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GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND WATER RESOURCES (MOEWR)
BUMBUNA HYDROELECTRIC ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT
(IDA GRANT H150-SL)
Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP)
[Update of 2005 Environment Management Plan (EMP)/
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)]
Bumbuna Dam 2004 Bumbuna Dam 2009
April 2010
Table of Contents
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. Bumbuna Watershed -- Environmental Management
III. Loma Mountains National Park
IV. Dam and Reservoir Resettlement Action Plan
V. Transmission Line Resettlement Action Plan
VI. Community Development Growth Poles
VII. Safety Measures Downstream From the Reservoir
VIII. Bumbuna Trust
IX. Implementation Arrangements and Resources
Annex 1. Environment Management Plan (EMP) 2005 – Matrix of Environmental and Social
Impacts and Mitigation Measures (Nippon Koei-UK) Final Report, July 2007
Annex 2. Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project, Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment
Management Plan Proposed Activities and Resources Nippon Koei UK, January 2005
Annex 3. Letter Establishing the Loma Mountains National Park
ii
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AfDB African Development Bank
BCA Bumbuna Conservation Area
BHP Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project
BPIU Bumbuna Project Implementation Unit
BTC Bumbuna Trust Company
BTD Bumbuna Trust Deed
BWMA Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority
BW-MCSAP Bumbuna Watershed Management and Conservation Strategy and Action Plan
DFID Department for International Development (UK)
DHMT District Health Management Team
DOC Dissolved Organic Carbon
DSRP Dam Safety Review Panel
EA Environmental Assessment
EAU Emergency Action Unit
EFA Environmental Foundation for Africa
EHS Environment, Health and Safety
EHSO Environment, Health and Safety Officer
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
EMP Environmental Management Plan
EPA Environmental Protection Act
EPD Department of the Environment
EPI Expanded Programme on Immunisation
EPP Emergency Preparedness Plan
ESAP Environmental and Social Advisory Panel
ESCG Environmental and Scientific Consulting Group, Freetown
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation (of the United Nations)
FSL Full Supply Level
GEF Global Environment Facility
GIS Geographic Information System
GOI Government of Italy
GOSL Government of Sierra Leone
GWh Giga-watts per hour
ha Hectare
HEP Hydro-Electric Power
HH Household
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HQ Headquarters
IDA International Development Association
IEC Information, Education and Communication
IFC International Finance Corporation
IRBM Integrated River Basin Management
ISWL Insulated Shield Wire Line
IUCN World Conservation Union
IWES Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies
iii
IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management
JSDF Japan Social Development Fund
km Kilometre
kV Kilovolt
LAIR Livelihood Assessment and Income Restoration
LAWCLA Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance
LMNP Loma Mountains National Park
LSA Late Stone Age
MoAFS Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Forestry
MCH Aid Maternal and Child Health Aid
MCH FP Provision of Mother and Child Health Services (Family Planning)
MCHP Maternal and Child Health Post
MoEWR Ministry of Energy and Water Resources
mg Milligramme
Mm3 Million Cubic Metres
mm millimetre
MoHS Ministry of Health and Sanitation
MPT Multi-Purpose Tree
MVA Megavoltampere
MW Megawatt
NaCSA National Commission for Social Action
NBSAP National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
NCC National Compensation Commission
NEP National Environmental Policy
NEPB National Environmental Protection Board
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NKUK Nippon Koei UK Co. Ltd.
NPA National Power Authority
OP Operational Policy (World Bank)
OCP Onchocerciasis Control Programme
ORT Oral Dehydration Therapy
PAPs Project Affected Persons
PCDP Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan
PDO Project Development Objective
PF Process Framework
PHU Peripheral Health Unit
PIU Project Implementation Unit
PMU Project Management Unit
PMF Probable Maximum Flood
ppm Parts per million
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal
PRG Partial Risk Guarantee (World Bank)
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
QAG Quality Assurance Group (World Bank)
RAG Resettlement Advisory Group
RAP Resettlement Action Plan
iv
ROW Right of Way
RPF Resettlement Policy Framework
RFC Resettlement Field Coordinators
RFA Resettlement Field Agents
ROW Right of Way
SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment
SHARP Sierra Leone HIV/AIDS Response Project
SIV Species Importance Value
SRDA Seli River Development Authority
STD Sexually Transmitted Disease
STI Sexually Transmitted Infection
TBA Traditional Birth Attendant
T-Line Transmission line
ToR Terms of Reference
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees
VRC Village Resettlement Committees
WCB Wildlife Conservation Branch
WHO World Health Organisation
v
INTRODUCTION
The Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project (BHP) was commissioned in November, 2009 as the first
stage of hydropower development in the Seli River in Sierra Leone. As the first major
hydropower facility, it constitutes the main reliable option for reducing dependence on fuel
imports. It contributes to Sierra Leone’s poverty reduction strategy and economic growth in four
ways. First, with the BHP, management and operations of electricity in the western
interconnected system will significantly improve, especially in the industrial zones where the
suppressed energy demand has been estimated at a base cost of unserved energy of 46 US¢/kWh,
due to use of expensive and inefficient small diesel generators.
Second, delivery of critical Bumbuna power, which has been significantly delayed by conflict, is
envisioned to transform dramatically the structural cost of electricity supplies in the country.
Sierra Leone is one of the countries in the world with the highest costs of electricity generation
and delivery.
Third, with extremely low coverage, at less than 4% of the population with access to electricity,
the BHP aims to make electricity more affordable in the long run, both through sustainable
introduction of hydropower and through application of a sound energy policy framework. The
ESMP recommends some options for expansion of electricity to surrounding communities in
Bumbuna and the Seli River area through low cost grid and off-grid systems.
Fourth, the BHP will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by sustainably
replacing high cost diesel generating electricity with hydropower. The BHP is also designed to
conserve biodiversity and natural habitats in the upper catchment of Bumbuna. Additionally, the
community development programs will promote conservation agriculture, swampland
development, and encourage sustainable fisheries.
Project Location
The BHP is located about 200 km northeast of the capital city, Freetown. It is a 50 MW
run-of-river hydroelectric system with an 88 m high, asphalt concrete faced rockfill structure,
with a crest length of 440 m, and a volume of 2.5 million cu m of granitic rockfill. The reservoir
has a surface area of 25 sq km at maximum operating level and a volume of 420 million cu m. It
is Y-shaped with a 30 km long main branch and two secondary upstream branches of 7 km and
11 km. Two 9.0 m diameter, concrete and steel lined multipurpose tunnels were constructed
through both the left and right dam abutments. Table 1.1 summarizes the main technical
characteristics.
1
Table 1.1: Characteristics of the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Dam, Reservoir, and Facilities
Dam height 88 m
Dam crest length and width 440 m; 4 m
Dam volume 2.5 million cu m
Catchment area (above dam) 4,000 sq km
Normal operating water level 240 m.a.s.l.
Reservoir volume 420 million cu m
Length and diameter of two tunnels 620 m; 9 m
Total diversion capacity 1,200 cu m
Total spillway capacity (design flood) 3,000 cu m/sec
Intake tower height 93 m
Powerhouse length x width x height 41 x 17 x 24 m
Head 80 – 47 m
High voltage transmission line (type and 161 kV single circuit; 200 km
length)
Galvanized steel towers (number) 557
Total average energy 315 GWh/y
Firm energy 153 GWh/y
Source: Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and Salini Costruttori, Bumbuna Falls Hydroelectric Project,
Phase 1 (50 MW), November 2009
The BHP layout consists of an asphalt concrete faced rockfill dam with a semi-outdoor power
station located on the right bank downstream of the dam toe. The powerhouse has two Francis
turbine units with a total installed capacity of 50 MW and an average annual energy production
of 315 GWh. The right bank includes a diversion tunnel combined with an intake tower
structure; a vertical shaft spillway; a gate-controlled outlet structure; and off-takes for the turbine
discharge. The environment bypass is also located in the right bank. On the left bank are the
diversion tunnel combined with a vertical non-gated shaft spillway and terminal flip bucket. The
other ancillary facilities include access roads, river slope protection works, downstream flow
measurement weir, and a permanent camp for staff and dam operators.
2
BHP viewing platform and intake tower
BHP powerhouse
Project History
The BHP has a very long history. Since the time it was first conceived in 1970-1971, it has
undergone four phases. The first phase, in 1970-1985, was for feasibility and site preparation
works. The second phase, from 1986 to 1997, dam construction was about 85% complete when
abandoned due to the civil war, which ended in 2002. In the third phase, post war construction
and rehabilitation from 2002 to 2008 were focused on completion of the dam, powerhouse, and
ancillary facilities. Rehabilitation of the 200 km long high voltage (161 kV) transmission line (T-
Line) was started in August 2008 and completed in March 2009. Finally, in the fourth phase,
from 2009 to the present, the impoundment and load testing were completed and the BHP was
commissioned on November 6, 2009.
3
The 161 kV single circuit T-Line was constructed between Bumbuna and Freetown in 1994 to
1996. At that time, 540 towers were erected and 80 km of the line were in place. However, by
the end of the civil war, more than 90 towers were damaged and close to 47% of the cables were
missing, requiring massive repairs and costs to restring the line. Vegetation was cleared for
access roads and towers, including through the Occra Hills Forest Reserve near Masiaka, which
was a productive reserve designed to control erosion from steep slopes by planting exotic tree
species. The T-Line path deliberately bypassed the Western Area Forest Reserve (see Figure 1
land satellite image).
Figure 1: Land Satellite Showing Bumbuna Terrain and T-Line Network, 2006
The ESMP and the EMP follow the World Bank’s environment and social safeguards operational
policies. The current project Environment Category A will not change in the second, post-
commissioning phase. The same safeguards policies apply: Environment Assessment (OP4.01);
Natural Habitats (OP4.04); Physical Cultural Resources (OP4.11); Involuntary Resettlement
(OP4.12); Forests (OP4.36); and Safety of Dams (OP4.37). Since the proposed activities are
extensions of existing programs, no new environment or social safeguards policies are triggered.
This covers a comprehensive analysis of options; identification of Loma Mountains National
Park (LMNP) as the environmental offset; update of the 2008 RAP for the dam and reservoir
area, which was completed and rated satisfactory; and completion of the updated RAP for the T-
Line. The independent advisory panels – DSRP and ESAP – will continue in Phase II. Since the
start of the BHP, both panels have visited the project sites four times and have noted some
implementation progress.
Environmental Impact Assessment. In October, 2005, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL)
publicly disclosed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in connection with the World
Bank assisted Sierra Leone: Bumbuna Hydroelectric Environmental and Social Management
4
Project (IDA Grant H150-SL, from hereon called the BHP Grant). Subsequently, in 2006, the
EIA was updated with a section on an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). This EMP,
together with the other plans for resettlement, public disclosure and participation, etc have been
under implementation since the start of project activities in the Bumbuna area in January 2007.
This ESMP updates the EIA of 2005, including the issues which have been partially or fully
addressed and provides the status of implementation of the mitigation measures. It covers the
following areas: (i) identification of environmental and social management issues and mitigation
measures; (ii) implementation arrangements; (iii) institutional capacities to implement the
ESMP; and (iv) estimated resources for ESMP implementation.
Dam and Reservoir Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The 2004/2005 RAP, completed by
Electrowatt Ekono, was updated using a 2006/2007 shoreline survey. The update, 2008 RAP,
identified directly affected villages, or those whose lands and other assets would be inundated
after impoundment. Following guidelines in the World Bank (WB) operational policy on
involuntary resettlement (OP4.12) and cultural property (OP4.11), the 2008 RAP process
included: (i) a re-identification of project affected populations (PAPs), (ii) formulation of a new
plan for resettling people and compensating them for losses incurred from flooding; and (iii)
putting in place a process for carrying out income restoration and community development
activities. The 2008 RAP involved jointly organized ground-truthing, site visits, and intensive
consultations between the PIU and BCEOM/Techsult staff, who were the RAP update
contractors. The consultations focused on the extent households and villages were affected by
BHP’s operations, and on this basis, the approaches that would best address their immediate and
longer-term needs.
Transmission Line RAP. The 2005 T-Line RAP was completed by Azimuth and Associates
and disclosed in November 2005. The T-Line ROW was defined on the basis of a 7 m vertical
clearance which allowed the RAP consultants to reduce the number of PAPs from 367
households to 129 as within a so-called “exclusion zone.” Some 60% of the PAPs are in the
ROW of two urban centers – half in the 1.5 km between Hillcot Road and Kingtom sub-station
and the other half in Makeni. This RAP was never enforced, and in the interim period, in-
migration increased at a rapid rate. To update the RAP figures, a resurvey was started in June
2009, and is ongoing.
Safety Measures. In 2004, Salini Costruttori submitted a report Safety and Environment
Management Plan contained planned dam monitoring, safety procedures, and on-site
environment plans. This report was reviewed in the first visit of the DSRP. In (month?) 2008,
Studio Pietrangeli completed a report on Dam Safety Procedures and First Impounding Plan. In
August 2008, consultants from Norplan were hired to operationalize safety preparedness,
including training sessions and dry runs. By October 2008, GoSL had organized the Emergency
Action Unit (EAU) and set up a national coordinating committee composed of representatives
from the National Security Office, police, military, health, and other stakeholders. Meetings with
Paramount Chiefs, district officials, and local leaders were held to explain the importance of
safety preparedness.
PROJECT COMPONENTS (2005)
In 2005, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a project to complete the
remaining civil works of the BHP. The works were to be funded by a partial risk guarantee
5
(PRG) of up to US$38 million and a grant of $12.5 million focused on environment and social
management tasks. In this context, as explained earlier, a separate EIA was prepared in 2005.
The 2005 Project has three components:
Component A – Hydroelectric and Transmission Infrastructure. This component focused on
completion of hydro-electric and transmission infrastructure that had remained incomplete or
were damaged since interruption of works in May 1997 as a result of armed conflict. With the
availability of significant donor funding to complete the works, the partial risk guarantee (PRG)
has become unnecessary. In addition, the parallel IDA-supported Power and Water Project
(P087203) provided funding for the rehabilitation of the distribution network in the Western
Area, Freetown, associated safeguard issues, and institutional aspects. Currently, all civil works
have been completed and the BHP was commissioned in November 6, 2009.
Component B – Environmental Mitigation, Resettlement, Watershed Management and Benefit
Sharing. This component has 4 distinct activities: (i) Bumbuna watershed management, (ii)
Environmental Management, (iii) resettlement in the reservoir area, and (iv) resettlement along
the transmission line. The environmental safeguards that have been implemented include the
construction of the Environmental Bypass to maintain an environmental/social amenity flow
downstream of a minimum of 6 cu m/sec at all times, partial clearing of biomass in the reservoir
area (principally for safe navigation), approval for establishment of an environmental offset – the
Loma Mountains National Park (LMNP).
Implementation of social safeguards in the dam and reservoir areas was satisfactory. All affected
households received compensation; land for land exchange was completed; and food support for
transition support was provided for two years. Supplementary agricultural and life skills training
and socio-economic infrastructure, such as wells, boat building, health infrastructure and
schools, are still ongoing.
Important biodiversity and socio-economic studies have been carried out in the Loma Mountains.
Not yet implemented are a comprehensive water quality monitoring program in the reservoir and
downstream area of the dam; preventive actions to address water borne diseases, and the second
animal rescue operation at the time the reservoir reaches its maximum level. A second animal
rescue operation may be unnecessary, since monitoring has revealed that no animals were found
trapped in trees or on islands.
No activity has begun in the first phase of activity for the Bumbuna Watershed Management
Authority (BWMA) and the Bumbuna Trust Deed (BTD), which will be implemented with one
year co-financing from the AfDB.
Component C – Technical Assistance. This component provided support to the Bumbuna
Project Implementation Unit (BPIU), the ESAP and DSRP, and the communications action plan.
Heavy reliance on foreign technical assistance, greatly increased the costs for this component
while, overall, not providing the expected efficiency.
6
GOVERNMENT OF SIERRA LEONE REQUEST
The Government of Sierra Leone requested that the uncommitted funds from the PRG (US$ 9.5
million) be used to complete activities under components B and C, as well as additional activities
for dam safety emergency preparedness recommended by the DSRP under component A. The
proposed changes will support attainment of Project objectives, contribute to strengthening the
Recipient’s productivity and capacity and enhance fulfillment of environmental and social
safeguards objectives. The proposed changes are as follows:
i. adjusting the outcome indicators of the ESMP and eliminating a number of
indicators, which do not have sufficient baseline data;
ii. reformulating dam safety aspects in Component A into Component B and focus on
dam safe operation and maintenance;
iii. completing environmental and social safeguard activities in Component B;
iv. reallocating funds, as appropriate; and
v. extending the closing date of the Grant to June 2012 to allow sufficient time to
implement the project activities, in particular the environmental safeguard activities.
Development of Institutional Capacity for Implementation of the ESMP
The BPIU has separate units for environmental management and resettlement. At present, these
units are managed by consultants financed through foreign-assisted grants. Recently, the
MoEWR set up the Project Management Unit (PMU) to centralize the fiduciary functions and to
encourage greater field-based management of projects. With establishment of the BWMA, it is
envisioned that a more sustainable Environmental and Social Unit can be strengthened within the
MoEWR.
The Resettlement Advisory Group (RAG), composed of government officials, Paramount Chiefs,
village leaders, and representatives of Village Resettlement Committees, met three times to
assess and approve the resettlement and compensation plans for the Dam and Reservoir RAP
update and a separately organized RAG determined the compensation rates for the T-Line RAP
in 2009.
Several safeguards awareness and training workshops were held, including a Biodiversity
Workshop and a Social and Community Development Workshop in 2007.
7
II. BUMBUNA WATERSHED: ENVIRONMENT
MANAGEMENT
The Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP) is an update of the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) completed in January 2005 by Nippon Koei UK (NKUK) in
association with BMT Cordah Limited and the Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA-
Sierra Leone). The ESMP makes use of information from an earlier 1996 EIA report, which
included the EMP, submitted by Electrowatt Engineering Services Limited and Techsult
Company Limited. The following completed reports are consolidated into this update:
Public Health in the project area (NKUK, 2004)
Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the dam and reservoir (Electrowatt-Ekono, 2005)
RAP for the transmission line (Azimut, 2005)
Bumbuna Retrospective Review/Options Assessment Study (Haas, 2005)
Upper Seli Community Development Initiative Study (Vincent, 2005)
Revised RAP for the dam and reservoir (BCEOM/Techsult, 2008)
Revised RAP-Phase 1 for the transmission line (Laynaa Consultants, 2010)
2005 EIA- planned activity
The 2005 EIA provided a baseline description of the environment and natural resources in and
around the dam and reservoir area. The studies covered: (i) water quality; (ii) vegetation; (iii)
tree inventory; (iv) mammals and primates; (v) amphibians and reptiles; (vi) aquatic ecology;
(vii) fish and fishery resources; (viii) birds, (ix) butterflies; and (x) human environment in the
Kasunko, Diang, and Kalansogia Chiefdoms.
The 2005 EIA funding grant had one component for Environmental Mitigation, Resettlement,
Watershed Management, and Benefit Sharing; and another for Technical Assistance.
Environmental mitigation, watershed management, resettlement, technical assistance, and benefit
sharing are all covered in the 2005 EIA and all were implemented by the MoEWR Bumbuna
Project Implementation Unit, except benefit sharing. The benefit sharing programs planned to be
funded through a Bumbuna Trust have not been implemented since a planned carbon offset did
not materialize and no power revenues have been generated from Bumbuna. These programmes
are not likely to be funded in the near future, so the plans for establishing a Seli River Basin
Development Authority (SRBDA) and the Upper Seli Community Development Initiative
(USCDI) were dropped.
8
This 2010 ESMP outlines a second, post-commissioning, phase of grant finance to implement
seven activities:
Bumbuna watershed management
Loma Mountains National Park
Implementation of the Bumbuna Dam and Reservoir Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)
Revision and implementation of the T-Line RAP
Community development growth poles
Safety measures downstream from the reservoir
Bumbuna trust
BWMA and BTD. Establishment of the Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority (BWMA)
and the Bumbuna Trust Deed (BTD and activity to manage the Bumbuna watershed were
designed as a mitigation measure for the environmental and social impacts on the Bumbuna
Reservoir in the 2005 EMP. The BWMA will be a semi-autonomous organization under the
Ministry of Energy and Power. The first activity the BWMA will undertake is preparation of the
Water and Land Management Strategy and Action Plan (WLMSAP), which will outline activity
to be financed under the BWMA. Design of the activities to be financed has as an objective to
improve the sustainable use and management of the Bumbuna watershed and reservoir in order
to: (i) protect the reservoir from excessive sedimentation; (ii) improve the living conditions of
the local population through more productive agricultural practice and fisheries development in
and downstream the reservoir; and (iii) effectively protect the remaining biodiversity, especially
the remaining chimpanzee populations in the watershed.
At present slash-and-burn agriculture is widespread in the watershed. The agricultural
improvement program- intensification of rice farming in wetland areas (farmer’s field schools)
initiated for affected people (PAPs) in the watershed- has been successful. In the near future, a
twin emphasis will be agro-forestry on steep slopes.
The BWMA and the Dam Operator will coordinate on water quality monitoring and
management. The BWMA will be responsible to oversee the water quality monitoring and
management of the Operator and also be responsible for water quality monitoring in the wider
reservoir area and downstream of the dam. The Dam Operator will be responsible for water
quality monitoring and management in the immediate up and downstream area of the dam.
The BWMA will also be responsible for (i) biomass clearing in the drawdown zone and (ii)
ensuring safe navigation on the reservoir through marking hazards and clearing trees that are
hazardous to passage and landing. These activities are designed as mitigation measures. Their
environmental and social impacts will largely be positive; adverse impacts will be minimal.
9
Completed work
In addition to compliance with operational safeguards policies, the 2005 EIA and this ESMP
cover issues examined in:
feasibility studies preceding design of the BHP, including analysis of dam alternatives
and downstream river flow
dam safety and contingency assessments
strategic and detailed environmental assessments
assessment of the Sierra Leone legal and institutional setting
public consultation and disclosure
capacity assessment and training for carrying out the ESMP
compensation and ongoing market rates study
The results of these studies appear in the following reports:
Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the dam and reservoir (Electrowatt-Ekono, 2005)
Revised RAP for the dam and reservoir (BCEOM/Techsult, 2008)
RAP for the transmission line (Azimut, 2005)
Revised RAP-Phase 1 for the transmission line (Laynaa Consultants, 2010)
Bumbuna Retrospective Review/Options Assessment Study (Haas, 2005)
Upper Seli Community Development Initiative Study (Vincent, 2005)
Public Health in the project area (NKUK, 2004)
Baseline bird survey
Baseline butterfly survey
Baseline reptile and amphibian survey
Baseline small mammals survey
Baseline flora survey
Baseline fisheries survey
Baseline primate survey and monitoring program
Baseline archaeological field investigation
Desk study of Bumbuna conservation area
Community preparation and awareness
Water and Land Management Strategy and Action Plan
Land and soil management program
Downstream fisheries management program
Reservoir fisheries management program
Environmental flow sufficiency
Agroforestry and forestry program
Agricultural development program
Study and mapping of land use and vegetation
Ecological and ecotourism survey
Social and health measures
10
The World Bank financed the (i) Environmental Bypass, which can release a maximum of 6
m3/s, in order to maintain at all times a downstream environmental and social amenity flow; (ii)
the largely completed reservoir biomass clearing program in the permanently inundated area to
improve the safety of navigation on the new reservoir; (iii) biodiversity studies in the immediate
catchment of the Bumbuna Reservoir to identify if the area contained critical natural habitat and
to get a good sense of the value of biodiversity in the area. A basic conclusion from the
biodiversity studies was the area to be inundated by Bumbuna Reservoir contained biodiversity
of regional/global importance. A subsequent conclusion was that the original Bumbuna
Conservation Area (BCA) environmental offset was not adequate and a proposal was made to
include the Loma Mountain Non-Hunting Forest Reserve as an additional environmental offset,
with an upgrade of its status to a national park. Consequent biodiversity studies in the Loma
Mountain Non-Hunting Forest Reserve indicated a biodiversity of global importance and it was
agreed that this area would be an adequate environmental offset. The establishment of the Loma
National Park (LMNP) and the Bumbuna Trust Deed have been approved by Cabinet. The
Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority (BWMA) and Bumbuna Conservation Area (BCA)
legislation have been approved by Parliament..
The Water Quality Monitoring Program in the filling reservoir has just started. Initial steps have
been taken to implement the Emergency Action Plan. An Emergency Action Unit (EAU) has
been established to warn downstream communities in case of emergencies and large operational
water releases.
Environment Bypass in Bumbuna Dam Site
11
Environmental and social management responsibilities of the Operator. As described in the
2005 EIA, the Dam Operator is expected to undertake the following: (i) removing floating
vegetation, which is a hazard for dam operation; (ii) monitoring and managing water quality in
the immediate reservoir area close to the dam and immediately downstream of the dam; and (iii)
on-site environment monitoring (disposal of toxic wastes; chance finds procedures if new
excavations are planned; clean-up, and management of natural resources within the dam site).
The BWMA will be responsible to oversee the quality of water monitoring and management by
the Operator. This oversight includes monitoring for the development of a Thermo-cline
(temperature jump of >1 C between surface and bottom water of the reservoir dividing the
epilimnion (upper warmer water layer in a thermally stratified reservoir) and the hypolimnion
(lower colder layer) or a Chemo-cline (oxygen jump from around oxygen saturation in the
surface layer to almost zero oxygen levels in the bottom waters of the reservoir). Based on
monitoring results, the Operator will take action to improve water quality in the reservoir or
downstream of the dam if needed. In addition to temperature and oxygen, water quality
parameters to be monitored in the reservoir and downstream of the dam include: pH, suspended
solids, phosphate, nitrate, chlorophyll, and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). The equipment to
measure these parameters was financed under the original project and is present in a small water
quality monitoring laboratory at the dam site.
The Operator will also be responsible for: (i) monitoring slope stability/landslides and soil
erosion in the reservoir area and assessing the potential safety risks of land slides; (ii) identifying
and managing mosquito breeding sites in the drawdown zone; (iii) maintaining an
environmental/social amenity flow of 6 m3 in the dry season and 100 m3 in the wet season; (iv)
managing waste (oils, lubricants, etc.); (v) restoring former construction areas, especially those
possibly containing toxic wastes; (vi) monitoring adverse impacts on local stakeholders and
liaison with the local communities; (vii) implementing the Emergency Preparedness Plan
including the alarm system.
The first phase of the alarm system- warning to downstream populations in case of emergencies
and sudden operational water release- and the Phase 1 equipment will be financed under the
restructured project; financing and installing Phase 2 equipment will be the responsibility of the
Dam Operator.
The Operator will be responsible for monitoring and managing public health issues related to the
dam and its operation including workforce health and safety, and prevention of HIV/Aids
infection through his workforce.
The 2005 EIA includes a programme of consultation with stakeholders in Freetown and in the
project area, and a discrete Public Consultation and Disclosure Plan (PCDP) covering:
EIA scoping
consultation during EIA field work
presentation of EIA findings in workshops, and
implementation of EIA activities, including for the RAPs
12
A Catchment Stakeholder’s Forum and a Workshop on Biodiversity Studies were held in 2007 in
preparation for setting up the Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority. The Government of
Sierra Leone has approved and is soon to set up the Bumbuna Trust (BT). The Trust will manage
the trust account from the proposed allocation of electricity revenues to cover the longer term
funding for the BWMA and activities planned in the ESMP. The BWMA and the BTD have not
yet started operating.
Monitoring of waterborne diseases has not yet started. This is becoming urgent since indications
are waterborne diseases are on the increase now the reservoir is filling. Preventive actions to
avoid an increase in water borne diseases need to be taken. These actions will be financed under
the restructured project.
As the first animal rescue operation revealed, animals are not being trapped during the reservoir
filling, the second animal rescue operation has been cancelled.
Dam safety measures will be improved under the restructured project.
Compliance with World Bank Policy OP 4.01 (EA), OP 4.04 (Natural Habitat), OP 4.36
(Forests) and OP 4.37 (Dam Safety) has not yet been fully achieved. Therefore, additional funds
are needed to achieve compliance with these Bank operational safeguard policies.
Studies 1996 2005 2006 2008
Original “Omnibus” Additional Loma Biodiversity
Bumbuna Bumbuna EIA Biodiversity Studies
EIA (NKUK) Studies –
(Electrowatt/ 1month to 1 year
Techsult)
Cost: $850,000) Cost:$220,000
Archaeology No archeological No archeological No study done
sites or artifacts sites or artifacts
found found.
1 month study
Botany 155 tree species 450 plant species 675 species recorded.
recorded recorded plus In previous study,
1,350 herbarium Jaeger (1983)
specimens i.e. identified 1,576
20% of all woody species include 9
forest species endemics
recorded in the
Upper Guinea
Region
13
1 month study
Butterflies No butterfly 313 species No butterfly study
study recorded. An
additional 131
species recorded
by C. Belcastro
between 1979 and
2004 make a total
of 444 species
1 month study
Fish 36 fish species 62 species No fish study
recorded recorded- 52
below Bumbuna
Falls but only 30
above it
1 year study
Herpetology 12 amphibian and Species recorded: 41 frog species
6 reptile species 23 frog, 5 skink, recorded
recorded 3 gecko, 18 snake
1 chameleon, 1
agama, 1 monitor
lizard and 1
crocodile
1 month study
Birds 39 species 128 species 229 species 332 species recorded
recorded recorded recorded,
including 11
endemic to West
Africa and 5 of
conservation
concern
I month study
Small Species recorded: Species recorded:14
Mammals 3 shrew, 18 bats, shrews and rodents,
10 rodents 17 bats
1 month study
14
Primates 33 mammal Total of 11 7 primate species, 1
and Larger species primate species hyrax, 2 carnivores, 2
Mammals, recorded large rodents, 3 scaly
including 33- 58 ant-eaters, and 12
chimpanzees in 4 ungulates for a total
communities: five of 27 large mammals
monkey species,
1 baboon species
and a number of
large mammals
1 year study
Additional Biodiversity Studies
The following studies were conducted during 2006:
• Primates (1 year)
• Fish (1 year)
• Butterflies (1 month)
• Small mammals (1 month)
• Flora/Botanical (1 month)
• Birds (1 month)
• Archaeology (1 month)
• Amphibians and Reptiles (1 month)
Post-commissioning planned activity
Environment management: BWMA. The 2005 EIA study recommended establishment of the
Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority (BWMA) and the Bumbuna Conservation Area
(BCA) in order to protect some of the biodiversity, especially the endangered species and last
remaining chimpanzee populations in the reservoir area. In addition, the EIA also referred to
creation of the Bumbuna Trust Company (BTC), now called the Bumbuna Trust Deed (BTD),
which would manage funds for the BWMA and BCA. The original plan was to finance the
BWMA, BCA and BTD from sale of Bumbuna Dam electricity, and carbon financing. However,
neither financing mechanism is presently available since rejection of the methodology to obtain
carbon financing for the Bumbuna Dam, and because the financial situation of the power sector
in Sierra Leone, precludes financing for the BWMA, BCA and BTD from electricity sales.
The BWMA will be set up as a lean organization, based at the dam site, and responsible for the
following activities:
15
planning and implementing the Bumbuna Watershed Management and Conservation
Strategy;
creating environmental and conservation awareness regarding the BWMA program itself.
protecting the reservoir from sedimentation by supporting sustainable land use practices
and environmental management of the Bumbuna watershed;
improving the livelihood of the people around the reservoir, who are among the poorest
in Africa;
developing and implementing sustainable wetland agriculture, agro-forestry on slopes
and the conservation of biodiversity and forests;
developing and managing fisheries within Bumbuna reservoir and below the dam;
providing for safe navigation on the reservoir.
monitoring water related diseases such as river blindness, bilharzia and malaria, including
awareness creating regarding the prevention of waterborne diseases;
exploring for potential eco-tourism;
monitoring and managing water quality- water quality monitoring and management in the
immediate area up and downstream of the dam is the responsibility of the Operator; the
BWMA will be responsible water quality monitoring and management of the Operator-;
The BWMA programme will be implemented in a participatory manner in close association with
the population of the Bumbuna watershed. The BTD will manage BWMA funds and also funds
earmarked by the project for the establishing and managing the Loma Mountains National Park.
The key activities during the post-commissioning phase in the Bumbuna Watershed will
comprise the following:
Public Health A monitoring programme on water related
diseases and associated health issues
Navigation Progressive demarcation of safe navigation lanes
BWMA Establish and begin implementation
Plan and begin implementation of the Bumbuna
Watershed Management and Conservation
Strategy and Action Plan
Develop Land and Soil Management strategy and
Action Plan
Management of Land use and Vegetation Study
and Mapping
Management of agricultural development that will
include Farmer Field Schools, NTFPs,
agroforestry and forestry programmes
16
Ecotourism Management of Ecology and Ecotourism Survey
Water Quality Implement the water quality monitoring
programme
Hydro - meteorological Stations BWMA and Dam Operator will monitor stations to
be installed upstream of the Dam.
Biodiversity Manage Biodiversity Monitoring Programme.
Conduct baseline biodiversity studies one year
after full impoundment. Initiate monitoring of
endangered species.
Social Programme Develop and implement a programme that
includes agribusiness, life skills, and sustainable
agriculture to improve the livelihood of people
around the watershed
Fisheries Programme Design and manage a fisheries support programme
Education Maintain close communication between the
BWMA and watershed communities Provide
education and information services to the
communities and schools and contribute to
community participation and awareness.
Biomass clearing Progress biomass clearing
BTD Establish the Trust Deed to manage funds for the
BWMA and Loma Park
IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
The project’s inter-agency technical steering committee and proposed management structure
(BWMA Board) for the BWMA and BTD will provide guidance for implementation of
environment and social programmes. The PMU will have the overall oversight of the day-to-day
implementation of the updated ESMP, Dam and Reservoir RAP and T-Line RAP, and the BTD.
During a 2010 transition period until the BWMA is established and until a permanent Dam
Operator is identified, the PMU will be responsible for the removal of floating vegetation (which
is the Dam Operator’s responsibility), and undertake progressive biomass clearing (BWMA
responsibility). It is important that water quality monitoring (which is the responsibility of both
BWMA and Operator) continues, especially establishing in 2010 a baseline for water quality in
the reservoir and downstream of the dam. The Operator will be in charge of water quality
monitoring and management in the immediate upstream and downstream area of the dam.
Capacity for the BWMA to oversee water management, reservoir safe navigation through
17
marking dangerous spots and clearing of trees at landing sites will need implementation as soon
as the BWMA is in place. Meanwhile, these activities will be implemented through contracted
third parties. An organogram is most notable for its absence. The BWMA Board will have
oversight of these activities.
The BTD will manage funds earmarked for the BWMA and community based development
activities in the Bumbuna watershed and, in coordination with MoAFS, it also will manage the
funds for LMNP establishment and operation . The BTD will release funds to the BWMA for
community development activities and, in coordination with the GEF-World Bank project, for
LMNP management. Funds are expected for the establishment and first years of operation of the
LMNP, and through other funding sources over a longer period of five or more years. This will
be sustainable since the BTD is a permanent organization, just like the BWMA, and can receive
funds from any outside party.
BORROWER’S INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ESMP
The BPIU has separate units for environmental management and resettlement. Presently, these
units are managed by consultants financed under the World Bank Grant. The Minister of Energy
and Water Resources (MoEWR) has established a separate Project Management Unit (PMU) and
an Environment and Social Unit within the MoEWR. Both are consistent with 2005 EIA
recommendations. The ministry is currently hiring qualified staff, including some of the
consultants from the former BPIU. Under this centralized ministerial PMU, coordination with the
operation of the BWMA and BTD still needs to be finalized. In terms of coordination for the
management of LMNP, the MoEWR will have completed in 2010 a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), coordination systems, and a Cabinet Paper for establishment of the
LMNP.
The capacity of national consultants for implementing the ESMP and RAPs remains weak, so
additional training and other capacity building will be needed. Planned are workshops to cover
some on-site training and field-based mentoring from international consultants. In 2010-2011,
the project will implement a separate safeguards monitoring and training program for staff from
the entire ministry.
18
III. LOMA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
2005 EIA – planned activity
The 2005 EIA recommended the following activities relating to the Loma Mountains: i) a one-
year study of chimpanzees and other primates in the entire area of influence of the Bumbuna
Hydro Power Project to determine the number, size, social organization, habitat requirements
and range of all primate groups, so that mitigation measures for each group can be planned in
detail; ii) a three-month survey of birds in the Loma and Sula Mountains to identify the species
and numbers present and to determine if the same species are present as in the Bumbuna area; iii)
a three-month survey to catalogue the butterfly species present in the various vegetation types in
the Loma and Sula Mountains; iv) a three-month survey of reptiles and amphibians of the Loma
and Sula Mountains to produce an inventory of species, estimates of population densities, and an
analysis of habitat types and preferences; v) a three-month survey of small mammals and bats in
the Loma and Sula Mountains to produce an inventory of species, estimates of population
densities, and an analysis of habitat types and preferences; vi) a six-months survey of trees, flora
and plant communities/habitats in the Loma and Sula Mountains, comparing species, quality and
importance with those of similar areas elsewhere in West Africa; vii) a desk study using data
collected by the above surveys, to assess the suitability of the Loma and Sula Mountains as
potential environmental offsets to compensate for biodiversity losses at Bumbuna.
Completed work
Loma Biodiversity studies were conducted for 1 month except for the Primate and Large
Mammal study that was conducted for two months. The following studies were conducted during
2008: Primates (2 months); Small mammals (1 month); Flora/Botanical (1 month) and Birds (1
month).
Amphibians and Reptiles results are from earlier studies in the Loma Mountains.
Post-commissioning planned activity
The main activities are to finance the establishment, management and protection of the Loma
Mountains National Park. Some small-scale community development projects will also be
financed as well. These small-scale community development projects will be screened for
environmental and social impacts as mentioned under (i) above and environmental clauses will
be included in contractor contracts.
All the activities are expected to have positive environmental and social impacts. The BPIU for
the GEF project will be responsible for the implementation of this programme.
Key tasks for the Loma Mountains National Park during the post-commissioning phase will be:
19
Forestry Division Fully organize a planning and managing team .
Forestry has designated Mr. Kalie Kamara as Site
Manager for Loma. Mr. Kamara, with Forestry
head office and assistance of the BPIU staff, will
prepare a work program, budget and a
procurement plan for the Loma subcomponent of
the restructured programme with the assistance of
the restructured Project.
Conservation? Programmes The Forestry Division will initiate improved
protection, research, ecotourism, improvement of
access and improved agriculture in the area as
soon as the restructuring becomes effective.
Community Consultations This will be done in February/March of 2010.
Boundary Demarcation Boundary surveys will be conducted by NKUK in
partnership with Forestry (in March 2010) and
with input from the Lands Ministry. Forestry will
consider changes to the current boundaries for
management and conservation of particularly
flagship species.
Socioeconomic studies This will be done in parallel with the consultations
and Boundary surveys.
Settlement Court This will be established following consultations
and will deal with possible user rights, including
access rights and other benefit sharing mechanisms
Cabinet Paper This will be prepared by the Forestry Division and
will include a definitive proposal for Park
boundaries.
GEF/IDA Integration of IDA and GEF support to Loma to
avoid duplication of funds.
Loma Mountains National Park Established as an offset to the biodiversity losses
at Bumbuna.
Sustainable financing mechanism Government commitment to setting aside a portion
of Bumbuna tariff for the offset will be in place;
this tariff to be managed via the Bumbuna Trust
Deed.
20
IV. DAM AND RESERVOIR RESETTLEMENT
ACTION PLAN (RAP)
Activities planned in the EIA: 2004/05 Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)
and subsequent RAP updates in 2007 and 2008
The 2005 RAP identified only one village, with 16 households and a population of 135 people as
directly affected and to be relocated. Several other land owners were identified to lose more than
20% of their land after impoundment. However, in 2007, the 2005 estimate was updated through
the use of topographic surveys. The result of this update showed that 41 houses needed to be
relocated and about 599 households were affected by inundation of structures and lands. In a
final update of 2008, the total project affected persons were 5,033 from 38 villages
Following guidelines in the World Bank (WB) operational policy on involuntary resettlement
(OP4.12) and cultural property (OP4.11), the 2008 updated RAP process included:
(i) re-identifying of project affected populations (PAPs)
(ii) formulating a new plan for resettling people and compensating them for losses
incurred from flooding; and
(iii) commencing a process for income restoration and community development.
The 2005 RAP specified two mitigation measures to address PAPs transition requirements. One
was a livelihood assessment and income restoration (LAIR) program composed of agribusiness
units, footpath realignment, boat building, training and capacity building for livelihood
development, and food aid. This was implemented by a Sierra Leonean NGO, the Organization
for Research and Extension of Intermediate Technology (OREINT). A second program, the
Stabilized Agriculture Program (SAP) was meant to ensure that agricultural support would
reverse the potential environmental effects of uncontrolled slash-and-burn farming- the
predominant form of upland cultivation at the time. Proposed activities were swampland
development and conservation farming through farmer field schools. The SAP was implemented
by a local firm- Business Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Limited.
Completed activities
The PAPs were determined on the basis of a shoreline of 244 Masl which was physically marked
together with Village Resettlement Committee members to ensure that villagers were aware of
the full inundation levels The results of ground truthing to identify PAPs appear in Table 4.1.
21
Katene Resettlement Site
Table 4.1: RAP Findings (2008)
Categories of Project Villages Name Chiefdom House Population
Affected Villages Holds
Category A: Villages 0 0 0
that are not affected by
impoundment
Category B: Villages 3 Kadala Kasokira, Gbulia Kalasongoia 24 283
that lose sacred sites Diang 69 565
Category C: Villages 3 Kunsulima Mabaray Kamawole Diang 70 575
that only lose access
Category D: Villages 1 Kamathor Kalasongoia 15 109
that only lose land
Category E: Villages 1 Banakoro Diang 5
that lose land and
access
Category F: Villages 1 Kasasi Kasunku 7 73
that lose trees and
sacred sites
Category G: Villages 1 Kamawayway Diang 6 43
that lose trees and
access
Category H: Villages 6 Kasawulay, Kayiben, Kamaniki, Diang 15 94
that lose land, trees, and Fulla Town, Kathanda. & Gbambali
22
access Dien Kawunkulu
Category I: Villages 12 Kabendugu Kafogo Kamagbamaa, Kasunku 213 1,414
that lose land, trees and Kagboray, Kakutan, Kamasaypanya,
sacred sites Kamera, Kasasi, Katene,
Kalasongoia 146 1,383
Kathengben, Kawunkulu, Kayakala,
Category J: Villages 1 Kasalobah Kasunku 4 74
that lose land, trees,
sacred sites and houses
Category K: Villages 5 Waia, Kalatia, Kamabareh, Diang 79 837
that lose land, trees, Masamandugu . Kathoina
sacred sites and access
Kalasongoia 11 99
Category L: Villages 4 Matombe, Kamasilon, Kamawone. Diang 20 104
that lose land, trees, Gboskoroma
sacred sites, access and
houses
Total 38 599 5,033
The final PAP information differed significantly from the estimate in 2005: i.e.
41 households (186 people) in five villages – Matombe, Kasalobah, Kamawone and
Kamasilon, -- were relocated, compared to the initial number of six houses.
Households in Matombe, Kasolobah, Kamawone and Kamasilon were moved to new
resettlement sites in Katene, Fadugu, Kunsulima and Kabendugu respectively.
Matombe, Kamasilon and Kamahone were the only situations where the entire village
was submerged; between them they lose access to 179.28 ha of village lands.
95 farm plots belonging to 171 farmers covering a total area of 117 ha that will be
partially or fully inundated (104 hectares of these lands will be lost but will need 137
ha in replacement due to the lower productivity of dry land compared with wet land).
These farm lands are cultivated under shifting rotation, in swamplands or in uplands,
all interspersed with economic trees.
4,956 commercial value oil palms and 3,715 other economic trees (e.g. banana, kola,
orange, mango, lime, pineapple, sisal, tola, etc) recorded. PAPs will be compensated
for the value of economic trees lost.
Waia, Gbulia and Kadala villages will not lose much farm land but foot paths and
sacred sites will be lost. There will be some villages, especially in Diang Chiefdom
where access will be restricted. These villages will be given priority, for example, in
the construction of footpaths, such as in Waia (whose footpaths will be extensively
flooded) followed by other villages. Surveys of these foot paths have already started
under the Stabilized Agriculture Program (SAP).
48 sacred sites in 21 villages that will be flooded. The costs of ceremonies for
transferring these sites, including some gravesites, will be covered in the RAP.
23
Table 4.2: Comparative RAP Findings in 2005 For reference see table 4.1
Categories of PAPs Villages Households Population
Category A: Villages that are not affected by impoundment 22
(not flooded)
Category B: Villages that would lose a small part of its land 17 236 1,786
(less than 20%)
Category C: Villages that would lose a considerable part of 15 186 1,250
its land (more than 20% up to 40%)
Category D: Villages at a critical elevation and would 0 0 0
require to move and will lose a considerable part of its land
(more than 50%)
Category E: Villages that will be completely submerged and 1 16 135
will have to be relocated
Category F: Villages outside of the reservoir area or 4 n/a n/a
downstream of the dam and that lost land to dam
construction.
Total (2005) 59 n/a n/a
Total (2008) 38 599 5,033
24
Land Satellite of Bumbuna project area showing relative land uses (Source: 2005 Dam/Reservoir RAP)
25
Map 4.1 Showing Seli
River and Location of
Affected Communities
(Bumbuna Dam at
bottom)
26
By 2008, the BHP was known to cover 38 affected villages upstream of the dam, and belonging
to 3 chiefdoms -- Kalasongoia, Diang and Kasunko (see Map 4.2) Because these villages are
mostly isolated and underdeveloped, except for Bumbuna town, which was rebuilt after the rebel
war, and is generally accessible by road, these villages can be reached only by foot paths. As a
result, hunger and deprivation were persistent along with high levels of malnutrition and infant
mortality. Therefore, the BHP focused on providing short-term emergency support aimed at
immediate assistance to get households started in establishing cultivated farm plots and small
livelihoods with quick returns, and as well, special attention to improving access through foot
paths rehabilitation, boat building, agribusiness and markets development.
The Bumbuna project affected communities are among the poorest, at subsistence levels below $1.00 a day.
The satellite imagery shows that shifting cultivators tended to favour steep slopes which make
felling of trees much easier. Because the soils in such slopes are often shallow (from 0-5 cm to 0-
50 cm to bedrock) the imagery also indicates some significant hillside soil erosion. Cultivation in
these sloping lands is mostly for rice, ground nuts, cassava or maize. In the alluvial soils at the
valley bottoms, the more dominant agriculture is wet rice cultivation during the rainy season and
a more diversified cropping of cassava, sweet potatoes, and yams during the drier months.
Following this observation, the SAP and LAIR focused on improving the productivity of swamp
lands, which comprised close to 70% of the total type of arable land in the affected areas.
Most of the affected villagers belong to the Limba ethnic group, although the population is
diverse, containing families from the Mende, Fula, and Temne. Krio is the language in most
common use. Each group has its own set of cultural traditions and belief systems, the most
dominant of which are traditional beliefs, Christianity, and Islam. Sacred sites of cultural and
historical importance- sacred grounds, groves, shrines, and ancestral cemeteries- abound in the
villages. Ethnic, cultural and gender differences were addressed variously by extension using
village assemblies, established cooperatives and interest groups; and farmer field schools that
ensured at least 50% were women farmers.
27
Figure 4.2: Map of Sierra Leone showing the three chiefdoms affected by BHP
In the area directly affected by reservoir inundation, public infrastructure and services were
largely non existent, with education and health provision among the lowest in Sierra Leone.
Education levels were low, as measured by high illiteracy rates. Most affected families could not
afford the costs of school, and many villages were too far away to send their children to the few
available schools. Only a few towns had a health centre. One hospital was under construction in
Bumbuna town and this catered to nearby villages. At present, the seriously ill go as far as
Magburuka for medical attention. There is a clinic in Fadugo, but for affected villagers to access
services, they walked an average of 20 km. As a result, morbidity and disease incidence were
higher than the national average for malaria, water-related infectious diseases, and HIV/AIDS.
None of the affected villages had access to the national power grid, and although poles were
erected in Bumbuna town, very little electrification was available. Some of the villages had at
least a hand pump or a well, installed through the European Union or by an NGO, but most
villages collected drinking water from communal wells, dams, springs and streams, while water
from the river was used for washing. The needs assessment survey, conducted over a period 5
months during the food aid, showed that communities were very receptive to expanding night
time services in health centres and to have night time schooling to accommodate women and
children working in farms during the day.
Table 4.1 describes activities undertaken under the LAIR program.
28
Table 4.1: Summary of LAIR Outputs to February 2008
Planned Post-
Activities Description of Outputs Commissioning
Targets
Socio-economic Survey and A needs assessment completed in 15 Expand to cover
Needs Assessment communities using basic PRA techniques all 38
Random sampling of communities combined communities
with focus group discussions targeting male and
female youths, women and men farmers, traders,
fisher folk & artisans.
Agribusiness Units (ABUs) Eleven ABUs received basic training in life 15 more ABUs
operational skills, small business development, food
handling and storage, savings and loans, health
and sanitation including HIV/AIDS awareness -
in the villages of Kasokira (2), Kasoloba (2)
Kabendugu (2),Kateneh (4) and
Kunsulima(1).Basic food handling and storage
equipment have been provided to all 11 ABUs.
Boat Building Three boat building training sessions completed; 6 boats (2 per
four boats constructed and equipped with chiefdom); total
outboard engines and place in Waya of 20 boats
Tools/equipment dug-out canoes Basic tools package provided to Boat Further
Management Committees in Kalansongoia, strengthening of
Kasunku and Diang chiefdoms Boat
Management
Committee
Tools/equipment motorized These have been provided to the three Boat Completed
boats Management Committees of Kalansongoia,
Kasunko and Diang chiefdoms respectively
Water safety & Water Related Sensitization on water related diseases and water 25 more
Diseases Sensitization. safety was carried out in Fadugu town on the sensitization
28th December 2008 on the day of food workshops
distribution. Likewise a similar introductory
session was held in Bumbuna on 20 January
2009. There is a need for ongoing appropriately
targeted training sessions by trained trainers
using standard teaching materials collated in a
Life Skills Training Manual
Food handling & storage Food handling and storage equipment have been Distribution to
equipment provided and handed over to five ABUs in the all 30 ABUs
Kasunku (4) and Diang (1) chiefdoms
respectively comprising of rice parboiling
drums, large rubber bowls, jute bags, tarpaulins,
groundnut grinding machines and metal trays
Monthly emergency food aid was orderly and lasted for two years.
29
As designed in the original BHP Project Appraisal Document, the objective of SAP was to
encourage farmers to adopt alternatives to shifting agriculture. The plan was to provide
incentives to farmers to: (i) improve use of water resources through on-farm water conservation
and swampland water management; and (ii) adopt soil erosion protection and maintenance to
double the level of soil fertility and shift to more intensified farming. However, since the first
phase was for emergency relief, food security, and livelihood recovery through the restoration of
agricultural production systems, SAP concentrated on the formation of farmer field schools and
the immediate conversion of agricultural lands into food production units. In this regard, many
SAP interventions were undertaken in collaboration with the LAIR Programme to enhance the
sustainability of project interventions. The SAP outputs are presented in Table 4.2.
Some LAIR activities: boat building and agribusiness units (ABUs) for post-harvest processing
Table 4.2: SAP Outputs and Plans (2007 to 2010)
Output Outputs Planned Total
Under Short- Target for
term Post-
Emergency Commissioning
Relief
(EARS &
EFRWP)
(i) Minor Rural Infrastructure Development
- footpaths constructed/rehabilitated 44 km 100 km 144 km
- temporary docking points constructed 24 0 24
- feeder roads 0 93 km 93 km
constructed/rehabilitated/upgraded
(ii) Participatory Research and Extension
- FFSs implemented in collaboration with 7 FFSs 29 FFSs 36 FFSs
MoAFS
- improved food production techniques adopted 175 PAP 725 farmers 900
farmers
- land benefiting from sustainable food 144 ha 596 ha 740 ha
production
(iii) Land and Water Management
- uplands cultivated/improved conservation 5.6 ha 27.4 ha 33 ha
techniques
- swampland development/improved water 24 ha 76 ha 100 ha
management
(iv) Livestock Production and Animal Health
- poultry re-stocking units. 7 FFSs 17 FFSs 24 FFSs
- small ruminant re-stocking units 0 12 FFS 12 FFSs
- animal health units 0 36 FFSs 36 FFSs
(v) Forest Management and Agro-forestry
- privately owned tree nurseries 1 nursery 2 nurseries 3 nurseries
- agro-forestry plots 0 18 ha 18 ha
- community forest established under JFMPs 0 3 areas 3 areas
30
SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY (2004)
A socio-economic survey was completed in 2004 using a sample of households in the
project area. However, since the PAPs were not identified at that time, the survey could not be
used as a baseline for monitoring PAPs conditions. The 2004 survey was done by a local
consulting firm and covered 59 villages using the EIA study done in 1994 as the basis for
selection of a sampling frame. The methodology applied semi-structured interviews using a
standard household questionnaire with heads of households as respondents. Focus group
meetings were held with each village, dividing participants into groups of youth, women and
men, and with chief and elders. The focus group discussions often turned into a consultative
meeting.
The survey showed that village sizes varied from Mabaray, with just one household and 10
persons, to Kafogo, with 1,152 persons in 179 households. On average, villages had small
populations, as reflected in an average village size of 16 households.
The main livelihood was slash-and-burn agriculture, predominantly from fruit trees, palm oil,
and swamp rice farming. Food crops cultivated included upland rice, cassava, sweet potato, yam,
and various fruits- banana, pineapple, orange, grape fruit, mango.. Other sources of income
included gold mining, palm wine tapping, fishing, petty trading and hiring out as labourers..
Some bartering was observed and markets were not well developed except in Bumbuna and
Fadugo.
Services were, as expected, very limited. For example, the source for water supply for domestic
use was unsafe for drinking, especially in Diang and Kalansongoia chiefdoms. Most of villages
in Diang Chiefdom received their water from river, stream or pond sources. In contrast, Kasunku
water came mostly from underground wells and pumps. To collect water, the average distance
travelled was more than one kilometre (60% of households surveyed in Diang and Kalasongia).
The conditions for sanitation were found to be poor, with most households throwing refuse into
nearby open areas or bush. Over 95% of households in Kasunko, for example, had no way of
collecting and processing wastes. In Diang, about 27% of households disposed of wastes in
private pits dug outside their house compounds.
Health services were lacking in most villages. Traditional medicine was the
dominant type of medical treatment, especially in Diang where over 38% of
respondents favored going to traditional healers. The health facilities were more
advanced in Kalasongia.
In terms of perceptions of resettlement, the survey showed that the majority of respondents in
Diang and Kalasongia Chiefdoms, 55.1 and 67.5% respectively, appeared to have already made
up their mind about possible alternative sites for settlement. The situation in the settlements in
Kasunko was different, where up to 91.7% of household heads reported that they had no
preferences for relocation sites.
31
The two most important factors for resettlement were access to better housing conditions and
better land for agriculture. About 38% of households said that they were willing to move to get
better land and 37% for better housing. Less than 2% were convinced that moving would
improve overall living conditions or increase job opportunities.
The following institutions were the key players in RAP implementation (see Figure 4.1)
The Ministry of Energy and Power (MoEP) was, and continues to be, the main
representative of the GoSL. This Ministry oversees negotiations with Paramount chiefs
on acquiring land; provides leadership in the Resettlement Advisory Group; and (c)
supervises project monitoring and external evaluation.
The Project Implementation Unit’s (PIU) responsibility, on behalf of the MoPW, has
provided overall RAP supervision and coordination; implemented the RAP through its
Resettlement Unit (RU), which includes BCEOM/Techsult as a contracted agency; and
has provide all necessary documentation to the RAP evaluator.
The Resettlement Advisory Group (RAG) was the major decision making body and
approved the compensation rates.
The Resettlement Unit(RU) was responsible for implementing the compensation and
resettlement plan; consulting and informing PAPs; providing compensation; organising
resettlement and income restoration activities; coordinating with other involved
institutions; and monitoring day-to-day activities.
Village Resettlement Committees (VRC) were set up in most affected villages. Villages
with less than 5 families were joined to an adjacent villages. The terms of reference for
the VRC stipulated that representatives of vulnerable groups (especially women and
young people) were adequately represented. Resettlement Officers visited each village at
least twice a month during the PAPs identification process. The same frequency of visits
is expected throughout the 3-year RAP implementation period.
A Witness NGO, Coalition of Civil Society and Human Rights Activists (CCSHRA) has:
monitored and reported on a monthly basis to ensure the process of resettlement and
compensation are participatory and transparent; and participated in external evaluations.
Partner NGOs implemented community development programs. The Organization for
Research and Extension of Intermediate Technology (OREINT) was in charge of
delivering community projects to PAPs villages under the Livelihood and Income
Restoration (LAIR) program. The Business Engineering Science Technology (BEST)
was contracted for the Stabilized Agriculture Program (SAP). OREINT administered the
emergency food aid to PAPs over a period of one year.
A Legal NGO was commissioned to serve as legal counsel.
A Panel of Experts (from Sierra Leone) was supposed to assess the technical, socio-
economic, and financial aspects of RAP implementation. However, this was not
organized due to lack of funds.
Figure 4.1 Institutional Set-up for RAP Implementation
32
Ministry representation
in RAP Resettlement Advisory
Energy & Power
Agriculture Group (RAG
Water and
Sanitation
Health Project Implementation Unit
(PIU)
Environment
Senior Advisor
Resettlement Unit Financial Controller
PIU Representative
Resettlement / Social Expert
NGO Representative
Coordinator Environmental Specialist
Host Community Rep.
Unit Manager Hydropower Engineer
Vulnerable Group Rep.
Resettlement Officers Contract Specialist
Communication Engineers
Officers Administrative Assistants
Environmental Officer
Legal Advisors
Financial Officers
Technical Staff Monitoring
Administrative Staff Panel of Experts
Made up of:
External Consultants
SLANGO Repr.
Resettlement Council
VRC 1 VRC 2 VRC 3 VRC n
Affected Affected Affected Affected
Village 1 Village 2 Village 3 Village n
In terms of compliance with the World Bank’s policy on cultural property (OP4.11), the 2004
EIA showed no evidence of significant historical and cultural sites within the vicinity of the
reservoir area and dam. In 2005, a “chance find” procedure was completed. Subsequently, the
2008 RAP team found and recorded many sacred sites, mostly along the Seli River. Owning
villages were compensated to cover the costs of “appeasing or pacifying the spirits” for
disturbance by the reservoir.
The legal framework for RAP implementation in Sierra Leone was problematic, the relocation of
houses and compensation were accomplished in a fashion consistent with Sierra Leone’s
Constitution and Public Lands Act Cap 116. However, as noted in the 2005 RAP, the Public
Lands Act does not apply to provinces and will in future either be expanded for nationwide
coverage or amended together with the National Power Authority Act No. 6 of 1982 to allow for
compulsory acquisition of land in the provinces. Another legal issue concerned compensation for
land under customary law which varies between ethic groups and even by locality. Finally, Sierra
Leone has a national agency for resettlement affairs (National Commission for Social Action or
NaCSA), but its mandate is limited to coordinating and implementing efforts to resettle people
displaced by the war.
33
Post-commissioning planned activities
Resurvey of Shoreline and PAPs Update. After full impoundment (November 2008), the PMU
will resurvey the shoreline and complete the following six activities:
Verification of any new PAPs and determination of their physical assets and
compensation due;
Provision of compensation at replacement value of physical assets and livelihood
restoration for new PAPs identified after full impoundment;
Continuation of RAP grievance mechanism; and
Monitoring and evaluation
Two Resettlement Field Coordinators (RFCs), who are field based, manage Field Offices in
Bumbuna Town and Fadugu, with a team of eight Resettlement Land Agents (RLA) and two
office staff. Field Office responsibilities are to:
Operate the grievance procedure,, documenting PAP grievances by date, time, name,
nature of grievance/complaint, and resolution;
Log all visitors and record meetings;
Consult PAPs and others from host communities;
Engage in focus group meetings, and other forms of consultation; and
Monitor and evaluate the conditions of PAP livelihoods.
The Witness NGO will continue to monitor field activities, especially if compensation payments
are to be made to new PAPs. The work of the RFCs will be managed by the PMU, and decision
making regarding compensation payments, etc will be made by the Resettlement Advisory
Group (RAG), which is composed of representatives from different stakeholders, such as PIU,
other ministries, national team/task forces, local agencies, NGOs, vulnerable groups, AARFCs,
etc, and which provided oversight of the previous 2008 RAP implementation process.
The following specific activities will be undertaken:
Verify the reservoir shoreline and map the extent of flooding after full impoundment;
Demarcate the reservoir shoreline;
Identify newly inundated agricultural areas ( i.e. not identified in the 2008 RAP);
Identify any new PAPs and their location with respect to the shoreline;
Identify and demarcate any newly affected sacred sites, foot paths, or docking points;
and
Implement necessary activities defined in the 2008 RAP regarding compensation,
consultations, grievance mechanism, etc.
34
Given the large extent of the reservoir and the urgency of immediately
responding to PAPs’ needs, the RFCs will be expected immediately to:
Demarcate the shoreline using appropriate topographic instruments, and the use of
the Global Positioning System (GPS) method, in addition to the conventional Total
Station Method and ground-truthing;
Consult with PAPs regarding their current status;
Consult with village heads to identify new PAPs, if any; and
Carry out the grievance mechanism.
The shoreline survey will be to set up using at least 20 benchmarks that will form a triangulation
network consisting of the reservoir area and other existing markers from the Bumbuna Dam (e.g.
based on previous markers set up as benchmarks in the original topographic survey). The
benchmarks should be verified along the upper reservoir level, the reservoir surface, and in areas
that are easily accessible. An appropriate Total Station Instrument will be used for this purpose.
As previously demarcated in the original 2008 RAP, each angular measure will be executed four
times considering 0.0020 grades as a maximum difference between the extreme values, and 5
mm + 5 ppm (part per million) in distance as a maximum difference between the extreme values
measured and verified in the field. Field data will be processed using suitable software.
The new points, after impoundment, can be marked using tools that guarantee their stability and
permanence, such as bolts on concrete, iron pins in bedrock fissures; more durable painted
markers, etc. The RFCs shall prepare a detailed monograph for each of the summits of the
adjusted benchmark/markers with a brief description of the location, photograph, and a diagram
in order to allow, if necessary, the restoration of the original shoreline markers.
The RFCs will submit a technical report on the remarking of the shoreline and on the methods
used in cross checking the data obtained during the shoreline survey by September 2010. The
report will include the number and composition of the shoreline resurvey teams; technical
description and number of survey equipment (GPS, etc) used; and results and schedule adopted.
The report will include shoreline markings in a map, such as the one presented below on the
Bumbuna Reservoir Area.
Livelihood Restoration Program. An assessment will be completed by June 2010 to:
Identify PAPs changing needs according to new location/compensation status and
increased expectations after BHP commissioning;
Identify different social groups impacted by change from relocation and compensation
and any adverse impacts of the changes brought about by the reservoir and other aspects
of their new environment;
Assess who may be more vulnerable from changes after commissioning according to age,
gender, and livelihood;
35
Assess and manage PAPs expectations and understanding of how they could meet their
livelihood needs in the changing post-commissioning environment;
Assess the extent to which expectations and understanding of PAPs can be met by
livelihood support and life skills training;
Provide information to plan support for vulnerable social groups;
Advise Project Managers/PIU of the PAPs needs/expectations in their changing/changed
circumstances; and
Promote participatory decision-making and monitoring and evaluation, including
potential for developing social accountability mechanisms.
The assessment interview ‘framework’ or checklist has been drafted to facilitate consultations on
current needs. This was already started during the monthly food aid distribution. The focus was
to assess future needs of the different groups in accordance with expectations of any changes in
agriculture, livelihoods, and lifestyles, in general, due to the reservoir formation and
expectations of livelihoods assistance that were developed in the BHP. For instance, although by
January 2009, no out-migration took place, people may relocate or set up lands near the
reservoir. Such movements would significantly affect development of post-commissioning
programs, so they will be monitored.
For each of the three Chiefdoms the Assessment will be done according to the following
categories:
Adult men (25 Yrs +) – including elders, leaders, businessmen and other decision
makers;
Adult women (25 Yrs +) - including elders, leaders, businesswomen and other decision
makers;
Youth, Male (15-24 Yrs) – including the needs of advance level school children and
young adults;
Youth, Female (15-24 Yrs) – including the needs of advance level school children and
young adults; and
Vulnerable groups (all age groups) – including women-headed households; unemployed
youth; disabled persons.
The assessment normally takes about an hour with a further 30 to 40 minutes for group
formation, sensitizing/managing expectation and thanks. Data will be collected by field staff and
LAIR officers who have survey experience in gathering basic needs information.
The following programs are planned for the post-commissioning) phase:
Livelihood security and business development. The focus will be on basic training such as
money management, post harvest crop handling, and crop marketing. Women are keen to
participate in the livelihood business program, especially in micro finance and petty trading.
Trainers will ensure gender equity in access to the livelihood support training.
36
Expenditure planning. Each PAP household will be trained on use of funds, assets for
livelihoods, and cash flow for livelihoods investments. The LAIR will extend various
modules on acquiring assets to enhance livelihoods e.g. goats or tools for identified needs
such as carpentry, fishing equipment, bellows for blacksmith works and saving for activities
such as educational schemes, and medical needs. Livelihoods investment sub-projects will
include goat, poultry, duck and pig raising; bicycles and carts; food processing and weaving.
Boat building. BHP has created a reservoir which adds 23 km of navigable water on the Seli
River. Demand exists for appropriate lake transport. Boat building, water safety and fisheries
along with docking points and footpaths will be part of the SAP/LAIR Integrated Rural
Transport System. Target outputs are: (i) 3 boat building enterprises(dug out canoes and
plank boats) established and operational by March 2010; (ii) 20 fishing groups established
by August 2010; (iii) 20 fish ponds for women constructed and operational by August 2010;
(iv) 200 fisher/aquaculture persons trained and adopting improved fishing and processing
techniques (October 2010); (v) fisheries input supply and marketing linkages between fishing
groups and boat building enterprises (with outboard engines), and traders of fish produce
established and operational (October 2010); (vi) lake transportation system established and
24 docking points operational (October 2010);
Lessons learned from the previous boat building program will be applied. Boat design will be
more participatory, with specialists adapting to local preferences. Handing over of boats will be
carefully managed to ensure an operating and management system is in place.. Handing over of
boats will be done timely in recognition of the demand for transport during the rainy season.
Boat building will include training on water safety. A transport system requires consultation,
monitoring and follow up.
Stabilized Agriculture Program. Activities started to enhance agricultural production will be
expanded in the post-commissioning phase:
Expand the swampland development program and Farmer Field Schools;
Assist in the detailed shoreline survey, specifically in areas that may affect swampland
development;
Provide land and water management remedial measures both on and off farm;
Rehabilitate inundated footpaths in consultation with the affected communities for routing of
replacement footpaths;
Start a health program, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and
coordinate with Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for control of pests, etc;
Rehabilitate village water supply systems.
Specific outputs planned, for the 2-year post-commissioning phase are:
Reduced Loss of Transported Goods and Reduced Transportation Costs through: (i) 24
community-owned docking points; and (ii) construction/rehabilitation of 12 km of footpaths
linking the docking points to the main footpath network;
Increased Land Productivity and Reduced Food Insecurity, through: (i) 25 FFSs under
the GoSL’s “Feed the Nation” Program; (ii) adoption of improved crop production
technology by 1,000 farmers on 2,000 hectares; (iii) 180 hectares of swamplands cultivated
for crop production under improved water management techniques (within FFSs); (iv) 25
37
poultry or small ruminant (re-stocking) units operational (within FFSs); (v) 36 animal health
units established (within FFSs); (vi) 18 community-based fish ponds established and
operational (targeted at female members of FFSs) – linked to swampland development; (vii)
multi-purpose and fruit tree nurseries established (one per Chiefdom); and (viii) 36 hectares
of agro-forestry plots established (within FFSs).
Improved Processing and Marketing, through: (i) 36 FFSs trained in marketing (180
households) and agro-processing (540 households); (ii) between 12 and 36 agro-processing
and marketing units established and operational within ABUs; (iv) 7 strategic village market
centers constructed and operational; (v) marketing information system (linking ABUs,
village market centres, suppliers and traders) operational; (vi) 3 micro-credit schemes
(established and operational (one per Chiefdom); and (vii) 180 to 540 rural households
(farmers, fishers, agro-processors, artisans, market traders, etc) with improved access to
micro-financing;
Enhanced Life Skills, through: (i) 6,500 people demonstrating improved levels of nutrition,
literacy, sanitation, awareness of water borne diseases and the dangers of water bodies, and
prevention of HIV/AIDS; and (ii) women’s groups and programs established, adult literacy
and employment rates amongst women, youth and disabled persons increased and youth
recreation facilities and funding mechanisms identified.
LIMITATIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED
The RAP had two notable limitations. First, the number of villages and the names of villages
differed between official maps, records of the Statistical Department, and the names used by
villagers in word and in local signs.. The RAP team tried to adjust and ensure consistency
between the map labels and local markers since it was vital that locally used names of villages,
especially those that were visited, coincided with those in the topographic map, but this could not
be done. As a result, in many cases population census information could not be attached to any
specific village. In fact, reliable demographic or population census data was for the most part
unavailable. This was a serious issue since “being counted” was the first step in ensuring
coverage of affected people..
This fundamental weakness in the original 2005 RAP was extended by identifying PAPs without
clearly demarcating the shoreline or verifying the location of affected houses and lands in situ.
Instead, the 2005 RAP relied mainly on the population census which was incomplete and
inconsistent between the area of expected reservoir inundation, extant maps and local
government population information.
Second, due to limited time and resources, follow-up of the 2004 socio-economic survey did not
occur until 2008, when a dry season survey was combined with a needs assessment for
community development planning. At this time, the monthly food aid distribution had begun.
This distribution provided an opportunity to verify PAP conditions and undertake a full census of
PAPs.. This 2008 survey was adopted as a baseline. although less-than-ideal because the survey
was done after resettlement and compensation were completed.
38
The constrained time period for the RAP was necessary because delay would have entailed
another year before the start of impoundment. At the same time, fast-tracking the work was
problematic for ensuring a quality baseline. Although the resettlement process is usually carried
out over a period of two years or more, here it was completed in only nine months.
A major contribution to success of the resettlement was the cooperation of villagers and local
government officials, especially the Paramount Chiefs who facilitated the land-for-land
exchange.
Three lessons arise from implementation of the LAIR and SAP programs. First, consistent follow
up and consultation was hampered by affected villages being isolation in difficult terrain, by the
small number of field based staff, and by reliance on Freetown-based university specialists and
international consultants. Second, funds administration by the BPIU (now PMU), was not
adapted to field requirements, especially in timely procurement of goods and services and delays
in obtaining and releasing funds . Lastly, schedule requirements were poorly managed, causing
misunderstanding and uneasiness among the PAPs concerning provisions for livelihood support.
39
V. TRANSMISSION-LINE RESETTLEMENT ACTION PLAN
2005 EIA- planned activity: the 2005 T-Line Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)
A Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the 161 kV T-Line was first undertaken in 2004 by
Azimuth Consultants (Paul Wilcott and Associates) and the Final Report was disclosed in-
country on 1 May 2005. Since this plan was completed prior to rehabilitation of the T-Line
network, an update of the findings was undertaken by an international resettlement consultant
(Mr. John Rice) in 2008. The update found more than 80% of claimant records from 1998 to
2004 used in the 2005 RAP were either lost or mistakenly calculated to reflect unrealistic claims.
As a result, starting in 2009, a new claimant identification process was undertaken by a Sierra
Leonian consulting firm, Laynaa and Associates.
Two approaches were identified in 2004 to address resettlement concerns in the T-Line and
presented in the documents disclosed on January 26, 2005. The initial RAP proposed to
compensate all households within a right-of-way (ROW) defined as a horizontal 30 meters, and
vertical 7 meters clearance from the top of structures to the nearest conductor. This ROW would
apply over the full length of the 200 km T-Line. However, during the course of RAP preparation,
a second approach was introduced that conformed with accepted international practice for
medium and high voltage T-Lines in developed countries in Europe and elsewhere. The second
approach was to retain existing land uses and permit cables to overpass existing buildings and
houses, subject to the minimum vertical clearance for safety reasons (e.g., to prevent flashovers
and reduce the chance of accidental contact with conductors). This approach was adopted after
consultations with project affected persons.
The 2005 RAP accepted, but did not verify, the 1995-1998 compensation claims. No database
nor documentation files were established, except for a listing of names and alleged compensation
rates. As of 2004, there were 367 households who submitted various types of unpaid claims, and
another 6 households were added in 2005, representing structures that were found to be within
the vertical clearance limit.
The differences in estimates of PAPs in 2005 (Azimuth), and the RAP update in 2008 (the ‘Rice’
update), are summarized in Table 5.1 below. As shown in Table 5.1, the total number of PAPs
structures significantly differed in these two RAPs.
Table 5.1 Comparison of PAPs Identified in 1995-1998, 2005 and 2008
Line Section Project Affected Households
1995-1998 Estimate 2004 and (2005) 2008 RAP Update-
directly affected PAPs structures posing a
in RAP T-Line security risk
Kingtom-Hillcot, 119 119 (0) 30 (Regent to
Freetown Kingtom)
40
Hillcot-Waterloo 37 37 (0) -
Waterloo-Lunsar 72 72 (5) 4
Lunsar-Makeni 64 64 (0) 7
Makeni-Bumbuna: 75 75 (1)
Bumbuna 3
town
Madif village 3
Makeni town 45
Total 367 367 (6) 92
Completed work
Starting in 2008, some ground truthing was done by a team of RAP specialists, staff from the
BPIU, and representatives of the GoSL surveyor’s office. This 2008 T-Line RAP Update was
based on a redefined ROW which increased the vertical clearance between the highest point of
the structure and the lowest conductor to 7.5 meters. The average distance between towers (or
the tower span) is 364 meters length or area of 10,920 sq m, but of the entire distance, less than
20% were noted to be within significantly dense built-up areas. The 2008 T-Line RAP Update
also sought guidance from an international panel of T-Line engineer that represented the T-Line
supervisors, Studio Pietrangeli, and the BHP’s DSRP and ESAP. The Note defined the T-Line
ROW as follows:
The ROW is defined along the length of the T-Line by: (i) maintenance of a 7.5 m
vertical clearance, measured between the highest point of physical obstacles on the
ground and the local vertical position of the lowest conductor exposed to design
conditions; and (ii) a horizontal width of 30 m (15 m on each side of the longitudinal
axis) along the entire length of the T-Line. Although uniformly applied, treatment to be
given to different reaches along the T-Line will necessarily be heterogenous since they
include diverse land uses (e.g. urban, peri-urban, agricultural).
Since the electric magnetic field (EMF) and electric field (EF) exposure levels are well
below the ICNIRP guidelines of 100 microteslas (µT) for the Bumbuna-Freetown T-line
configuration, existing structures and populations within the ROW can be retained
provided they are below the vertical clearance limit and their land uses are consistently
monitored.
The first phase of 2009 T-Line RAP implementation identified T-Line ROW occupants and the
RAG authorized payments for moving and transition during the T-line network load testing
phase. In addition, two months of food aid were provided to reduce the disturbance impacts.
While food distribution was taking place, a socio-economic baseline survey was completed for
all ROW occupants. During this transition period, between October to December 2009, around
30% to 40% of ROW occupants voluntarily moved out, having been sensitized about the
possible health impacts of living under the line.
41
Planned post-commissioning activity
The RAG, which was organized in January 2009 to approve the compensation payments, will
continue to be supported in the post-commissioning phase, primarily to approve the eligibility
criteria and compensation rates. Based on initial consultations with the RAG, the GoSL was
informed by the World Bank, in July 2009, that PAPs’ compensation would be provided to the
following category of eligible claimants: “Eligibility of project affected persons (PAPs) for
compensation to cover replacement costs of assets will include: (i) those whose property and
assets were inside the ROW prior to construction of the T-line network in 1994; (ii) those
households inside the ROW who were informed by the Bumbuna Project Implementation Unit
(PIU), between 1994-2005, that they were eligible for compensation; and (iii) those whose lands
were damaged during T-Line rehabilitation in 2008-2009.”
Since only 45 “legacy PAPs” provided documentation to substantiate their claims, the RAG
recommended that livelihood restoration to these claimants, instead of cash, would be provided.
The lands, crops and structures that were damaged during T-Line rehabilitation would be
replaced at market costs and subject to RAG approval. Finally, structures and lands within the
perimeter of the tower base would be compensated using the same methodology for the other T-
Line networks, and as determined by the GoSL surveyors, so there is consistency in the valuation
and payment methods
The DSRP and ESAP recommendations for the T-Line ROW, after commissioning, cover the
following activities:
1. Continue enforcement of the ROW safe zone (area with no human occupants) and allow
voluntary reoccupation of structures inside the ROW after commissioning; and
simultaneously provide sensitization on safety, health, and line maintenance. The T-Line
stretches in residential areas should be frequently inspected and people living inside the T-
Line ROW should be periodically warned on the lethal dangers associated with activities
causing violation of the minimum clearance (e.g. proximity to conductors through use of
ladders or long sticks; use of water jets, mobile cranes, burning, etc
2. Verify land use and settlements within the ROW by inventory and ground truthing using
maps, aerial photographs, socio-economic and physical surveys;
3. Remove structures that are within the vertical clearance limit, affecting T-Line security and
continue to monitor the T-Line for structures (and trees) obstructing the vertical clearance;
4. Enforce immediate restrictions on new construction, population encroachments,
unsustainable agricultural land uses (e.g. tree planting and burning) by issuing binding legal
or administrative orders; at the same time, provide incentives to farmers for sustainable
agriculture inside the ROW that can act as good ground cover. There is no proof that the
proximity of a high voltage T-Line can create a health impact. However, it is common
practice to avoid being close to a school;
5. Develop guidelines for effective operation, monitoring, and maintenance procedures for
ensuring T-Line health and safety and incorporate these into the T-Line Operator terms of
reference, with clearly defined responsibilities between the GoSL and the Operator for
monitoring the ROW.
42
VI. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROWTH POLES
2005 EIA- Planned activity
2005 EIA community development was designed on consultations and focus group discussions
organized in 2004 and 2005. Two reports – (i) Institutional Arrangements: The Upper Seli
Community Development Initiative and proposed Bumbuna Trust (for equitable sharing and the
delivery of non-power benefits from the Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project in Sierra Leone) by
Lawrence Haas (consultant) in February 2005; and (ii) Upper Seli Community Development
Initiative prepared by James Vincent (ICARDS-Sierra Leone, February 2005) – contain
summaries of the consultations and proposed activities, whose purpose was to provide benefit
sharing programs to communities in and around the BHP area over a two-year period. A proposal
for funding by the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) was prepared, but never submitted,
for three reasons: (i) cost sharing funds from GoSL were not allocated since financing from a
carbon offset- the Netherlands Clean Development Fund- did not materialize; (ii) the GoSL
decided to focus largely on the 33 directly affected villages within the immediate vicinity of the
reservoir; (iii) since the BHP was commissioned only in 2009, anticipated funding for the Upper
Seli Community Development Initiative (USCDI) from a percentage of Bumbuna revenues was
not available.
The original Upper Seli Community Development Initiative contained livelihood grants for: (i) a
menu of micro financed sub-projects; (ii) small infrastructure for villages and districts; and (iii)
youth capacity building. Over 30 village consultations and a peace building workshop were
organized in the area with district and chiefdom leaders prior to the design of these activities.
The study by Vincent (2004) to elicit the views of other communities in the reservoir catchment
and immediately downstream of the dam, but who are not directly affected by the construction
activities or reservoir flooding, confirmed high expectation from these communities to share in
BHP benefits, strong preferences for community-driven development (CDD) in design of
benefits and for energy-based livelihood improvements.
The EIA prepared by Nippon Koei (UK) and associates recommended a number of initiatives in
the EMP that required a high level of community participation, i.e.:
Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority (BWMA) will coordinate land use and
agriculture reform programs in the catchment of the reservoir, partly to control erosion
and runoff, but also to advance sustainable land use practices and that these will require
community participation;
Bumbuna Wildlife Conservation Area (BWCA) will need to be managed to address
wildlife impacts and to promote biodiversity conservation in the catchment. These
43
activities need to be aligned with the Stabilized Agriculture Program (SAP) which is
covered under the RAP; and
Seli River Development Authority (SRDA), which was designed as the basin authority to
move toward basin-level water resource management, and prepare initial strategic
assessments related to the full Seli River hydropower development, and ultimately have
responsibility to prepare a comprehensive basin management plan, will need to be
coordinated with local leaders.
The EMP anticipated that once the above institutions were established during the completion
phase of the BHP, their long-term sustainability would be enhanced by the creation of the
Bumbuna Trust (BT), proposed specifically to provide the financing mechanism.
In February 2005, a full proposal for the USCDI was prepared in Freetown for a proposed grant
financing of about $2.0 million for possible JSDF support. At that time, it was expected that the
USCDI would support downstream communities, in parallel with ongoing livelihood restoration
and community development being undertaken under the dam/reservoir RAP. The Map below
shows the three Districts that were proposed to be covered by the USCDI.
The EMP also provided a rationale for expanding the benefit sharing programs from the BHP (as
summarized in Table 6.1 below.
Table 6.1: The value of a benefit sharing policy to the BHP
and to Future Hydropower development in Sierra Leone
Advances the legitimate interests of the citizens in the Seli River Basin to be
first among beneficiaries of hydropower development in their basin;
Advances public
Properly done, generates “good faith”, builds ownership, reduces conflict and
consensus on
strengthens local and national public support for future hydropower schemes;
hydropower development
Public support and partnership approaches are important if the full Bumbuna-
Yiben scheme (275 MW) is to be developed in the Seli River Basin.
Advances thinking on water resource management in a basin context and
development of the power sector in a manner that helps balance economic,
social and environmental needs;
Improves enabling Introduces a basin-level mechanism to build-upon in future, where water
conditions for allocation, social and environmental management issues will become more
sustainable development significant (e.g. with the Yiben dam there is: (1) higher resettlement, which
requires a comprehensive and benefit-sharing approach; and (2) inter-annual
regulation of the Seli River flow, which requires greater intra-basin cooperation
and environmental flows policies).
Encourages a basin identity and culture;
Provides a mechanism to cooperate, share and transfer experience with new and
Promotes basin
innovative local development approaches among communities sharing the Basin;
economic development
Provides direct financial support to community and entrepreneurial development
needs that can be flexibly adapted as development conditions evolve.
44
A visible demonstration of public support will help attract external project
financing, particularly where the risks of community rejection and controversy
Encourages additional
are perceived as lower because benefit sharing provisions in place;
inward investment in the
A transparent, properly managed, fully accountable benefit-sharing Fund can be
basin
a catalyst for other inward investment to the basin.
The future hydropower scheme would likely attract additional carbon credits.
Benefit sharing is consistent with all international recommendations for the
development and management of dam projects;
Meets international
It signals that the GoSL subscribes to current international thinking on
expectations on dams
sustainable development;
and development
It would contribute to wider support for the national policy of hydropower
financing
development, not only locally and nationally, but in the international NGO and
financial communities.
Source: Lawrence Haas, Institutional Arrangements: The Upper Seli Community Development Initiative and
proposed Bumbuna Trust (for equitable sharing and the delivery of non-power benefits from the Bumbuna
Hydroelectric Project in Sierra Leone), February 2005
Local Government and Community Development
The 2004 and 2005 studies examined the institutional context for the proposed USCDI. The
studies found that immediately after the war, GoSL and the international community focused on
peacekeeping and national recovery. Programs coordinated by the National Commission for
Reconstruction, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (NCRRR), for example, involved post-war
resettlement, emergency shelter and other reconstruction works. This phase and a subsequent
transitional phase have come to closure. Most emergency initiatives financed by the UN, NGOs
and donors have shut down or been reformulated as longer-term development programmes.
Specifically for the USCDI, the most important institutional policies were those embodied in the
Local Government Act (LGA-2004), which supports a longer-term development approach. It
provides a new governance paradigm built upon the principles of transparency, inclusion,
accountability, and sustainability. The LGA-2004 assigned functional responsibilities across
national, provincial and local levels of government, and reactivated local government
institutions. More importantly, it devolved decision-making and service delivery to local
councils.
The decentralized approach shifted “project financing” approaches to local development to a
more localized structure under the Local Government Finance Committee (LGFC). It was
anticipated in 2005 that donor funding would provide budget support to local governments that
was designed eventually to reduce dependence on such funding and to generate revenue from
local taxes, including the revenues from Bumbuna.
This decentralized approach was expectedly a long-term strategy. Outcomes were not to come
over a short period, because government had a limited tax base for the foreseeable future and
strong reliance on donors who, at that time, immediately after the civil war, financed the bulk of
45
central government’s recurrent and capital expenditures. When the USDCI programs were
formulated, only a few of the 12 District councils had the capacity to take over project
identification, approval, and implementation responsibility. Capacities needed to be developed to
establish credibility in such areas as participatory planning, budgeting, managing finance,
monitoring and evaluation.
The main institutions and actors at the national level and the roles of local governance reform,
were summarized by Haas (2005) below in Table 6.2:
Table 6.2 Institutions for Community Based Programs
Established with the Vice President as the Chairman and
representations from local councils. Responsibilities:
Overseeing implementation of the LGA (2004);
Inter-Ministry Committee Overseeing further development and implementation of local
on Decentralization and government and decentralization;
Local Government (IMC) Protecting and promoting local democracy and participatory
government;
Arbitrating disputes between Ministries, departments and agencies
of Government, provincial administrations and local councils.
Ministry of Local Line Ministry responsible for policy countrywide local government
Government and operations. Includes the Decentralization Secretariat and a
Community Development Community Development Policy Unit.
(MLGCD)
Established to coordinate delivery of the decentralization program
and provide a secretariat service to the IMC. Broadly based
responsibilities in support of decentralization include:
refinement of the policy, legal and regulatory framework;
The Decentralization
collaborate with the MoF on fiscal decentralization;
Secretariat
coordination/ monitoring of sector devolution plans (of MDAs);
(A Directorate of MLGCD)
liaising with development partners and civil society to coordinate
support for the decentralization program;
monitoring, documenting, and evaluating the decentralization
process and reporting to the IMC and other stakeholders.
The various MDAs and their agencies being transformed from
Line Ministries, delivery to policy and support roles (support for local governments)
Departments and Agencies and have offices in each District. E.g. ministries of Education,
(MDAs) Science and Technology; Health and Sanitation; Agriculture; Roads
and Public Works; and Energy and Power.
The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), which was established as a "Social Fund"
in 2001 by an Act of Parliament to succeed the NCRRR is another important actor on the
national scene. NaCSA says it has held back on investments in the three districts near the
Bumbuna dam pending clarification of the benefit sharing programs. It was widely
acknowledged that NaCSA needed to transform rapidly from a social fund agency that provided
direct financial transfers to communities, by-passing existing government structures, to one
46
which supported the empowerment of local governments consistent with the local government
Act (2004).
Parallel to the NaCSA model are the district development plans meant to be implemented by 19
district councils of Sierra Leone. These plans were supposed to be prepared through participatory
processes and be responsive to local priorities. For the proposed USCDI, the following general
hierarchy for local government (see Table 6.3) was to be used:
Table 6.3 Local Government Institutions
An elected Chairperson and councilors (between 22-30)
The largest unit of local in each of the three District of the Upper Seli, including
government. Includes an representative Paramount Chiefs
elected Council led by a
Council Chairperson and Chief Administrator: An appointed civil servant who has
supported by various overall responsibility for administration and council staff,
standing committees including fiduciary responsible as the signing authority
(development and for the development accounts at the district and ward
operating) and an levels. The Office of Chief Administrator has several
administration headed by staff.
the Chief Administrator
(CA) with a Treasurer. Development Planning Committee: Consisting of
Districts are responsible for Members of the Council. Responsible for preparation and
the District Development approval of the District Development Plan that compiles
Plan and annual budget for Ward Development Plans and introduces district-level
the government-wide initiatives (i.e. those initiatives that involve more that one
District budgetary cycle, the LGFC ward such as district roads)
(grant system) and funding
discussions with donors. Technical Planning Committee: Chaired by the CA.
Includes Heads of all the MDAs in the District (e.g.
Heads of district branches of the line Ministries for
education, roads, heath, youth, energy and power sectors)
Procurement Committee: Generally includes Council
Members and beneficiary group representatives that sit
for specific projects. Must follows procedures set out in
the Local Procurement Act (2005)
Sector Committees: Various sector committees to
represent sector interests at the District level (e.g. Youth,
Health, Power and Energy) composed of Council
Members and Heads of the respective MDAs in the
District
Ward Development Committee: Chaired by the
Typically there are 4-5 Paramount Chief. 12 people in total. Includes 10 elected
War d Wards in a District, which representatives (5 men and 5 women)
represent the basic electoral
unit for the National District Councils and various Committees
47
Parliament. Two wards Ward Development Committees
roughly correspond to a
Chiefdom in terms of District Councils and Ward Development Committees
geographic area (though are elected. WDCs must include 5 men and 5 women.
there are many variations) The Paramount Chief sits on the Council and heads the
WCDs in their Chiefdoms
Allocation of community land, dispute settlement to
promote community harmony, peace and security;
customs, cultural and traditional practices.
Annual and longer-term District Development Plans
built on Ward Development Plans and district-level
initiatives
Ward Development Plans building on community
and village level interests
Individual communities that Village Development Committees (VDCs) : although
range in size from clusters status of the VDCs are not yet fully defined, they are
of a few households to rural mentioned in the Local Government Act (2004)
towns of several thousand
people Local religious leaders (specifically, the Village
Imam or Priest)
Secret Societies for men (Poro – with hunter
traditions) and women (Sande)
Teachers, instructors, retired civil servants and other
educated persons living and working in the
communities villages
Formative farmers’ trade groups in the basin
Community
Rural development cooperatives
Civil society interests (e.g. academia, training
institutions, youth organizations)
Private sector interests (e.g. mining and agro-
processing industries, construction companies and
smaller trading companies in the basin)
National and local media
SLANGO, an umbrella organization representing
national and international NGOs.
NAF/SL, a national association of farming
cooperatives that hopes to become the voice of the
community-driven rural development process.
Completed work
The USCDI, as originally designed, was never implemented due to unavailability of funds from
the Netherlands Clean Development Fund, Japan Social Development Fund, and a percentage of
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revenues from BHP. Instead, the BHP embarked on (i) a two-year program for immediate food
security between August 2007 and August 2009; and to promote food self-sufficiency (ii) the
simultaneous delivery of technical assistance and inputs to promote agricultural production and
business development. Thus, starting in May 2007, the emphasis of the Stabilized Agriculture
Program (SAP) and Livelihood Assessment and Income Restoration (LAIR) programmes was
emergency relief. An Operating Manual was prepared for the 3 programs that supported
implementation of the RAP – (i) Emergency Livelihoods Recovery Scheme (ELRS); (ii)
Emergency Agriculture Response Scheme (EARS); and (iii) Emergency Footpath Rehabilitation
Works Program (EFRWP).
Emergency Livelihoods Recovery Scheme (ELRS).
Food Aid Distribution/Food Support Program. In May 2007, a Food Support Operating
Manual was designed following recommendations of the World Bank to distribute monthly food
aid to more than 200 PAPs and host communities. The objectives of the food aid were to:
ensure that PAPs had a minimum food supply, to address hunger and deprivation, during
the transition period from October 2007- August 2008 before and immediately after
impoundment of the Bumbuna reservoir;
make available to PAPs households a secure food supply and means for quick recovery of
their agricultural and livelihood activities; and
provide a minimum nutritionally acceptable food “bundle” consistent with international
standards (i.e. 50 kg of rice, 3 gallons of palm oil and 12 kg of beans each month), to
address pre-existing malnutrition in the area.
By January 2009, food support was delivered to PAPs in the 33 directly affected villages within
the Kalansongoia, Kasunku and Diang Chiefdoms. The food aid was able to:
determine the food security status of each PAPs household, and document changes as
compared to the situation in 2007 to 2008;
consult with PAPs on a monthly basis, using needs assessment, socio-economic survey,
and focus group discussions;
assess why conditions of food insecurity and vulnerability occur and at which time of the
year these conditions are highest, and thereby, target the food aid during these periods;
identify groups of the population who are most likely to face conditions of food
insecurity and vulnerability (e.g. women headed households, households with disabled
members);
identify where the vulnerable populations are most concentrated;
identify where food aid has a comparative advantage in addressing the problems of food
insecurity and livelihood vulnerability;
build on the capacity of food distribution partners to develop and implement food
security assessment activities; and
develop a food security monitoring system to be implemented by BPIU (PMU) and
partners.
49
Agri-business Development. Eleven ABUs have been established since 2007. These resulted in
the establishment of agribusiness and marketing systems benefitting 450 households. There were
3-day pilot sessions in Fadugu, Kasolobah, and Kabendugu completed in 2008.
Agro-processing and Marketing. There were 3 training programs on agro-processing. Each
FFS was given a basic set of materials for post-harvest activities like grain drying and storing;
processing of nuts (grinding); and simple sheds for storing farm implements.
Life Skills Training. In 2007 to 2008, training was completed for PAPs before and after
compensation for money management; 36 micro credit groups were started with women; 30
community based artisan groups and Community Development Committees were set up; 20
fishermen’s cooperatives were formed; and 3 boat building groups were trained on life skills.
Fisheries Development, Water Safety, Boat Building. The Integrated Rural Transport System
was started as part of the livelihoods diversification, marketing and life skills sub-projects. In
2007 to 2008, the BHP concentrated on assisting carpenters and blacksmiths as part of boat
builders groups. The following were achieved: 20 fishing groups participated in water safety
training; 20 fish ponds for women were established and operational; 200 fisher/aquaculture folk
trained and adopted improved fishing and processing techniques; 3 boat building enterprises
established and operational; input supply and marketing linkages between fishing groups and
boat building enterprises and suppliers were made; and 24 docking points were prepared.
Local Governance. The BHP conducted 3 sets of local governance training for each of the
following: Koinadugu and Tonkolili District Councils, Diang, Kalansogia and Kasunko
Chiefdoms, Village Development Committees, farmers associations, ABUs, fishing groups, etc.
The training comprised the principles of good management, leadership and conflict resolution.
Emergency Agricultural Response Scheme (EARS)
The objective of EARS was to provide opportunities for PAPs to immediately engage in
productive agricultural-based livelihoods following their relocation and/or loss of land. The
training and farming operations were thus undertaken with technical and financial assistance
from EARS. This differed from the original objective of SAP which was to replace the prevailing
system of shifting agriculture with a more stable and less land-consuming form of agriculture. In
this regard, many SAP interventions were undertaken in collaboration with the LAIR Programme
to enhance the sustainability of project interventions.
The EARS was implemented to: (i) increase the number of farmer field schools (FFSs) from 7
(as targeted in the EMP) to 11; (ii) recruit and train 11 FFS Facilitators; (iii) increase the number
of agriculture tools sets provided to PAPs to 330 (i.e. one per farmer as opposed to sub-group
sharing arrangements for some items such as watering cans and wheelbarrows); (iv) increase in
water management structures; (v) complete soil analysis of swamps to be developed (a
requirement of the Land and Water Resources Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and
Food Security); and (vi) increase in FFS training and extension.
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EARS activities targeted some 900 impoverished rural households dependent on farming and
forestry, and vulnerable groups such as poor and female-headed households dependent on
primary-level subsistence farming, homestead gardening, seasonal fishing and palm oil/wine
production for their basic livelihoods (see Table 6.4). The beneficiaries represented landless and
marginal farmers, coming from remote and inaccessible communities, who lost many livelihood
assets as a result of the civil war and the reservoir.
Table 6.4 Summary of Achievements under the Emergency Agricultural Response Scheme
Activities Monitoring Indicators
Targets Achievements
FFSs operational 7 11
Members of FFSs 175 329
Farmers trained 175 329
Short season crops planted by FFSs 5.6 ha 89.6 ha
Vegetable crops planted by FFSs 2 ha 0 ha
Agricultural tools distributed to FFSs 11 sets 7 sets
Poultry re-stocking packages to FFSs 7 4
Community animal health units 7 0
Swampland development 24 ha 7 ha
Tree nursery establishment 1 0
The communities of Kateneh, Kasokra, Kasolobah, Kabendugu and Kunsilima formed themselves into
five clusters of 11 FFSs with a total membership of 329 farmers, of which more than half are women.
Membership details of FFSs are given in Table 6.5.
Table 6.5 Membership Details of SAP Farmer Field Schools
Chiefdoms FFS Clusters FFSs Members
Male Female Total
1. Kalansogoia Kateneh Abohisorbeh 15 16 31
Akutuyanday 19 11 30
Bapitorkar 17 16 33
Wuthumay Yama 14 17 31
Kasokira N’masiyanday 13 16 29
Abohinanday 14 15 29
2. Kasunku Kasolobah Sorbeh 16 19 35
Mabohanday 16 17 33
Kabendugu Mamasitay 11 14 25
Malhimoh 10 14 24
3. Diang Kunsilima Kamawomi 14 15 29
Total 5 11 159 170 329
Farmer Field Schools. FFS Facilitators were given training courses of six weeks by MoAFS
district extension specialists. New production and post-harvest handling technologies were used
in: (i) cultivation of short season varieties of crops such as cassava, cocoyam, rice and sweet
potato, in particular ROK3 rice in swamplands; (ii) cultivation of vegetable crops such as bulb
onions, cucumber, krain krain, lettuce, okra, spinach and sweet potato; (iii) fertilizer
management in swamplands; (iv) pest control, in particular cane cutters; (v) group-based
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construction and operation and maintenance of appropriate water management structures in
swamplands; (vi) methods of poultry rearing (housing, feeding, breeding, health, etc); (vii)
improved methods of small ruminant production; and (viii) improved harvesting, threshing and
on-farm storage techniques.
The Kateneh FFS Cluster was given 100 kg of improved short-season variety (ROK3) rice seeds
for testing under traditional swampland farming systems during the 2007 rainy season. The FFSs
returned 100 kg of seed to BEST Limited once the crop had been successfully harvested.
Following this trial, 10 other FFSs were given 500 kg of improved short-season ROK3 rice seeds
for testing and demonstrating under both upland and swampland conditions during the 2008
rainy season. The total area planted was 88 hectares (44 ha of upland and 44 ha of swampland).
The FFSs will return the seed to BEST Limited once the crop had been harvested. Initial results
indicate that the upland rice did not perform well with yields of less than 900 kg per hectare but
the swampland rice was a success with yields in excess of 1.6 metric tonnes per hectare.
However, the upland rice suffered from heavy rains and soil erosion in August 2008.
In addition, the EARS distributed 8 bundles of cassava stems (0.2 ha) to each FFS for planting in
swamplands during the 2009 dry season. Another 60 kg of groundnuts (one hectare) to each FFS
was distributed in January 2009.
Swampland Development. Inland valley ‘hanging’ swamps were developed because they
offered the most fertile agro-ecological type in the area. Perennial and semi-perennial water
flows were managed through water controlled canals that allowed 2 to 3 cropping periods per
year. The aim was to demonstrate to farmers how they can double the productivity of their
swamplands, and as a consequence reduce the necessity of farming on fragile steeply sloping
uplands.
The water management technique introduced for swampland development distributes water
equally over the swampland through construction of a head bund (diversion structure), two
peripheral bunds or canals at the interface of the side slope and the swamp, and internal
distribution ditches or outlets for each farmer’s plot. The success of this water management
technique required a participatory community-based approach which could only be sustained
through the establishment of a water users’ group. This group was a subset of the FFS. Because
the engineering works were simple, and could be undertaken by the water users’ group
themselves, about one-half of the groups were women. In addition, to ensure continued
maintenance, signatures of the chairperson of the water users’ group and the village chief on
each of the works sheets were required, and the works were audited before the FFS received the
agricultural inputs.
Two water management schemes were surveyed and designed by staff from MoAFS District
Land and Water Development Division (LWDD) with full participation of the relevant FFS. All
construction works were undertaken by the FFS and the water user groups, under the supervision
of field extension workers. In August 2008, heavy run off and soil erosion damaged 150 metres
of the peripheral bunds at Kasokra, which were soon repaired with cane stick reinforcements by
the FFS. The FFS clearly recognised the benefits of swampland development and a second crop
of cassava, ground nuts, krain krain, onions and sweet potatoes were planted.
52
Poultry Restocking. The EARS was hoping to demonstrate the benefits of improved poultry
production techniques (based on breeding of hybrid traditional chickens already tested by
MoAFS’s “Operation Feed the Nation” program) to the 11 EARS FFSs. Like swampland
development, construction of appropriate poultry sheds was based on community participation.
The poultry sheds were stocked in January 2009 and FFS members were provided with the
appropriate training in animal health and feeding. The most suitable time for restocking was in
the dry season, given the high prevalence of diseases such Newcastle and coccidiosis in the rainy
season.
Agro-forestry. The BHP was able to distribute 250 oil palm seedlings, 150 citrus seedlings and
100 fast growing (fuel wood) acacia seedlings to each of the 4 FFSs in Kasokra and Kasolobah
FFS clusters were not able to plant on the uplands at the start of the 2009 rainy season. At
present, the seedlings have been planted for safekeeping in shaded beds made in the swamplands.
53
Emergency Footpath Rehabilitation Works Program (EFRWP)
The objective of EFRWP was to realign footpaths dislocated by the Bumbuna reservoir and to
initiate appropriate transportation systems along the shoreline (see Table 6.6).
Table 6.6 Summary of Achievements under the
Emergency Footpath Rehabilitation Works Programme
Activities Monitoring Indicators
Targets Achievement
Footpaths surveyed and designed 44 72.2
Footpaths realigned/rehabilitated 32 32
New footpaths constructed 12 0
Docking points established 24 0
Planned post-commissioning activity
The BHP submitted a proposal to the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) to finance some
benefit sharing activities. The original Upper Seli Community Development Initiative (USCDI)
will not be carried out as planned in 2005. Instead, a modified version of planned programs has
been proposed as part of a rapid response program to the global energy and food crisis. This
JSDF proposed project will be implemented as a “stand-alone” but closely aligned with the rest
of the post-commissioning programs. It will be implemented by the PMU, but will coordinate
closely with NaCSA since its focus will be on community driven development (CDD).
The objectives of the JSDF project are to:
reduce hunger and deprivation in 24 of the poorest communities in the Seli River area,
some of which are located downstream of the dam site, by providing urgent food-for-
work and cash-for-work schemes;
improve livelihoods of the poorest households affected by the food and fuel crisis
through establishment of rapid response growth poles (RRGPs), which are clusters of the
poorest communities that are developed to become centers for economic growth through
community managed, energy based livelihood, and small infrastructure sub-projects that
maximize the use of the Seli River; and
enhance local capacities in the RRGPs through business management, local governance,
and life skills training, especially targeting youth and women’s groups.
The Rapid Response Growth Poles (RRGP) model, which is used in regional planning, is
applied in this proposed JSDF project to: (i) create critical centers for more effectively
channeling urgent support to the poorest communities; and (ii) develop alongside these
communities complementary productive centers (groups of communities) that can act as catalysts
for economic growth.
54
During the second phase of the BHP, after commissioning, five approaches will be adopted to
ensure long-term sustainability of community development programs, forming some type of
“exit strategy” based on self-sufficiency and good governance.
The second phase will make use of 5 approaches for long-term sustainability.
institutional capacity building will be facilitated by hiring “coaches” who will assist in
project design and management; oversight of operation and maintenance, and social
accountability;
Community User Committees (CUCs) will be formed for operating and maintaining
small village sub-projects; CUCs will be institutionalized as part of the GoSL’s
decentralization strategy;
sub-projects that demonstrate financial soundness and effectiveness of monitoring will be
given priority funding under a small grants plan where 5% of the grant goes to
maintenance costs of the CUCs;
Relief Centers and Communications Centers will be set up in accessible locations, as
identified through village meetings and consultations, and using the NaCSA
decentralized model; and
the MoEWR plans to submit a Cabinet Paper to request for national budgetary allocation
to cover the annual recurrent costs for the operation and maintenance of sub-projects, and
for the operation of the Relief Centers and Communications Centers.
Livelihood Assessment and Income Restoration (LAIR) Program
In August 2007, local leaders from three of the poorest Chiefdoms (Diang, Kalansogoia, and
Kasunko) expressed concerns about persistent hunger and the rise in morbidity and mortality
rates due to malnutrition and malaria. Another series of consultations with affected villagers
confirmed the difficulties experienced by farmers around the reservoir, and the occurrence of
extreme cases of drought and flooding in the area. As a result, the LAIR program will conduct
several activities aimed at restoring livelihoods and improving the socio-economic status of
communities in the BHP area.
Health and Nutrition Survey. In its second phase, the LAIR program will conduct a health and
nutrition survey to identify PAPs in most need of food and medical aid. The BHP will coordinate
with MoHS for an assigned trained nurse/nutritionist to visit the area at least twice a month.
After the survey, the BHP will determine the amount and types of medicines and other assistance
to be distributed to the poorest households in the area.
Agribusiness Units (ABUs). The following targets are proposed for the second phase under
agribusiness development of the ABUs: (i) 7 palm nut and palm oil processing production units
operational within ABUs with technical skills and marketing training and linkages; (ii) 7
groundnut paste processing and production units operational within ABUs with technical skills
and marketing training and linkages; (iii) 7 cassava/sweet potato chips processing and production
units operational within ABUs with technical skills and marketing training and linkages; (iv) 8
rice storage and handling equipment units operational within ABUs; (v) 7 strategic village
55
market centers operational; and (vi) marketing information system developed (linking ABUs,
village market centers, suppliers and traders) operational.
Micro-finance (Credit, Women’s Savings and Loans). The needs assessment revealed
demand for micro-finance. In response, the LAIR program will provide: (i) institutional
arrangements for banking, financial security and appropriate training set up for 165 PAPs; (ii) 3
micro-credit schemes to be established; (iii) 36 micro-credit/women’s savings groups
established; and (iv) 690 rural households (farmers, artisans, fisher folk, market traders, etc)
with improved access to micro-financing.
Off-farm Livelihoods Diversification Support. The following have been identified for the
post-commissioning phase: (i) 30 community livelihoods development plans designed; (ii) 30
community-based artisans groups established according to needs identified (e.g. blacksmiths,
mat weavers, cloth weavers, carpentry, soap, tie die); and (iii) about 20 members trained in best
practice on how to adopt improved technologies according to household need and market
demand.
Stabilized Agriculture Program (SAP)
In September 2007, BEST Limited assisted PIU to prepare a tender document for the
construction of 72.2. km of footpaths that will be inundated by the reservoir or are in need of
rehabilitation to ensure project affected communities have open-ended access to neighboring
communities and markets. The tender has three lots:
i) Bumbuna dam site to Wasakoroma (21.4 km);
ii) Wasakoroma to Kamawonikapetheh (19.3 km);
iii) Kamawonikapetheh to Kafogo (31.5 km).
Renewable Energy Scheme. The objective of the Renewable Energy Scheme (RES) is to
support PAPs with renewable energy systems to include but not limited to solar energy systems
to supply power to community centres and clinics and biomass energy for household use. The
SAP did not undertake any activities under RES because of differences opinion between ESAP
and World Bank Project Implementation Support Missions and PIU on the most appropriate
systems to be provided to PAP communities.
Farmer Field Schools. The purpose of FFSs is to promote understanding of farming and to
stimulate adoption of appropriate innovations. Not surprisingly, adoption rates of conservation
farming have varied. But all of the ideas being tried on group plots are being taken up on their
own farms by at least half those members trying them. These water conservation approaches, for
example, have only been for trials. During the second phase, the SAP will concentrate on
dissemination of conservation farming and sensitization to refrain from burning and cultivating
the uplands in preference of tree crop production (in particular oil palm, citrus, avocado pear,
coconut and cashew nut) and the cutting of fodder for goats.
Improved Crop Production. Cost-benefit analyses and impact assessments for integrated crop
production (short season crops and agricultural tools), poultry production and footpath
56
rehabilitation (for marketing) have been prepared. These will be applied in the second phase to
an additional 25 villages. To do this effectively, the SAP field technicians will cooperate with the
MoAFS district offices. There will also be more chiefdom meetings; numerous village
consultations (over 100 throughout the duration of the livelihood restoration programs
undertaken in connection with the BHP); and site demonstrations to expand the conservation
farming approaches.
57
VII. SAFETY MEASURES DOWNSTREAM
OF THE DAM
2005 EIA- planned activity
The Short-Term Emergency Preparedness Plan prepared by the Project Consulting Engineers,
Studio Pietrangeli, in 2008 provided a description of emergency scenarios foreseen by
international best practice that could occur over the plant’s first impoundment up to its
commissioning and handing over to the Owner. It deals also with emergency related operating
and mobilization procedures to be followed by the dam operating personnel, and gives guidelines
on the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) to be prepared by the Owner’s representative; in this case,
the BPIU of the MoEWR. The Emergency Action Plan (EAP) is the formulation of different
communication strategies and tools to be utilized for alerting communities living close to the
dam site during unforeseen emergencies.
The hydrology of the BHP reflects the seasonal rainfall pattern characterized by a very wet rainy
season, followed by a markedly dry period of 4 to 5 months. Since 1970, the stages of the Seli
River have been recorded at Badela and Bumbuna by two gauges installed under a UNDP
Program. The instream flow regime of the Seli River recorded at Bumbuna for the period 1970 -
1979 shows a mean annual discharge of 122.8 m3/s, with a maximum of 331 m3/s in September
and a minimum of 6.1 m3/s in March. The highest peak flows are reached between August and
October and normally range between 600 and 1200 m3/s. The maximum recorded flow of 1,052
m3/s occurred in September 1970. The design flood determined in the feasibility study through
analysis of precipitation records for stations south of the catchment area and by infiltration
measurements corresponds to a probable maximum flood with a peak flow of 2,970 m3/s.
The valley of the Seli where the reservoir will form is deeply cut into the crystalline bedrock of
the Sula Mountains. The reservoir impounded by the dam will be Y-shaped with a total surface
area of 21 km2 and a volume of 445 million m3 at the maximum water level (241.96 m.a.s.l.).
The main section of the reservoir forming in the main river stem will be contained by the steep
slopes of the valley and extend 30 km upstream, where it then branches into two. The two
upstream branches that are 7 km and 11 km long will form in flatter land and rolling hills. The
reservoir width will vary between 200 m and 1 km. The maximum storage capacity of the
reservoir will be 350 million m3, equivalent to about 50 days of full generation output. This
includes a flood routing capacity of 35 million m3. The inactive capacity (dead storage) will be
95 million m3. The maximum seasonal drawdown will be 31m (between the maximum operating
level of 241.25 m.a.s.l. and minimum operation level of 210.00 m.a.s.l.). Actual daily
fluctuations from peaking operations are not expected to be greater than 0.1 m.
Geotechnical investigations indicate that the degree of fracturing present in the upper strata of
the bedrock on which the reservoir is formed gradually reduces with depth until it is practically
nil after 10 m. This, combined with other factors such as the high piezometric pressure in the
58
slopes above the reservoir, indicated that water tightness is assured along the bottom and sides of
the reservoir.
Hydrological (water flow) data are available for the period 1921 to 1999, which was the basis for
estimating the maximum, average, and minimum river monthly flows. After each rainy season,
the hydrological and climatic pattern shows that water flows are continuous through January
until March. Its minimum discharge in the river occurs during much of April. As the first rainfall
reaches the reservoir hydrological basin, the runoff sharply rises in May. At this time, during the
start of the rainy season, the civil works at the left tunnel (e.g. concrete plug, steel elbow erection
and encasement, and ski jump) would have been completed.
As shown in the graph (prepared by Studio Pietrangeli, 2008), there are four stages of
impoundment: (i) up to 181 m. gradual rise at the start of the rainy season in April; (ii) rising to
210 m in July; (iii) steep increase up to the maximum level of 240 m; and (iv) plateau level of
240 m elevation. After impoundment, the Contractor/Operator will provide daily information of
planned discharges from the dam for the next 24 hours. This information will be broadcast twice
a day through the local radio stations – Radio Bumbuna and Radio Maria. Other means of
communicating the daily information will be used to ensure that local people are aware of the
expected discharge from the dam and the flow regime for the next 24 hours.
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Completed work
The BHP adopted an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) that was to be carried out by a Dam Safety
Committee (DSC), composed of representatives of the BHP contractor, supervising engineer, and
GoSL. In addition, the BPIU organized the Emergency Action Unit (EAU) and coordinated the
work of an inter-agency GoSL committee for Bumbuna emergency procedures, including the
Office of National Security, police, military, health, and local officials.
The purpose of the EAP was to ensure that appropriate procedures were in place in the event of
an “emergency” characterized by a steep rise in water level, resulting in flooding and its
associated risks to the health and safety of surrounding populations. At the extreme, the
“emergency” may require the evacuation of people in and around the immediate vicinity of the
dam and reservoir, or the so-called “Red Zone.” The EAP gives guidelines for a system to be
utilized for alerting the communities; instructing their evacuation; and providing basic health and
subsistence support after evacuation.
The EAP consisted of: (i) an alarm or emergency warning system; (ii) emergency
communications; (iii) evacuation procedure; and (iv) post-evacuation arrangements. Carrying out
these activities required the set up of an Emergency Action Unit (EAU), based in Bumbuna
Town and with corresponding responsibilities and resources to implement the EAP.
Two general types of “alarms” are used that would trigger the emergency warning procedures.
These are “Evacuation Alarms” and “Sudden Water Release Alarms.” An evacuation alarm is to
be triggered in case of: (i) failure or impending failure of the dam; and (ii) impending danger of
overtopping in case of flooding. During operation, the alarm would be triggered on the basis of
the water elevation and the water surface rise rate. The time period, or limit, was defined to
assure that at least six hours was provided for evacuation of the population within the Near Zone
or those residing approximately one km and up to 5 kms from the dam site. These are villages
that could be submerged within six hours from the beginning of dam crest overtopping. Based on
the hydrological and topographic map, there are 23 villages inside the Near Zone, including
Bumbuna Town.
The Dam Operator is responsible for sounding the alarm at the dam site, emitting a single
continuous tone signal that could be heard in the Near Zone. Those living in the Far Zone will be
alerted via radio communication and through the mobile alarm team. A second, siren system has
not yet been installed, although cost estimates and a technical plan for installation were
completed.
The Sudden Water Release Alarm is to be used in case of: (i) opening of the radial outlet gate
during flooding; or (ii) accidental opening of the radial outlet. This alarm is sent to “alert”
populations within the immediate vicinity, the Near Zone, and those on the river banks or in the
river for restricted or no-use activities, including boating and fishing. The alarm is triggered at
the dam site emitting a two-tone signal. Water alarm siren systems (primary warning system) in
the Near Zone downstream of the dam will be used for special cases. In the Far Zone, similar use
60
of radios and communications will be applied. Local police and Chiefdom authorities will be
informed so they can assist in monitoring use of the river. This constitutes the secondary
emergency warning system.
Local communities within the Near Zone will be warned about the risks of activities at and
around the dam site, especially the danger that can be created between the dam and the Bumbuna
Bridge by sudden water releases. There are several warning signs posted to restrict use within the
immediate dam vicinity due to changes in flow levels. Flow regime information will be released
for public information on a daily basis through the two radio stations in the local dialect.
Published materials will also be written in the local language, making extensive use of
illustrations. Examples of these communications materials are shown in Annex 4 (translated into
local languages and recorded in cassette tapes for each village).
The EAP for communicating the alarm or early warning system has three basic steps (see
flowchart below): (i) Trigger Alarm Notice (caution, alert, evacuation); (ii) Start Mobilization;
and (iii) Enforce Control. During the transition, the interim arrangements call for the dam
contractor, dam engineer, and Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to form a dam safety
committee that monitors, on a daily basis, the conditions of water flow. The PIU representative,
who is based in the Bumbuna campsite, is the first point of contact, and the main decision maker
on when an alarm needs to be triggered based on information provided by the dam contractor and
engineer.
FLOWCHART OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR ALERTS OR EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
BPIU, being the first point of contact for the alarm, was established as the responsible unit for
ensuring that the communications network was operational. An Emergency Action Unit (EAU)
was formed, with an office in Bumbuna Town, and comprised of representatives from the army,
police, local authorities and the chiefdom, and the Office of National Security (ONS), but it was
not clear at the time of commissioning who would be responsible for maintenance of the siren
alarm system.
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Post-commissioning activity
The Fourth Visit of the DSRP recommended several steps for ensuring that dam safety
preparedness was in place after commissioning. The following steps will be adopted, following
DSRP guidance.
Step 1: Trigger Alarm Notice (caution, alert, evacuation)
As noted above, the PIU, upon advice of the dam contractor and engineer, will issue an alarm
notice of three types. A notice of caution is made on the basis of day-to-day flow information,
warranting the restriction of activities along the river banks and in the immediate vicinity of the
dam site (Near Zone). A notice of alert is made during sudden water releases such as those that
occur when the radial outlet is opened during a flood or when it is accidentally opened. An
evacuation alarm is sounded due to dam failure or impending failure, or as noted earlier, when
there is impending danger of overtopping in case of flooding.
Along the river downstream, signs will be installed warning of a sudden water release eventually.
The warning signs shall be placed near bridges, fords, rapids and near all those riverside
localities known to be frequented by local people. Danger warnings will be written both in
English and in local idioms and they shall be properly graphically illustrated.
Types of Alarm Alarm Triggered by: Communicated through:
Notice:
Caution changes in ordinary discharge radio and broadcast;
information traditional means (e.g. town
crier); SMS mobile operator
Alert sudden water releases sirens; radio and broadcast;
traditional means (e.g. town
crier); SMS mobile operator;
drum; mobile alert team
Evacuation dam failure or impending failure sirens; radio and broadcast;
traditional means (e.g. town
crier); SMS mobile operator;
drum; mobile alert team
Step 2: Start Mobilization
Mobilization of affected populations during times of emergency is an important aspect of the
EAP. It is also the most difficult to implement. Between 45,000 to 50,000 people are estimated to
be directly affected, or those within the Near Zone. Approximately 400 to 500 people regularly
use the river for fishing, transport, washing clothes, and recreation. The 23 villages demarcated
62
to be located within the Near Zone (marked as yellow in the Map) belong to three different
Chiefdoms and two districts – Tonkolili and Koinadugu.
Directly affected people will be mobilized by: (i) informing and sensitizing them to possible
changes in river flow conditions; (ii) engaging them in a “dry run” to be conducted once in
daylight and at night time, and to be repeated yearly); and (iii) assuring them of their safety.
Community sensitizations are to be conducted in each of the villages in the Near Zone through
focus group meetings. Illustrated evacuation procedures will be distributed to each village.
Facilitators are hired to conduct sensitization and awareness discussions at least four times a
year.
A “dry run” was conducted in coordination with the Chiefdom officials. Each Meeting Point was
carefully identified through sign posts, and the pathway from the village to the Meeting Point
was clearly marked. At present, there is need to revisit these Meeting Points to ensure that they
are cleared and maintained. Practice evacuation procedures were supervised by the EAU with the
help of the Chiefdom officials but such dry runs need to be conducted each year, and with the
recording or taping of a dry run to allow the EAU to evaluate the efficiency of the evacuation
procedure. One dry run each year will be scheduled in the second phase.
Assuring people of their safety is a key aspect of success. The content of the sensitization will
need to be designed carefully so that the important steps for cautious use of the river and dam
site, safety in river and water use, and evacuation procedures are explained.
The primary radio communication System will be provided (with base station and one or more
mobile units at the dam). Telephone communication (and SMS linked system) will be used as a
back up.
Step 3: Evacuation Procedure
During an emergency, the siren in the dam site is sufficiently loud to ensure that people will
prepare for immediate evacuation. In lieu of the siren, in the interim, the drum and town criers in
each chiefdom will sound their own alarms after being informed by the PIU. These traditional
systems of communication have worked well in the villages for many years. They are effective in
mobilizing people and they have a system and language for communicating across villages.
The drums and town criers are supplemented by a mobile alert team (as shown in the figure) who
will make use of a variety of communications to oversee the evacuation. The team will be
equipped with mobile phones and SMS, including continuous broadcasts in the two radio
stations. Each village in the Near Zone, will be given a wind-up radio that will be programmed to
the emergency station throughout 24 hours each day.
People will be instructed to follow a foot path or escape route towards designated Meeting Points
(which are on higher ground). These Meeting Points are clearly marked on the ground by a
poster, and are indicated in the Map. The dry runs will demonstrate the procedure, and since it
will be done yearly, be able to sensitize the population to the urgency of knowing where to go
during times of evacuation.
63
The mobile teams will pick up groups of people and take them to one of two evacuation centers
in Magburaka and Makeni.
Step 4: Post Evacuation Arrangements
The evacuation centers will be operated by the EAU. Food and medical supplies will
immediately be delivered to these centers through the network set up with the army, police, and
Office of National Security (ONS). Once an evacuation center is opened, the ONS will take
charge of the post-evacuation arrangements, including coordination with the Ministry of Health,
Red Cross, UN World Food Programme and other UN agencies, etc.
The BPIU will provide assistance to ONS, as needed. Local authorities will play a bigger role in
post evacuation, including assisting affected people with rehabilitating their villages. The EAU
will be set up and readily available within 24 hours at the Dam Site. It includes, but will not be
limited to, a Mobile Alerting Team (MAT) available 24 hours a day. The Team will occupy an
office in the Contractor’s facility at the Bumbuna Village, close to the Bumbuna radio station.
Post commissioning activities will focus on proper training of “friendly forces,” namely the
military, police and fire force on safety, search and rescue operations, surveillance activities,
evacuation procedures, warning systems, communication especially the use of hand-held sets,
watch room, duties and reporting.
The EAU will be provided with the means to alert all the police stations and the military bases in
the locality, in the event of failure or impending failure of the dam, as well as to inform the local
communities living in the floodable areas, by means of water alarm sirens, radio, through the
national mobile operators and by any other means deemed useful. Also, vehicle-mounted
loudspeakers will be used to alert the population downstream.
Especially after commissioning, the EAU will be responsible for the following tasks (see
emergency flowchart):
alert all the police stations (Bumbuna, Magburaka and Makeni) and military bases (Teko
in Makeni) in the locality, in case of failure or impending failure of the dam.
inform the local communities living in the floodable areas by means of radio and through
the national mobile operators (Comium and Celtel) and any other means deemed useful.
inform the evacuation agencies (Police, Army, Fire force) that people are allowed to
return to their villages, on the basis of the instructions received from the Bumbuna PIU
Office.
instruct communities regarding the procedures which shall be followed in case the dam
is endangered and to organize periodic practical training.
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VIII. BUMBUNA TRUST
2005 EIA- planned activity
In April 2005, the BHP hired a consultant (Lawrence Haas) who submitted a report entitled,
Institutional Arrangements: The Upper Seli Community Development Initiative and Bumbuna
Trust. The report outlined the rationale, alternative organizational structures, and procedures for
setting up the benefit sharing components of the BHP. Because these benefit sharing programs
were to be funded through carbon financing and a percentage of Bumbuna revenues, they were
never started.
As defined in this report, the EIA was to include establishment of the Bumbuna Trust, which is a
legal arrangement in which assets are managed by one group (the trustees) on behalf of another
group (the beneficiaries). In this case the assets are the funds attributable to hydropower
generation in the BHP, i.e. the revenues from carbon credits, donor grants and power sales. The
Trustee is a board representative of the varied development interests and the beneficiaries are the
residents.
Trusts have a long history in English common law and countries with legal systems based on
English common law, such as Sierra Leone. In developing countries, interest in Trust Funds for
environment conservation and local development purposes grew out of the debt-for-nature swaps
in the 1980’s, which was one reaction to the developing country debt crisis at that time. A
primary motivation was the need for a mechanism to support longer-term sustainability beyond
the initial infusion of funds, recognizing conservation and local development required long
timeframes.
As planned in the EIA, the BT is supposed to:
provide a stable, self-governing development instrument based on participatory
principles;
enable transparent approaches for the delivery of benefits;
provide funds for targeting poor and disadvantaged communities;
receive external financing;
help leverage additional funding;
help to meet donor requirements for fiduciary accountability;
establish cost-effective monitoring; and
facilitate partnerships (local and external partners) and partnership approaches.
These advantages may not be present (or seriously diluted) if equivalent financing is channeled
through a line ministry program that is overburdened. Moreover, Trusts can be designed to
reinforce rather than undermine government policy and capacity development.
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The BT was envisioned in the EIA to be consistent with the increased emphasis on community-
driven development (CDD) approaches. In Sierra Leone, it not only reflects the policy direction
expressed by the Local Government Act (LGA 2004), but the concept of the BT also recognizes
the underlying need for a longer-term and sustainable institutional set-up for Bumbuna.
Completed work
During the first year of operation of the BHP, three options for establishing the BT were devised
following a Conservation Stakeholder’s Forum held in Freetown in March 2007. The first model,
Single-purpose Trust, focused non-power benefits to communities. What was presented in the
workshop was to have the BT:
expand in geographic scale to cover all communities in the Seli River drainage area to
cover both the directly and indirectly impacted communities in the upper Seli catchment
and communities in the flood plains and lower catchment of the Seli River proceeding to
the estuary zone;
have more funding windows to cover rural credit, agriculture stabilization, and
appropriate technology transfer; and
receive financing from the carbon offsets, as well as other potential other financing (e.g.
a percentage of power sales and grants from Donors and Financial Partners interested in
one or more funding windows).
This model is illustrated below:
Model 1: A Trust dedicated to the delivery of non-power Benefits in the
Seli River Basin (Single-Purpose Trust)
Bumbuna TRUST
(Trustees Or Board)
Multi-Stakeholder
Advisory Forum
BHP Carbon Project
Financing
Expert Advisors
Trust Manager
Technical /Admin
Coordination Unit
Funding Windows
(Illustrative)
Infrastructure at District
Micro-Credit
and War level
Lighting / Rural Energy or
Electrification
Youth Capacity Building Agriculture Stabilization
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The proposed institutional arrangement, as designed, was to have a:
Steering Committee or Board of Directors or Trustees;
Stakeholder Advisory Forum representing other Districts in the Seli River basin and
transform into the Bumbuna Trust Stakeholder Advisory Forum;
Steering Committee and Stakeholder Advisory Forum prepared and would be
transformed into a full and comprehensive Trust Deed, and the Trust registered as a legal
entity;
Project Coordination Unit to act as the Bumbuna Trust Secretariat, to perform a similar
but expanded set of activities; and
Procedures manual for the full Trust.
.
The second model is a Dual Purpose Trust. In addition to the delivery of benefits (under the
benefit sharing principle) the BT would have an explicit mandate to finance environmentally
sustainable development in the basin (under the principle of sustainable water resource
development), linked to hydropower development of the basin.
In effect this means in addition to the delivery of benefits the BT would be a vehicle to fund,
through different financing windows:
Activities of the Bumbuna Watershed Management Authority (BWMA);
Programs designed under the Bumbuna Wildlife Conservation Authority (BWCA); and
Community development activities.
There are various possible institutional arrangements in this model but the essential concept is to
bring the entities together under the umbrella of the BWMA.
A third model is that of a fully integrated Basin Trust that supports a number of activities on
behalf of the basin citizens, including: (i) financing the delivery of non-power benefits through
local government; (ii) acting as a catalyst and financing source for sustainable management of
the natural resources in the basin; and (iii) providing a platform for equity investment on behalf
of the basin citizens (e.g. national debt-for-equity swaps).
In addition, the model provides for an investment arm where the BT would take an equity
position in future hydropower investments in the basin. The monetary benefits derived from this
equity would flow into the BT and be used to deliver non-power benefits to basin citizens,
including those who do not receive lighting or power services from power generation facilities in
their basin. However, the overall principle is that basin residents are equally entitled to a share in
these benefits. The institutional model is illustrated below.
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Model 3 A Basin Trust for the Seli River Communities and
invest in their common future (Multi-Purpose)
Trust Board
(Trustees)
Consultative Bodies
in the Basin
Manager Standing Committees Investments
• Executive Committee
• Audit Committee
Technical • Investment Committee
Secretariat • Delivery of Benefits
Committee. Independent
Revenue
Producing
Investments
Delivery of Benefits Program Windows
While these 3 models have been discussed, none of them was adopted. The establishment of the
BT was less of a priority due to non-availability of funding sources.
Post-commissioning planned activity
A Bumbuna Trust Working Group may need to be formed to take the lead in establishing the BT.
This working group may be reconstituted as a sub-committee of the BWMA and involving the
PMU-MoEWR. A collaborative approach to finalize the Trust Deed would be adopted. The
Stakeholder Advisory Forum that is proposed as a governance mechanism for the BWMA should
discuss the options before recommendations are advanced to government for a final decision.
The activities to be undertaken are to:
Recommend any enabling legal action (e.g. Cabinet decision) to establish and operate
the BT including provisions for allocating a percentage of Bumbuna revenues to the
Trust;
Prepare the Deeds or Charter for BT; and,
Recommend institutional arrangements for BT and other environmental and social
management entities under the BWMA that are consistent with activities outlined in the
ESMP.
The flowchart (below) shows the generic steps to establish the BT in the form of an Action Plan.
It indicates the necessary steps to be completed during the post-commissioning phase of the BHP
in order to enhance synergies, avoid unnecessary duplication, and rationalize implementation
69
arrangements. This Action Plan calls for inter-ministerial and multi-stakeholder involvement in
the BWMA. The schedule for the environment and social management actions throughout the
post-commissioning or operation phase of the BHP are also covered.
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IX. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
AND RESOURCES
2005 EIA- planned activity
Activities to be financed during the post-commissioning or operation phase of the BHP were
designed to mitigate the environmental and social impacts that may have arisen as a result of
construction and operation of the dam, reservoir, and transmission line. It was essential that these
mitigation measures are adequately implemented, and that benefits from BHP are sufficiently
shared by surrounding communities.
The original (2005) project EIA and EMP recommended the establishment of the Bumbuna
Watershed Management Authority (BWMA), the Bumbuna Conservation Area (BCA) and the
Bumbuna Trust Company (BTC), now called the Bumbuna Trust Deed (BTD). The
environmental and social impacts and mitigation measures, as outlined in the 2005 EIA and
EMP are attached in Annex 2. The establishment and first years of the operation of the BWMA,
BCA and BTD will be financed by from the extension of the grant from IDA and co-financed by
the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The original EMP recommended the establishment of the BWMA and the BT would be
financing mechanism. In addition, the 2005 EIA and EMP suggested that a Seli River
Development Authority (SRDA) be formed, but for the second phase, the MoEWR decided to
drop this set-up and consolidate all functions into the BWMA.
In terms of the environment offset in Loma Mountains, the Sierra Leone GEF Biodiversity
Conservation Project, separate documents, including the Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP), Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) and
a Process Framework (PF) have been prepared and disclosed. The establishment of the Loma
Mountains National Park (LMNP) was mentioned in the GEF project’s EIA and EMP, RPF and
PF and the letter establishing the park is attached in Annex 3.
The original EMP identified environmental management requirements for the Dam Operator and
the preparation of an Emergency Action Plan. The implementation of the first phase of the
Emergency Action Plan, including some sirens to warn the local population in case of an
emergency, will be financed in BHP’s second phase. This EMP update outlines the priority
environmental management actions, which are under the responsibility of the Dam Operator.
Completed work
Updates on implementation status of the EMP and RAP are currently posted in the BHP
electronic website and available in hard copies at the headquarters of the BPIU (PMU) in
Freetown and at the Resettlement Unit Field Offices in Bumbuna Town and Fadugo Town in the
71
project site. A Stakeholder’s Forum in Freetown, as part of the consultation process for the
establishment of the BTD, was held in March 2007. Three national Resettlement Advisory
Group (RAG) meetings were held in November, 2007, and January and March 2008. The
October 2008 RAG meeting focused on presentation of results of the evaluation of RAP
implementation, including the follow-up socio-economic survey of project affected persons
(PAPs). A separate RAG structure has been set up for the T-Line RAP.
The MoEWR facilitated the passage of legislation in Parliament creating the BWMA, and paving
the way for upgrading the status of the Loma Mountains Non-Hunting Forest Reserve into a
National Park. A Cabinet Paper was prepared for setting up the BT and BTD, which is expected
to be operational alongside the BWMA. Field based staff for BWMA have already been
identified and field offices established to start work, especially water quality monitoring.
Several capacity building programs were started in the BPIU (PMU) aimed at improving the
financial and procurement systems. A qualified procurement specialist was hired by the BPIU,
and by June 2010, all functions will be moved to a centralized PMU within MoEWR.
Post-commissioning planned activity
In the post-commissioning phase, the PMU will coordinate activities with other ministries and
agencies on behalf of the MoEWR.. The BWMA will be implemented in the field, with a full
time field office and staff based in Bumbuna. Two existing branches – the resettlement offices
in Fadugu and Bumbuna Town will be maintained.
The second phase will have an expanded disclosure, information sharing, and consultation
program consistent with an overall communications strategy. This will be for the BWMA’s work
as well management of the LMNP. Additional visits of the DSRP and ESAP have been planned
to assist the PMU in monitoring and evaluating the outputs and outcomes of the BHP. An
independent review of the first phase of activities will also be completed by June 2010.
This updated EMP will be disclosed in country and again updated after one year.
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ANNEXES
Annex 1. Environment Management Plan (EMP) 2005 – Matrix of Environmental and Social
Impacts and Mitigation Measures (Nippon Koei-UK). Final Report, July 2007
Annex 2. Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project, Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment
Management Plan Proposed Activities and Resources (Nippon Koei UK). January 2005
Annex 3. Letter Expressing Government’s Intention to Establish the Loma Mountains National
Park
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ANNEX 1: Environment Management Plan (EMP) 2005 – Matrix of Environmental and Social Impacts
and Mitigation Measures (Nippon Koei-UK) Final Report, July 2007
Environmental and Social Impacts and Mitigation
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75
76
77
78
79
80
81
Source: Nippon Koei-UK, BMT Cordah Ltd, and Environmental Foundation for Africa, Environmental Impact Assessment, 2005.
82
ANNEX 2: Bumbuna Hydroelectric Project, Environmental Impact Assessment,
Environment Management Plan Proposed Activities and Resources. Nippon Koei UK,
January 2005
Source: Nippon Koei-UK, BMT Cordah Ltd, and Environmental Foundation for Africa,
Environmental Impact Assessment, 2005, Chapter 12.
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ANNEX 3: LETTER EXRESSING GOVERNMENT’S INTENTION TO ESTABLISH
THE LOMA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
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