POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTALAND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF SMALL SCALE, RURAL GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT

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1 2 Nw Zaland Gothrmal Workshop POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTALAND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF SMALL SCALE, RURAL GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT JANE MARGARET LENISTON' 'PB Powr, GENZL Division, Auckland, Nw Zaland T. PLN (Prsro), Jakarta, Indonsia SUMMARY - Rcnt studis and xploration of small scal 5 rural gothrmal dvlopmnt potntial in Eastrn Indonsia hav stablishd baslin data to assss th potntial nvironmntal and social impacts if such dvlopmnts progrss to production stag. Th potntial nvironmntal impacts of th Ulumbu Mini-Gothrmal dvlopmnt wr minimisd bcaus of th small 'footprint' of th drilling oprations and th short-trm abstraction of watr from th local rivr. A watrshd managmnt plan was rcommndd to invstigat how activitis can continu without sacrificing th nvironmnt. Th potntial social impacts wr idntifid and fforts wr mad to promot community involvmnt and addrss any issus raisd. Road divrsions and of a watr supply and sanitation systm wr carrid out on bhalf of th projct for th local community. Small scal, rural gothrmal dvlopmnts prsnt an opportunity in which many groups and communitis can bnfit whilst minimising th dtrimntal impact on th nvironmntand th local inhabitants. 1. INTRODUCTION On of th main aims of small-scal 5 off-grid gothrmal dvlopmnts is to provid powr for rural and isolatd communitis which ar currntly dpndnt on importd for powr gnration. Ths small-scal dvlopmnts hav not bn viabl du to high start up costs in rlation to th output. Rcntly thr hav bn concrtd fforts to minimis ths costs (g. improvd drilling tchnology, modular plants tc) to mak such dvlopmnts attractiv to govrnmnts and indpndnt powr producrs (IPPs). In rcnt yars thr hav bn a numbr of fasibility and fasibility studis carrid out on gothrmal prospcts in Eastrn Indonsia fundd by th Nw Zaland Ministry of Forign Affairs and Trad (MFAT). Ths studis focusd on providing powr to rural communitis far from any distribution ntwork. Ths studis not only includ scintific rconnaissanc and invstigations, but also sociological and nvironmntal impact assssmnts. Thr aras which wr invstigatd rcntly in Eastrn Indonsia ar: Ulumbu Gothrmal Prospct, Flors Island; Hu'u Gothrmal Prospct, Sumbawa Island and Sokoria Gothrmal Prospct also on Flors Island (Figur 1). Each ara has uniqu faturs and potntial but thr is a common link whr impacts of dvlopmnt ar assssd on an nvironmntal and sociological lvl. This papr concntrats on studis undrtakn at th Ulumbu fild (Figur 2) as this fild is th only on to hav progrssd to th drilling phas ,...,..,, I I I I I I Figur 1. Location map of Ulumbu, Hu'u and Sokoria in Eastrn Indonsia 2. ULUMBU GEOTHERMAL PROSPECT An conomic pr-fasibility study at th Ulumbu Gothrmal Prospct on th island of Flors was commissiond in 1987 by MFAT. This was followd in 1989 by a tchnical, nvironmntal and conomic fasibility study for a 3 powr dvlopmnt. Th Indonsian National Elctricity Company - Prusahaan Umum Listrik Ngara (PLN) commissiond th Univrsity of Nusa Cdanna to carry out an nvironmntal impact assssmnt study of th proposd projct in accordanc with Indonsian govrnmnt rquirmnts. Phas (drilling) was proposd and fundd by PLN with MFAT assistanc in th arly 1990's and drilling of thr succssful wlls was

2 compltd in MFAT commissiond th NZ Dpartmnt of Industrial and Scintific Rsarch (DSIR) Social Scinc Group to out a social impact assssmnt study during th priod Octobr - Novmbr Subsqunt nvironmntal and sociological monitoring activitis wr carrid out during th Phas Projct priod ). Compltion tsts and gochmical monitoring wr carrid out in 1996, howvr Phas th plant construction phas of th projct, has not bing initiatd du to th conomic crisis in Indonsia. supporting th dlivry of nrgy srvics and managing th rsourcs. Small dvlopmnts can bring mploymnt and walth to th local community, providing nw skills and thus incntiv for popl to stay in th villags rathr than work in th citis. Thr can also b spinoffs for th local community g. crop-drying, fish-drying, improvd watr supply facilitis. Elctricity sctor rform is transforming th potntial ownrs and oprators of small gothrmal projcts from public utilitis to Rform is intndd to improv th ovrall conomic of th lctricity sctor and may opn nw opportunitis for small gothrmal projcts in this mor comptitiv markt (Vimmrstdt, 1998). 4. OBJECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS Th introduction of gothrmal projct activitis to rural communitis may contribut to changs in popls livs as wll as thir surrounding nvirons. Figur 2. Ulumbu Gothrmal Prospct looking up th Wai Kokor vally, fumarols in background right. 3. WHY SCALE, RURAL GEOTHERMALDEVELOPMENT? Dmand for lctricity in dvloping countris is xpctd to grow rapidly in th coming yars. Th World Bank currntly considrs MW plants as but thr is a significantmarkt nich for much smallr unitsdown to th to 1000 rang. In rmot aras, far from th utility grid, villags and facilitis such as hospitals can rplac thir disl gnrators with small-scal gothrmal powr plants. Many popl in rural aras who do not hav lctricity ar willing to pay to gt it. Th rural poor oftn spnd 10-20% of thir disposabl incom on rlativly costly nrgy srvics g. disl for powr, krosn for light, dry-cll battris to run radios, and car battris to run Othrs uss for gothrmal powr bsids houshold includ small agro-ntrpriss, district hating/ cooling tc (Battocltti, 1998). Th local population must b a stakholdr in th projct for it to b succssful. Thy can provid th bst information and insight on rural nrgy issus. Cooprativs, organisations and.community organisations can b highly ffctiv vhicls for Th social assssmnt provids socioconomic baslin data and idntifis th possibl ffcts of th nrgy rsourc dvlopmnt on th nighbouring sttlmnts. Similarly, th nvironmntal impact assssmnt idntifis th risks and bnfits of dvlopmnt and stablishs baslin conditions for nvironmntal managmnt. A frqunt failing of projcts is th nonxcution of nvironmntal and sociological rcommndations stablishd in th arly phass of th projct. Policy rquiring that guidlins and rcommndations b stablishd (Environmntal and Sociological Impact Assssmnt Studis) is in plac, howvr, policy rquiring th implmntation of th rcommndations sms to b lacking, and most oftn no budgtary provision for implmntation of ths rcommndations is mad. 5. APPROACH AND METHODLOGY 5.1 Sociological Impact Assssmnt A broad consultativ approach was takn as xpctations and concrns from th local communitis did not want to b unncssarily raisd if th dvlopmnt did not vntuat. If a futur proposal wr to b considrd, a mor participatory approach would b rquird to discuss it. And if it was dmd that no projct was viabl, thn an xplanation to th communitis involvd in th study was rcommndd. 38

3 Consultation took plac with govrnmnt local administrators, ky informants in th thr diffrnt rgions and villagrs living clos to th rsourc. Obsrvations and discussion of daily lif, activitis and dvlopmnt in th villags, tourist aras and gnral district. Spcific intrsts wr considrd for analysis by gndr, ag, thnicity and rligion. A highly rspctd, local and indpndnt spcialist (Dr Ataupah) convyd information btwn th intrstd groups and PLN. His participation nsurd that information was convyd clarly and without bias. 5.2 Environmntal Impact Assssmnt Th approach takn for th assssmnt of nvironmntal impacts is to dscrib th gnral natur and charactristics of th nvironmnt around th gothrmal projct and thn outlin som of th ffcts and xpctd impacts du to dvlopmnt. Th intractions within an nvironmntal systm ar complx and so assssmnt of th impacts and consquncs of dvlopmnt is xtrmly difficult; th vidnc is howvr, that it is likly to b dltrious. Th gnral approach has bn to dscrib th nvironmnt in trms of a sris of intrconnctd systms - starting with physical paramtrs (such as climat), thn biological systms flora and fauna), followd by a commnt on th social systm. Th point is that th Ulumbu cosystm was not in quilibrium prior to th fasibility studis. Changs in th typs of land us and a loss of forstd aras has bn an ongoing procss and has bn, and is, bringing about rapid changs to th landscap. 6. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Th potntial nvironmntal impacts that wr idntifid ar listd blow - ths dirct and indirct impacts ar common for all thr aras studid in astrn Indonsia. Air mission ffcts to human halth, agricultur, and nativ wildlif and vgtation incrasd nois and vibration. Chang in surfac watr and ground watr quality and quantity. Thrmal and chmical shock to aquatic organisms Vgtation rmoval and habitat loss incrasd vgtation claranc du to improvd roading accss Th Ulumbu sit was visitd by an nvironmntal scintist bfor, and again aftr, drilling oprations. Th purpos of th first sit visit was to stablish a baslin of th surrounding nvironmnt prior to th commncmnt of drilling oprations. Anothr rason for th visit was to provid spcificrcommndations to rduc or mitigat th likly ffcts from th plannd drilling activity. At th sam tim, th opportunity was takn to obsrv currnt trnds and activitis within th watrshd. Th Ulumbu ara is bcoming incrasingly intnsivly cultivatd and rivrs ar xtnsivly usd for crop irrigation. Extnsiv aras of natural forst xist in th rgion at th uppr watrshds but thy ar bing ncroachd upon by popl xtnding thir agricultural practics or moving into th ara. Th land is stp and although th volcanic soils ar rlativly frtil, a significant amount of soil rosion is occurring. Thr is a significant amount of cash cropping bing initiatd, spcially vanilla orchids, coff, vgtabls and fruit. Th projct usd a limitd amount of watr fiom th local rivr (Wai Kokor) for a rlativly short priod of tim during drilling oprations. Givn th grat dpndnc on th rivr for irrigation of crops to th lvl that th local rivrs rarly actually flow to th sa, any sustaind abstraction from th stramswas considrd cautiously. Th natural hot springs discharg a quantity of brin into th Wai Kokor which can b dtctd at significant distancs. downstram. Th local popl do not lik th tast. Th construction of a small dam abov th natural hot springs had bn carrid out manually to minimis any impacts on th surrounding landscap. Had bulldozr accss bn mad, thn thr wr vry strong concrns that this would promot accss to that sid of th vally and a subsqunt xpansion of agricultural activity (dforstation). Although thr is a "wll-troddn path" bcaus of construction activity th ffct is only short trm, unlik th consquncs of a bulldozd vhicl track. Th watr supplypiplin fiom th dam to th wll pad had also bn hand-laid and is not prmanntly st up sinc it will b rdundant aftr th compltion of drilling. A smallr lin could b installd latr to mt th nds of th powr station. A wirbox was latr installd to nabl stimats of th rlativ amounts of watr bing abstractd and th normal volum of watr. Two pad sitswr clard in th vnt of ithr or both bing usd. Th ara comprisd approximatly x 70 m pr sit. Rconstruction of roading and bridgs fiom itng - Ponggok- Lal was carrid out. As Lal was th narst villag to th Ulumbu sit 39

4 distanc) a road divrsion was cratd so th incras in would bypass th villag. Compnsation was paid to th landownrs. Th hilly upland trrain has mant that both of th pad sits hav stp dgs that ar suscptibl to svr rosion. This sms to hav bn a particular concrn with th sit that was vntually chosn for drilling oprations whr th bank was likly to rod and dposit significant quantitis of sdimnt into th Wai Kokor. Such rosion would also rapidly rduc th ffctiv siz of th pad itslf. Efforts rduc this risk hav bn carrid out by th construction of tird gabions. Whil th supply of ston matrial for th construction of th gabions has bn a lucrativ activity for local farmrs littl ffort to stabilis th pad sits with vgtation was vidnt. Th biostabilisation of th pads and othr road cuttings is an important rmdial activity for th projct. On gabions and aras with stp slops thr nds to b mor than just surfac covring by grasss. For this to b a nursry should b initiatd in th vicinity of th pad sits. Th nursry should also start to grow othr spcis for of aras. Ths could includ som tr spcis and spcially crprs to quickly covr th slops. Th rasons bhind trs bing rcommndd ar that local rsidnts currntly grow a wid slction and valu thir produc and bcaus of this thy ar likly to tak an activ intrst in thir stablishmnt. Th local rsidnts ar also mor likly to continu to nsur th plants survival aftr th compltion of th projct. Concrns wr raisd ovr th ffcts of th rlas of noxious gass and high nois lvls during th drilling oprations and during th wll tsting programm. Throughout th drilling oprations th sit was quippd with a sophisticatd automatic gas monitoring and systm, and rgular opration safty drills wr carrid out in accordanc with national and intrnational safty rgulations. Th drilling ara was clarly sign postd as a dangrous and scurd ara, and scurity guards ar postd 24 hours a day. Th wll tsting programm was limitd to 6 vrtical discharg pisods, with a maximum duration of 5 hours, and on long trm continuous horizontal tst lasting 7 days. As xpctd th vrtical, unsilncd discharg tsts wr dangrously noisy at th wll sit, and xtrmly noisy at distancs of up to 1 kilomtr. All local rsidnts wr providd with disposabl ar plugs and wr prvntd fi-om approaching th wll sit during ths short trm tsts. Th long trm horizontal discharg tst was carrid out using a sparator mufflr which rducd th nois lvls. Th location of th wll sit within th Wai Kokor vally shildd all xcpt on non prmannt rsidnc or guard hous. At th narst kampung th nois of th long trm discharg was discrnibl at only background lvls. As indicatd abov, this tst was limitd to a priod of 7 days. Th fluids producd Wlls ULB-02 and ULB-03 hav provn to b dry stam, and rsrvoir nginrs indicat that ths wlls will likly continu to produc dry stam. Efflunt brin disposal, and th problms associatd with brin pollution of watrways will not b an issu. 7. POTENTIAL SOCIOLOGICAL IMPACTS Implmntation of th following aspcts will b rquird to prvnt and mitigat ngativ impacts and maximis th bnficial aspcts of gothrmal projct dvlopmnt activitis. Thr ar six issus around which rcommndations for managing potntial ngativ social impacts: Satisfactory and constructiv ngotiation on land us, acquisition and compnsation Assssmnt of sourcs, utilisation and protction of watr supply Appropriat placmnt of projct baslin Halth and safty standards and prcautions Gndr and situational spcific analysis of impacts on and community dvlopmnt Consultation with local communitis and spcial intrst groups Th initial sociological study of th thr aras was kpt low ky as th study tam wr rluctant to undrgo a full participatory study and run th risk of raising xpctations or concrns that a projct would vntuat. Howvr, as th Ulumbu projct has progrssd, th main issus raisd in th initial study can now b rassssd and ral impacts quantifid. Concrns wr xprssd in th initial fasibility study at Ulumbu, that th influx of prsonnl associatd particularly with th drilling oprations, would plac a considrabl strain on th limitd halth srvics providd to th ara, and upon watr supplis and sanitation. Th ntirly slf sufficint natur of th drilling opration, and th location of th drilling camp wll away from xisting populatd aras almost totally ngatd ths ffcts. Advrs halth ffcts wr avoidd by construction of sald sptic tank swag systms both at th drilling sit and at th drilling camp and total containmnt of all drilling fflunt on th drilling sit. 40

5 An MFAT fundd watr supply systm for local villags has significantly nhancd hygin and sanitation. This "spin-off' projct has not only providd clan watr and washing facilitis in th ara, but also watr flushd toilt facilitis connctd to proprly dsignd and constructd sptic tank systms. A training programm was introducd which addrssd th us of watr, hygin and sanitation, and th opration and maintnanc of th systm. Sinc compltion of this projct in Octobr 1995, ths facilitis hav bn in constant us. Whilst it is too arly to b abl to rport statistics on th rduction of hygin and sanitation rlatd disass, it is quit vidnt that th quality of lif in ths villags has bn considrabl nhancd. Too oftn gothrmal projcts, whil widly thought of as nvironmntally ar not intgratd within th local community and nvironmnt. Instad, a projct tnds to b suprimposd on top of it, that is, its dvlopmnt and opration occurs largly in isolation fiom th local popl and th local stting. Rlativly fw popl gain long-trm mploymnt (and thn usually mnial tasks) and th powr primarily gos to city industris tc. Unfortunatly in th cas of th Ulumbu Mini Gothrmal Powr Projct many of th arly rcommndations wr not implmntd. Howvr, funding mad availabl from th MFAT contributions to th Projct did nabl a comprhnsiv nvironmntal and sociological monitoring programm to b implmntd, as Dr Ataupah has actd as a community liaison prson for th projct and his involvmnt has wll as two significant "spin-off' social nsurd th succss of th consultativprocss: dvlopmnt projcts to b xcutd. Ths two "spin-off" projcts wr th installation of a His as of communication to all partis watr supply and sanitation systm to th (including fluncy in th Manggarai Kampung Lal and Kampung Wwo ara; and languag), so that th ffort ndd to obtain th construction of a sction of road to allow th or provid information was not an divrsion around Kampung Lal of all traffic impdimnt. moving to and from th Ulumbu sit. His crdibility within th rgion. H is viwd as not bing th projct proponnt but invstigat activitis continu, and th projct. without sacrificing th nvironmnt. Thr is th Th fact that whn concrns wr gothrmal th communitis, thy wr actd upon rsourc aftr powr production for crop drying or th compnsation). local popl in an activity with which thy ar dirctly familiar - farming, whil at th sam tim activity has on most occasions involvd projct and spcialists attnding th mtings both to provid information and assss community th World finding that th mphasis watrshd managmnt must b that Ths ar construction phas of th projct. oftn not only th asist to put in plac but thy may also hlp to dal with othr problms. For 8. ENVIRONMENTAL xampl, undrtaking soil and moistur SOCIOLOGICAL MONITORING consrvation practics on will incras food PLAN output and rais incoms, and will also hav an incidntal but hlpful ffct on downstram Dspit th xistnc of numrous agncis and sdimntation. managmnt authoritis in th ral managrs of th land ar local and villagrs. Constraind by povrty and lack of tchnology, thir nd for arabl land has profound ffcts on th land and watr rsourcs of both upland and lowland aras. Mounting prssur on scarc land and forst rsourcs, stmming fiom rising human and animal populations, is lading to svr nvironmntal dgradation throughout svral rgions of Indonsia. Whil not currntly so acut in Flors, th sam pattrn is likly to follow. Anothr possibility would b th us of th spnt stam for th dvlopmnt of a sris of hot as a tourist rsort. As mntiond arlir, th sdimntation lvl of th rivr is likly to b wrongly blamd on activitis of th powr projcts. Of gratr is th likly ffct of dforstationon th flow rat of th strams. Dforstation can lad to changs in th hydrological pattrn of stram flows and in this particular cas th concrn lis with rducd flows during dry priods. Thr is a grat dpndnc on crops irrigatd by th local rivrs. 41

6 Any crop loss du to drought or watr to irrigat, would probably rais suspicions about th projcts' influnc whil th ral caus is likly to b th gradual cumulativ ffcts of watrshd dforstation. 9. CONCLUSIONS Th nvironmntal and sociological concrns outlind abov hav mainly dalt with th arly stags of dvlopmnt. Futur ky concrns associatd with powr transmission corridors and powr gnration plant hav not bn covrd. Thr is a critical nd for th clar dlination of th fact that ithr a projct bcoms "part" of th community or is "apart" from th community. From this, th lvl and xtnt of support a projct placs on potntial social and conomic impacts and watrshd managmnt must b dtrmind. Th support of a watrshd managmnt study, stablishmnt of a r-vgtation nursry and programm, and possibl dirct us of th xcss hat for community crop drying would signal a dsir to bcom part of th community. Solutions ar rquird which giv priority to th idntifid dvlopmnt nds of th popl and includ thm in nvironmntal planning and rhabilitation. In ordr to gt th support of th communitis thr must b consultation, information, ducation and vidnc that th livs of th rural poor ar to b improvd as a rsult of th gothrmal dvlopmnt. Thir agricultural systms may hav to b intnsifid vn in ordr to rduc th amount of land ncssary to support xisting communitis. Off-farm mploymnt may hav to b incrasd to compnsat loss of land and contribut labour, skills and incom locally. Opportunitis for ducation, training and micro-ntrpris and small businss dvlopmnt could b cratd for th community in off-farm work. This could b achivd by proactivly including th communitis in contracts to provid support srvics with improvd and fairr markting schms institutd. Rsourcs family planning and halth srvics which ar availabl to th projct could xtnd to th communitis childrn and or during th cours of th projct with an aim for th communitis to dvlop thm in a slf sustaining way onc th projct dvlopmnt phas is compltd. offrs th potntial to srv as a rol modl in this rgion. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Th authors acknowldg th assistanc of PLN and MFAT and thir continud support in th Ulumbu Projct; and to Jonathan Palmr and Hnrik Atuapah for thir insight and commitmnt to rural gothrmal dvlopmnt. REFERENCES Battocltti, L (1998). Financing Off-Grid Gothrmal Powr Facilitis. Proc. GRC Gothrmal Off-Grid Powr Workshop G, Schoffl P with D, (1990). Flors Mini Gothrmal Powr Projct, Stag Social Impact Assssmnt. Unpubl. DSIR rport for MFAT GENZL Rport (1996) Ulumbu Mini Gothrmal Powr Projct Fasibility Study Rport- Phas Unpubl. rport for MFAT. KRTA Rport (1989). Flors Mini-Gothrmal Powr Projct. Ulumbu Gothrmal Fild, Flors Indonsia. Fasibility Study Rport for MFAT. Prusahaan Umum Listrik Ngara (PLN), (1992). Pnyajian Informasi Lingkungan (PIL) Proyk Pmbangkit Listrik Tnaga Bumi Ulumbu, Manggarai, Flors Nusa Tnggara Laporan Vimmrstdt, L. (1998). Opportunitis for Small Gothrmal Projcts: Rural Powr for Latin Amrica, th Caribban and th Philippins. NREL Rport. Proc. GRC Gothrmal Off-Grid Powr Workshop. Th opportunity for th communitis affctd to accss affordabl lctricity, as wll as ducation and information how to us it productivly should always b an outcom of small scal rural gothrmal dvlopmnt. This Ulumbu projct 42