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Environmental Issues related to Dams
National Training Programme on Audit of
Emerging Environment issues
iCED, Sept 8, 2015
Types of Dams• Sizes:
– Large
– Small
– Check dams/ Weir/ Barrage
• Purposes:– Irrigation
– Hydropower
– Flood Control
– Water Supply
– Navigation
• Irrigation:– Storage
– Diversion
• Hydropower:– Storage
– Run of River
– Pump Storage
– “Small”
The Dam
A Run of River Project
Environmental Impacts• Environment-Social Nexus
• Impacts at different locations– Dam site impacts
– Upstream Impacts
– Downstream impacts
– Along tunnels, canals, Command area/ benefit zone impacts
– Impacts at all components including roads, mining for materials, muck dumping, blasting for tunnels, townships, transmission lines
– Basin wide impacts: including impacts at Delta & at sea
– Global impacts
• Impacts at different time periods– Before Construction?
– During Construction
– During Operation
– During Disaster: Dam Safety issues
– Decommissioning impacts
Muck Disposal, downstream of Karcham
Wangtoo Project in Sutlej River
Environmental Impacts - Major sectors
• Submergence
• Displacement
• Forests
• Biodiversity: Aquatic and Terrestrial: Rare, Endangered, Endemic, Threatened species, fisheries
• Protected areas
• Rivers: Multitudes of impacts not all fully assessed, some not even understood.
• Impacts of Mitigation measures: CAT, CAf, Muck Disposal, Fish Hatcheries
• Interlinking of Rivers
Impacts on
Fish
Most large HEPs under construction or planning are high and no
provision for fish ladder/ fish passes has been made.
The only mitigation measure for existing and planned dams is
hatchery or fish farms, which generally raise Indian Major Carps or
exotic species, not addressing issues with native fish diversity or loss
of livelihoods due to fisheries.
More than 10.8 million Indians depend on riverine fisheries for
New species
Discoveries
• India is a mega diverse country wrt freshwater fish diversity with nearly 1000 fish species and new ones discovered every passing day
• 6 new species discovered in Kumaradhara River alone in 2012
Impacts of Operation• Hydropower Peaking operation: Individually and cumulatively
• Sudden releases from dams: Larji
• Sudden large releases in flood season: Ukai (Aug 2006), Manikheda dam in MP (Oct 2006 – 39 deaths), Hirakud (Sept 2008), Bhakra, Krishna dams (2009), Damodar (2015)
• Sudden releases for Hydropower generation: Teesta V: Sikkim (Apr 2014), Narmada Sagar – MP (Apr 2005: 70 deaths), Chamera, Kundah IV: Tamil Nadu (March 2013), Bhavani Kattlai II: Tamil Nadu (Jan 2012), Maneri Bhali I: UKD (Apr 2011), Maneri Bhali II: UKD (Nov 2007), AMR Netravati Project: Karnataka (Dec 2011)
• For more info, see: https://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/nadiya-bairi-bhayi/comment-page-1/
Peaking discharge of 2700 MW Lower Siang HEP, when 6000 MW Upper Siang
I, 3750 MW Upper Siang II and 1000 MW Siyom HEPs are present will be 4970
cumces for 7 hours and 178.33 cumecs for 17 hours.
The corresponding level fluctuation at D’Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary
downstream of Lower Siang HEP due to changed discharge pattern from
peaking (200 cumecs-5000 cumecs) will be 23.66 feet in a single day. (140.85-
148.05 mts)
Note that this sanctuary is 25 kms downstream the Lower Siang Dam site, which
means that fluctuations near the dam site will be more severe.
Environmental Impacts exist when
we assume there is none!• Small hydro (Capacity <25 MW) is assumed to
be environmentally benign, so they do not need any EIA, PH, EC, Appraisal, EMP, Monitoring, compliance.
• Similarly for water supply projects (e.g. Yettinahole or Damanganga Pinjal link)
• Flood management projects
• Projects claimed to have started work before 1994
• River front development project
• Statue of Unity project!
EIA – Some underlying Principles• Environment (& Social) Impact Assessment;
Environment (& Social) Management Plan
• EIA process should be considered a part of the decision making process and not one box to be ticked, as is the case currently. EIA should be done part of the project feasibility assessment, and not after decision about project feasibility has been taken.
• Currently, the public hearing process provides the only opportunity for the local community and others to have some role in the whole project cycle. The public participation process should include need assessment, option assessment, construction, operation & entire life cycle of the project.
• The only document the enables informed participation by the local community and the others is EIA-EMP, but that is not available in the language they can understand.
Basic Components of EIA-EMP-1• Legally enforceable definition of what constitutes EIA-EMP
• Assessment of Social-environmental Impacts due to all project components: roads, colonies, transmission lines, muck disposal, mining for materials, transport, etc
• Baseline study for two full years ideally
• Carrying capacity
• Cumulative Impact Assessment
• Disaster potential assessment with/ without project
• Disaster Management Plan including dam break analysis
• Options Assessment
• Downstream impacts
• Hydrology: full available information, including project operation tables for average & 90% dependable year
• Full References for all secondary sources
• For all ground level surveys provide specifics of days, time and places for all observations.
Basic Components of EIA-EMP-2• Impact of project activities like blasting, tunneling on the land,
houses, other structures, drinking water sources, etc and credible compensatory measures when it occurs, rather than claiming that this is not due to our project
• SIA should include impact on women, impact due to large influx of outside labourers
• Climate change: Contribution of the project; estimation of impact of climate change on the project
• Silt management: What happens to the silt coming out of desilting chambers, silt accumulated in the reservoir, downstream impacts
• GSI assessments about land slides, stability, etc
• Correct power generation potential: SANDRP study shows that 89% of HEPs do not generate at projected generation level, issue of how much generation due to peaking hours, give month wise break up in average and 90% dependable year
Who should do EIA?• Should have all the required expertise
• Should be independent, with credible track
record
• No conflict of interest: in terms of institutional
affiliation, ownership or business model
• So can WAPCOS do an EIA or Cumulative
impact assessment?
• Can an agency who has done EIA in a river
basin do CIA or the river basin?
Decision Making Process• Informed Decisions (TOR/ EIA/ CIA/ studies)
• Participatory (PH/ Consultations)
• Transparent (Information, documents, process in
public domain)
• Independent persons in appraisal; minutes should
reflect application of mind about EIA, PH, submissions
and responses of the developer
• Accountable Appraisal: Rule Based decision making,
consistency, Well defined Accountability norms,
Absence of conflict of interest, application of mind,
Accessible to all, capacity to learn lessons,
institutional memory, healthy rejection rates, capacity
& willingness to take independent decisions
Compliance• Environment Clearances are typically
conditional, with 30-50 conditions attached
• EIA is accompanied by EMP: supposed to be
implemented pari passu with the project
• Compliance mechanisms:
– Regional offices: field visits, surprise visits
– Monitoring reports: who files, who reads?
– Independent evidence: Govt refuses to believe
• END OF THE DAY: Developers know nothing
EVER happens TO ANYONE for non
compliance
We are still on steep learning Curve• Options Assessment
• Environment Flows
• CIA
• Disaster Impact assessment
• GHG emissions
• Is Hydro clean, green, cheap, renewable?
• Downstream impacts
• Impacts on Deltas
• Longitudinal connectivity
• Distance between projects
Latest on E-flows: MWR-MoEF report
• First ever joint report by the two ministries on E-flows,
submitted in March 2015. It talks about River Health
Regime and Minimum Env Requirement in the first
place.
• Recommends more than 50% releases in lean
season. The report is not only about Ganga but all
rivers.
• E flows assessment based on: Depth of water
required at riffles site for keystone species in normal
and spawning season; longitudinal connectivity; 18
days of lateral connectivity with floodplains in
monsoon; accepts that e-flows is not just about water
but also flow of sediments, nutrients and biota.
Sinking Deltas and silt-filled dams• Most deltas around the world are shrinking due to catastrophic sea
level rise. And not all the blame can be put on climate change.• Major reason behind sinking and shrinking deltas is sediment trapping
by the dams built on the upstream rivers, which has resulted in oceans eroding and eating away deltas
• During the past century, there has been over 94% reduction in Indus delta sediment, over 30% reduction in Ganga-Brahmaputra delta sediment, 94% reduction in Krishna’s sediment, 95% reduction in Narmada, 80% reduction in Cauvery, 96% reduction in Sabarmati ( annual sediment loads), 74% reduction in Mahanadi, 74% reduction in Godavari, etc.
• The direct impacts of delta subsidence and effective sea level rise abetted by dams include inundation of coastal areas, saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers, increased rates of coastal erosion, an increased exposure to storm surges, etc, in addition to the threat to food security, livelihood security, water security to millions and huge loss of biodiversity. These threats have implications for hundreds of millions of people who inhabit the deltaic as well as the ecologically sensitive and important coastal wetland and mangrove forests.
We have lot more to learn!• Proper EIAs
• Take action against problematic EIAs/ EIA agencies
• Understanding Need for Compliance
• Proper Public Hearing: Independent panel, informed public hearing
• Understanding conflict of interest
• Saying NO can also be constructive!
• What is a RIVER?
• No Go Rivers
• No projects beyond certain altitude
• Need for periodic review
Uttarakhand Hydro: Somersaults in
the decision making• WII report of 2012: No to 24 HEPs
• SC order of Aug 2013
• Ravi Chopra Expert Body report of Apr 2014: endorses WII conclusion
• IIT Consortium recommends Longitudinal connectivity: Aug 2014
• SC orders review of 3+3 HEPs in Oct 2014: MoEF submits review report in Dec 2014: Says in 60 leanest days all the water should be allowed to flow down
• A 4 member Vinod Tare Committee submits report: 6 projects should not go ahead
• May 2015: MoEF submits affidavit for further review by EB + 4
• June 2015: MoEF violates its own affidavit, forms a committee whose constitution not known.
• In Uttarakhand and Himalayas we have learnt no lessons!
Most large hydropower development is concentrated in the
Himalayan States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu
and Kashmir, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, also the most
biodiversity rich regions.
If all the planned hydropower dams in Indian Himalayas get built,
then this region will have the highest dam densities in the world of
0.3247/1000 sq. kilometers, nearly 62 times the average global
figures.
Ganga Basin will have the highest number of dams in the world for a
single basin (1/18 km of river channel dammed).
Dams in Western Ghats
Some comments on CAG reports-1• Audit of Management of Mah Irrigation Projects, 2014:
Highlighted that 249 projects of VIDC started without
getting EC (upto March 2013) and 89 without FC in
VIDC, 188 in all; no mechanism to monitor
compliance,
• CAG report of Jalyagnam Irrigation Projects in AP in
2013: 18 of 86 audited projects started without EC; 14
without FC; 4 even without FR; 11 w/o DPR;
• In both AP and Mah cases, there is little impact of
these findings on the projects/ officials/ processes.
• UKD Hydro: 2010 report said that that more than 40
HEPs in the region were a serious threat to nature and
bio-diversity of the region
Some comments on CAG reports-2• Performance Audit No 10 of 2012-13 (PR on 310812):
A number of us wrote to CAG how this was extremely weak and inadequate. Not Audit of performance at all. Fails to raise fundamental issues, does not draw strong conclusions that are warranted from its audit and recommendations are even weaker and does not address the issues in conclusions. Ignores the natural resource like river and forests being handed over to private sector without considering the impact on people or its optimum use. For lack of due diligence, it does not hold CEA or GSI or CWC or MoEF or EAC responsible.
• Performance Audit of Bihar Flood control measures in 2013 left a lot to be desired. It did not even review the 2008 experience.
• Performance Audit of Orissa AIBP for period upto March 2014 does not look at the environmental issues
Tips (by way of Loud thinking) for Auditors• Audit of Environmental decision making
(including EIAs, Public consultations, appraisal, functioning of EACs, MOEF decision making, Compliance)
• Audit of Environmental Institutions
• Audit of quality of EIAs, EIA agencies, EIA accreditation process
• Audit of Rules governing environmental clearances
• Plug in environmental issues in performance and financial audits
• Audit of Environment Management Plans/ CIAs
Diminishing Returns from Large Hydro• As can be seen from the chart here, the Million Units power energy
generated from large hydro projects has been almost continuously falling over the last 20 years.
• The fall from 1994-95 to 2014-15 is huge 20.5%.
• There are many reasons for this: unviable projects, over development, optimistic assumptions, siltation, inadequate R&M, ROR projects, etc.
39
In 20 years between 1991-92 to 2011-12, after spending over Rs 400 000
crores on big irrigation projects, there is decline of over 1.7 M ha in canal
irrigated areas
Net Irrigated Area by Major & Medium Irrigation Projects
14000
14500
15000
15500
16000
16500
17000
17500
1990
-91
1992
-93
1994
-95
1996
-97
1998
-99
2000
-01
2002
-03
2004
-05
2006
-07
2008
-09
2010
-11
Area I
rrig
ate
d (
Th
Ha)
WCD report
• Report of the World Commission
on Dams: The report was a result
of an exercise in which majority of
commissioners were supporters of
large projects. This was the most
transparent, open, inclusive process to
assess the development effectiveness of large dams and it came out with a unanimous report in November 2000. The Report offers a framework for decision making process
on Large projects and options.
Very interesting institute - iCED• Vision: “a global Centre of Excellence for
improving accountability and governance in the
area of environment and sustainable
development”
• Mission: “training and research to enrich
environment audit through an inter-disciplinary
approach”
• Values include: “Concern for environment,
Learning organisation, Collaborative approach”
An interesting quote “Disease of Gigantism”• “For some time past, however, I have been beginning to think that we are suffering from
what we may call, "disease of gigantism". We want to show that we can build big dams and do big things. This is a dangerous outlook developing in India…. the idea of having big undertakings & doing big tasks for the sake of showing that we can do big things is not a good outlook at all.”
• ”We have to realise that we can also meet our problems much more rapidly and efficiently by taking up a large number of small schemes, especially when the time involved in a small scheme is much less and the results obtained are rapid. Further, in those small schemes you can get a good deal of what is called public co-operation, and therefore, there is that social value in associating people with such small schemes.”
• ”You (the president of CBIP) have said just now in your address that the cost of production in a small project is great. I am not at all sure if that is so, because the cost of a small project has to be judged after taking into account all the social upsets connected with the enormous concentration of national energy, all the national upsets, upsets of the people moving out and their rehabilitation and many other things, associated with a big project. Also it takes a long time to build a big project. The small projects, however, does not bring about these upsets nor does it involve such a large endeavor.”
• ”It is the small irrigation projects, the small industries and the small plants for electric power, which will change the face of the country far more than half a dozen big projects in half a dozen places.”
• ”Therefore, real value of a development lies in spreading out its influence all over India so that more and more of people can benefit by it. Thus the social value of a vast number of small projects is much greater than that of one, two, three, four or five big projects.”
• Let us know if you find out, who said it, when, and what was the impact of this statement on India’s water sector and what are the reasons for that impact?
Thank you
South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People
www.sandrp.in, http://sandrp.wordpress.com/
