| Abstract: | In mid-2005 and early 2000 the government leased large number of uninhabited islands for
development of picnic islands for a relatively low rent. Those picnic island were developed
and most of them are used as exclusive high end tourist resort, but the revenue generated for
the government from those islands are very low due to low land rent. Therefore in order to
generate more revenue to the Government the cabinet during the MDP Government decided
to eliminate all picnic island and allocated them for resort developments. This decision was
enforced in 2012. In this respect if the picnic island is within 700m radius of an existing
resort the government offered the island to the resort if they are willing to pay the acquisition
cost of the island, which is about 6 million US$ per hectares. Malahini Holdings Pvt. Ltd,
paid the acquisition cost of Kuda Bandos Island and decided to convert the island to a mixed
local and foreign tourist resort retaining the local picnic concept, and established Malahini
Holdings Pvt. Ltd which is a joint venture company with 10% share of the Government of
Maldives.
This is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report carried out for Malahini Holdings
Pvt. Ltd to develop and operate a resort for mixed local and foreign tourist in K. Kuda
Bandos Island located in North Central part of Malé Atoll. Kuda Bandos development project
involves development and operation of 90 rooms, two and half-three star resort, with all the
necessary facilities and amnesties. The EIA was prepared as fulfilment of the requirement by
the Ministry Tourism (MoT) for granting permission for the project. Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) of development projects is a requirement by the Environmental Protection
and Preservation Act (EPPA) (law 4/93) of the Government of the Republic of Maldives.
The total cost of the proposed project is approximately 13.5 million USD. The project will be
developed within 18 months. The project will create a relatively large number of direct and
indirect employment opportunities for the Maldives. Therefore the project will significantly
contribute to the economic growth, particularly tourism sector, and other relevant socioeconomic
activities.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment
Regulations published by the Ministry of Environment and Energy 2012 and covers both
negative and positive environmental and socio-economic impact arising from the proposed
project in Kuda Bandos Island. Major findings of this report are based on information
gathered during the field inspection of both the existing environment and possible effects of
the project activities, through extensive literature review and experiences gained from similar
projects elsewhere in the Maldives.
The proposed project activity will take place on Kuda Bandos Island, an uninhabited island
lies in an N-S oriented triangular shape reef on the central part of North Malé Atoll. The
island is situated on the southern end of Kuda Bandos Falhu. Vegetated area of Kuda
Bandos is approximately 3.27 hectares and island area is approximately 3.9 hectares. Total
area of the reef where Kuda Bandos Island is situated is approximately 11.3 hectares and the
total area of the reef flat is 5.8 hectares. After the proposed development the total built-up
area of the island will be 7,450 m2 which is about 18% of the total land area of the island. Kuda Bandos Island has thick and healthy vegetation all around and inside the island. The
canopy of the island is generally high all around the island except for the northern and
western sides where a well-established vegetation mostly consisting of mature Funa, Dhigga,
Magoo, Kuredhi, young Ruh, Boakashikeyo and Uni. In general, it can be estimated that the
vegetation constituent of the island can be divided into around 50-55% Ruh, 20-25% trees
such as Dhigga, Funa, Kaani, Uni, Magoo and Boakashikeyo and 15-20% comprising of
introduced vegetation used for landscaping such as Saima, Kandholhu, Farudhaa Bageechaa,
Croyton and others.
Kuda Bandos is formed within its own coral reef system inside the atoll. The coral reef is
triangular in shape and the island is found in the middle of the triangle in an egg-shape. This
coral reef system has a perimeter of approximately 1.3km measuring from the outer reef
edge. Kuda Bandos coral reef covers an area of approximately 7 hectares including the reef
slope and the reef-flat. The general reef condition can be regarded as fairly good with
increasing live coral cover of 12% on average and diversity towards the northern side of the
reef. The lagoon system of Kuda Bandos has an average depth of 1 – 1.2m during high tide
periods. It is a relatively small lagoon which is only found from north-east to the eastern side
of the island having an approximate area of 8,745m2. The lagoon found on the north-west,
west and south-western sides of the island are saturated with beach areas hence, very narrow
areas of the lagoon were visible at the time of the assessments.
During the preparation of the EIA report an impact matrix, which is a standard tool for
identifying the possible impacts of project activities, has been created for proposed
development project in Kuda Bandos Island. The activities carried out during the construction
and post-construction or operational phases are arrayed against a selection of environmental
factors that may be affected directly or indirectly as a result of project activities.
The report has identified and described in detail possible change that would occur to the
existing condition of the environment caused during the construction phase and have
suggested appropriate mitigation measures for each and every impact identified in the report.
Vegetation clearance has been identified as the most significant negative environmental
impact that could be associated with the proposed development. Liquid, solid and other
forms of wastes and particularly hazardous waste generated during the construction and
operational phase has also been identified as significant impact associated with the project
and appropriate mitigation measures are suggested for each and every waste related impact
identified in the study.
The study has evaluated alternative options for some components of the project and has
suggested some modifications to the proposed layout based on the considerations given to the
maximum land use and preserve the existing trees and minimise vegetation clearance which
will have more impacts on the island. The report has come-up with an extensive monitoring
programme that will keep on monitoring the environmental changes associated with the
development and make necessary adjustment to the activities of the project based on the
findings of various measured environmental parameters suggested in the monitoring plan.
As part of the assigned tasks of EIA a list of stakeholders were provided in the TOR to
undertake extensive stakeholder consolation during the EIA preparation process. This is
because some concerns were raised by the media, soon after the Government’s decision to convert Kuda Bandos to a resort, stating that the island will be closed for local picnics after
the development. The issue was discussed with the stakeholders and the truth about the
misconception was cleared during the consultation. All the stakeholders except Malé City
Council welcomed the proposed development. Malé City Council is on the opinion that Kuda
Bandos is the only remaining island near Malé for the picnickers from Malé City and it is the
only place where people of this congested city can go and take a breath of fresh air. Therefore
they are in the opinion that resort development in Kuda Bandos should not go ahead and the
island should be left as it is only for the picnickers from Malé despite the fact that the island
will still be accessible for local picnickers after the proposed resort development.
The following improvements for the facilities for picnickers and camping site in Kuda
Bandos was suggested by the stakeholders during the discussions.
1. Increase the number of public toilets and improve the quality and maintenance
2. Provision of feeding rooms for babies
3. Increase the number of showerheads and properly maintain the water network
4. Increase the number of life guards and first aid facilities
5. Increase the number of guest rooms allocated for the Maldivians
6. Properly demark the picnic and tourist areas with appropriate signage
The report has identified the following beneficial effects form resort development in Kuda
Bandos:
Establishment of local tourism opportunities mixed with international tourism
Establishment of readily available picnic facilities and other amenities such BBQ pits,
dining areas etc.
Increased direct employment and training opportunities;
Better guardianship of the terrestrial and marine resources of Kuda Bandos Island;
Improvements in environmental quality of the island;
Stimulation of local economy, cultivation and small business opportunities within the
nearby island communities; and
Increased government revenue and increased GDP.
The report found no evidence that the resort development in Kuda Bandos requires or
involves any of the following environmental or socio-economic impacts.
loss of unique habitat or wilderness areas;
resettling of local communities;
removing or destroying cultural properties;
contravening national government of the Republic of Maldives, or island community
policies, regulations, criteria, customs or aspirations concerning environment,
economy, employment, cultural traditions or life styles. On the basis of this environmental impact assessment study and the impact mitigation
measures proposed in the report will be duly implemented and recommendations are
given due consideration, it is concluded that the benefits of the proposed resort
development in Kuda Bandos will substantially outweigh its imposition on the
environment. |
