Preparatory Environmental Study Report

1. Title of the Cooperation Project and Names of Project Proponent

Title of the Cooperation Project: The Study on Mater Plan on Renewable Water Resources

Development in the South West Region in the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia

Project Proponent : Ministry of Water and Electricity (MOWE)

Main responsible Agency : Deputy Minister for Water Affaires, MOWE

2. Outline of the Project

（1） Background and Location of the Project

Saudi Arabia is a desert country with the mean annual rainfall of less than 100mm. More than 80%

of water is used for agriculture. The water resources mainly rely on non-renewable deep

groundwater (57% of the total use). The desalinated water (4%) is also a major source as it is used

only for domestic/drinking water. The government has a policy not to develop non-renewable

groundwater any more. In addition, the desalinated water is more or less costly. So it is necessary for

the country to develop alternative water resources. The south-west region is the only area, with

comparatively high mountains, where annual rainfall is over 500mm.

The Saudi Arabian government requested the Japanese government to carry out the study on water

resources development and management in the south-west region (five provinces; Makkah, Al Bahah,

Asir, Jizan, and Najran), with priority consideration on the development of renewable surface water

and shallow ground water. JICA dispatched a preparatory study mission to see the actual conditions

and discussed with the Ministry of Water and Electricity (MOWE) on the scope of work for the

Study. As of February in 2007, the JICA study on master plan is scheduled to start in mid. 2007.

（2） Present Conditions of the Study Area

① Water Supply and Sewage Facilities/Services

The water supply and sewage facilities in Saudi Arabia are developed well in Riyadh, the capital city.

But, in the other regions including the Study area, the diffusion rate of these facilities is relatively

low. And the rate of unaccounted for water including the leakage loss is high in most water supply

system and it is estimated at 20-30% in general.

The actual conditions of water supply and sewage are different by provinces, but the general

conditions in the Study area are described as follows:

• The water supply system is mostly poor at present. Only some cities have its water supply

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pipeline networks in some limited districts. The main water supply relies on water-tank

trucks in most districts.

• There are three kinds of water sources for the water supply. The locations of surface water

sources are limited as only some dam-reservoirs impound in the dry season. The

groundwater sources with wells are common in most districts and provinces. The

desalinated water is well used in the Study area, except Najiran province, for

domestic/drinking purpose.

• There are sewage systems only in a few cities at present.

• In every province, some water supply and/or sewage facilities are under construction at

present or to be constructed in the near future.

② Agriculture and Irrigation Facilities

The general conditions of agriculture and irrigation are as follows:

• There is only one comparatively large irrigation project in the Study area. The irrigation

project in Jizan province has a dam with impounding water for irrigation and the

irrigation area with canals and control structures. But, the system is not well used at

present.

• There are many private small scale irrigation systems with water source from wells.

• The government has been nurturing the development of agriculture by providing

subsidiary aids.

• There are no newly proposed irrigation schemes by the government.

③ Meteorological and Hydrological Monitoring

Meteorological monitoring

・ There are some meteorological observatories and/or rainfall stations in every province,

which are under management of MOWE. The records are collected at the MOWE head

office and compiled in the database.

・ There are the other synthetic 28 meteorological observatories with automatic recorders,

which may be under management of PME. Six of them are located within the Study area.

・ The observation and facility management by MOWE is generally subcontracted to private

companies; however there are also some provincial offices or staffs of MOWE in charge

of meteorological and hydrological monitoring.

・ The records are periodically sent to the MOWE head office. The consumables and spare

parts are sent to the sites from the head office in general.

・ In addition, some researches or studies of a project base established monitoring facilities

for respective purposes.

Hydrological monitoring

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・ There were some runoff-gauging stations with automatic recorders in every province in the

Study area, before nearly 20 years ago. However, all the stations are abandoned due to

flush-out during flood, vandalism, thief, and/or poor maintenance/repair.

・ There are no runoff-gauging stations with automatic recorders at present.

・ There are some new staff gauge stations which are established mostly within recent some

years.

Groundwater monitoring

・ According to the information from MOWE, there are 11 wells in Makkah province, 9 wells

in Jizan province, 9 wells in Najran province, respectively for observation purpose. There

are no observation wells in Asir and Al Baha provinces.

・ In general, only the groundwater level is measured, but electric conductivity is also

measured in Jizan province.

・ SGS（Jeddah）office also carries out groundwater monitoring in some areas near Makkah

City.

Water Quality monitoring

・ MOWE prepared water/soil quality standards with the management regulations in 2006 for

domestic/drinking water, effluent from sewerage treatment plant (STP), and soil for

agricultural uses.

・ The PME office also has water quality standards for effluent to public water bodies and to

drainage pipelines/channels.

・ There is water quality laboratory (or laboratories) in every province. The water quality

monitoring is carried out for domestic water (water supply network, water trucks, etc.),

water sources, and effluent from STP.

④ Surface Water Resources Development

Existing dams

Dam is the major surface water development structure. There are approximately 230 dams in the

country at present. The summary of existing dams as of 2004 is shown in the following table:

Summary of dam numbers and reservoir volume in each province (2004)

Province Main purpose Total Reservoir

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Domestic

water

Flood

control

Recharge Irrigation number volume

Million m3

Asir* 14 16 34 64 378.1

Makkah* 2 3 20 25 108.0

Jizan* 1 1 1 3 51.4

Najran* 3 3 6 88.2

Al Baha* 1 3 21 1 26 31.2

Riyadh 18 42 60 80.4

Medina 6 10 16 80.7

Qassim 1 2 3 3.1

Hail 3 4 17 9.3

Jouf 3 3 5.2

Total 18 57 146 2 223 835.6

（Note：Provinces without dams are not shown. Provinces with * are located in the Study area）

The following points are found from the table above:

・ Number of dams in the Study area is 124 in total, which is 56% of those in the whole

country.

・ Asir province is the No.1 province in numbers as well as reservoir volume.

・ The total reservoir volume in the Study area is 656.9 Million m3, which is 79% of that

in the whole country.

・ More than half of existing dams have the main purpose of recharge and the second one

is flood control, then the third one is domestic water use. There are only two dams

with the main purpose of irrigation. But, it is noted that many dams have actually

multi-purposes.

Although it is not shown in the table, there are two existing underground dams, which are located in

Makkah province.

Dams under construction and planning

In recent some years, many dam projects started suddenly after nearly 20 years period without

remarkable development, mainly due to economic recovery. The dams under construction and/or

planning in the Study area are summarized in the following table:

Number of Dams under construction or planning in the Study area

Province Existing dam Under construction／ Total

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Planning

Asir 64 70 134

Najran 6 12 18

Jizan 3 13 16

Makkah 25 15 40

Al Baha 26 18 44

Total 124 128 252

It is more or less surprise that the number of new (under construction／planning) dams will be more

than that of existing dams. There are several underground dams included in the number of new

dams.

Shallow Wells

There are a lot of shallow wells in every province. Most wells are located in wadi bed or low lands.

Some wadis have many wells in a group, which is developed as a project. The number of wells

varies from 10 to 80 in general and the depth varies 10 to 40m in general at each wadi. The

pumping and pipeline facilities are connected to each well. The water pumped up from wells is sent

to towns, villages, or water injection facilities to water-tank trucks, but through storage tank,

distribution reservoir, or purification plant, according to the individual conditions of water uses and

locations.

⑤ Deep Ground Water Development

The deep groundwater is the major water source in Saudi Arabia. The groundwater is generally used

for agriculture/irrigation.

There are nearly 100 thousands wells registered in MOWE. But, it is informed that there are also

many wells, which are not registered yet. Majority of wells are private uses and agricultural uses.

There is no reliable detailed information for wells in the Study area.

Although the non-renewable deep ground water is the major water source for the country, the uses of

water from deep groundwater are not common in the Study area, except very limited locations, due

to hydro-geological formation in the south-west region.

⑥ Desalination Plants and Reclaimed Water Use

Desalination Plant Development

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Saudi Arabia has history of desalination water development since 1928. The Saline Water

Conversion Corporation（SWCC）is the national monopoly and has 30 plants (at 15 locations) in the

country in 2005. The desalination plants are mostly located together with power plants, of which

power is used for the desalination process and the extra power is sold to Saudi Electricity Company

（SEC）. The list of desalination plants in the Study area is shown in the following table. All the

plants are located in front of the Red Sea.

SWCC Desalination Plants in the Study Area

Name of Plant Capacity

（m3/day）

Power

(MW)

Ⅱ 37,916

Ⅲ 75,987

Ⅳ 190,555

RO. 1 48,848

Jeddah

RO. 2 48,848

771

Ⅰ 191,780Al Shoaibah

Ⅱ 390,909

497

Al Shuqaig Ⅰ 83,432 62

Al Birk Ⅰ 1,952 －

Ⅰ 430Farasan

Trans. １ 1,075

－

Total 1,071,732 1,330

These plants generally use Multi-stage Bush evaporation process (MSF), of which energy efficiency

is relatively low. There are only two plants in Jeddah with Reverse osmosis membrane process (RO),

of which efficiency is higher. The cost performance of recent desalination plant has been improving ,

especially for large facilities, of which production cost (without transmission cost) is approximately

1 SR /ｍ3.

The locations and the supply volume from desalination plants in 2005 are summarized in the

following table:

Supply and Volume of Desalinated Water（2005）

Location to be supplied Supply volume

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（MCM/year）

Jeddah 225.0

Mekkah 92.6

Taif 40.0

Abha 11.1

Khamis Mushiyt 10.8

Ahud Rufidha 3.4

Al Birk 0.6

Farasan 0.5

Total 384.0

There are the following two new plants to be constructed:

Desalination Plant to be constructed

Name Production

Capacity

（m3/day）

Power

（MW）

Al Shoaibah Ⅲ 880,000 900

Al Shuqaig Ⅱ 212,000 900

The Al Shoaibah Ⅲ will supply water to Taif and Al Baha and the Al Shuqaig Ⅱ to Jizan, and Ahud

Al Masarihah(Asir).

Reclaimed Water Use

In the 8th five year national development plan (2004-2009), it is estimated that annual reclaimed

water uses may be increased from 260MCM to 380MCM, which becomes nearly 2.08％ of the total

water demand in the country. The reclaimed water is generally used mainly for agriculture and

secondary for tree plantation, industrial water, and landscaping. There are only three existing

governmental projects of reclaimed water at present; in Riyadh, Hassh, and Taif. The study on

reclaimed water uses in the country has started in January 2007 by Italian consultant.

3. Legal Framework of Environmental and Social Considerations

(1) Related Organizations

Presidency of Meteorology and Environment （PME）is the representative agency in charge of

environmental management in Saudi Arabia. The general introduction of PME is explained below:

・ Direct organization under Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General

・ PME is composed of Meteorological division and Environmental division. The

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Environmental division is called Meteorology and Environment Protection

Administration (MEPA).

・ MEPA is composed of several departments for EIA, Standards, Human Ecology,

Natural Resources, Sustainable development, License/Permit/Punishment/penalties,

etc. in addition to provincial offices.

It seems that PME/MEPA does not have sufficient capacity for environmental management as the

national representative agency, due to shortage of experiences.

Besides PME/MEPA, there are some other organizations/agencies related to environmental

management as listed below:

• National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD): A

committee for natural environmental conservation in Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Agriculture: Management of pasture, forest, livestock, national parks,

etc. by Natural Resources Department

• Ministry of Water and Energy: Environmental management of water resources,

water supply, sewerage, electrical power. But no environmental section exists yet.

• Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources: Environmental management of

mineral resources and industry related to petroleum.

• Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affaires: Management/services for hygiene in

urban area, solid waste, cleaning and landscaping in urban area

• Ministry of Health: Management for disposal of medical goods, consumables,

and equipment.

• Ministry of Interior: Management and coordination of emission gas from vehicles.

The coordination among ministries is also carried out by this ministry, if

necessary.

• Ministry of Culture and Information: Campaign for enhancing Environmental

consciousness

The following agencies/offices may be also related to environmental management, although the

information of function is not yet obtained:

・ Saudi Arabian Satandards Organization

・ Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu

・ King Abdulazis City for Science and Technology

・ Saudi Aramco

・ SABIC(Saudi basic Industry Corporation)

(2) Environmental Laws and Environmental License

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The detailed information of environmental laws in Saudi Arabia could be obtained from neither

MOWE nor PME, possibly due to shortage of available information. The former is the executing

agency of the Study and the latter is the representative agency of environmental management in

Saudi Arabia. PME just showed「General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation」,

which was prepared in 2006, as the representative environmental laws and regulations. It was also

explained from PME that no other environmental guidelines may be available in Saudi Arabia.

It was, however, found later that “General Environmental Regulations and Rules for

Implementation” does not gazette yet. That is, the regulations and rules are still not effective to be

used officially. In addition, no governmental offices/agencies follow or use yet the PME regulations

against the PME’s expectation. However, it is expected that the PME regulations may be officially

approved in the future (2007 according to PME). Some reference points in the regulations are

presented as follows:

・ Licensing agency is a respective governmental agency/ministry in charge of project

implementation.

・ Implementation agency of a project has to establish the detailed regulations and standards for

environmental management in competent field and carry out environmental impact assessment

in consultation with PME.

・ Implementation agency of a project has to take countermeasures for mitigation against

anticipated adverse impacts.

・ The EIA is required to be carried out at feasibility study stage. But, the requirement of EIA is

decided in reference to categories-lists shown in the regulations.

・ The existing project also has to improve the current conditions within 5 years following to the

regulations.

・ The Violations and penalties are described relatively in detail for strict management.

・ Environmental protection standards are shown for air quality and water quality (effluent).

・ There are three categories of project for requirement of environmental impact assessment and

documents. The First category is for a project with anticipation of no definite impacts, the

second category is for some significant impacts, and the third category is for serious impacts.

The types/kinds of project for respective category are also listed. However, it seems that

review and improvement of the lists is required, mainly due to insufficient explanation in scale,

definition, conditions, etc.

Note: The Guideline for Classification of Industrial and Development

Project, a part of General Environmental Regulations and Rules for

Implementation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prepared by PME,

is attached for reference as Appendix (5 pages).

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4. Outline of the Location

(1) Natural Environment

The total Study area is approximately 370 thousands km2 and nearly１7% of the whole country. But,

it is nearly equivalent to the whole area of Japan.

The south west region, the Study area, is extended along the Red Sea and the mountain range is

located along the coastal line. The temperature and rainfall varies generally by altitude of location.

And the vegetation also varies according to the altitude in general. There are different ways to divide

the area such as the following examples:

(a) Six divisions based on altitude and vegetation

・ Coastal plain：El. 0～300m

・ Foothills：El. 300～1000m

・ Lower escarpment：El. 1000～1600m

・ Upper escarpment：El. 1600～2200m

・ High mountains：El. 2200～3000m

・ Rain shadow slopes：El. 1700～2200m

(b) Two divisions by mountain ridge

・ West side area of the mountain ridge line: Area between the Red Sea and the

mountain ridge line (Hijas mountains on the north and Asir mountains on the

south), which is located nearly 100km away from the sea

・ East side area of the mountain ridge line

(c ) Three divisions based on topography

・ Coastal plain along the Red Sea

・ Mountain range/area (Hijas and Asir mountains)

・ Desert/semi-desert area located on east side of the mountain range

Among the above divisions, the natural conditions are to be described for the three divisions as

follows:

Coastal plain：

Along the Red Sea, there is coastal plain with approximately 20 – 30km wide, although it is

narrow at some locations.

The coastal plain has less rainfall than the mountain area. The annual rainfall is generally less

than 200mm and less than 100mm in the areas close to the coast. Accordingly, the vegetation is

rare except urban or residential areas, where artificial sprinkling of water is common. The

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typical land of coastal plain is desert or semi-desert except areas near towns/villages or wadis.

There are many wadis coming from the mountain area, but most of them have no flow for

whole year and some of them have no channel, as the flow is generally submerged in the coastal

zone.

The wadi bed is usually dried up and there is flow only a few times (2-5 times) in a year, when

relatively heavy rainfall occurs in the basin. The flow period is usually only from some hours to

a few days. Some wadis have no flow at all in the lower section for whole year. However, there

is submerged underground water in wadis within a few meters from the bed. And there are

bushes and grasses in such places. In addition, it seems that the soils layers has relatively high

water- retentivity, from viewpoints of observation in the field.

It may be comfortable to stay in the coastal plain from November to February, however, it is

very hot in the other months. The temperature exceeds 40℃ in July and August.

In addition to the landside, it may be necessary to pay attention to the seaside along the coast.

According to the information from PERSAGA, the regional organization for the conservation of

the environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Red sea is renowned for their diversity of

ecosystems, habitats and species, the number of endemic species and their bio-geographic

significance. Along the coastal line of the study area, there are coral reefs at many locations.

Mountain range：

In the north of the Study area, the Hijas mountains with approximately El. 1000m at the peaks

run along the coast. The altitude of mountain range becomes relatively lower, El. 600m near

Makkah City. The Asir mountains, with the peaks between 2000 and 3000m in altitude, are

extended to the south from the Makkah area to the Yemen side. The area of higher altitude

（2500～3000m）forms relatively steep slope. Especially on the Red Sea (west) side, the

altitude goes down sharply to nearly 1000m. But the altitude becomes higher on the further

west to 1500～2000m in elevation. Then gentle slope is formed from the low mountains of El.

700-1000m to the coastal plain, although some low peaks of mountain/hill interrupt on the way.

On the east of the mountain ridge, the mountain slope is comparatively gentle as the elevation is

high in the desert, nearly 1000m at a location nearly 200 km away.

The mountain range in the Study area is a precious land for the country of Saudi Arabia. In

summer, many people visit for escaping from very hot weather in the most other areas of the

country. In addition, the annual rainfall is generally 300～500mm, which is much more than

that of the other areas. There are forest areas, which are also significant as natural resources for

the country.

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Desert/semi-desert area on the east：

The desert extended on the east side of the mountain range continues to the Persian (Arabian)

gulf located on the east end of the country. The desert area does not have remarkable value for

land uses, as far as neither oil nor groundwater source is found. There are many wadi-routes

even in the desert area, but all of them disappear on the way.

(2) Protection/Reserve Area

It is informed that areas and numbers of trees/plants and animals were diminished in early 20th

century by human activities. The government has special concern for recovering the natural

conditions as much as possible. The mountain range of the Study area is notable for such objective,

due to its different climate and topography from the other areas.

There are the following kinds of protection areas in Saudi Arabia:

・ Pasturage Protection Area

・ Forest Protection Area

・ Wild Animal Protection Area

Besides the above classification, the current information on the protection areas in the Study area is

described as follows:

• There are national parks/natural reserves in the mountain range of the Study area. The

representative one is the Asir National Park, where the forest extends widely.

• NCWCD established special protection areas. The following five areas are located in

the Study area:

・ Farasan Island(Jizan)

・ Raklah(Asir)

・ Shada (Al Baha)

・ Araq Bani(Najran)

・ Mahazat Saki(Makkah)

• Forest protection areas are mainly located in Asir and Al Baha provinces.

• There is an old traditional protected area called “Hema” in the Study area.

• Al Baha National Park will be newly approved soon as a new protection area.

• Many activities such as camping, cutting, etc. are prohibited in these protection areas.

In addition to the protected area presented above, there is Farasan Islands Marin Protected Area

approximately 45 km offshore from Jizan town. There are 12 marine protected areas identified in the

Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by SAP, Startegic Action Programme for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

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(3) Socio-Economic Environment

The area and the population in respective province (Makkah、Al Baha、Asir、Jizan、and Najran) of

the Study area is summarized in the following table:

Area and Population in the Study Area

Province Area

（ｋｍ２）

Total

population*

Foreigner Density

（person/km２）

Makkah 148,500 5,797,971 2,211,406 39.04

Al Baha 10,690 377,739 49,496 35.34

Asir 68,460 1,688,368 253,609 24.66

Jizan 13,470 1,186,139 192,464 88.06

Najran 129,875 419,457 70,768 3.23

Total 370,995 9,469,674 2,777,743 25.53

Source：Statistical Yearbook, 2005

*: Including foreigner population

The Study area has population of approximately 9.5 million (2005), which is nearly 37% of the total

population of the country. The province of Makkah has the largest population in Saudi Arabia, as

there are three large cities; Jeddah(3.5 million)、Makkah（0.8 million）、Taif（0.5 million）. In addition,

there are nearly 2 million Makkah pilgrims every year and nearly 1 million illegal sojourners in the

province.

The province is divided by city and districts. For example, the Makkah province is divided into 21

cities/districts.

The Jeddah City with international seaport and airport is the commercial & industrial center of the

western Saudi Arabia. It is also the entrance city to the holy land of Makkah. The provinces of Al

Baha and Asir (Abha City) are recently popular as summer resorts and the commercial business

become more active. The Jizan province has comparatively larger agricultural production, in

addition to the commercial activities. The Najiran City is developed as traffic hub site and

agriculture center in the Najiran valley.

In the coastal plain, there are many cities/towns/villages, represented by Jeddah City with 3 – 4

million people and Jizan City, a capital city of Jizan province. These cities/towns/villages are

generally located away each other with certain distance between them. The land uses are generally

limited in and around these cities/towns/villages and along main roads. There is a good paved road

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connecting the north and the south in the Study area along the coast. From this coastal road, there are

not a few roads connecting to the mountain side. The road condition is generally very good and high

speed of driving is common outside town areas. In the sea side of the coastal road, there are some

large development areas for desalination plants, fish/prawn ponds, etc. along the coast.

In the mountain range, there are Abha City (the capital of Asir province), Al-Baha (the capital of

Al-Baha province), Taif City (the third city in Makkah province). These cities has individual airport.

The major cities and towns are well connected by paved roads.

In the desert area, Najran City is the representative location, as it is the capital of Najiran province

and the center of traffic, agricultural, and commercial activities. Najiarn City is nearly 300 km away

from Abha City.

5. Categorization and its Reason

The project to be proposed by the Study is tentatively assumed as “Category B”

It is quite difficult to assume the project features/conditions proposed by the JICA Study. The Study

area is very wide and there are various alternatives considerable for planning of water resources

development.

However, it may be sure that dam projects are included in the proposed plan, as it is required to

develop non-renewable water resources. The dam development is the most effective measure in

general in the Study area, as the wadis (rivers) in the Study area have stream flow only during or

after heavy rainfall.

In addition, a dam project gets usually great concern from the environmental view points.

Accordingly, it is assumed for this report that the proposed project by the Study is a project with dam

construction.

A dam project is usually categorized as “A”, sometimes without specific considerations. In other

words, the name of dam has been painted in lurid colors in these 10 or15 years. It was considered as

a kind of environmental destroyer from typical environmental specialists, who do not have enough

experiences of engineering aspects of dam.

It is, however, decided at this study stage that a dam project in the Study area in Saudi Arabia should

be Category “B”.

A dam project, as a representative type of water resources development to be proposed by the Study

may not cause any remarkable impacts, due to overall considerations including the following points:

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・ The project site is located in a rural district without inhabitants and remarkable land

uses are not seen.

・ It is also not considerable to have adverse impact to present eco-system. The natural

conditions may be rather improved by the project.

・ Accordingly no significant adverse impacts are predicted at present. Only possible

slight impacts may happen during the construction, if any reasonable management is not

done for safety, waste disposal, hygiene, water contamination, etc.

・ However, the definite project plan is not known yet and there are some unknown site

conditions. Accordingly it is considered necessary to carry out the environmental survey

and assessment study (IEE at M/P level) to confirm the impacts and propose measures

to mitigate some slight impacts if any.

6. Provisional Scoping

(1) Hearing for Scoping

The hearing survey was carried out to the following people:

・ Some engineers and managers of MOWE head office and provincial offices

・ Consultants for supervision at dam construction sites

・ Contractors at dam construction sites

・ Engineers/specialists of some engineering/environmental consulting companies

Actual situation of Environmental Impact Assessment

Saudi Arabia already ratified most major international conventions of environmental fields, such as

Conventions on Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, and Law

of the Sea and Ozon Layer Protection. That is, the country has good consciousness for

environmental protection. However, it seems that actual environmental management is not so active,

possibly due to magnificent land comparing with the population and rapid economic development.

As already mentioned, the establishment of environmental laws and regulations are not sufficient yet.

So the actual situation of environmental impact assessment is more or less poor as explained as

follows:

・ 「General Environmental Regulations and Rules for Implementation」is prepared in 2006 and

does not gazette yet.

・ No government agencies including MOWE provide the attitude of cooperation to use or refer

to the “Environmental Regulations and Rules”. That is, almost all the ministries neglect the

regulation by PME at present, nevertheless PME considers that the all the projects have to

follow the regulation even if it is not yet officially authorized.

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・ MOWE is the implementation agency of dam construction. There are many dams constructed

in the past and under construction at present. However, the environmental impact assessment

has never been carried out. And there is no schedule of EIA for the future.

・ The Study on reclaimed water development projects in Saudi Arabia by Italian consultant was

started in January 2007, however, there is no schedule of EIA for the study.

・ In Riyadih, no EIA was carried out for the construction of large project of sewerage treatment

plant. There are large scale sewerage projects of expansion and extension at present, however,

EIA is not required to be carried out.

・ GTZ is now on the way of a large scale groundwater development study; Wajid Water

Resources Study. Although the consultants of GTZ explained that all the necessary studies are

included, there is no schedule of EIA in their TOR.

Hearing Information from Director General of MOWE provincial offices

・ In Jizan province, there is no example of EIA in the past projects and it seems that the

necessity is also not identified. No information of projects has been given to PME in the past.

However, it is usual that some government agencies concerned hold meetings for discussion

about the project, including the environmental matters. As of now, no environmental license is

required for any projects by MOWE. PME has never send any explanation or documents

concerning the regulation or licenses.

・ (as a personal opinion) For projects by Makkah provincial office, it is considered necessary to

carry out the environmental impact assessment for sewerage project which discharges

contaminated water to public water bodies. However, many other projects may be not required

to carry out EIA. If the EIA study is considered necessary, the study is carried out by a

consulting firm registered for environmental study. There is, however, no EIA reports prepared

for this office at present.

・ Al-Bahaｈ province considers that the environmental impact assessment study is not a matter

of the provincial office, but the head office, even if required.

From the actual present situation in Saudi Arabia, it may become a special case if the JICA Study

carries out the study of EIA or IEE. Then it is noted that the EIA study may be necessary at

Feasibility Study Stage (not at the M/P stage), even if “Environmental Regulations and Rules” can

be officially approve in the near future. That is, the EIA or IEE has to be carried out only for the

convenience of the JICA side.

Concerning the Stakeholder Meeting, it is unusual to have such meeting at least during the study

stage. The meetings are held among government agencies concerned, when any issues are identified.

There is no case for NGOs or local inhabitants to participate in such meetings. However, Saudi

Arabia is democratic in regard to listen opinions or desires from the local people. It often happens

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that a development project is implemented after their petition to the authorities concerned.

Accordingly there may be no objections from the government side to have stakeholder meetings.

MOWE informed, however, that it may be difficult to specify the stakeholders from inhabitants as

the proposed project plan is not precise at the M/P stage.

Hearing and Observation on Environmental Impact for actual Dam Construction

As far as the information from interview with some government officers and consultants, no

environmental issues/impacts were reported. They rather explained that a dam project is essential for

water resources development and may give positive impacts to the environment from natural,

economic, and social viewpoints.

Issues concerning relocation of local people are usually most notable concerns in case of dam project.

But, such issue may not happen in Saudi Arabia, from the following observation and considerations:

• There are no inhabitants living in dam site and proposed reservoir area, as far as observed

during the site visit to nearly 10 dam sites(existing and under construction). In other words,

it is difficult for people to live in such location. Abha dam was the only site located in a

city area; however, it seems that there were no people when the dam was constructed.

People came to the nearby dam site after the dam construction because of good landscape,

improvement of traffic network, and availability of drinking water.

• It is dangerous to live in wadi valley, as a flood comes suddenly. And people know such

conditions.

• There is no spring water in mountain area, except very limited locations. Domestic water is

generally available in locations with water supply pipeline or tank-truck services. There

are no services to such isolated locations.

• Even if there are some people living in a proposed dam site, it is expected that they have

no objection to relocate. They may not have strong instinctive hold on housing location as

there are too many wide lands available to use.

• People understand the importance of water resources development.

(2) Screening and Scoping

(a) Screening

As already explained above, the environmental impact assessment is not required and actually not

carried out at least for the governmental projects for MOWE. However, the screening and scoping is

to be carried out as it is required from the JICA guideline.

Although it is difficult to assume the project features and environmental conditions at this time of

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study, it is decided to assume a dam project of which environmental descriptions are summarized in

Table 1. These assumptions are prepared in reference to the actual conditions of 5 or 6 dams of under

construction, where the site visit has been carried out during the preparatory study.

Descriptions

Dam construction for water resources development （Note:The following conditions areassumed for scoping purpose.) ; Location (Wadi Hali basin, Assumed location of dam site isshown in Fig 1, Basin area is approximately 4,000 km2), Fill type dam (approximately 80mhigh, approximately 2 million m3 in embankment volume ), Spillway (concrete, designdischarge 8,000m3/s), Foundation grouting (30m deep), Quarry sites of embankmentmaterials and aggregate are located nearby the dam site.

Local community No local people live in and around the dam site and the proposed reservoir area

LanduseNo particular landuse is seen except temporary traffic on wadi bed. But, there are existingwells located in wadi bed. The water pumped up from the wells is transmitted to a town inthe downstream area for domestic uses and then distributed to the other towns/villages bywater-tank trucks.

Economy／Traffc No remakable econimic activities are seen as no inhabitants live there, although there is atown about 10 km downstream.

Topography andGeology

The wadi bed is approximately 200m wide and there is hard rock steep slope on the bothbanks.There is nealy 20 m deep gravel layer on the wadi bed. The valley sections more orless vary in the reserpoir area, but the landscape and the geoplogical conditions are basicallythe same in the whole valley.

Coast & Marine The wadi mouth is located in the Red Sea, of which coastal line has straignt or gentlealignment and with comparatively narrow sand beach.

Valuable species offauna & flora andecosystem

Most areas have scarce vegetation with some bushes only in local parts. No animals are seen,although a group of monkey occasionally appears and some reptiles such as lizards may livethere. There is no information about any endangered species. There are no aquatic plants.There are, however, coral reefs located along the coastal line in the Red Sea. Some corals areendangerded species to be protected. In Fig 2, the general location map of coral reefs andmarine protected area is shown for a reference.

Air pollution, Watercontamination,Noise, etc.

There are no such pollution sources due to no activities which cause any pollutions.

Currentcontermeasures

Not necessary to take countermeasures.

In Saudi Arabia, it is generally considered that dam constuction is important for waterresources development and positive environmental impacts may be expected.

NaturalEnvironment

Pollution

Other remarkable points

Table 1 Descriptions of Assumed Project

Item

Project Features

SocialEnvironment

（Assumed Project：Dam development. The conditions are assumed in reference to some examles of actual damprojects under construction at present.)

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The screening is carried out by using a check list commonly used for JICA study. The results are

summarized in Table 2. It is judged that there are no items with definite significant impacts, but the

following four items are considered to be “Not sure” at this stage.

・ Health and Hygiene

・ Waste disposal

・ Disaster/accident

・ Fauna and Flora (especially marine fauna)

・ Water pollution

The reasons of “Not sure” are described in the table. As a conclusion, it is considered necessary to

carry out the IEE study, although no significant adverse impacts are predictable.

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Descriptions Impact Remarks

1 Relocation and land acquisition Relocation and/or land acquisition due to projectfacilities or construction works. No No inhabitants

2 Economic activity Decrease of production. Change of economicstructure. No No economic activity

3 Traffic/Public facilities Traffic congestion, Accident, Effect on publicfacilities No No minus conditions, transportaion system becomes

beneficial.

4 Division of Communities Separation of local communities due to blocking oftransportation system. No No local community/village.

5 Archaeological/CulturalHeritage

Decrease or deterioration of archaeological/culturalsites. No No objective sites

6 Vested Right Right for fishery, water use, logging ,etc. No No uses at peresent

7 Health and Hygiene Degradation of hygienic conditions caused bywaste disposal and vector insects. Not sure

No impacts have happened at dam sites in the past.But, the careful management during construction maybe required.

8 Waste Disposal Construction waste/debris, contaminated mud,sludge, general wastes, etc. Not sure

Careful control may be required for disposal ofwastes generated by construction activities andoperation of facilities.

9 Disaster/Accident Increase of danger on ground collapse, land sliding,construction accident, etc. Not sure

The slope in damsite is stable against land-sliding andslope failure. But, it may be required to manage wellfor safety control during construction.

10 Topography & Geology Change of significant land forms and geologicalfeatures caused by earthwork, etc. No

Land may be reformed at dam site, but noremarakable impacts are predicted due to no landuses at present. Earthquake is not induced byimpounding as the fiundation is geologically stable.

11 Soil erosion Soil erosion originated by runoff throughearthworks, logging , etc. No Surface soil is thin or nothing. Rock outcrop is

common in dam site.

12 Ground waterWater contamination or reduction of groundwatercaused by excessive pumping, seepage ofcontaminated water, etc.

NoPumping of groundwater, if any, is carried out at alocal area. No impacts on water level and waterquality in the surrounding areas are predicted.

13 River & Lake Change of discharge, velocity, riverbed due toreclamation, new channel construction , etc. No

No adverse impacts may happen by changes of flowdischarge, velocity, and wadi bed.

14 Coast Scouring or sedimentation at coastal area due tochange of drifting sands and waves. No No impacts to coastal environment by a dam project

have been imformed in the past.

15 Fauna & Flora Reduction of breeding and extermination ofendangered species. Not sure

inthe land. There are corals living along the coast in theRed Sea.

No endangered/protected speies of fauna and flora

16 Climate Climate change arising by implementation of largescale development of earthworks and structures. No

No remarkable/significant changes of nature, whichmay cause climate changes.

17 Landscape Change of landscape due to earth works and newstructures. No

Present landscape has no remarkable valuable sites.The landscape may be much improved by the project.

18 Air pollution Air pollution caused by exhaust gas and poisonousgas from vehicles and factories. No No remarkable quantity of emmission gas may be

occurred.

19 Water pollution Water contamination caused by inflow of soil,chemical substances, oil, etc. Not sure

Low level contaminated water is discharged duringconstruction. Some countermeasure to reduce thecontamination may be desired, although the impactsmay not be singnificant, even if happens.

20 Soil contamination Soil contamination caused by runoff and diffusionof effluent, poisonous substances, etc. No No toxic substances are discharged to the ground.

21 Noise/Vibration Noise and vibration caused by running vehicle,pumping operation, etc. No

Some noise and vibration may happen, but it does notmake any nuissance as no inhabitants living nearbydam site.

22 Ground SubsidenceGround surface subsidence caused by change offoundation condition and lowering of ground waterlevel.

No Ground suvsidence may not happen by the projectimplementation.

23 Odor Occurrence of exhaust gas and odour. No Odor may not happen during construction andoperation.

Yes

It can be assumed that no significant impacts mayhappen, however, it is desirable to take carefulenvironmental management during construction forreducing the level of slight impacts. Accordingly, it isrecommended to carry out the IEE study.

Pollu

tion

Overall assessment：Necessity of ＩＥＥ or ＥＩＡ

Table 2 Screening

Items

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(b) Scoping

The scoping was carried out as summarized in Table 3. Assessment is done by the following 4

categories/classifications:

・ A: Significant adverse impacts are anticipated

・ B: Slight adverse impacts are anticipated

・ C: Unknown (subject to further verification)

・ D: No or Almost no adverse impacts are anticipated

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ImpactLevel Reasons

1 Relocation and land acquisition D No inhabitants living nearby damsite and in proposed reservoir area.

2 Economic activity D No remarkable economic activity at present.

3 Traffic/Public facilities D No minus impacts are considerable. Accessibility and transportation in and around dam sitemay be improved.

4 Division of Communities D No impacts will be found on this item as any villages are not located in and aroud the projectsite.

5 Archaeological/CulturalHeritage D No objective sites or structures exist in and around the project site.

6 Vested Right D Neither water uses nor legal vested right is reported in the area.

7 Health and Hygiene CNo adverse hygiene impacts are reported in the existing dam construction. However, carefullmanagement may be required during construction stage as many people from various placescome together.

8 Waste Disposal CManagement and treatment of wastes will be necessary accompanied by construction worksand operation of facilities. The impacts may be within a permissible level, if suchmanagement/treatment is made properly.

9 Disaster/Accident C The geological and topografic conditions are stable enough against land-sliding and slopefailure. But, the possibility of accidents during construction can not be denied.

10 Topography & Geology D No negative impacts to topography and geology are anticipated. No induced earthquake mayhappen due to stable rock foundation.

11 Soil erosion D No soil erosion is anticipated. Soil layer is generally shallow and outcrop of rocks is typical

12 Ground water D Pumping of groundwater, if any, is carried out at a local area. No impacts on water level andwater quality in the surrounding areas are predicted.

13 River & Lake D No adverse impacts are considered due to changes of discharge, flow velocity and wadi bedmovement.

14 Coast D The impacts to coastal line did not happen in the past cases of dam construction.

15 Fauna & Flora CIt was informed that no endangered species might live in and aroud the project area. Thereare, however, coral reef along the coast in the Red Sea. The impacts to the reef are not sure atthis tme without detailed study of proposed plan.

16 Climate D No impacts to climate changes are sure in case of like this type of project and scale.

17 Landscape D There is no valuable landscape at present. The landscape may be rather improved.

18 Air pollution D No remarkable emission of polluted air/gas is anticipated.

19 Water pollution C The possibility of water contamination may be negligibly small, however, the waterconatamination may happen during the construction if any proper measeres are taken..

20 Soil contamination D No toxic substances will be discharged on soils in the project area.

21 Noise/Vibration D The noise and vibration during construction is limited and the residential areas are locatedsufficiently away from the working site.

22 Ground Subsidence D No ground subsidence is expected due to type of construction works and rock foundation.

23 Odor D No odor is expected during the construction and after starting the operation as no odorsources are considered. .

Pollu

tion

Table 3 Provisional Scoping

Items

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There are no items categorized as “A” or “B” and most items are judged to be “D”. However, the

same 5 items selected as “Not sure” in the screening are categorized as “C”.

These 5 items, however, are considered to be categorized as “D”, if proper countermeasures are

taken during the construction stage. The overall evaluation for these 5 items is summarized in Table

4.

Impact Necessary survey/study/mitigation Remarks

7 Health and Hygiene C

Study on hygiene facilities such as toilet,waste disposal system, waste waterdischarge system, water supply, and clinicto be used during construction.Recommendation on periodical healthexamination, consultation, education forhygien and health.

Significant health and hygiene issues maynot happen, but careful control duringconstruction may be required . Manyworkers come to dam site duringconstruction from different locations notonly in Saudi Arabia but also in the othercountries.

8 Waste Disposal C

Study and survey on disposal/removal ofsurplus soil and facilities used forconstruction. Planning for waste disposalgenerated by construction workers is alsonecessary.

No remakable toxic substances may be usedfor the project. No remakable significantimpacts on waste disposal are predicted.But, it may be required to take carefulcountermeasures to avoid possibility ofslight impacts.

9 Disaster/Accident C

Safety measures may be required forstability of excavated slope, use ofexplosives, fighting during flood, trafficaccident, falling/collapse at constructionsite.

Construction site is topograpfically andgeologically stable, but accidents byconstruction activities may happen if carefulmanagement on safety is not sufficient.

10 Fauna & Flora C

The survey of locations, area, andconditions of coral reef in the coastal seanear the river mouth is required in the areanear the mouth of a river, where a damconstruction is proposed by the study. Themitigation measures such as constructionof guide dike of flood flow, control ofdischarge and sediments at the dam site,etc. are taken if it is considered necessaryand effective. In addition, monitoring ofcoral conditions is also carried out

At this time of study, it is quite difficult toknow the details of proposed plan(s),including location. It is usual that there areno coral reefs living near a large river mouthas the conditions of water quality, especiallysalinity, are not good for corals. However,without any survey, it may be reasonable toconfirm the actual condition at feasiblitystudy in the future.

19 Water pollution C

Analyses of water quality ofgroundwater/wells before the construction.Periodical monitoring of water qualityduring construction. Study on constructionmethods and treatment facilities forreducing contaminated water dischargingfrom the construction site.

Significant impacts on water pollution maynot happen if proper control of waste waterdischarge is carried out. However, it maybecome social issues, if any watercontamination is found in wells locateddownstram.

Table 4 Overall Assessment （for Study/Survey and Countermeasures）

Items

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(3) Envisioned Mitigation Measures and Alternatives

It seems too early to study on mitigation measures and alternatives at present stage. In addition, it is

judged that most items are categorized as ‘D’, for which no impact is anticipated, and only some

items are categorized as ‘C’, which may not cause any significant impacts if proper management is

carried out during construction stage.

However, due to the guideline by JICA, it is required to make assessment even before the proposed

plan is prepared, to find any environmental issues at earlier stage of the project. Accordingly the

tentative general considerations are made as summarized as follows:

Envisioned Mitigation Measures

① Mitigation measures for Health and Hygiene

• Health check before employment of labors/workers

• Periodical health check at project site

• Inspection and observation of daily activities and movement of labors

• Education and guidance to workers for self control of health and hygiene

• Provision of hygiene facilities (toilet, water supply, etc.)

• Cleaning of the project site

• Hygienic dining and food supply

② Mitigation measures for Waste disposal

• Establishment of waste collection and treatment/disposal system

• Cleaning of the project site

• Periodical inspection and monitoring (at the project site and the disposal site)

• Removal of aged or abandoned facilities, equipment, and materials

③ Mitigation measures for Disaster/Accident

• Strict guidance and control of traffic rules

• Insurance of accident

• Education of safety at construction site

• Establishment of organization and measures of activity at emergency case of accident

④ Mitigation measures for Fauna and Flora (Especially for Coral Reefs)

• Sediments discharge control at the dam site

• Construction of guide dike at the river mouth for preventing direct flow to a coral reef

zone.

• Construction of a reservoir to regulate the flood discharge and sediments in a coastal plain

between the dam site and the river mouth.

⑤ Mitigation measures for Water contamination

• Strict guidance and control of waste water discharge

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• Inspection of water sites

• Provision of Water treatment facilities

• Proper maintenance of facilities and machineries

• Periodical water quality monitoring and analyses

Alternatives

The proposed plan is not sure yet at present, but it is unlikely to have significant adverse impacts as

far as proper management is carried out during the construction stage. Accordingly, it may be not

reasonable to consider any alternatives of a proposed dam project from environmental view points.

Alternative study may be required mainly from engineering and economic viewpoints.

(End of Text)

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