Afghanistan: Water Resources Development Investment Program - Project 1

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural policy, institutional and capacity development - Irrigation - Rural flood protection - Water-based natural resources management

The Investment Program is consistent with the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), which was approved in April 2009 and constitutes the country's strategic platform for development for 2008 2020. Its aim is to promote growth, generate wealth, and reduce poverty and vulnerability. ANDS covers all key sectors and sub-sectors, and embraces several themes. Water resources is a major sector under ANDS, which provides a programmatic approach to developing the water sector that includes (i) physical investments in rehabilitation of existing and development of new water resources and irrigation infrastructure; and (ii) nonphysical investment in capacity building, strengthened institutions, and policy frameworks. The proposed MFF finances the medium-term portion of a broader investment program. The Investment Program is consistent with ADB's Afghanistan country partnership strategy (CPS) 2009 2013, long-term strategic framework 2008 2020 (Strategy 2020), and water policy Water for All.

The Investment Program will finance (i) the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing and development of new irrigation and water resources infrastructure, (ii) flood management infrastructure, (iii) institutional strengthening, and (iv) capacity building for key staff throughout the sector. The first tranche project has four components: (i) northern basins development (NBD) that includes rehabilitation and upgrading of irrigation infrastructure, and development of a river basin agency (RBA) and water users associations (WUAs) for water management; (ii) Nangarhar Valley Development Authority (NVDA) improvement that includes irrigation rehabilitation and upgrading, development of WUAs, and a management reform plan for the NVDA; (iii) flood management that includes development of flood protection infrastructure along the Amu Darya River and development of a national flood management program; and (iv) project management and program development that includes a program development facility to prepare the subsequent two tranches of the MFF.

Water resources in Afghanistan. Sound management and development of Afghanistan's water resources are essential for sustained economic growth. Afghanistan is arid, and precipitation varies substantially both geographically and over the course of the year, with most precipitation falling between November and April. The seasonal precipitation pattern leads to annual flooding; this causes significant economic losses in some areas, but also provides potential opportunities. Harnessing available water resources where and when they occur and exploiting these resources most efficiently for irrigated agriculture and other uses are key challenges.

Agricultural economy. Agriculture employs about two thirds of the population and comprises up to half of Afghanistan's gross domestic product. However, agricultural production fluctuates yearly because of climatic conditions, and irrigation is necessary in most areas for reliable agriculture. Irrigated agriculture accounts for about 80% of crop production. Almost 85% of Afghanistan's inhabitants live in rural areas, and are either directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. Improved access to irrigation is necessary for rural economic growth and improved livelihoods.

Irrigation sector. Afghanistan has approximately 6.5 million hectares (ha) of arable land. By the mid-1970s, over 3 million ha received irrigation, and irrigation uses 95% of Afghanistan's developed water supplies. Today, 1.8 million ha have regular irrigation. About 80% of irrigated lands have been developed and managed by local communities in river valleys, and these systems are old and degraded. Improving the performance of these existing traditional irrigation systems is necessary to boost agricultural production. Modern irrigation systems under state control were developed with foreign aid over the last 50 years. The NVDA near Jalalabad was established by the former Soviet Union under a collective farm model. It is currently operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL). The systems support perennial irrigation on 20,000 ha of prime agricultural land, of which 12,000 ha are privately owned, with most of the remainder on short-term leases to small farmers. All physical aspects of the irrigation system need rehabilitation. The Government also needs support to develop a business plan to restructure NVDA (currently an inefficient state enterprise) and increase its corporate orientation.

Seasonal flooding. In many areas, annual flooding and bank erosion results in damage to irrigation systems and the loss of prime agricultural land, rural infrastructure, and other assets. This problem is particularly acute in the upper Amu Darya River that borders Afghanistan and Tajikistan. ADB is implementing the Pyanj River Basin Flood Management Project to address flood issues, but infrastructure investment is needed to remedy problems, and Afghanistan currently has little flood management capacity.

Improved northern Basin irrigation system delivers reliable irrigation supplies.

Irrigated lands are protected from flood events

Institutional Strengthening

Capacity development and training

Project Management

So far, several activities listed below have been completed to achieve this target.

" 207 upgraded secondary canal irrigation structures out of 250 structures in the original scope, were completed in October 2014 and all are fully functional. Due to several reasons scope of the project was changed, and the number of the structures was reduced accordingly

" The Bangala weir civil works contract was completed in Nov 2016 and handed over to the Balkh river basin agency

" The contract for Nangarhar Valley Development Authority (NVDA), in the east of the country, was completed in June 2017

" 270 women access points have been constructed under NVDA contract and more will be constructed in the Lower Balkh by end of Q4 2018; and,

" Further activities will be completed during 2019 through the remaining balance of the grant. Utilization of the remaining balance under cost categories of the grant was approved by ADB in June 2018.

To protect irrigated lands from flood events and erosion many activities have been completed so far, which are listed below:

" The civil works contract of Yatim Tepa flood protection works and pilot porcupines was completed in December 2017. The head regulator for Yatim Tepa intake is now fully functional.

" 5.6 Km flood embankment along the Amu River in Yangi Qala town of Takhar province has been completed and it's operational.

In the area of institutional strengthening and capacity building, significant work has been done and further work is ongoing.

" Preparation of sustainable management and financial plan for Amu Darya River Basin Association (RBA), operational rules for the Bangala weir and National Flood Management Program has been initiated which are anticipated to be completed by end of 2018.

" A business plan for NVDA was produced by an international business plan specialist in October 2017 which has been approved by the government and the institutional reform of NVDA is under process. The delay in this component is mainly due to the involvement of many authorities in the review and approval process.

" O&M Manual for NVDA irrigation system has been prepared by International Engineer under SIM.S.pa, the supervision firm, contract.

" A proposal for the establishment of Flood Management Unit (FMU) at the ministry of energy and water (MEW) has been submitted to ADB. The FUM will be established by end of November 2018. Establishment of this unit originally fell under the TOR of SNC Lavalin, the consulting firm under the project which withdrew from the country in 2014 due to security reasons.

" An operational manual for Bangala weir has been prepared and adopted by MEW.

" Irrigation service delivery and preparation of an O&M plan for NVDA irrigation system is currently under process by a national NGO, which will be completed by December 2018.

Project management and implementation units are established and operating. A project performance and monitoring mechanism is in place and PPMS is operational and updated on regular basis. Audit reports and progress reports of the project are submitted in a timely manner.

The Water Resources Development Investment Program (the Investment Program) is financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), through a multitranche financing facility (MFF). The Investment Program has an environmental assessment and review framework (EARF) and cumulative environmental impact assessment. Each project under the MFF will have individual safeguard documents as required by ADB. The first tranche had an initial environmental examination and is classified as environmental category B according to ADB guidelines.

An EARF and cumulative impact assessment were prepared for the Investment Program following the Government's existing environmental laws and regulations and ADB's Environmental Policy (2002).

The EARF lays out the procedures and provides guidance for environmental due diligence under the Investment Program. Environmental capacity development for the Investment Program will be supported through the implementation consultants' environmental specialist, who will be part of the safeguard team in the PMOs. The PMOs, with support from the consultants, will be responsible for environmental monitoring and implementation of the environmental management plans (EMPs). For future tranches, initial environmental examinations (IEEs), or environmental impact assessments, if required, will be prepared following the EARF and included in the appraisal report, with due public consultation and information disclosure. The finalized IEEs will be submitted with the PFR for ADB approval.

The IEE, including an EMP and summary IEE, was prepared for the first tranche, which is classified as category B in terms of environmental impacts. The Project should have positive impacts on the environment including improved water-use efficiency, protection of assets from river bank erosion and flooding, and better land-use management. Potential negative impacts include (i) erosion of flood protection infrastructure; (ii) dust, noise, and waste during construction; (iii) flood flow displacement due to headworks operation; and (iv) possible degraded surface and groundwater quality and public health due to increased use of agricultural inputs. These will be mitigated by (i) development of a contractors' environmental management plan based on the EMP, with monitoring benchmarks; (ii) operation of infrastructure to minimize flood damage; (iii) WUA training for improved water management; and (iv) RBA capacity building related specifically to developing and implementing technically, socially, and environmentally sound operational policies and procedures. All of the environmental due diligence documents for the first tranche and Investment Program are found in Supplementary Appendix D.

A land acquisition and resettlement framework (LARF) was prepared based on the laws of Afghanistan and in accordance with ADB's Involuntary Resettlement Policy (1995) and Operations Manual 49 and endorsed by the Government. The LARF has established a process for (i) resettlement categorization of project activities as A, B, or C based on ADB guidelines; (ii) assessment of required resettlement activities; (iii) preparation of any required resettlement plans or other safeguards documents; (iv) compensation to affected persons prior to commence of civil works; and (v) grievance redress among other resettlement activities. The safeguards teams in the PMOs will be responsible for all resettlement activities and prepare any required resettlement plan(s). The categorization form and draft resettlement documents for subsequent tranches will be submitted for ADB approval with each PFR. The PMO and implementation consultants and/or contractors will update resettlement plans during detailed design. Resettlement plans will be implemented only after they have been formally approved by the IA and cleared by ADB. No notice to proceed will be given for civil works until the resettlement plan is fully implemented in the construction area. The PMO will monitor the resettlement plan implementation and report to ADB. In addition, an external monitoring agency will be engaged by the PMO and will have responsibility for (i) confirming that any required land acquisition and resettlement activities have been completed prior to commencement of civil works, (ii) assessing implementation, (iii) progress reporting, and (iv) assessing the impact of the land acquisition and resettlement activities. The external monitoring agency findings and quarterly reports will be filed independently with the EA, IA(s), and ADB, and relevant information may be included in PMO reporting. A nongovernment organization may be engaged as required to support the PMO with the preparation and implementation of resettlement activities. The LARF will ensure that women receive due compensation for losses, and that women who are de facto household heads are clearly listed as beneficiaries for compensation. The Government of Afghanistan has agreed to pay resettlement compensation costs.

Tranche 1 has been categorized as category B for resettlement. The NBD component will require some land acquisition that may impact up to five families, but no relocation is required. The flood management component requires compensation for 19 families that are currently farming in the area of the proposed protective embankment. Short land acquisition and resettlement plans (SLARPs) have been prepared for the affected persons. A summary of the LARF is found in Appendix 14 and the full LARF and SLARP are in Supplementary Appendix C.

All consultants to be financed will be recruited in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2007, as amended from time to time).

The PMOs and PIOs will be supported by consulting services packages to complete detailed design and provide effective construction supervision.

Firm consultants will be selected on quality based seleciton procedures. The MAIL package will provide 72 person-months of international consultants and 299 person-months of national consultants while the MEW package will provide 206 person-months of international consulting input and 758 person-months of national consulting input.

About 10 person-months of individual consultant input will be recruited to accelerate project readiness for detailed design and tendering of the construction of Bangala weir and R&U of the Samarkandian weir.