Energy social impact losses can be avoided

By Gulsen Cagatay

IZMIR (AA) - Seventy-three percent of delays in 190 mega projects worldwide due to environmental and social issues, which led to millions of dollars in losses, could have been avoided, Environmental Resources Management (ERM) data shows as reported by a Social Development Specialist at the World Bank on Monday.

A World Bank workshop, which was held Monday at the International Geothermal Conference (IGC), of which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner, identified the social risks of geothermal investments.

During the presentation entitled Managing Social Risks and Impacts in Geothermal Projects Turkey Geothermal Development Project, Social Development Specialist at the World Bank, Arzu Uraz Yavas, explained that clarification of social impacts on these investments is important to mitigate risks and develop healthy energy investments.Environmental and social risks can be a financial risk, not only a reutational risk, Uraz Yavas said.

"Reputation—until you lose it, you do not understand its value," she emphasized.
In order to mitigate risks in geothermal energy investments, she said that integrated assessment is needed to identify the environmental and social impacts, risks, and also to determine opportunities for the projects.

She said the main social impacts of geothermal investments are associated with the resource and power plant developmental phases and are listed below:-

1. Involuntary resettlement and land acquisition - a big issue which needs regulations and safeguards to ensure fair and just compensation

2. Impact on archaeology and cultural heritage

3. Gender-differentiated impacts, particularly with female owners of land

4. Social uses of ecosystem services

5. Occupational and community health and safety at the plants and for seasonal workers working in the affected areas

6. Construction impacts (labor influx, increased traffic, damage to assets, roads and irrigation etc.

7. Employment creation and local procurement services8. Post-construction (operational phase) maintenance, monitoring and control.

She said that the first step is to identify the positive and negative risks of a potential investment, which should be included in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.

"If there are unavoidable adverse impacts, then mitigation measures should be taken," she asserted.

- Key social safeguard issues in Turkey geothermal development project

Commenting on Turkey's geothermal development project, she said that the World Bank is supporting two components under the bank's Geothermal Development Project.The first is to support exploration and confirmation drilling stages via a risk sharing mechanism, and secondly the provision of loan facilities at the resource development stage and power plant development phase.

"In order to mitigate land induced economic and/or physical resettlement which might cause loss of assets for project affected people, a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) was prepared for both components which is disclosed on the TKB, TSKB [banking partners of the World Bank] and the World Bank websites," she said.She added that this covers anticipated project impacts, the legal framework for land acquisition and resettlement, the identification of those affected by projects, entitlements and compensation, and the steps that the borrower (and sub-project borrowers) would have to take to ensure compliance with the World Bank's operational policy.

The conference, organized by the World Bank and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) is running for three days, starting on May 22.

The congress will also showcase the Menderes Graben - the geothermal hotspot of Turkey and a key focus of the congress.