BIC along with its Honduran partner, el Foro Social de Deuda Externa y Desarrollo de Honduras (FOSDEH), have identified a series of concerns:
Project documentation has not been updated to reflect major changes in the project location and social and environmental impacts and risks: The location of the project mentioned in the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) documents does not match the location where the project is actually being implemented. FOSDEH has examined this situation and discovered that there was a change in the location, however, this is not reflected in the environmental and social assessment documents. This is particularly concerning since the new location, where the project is currently being implemented, is close to environmentally protected areas, specifically, RAMSAR-protected wetlands and mangroves on the island of Guanaja. The ESIAs have not been updated to consider environmental and social risks and impacts in the new location. Another concern is that the project is already under implementation without an updated Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). During a meeting with IDB representatives, they mentioned that they are working on updating and disclosing all environmental and social documentation related to the new location of the project in Guanaja.
Access to information, consultations, and stakeholder engagement: Most of the socialization meetings took place in 2017 and 2018, when the project was still slated to be implemented in a different location. According to the documentation from these meetings, there is no clarity on whether Indigenous Peoples representatives were present or not, how many women were there, and if information related to the project was distributed in accessible and understandable formats. There is no evidence that project teams have held meaningful consultations with project-affected groups to inform them about the risks and impacts of the project. The implementing agency, Empresa Nacional de Energia Eléctrica (ENEE), shared information and project documents with stakeholders but not in the context of meaningful consultation.
Also, there is no evidence that information related to project implementation and its current situation has been shared with project-affected communities and other relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, there are concerns about stakeholder identification. FOSDEH has pinpointed that project documents do not explicitly mention or recognize the Indigenous communities that live in Guanaja, or if they have been mentioned, it’s only been in a general manner, without establishing how each of them will be impacted and/or benefited (isleños ingleses, Blancos ingleses, Misquitos, Ladinos y extranjeros). IDB officials have reported that they are working on a new consultation process that acknowledges the changes in the location and therefore, maps all project-affected communities. They have stated that the consultations will be meaningful and culturally appropriate.
Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): One consultation to obtain FPIC was held in 2017 but that happened before the change in the project location. Now the project is being implemented in La Giralda, a new location.
Corruption and conflict of interests: Local people are concerned that the company which won the bid to build the project only did so because the mayor of Guanaja is the main shareholder of the company. Also, since the current mayor is also the owner of the main power grid that provides energy for the island, stakeholders fear that his company will win the bid for future energy generation and distribution on the island once the project is ready, and private companies will continue to control the prices.
