Notice:

Final version provided to firms selected for presenting proposals.

Revised Version of July 30, 1999

 

 

BOLIVIA

Strategic Environmental Assessment of the

Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez Transportation Corridor (BO-0036)

Terms of Reference

 

  1. Introduction

    1. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is considering the possibility of partially financing the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez Transportation Corridor Project in Bolivia. In order to conceive and detail a sound strategy for government and Bank actions aimed at developing an adequate environmental management framework to address the potential impacts of the project a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Project is needed. This document outlines the scope and content that is required from this SEA. The World Bank’s Environmental Sourcebook - Update # 15, June 1996 (Regional Environmental Assessment) provides additional guidance for the preparation of the SEA.

  2. Objectives

    1. To conceive and detail a strategy for governmental and Bank actions aimed at developing an adequate environmental management framework to address all the identified indirect, long term and cumulative potential socio-environmental impacts of the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez Transportation Corridor.

    2. To promote sustainable regional development, with strong private sector participation, and to ensure that a maximum amount of benefits from this development accrue to residents of the project’s area of influence.

    3. To demonstrate to civil society the awareness of all major socio-environmental issues involved in the project, and the commitments of the Bolivian government and IDB to address them in an adequate and timely fashion, ensuring the informed participation of civil society in all stages of project preparation and execution.

    4. To update and complement where necessary an existing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) commissioned by the Bolivian Government.

  3. MAIN Activities

    1. Evaluate all relevant potential socio-environmental impacts of the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez Transportation Corridor Project, with emphasis on the indirect, long term and cumulative impacts (e.g.: land tenure, induced regional development, environmentally protected areas, land use and occupation, sustainable agricultural practices, etc.).

    2. Evaluate the synergy of the project with other major existing or planned infrastructure projects in the region (ex: Hidrovia Paraguay-Paraná, Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline, Export Corridors, Iron & Manganese Ore Exploitation at Mutún and Urucum, etc.).

    3. Evaluate (from the environmental and social perspectives), all project alternatives considered in the technical and economic feasibility studies carried out. Consider the technological (i.e., other modes of transportation) and routing alternatives and also compare with the option of not implementing the project. Include a detailed justification of the recommended alternative.

    4. Evaluate the adequacy of existing institutional and legal framework in Bolivia to address the major issues involved in project preparation and execution.

    5. Identify opportunities for sustainable regional economic development, specifying likely constraints and conceive and detail strategies for its realization, including ways of overcoming constraints.

    6. Identify the basic conditions for participation of the private sector, particularly micro, small and median enterprises, in sustainable regional economic development and provide a strategy to encourage such participation.

    7. Identify the benefits that would result from sustainable regional economic development, determining the allocation of these benefits among various groups and among geographical regions, and provide a strategy to ensure that a maximum amount of resulting benefits accrue to communities in the project’s area of influence.

    8. Conceive and implement a public consultation strategy that ensures an informed, timely and effective participation of civil society in all stages of project preparation and execution. It is required that during the SEA preparation the consultant takes the necessary measures to actively facilitate the participation of the civil society in the preparation of the document, assuring that copies of pertinent documentation are made available to the interested parties with sufficient time for review. The final versions of the documents resulting from the consultation process should likewise be made available. Special emphasis should be placed on the methodology and procedures to ensure that participants in the consultation process are truly representative, both in terms of geographic coverage as well as in terms of social organization. In addition, the consultation methodology and procedures should be culturally appropriate according to the different ethnic population groups in the area. The consultants will be responsible for all costs associated with the consultation process, including travel costs (by land) of participants in meetings held outside of their towns. Bidders are requested to include in their proposals the methodology they intend to use in the public consultation process, as well as, the minimum number of town meetings and seminars they intend to carry out. Pertinent Brazilian NGOs from neighboring states should also be provided documentation and the opportunity to express their views.

    9. Evaluate the quality and degree of completeness of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Project of the Santa Cruz – Puerto Suárez Highway commissioned by the Servicio Nacional de Caminos (SNC) of Bolivia. It is expected that this document will require a substantial revision and complementation.

    10. Make the necessary modifications in the existing EIA in order to make it in full compliance with relevant Bank policies and requirements. Special emphasis should be placed on the adequacy of the section of the EIA that deals with proposed mitigatory measures (Environmental Management Plan).

  4. Products and Timeframe

    1. The Consultants should prepare the following reports, which will be made public by the Bank as deemed pertinent:

    2. Working Plan. Document of no more than 50 pages, detailing the methodologies that are going to be used to address all relevant themes, specifying the scales of work, and presentation of data, for all relevant themes, and a detailed schedule of activities, including the tentative dates of Seminars to be held to discuss the main conclusions of each phase of the studies. This Plan must be presented during the negotiations of the contract, which will take place no later than 15 days after the consulting firm is notified by the Bank that it is the winner of the selection process.

    3. Progress Report #1. Document to be delivered to the Bank no later than 60 (sixty) days after contract signature, describing the work than has been carried out and summarizing all major findings, particularly the results of the public consultations that were carried out during the period. This report must include the draft version of the chapters concerning: (i) the environmental and socio cultural diagnosis of the areas of influence of the Project (direct and indirect), including a detailed justification of their adoption; (ii) the policy, legal and institutional framework.

    4. Progress Report #2. Document to be delivered to the Bank no later than 120 (one hundred twenty) days after contract signature, describing the work that has been carried out and summarizing all major findings, particularly the results of the public consultations that were carried out during the period. This report must also include the draft version of the chapters concerning the evaluation of project alternatives, the evaluation of environmental impacts and the outline of the proposed mitigatory programs.

    5. Strategic Environmental Assessment. Document to be delivered to the Bank no later than 150 days after contract signature, including at least the following sections:

      1. Executive Summary. Text of no more than 60 pages summarizing the major findings of the socio-environmental evaluation of the Santa Cruz-Puerto Suárez Transportation Corridor, with relevant recommendations. This section must to be presented in English and Spanish.

      2. Project description. Concise and complete description of the objectives, justifications and characteristics of the project, including any required auxiliary works.

      3. Policy, legal and institutional framework. Evaluation of the adequacy of the policy, legal and institutional framework under which the project will be implemented. Emphasis should be given to the aspects related to: (i) land tenure in indigenous areas; (ii) management of protected areas; (iii) land use and occupation; and (iv) environmental impact assessment. In this section it is required that the emphasis should be on analytical work, rather than the mere transcription of long legal texts.

      4. Environmental and socio-cultural diagnosis of the project’s areas of influence. Description and analysis of the environmental resources and their interactions, as they exist, in order to characterize the environmental situation in the area before the project’s implementation. Description and assessment of location, demographic profile, socio-economic profile, natural resource base, existing services, socio-cultural characteristics and socio political organization of the different population groups in the area. Special emphasis should be placed on land tenure issues, current land use patterns, nature and relationship to the market economy and any other issues likely to suffer impacts resulting from development pressures brought on by the road construction process. Full advantage must be taken of existing diagnostic studies in the geographical area. The most recent secondary data must be used complemented, as necessary, by field data. The scope and depth of fieldwork proposed (methodologies, procedures, scales of work and presentation of data, etc.) by the consultants will be a major factor in the Bank evaluation of the proposals.

      5. Impact Analysis. Identification and evaluation of all relevant indirect, long term and cumulative social and environmental impacts that might result from the project. Emphasis should be placed on the identification, quantification, and evaluation of the indirect socioeconomic and environmental impacts related to the operation phase of the project, especially on low income and indigenous populations, as well as, in environmentally sensitive areas, with particular attention of indirect impacts on deforestation.

      6. Action Plan. Preparation of an Action Plan to address all major issues identified, with emphasis on measures that should be taken before IDB project approval, in order to ensure that all relevant actions necessary to sound project implementation are carried out on a timely basis, especially those related to institutional strengthening of relevant government agencies in Bolivia, and to pre-emptive measures to protect low-income, indigenous populations, and environmentally sensitive areas located in the area of influence of the project. It is required that the Action Plan includes at least, the following programs:

        1. Indigenous Peoples Development Program (in accordance with that described in the World Bank’s Operational Directive 4.20).

        2. Land Titling Program.

        3. Protected Areas Management Program.

        4. Institutional Strengthening Program.

        5. Program of Incentives for the Sustainable Development of the Area of Influence of the Project.

        6. Community Development Program.

        Each proposed Program must include: (i) designs of all measures recommended; (ii) detailed schedule of implementation; (iii) a draft of the negotiated version of all agreements deemed necessary for adequate program implementation; (iv) detailed budget of all actions that should be adopted; (v) identification of the sources of funding. The Action Plan will become the blue print for a Project Preparation Facility (PPF) that will be processed by the Bank in order to get the necessary resources to finance the implementation of its recommendations considered to be of high priority. The degree of completeness proposed by the consultants for the Action Plan (level of detail, methodologies, scales, etc.) will be a major factor in the Bank’s evaluation of the proposals.

      7. Summary of Public Consultations. Summarizing and documenting the results of the public consultations carried out during project preparation, emphasizing the changes made to the project as a result of the consultation process.

    6. EIA revision and complementation. Document to be delivered to the Bank no later than 180 (one hundred and eighty) days after contract signature, containing the revised and upgraded version of the existing EIA, including all required information, analysis and recommendations necessary for it to be in full compliance with the Bank’s policies and guidelines. The document must include at least the following sections:

      1. Project Description. Detailed description of all significant actions necessary to implement the project, with emphasis on those actions that have the bigger potential environmental and social impacts, such as workers’ camps construction and operation, construction of access roads, etc. The actions should be grouped according to the different project phases, i.e. planning, preparatory works, mobilization, construction, demobilization, operation, etc.

      2. Analysis of Project Alternatives. Summary of the results of the analysis of project alternatives, and the rationale for the selection of the recommended alternative.

      3. Environmental and socio-cultural diagnosis of the project’s area of influence. Description and analysis of the environmental resources and their interactions, as they exist, in order to characterize the environmental situation in the area before the project’s implementation. Consider the environment’s physical, biological and socio-economic components. Emphasis should be given to the direct area of influence of the Project. Field data should be used unless the use of secondary data can be justified. The scope and depth of fieldwork proposed (level of detail, methodologies, scales, etc.) by the consultants will be an important factor in the Bank’s evaluation of the proposals.

      4. Policy, legal and institutional framework. Description, and analysis of the policy, legal and institutional framework under which the project will be implemented. Emphasis should be given to the aspects related to: (i) land tenure in indigenous areas; (ii) management of protected areas; (iii) land use and occupation; (iv) transportation by road of hazardous materials; and (v) environmental impact assessment. In this section there should be an emphasis on analytical work, rather than the mere transcription of long legal texts.

      5. Identification and Evaluation of Environmental Impacts. Emphasis should be placed on the identification, quantification, and evaluation of the direct socioeconomic and environmental impacts related to the construction phase of the project, especially on low income and indigenous populations and on environmentally sensitive areas.

      6. Environmental Management Plan. Preparation of a comprehensive and detailed Environmental Management Plan (EMP), including mitigatory programs, for all relevant direct impacts. Emphasis should be placed on the preparation of a Compensation and Resettlement Plan for the low-income population affected, according to IDB’s Policy OP-710, and a program to address the problems related to the transportation, by road, of hazardous materials. Attention should also be given to identification and correction of the existing environmental liabilities (pasivo ambiental) related to the road construction and maintenance. All mitigatory programs contained in the EMP should include: (i) detailed design of all actions necessary to its adequate implementation; (ii) detailed schedule of implementation compatible with the overall implementation schedule for the project as whole; (iii) specification of all costs involved in program implementation and the identification of the sources of funding for all its components;and (iv) draft versions of all legal instruments (agreements, pacts, etc.), necessary to ensure adequate program implementation. The draft version of those documents should have been previously consulted with all relevant actors. The EMP should design an environmental supervision system for project implementation that ensures independent certification that all mitigatory programs are being implemented in a timely and adequate way, and recognizes the importance of community participation in the process. The degree of completeness proposed by the consultants for the EMP (level of detail, methodologies, scales, etc.) will be a major factor in the Bank evaluation of the proposals

    7. All consultants engaged in fieldwork should be able to work competently in Spanish and all reports shall be delivered in Spanish both in hardcopy (10 copies) and digital formats. The SEA and the revised EIA shall be delivered also in .pdf format (Adobe Portable Document Format), including all maps and graphs (preferably in .jpg format).

  5. EXPERTISE REQUIRED

    1. At a minimum the following senior professionals must be included in the team assigned to the Project. The consulting firm should state which professionals will be responsible for each of the following areas of expertise:
      1. Coordinator, professional at the level of international consultant, with specific experience to supervise environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental evaluations.
      2. Specialist in Environmental Engineering, with expertise on environmental management of highway projects
      3. Social Specialist with expertise in resettlement projects of low income populations
      4. Social Specialist with expertise in public consultations in developing countries and multicultural regions.
      5. Social Specialist with expertise in Indigenous peoples
      6. Ecologist with expertise in management of protected areas
      7. Specialist in Environmental Policies and Regulations
      8. Specialist in the road transportation of hazardous materials.

  6. Estimated Costs

    1. It is estimated that the cost of the consulting services for SEA preparation and EIA revision should not exceed US$700,000.

  7. REFERENCE MATERIAL

    1. The following studies are available and should be consulted by bidders during the preparation of their proposals:

      1. Estudio de Factibilidad Técnico - Económica e Impacto Ambiental de la Carretera Pailón - San José - Puerto Suárez y Diseño Final del Tramo Pailón – San José. Informe Final (Borrador). Consorcio TYPSA y PCA. Santa Cruz – Bolivia. Diciembre 1998.

        2. Index/Chaps 1-4 http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/eia1-4.htm

        Chaps 5-11 http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/eia5-11.htm

        Anexos1 http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/anexos1.htm

        Anexos2 http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/anexos2.htm

        Anexos3 http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/anexos3.htm

        Tables http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/bo0036/eia-pca/TAB1-11.htm

      2. Summary of the Strategic Environmental Assessment for the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline Project. PRIME Engenharia, November 1997. http://www.petrobras.com.br/portugue/oportuni/parceria/opopar02.htm

      3. Estudio de Factibilidad, Corredor Interoceánico de Transporte – Arica – Santa Cruz – Cuiabá. Informe Final, Volumen 6, Análisis Ambiental. Wilbur Smith Associates, Inc., Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Junio de 1998.

        4. http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/cap1-10.htm

        http://www.iadb.org/regions/re1/fi1/cap10-14.htm

      4. Sustainable Development Program for the Darien (Panama). IDB Loan Proposal. Document PR-2365. November 1998.

      5. The San Miguel – Cuiabá Pipeline Project. Independent Supplemental Environmental Assessment. Prepared for Enron International. Santa Cruz, Bolivia. May 1999. Participating organizations – Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza, Missouri Botanical Garden, Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund. This study can be downloaded at the following site http://www.worldwildlife.org/wwfus-ftp/pub/gasoducto. Files to download are text.doc and figures.zip.

    2. The Bank is acquiring satellite images (LANDSAT-TM, resolution 30m, bands 3,4,7 scale 1:100,000) covering the whole length of the highway. It is expected that those images will be delivered to the Bank before August 10, 1999.

Please send comments to: Henry Green (henryg@iadb.org) and Luis Miglino (luismi@iadb.org)