| Abstract: | The purpose of this document is to fulfil the requirements to get necessary environmental
clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out the project in Holiday Inn
Resort Kandooma Maldives, South Male’ Atoll. The proponent of this project is Holiday Inn
Resort Kandooma Maldives, South Male’ Atoll
The main rationale for the project is to enhance and upgrade the tourism product at Holiday Inn
Resort Kandooma Maldives by replenishing the beach to provide a better product for the visiting
guests. Kandooma Island does not have a natural beach and for the island to continue operating,
they will need artificial replenishment. Moreover, Kandooma Resort, at present, has ongoing
seasonal erosion which requires to be mitigated.
This project involves ongoing beach replenishment on Kandooma Island for the next two years
for mitigating seasonal erosion. The project will be carried out on a need basis and only the areas
experiencing erosion will be replenished. The property had an approval for beach replenishment
before but has since expired. This submission seeks to renew the approval for the next 2 years.
Three areas have been proposed for replenishment totalling 7000 cbm. Replenishment height is
1.5 m and will be sloped as a beach at 1:7 scale. Replenishment width is 10 m from the
registered shoreline.
Five areas were originally proposed as borrow areas totalling 7750 cbm. Howver, based on the
impact assessments and consultations with Guraidhoo Council, the primary borrow areas has
been reduced to three and the remaining two has been reclassified as alternative sites. The
dredge depth will be a maximum of 3.5 m from the existing depths. The borrow area distance
from the registered shoreline is 50 m. The dredge depth has been adjusted in the revised site
plan, which is provided as an alternative site plan in the Alternatives Chapter.
The only component of the project is beach replenishment. Equipment has already been
mobilised under a previous EIA for replenishment, which has since expired.
All project activities will be in conformance to the laws and regulations of the Maldives, and
relevant international conventions that Maldives is party to. The key laws and regulations
applicable to this project are: Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, Environmental
Impact Assessment Regulation 2012, Dredging and Land reclamation Regulation 2013 and the
Tourism Act.
All the required permits prior to initiation of the work have already been attained from the
respective regulatory bodies, namely coastal development approval and concept approval from
Ministry of Tourism and, dredging and reclamation approval from EPA. Beach replenishment in Kandooma Island has been extensively discussed with the Guraidhoo
Island Council in the scoping meeting and EIA process. Three months of communications
ensued between the Guraidhoo Council, Kandooma Management and the Consultants. The
significant delays are causing damage to the beach in Kandooma and reducing the value of its
tourism product, and require immediate action. Guraidhoo Council reported that some islanders
feel that the replenishment and dredging activities may be a causative factor for erosion in
Guraidhoo Island. Therefore, the EIA preparation was to proceed with the consultation of the
Island Council and with an evaluation of the historical erosion and patterns in Guraidhoo Island.
The project has to be carried out with regular assessment and monitoring of Guraidhoo Island as
well.
Since the project has clearance from the relevant authorities, the management of Kandooma
wishes to continue with the replenishment project, while they endeavour to continue the
consultations with Guraidhoo Council in tandem, to reach a mutually beneficial solution to the
erosion problems in Guraidhoo Island. A separate Addendum to this EIA is to be submitted to
include any new developments agreed with the Guraidhoo Council.
The existing environment is modified with past reclamation, dredging and shore protection. The
site is in close proximity to Guraidhoo Island as well. The benthic composition at this site is
dominated by sand and coral rubble, with few patches of sea grass spread across. Live corals
observed at the survey area are very low, the abundance of fish was also low. However, the
marine water quality perimeters tested fall within the normal range for sea waters.
Coastal sediment movement patterns are restricted in Kandooma due to the extensive shore
protection measures and coastal modifications on the island. Seasonal erosion is persistent on the
southern and western shoreline and requires seasonal replenishment to keep the beach in a
useable condition.
The results of the coastal assessment show that there have been significant changes on the
northern and southern end of Guraidhoo Island. The reasons for erosion appear to be mostly
natural causes but the coastal modifications in Kandooma may have played a role in accelerating
some processes. These include the removal of a long solid jetty in Guraidhoo which protected
the northern shoreline from wave activity approaching from the north. However, a link between
sand pumping from lagoon and erosion in Guraidhoo Island could not be established, except in
cases where dredging was being undertaken in close proximity to Guraidhoo Islands NE sand
pit. Based on this finding and community consultations, two borrow areas close to the sand pit
was removed as proposed primary borrow sites.
Significant impact associated with the components of the project; beach replenishment involves
sedimentation on the marine water quality and consequent impact on marine life, direct loss of marine life within the project footprint, health and safety of construction workers and potential
social discontent among some community members in Guraidhoo Island. All these impacts can
be minimized with proper mitigation measures recommended in the report.
The main mitigation measures include carrying out sand pumping and replenishment activities
during low tide hours and calm weather, and proper supervision of all activities by qualified
personnel. The work schedule and duration will also be planned to avoid disruptive weather
conditions and complete the replenishment activities in the shortest time possible, and
continuous monitoring for the diagnosis of further problems. Where practical, the erosion
problems in Guraidhoo and Kandooma are to be treated as a single problem requiring
complementary solutions. The Kandooma management shall continue a dialogue with the
Guraidhoo Council to come to a mutual agreement on erosion mitigation assistance to
Guraidhoo.
Operational stage impacts are mainly limited to ongoing sedimentation which will require
adherence to the environmental management plans provided in this document to minimize the
effects on the marine environment. Natural erosion of at least 30% of the replenished beach is
anticipated during the initial phases after construction. No specific erosion prevention measures
are proposed but appropriate action will be decided after monitoring the changes.
As key stakeholders, EPA and Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture advices to go ahead with
project, while Guraidhoo Island Council have reservations and further discussions are required
to come to a mutual understanding.
The alternatives were evaluated for the project but the current designs and methods have been
preferred. The site plan has been changed to an alternative option where the borrow areas close
to Guraidhoo sand pit were not considered as primary borrow sites and only sites that were likely
to have minimal impacts on the current flow and erosion were considered.
Monitoring plan is designed to assess any changes to the coral reef environment of the two
islands, coastal changes and depth variations of the lagoon area as well the marine water quality
as these are the key areas that will be impacted from this project.
The management plan for this project is designed to produce a framework for anticipated
impacts, including practicable and achievable performance requirements and systems for
monitoring, reporting and implementing corrective actions. In addition provide evidence of
compliance to legislation, policies, guidelines and requirements of relevant authorities.
In conclusion, the project is beneficial to the tourism industry since the resort can be made
operational with enhanced products. Kandooma Island does not have a natural beach and for the island to continue operating, they will need artificial replenishment. Since Kandooma shares a
reef with Guraidhoo Island, it is important that the works in Kandooma proceed with caution and
with due consideration to erosional impacts on Guraidhoo Island. Kandooma management must
continue the dialogue with the Guraidhoo Island Council and public to reduce any social
discomforts associated with this project. |
