014-i. Advice on ToR and review: EIA for Guayaquil land reclamation - Ecuador

The NCEA issued advice on Terms of Reference (ToR) for an EIA for a land reclamation and drainage project in Guayaquil. Later, it issued an advisory review on the EIA report and subsequently an advisory review of supplemented information. It concluded that some essential aspects were not covered in the EIA report and neither in its supplement.

Advisory reports and other documents

Significant details

A land reclamation and drainage project was proposed for the Guasmo region of Guayaquil. The aim of this project was to improve conditions for the local population in the area. This involved dredging sediment from the Guayas river, transport of the sand, and depositing it on the reclamation area.

A request for Dutch ORET funding had been submitted for this project by a Dutch dredging company. The company had to undertake an EIA, which is required for land reclamation projects. The Dutch government then asked the NCEA to advise on Terms of Reference (ToR) for this EIA.

In its advice on ToR, the NCEA highlighted a number of aspects that should be crucial aspects of the EIA. Among these are:

• The analysis of the sediment used for filling and its possible contamination, with an indication of place, date, depth and laboratory analysis of the sampling;
• The outline of the Guasmo Masterplan, including:
  • Relation of the project with other plans and projects;
  • Involvement of municipality agencies and the public in development of the design and in realisation;
  • Follow-up and execution of the Masterplan;
  • Environmental policy on the protection of mangrove areas and the role of the proposed project in this policy;
• A description of the stakeholders and the influence of their opinions and interests on the EIA report.

Based on these ToR, an EIA was undertaken. Subsequently, the NCEA was requested to review the EIA report. In its advisory review, the NCEA concluded:

• The report contained insufficient information to support the proposed elevation/height of the reclaimed land;
• Some geotechnical data are missing;
• There is no information on possible chemical pollution of the new land;
• Detail on monitoring and evaluation is insufficient;
• Commitment of organizations responsible for follow-up activities is not described.

Later, a supplement to the EIA report was submitted for review. The NCEA concluded that the first, second and last issues mentioned above had not been repaired. It recommended to supplement this information before decision-making. The project committee of the Dutch government however approved the project.

Parties involved

Members of the working group

Chair: Jan-Willem Kroon
Technical secretary: Ineke Steinhauer

Proponent and Component Authority

Further details

Country: Ecuador

Last modified: 02 Apr 2019