| Abstract: | This report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by
Water Solutions Pvt Ltd for the development of Than‟burudhoo Island in North Male‟ atoll
in to a resort. This project is proposed by Than‟burudhoo Pvt Ltd. The resort will be
completed and operational in 2015 with a total bed capacity of 182.
Than‟burudhoo is located in North Male‟ Atoll, on the eastern rim of the atoll on its
own reef system. The island will be developed into a resort with 91 rooms. The
island has two distinct geographical landmass, namely the main island and a small
islet approximately 300 meters north of the main island separated by a shallow
lagoon.
The main island is geographically one of the unique islands in Maldives with almost
beaches non-existent. However, the small islet on the north has a large and accreting
beach that keeps growing annually (observed from historical photographs). The
development of the resort has incorporated these unique geographical features in the
architectural master plan of the island.
The development of Than‟burudhoo will include land and over water structures. All
the public facilities including restaurant, kitchen, staff area, fuel storage, waste
management area etc. will be located inside the main island. All of the guest villas
will be developed both on land (land villas) and over water (water villas).
The design of Than‟burudhoo concentrates the land villas on the periphery of the
main island and public facilities are concentrated in the centre of the main island.
This includes staff and back of house areas as well.
One of the most challenging issues in this island is safe access and therefore a
mooring area has been recommended to be developed on the north western side of
the island. As the island is exposed to strong waves most days of the year, a jetty
access was considered a difficult choice. As there are limited locations for a jetty, it
was decided to develop a mooring area as it provides a more safer option. Hence, a
mooring area approximately 45 meters by 33 meters will be created by dredging the
north-west tip of the lagoon. The dredged material from the mooring basin will be
deposited on the north-west side of the island immediately east of the mooring area
as well as on the northern tip of the island. The deposited material will be protected
using an appropriate method of coastal protection. At present, it has been proposed
to protect using a rock revetment. The mooring area was not included in the approved master plan; however, the mooring plan proposed in this EIA is more
efficient and safer while being in the same location as the originally proposed jetty.
The decision to develop the mooring area arose during the EIA study where onsite
data and historical data about the island was gathered. The conclusions from the EIA
study were therefore used as a basis for developing the mooring area.
As the island does not have any beach, it has been proposed to create an artificial
beach on the north-east side of the main island. This beach creation will be a
“nourished” beach and has already been approved by the EPA. The beach will be
created by constructing a series of breakwaters and groynes on the eastern lagoon
and nourishment of the beach using sand. As the island does not have any suitable
borrow areas, sand will be bought from local sand miners. The final location of the
breakwaters and the groynes on the eastern side will be decided after a 6 months
monitoring which is currently being undertaken by the environmental consultant.
Neverthless, their present position will remain as it is, only the sizes and design may
differ. The six (6) months duration is required to study and understand the wave
conditions and their strength which will help to determine the optimal orientation,
design and sizes for the breakwaters. At the same time, it also ensures that they do
not impact the surfing waves while providing appropriate conditions to retain the
beach sand.
Water villas have been proposed on the north lagoon as well as on the lagoon
between the main island and the small islet. The two islands will be connected using
a jetty with an approximate height not less than 2 meters at mean sea level (MSL).
During the construction stage, construction waste will be managed by periodically
transporting them to Thilafushi. During the operation stage, management of the
resort‟s waste will be undertaken through the waste management centre that will
address all the types of waste generated in the island. Wastes that can be managed
on the island, such as green waste and food wastes will be managed on the island
using a combination of incinerators, composting and deep water disposal.
This EIA report has identified impacts during construction and operational stage.
During the construction stage, impacts will be felt on the terrestrial, coastal and the
marine environment. Impacts on the marine environment will be felt through direct
destruction of the seabed, beach rocks, sedimentation and siltation caused by the
construction activities on the lagoon and the associated indirect impacts on the coral
reef, during this period. Of these, the most significant negative impact would be
caused by the dredging of the mooring basin. This will require the removal of the
hard rock layer and dredging to create the mooring basin. During the dredging period, there will be sedimentation of the lagoon and the coral reef areas. It is
estimated that the sediment plume to spread to a maximum distance of a 300 meter
radius from the work area.
As the main island does not have any beaches, the impacts on the coastal
environment is expected to be more positive rather than negative. As the island is
developed in to a resort, several components of the project will have positive
impacts on the coastline such as the coastal protection on the east side and also on
the western and northern sides brought about as a result of better protection
measures on either side of the island. The main island‟s northern areas including the
tip is a highly eroded area with fallen trees and water lines almost touching the tree
line. The development of the resort will address this area particularly as erosion
cannot be allowed to continue. This vulnerable and narrow area will be protected by
fill material obtained from the mooring basin and with coastal protection around its
periphery. This modification will retain the island‟s tip and prevent further erosion.
Impacts on the terrestrial environment impacts will be felt through land clearing and
cutting of trees. Due to the limited size and trees on the island, especially coconut
trees, all mature and large trees will be retained and their removal will only be
undertaken when absolutely required. The most significant impacts during the
operational stage will be felt as a result of the on-going waste generation and how
well it is managed during the operational stage.
Alternatives to the project have also been considered in detail and several
alternatives to the proposed project were considered. The advantages and
disadvantages of these alternatives have been discussed and they include
environmental as well as financial reasons. Therefore, several design considerations,
although initially were considered, has been rejected due to these reasons, but they
have been discussed in the report.
Towards, the end of the report, a monitoring programme has been suggested which
covers components of terrestrial, coastal and the marine environment. These include
coral cover and marine water quality among many other parameters.
The opening of the resort will increase the bed capacity of North Male‟ Atoll and the
Maldives and hence increase job opportunities in the tourism sector. It is also going
to open up opportunities for the local surfing community to engage and get involved
in surfing related jobs as the resort will primarily cater for surfing tourism. This will
have a profound impact on the possibilities of jobs and open up opportunities for
locals engaged in the surfing industry. |
