Public Participation in Strategic Environmental Assessment

Transcription

1 Public Participation in Strategic Environmental Assessment Examples from the Palar and Cooum Basins in India Panneer Selvam and N. Harshadeep Senior Environmental Specialists The World Bank November 15, 2006

2 Outline Virtual Tour of the Basins Cases The Palar Basin The Cooum Basin Stakeholder Involvement in a SEA/Basin Planning Context

3 Palar Basin A Virtual Tour of the Palar Basin

4 Progression of Issues in the PRB (Source: Dr. Prasad Modak,, Consultant, The World Bank) Macro Economic Basin Wide Issues (Costs of Remediation; Shifting, Rehabilitation of structures, etc.) Costs involved in repairing tanks and shifting water supply structures Distortion on Employment and Income Generation (Loss of livelihood; Occupational shifts and migrations) Labour shifts from agriculture to industrial sector Risks to Health & Ecosystems (Water borne diseases; Bioaccumulation of pollutants) Prevalence of water borne disease and other health problems Degradation of Environment (Water; Soil; Crops; Infrastructure) Increased pollution of ground and surface waters Degradation of Tanks and water supply structures Siltation in tanks and intake channels Decrease in the yield and quality of agricultural crops Depletion of Resources (Water; Forests; Sand) Decreased availability of water due to overexploitation of groundwater resources; Increased sand mining in the Basin

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6 Basin With Multiple Issues & Multiple Institutions MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS/INSTITUTIONS Palar Basin Board & Secretariat WRO Institute for Water Studies Agr. Dept/Agr. Engr. Dept Livestock Department Farmers, WUA TWAD Board (RWS) Metro Water (Urban WS) Industry Department Tannery Lobby, CLRI Forest Department Tank Degradation Sand Mining Salt-impacted Agricultural Productivity Competing Water Uses & Unclear Entitlements Rural Water Supply Catchment Degradation Environment Department Pollution Control Board Loss of Ecology Commission Local Governments Politicians NGOs Academia. Water Harvesting Water Pollution (Tanneries, Waste Dumps, Textiles, Other Industries, Domestic, Fertilizer/Pesticide) Water Scarcity Inter-Basin Transfe Urban Water Supply & Sewerage Coastal Zone Management Tank/Canal/Groundwater Irrigated Agriculture Groundwater Management

7 Context for Stakeholder Involvement SEA approach initiated as part of capacity-building of new basin organization (first such in South Asia) during project implementation Key Stakeholders Bureaucrats Departments/ Technical Staff Politicians Farmers Well-Managed Basin Private Sector/ Industry Academia/ Research Orgs. NGOs Public Media

8 Process of Stakeholder Involvement Good Stakeholder Group Political Support Balanced Breakout Groups Enthusiastic Participation Effective Facilitation Facilities/ Equipment Hard work Behind-the the-scenes Structured Interaction Information Resources & Preparatory Work

9 Vision to Action: Structured Process Vision Principles Objectives Issues Strategies Problem solving process Tactics How will it be done? Tasks/Actions What? Alternatives? Who? When? Where? Resources? Capacity? Indicators? Policy/Regulations Institutions Information Instruments Resources

10 Supporting Knowledge Base and Analytical Work

11 A Proposed Development Plan

12 Palar Basin: Key Outcomes Overall Initiation of dialogue across sectors for shared vision planning Improved awareness (officials and other stakeholders) Engagement of political leadership Identification of investment and capacity-building needs Sector-Specific Specific Agricultural (water conservation, tank rehabilitation, check dams) Industrial (tannery pollution management, legacy sites) Sand Mining (regulation, guidelines)

13 Cooum Basin A Virtual Tour of the Cooum Basin

14 Cooum Sub-basin: basin: The Context Current Context Strong political will to improve the Cooum river The Cooum river needs to be examined in a basin context The rural-urban urban interface issues are complex Going Ahead Careful analysis and stakeholder involvement is required for a shared vision development and management of the Cooum Need to build upon past activities and collaborate with other ongoing and planned activities to improve the Cooum and benefit multiple stakeholders Selected subbasin for proposed Irrigated Agriculture Modernization and Water Resources Management (IAMWARM) Project

15 Key Issues in Cooum Resource Management Competing and Growing Water Demands Irrigation Drinking Water Industrial Limited Resources Quality and Quantity Surface water Groundwater Cooum Mouth Tidal interaction Land Management Encroachments Improving Productive uses of Cooum (incl. recreation)????

16 Key Issues in Cooum Pollution Sewage inflows Solid Waste Management Industrial Pollution Agro-chemical Pollution Minimum flows Public Health (e.g. water/mosquito borne diseases) The river Cooum is highly polluted as the level of BOD reaches the value of 480 mg/l, which shows the septic nature of the waterways. The level of TDS also reaches as high as 20,188 mg/l and the level el of TSS is 382 mg/l. Central Pollution Control Board, Annual Report

17 Key Issues in Cooum Institutional Poor Knowledge Base Inter-agency coordination and Partnerships could be enhanced Public Apathy

18 The Problems are Many Gold Mine for Academic Research. Results of Stakeholder Consultations and Analytical Work Source: Martin Bunch, 2002

19 The Benefits of Action and Costs of Inaction are Substantial Results of Stakeholder Consultations and Analytical Work Source: Martin Bunch, 2002

20 The Solutions are Many Results of Stakeholder Consultations and Analytical Work Source: Martin Bunch, 2002

21 Resource Management Pollution Overall Potential Options to address Cooum Issues Institutional CooumCooum Sub-basin basin Multi-stakeholder Forum (Committee/Board) Improve Improve water regulation/ allocation Prevention of further encroachments Addressing current encroachments with appropriate rehabilitation Public-private partnerships Regulation and monitoring of cooum mouth effectiveness Enforcement of current laws Awareness building/ monitoring Inter-agency coordination Improvement of knowledge base and analysis Public Public awareness campaigns Inter-agency cooperation facilitation Investment Communication Monitoring Systems Water Water conservation (improved irrigation/agriculture systems) Improvement of storage, check dams, minimum flow provision Real Real time decision-support support systems GroyneGroyne rehabilitation/ Dredging/ Tidal regulation/ Fisheries enhancement Resettlement/Rehabilitation Channelization/Beautification/Recreation Solid Solid waste mgmt alternatives (e.g. composting) Sewage Sewage inflow/ wastewater treatment surplus management alternatives (reduce/treat, interceptor sewers, upgradation of treatment plants, constructed wetlands, aeration, fisheries) Mosquito-larvae eating fisheries Coordination/Communication/ Coordination/Communication/CooumCooum database/websites Shared Shared vision investments

22 Observations on Role of Public Participation in Strategic Environmental Assessments

23 SUSTAINABLE BASIN MANAGEMENT Do No Harm : Minimize environmental/social risks Do Good : Maximize environmental/social benefits Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Maximize Sustainable Productivity of Water (Net Benefits of Water) Integrated Water Resources Planning & Management (IWRM) Knowledge Base Development Scoping Issues Analysis of Alternative Options Stakeholder Consultation Institutional Capacity Building Inform Decisions Sustainable Basin Planning & Management

24 Implementation/Supervision Consensus on Additional Needs The Process The Process Stakeholder Identification Understanding Basin Issues/Problems Shared vision for future potential Analysis and selection of options Agreement on Basin Development and Management Plan Decisions Involvement Analysis

25 What s s in a name? Public Or Stakeholder? Participation Or Involvement? Strategic What are the key strategic issues in the Basin? Moving from Vision to Action Early to shape policies, programs and plans Environmental Not just environment socio-economic/political issues are key also! Mainstream into Planning? Assessment Need to merge participatory and analytical tracks to support decision-making Continuous process rather than a one-time event!

26 For Sustainable Development Let s s not lose sight of the final ends while focusing on the means..especially now that we are members of a formidable new SDN!!!