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Environmental and Socio-economical Impact Assessment

2 St. George’s Revitalization Project 2.1 Project objectives The St. George’s Revitalization Project aims at the improvement of the basic infrastructure in and around the town of St. George with the following objectives: 1. Creating newly developed areas for commercial, residential and tourist attraction sites; 2. Improving the environmental and living standards within the town by sustainable investments in basic infrastructure; 3. Providing for sustainable restoration and preservation of its historical character; 4. Enhancing the competitive position of St. George among its peers in the Caribbean. 2.2 Project outline The total investments of the project are estimated at US$ 400 million, a sum which will create an enormous boost in employment for local professional services and within the construction industry for the next decade, while simultaneously having a significant and sustainable impact on the economic infrastructure. The St. George’s Revitalization Project includes a number of infrastructural and commercial developments in the St. George area, which are interrelated for functional and economic reasons. Commercial Port (Re) Development and Free-Trade zone - Realization of a new commercial port south of St. Eloi Point and north of St. John River in St.George’s Bay; - Development of a free trade zone on land to be reclaimed between St John River and the new fisheries; - The “Old Port” high end tourist, residential, commercial and entertainment development on the present commercial port area; restoration of Tanteen public greens and park area. - Transforming the existing port area into a (home) port for windjammers and tall ships, creating at the same time a tourist attraction on it own. Blue Lagoon and New Islander Hotel (Re) Development • High end tourist and residential development around the Blue Lagoon under the Ballast Ground, integrated with the rebuilding of the famous Marina in the Blue Lagoon; • Redevelopment of the Islander Hotel. (The Government will be offered an immediate solution for settling the actual claim with respect to the old ownership). The Carenage Upgrading and Development • Transforming the south side of the Carenage into a private mega-yacht harbour, complementary to the small cargo and fishing facilities; • Renovation of the Carenage, renewing of quay wall and utilities, widening the roadway between the financial complex and Huggins to allow for better traffic flow and a pedestrian boulevard; • The creation of a better access way to the hospital directly from the Carenage in the vicinity of the financial complex. In combination with an in-town traffic-flow plan, the Sendall tunnel should be transformed into a pedestrian walkway, connecting the Carenage direct and safely with the Cruise Ship Facility at Melville Street. The Tanteen Traffic Tunnel The construction of a traffic tunnel between Tanteen and the St. John River in order to achieve sustainable relief for the traffic situation in town as an alternative to the proposed ring road around St.George’s Point. The new commercial port and the Tanteen Traffic Tunnel are two major infrastructural projects which will set the conditions for sustainable development of St. George’s into a tourist destination while restoring the unique historical heritage of the town. An overview of these projects is given in figure 1. A program summary is given in Appendix A. Detailed information is given in the reference 1 (available upon request). 2.3 Alternatives Preliminary discussions with various representatives from the public and private sectors reveal that it is also worth considering the viability of an alternative location for the new commercial port, free trade zone and connecting road infrastructure. This proposed alternative location is to the south of St. George, on the southern coast of Grenada. For the northern location, preliminary design studies are being carried out; while for the alternative southern location, preliminary design studies will soon be undertaken. Figure 1. Overview St. George’s Revitalization Project 3 Environmental and socio-economical impact assessment process The further planning and design process comprises an environmental and socio-economic impact assessment (ESIA) to be carried out by international consultants in close co-operation with local and regional counterparts. 3.1 Definition An environmental and socio-economical impact assessment is defined as the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social and other effects of developments prior to major decisions been taken and commitments being made. The main objectives of our ESIA are: • To ensure that environmental considerations are explicitly addressed and incorporated into the development’s decision making process; • To anticipate and avoid, minimize or offset the adverse significant biophysical, social or other effects of development proposals; • To protect the productivity and capacity of natural systems and the ecological processes which maintain their functions; • To promote development that is sustainable and optimizes resource use and management opportunities. 3.2 Outlines of the proposed ESIA The proposed environmental and socio-economical impact assessment will be carried out according to international standards. As such it will include the following steps: 1. Scoping Scoping is a preparatory exercise to make sure that all important issues will be considered. This will be achieved through discussions with decision makers, relevant authorities, non-governmental organizations, scientific institutes, local community groups, etc. By consultation with these parties, a common vision will be developed on the major environmental and socio-economic issues connected with the proposed revitalization project, the objectives, the alternatives to be considered and the most important policy dilemmas. Available baseline information on these issues will be collected and documented. From the vision developed with the stakeholders, the scope and the Terms of Reference for the following steps of the ESIA will be determined. The ToR will define the assessment methods to be applied, the level of detail, evaluation criteria and name specialists to be involved in the impact assessment. 2. Assessment The assessment phase will begin with a review of baseline information, focusing on identified major environmental (physical and biological) and socio-economic issues. The actual relevant environmental and socio-economic conditions will be described; and the expected development and constraints in development, without the proposed revitalization, will be assessed. Expected adverse as well as positive impacts from the proposed development plan including alternatives will be identified, qualified and classified in terms of probability and significance. The results will be documented and made available to all parties involved for review on sufficiency and quality of the information and analyses. Where necessary, (parts of) the assessment will be further elaborated and, as far as possible, quantified. The resulting documents will be the basis for plan evaluation and the decision making process. 3. Decision-making Next, the results of the impact assessment will be discussed with the stakeholders. Positive and negative impacts of the proposed projects, including alternatives, will be evaluated with them. Possible improvements (adaptation) of plans as well as mitigating or compensating measures will be considered where required. The preferred plan shall be feasible and acceptable from legal, political, financial, socio-economic and environmental points of view and should have the support of the stakeholders (i.e. the people of Grenada). The finally adopted revitalization project plan will be justified in writing, explaining the choices made in the light of the assessment and discussions. 4. Monitoring and management Essential for the successful implementation of the revitalization project is the preparation and effectuation of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), in addition to, or as part of the project implementation plan. This ESMP will specify methods, procedures and institutional arrangements to implement mitigation/enhancement measures. It will also include a program for compliance monitoring (to ensure that conditions stipulated in the development are met) and impact monitoring (to determine whether impact predictions were correct, and to deal with unforeseen circumstances). 4 Scoping phase in detail 4.1 Participation of stakeholders As described, discussion with stakeholders, authorities and other potentially affected parties is necessary to consider all important issues. In the first round of consultations the stakeholders will be asked to comment on the Background Information Document. They have an opportunity to give their vision on environmental and socio-economic issues to be addressed, possible alternatives to be taken into consideration and on developments (large and small-scale) which are already taking place and could interfere with the project. Major comments and concerns will be presented to and discussed with specialists and with Züblin Grenada Ltd., and approaches on how to cope with them will be proposed. The scope and terms of reference for the next steps in the ESIA (the impact assessment and decision making) will be stated, including: • issues to be addressed; • level of detail; • assessment method; • evaluation criteria; • involvement of specialists. In a second round of public consultations stakeholders, authorities and potentially affected parties will be informed on the proposed scope and terms of reference. A preliminary list of stakeholders is included in Appendix A. 4.2 Preliminary list of issues to be addressed With regard to the SGRP, a number of possible effects on the natural and socio-economic environments are expected to arise. Distinction can be made between the construction phase and the operational phase of the project. Not every effect will occur in both phases. Besides, effects can have a different intensity and duration during construction phase or operation phase. In the second phase of the ESIA, the possible effects will be addressed. In the scoping phase identification of the different issues of the natural environment, the built environment and the socio-economical structure is needed. A preliminary list is given below: Natural environment • Marine and terrestrial geology, geohydrology and soil; • Hydrology/Oceanography (wave climate, water quality, water quantity, sediment quality, near shore circulation); • Ecology (Marine ecology, fishery resources, terrestrial ecology); • Noise hindrance; • Air pollution. Built environment and urban quality • Roads and Traffic circulation/intensity; • Marine traffic; • Solid waste disposal; • Water supply and sewerage facilities; • Drainage; • Electricity and telecommunication. Socio-Economic structure • Tourism development; • Urban development (built heritage, architectural design); • Population and employment; • Land use (parking area, housing and retail). 4.3 Programme and planning of scoping The major milestones of the scoping phase are: • The first round of consultations with stakeholders will be held at the end of August 2005 – beginning of September. • The draft scoping report will be issued by the beginning of October 2005 • The second public consultation will be held in week 43 of 2005 • The final scoping report including the terms of reference, programme and planning schedule for the impact assessment phase will be issued early November 2005 References Züblin Grenada Ltd, December 2004. St. George’s Revitalization Project. Project Proposal and Design Report. Lievense Consulting Engineers, June 2005. St. George’s Revitalization Plan, Grenada. Environmental and Socio-economical Impact Assessment. Terms of Reference. Document no. 052449. Background document for stakeholders Version: 1 Date: 07/19/2005 Author: M.E.M. de Jong-Schmitz Appendix A List of stakeholders Stakeholder Grenada Ports’ Authority Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association Grenada Board of Tourism Grenada Sustainable Development Council Grenada Employers’ Federation Grenada Trades’ Union Council Willie Redhead Foundation Friends of the Earth Ministry of Finance Ministry of Land Use, Forestry and Fisheries Department Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Tourism Environmental Unit, Ministry of Health Physical Planning Unit (PPU) Cable & Wireless GRENLEC NAWASA Grenada Solid Waste Management Authority (GSWMA) Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG) Taxi Organizations and drivers National Bus Association Retail-branch Area residents/stadium Gouvernment of Grenada Political Parties

27 Jul 2005 by george 0 comments