2. Why environmental compliance matters

1. 2. Why environmental compliance matters Location  Month Year

2. Why environmental compliance matters Learning Outcomes • Appreciate the range of potential development mistakes that can result from overlooking environmental compliance • Be familiar with the essential elements of successful environmental compliance • Be able to apply these core themes to situations in your work experience Why Environmental Compliance Matters

3. VIDEO Why Environmental Compliance Matters

4. GROUP DISCUSSION I: YOUR EXPERIENCE • What are your personal experiences working at the intersection between development and the environment? • What went right and what went wrong? Why Environmental Compliance Matters

5. Why are environmental and social Mistakes made? Environmental and social mistakes are usually a function of incomplete planning and design • Sometimes obvious • But may be challenging to foresee, predict To account for this, it is important to: • Remain aware of potential adverse impacts from projects on ecosystems, environmental resources, and environmental quality • Proactively seek to limit adverse impacts, particularly where they affect health and livelihoods. Why Environmental Compliance Matters

6. Why are environmental and social Mistakes made? • Sometimes obvious • Other times, may be challenging to foresee THEREFORE 1. Remainaware 2. Be proactive Why Environmental Compliance Matters Why Does Environmental Compliance Matter?

7. Getting things right isn’t so easy, even when the issues are clear An open pile of mixed medical waste behind Juba hospital drains to on-site agricultural fields behind the mortuary. Why Environmental Compliance Matters

8. Getting things right isn’t so easy, even when the issues are clear Open-air abattoir with a USAID-branded gate and uncontrolled effluent & waste disposal features Why Environmental Compliance Matters

9. Getting things right isn’t so easy, even when the issues are clear Why Environmental Compliance Matters

10. 30+ year old obsolete USAID-branded pesticides. Proper disposal starts at $3,000 to $5,000 per ton. Costs rise for highly toxic pesticides. Costly site cleanup also needed after the barrels are removed. Getting things right isn’t so easy, even when the issues are clear KOH (highly corrosive) in jar Why Environmental Compliance Matters

11. Getting things right is even harder when cause and effect are complicated Ponds excavated for fill to build up ground level in villages for flood protection. Ponds provided a source of organic carbon which settles to bottom of pond, seeps underground and is metabolized by microbes. Creates chemical conditions that cause naturally occurring arsenic to dissolve out of sediments and soils and move into groundwater. Created conditions for mass arsenic poisoning when villages switched from surface water to “cleaner” tube wells. Today ~3000 Bangladeshis die each year of arsenic-induced cancer and 2 million live with chronic arsenic poisoning Why Environmental Compliance Matters

12. Ignoring economic-environmental linkages Getting it wrong:PATHWAYS to ENVIRONMENTAL FAILURE As the previous slides show, there are many ways to get things wrong Failure to plan for the effects of increased scale Failure to understand system complexity Common design problems But most can be traced to common design problems Designing for average conditions Why Environmental Compliance Matters

13. Getting it Right: The essential elements of environmental compliance Environmental compliance avoids development mistakes by assuring A systematic and system-based approach with respect to environmental aspects of the activity, incorporating Prevention-orientation Technical best practices for development Why Environmental Compliance Matters

14. Getting it right: Prevention orientation • Being prevention oriented starts with DESIGN • DESIGN starts with the choice of means • Environmental impacts are one factor considered Objective: Improve agricultural productivity Possible means: Change use of agricultural inputs Introduce improved crop varieties Change cultivation practices How do we choose? Why Environmental Compliance Matters

15. Technical best practices for development: Getting it right • Apply general best • development • practices Build beneficiary capacity & stakeholder commitment Technically sound design Adjust what we do as results come in Design for local social & policy context to environmental aspects of the activity Anddesign for climate change! Why Environmental Compliance Matters

16. Development Best practices: Designing for Climate Change Environmental applications Climate change impacts projects Climate change will affect future baseline conditions Projects must be designed to be ROBUST to these conditions Even small-scale projects should seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions/increase sequestration and reduce climate vulnerability in the local area in a manner consistent with their development objectives Projects impact climate change While individual projects are rarely significant contributors to global climate change, climate change is driven by the sum of many small actions This is USAID Policy! per EO 13677 & ADS 201 Why Environmental Compliance Matters

17. Development Best practices: Designing for Climate Change Best practices reduce greenhouse Gas emissions • Use alternative energy (e.g. solar photovoltaic, windmill water pumping) • Improve thermal performance in building design • Buy carbon offsets for international travel reduce climate vulnerability in local area • Prioritize water efficiency to reduce project’s contribution to area’s future water stress increase sequestration • Tree planting • Land management (e.g., sustainable grazing, cropping) Soil carbon measurement by hand in Senegal Why Environmental Compliance Matters

18. Getting it right: Adapting to climate change in India • Agricultural areas in India suffering from lack of rain and dry soil as result of global climate change • With USAID support, farmers in some Indian villages learned to dig small ponds—dobhas—to capture and store monsoon rainwater for crop irrigation during dry months • Increased paddy yield—“five times bigger” according to one farmer Why Environmental Compliance Matters

19. How is this environmental? • To help farmers with water efficiency, USAID is promoting an affordable soil moisture sensor. This $8 device enables farmers to monitor soil dryness and determine water need for crops Why Does Environmental Compliance Matter?

20. EXAMPLES OF DEVELOPMENT-ENVIRONMENT SUCCESSES AND FAILURES • About 13,000 farmers in Punjab use these sensors and have cumulatively saved 21 billion liters of water and 3.6 million kilowatt hours of energy • With a USAID-supported mobile app, farmers use phones to access weather and crop updates, critical information as climate change alters familiar weather patterns • Mobile app is also used to teach farmers about planting techniques that eliminate need for flood irrigation and conserve water Why Does Environmental Compliance Matter?

21. GROUP DISCUSSION II: YOUR EXPERIENCE Thinking back to the example you gave at the start of the session, • How did you approach the challenges at the time? • How would you “get it right” in the future? • Think both in terms of prevention orientation and technical best practices Why Environmental Compliance Matters

22. Resources at www.usaidgems.org • The USAID Global Environmental Management Support (GEMS) website contains valuable information and resources on environmental compliance, management, capacity-building, and sound design • Resources include visual field guides and sectoral environmental guidelines Why Environmental Compliance Matters