38189-022: dili urban water supply sector project€¦ · dl 05/2011 decree-law no. 05/2011 –...

Initial Environmental Examination

October 2013

TIM: Dili Urban Water Supply Project

Prepared by Aurecon Australia Pty Ltd for the Asian Development Bank.

IEE for Subzone 1 of Zone 1 – Draft Final Report Contract No.: 0001-MoI-DUWSSP-VII-2010 ADB Grant: 38189-02 TIM Dili Urban Water Supply Sector Project – Design and Construction Supervision Consultancy Services Ministry of Infrastructure Government of Timor Leste

Report ref:

203317

6 September 2013

IEE for Water Distribution Subzone 1 of Zone 1 – Draft Final Report

Project 203317 Aurecon Page 2

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT .......................................................................... 8

1.2. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE IEE STUDY ....................................... 8

1.3. THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM ................................................................................. 9

2. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework for Environmental Protection in Timor-

Leste .............................................................................................................................. 11

2.1. ENVIRONMENTAL RULES AND REGULATIONS ................................................. 11

2.1.1. Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ............................................... 11

2.1.2. Decree-Law no. 26/2012 – Base Law for Environment .................................................. 12

2.1.3. Decree-Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing ..................................................... 12

2.1.4. UNTAET Regulation No. 19/2000 on Protected Areas .................................................... 12

2.1.5. Decree-Law No. 33/2008 on Hygiene and Public Order ................................................. 13

2.1.6. UNTAET DoE Guideline #8 on Ambient Noise ................................................................ 13

2.2. ADB’S SAFEGUARD POLICY STATEMENT .......................................................... 13

2.3. ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES ......... 14

2.2.1. National Directorate For Environment ........................................................................... 14

2.2.2. National Directorate for Water Services (DNSA) ............................................................ 14

2.4. SCREENING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CATEGORY .............................................. 14

2.3.1. ADB Screening ................................................................................................................. 15

2.3.2. Government of Timor-Leste Screening Reference ......................................................... 15

2.3.3. Conclusions on project categorization............................................................................ 17

3. Description of the Project ........................................................................................ 18

3.1. LOCATION ................................................................................................................ 18

3.1.1. Subzone 1 of Zone 1 – Comoro ....................................................................................... 18

3.2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES ............................................................................... 18

3.3. TIMING AND SCHEDULING .................................................................................... 20

4. Description of the Environment ............................................................................... 23

4.1. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................................... 23

4.1.1. Topography ..................................................................................................................... 23

4.1.2. Climate And Rainfall ........................................................................................................ 23

4.1.3. Geology ........................................................................................................................... 26

4.1.4. Water Resources And Hydrology .................................................................................... 26

4.1.5. Air Quality ....................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.6. Noise ............................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.7. Mineral Resources .......................................................................................................... 28

4.2. BIOLOGICAL PROFILE ........................................................................................... 28

4.2.1. Flora, Fauna and Protected Areas................................................................................... 28

4.3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT ........................................ 35

4.3.1. Demography ................................................................................................................... 35



4.3.2. Occupation and Land Use ............................................................................................... 35

4.3.3. Income Status and Expenditures .................................................................................... 36

4.3.4. Physical Cultural Resources ............................................................................................ 36

4.3.5. Health and Hygiene ......................................................................................................... 36

5. Environmental Impacts ............................................................................................ 38

5.1. IMPACTS ON PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ............................................................. 38

5.1.1. Land System .................................................................................................................... 38

5.1.2. Water Resources ............................................................................................................. 38

5.1.3. Air Quality Impacts ......................................................................................................... 39

5.1.4. Noise Impacts.................................................................................................................. 39

5.1.5. Solid Waste ..................................................................................................................... 39

5.1.6. Mineral Resources for Construction ............................................................................... 40

5.2. IMPACTS ON BIOLOGICAL SETTING ................................................................... 40

5.2.1. Flora and Fauna .............................................................................................................. 40

5.3. IMPACTS ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPACTS ........................... 40

5.3.1. Occupation and Land Use ............................................................................................... 40

5.3.2. Physical Cultural Resources ............................................................................................ 41

5.3.3. Human Health and Safety ............................................................................................... 41

6. Mitigation Measures ................................................................................................ 43

6.1. PROJECT PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE ............................................................. 43

6.1.1. Alignment Design ............................................................................................................ 43

6.2. PROJECT CONSTRUCTION PHASE ...................................................................... 43

6.2.1. Mobilization .................................................................................................................... 43

6.2.2. Alignment and Pipeline Construction ............................................................................. 43

6.2.3. Demobilization ................................................................................................................ 47

6.3. PROJECT OPERATIONAL PHASE ......................................................................... 47

6.3.1. Water Quality Monitoring .............................................................................................. 47

7. Consultation, Participation and Information Disclosure ............................................ 48

7.1. CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION ................................................................ 48

7.2. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE ................................................................................ 48

8. Grievance Redress Mechanism ................................................................................. 49

8.1. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE ..................................................................................... 49

9. Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) and Institutional

Arrangements ................................................................................................................ 51

9.1. THE EMMP and Institutional Requirements ......................................................... 51

9.2. The EMMP Matrix ..................................................................................................... 53

9.3. Cost of Environmental Activities and Mitigation ................................................. 62

10. Conclusions and Recommendations ......................................................................... 62

References ..................................................................................................................... 63

APPENDIX 1 .................................................................................................................... 64



Application Form For Environmental License .................................................................. 64

APPENDIX 2 .................................................................................................................... 68

List of Environmental Legislation relevant to the Project ................................................. 68

APPENDIX 3 .................................................................................................................... 71

Map of Photo Locations within Project Area ................................................................... 71

APPENDIX 4 .................................................................................................................... 73

Photos of Project Area Sections and Alignments (Zone 1) ................................................ 73

Appendix 5 ..................................................................................................................... 78

Complaints Registry Template ........................................................................................ 78

Appendix 6 ..................................................................................................................... 80

Community Meeting re Environmental Issues ................................................................. 80



List of Figures

Figure 1. Water Distribution Zones in Díli (Source: DNSA) ......................................................... 10 Figure 2. Environmental Categories under DL 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing (Source:

NDE 2012) ........................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 4. Water Distribution Subzone 1 in Zone 1 (Source: DNSA) .......................................... 19 Figure 5. Rehabilitation areas for Subzone 1 of Zone 1 (Source: Aurecon, 2013) .................. 22 Figure 6. Topography in the Díli Catchment Area (Source: Aurecon, 2013) ............................ 24 Figure 7. Topography in the Project Area – Zone 1 (Source: Aurecon, 2013) ......................... 25 Figure 8. Simplified structural map of the Geology of Timor-Leste ............................................ 30 Figure 9. Geology of Subzone 1 of Zone 1 .................................................................................... 31 Figure 10. Flood prone areas in Dili (Source: DSDMP, 2012b) .................................................. 32 Figure 11. Protected Areas and IBAs in the Díli Urban Area (Source: UNTAET Reg. 19/2001,

Grantham et al., 2011) ....................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 13. Protected Areas and IBAs in or around Subzone 1 of Zone 1 Water Distribution

Area (Source: UNTAET Reg. 19/2001, Grantham et al., 2011) .................................................. 34 Figure no. 14 – Grievance Redress Procedure for the Project ................................................... 50

List of Tables

Table 1. Environmental category screening scale as in DL 05/2011 – Environmental

Licensing .............................................................................................................................................. 16 Table 2. General Information and features of the proposed Project Zone (Source: DNSA) .. 20 Table 3. Project Implementation Schedule (Source: DNSA) ....................................................... 21 Table 4. Cost Estimates for Project environmental activities ...................................................... 62



Acronyms and Abbreviations

ADB Asian Development Bank

AUSaid Australian Aid Agency

DUWSSP Díli Urban Water Supply Sector Project

DL 05/2011 Decree-Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing

DNSA

EIA

National Directorate for Water

Environmental Impact Assessment

EIS Environmental Impact Statement

EMMP Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan

G-RDTL Government of RDTL

HH Households

IEE Initial Environmental Examination

LG Local Government

NDPA National Directorate for Protected Areas

MAF Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries

MCIE Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment

MPW Ministry of Public Works

NDE National Directorate for Environment

NDRBFC National Directorate for Roads, Bridges and Flood Control

SSC Secretariat of State for Culture

SSE Secretariat of State for Environment

TOR Terms of Reference



1. Introduction

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

1. All societies require a proper water and sanitation service in order to progress with their

development. If non-existent, inadequate water supply and poor sanitation adversely affects

the human living quality of people to a large extent, particularly in growing cities and urban

areas. It becomes ever more relevant to guarantee a proper water supply, in a sustainable

environment as to prevent critical issues such as water shortages.

2. Timor-Leste is not immune to pressing issues such as these and thus, the Government of

RDTL (G-RDTL) has been working for the past 10 years in upgrading the existing water

distribution system in the capital city of Díli, which has been divided into 10 water distribution

sectors (see Figure no.1).

3. As the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been, in the past few years, a major development

partner in the water distribution area in Timor-Leste, a Grant Agreement between ADB and

the G-RDTL was signed in 2008, in order to implement the ADB TA 4646-TIM Díli Urban

Water Supply Sector Project (DUWSSP) and begin rehabilitation of the water distribution

sectors and sub-sectors identified as a priority for upgrading.

4. The DUWSSP is intended to upgrade water supply services for households, businesses and

institutions, with the improvement of the hydraulic management of the water supply system

and a more efficient tertiary water distribution in all 10 water distribution zones defined for the

Díli Urban area.

5. Given rehabilitation in three water distribution subzones within zones 2, 4 and 5 of the Díli

area are close to completion, the G-RDTL has identified additional zones as priority areas for

further rehabilitation. These zones are identified as subzone 1 of Zone 1 and Zone 10 in its

entirety (see Figure no. 1).

6. This rehabilitation is consistent with the G-RDTL’s Strategic Development Plan (SDP) to

develop cost and efficient improvements in the urban water supply in Díli, which targets 2030

as the year where investment in the sector will achieve rehabilitation “…or repair (of) the

existing water distribution system by fixing leaks, repairing faulty pipes, valves and meters,

training meter readers and establishing a billing system. Households that are not connected

to the system will be systematically connected and 150 communal taps will be provided for

poorer areas. All connection will be legally made and accountable” (SDP, 2011).

1.2. OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE IEE STUDY

7. This document is the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) for the proposed project within

subzone 1 of Zone 1 (Comoro) (see Figure no. 1), financed under the ADB TA 4646-TIM Díli

Urban Water Supply Sector Project (DUWSSP), to comply with Timor-Leste environmental

licensing legislation and especially ADB environmental policy with regards to environmental

assessment of Category B development projects.

8. This IEE presents the results and conclusions of the environmental assessment for the

proposed “rehabilitation of the water distribution system for Sub-zone 1 of Zone 1 (Comoro)”,

where the scope of the project is limited by the physical boundaries set in Chapter 3.1.1,

comprising the study area for this IEE.

9. The IEE objectives are to:



a) Determine the state of the environment in the project area;

b) Identify key environmental impacts and issues associated with the project;

c) Recommend appropriate mitigation measures of said impacts;

d) Develop an Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan (EMMP).

10. The IEE was based on the identification of important facilities and services, community

structures, schools, health facilities, religious places, sites of heritage or archaeological

importance and biologically critical areas (if any) affected by the project, within Sub-zone 1

boundaries.

11. A scoping and field reconnaissance was conducted on the project site, by the environmental

consultant, during which a rapid environmental assessment was carried out to establish the

potential impacts and categorization of the project activities, to support the definition of the

IEE methodology.

12. Baseline environmental data was then collected from several sources to allow for the

identification of intensity and likely location of impacts with relation to sensitive receivers,

compared to the activities expected to be carried out by the project.

13. The significance of impacts from extension/ augmentation of the existing water distribution

systems was assessed and, for those impacts requiring mitigation, measures were proposed

to reduce impacts to within acceptable limits.

14. The project’s environment consultant collated all relevant information, participated in the

public consultation activities and carried out the report writing.

15. The IEE includes activities related to rehabilitation/improvement of existing water distribution

networks, within the scale and the locations described in Chapter 3.2, and cover activities

regarding the design, construction, operation and maintenance phases of the project.

1.3. THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

16. The Project Implementing Agency for the Díli Water Supply Sector Project is the National

Directorate for Water Services (DNSA), under the Ministry of Public Works (MPW), with

headquarters located in Díli, Timor-Leste.

17. DNSA is responsible for the overall day-to-day project implementation, execution and

management and as project proponent for the Environmental Licensing procedure, under

Decree-Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing (see Chapter 2.4).

18. AURECON, Australia PTY Ltd is the Consultant in charge of the Design, Project Management

and physical construction of the rehabilitation activities within this project.



Figure 1. Water Distribution Zones in Díli (Source: DNSA)



2. Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework for Environmental Protection in Timor-Leste

19. Due to the recent history of Timor-Leste, the transitory Governments existing up to the

effective independence in 2002, and the past four Constitutional Governments of Timor-

Leste, the environmental legal framework in the country has had slow progress towards an

effective level of environmental protection in the country.

20. Nevertheless, the environmental framework has evolved. Subsidiary legislation from UNTAET

and Indonesia, whose continuity is approved under article 165 of the Constitution of the

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (CDRTL) and Parliament Laws no. 01/2002 (7 of August)

and no. 10/2003 (of 10 of December), has been substituted slowly with the enactment of

current Timorese environmental laws.

21. These laws represent the commitment to the protection of the environment, the legal

environmental framework, the legal means of protection from crimes against the environment

and the regulatory means for environmental assessment and monitoring of the development

projects in the country and are beginning to influence investment projects and Government

and Private sector stakeholders in the need to include environmental management within the

project management cycle, for legal and regulatory compliance and, ultimately, environmental

protection.

22. These laws represent the commitment to the protection of the environment, the legal

environmental framework, the legal means of protection from crimes against the environment

and the regulatory means for environmental assessment and monitoring of the development

projects in the country and are beginning to influence investment projects and Government

and Private sector stakeholders in the need to include environmental management within the

project management cycle, for legal and regulatory compliance and, ultimately, environmental

protection.

2.1. ENVIRONMENTAL RULES AND REGULATIONS

23. Below are a few selected Timor-Leste environmental regulations that, given their significance,

are explained in a short summary.

24. The list of the remaining relevant legislation dealing with environmental and natural resource

management, pertinent to the scope of this Project and whose contents are reflected in the

Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan, is presented in Appendix 2.

2.1.1. Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

25. The government’s mandate to protect the environment emanates from the Constitution of the

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The Constitution of Timor-Leste stipulates that a healthy

environment is a constitutional right and declares that:

a. Everyone has the right to a humane, healthy, and ecologically balanced environment and

the duty to protect it and improve it for the benefit of the future generations.

b. The State shall recognize the need to preserve and rationalize natural resources.

c. The State should promote actions aimed at protecting the environment and safeguarding

the sustainable development of the economy



2.1.2. Decree-Law no. 26/2012 – Base Law for Environment

26. This very important piece of legislation acts as an “umbrella-law” for the environmental sector,

setting the standard and commitment for the current and future environmental laws and

policies in Timor-Leste.

27. The scope of the law applies to all terrestrial and marine areas of Timor-Leste, including soil

and sub-soil, to single or collective persons, national or foreign, public or private, residing or

undergoing activities in Timor-Leste.

28. An important role of this piece of legislation is the commitment to improve public and private

entities’ environmental performance, including institutional structure reinforcement to

implement the Law. Articles 10 and 17 are particularly relevant as they call on public entities

that develop legislation, development programs and projects, to collaborate with the Ministry

of Commerce and Environment (MCIE), as the responsible government department for

environment, in the integration of the environmental policy within their own sectors to

guarantee unity and uniformity in its implementation.

2.1.3. Decree-Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing

29. Published on the 9th February 2011, this Decree Law is the regulatory implementation of

article 15 of the Base Law for Environment, where it seeks to define the methods of

environmental classification, evaluation, decision, licensing and monitoring of development

projects, throughout their construction, operation and decommissioning phases.

30. It was drafted to establish the procedure for an environmental licensing system, in order to

identify and assess the impact of development proposals on the environment, creating the

conditions to minimize or eliminate negative environmental and social impacts   derived from

project implementation, as well as defining measures of environmental and social protection

to be applied when   implementing the project.

31. The Environmental Licensing procedure follows a series of administrative steps of evaluation

and decision (see Chapter 2.4).

2.1.4. UNTAET Regulation No. 19/2000 on Protected Areas

32. Still in effect since UNTAET administration, this diploma regulates the Base Law for

Environment regarding Protected or Sensitive Areas, as well as endangered species and

related articles. It defines fifteen (15) existing Protected areas (Article 2.1) as well as the

characteristics of other areas that may be defined as areas of exceptional natural importance

(Article 2.2).

33. Articles 2.3 and 2.4 define the activities that cannot be done within these areas. The

prohibition of new structures (temporary or permanent) such as roads, disruption or

destruction of fauna or flora or pollution of the area, of any kind, are particularly relevant to

R4D, as well as the status of these areas towards the environmental licensing procedure.

34. Recently, the Government of Timor-Leste, through the National Directorate for Protected

Areas (NDPA) is preparing new legislation proposing 15 new protected areas in the Territory.



2.1.5. Decree-Law No. 33/2008 on Hygiene and Public Order

35. This diploma establishes the administrative policy measures for Districts regarding hygiene

and public order, defining the relations between Public Administration and Citizens,

applicable to urban areas in the Districts and specific locations in districts, when these are

determined beforehand.

36. The relevance of the diploma is for situations where project rehabilitation might pass through

an urbanized area. Additionally, Article 6 of the Decree-Law defines the organization of public

spaces in these areas. This list of “do’s and don’ts” for activities within urban areas is a

valuable reference as a safeguard for project planning and as guidelines for contractor

management regarding prohibited activities such as (i.e.) cutting/felling trees, extraction of

earth, rocks or other materials, deposit excess construction materials or waste, installation of

temporary constructions, and others, within urban areas.

2.1.6. UNTAET DoE Guideline #8 on Ambient Noise

37. This Guideline was introduced by UNTAET Administration to protect the public from nuisance

associated with stationary sources of noise in outdoor environments and does not extend to

occupational and health issues. Its maximum admissible noise levels and abatement levels

are identical to those in the World Bank Environmental Health and Safety Guidelines

(reference for ADB projects) and thus relevant for application under this IEE.

2.2. ADB’S SAFEGUARD POLICY STATEMENT

38. ADB related projects follow ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement (2009), which describes its

common objectives, policy principles and outlines the delivery process for ADB’s safeguard

policy, particularly a set of specific safeguard requirements that borrowers/clients are

expected to meet when addressing social and environmental impacts and risks, in order to

ensure that borrowers/clients comply with these requirements during project preparation and

implementation.

39. The SPS 2009 sets out policy for three primary safeguard frameworks: a) Environmental; b)

Involuntary Resettlement; and c) Indigenous Peoples, with the following objectives:

“(i) avoid adverse impacts of projects on the environment and affected people, where

possible;

(ii) minimize, mitigate, and/or compensate for adverse project impacts on the

environment and affected people when avoidance is not possible; and

(iii) help borrowers/clients to strengthen their safeguard systems and develop the

capacity to manage environmental and social risks”.

40. Besides defining the minimum requirements for project environmental classification and

assessment, as well as the related documentation contents and structure, the importance of

this SPS is enhanced by the fact that ADB will not finance projects that do not comply with its

safeguard policy statement, as well as those projects that do not comply with the host

country’s social and environmental laws and regulations.



2.3. ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

2.2.1. National Directorate For Environment

41. The National Directorate of the Environment (NDE), under the Secretary of State for

Environment (SSE) of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Environment (MCIE), oversees

environmental licensing and management and compliance of the national environmental

regulations. NDE has an Environmental Impact Assessment and Pollution team who are

responsible for environmental licensing procedures and processes. The DNMA provides

direction and support for environmental protection related matters associated with the

project’s activities.

2.2.2. National Directorate for Water Services (DNSA)

42. The National Directorate for Water Services, under the Ministry of Infrastructure, is the

agency responsible for the water distribution sector activity, managing the distribution of

water for human consumption and monitoring the water quality through its water quality

laboratory.

43. DNSA, as the Government entity for the water sector, and as the owner of the project, is the

project proponent responsible to deliver the project’s IEE documentation to NDE and

accompany the whole environmental licensing procedure, respond to any questions arising

during said procedure, until the project license is attributed, and guarantee that the contents

of the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan are followed through by all

stakeholders and contractors, during project implementation.

2.4. SCREENING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CATEGORY

44. Environmental screening addresses the issue of whether or not the project needs an

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE).

45. Environmental screening is carried out in parallel with project feasibility studies and design

since the type and detail of the environmental assessment depends on the nature, scale and

any potential environmental risks of the project. Outcomes of the assessment may influence

the choice of project design or rehabilitation activities.

46. This way, the project’s potential environmental impacts and risks are reviewed against legal

and guideline benchmarks, assessing the significance of project impacts and risks on the

environment, particularly on social, biodiversity, natural resources and sensitive areas, and

enabling the Project to define, cost and decide on mitigation measures that will require

inclusion into project planning, design and implementation.

47. It is also used as the preliminary environmental analysis of the proposed project to prepare it

for environmental license application. It identifies the triggers to define the project’s category,

based on Decree-Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing and thus, define the amount of

environmental investigation, study and official reporting that the proponent is required to carry

out and deliver to obtain its environmental license.



48. A two-tiered approach has been used to define the broad scope of this screening, based on

the project scope defined in Chapter 1.2. First, an analysis evaluation of environmental

category through ADB Guidelines and second, confirmation through Timor-Leste legislation in

effect.

2.3.1. ADB Screening

49. Based on the existing ADB Safeguard Policy Statement (2009), this project is an Urban

Water and Sanitation Project, and classified as category B. This category is defined as

“Projects with potential to cause less significant / fewer environmental impacts than Category

A, yet still require a prescribed level of environmental management to protect the

environment. For these projects an initial environmental examination (IEE) could be

considered as final environmental assessment report if the stated document determines that

an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is not required for the project under examination”.

50. Considering the type and magnitude of the project’s activities and the absence of impacts on

sensitive and protected areas, no significant impacts that will warrant the conduct of an EIA

are foreseen (see Chapter 5 for more details).

2.3.2. Government of Timor-Leste Screening Reference

51. Project environmental classification is based on the comparison of project characteristics with

thresholds defined in Annexes I and II of Decree Law no. 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing.

The result is the classification of the project in one of three categories:

i. Category A project – Annex I – Projects that potentially may cause significant

environmental impacts and thus are subject to the Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA) procedure;

ii. Category B project – Annex II – Projects that may cause environmental impacts and thus

are subject to a IEE procedure;

iii. Category C project – Projects that don’t fall within thresholds of either Annexes, and in

which environmental impacts are inexistent or negligible and thus are not subject to any

environmental evaluation procedure.

52. Depending on the significance of project impacts and risks, the assessment may comprise a

full-scale Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for category A projects or an Initial

Environmental Examination (IEE) or equivalent process for category B projects (See Figure

no. 2).



Figure 2. Environmental Categories under DL 05/2011 – Environmental Licensing (Source: NDE 2012)

53. This analysis has evaluated the scope, scale and characteristics of the project against Annex

I and II of DL 05/2011 (see Table 1).

54. Given the scope in Chapter 1.2, and by comparing to the scale requirements in Table 1, the

analysis has confirmed the non-applicability of Annex I, including ruling out locational factors

due to the inexistence of sensitive areas within the project rehabilitation alignment (see

Chapter 5 for more details).

55. The final interpretation and conclusion is that project classification is based on Annex II,

section VIII, No.7, that states that construction of aqueducts and water networks less than

three kilometres ( 1 million Cubic Meters/Year

6 – Abstraction of groundwater with borehole/perforation ≥ 10 L/second 8 – Construction of aqueducts and water networks ≥ 3 Km XII – Locational Factors 1 – Sensitive ecosystems or of value (beaches, mangroves, coral reefs, protected areas, marine areas)

All



2 – Unique and valuable landscape All 3 – Archaeological and/or historical site All 4 – Densely populated areas Relocation of ≥

300 people 5 – Areas occupied by cultural communities or tribes All 6 – Geographically sensitive areas All

ANNEX II SCALE VII – Water Sector 6 – Abstraction of groundwater with borehole/perforation < 10 L/second 8 – Construction of aqueducts and water networks < 3 Km

2.3.3. Conclusions on project categorization

56. Project Documentation was submitted by DNSA at the request of the Department of

Environment (DoE) of the Government of Timor-Leste, to ascertain Environmental

Categorization of the Project, under Decree-Law no. 05/2011.

57. This project documentation included an executive summary of the environmental impacts

foreseeable for the project, as well as the team’s conclusions and proposals on the projects

classification, based on ADB SPS 2009 and Timor-Leste environmental law.

58. DoE concluded that the project is classified as category C and does not require an

environmental assessment and respective environmental license.

59. It is clear that the DoE criterion is notably less comprehensive than that of ADB’s. Thus,

under ADB policy, an IEE would need to be prepared in order to satisfy its safeguard

requirements (see 2.3.1), since it requires all bank related projects to undergo environmental

screening, classification and assessment, according to its Safeguard Policy Statement (ADB,

2009) requirements. Urban water supply projects are classified as Category B by ADB

guidelines and thus their “…potential adverse environmental impacts are less adverse than

those of category A projects. These impacts are site-specific, few if any of them are

irreversible, and in most cases mitigation measures can be designed more readily than for

category A projects. An initial environmental examination is required”.



3. Description of the Project

3.1. LOCATION

60. Water Distribution Zones in Díli have been classified based on technically selected

boundaries. Sub-zone boundaries are determined by the technical location of the existing

water supply pipe network and the location of control valves, constituting a discreet section of

the network where water flow can be controlled and managed.

3.1.1. Subzone 1 of Zone 1 – Comoro

61. The project area is located within Zone 1, located in the outer urban area of Díli, outside the

central business districts, in the western part of Díli, with 12 Aldeias within its boundaries. The

subzone area for this project will include 779 water service house connections to 4 of these

aldeias: Golgota, 4 Setembro, 30 de Agosto and Moris Foun. These aldeias belong to Suco

Comoro and Tasitolu, Dom Aleixo Subdistrict of the Díli District (see Figure no. 4).

62. The subzone area is bordered to the North by Avenida Presidente Nicolau Lobato, moving

west from the west bank of the Comoro River Bridge (point 0) to the northeastern point of

Aldeia Golgota, turning Southwest to follow the mountain foothill to the most southeastern

point of aldeia “Moris foun”, where it reaches its western border, the Comoro River, and turns

Northeast along Comoro river to return to point 0.

3.2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES

63. The project focuses on decreasing the percentage of technical and commercial water losses

to 20% and improve water service delivery in the water supply zone described in Chapter 3.1,

particularly through pipe leakages, by identifying, locating and repairing such leaks. In order

to have a better accounting of water production and consumption within the subzones, there

is a need for an improved metering program.

64. The improvement of the distribution network will mean carrying out activities to replace old

pipes or extend reticulation pipelines within the proposed zones, etc. The main activities of

the project are the following:

Laying new transmission pipelines (DN 150mm);

Laying and jointing new tertiary pipelines (various sizes ranging from NOD 63mm to

20mm);

Construction of valve chambers and installing valves within the zones;

Installation of one small bore well in Aldeia Moris Foun (producing 9 lps of water)

Making new metered service connections and replacing old or non-functioning water

meters;

Refurbishing existing systems within the proposed service area;

Locating and repairing leaks;

Installing communal taps to serve inaccessible customers within the service area; and

Monitor water quality.

65. The project also comprises civil construction improvement works for structures and crossings.

Road surfaces disturbed by excavation and other related works will be reinstated to their

original condition, trenches backfilled and properly compacted and bitumen and gravel

pavements fully restored.



Figure 4. Water Distribution Subzone 1 in Zone 1 (Source: DNSA)



66. The alignment of proposed new/rehabilitated reticulation pipes have been fixed, following

tracks and roads as far as possible. The distribution system in of the project area is in

relatively flat terrain and does not present any difficult terrain or major crossings.

67. The wider roads and paved roads will be provided with pipelines on both sides to avoid

pavement demolition and reinstatement during construction and future connection

requirements. To reduce the initial investment, all other roads will be provided with only one

pipeline on either side of the road but will require complementation by additional parallel

pipes to follow demand increases and road paving.

68. The total length of the rehabilitated sections for Subzone 1 of Zone 1 is 2900 metres. The

project details are summarized in Table no. 2 and mapped in Figure no.5.

3.3. TIMING AND SCHEDULING

69. The implementation of the water rehabilitation project in subzone 1 of zone 1 is to be carried

out throughout 2013. The necessary time for the project’s environmental evaluation and

request for proper environmental licensing has been included in the project timeline, to

comply with the requirements of the environmental Legislation in effect.

70. This environmental phase started in December 2012 and is expected to end at the end of

April 2013, with the expected attribution of the environmental license and the inclusion of all

necessary environmental clauses derived from the IEE procedure, into the construction

contracts (see Table 3).

Table 2. General Information and features of the proposed Project Zone (Source: DNSA)

Subzone 1 of Zone 1 Location D.Aleixo Subdistrict, West Díli Project Coverage Aldeias:

Golgota,

4 Setembro,

30 de Agosto

Moris Foun Number of HH served 779 Population served 5,453 Total Demand (m

3/day) 1,276

Distribution System (Km) Total Existing 26,266 m

Total Rehabilitated by Project 2,900 m Types of Pipe (PE, PVC and Galvanized Steel)

Total Tap Connection during construction (No)

Fully plumbed 0 Yard Tap 935

PROJECT COST (USD) $1,538,000



Table 3. Project Implementation Schedule (Source: DNSA)



Figure 5. Rehabilitation areas for Subzone 1 of Zone 1 (Source: Aurecon, 2013)



4. Description of the Environment

4.1. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

4.1.1. Topography

71. The topography of the Díli catchment system is mainly mountainous with steep slopes at the

upper side of the catchment, gently sloping areas in the mid-section and narrow stretch of

relatively flat areas next to the coastline.

72. Elevations vary tremendously throughout the area from lowland coastal areas with altitudes

from about sea level to elevations 900 m+ above sea level, located in the mountainous

regions near Dare and Aileu (see Figure 6).

73. The Díli catchment system has an overall general susceptibility to higher rate of runoff and

sediment load due to lack of vegetation cover at the upper mountain, particularly at the higher

slope. Soil loss from the upland of the catchment system is particularly high as can be seen

from sediment accumulation in various natural and manmade channels in Díli.

74. The city of Díli is located along the coastline on the lower side of the Díli catchment system

where the topography is gently sloping or relatively flat. The elevation of some parts of the

urbanized areas, such as some parts of Caicoli area, are lower than sea level, which makes it

difficult for an effective drainage system to the sea.

4.1.2. Climate And Rainfall

75. Geographically, Timor-Leste is located in the equatorial region with two distinct seasons

driven by the monsoonal period.

76. Díli’s climate is tropical with an average three-month rainy season starting from December to

March and a dry season for the remainder of the year.

77. Rainfall historical data registered at Díli airport, Dare Station, Ermera and Aileu has

demonstrated that the upper catchment in the mountain areas receives more rain than the

lowland areas, where average rainfall ranges from 940 mm in Díli and up to 1530 mm in the

mountainous areas around Díli (DSDMP, 2012b). Average temperature ranges from 27˚C in

December to about 24˚C in August (DSDMP 2012c).



Figure 6. Topography in the Díli Catchment Area (Source: Aurecon, 2013)



Figure 7. Topography in the Project Area – Zone 1 (Source: Aurecon, 2013)



4.1.3. Geology

78. Díli is located in the highly sheared and deformed Permian Aileu Formation (see Figure 8).

This metamorphic formation occurs widely in the northern part of central Timor, consisting of

a series of shales, phyllites, slates and occasional low-grade metamorphosed eruptive rocks

(Thompson, 2011).

79. This formation has been repeatedly exposed to deformation especially in the north coast.

This deformation plus the pervasive presence of platy minerals like chlorite and mica

structurally weakens the rock, which, coupled with the steep terrain and the occurrence of

intense rainfall, makes it susceptible to landslides, erosion and sedimentation and thus one of

the most active geologic processes in Timor-Leste.

80. However the project lies entirely in the area of the greater Comoro catchment, on the left

bank of the Comoro river, a part of the Díli Alluvial plain, which comprises of silt, sand, gravel,

cobbles and boulders derived from the Aileu Formation in the mountains (see Figure 9).

4.1.4. Water Resources And Hydrology

81. The total catchment area draining into the Díli drainage system is approximately 278 km2,

with a direct catchment area on the southern side and an indirect catchment of the Comoro

and Bemos Rivers.

82. The four natural river systems (Comoro, Maloa, Kuluhun, and Santana), as well as various

urban drainage channels, help transport almost 90% of the storm runoff and discharge it into

the sea (DSDMP, 2012 c), but are dry throughout the year except for a few days after a rain

occurrence, due to the permeability of their rocks and soil.

83. However, due to the combination of steep slopes in the upper catchment, intense rainfall

pattern in short duration, and inadequate drainage infrastructure, flooding occurs in various

parts of urban area of Díli almost every time it rains (see Figure 10). Roads become runoff

conveyors as actual drainage channels or rivers are no longer able to contain high-level

runoff flow generated by upland catchments.

84. Data available from DSDMP (2012b) explains that the project area is not a highly flood-prone

area. The project area is located entirely in the Díli alluvial plain (see Figure no.10) which

explains the results of flood modelling and mapping for 2-year return period storm events in

the area showing a smaller incidence of patches of flood areas along the northern boundary

of the project area (estimated at around 5% of the project area), coinciding with the Comoro

road alignment, which lacks appropriate drainage, coupled with the irregular topography of

the surrounding areas. The remainder 95% of the project area is considered flood safe.

85. Underneath the project area lies the Díli Aquifer, an alluvial aquifer located under the City of

Díli, a 23km2 surface area comprised of merged delta sediments of the Comoro River and the

lesser Maloa and Benamau Rivers. It is approximately 9km east to west and 2 to 3km north to

south, situated between the airport in the west and Santana in the east, in the north, the coast

of the Wetar Strait and the mountains to the south.

86. Furness (2011) explains that the sediments rise from sea level at the coast to about 100

metres at the junction of the Comoro and Bemos Rivers. The thickness of the aquifer varies

from a few metres in the south to over 100 metres in the north, possibly up to 200 metres at

Point Comoro.



87. The mainly sandy soil types in the Díli catchment area result in a high infiltration capacity of

the catchment. This means that groundwater recharge close to the mountainside is high. It is

also suspected that 60% of the water flows in the upper region of Comoro River seep into an

underground river system or Díli Aquifer, which eventually contributes to ground water

recharge in Caicoli (Furness, 2011).

88. The Díli Aquifer provides about half of Dili’s water supply from 12 production wells, mostly

drilled during Indonesian times with two more constructed in recent years to depths of 50 –

100m. Each well operates at an average rate of 8l/s for periods of 12 to 24 hours per day.

They are grouped in two wellfields; at Comoro and Bidau to Bedois.

89. The aquifer is layered with a shallow unconfined aquifer up to 10 metres thick that is used for

many private well supplies throughout Dili, and deeper aquifers that are confined and are

artesian towards the coast, at least during the wet season. The shallow aquifer is almost

universally bacterial contaminated due to seepage of wastewater. This contamination is due

to the lack of sanitation conditions in Díli (see 4.3.5). The deeper aquifers are

uncontaminated and contain fresh water with no known contaminants.

90. The volume of fresh water stored in the Dili Aquifer is estimated to be 225 million cubic

metres and the annual recharge from runoff from the mountains and stream infiltration is 2.5

million cubic metres, estimating groundwater storage under the city of approximately 100

years. There is also data available to conclude that there is an annual fluctuation in

groundwater levels that roughly corresponds to the wet and dry seasons and associated

recharge from the Comoro River (Furness, 2011).

91. This, in addition to a considerable amount of rejected recharge from the rivers during the wet

season (necessary for salt water intrusion prevention), opens for the opportunity of more

abstraction than the current rates.

92. Based on the limited knowledge of the aquifer, there may be scope for expansion of the well

field over time and the wells can be placed in required locations due to the continuous nature

of the aquifer (National Directorate for Water Resources, 2011).

4.1.5. Air Quality

93. Available Air quality data in Dili town, taken during an Environmental Impact Assessment

(EIA) study (ASPEC, 2010) reveals that human activities, mainly transportation and solid

waste burning within the city area are the main sources of air pollution in the city.

94. Testing at the time showed that one of the most main sources of pollution was dust (PM10),

due to the vehicular movements on the dirt roads, which cause significant dust dispersion.

The construction works identified at the time are of the same nature and typology of those

currently underway throughout the city and, to a lower extent, of those proposed by the

project, which contribute to the high levels of dust particulates in the surrounding atmosphere.

4.1.6. Noise

95. Available Noise quality data in Dili town, also taken during an Environmental Impact

Assessment (EIA) study (ASPEC, 2010) reveals that daily human activities, particularly

transportation, within the city area, are the main significant sources of noise pollution.

96. This testing was conducted at 5 points throughout the Díli urban area, particularly at one point

in the Central Business District of Díli, which revealed that the overall noise tested was 69.8



dB(A)1, reading above the permissible day and night time sound levels for Residential,

Institutional and Educational Receptors (between 50 and 55 dB(A)), albeit below the

permissible day and night time sound levels for Industrial and Commercial receptors (70

dB(A)) (UNTAET, 2001a).

97. This analysis allows for some conclusion on the particular sensitiveness of the project areas,

given that most of the project area is within or adjacent to residential areas and noise level at

and around the project alignment may be high during the construction period, albeit

temporary.

4.1.7. Mineral Resources

98. Extensive deposits of industrial rocks and sand and gravel are found all over the territory of

Timor-Leste, with varying varieties and quality of sand and gravel due to the different river

beds in which they are deposited, derived from the erosion from the watershed areas, as

explained in 4.1.1.

99. The Comoro River watershed area is endowed with this characteristic large and thick

alluvium deposit, making it the main aggregate source area for extraction in the Díli area. It is

composed of poorly sorted material of schistose and quartz sand and gravel and igneous

mafic rocks, embedded in a silt and clay matrix (Carvalho&Lisboa, 2005)

100. This riverbed is exploited by a large number of artisanal miners, sorting out sediments by

means of hand screen grading. The artisanal procedure for exploiting these resources is not

expected to cause relevant modifications to the streamline dynamics.

101. Additional sources of materials in Díli are quarries in the periphery of the urban area, parallel

to the foothills along the Comoro watershed or its neighbouring District Liquiça.

102. The main use for the aggregates from these sources is for the building industry, where sand

is used for concrete and cement bricks, while gravel is used for road building and repair.

103. Considering the country’s expected development and the required technological

enhancements to progress the construction sector there may be a need to reformulate the

overall process to avoid pervasive environmental disturbances.

4.2. BIOLOGICAL PROFILE

4.2.1. Flora, Fauna and Protected Areas

104. In 2000, the United Nations Transitional Administration of East Timor (UNTAET) identified 15

protected Wild Areas in the country, regulated under UNTAET Regulation No.19/2000 –

Protected Areas.

105. Recently, the Government of Timor-Leste has undertaken a study on the feasibility for the

expansion of the existing Protected Areas Network (Grantham et al, 2011), identifying several

other new areas candidates for official environmental protection and is considering a new

piece of legislation that will increase the existing network of 15 to 30 protected areas.

1 Analysis of the technical report on noise testing in Díli concluded that the results were based on 1-hour tests at each location. Due to the scarcity of technical clarity in the report, the assumption is that

these tests were done during the day, given that the resulting value of 69.8 dB(A) is more closely

representative of daily noise values and thus of Díli city daily activities in 2009.



In the Díli area, only the Cristo-Rei and Hinterland area (in the East) is officially classified as a

protected area by the regulations in effect, while Important Bird Area (IBA) no. 13 – Tasitolu

has the necessary characteristics for protected area classification, but has yet to be declared

officially as such (see Figure 12).

106. The current project intervention area does not lie within, border or is even close to any

declared protected areas or any areas of particular ecological significance, as defined by

UNTAET Regulation no. 19/2000 – Protected Areas (see Figure 13).

107. Also, given the mostly urban character of land use in the project area, the same approach

applies to areas of biological significance, since it is characterized by dispersed urban

vegetation with occasional patches of small-scale agricultural activity for the purpose of

private harvesting and consumption.



Figure 8. Simplified structural map of the Geology of Timor-Leste



Figure 9. Geology of Subzone 1 of Zone 1



Figure 10. Flood prone areas in Dili (Source: DSDMP, 2012b)



Figure 11. Protected Areas and IBAs in the Díli Urban Area (Source: UNTAET Reg. 19/2001, Grantham et al., 2011)



Figure 13. Protected Areas and IBAs in or around Subzone 1 of Zone 1 Water Distribution Area (Source: UNTAET Reg. 19/2001, Grantham et al., 2011)



4.3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

4.3.1. Demography

108. Díli is the most highly populated district in Timor-Leste with reportedly 234,331 people at

5.6% average growth rate per annum between 2004 and 2010 based on the 2010 census.

The growth rate for the whole country is about 2.4%. Rapid urbanization resulted in the 18%

of the total population living in Díli in 2010 compared to 2004, which was only about 11%. The

sex ratio in Díli is 113 as a result of more men moving to Díli in searching of job opportunities

(Census, 2010).

109. In 2010 the population density of the Dili District overall was 64 people/ha (36,812 ha), but

there are areas where the density is over 100 people/ha.

110. Population in the project area’s Subdistrict has grown 63% since 2004, resulting in the 4

aldeias that compose the project area totalling a population of 5936 persons, approximately

9.1% of Suco Comoro, 5.6% of Dom Aleixo Subdistrict and 2.5% of Díli District.

111. Equally, Household numbers follow the same growth tendency in the project area, having

grown 32% since 2004, totalling 1275, approximately 12.8% of Suco Comoro, 8.0% of Dom

Aleixo Subdistrict and 3.6% of Díli District.

4.3.2. Occupation and Land Use

112. Land use for the catchment is mainly urban and rural land. Urban land consists of offices,

shops, housing or residential areas, schools, bridges and roads, while agricultural

developments and secondary forests resources are located mostly in the non-urban lands in

the upper catchment.

113. Land cover in urban areas is dominated by urban land use. There is a need to control the

influx of urban growth in Díli in order to minimize negative impacts by reducing closures and

use appropriate land zoning so that land development can be regulated, limiting the rate of

increasing imperviousness and minimizing potential negative impacts.

114. The project is wholly located in a mixed urban and rural area, with the purpose of providing

water to mostly low density housing plots, some commercial and Government areas and a

few industrial plots along the western bank of the Comoro river.

115. Elevation of the area overall averages 20 metres above sea-level and maintains this elevation

up to the project border at the west, where the foothill of the mountains are located (see

Figure 7).

116. Díli has two types of development, which are commercial and private. It is the primary trading

and commercial centre of Timor-Leste. Commercial development includes accommodation,

shops, administration and embassies. People tend to have or build single large houses on

their private land but also some large villages occupied by many dwellings on shared land

(DSDMP 2012a)

117. The issue of land tenure and difficulties in legalising land titles or ownership remains an

unresolved problem, although a draft Land Law is presently being discussed for

Parliamentary approval. Currently, there is no clear and approved legal framework for land

and property ownership and it becomes one of the major obstacles for private investment in

Timor-Leste.



118. Many Timorese property holders that had land rights issued during Portuguese and

Indonesian eras have had their houses destroyed after the post ballot independence.

Customary land tenure system has also created conflicts in some parts of the country. This

issue is becoming worse after illegal occupancy of Timorese and Indonesian properties post-

1999 when the owners fled the country in 1999 or during the 2006 unrest in the country.

119. Housing is of a mixture of formal and informal areas. Regular settlements of housing rows

exist along roads and in planned housing areas, with more irregular settlement patterns in the

areas behind roads and informally developed areas. Housing materials are mostly permanent

materials (particularly along main roads) and the remainder as mixed construction and

temporary materials.

4.3.3. Income Status and Expenditures

120. Timor-Leste is categorised as a lower middle-income country because of its rapid economic

growth but it depends heavily on its oil and gas reserves. The Human Development Index

ranked Timor-Leste as 147 out of 187 countries worldwide compared to the value of 0.426 in

2004, which was 140 out of 177 countries (DSDMP 2012a).

121. Widespread poverty remains an issue with many families living on less than $1/day. The

Multidimensional Poverty Index, related to education, health and standard of living in

households, identifies 68% of the population in Timor-Leste as suffering from multiple

deprivations, and an additional 18 per cent are vulnerable to multiple deprivations.

122. Around 41% of the total population lives on less than a dollar per day, which is approximately

the same percentage as in 2001. Unemployment and employment vulnerability is estimated

to be as high as 70%. Particular vulnerable groups include those with little or no income who

are mainly reliant on relatives or charity, those who are illegal occupants who may be

threatened with eviction and female-headed households without other support.

123. There is a huge difference income earning between people who live in rural areas compared

to those who reside in Díli. Around 71% of population who lives in Díli has the highest wealth

quintile in the country, given that women and men in Díli are much more likely to be engaged

in sales and services and in professional, technical, and managerial occupations, and are

least likely to be engaged in agriculture (DHS 2010).

4.3.4. Physical Cultural Resources

124. Very few physical cultural resources have been identified in the project area, with a few

catholic churches such as Igreja Nossa Senhora Auxiliadora and Dom Bosco Training Center

in the surrounding area. No Lulik (sacred animistic) sites were identified in the area. None of

these locations fall within the proposed rehabilitation alignment.

125. One relevant religious site is the “Cruz Ilas” Groto, whose boundaries border the project

rehabilitation alignment.

4.3.5. Health and Hygiene

126. Despite the Government’s and development partners (such as JICA and the ADB) efforts in

water distribution and quality improvement in Díli, for the past 10 years, overall the Díli water



supply system in place experiences high leakage, low or variable pressures and intermittent

supply with water available between 1 to 16 hours a day.

127. Within the Project area 43% of the households have water connections, with 15% of having

24-hour reliable water supply.

128. In the context of sanitation, specifically domestic wastewater, a WSP (2010) household

survey found that 94% of households in Díli had their own toilet (often combined with bathing

facilities), 5% use a neighbour’s toilet and 1% defecate in the open. The technical survey

provided similar results. Households without toilets could number as many as 3,500 in Dili.

129. Low coverage of safe piped water supplies and low service levels have adversely affected

living conditions in the city, where deteriorating water quality, unsanitary conditions and lack

of personal hygiene are often blamed for the incidence of malaria and dengue, diarrhoea and

helminth infection, all reported to be high in Díli.

130. ME (2007) reported that four of the five leading causes of admissions to the National Hospital

in Dili were upper respiratory tract infection, malaria, gastro-intestinal diseases, and internal

parasites, with a prevalence rate of diarrhoea among under-five year olds of 20% in Dili.

131. Diarrhoea is the second highest cause of death for children under the age of 5. According to

DHS (2010), numbers of diarrhoea prevalence in urban areas are higher although some

precaution must be had regarding interpretation of these results. DHS (2010) concluded that

dwellers in households with higher income and education, as well as those with improved

drinking water and that do not share toilet facilities, may recognize diarrhoea as a serious

childhood illness and report it, increases prevalence numbers.

132. While there are still insufficient health services with inadequate supply of equipment in the

clinics or hospitals and getting access to these services is very limited, there is a local health

centre within the project area, for primary health care purposes and daily medical

appointments. Major emergencies are taken care of in the city’s only National Hospital Guido

Valadares , 8 Km distance from the project area.

133. DHS (2010) states that the differences in treatment-seeking behaviour between rural and

urban or child gender are very small. The major difference may lie in the fact that children in

higher wealth quintile dwellings are more likely to be taken to existing health facilities or

providers for diarrhoea treatment than other children, but overall around 68% of children with

diarrhoea incidence had their parents seek advice or treatment from an existing health

provider or facility.



5. Environmental Impacts

134. The proposed water supply project is expected to produce some environmental impacts in the

project area, during the pre-construction, construction and operation phases, although, given

the conditions of the terrain and the proposed project areas, there are overall attenuating

circumstances that reduce the significance of the several environmental impacts within the

environmental components

135. The environmental impacts pertaining the project have been predicted and are described

below.

5.1. IMPACTS ON PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

5.1.1. Land System

136. Possible trench failure, slope disturbances, vibrations, excavation and removal of topsoil or

excavated material usually affect the local land system, during project construction.

137. However the project works will be located in an urban area and pipe laying will be done on

pre-existing public road alignments, where existing water supply infrastructure is located. This

means that the original land structure has been changed previously and thus additional

impact by this rehabilitation will be minimal.

138. Also, the topography of the project area in general is relatively flat and the minor scale of

trench width and depth will not surpass 0.8 m and 1.0 m, respectively, characteristics that do

not influence slope stability and reduce the probability of erosion or land collapse after the

project is finished.

139. Therefore impact to the land structure system itself will be minimal.

5.1.2. Water Resources

140. Physically, the project activities will not significantly affect any streams or watercourses along

the proposed rehabilitation alignment.

141. However, most of the project area is located in major natural drains that drain out the surface

water within the project area from South to North and ultimately drained out to the Comoro

River.

142. Minor change in water quality of the surface run-offs are anticipated during the

implementation of the projects but these will be temporary and will last for the construction

period only. Possible activities, which may influence the water quality, are listed below.

a) Haphazard disposal of solid waste by workers nearby the construction site and

carrying out the wastes by the surface runoff in to the water body in the vicinity

during construction period.

b) Sediment and excavated materials may be transported to the water bodies by

rainwater.

c) Leakage and disposal of oil and grease from the construction equipment.

143. The existing estimates for groundwater availability in the Díli Aquifer (as explained in 4.1.4)

are considerable, both in volume and in the medium to long term and allow for expansion of



the field wells and boreholes. The water volumes intended for extraction for supply support to

the project area are predicted not to impact significantly the Díli Aquifer, within the vicinity of

the project area or in the context of the Aquifer itself.

144. Additionally, water quality issues will be minimal given extraction is proposed for depths close

to 100m, where water quality is at its best, therefore avoiding contaminated shallow tube

wells at depths up to 30m.

5.1.3. Air Quality Impacts

145. Air disturbance levels from the project activities are expected to be below the normal levels of

other activities surrounding the rehabilitation alignment.

146. Dust, particularly finer particulates, can present respiratory problems when inhaled, as well as

potential allergic reactions. In addition, dust can cause nuisance problems when redeposited.

147. Trucks and tractors used for transportation of materials and the construction activities may

release dust and other particulate matters through exposure of the surface soils and sands to

machinery movements. Stockpiles of excavated soil may also cause dust nuisance.

148. Machinery from the project may emit smokes and gaseous pollutants but these will be in a

very limited quantity and will be immersed in everyday activities within the area, such as

normal traffic, thus not causing adverse impacts on the environment.

149. All predicted impacts will be temporary and last only during the construction period.

5.1.4. Noise Impacts

150. Noise will inevitably be generated due to the use of machinery and motorised equipment.

Noise can have a significant effect on the environment and on the quality of life enjoyed by

individuals and communities, particularly at night time in residential and/or sensitive areas.

151. The use of trucks or any other types of carrying equipment for the transportation of

construction materials may cause vibration and noise, particularly in residential, institutional

and educational areas, such as religious places, schools or health posts, even though the

short term nature and scale of the construction works suggests that generated noise levels

will not be excessive or cause any major nuisances or inconvenience during the daytime, as

opposed to night-time when noise impacts will be more significant to the surrounding

community or environment.

152. Day or night-time, the noise induced by the machinery may be more significant to the

construction workers than the local community due to prolonged exposure time and noise

levels.

153. All of these impacts will be temporary and last only during the construction period.

5.1.5. Solid Waste

154. The waste generated by the construction works will be largely inorganic and will not be

excessive. There may be minimal impact from the project if the produced construction waste

(equivalent to domestic waste) is deposited in the public waste disposal and collection system

available throughout Díli. This system works mostly with 6m3 cement boxes for solid waste

collection that are usually full to the brim (due to the inefficient District collection system) or in

bad condition, allowing for the dispersal of the waste into the street, surrounding permeable



land and drainage system (and eventually to the river systems), due to the action of animals

(such as dogs and pigs) or even people working as waste gatherers that look for waste with

some sort of value (i.e: aluminium cans or PVC water bottles).

155. Some impact could also result from minor oil or lubricant leakages from faulty machinery

used in the project construction and the resulting contaminated soil would also become a

waste product required for disposal.

156. Appropriate environmental measures will be taken to avoid or reduce these impacts to the

temporary duration of the construction.

5.1.6. Mineral Resources for Construction

157. Construction work will require materials such as sand, gravel, boulder and others from the Díli

local area or from other sources elsewhere in the peripheral Districts. Obtaining such

materials can have potentially adverse environmental effects at their source such as dust

creation, land taken from quarrying works, dredging of sand, shale and gravel, landslides, etc.

158. The project will require these materials but the constructor will not extract them directly from

the source. They will be bought from local suppliers, where the supply of sand is likely to be

from Comoro River.

159. Given the relatively small scale of the project itself, it is unlikely that large quantities of

materials will be required and therefore the impact on the environmental sustainability of the

materials source will be minimal, provided the materials are obtained from appropriately

licensed and managed operations.

5.2. IMPACTS ON BIOLOGICAL SETTING

5.2.1. Flora and Fauna

160. There are no trees marked for felling, no identified areas with rare/endangered plant species

and only scattered plants of local species exist within the project alignment, therefore no

significant impact is predicted on any significant fauna or flora.

161. The project alignment is in a predominantly urban area (mainly residential) and follows pre-

existing road alignments. Since it is not located within any ecologically sensitive area,

particularly protected areas or Important Bird Areas (Trainor et al, 2007), and its distance to

the nearest protected area border is considerable, there are no predicted impacts on any

existing Fauna or Flora, by the projects activities within the proposed project alignments.

162. Some loss of topsoil and vegetation cover (if any) may occur during the pipe laying works but

the extent of the effect of the loss of vegetation cover will be minimum or negligible.

5.3. IMPACTS ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPACTS

5.3.1. Occupation and Land Use

163. A major attenuating circumstance is that the work is to be conducted on street rights of way

or where public use has been established for a long time, such as existing water supply,

telecommunications or electricity infrastructure, which means that the terrestrial environment

has had significant urban development alterations and disturbances in the past. This reduces

the needs for acquiring new land or considering any resettlement issue.



164. Additionally, the environmental impacts of the project are limited in size and are temporary,

which, together with the relatively minor scale of the works and the geographical closeness to

available prospective contractors limits the need for major construction camps on-site and

reduces even more the scale and significance of the impacts on the usual land use

surrounding the alignment areas.

165. Impacts can arise during the laying out of the distribution system, such as obstructing

pedestrian and traffic movement with stockpiles of excavated soil, materials or the pipeline

trench itself, as well as disturbance to any physical or social infrastructure in the area, such

as government and private buildings, social and cultural establishments, schools, medical

service establishments or others.

166. However, the proposed project structures do not appear to disturb any physical or social

infrastructure in the area not is it foreseen that there will be a major increase in traffic as a

result of the proposed works, which would pose safety risks more than land use issues.

5.3.2. Physical Cultural Resources

167. The project alignments have been subject to previous recent excavation, resulting in less

significant or non existent archaeological and cultural impacts within the existing area or that

surrounding the project alignments.

168. The only identified occurrence of possible cultural impact was at the “Cruz Ilas” Groto (see

Appendix 4, Photo no.12), whose boundaries border the project rehabilitation alignment, and

is considered as a probable impacted site.

169. The predicted impacts to this site pertains the integrity of the site infrastructure, regarding the

site walls and boundaries and possible structural damages, and reduction of access to the

sites during a weekend and/or religious holiday.

170. Given proper measure are taken by the project, these impacts will be minimal and temporary,

lasting only during the construction period.

5.3.3. Human Health and Safety

171. Worker’s health and safety is the most important factor during the project’s implementation

and operation, since the labor forces require undertaking works especially in heavy

equipment operations, bitumen works etc. and will be exposed to various safety risks and

health hazards.

172. Their health risk is also commonly associated with use of unsafe water supply sources and

poor sanitation conditions (lack of latrines and washing facilities), normally the cause for

endemic diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera etc.

173. There may also be possibility of accidents to people in the community surrounding the

construction due to trench excavations, traffic changes.

174. Overall, the project is expected to improve the quality of life of the local people in terms of

personal hygiene practices and health, by providing good quality water and improved

sanitation. With the improvement of water supply there will be a substantial reduction in the

occurrence of infectious diseases within the households of the project area.

175. However, suboptimal operation of the Project may create hazards in terms of overall delivery

of water, as people consuming water from such a source will become at a higher level of risk

than the majority of the population consuming other local sources water. This is because any


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