandongand Henan provinces remained within the normal range. In wet years groundwatercan be replenished and the table will rise. The year 2003 was a wet year for Shandong and Henan and was a normal one for Hebei, when groundwatertable generally rose. Comparedwith the situation in 2002, the table in Shandongrose by 3.36 m and compared with the situation at the beginning of project implementation (1998), groundwatertable in the project areas rose by 0.9 m and that in Henan went up by 1.16m to the multi-year average level of.6.6m. Although 2003 precipitation in Hebei was only 30 mm higher than multi-year average, groundwatertable rose by 1.24m. See Table 2-8 for details. Table 2-8: 2003 Precipitation and GroundwaterTable Recovery in Project Areas Average Average Multi- Province Item 2002 in 98-02 2003 in 98-03 year Average Precipitation (mm) 366. 473.5 628.18 499.3 597.8 Hebei 9 Groundwater depth 8.59 7.54 7.35 7.50 6.38 (m) Shandong Precipitation (mm) 368. 564.1 1033.8 642.4 664.8 9 Groundwater depth 8.19 6.51 4.83 6.24 6.1 (m) Henan Precipitation (mm) 555. 1024.8 718.6 685.7 0 657.4 Groundwater depth 6.60 7.40 (m) 7.87 7.57 6.60 IV) Soil Salinization In the North China Plain (Huang-Huai-HaiPlain), where the project is located, large quantities of groundwater have been exploited for agricultural irrigation since the 1970s, which has caused a general decline of groundwatertable. In general, conditions of critical groundwaterdepth (C12.0 meters) for soil salinizationhave disappeared. ContinuousFresh water irrigation in the project areas has continuouslydesalted soil. Therefore, secondary salinization could appear only a few low-lying land along the rivers, lakes and coasts as well as few project areas where slightly salty water with the mineralization level 1-2glL and salty water with the mineralization level of greaterthan 2glL were used for irrigation. Project implementation coincided with drought. Groundwaterin the project areas was far deeper than the critical depth for soil salinization,which could not lead to new soil salinization. According to project design, in areas where groundwaterdepth was fairly shallow, such as Yucheng City, Pingyuan, Chengwu and Yuncheng Counties in ShandongProvince, the project appropriately developed tube well irrigation and adopted rotational well-canal irrigation to prevent soil salinization. In addition, the project excavated and dredged 154.7879million m3of irrigation and drainage canals (52.4313million m3lateral canals and 102.3566million m3sub-lateral canals), and completed 130.90-million-m3excavation of waterlogging drainage canals, forming a relatively complete drainage system in the project areas. A timely drainage of excessive rain and irrigation mn-off was thus guaranteed. During the implementation of the project, each project province conducted regular monitoring on soil salinity. The monitoring results show that since the implementationof the project, no soil salinizationproblem had occurred in the project areas. 2.2.3. Other Environmental Issues I) Impacts of ConstructionActivities Most of the civil works under this project were canal excavation and lining, construction and rehabilitation of small pumping stations, construction and maintenance of tube wells and small water storage ponds, etc. The works were small and relatively simple and scattered in 131counties (cities, districts) of the five provinces. Most of the activities were undertaken in already developed farmland areas and the constructionperiod was short (generally within half a year). Environmentalproblems related to project construction were minor with little impacts. In addition, during project implementation,for construction of relatively important projects the contractors were required in the contractsto comply with relevant national and local laws, regulations and standardson environmentalprotection, sanitation and epidemics control and the Engineers were entrustedto supervise the contractors. Therefore, construction of all civil works caused neither major environmentalproblems nor significantpublic health problems or public complaints. 11) Control of Fertilizer and Pesticide Application During project implementation, IPM technologieswere widely adopted in the project areas. The integration of disease-resistantvarietiespromotion with application of pesticides with high efficiency, low toxicity and low residue and bio-pesticides replacing original highly toxic pesticides had effectively improved farmland eco-environmentin the project areas. Table 2-9 compares the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers during and before the project. Table 2-9: Changes in Application of Pesticides and Their Residues in Soil and Water By Project Province (%) I Province of Highly Bio- Pesticides Pesticides Pesticides Toxic Anhui ----- 54.9 85.2 146 18 21 Jiangsu 50 80 90 36.7 80.5 Henan 30 85 80 Not Available 6.2 Hebei 47 94.3 82.5 NA NA In response to the deficit of phosphate and potassium,particularlypotassium, the project provinces carried out a number of measures during the implementation of the project to balance soil fertility, i.e. control of nitrogen (reducing nitrogen applicationin some project areas), stabilizingphosphate (increasing phosphate applicationin some areas) and supplementingpotassium. Changes in soil fertilityin project areas between 1998and 2002 are summarizedin Table 2-10. Table 2-10: Changes of Soil Fertility in Project Areas between 1998 and 2002 Without Project With Project N N Hebei 1 0.3 0.25 1 0.4 0.3 Jlangsul 0.36 0.2 1 0.26 0.3 Anhui 1 0.38 0.35 1 0.51 0.46 1 0.49 0.66 Henan 1 0.32 0.12 1 0.36 0.18 In addition, advanced fertilizingtechniques were disseminated in project areas, such as deep application,mixed application,etc.,thus increasingthe efficiency of fertilizers, lowering loss of chemical fertilizersand reducing the negative impacts of irrigation run- off on receiving water bodies. 2.3. EnvironmentalMonitoring During the implementationof the project, the project carried out the environmental monitoringplan in the Project Implementation Plan. The monitoringresults during five years' project implementationindicatethat due to effectiveimplementationof various environmentalprotection measures, overall environment qualitywas rather good and improved year by year. Project implementation has not imposed any significantnegative impacts on the environment. Therefore, the project is environmentally sustainable.Basic environmentalmonitoring conclusionsare summarized in Table 2-11. Table 2-11: Basic Conclusions of Environmental Monitoring Items Evaluation Conclusion 1. Environment Quality 1)Surface irrigation In general, the quality was good and improved year by year. Water met water quality irrigation requirements. 2) Irrigation run-off The quality met the requirement of irrigation with comprehensivepollution quality indexdecreasingyear by year, no significantnegative impacts on receiving water bodies. 3) Groundwaterquality Qualitywas good and stable. Secondarymineralizationfound only in a few 1spots. 4) Soilpollution /Soil quality was good with single and comprehensivepollution indices 1 decreasing. 5) Farm produce IGood quality farmproduce,which met relevant national quality standards. Groundwatertable in three provinces generally decreased by 1-2mbut still within the normal fluctuationrange. 2) Exploitation volume Exploitationvolume of Shandong and Henan lower than multi-year average available water resources while that of Hebei was slightlyhigher. 3. Soil Fertility Soil fertility increased with more rational compositionof nitrogen,phosphate 1 (and potassium 2.4. Summary Conclusions of IAIL2EnvironmentalImpactsAssessment 1) In compliance with the requirements of the World Bank Loan Agreement, various environmental protection measures were effectively implemented during project implementation, which had ensured realization of environmental objectives. 2) The outputs of project implementation confirmed the conclusion made in the World Bank PAD -"the project doesn't involve any significant environmental issues". During the implementation of the project, the project did not result in any significant adverse environment impacts or will unlikely lead to any in the future. 3) Both SOCAD and POCADs paid close attention to and undertook effective management measures over the four important environment issues specified in the World Bank PAD. As a result, the project did not cause adverse impacts on eutrophication of lakes in project areas; the average annual water volume taken from the Yellow River in Shandong Province was close to the state-allocated quota; the changes of groundwater tables in Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces remained within normal range, and the implementation of the project did not cause adverse impacts on groundwater resources in the three provinces; and no soil salinization problems occurred in project areas. 4) Existing Chinese laws and regulations on environmental protection and public health were observed during physical construction. No significant environmental impacts were resulted from construction activities. 5) Continuous monitoring on the environment in the project areas proved that the implementation of the project did not cause any significant adverse impacts on the environment. On the contrary, due to the adoption of a serious of measures including integrated water saving,balanced fertilizing, IPM, expansion of forest coverage, project implementationhas to some extent improved the agro-ecological environment in the project areas. Table 2-12 summarizesthe actual assessmenton the environmentalimpacts of IAIL2. Table 2-12: Summary Conclusions of EnvironmentalAssessment Items Status of Completion/AssessmentConclusion I Significant Environmental No significantenvironmental issues occurred. Issues Important Environmental Issues 1)Lake eutrophication I Minor impacts were found and could be ignored I 2) Yellow River diversion for Diversion fromthe Yellow River was reduced through irri 3) Groundwateroverdraft Comprehensivemeasures were taken to prevent excessive exploitation.Groundwater resources within balanced range. 4) Soil salinization I No soil salinizationwas found. I Other Environmental Issues I 1)Environmentmanagement Relevantlaws and rules were observed during construction.No during construction importantenvironmentalproblems emerged. 2) Control of pesticides and IPM and balanced fertilizingreduced pesticideresidue and loss of chemical fertilizers chemical fertilizers. I I Environmental Monitoring 1) Environment quality Five consecutiveyears' monitoringproved good environment quality. 2) Groundwatertable Continuousmonitoring by Shandong,Hebei and Henan found a drop of 1-2m due to serious drought.It was recovered in 2003. (3) Soil fertility I Survey shows improved soil fertility and compositionof N, P and K.1 3. Comparison of EnvironmentalConditionsand EnvironmentalImpacts Between IAIL3 and IAIL2 3.1. Comparison of Project Counties (Cities) As described above IAIL3 will be implementedin the IAIL2 project provinces. With the exception of Jiangsu whose project counties/cities are not changed, project areas in other provinces are adjusted mainly within the counties/citiesof IAIL2 and some provinces have selected several new countieslcities.Table 3-1 lists the project counties/ cities under IAIL2 and IAIL3, of whom bold ones are new countieslcitiesunder IAIL3. Table 3-1: Comparison of IAILZ and IAIL3 Project CountiesICities IAIL2 Project Areas IAIL3 Project Areas I Province1 County (City, District) Municipality County (City, District) Municipality I Hebei 1 1 I Leting, Luannan,Qian'an, Yutian, Zunhua, Leting, Luannan, Qian'an, Yutian, Tangshan Qianxi, Fengnan, Tanghai, Fengrun, Tangshan Zunhua Luanxian Qinhuangdao Funing, Changli, Qinglong, Lulong Qinhuangdao Renqiu, Wuqiao, Botou, Renqiu, Wuqiao, Botou, Cangzhou ongguang,Cangxian, Hejian, Qingxian, Cangzhou Dongguang,Cangxian Nanoi. I I ,, IJizhou, Zaoqiang, Jingxian, Taocheng, I , Jizhou, Zaoqiang, Jingxian, Taochena I, Shijiazhuang I IShijiazhuang Xinji Jinzhou, Wuji, Zhengding - I I I Anci, Guangyang, Yongqing, Langfang Langfang wen'an Yuancheng, Sheqi, Xinye, Fangcheng, Yuancheng, Sheqi, Xinye, Tanghe Fangcheng -- Zhurnadian SuipingDMiyang Zhumadian Runan, Pingyu P Luoyang Yanshi, Yichuan, Songxian, Ruyang Luoyang Yanshi, Yichuan, Songxian Kaifeng Qixian, Lankao, Kaifeng Kaifeng Qixian, Lankao, Kaifeng Minquan, SuixianONingling, Minquan, SuixianONingling, Shangqiu SuiyangOYucheng Liangyuan Xinxiang Changyuan, Fengqiu Xinxiang Puyang Puyang, Qingfeng, Nanyue Puyang Jiaozuo Qinyang, Wuzhi, Jiyuan Jiaozuo Pingdingshan Pingdingshan Ruzhou Xinyang Xinyang Pingqiao, Luoshan, Xixian Shandong Licheng, Zhangqiu, Changqing, Changqing, Licheng, Zhangqiu, Ji'an Ji'an Jiyang,Shanghe, Tianqiao Shanghe Taierzhuang, Yicheng, Xuecheng, Zaozhuang Tengzhou,Xuecheng Tengzhou Qufu, Yanzhou, Zoucheng, Wenshang, Jining Weishang, Yutai, Jinxiang, Jiaxiang, Yanzhou, Qufu, Zoucheng, Jining Laingshan Liangshan Daiyue, Feicheng, Ningyang, Dongping, Tai'an Tai'an Daiyue, Feicheng, Ningyang Taishan Yucheng, Lingxian, Qihe, Pingyuan, Dezhou Dezhou Yucheng, Qihe, Pingyuan Wucheng Mudan, Juancheng, Yuncheng, Juye, Heze Yuncheng, Dingdao Chengwu, Shanxian pp Weifang Weifang Zhucheng, Gaomi, Linyi Linyi Junan, Yishui IAIL2 Project Areas IAIL3 ProjectAreas Province1 County (City, District) Municipality County (City, District) Municipality Jiangsu Municipality County (City, District,Farm) Municipality County (City, District, Farm) Fengxian,Peixian, Tongshan, Suining, Fengxian, Peixian, Tongshan, Xuzhou Pizhou.- Xinvi, Jiawang - - Suining, Pizhou, Xinyi, Jiawang Huaiyin,Lianshui, Chuzhou, Hongze, Xuyi, Huaiyin,Lianshui, Chuzhou, Huai'an Huai'an Jinhu Hongze, Xuyi, Jinhu Xiangshui, Shevang Binhai, Funing, Yancheng Xiangshui, Binhai,Funing, Sheyang Yancheng - - I I G~~~~~~ Donghai,Ganyu, Guanyun, Lianyungang Donghai,Ganyu, Guanyun, Guannan Lian~ungang Suqian Suyu, Shuyang, Siyang,Sihong Suqian Suyu, Shuyang, Siyang, Sihong Anhi Anhi Hefei Feidong, Changfeng, Feixi Hefei Feidong, Changfeng,outskirts Chaohu Lujiang, Hexian, Hanshan,Wuwei, Juchao Chaohu Liu'an Huoaiu, Shouxian, Shucheng,Jin'an, Yu'an Lu'an Huaining,Zongyang, Tongcheng, Qianshan, Anqing Susong,Wangjiang,Anqing Outskirts Bengbu Huaiyuan,Wuhe, Guzhen Huainan Huainan Fengtai, Panji Dingyuan,Jinjiao, Fengyang, Chuzhou Chuzhou Mingguang,Nanjiao,Tianchang, Langya, Lai'an Note: Bold ones refer to new projectcounties/cities/districts. Table 3-1 indicatesthat amongthe 107project countiesunder IAIL3,73 are former IAIL2 counties and 34 are new ones. Project countiesin Jiangsu are exactlythe same as IAIL2 and out of the 16counties in Anhui 14are new ones. 3.2. Comparison of Environmental Conditions Environmental conditions of IAIL2 and IAIL3 are compared in details in the environmental reports by province. Below is the summaryof comparisonmade by each of the provinces (See Attachments 1-5for details): 1) Same as IAIL2, MIL3 will be implemented in the original irrigated areas; 2) The environmentalconditionsof 73 IAIL2 countiesto be involvedunder the Project are not changed; 3) Environmental conditions of new additionalcounties in Hebei, Henan and Shandong are similar to their neighboring IAIL2 counties and there are no obvious or important differences; 4) IAIL3 Henan Component excludes the project counties of Xinxiang, Puyang and Jiaozuo where groundwaterresources are relatively short. Therefore, IAIL3 Henan doesn't include groundwater overdraft areas any longer; 5) IAIL3 project areas of Jiangsu are the same as IAIL2 and environmentalconditions are also the same; 6) Anhui IAIL3 project areas are between those of IAILl and IAIL2 and the environmental conditions of IAIL3 are similarto that if IAILl and IAIL2, and there are no new environmentalissues. 3.3. Comparison of Project Contents Table 3-2 compares the main contentsof IAIL2 and IAIL3. Table 3-2: Comparison of IAIL2 and IAIL3 Project Contents IAIL2 Contents IAIL3 Contents Canal excavation, bridges, culverts Canal and ditch excavation & and other structures, constructing dredging, structures, drainage & Water new and renovating existing pumping irrigationpumping stations, Infrastructure stations, agricultural-use power cable, agricultural-use power cable, rural Construction rural roads, O&M equipment, small roads, O&M equipment, small storage storage ponds, tube well repair & ponds,tube well repair& maintenance, drilling new tube wells maintenance, drilling new tube wells Anti-seepage canals, low-pressure Engineering Canal lining, underground pipeline, pipes, sprinklerand micro-(drip) Water Saving sprinkler and drip irrigation irriaation " Land leveling, deep ploughinglsoil Land leveling, ~ l ~ ~ g loosening, ~ ~ returngof straw to field, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ l loosening, return of straw to field, balancedfertilization, training and balanced fertilization,training dissemination Management / WUA, SlDD WUA, SlDD Water Saving Improved-varietybreedingand Improved-varietybreeding and processing, IMP, county agricultural processing, IMP, agricultural extensioncenters,township stations extension centers, township stations for comprehensive agricultural for comprehensive agricultural services, agricultural machinery, Agriculture services, agricultural machinery and agricultural training and agricultural service stations, agriculturaltraining dissemination and extension, green and agricultural dissemination and produce, specialized farmer extension, barn and sunning ground associations, pilot cooperative renovation, fertilizer batching plants erations of farmer dra Construction of farmland windbreak Construction of farmlandwindbreak Forestry shelter belts, nurseries, forestry pest shelter belts, nurseries, forestry pest control control Training, study tour, technical Training, study tour, technical lnStitUtional assistance, scientific research and assistance. scientific research, MIS, dissemination, office equipment and SlDD establishment andWUA and MIS system, farmers' associations development (includingWUA) Note: Bold parts refer to new additional contents. The comparison reveals that while improving, strengtheningand rehabilitating the original irrigated agricultural regions, the main contents of the two projects are basically the same, including canal lining, constructing on-farm works, rehabilitating existing and building new pumping stations and tube wells, land leveling, improving field passageways and building field drainage network and windbreak shelter belts, which will not lead to new environmentalissues. New additional contents under the Project include: 1)"green" farm produce; 2) specialized farmer associations; and 3) pilot cooperative operations of farmer dragonheads. In terms of component selection, those with livestockbreeding, high water consumption, heavy pollutions and use of wild resources are ruled out. The "green" farm produce, farmer-dragonhead cooperative operational organizations and specializedfarmer associations are to plant, process and market their respective local dominant agricultural products and there will be no components involving livestock breeding, high water consumption and heavy pollutions and therefore, thus there will be no corresponding environmental issues. 4. Clarification on Preparation of IAIL3 EnvironmentalManagement Plan 4.1. EnvironmentalIssues The above comparison between IAIL3 and IAIL2 projects in terms of environmental conditions and contents show that the environmental issues involved in MIL3 are the same as those in IAIL2: 1) There are no significant environmentalissues; 2) Dam safety and integrated pest management are listed as separate work items of the Project and will not listed as environmentalissues; 3) General environmental issues include (different issues and different focus for each of the provinces): Water resources protection Volume of diversion from the Yellow River (Shandong) Irrigation water quality Groundwater quality Soil quality Environmental impacts of irrigation discharge/farrnlandruff-off Secondary soil salinization Environmental impacts of construction activities Planting of farmland windbreak shelterbelts 4.2. Clarification on Preparation of EnvironmentalManagement Plan 1) Sincethe five provinces under the IAIL3 Project vary greatly in natural conditions and differ in focuses on environmental issues, accordingto the requirementsof the Bank preparation mission separateEMPs by province are prepared to make the plans more targeted at environmental issues and facilitatetheir implementationby each of the provinces; 2) In view of the successfbl implementationof IAIL2 and that the natural conditionsof the project areas and contents of IAIL3 are basically the same as IAIL2, IAIL3 EMF is prepared based on the experienceand lessons learned from IAIL2, which will further improve the EMP for the Project. 3) Compared with IAIL2 EMP, MIL3 EMP has got the followingfeatures: m Emphasizingwater resources protection as the priority of environmental management work in the project areas; XI Identifying environmental issues involved in the Project,based on which the objectives and contents of environmental management are decided, making the EMP more targeted and applicable; HI Emphasizing analysis, evaluationand applicationof environmental monitoring datahesults; rn Clarifyingenvironmentalmanagement agencies,their respectiveresponsibilities and costs and sourcesof funding for EMP implementation; m Making necessary adjustments to the items,parameters,venue and frequency of environmental monitoringprogram; rn In light of the current model for constructionmanagement of physical projects in China, the environmental protectionmeasuresto be implemented by the Contractorare summarized and incorporated into the contractin the form of "Rules for ConstructionEnvironmental Protection,with its implementationbeing supervisedby the site Engineer entrusted by the Project Management Office (PMO).Environmental protectionmeasures for constructionactivitieswill not be detailed in the EMP. Attachment 1: Hebei EnvironmentReport and Environmental Management Plan Attachment 2: Henan EnvironmentReport and EnvironmentalManagement Plan Attachment 3: ShandongEnvironment Report and EnvironmentalManagement Plan Attachment 4: Jiangsu Environment Report and Environmental Management Plan Attachment 5: Anhui EnvironmentReport and Environmental Management Plan