Environmental impact assessment report for development of breakwater at GA. Kandhuhulhudhoo

Abstract

The island of Kanduhulhudhoo is the most the south island of G.A atoll, located approximately at 0° 21’ 05.21’’ N and 73° 32’ 21.75’’ E. The 31ha Island has a population of 874. From the observation carried out at the island, it was found a major part of the beach has been eroded and precautions need to be taken to stop further erosion. In some places the erosion has reach as far as beyond the vegetation line, and in some areas, the beach rock can be found. In this project there will be a small amount of dredging to deepen the harbor basin and the clearance of the existing breakwater. From the community consultation it was suggested to transfer this dredge material and rubbles to be relocated to an eroded site for the prevention of further erosion. The major impact in this project lies in the marine basin. At the completion of this project some of the marine topographic features would be lost due to the dredging and the construction of the breakwater. This impact is identified as a permanent or long term irreversible damage. In order to minimize the damage, the zones where the activities takes place needed to be clearly marked and the various activities needed to be restricted to these zones. The sedimentation deposit during the construction phase is identified to be reversible and a short term impact. This impact could be minimized by undertaking various activities during low tide. During the construction phase the contractor should be careful on handling machineries. Pollutions such as oil spill have to be avoided during the mobilization, construction and demobilization phase. The safety of the workers shall be the first and foremost priority of the contractor. The proponent has an obligation of monitoring the environment during both construction and operational phase