Environmental and Social Management Plan - Aviation Tonga Climate Resilient Transport Project II (P176208) (English)

The activities of the Component include the following: • Resurfacing of the existed runway of the Kaufana Airport in ‘Eua • Acquisition of safety equipment and facilities, such as rescue fire trucks, construction of a storage facility and provision of ancillary equipment and goods to improve capacity for emergency landing response and readiness at the airports of ‘Eua, Niuafo’ou and Niuatoputapu. [...] This document assesses the impacts and risks and identifies mitigation measures pertaining to the aviation component investments within the project development objective, which is: “To improve the climate resilience and safety of the recipient’s transport sector and in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency to provide an immediate response to the eligible crisis or emergency”. [...] The Component will enhance the capacity of emergency response and readiness, and strengthen the climate resilience of the airport infrastructure in the event of extreme weather events providing safer and more reliable transport services into the future. [...] The Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC) is the principal agency responsible for the management of the environment, assessments, reports and recommendations to the responsible Ministry, as well as being mandated under the EIA Act 2003 and the EIA Regulations 2010 to require environmental impact assessments and i [...] During the preparation of this ESMP, a qualitative assessment of the ecological resources adjacent to the sites of the Component was conducted in June 2021, and the key points to note are as follow: • Habitat in and immediately adjacent to the Kaufana Airport consists of modified vegetation and residential areas.