Abstract: | This report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed development of a resort on
Kanbaalifaru; shaviyani Atoll. The island is about 195,709 m2 in its size. Kanbaalifaru is
located close to the eastern rim of Shaviyani atoll at 6° 7'26.84"N and 73°15'18.89"E. There
are no other islands within the house-reef of the island. The Proponent of the proposed
development is Kanbaaalifaru Development Pvt. Ltd.
The Proponent proposes to develop a medium to high end resort on Kanbaalifaru with 201
rooms, having a bed capacity of 402, which comprise of 30 x Beach Villas (2 rooms each); 50
x Ocean view villa; 18 x Family Villas (2 rooms each); 30 x Water villas and 25 x Superior
water villas. In addition to these, guest facilities will include an Arrival Jetty; water villa
arrival point; Reception and Admin office, a Main Restaurant; Main bar, Specialty restaurant,
Spa Complex, Dive Center & Medical Clinic, Shops, Beach Bar/Coffee shops and Sports
area.
The proposed development will conform to all current environmental legislation including the
Regulation on the Protection and Conservation of the Environment in the Tourism Industry.
The main negative impact of the proposed development will be the impact of deforestation
due to land clearance for proposed buildings. There may also be some degree of
sedimentation due to excavation to place footings of jetties and water villa structures, which is
considered minor negative. The other impacts due to environmental infrastructure such as
power generation, sewage and wastewater disposal and water production are considered
general impacts similar to all such developmental projects. There are no specific concerns or
environmental impacts related to these. These impacts are inevitable. Yet, every effort is to be
made to minimize the impact and footprint of the impact.
To minimize the impact of deforestation, buildings will be designed around mature trees
minimizing their removal. If a mature tree were to be removed, they will be carefully
uprooted and transplanted elsewhere. It is noteworthy that there are very few mature trees in
Kanbaalifaru with a few mature coconut palms. The other negative impacts of the water villas
include impacts on sediment transport around the north-western side and south-western side
of kanbaalifaru and some minor degree of sedimentation on the reef nearby. The impact on
hydrodynamics would be minimized by placing water villas as far away from live reef areas
and dynamic beach areas as possible especially on the southern end where there is a dynamic
sand spit. To minimize the impact on longshore sediment transport, the walkways of water
villas will stand on piles with their footings buried in the seabed. Care will also be taken to
minimize sedimentation on the reef when placing water villa footings and columns. Precast
footings and columns will be used and excavator movements shall be minimized. Excavator is
preferably moved on barge to minimize sedimentation and if high bed excavators were to be
used, they shall move as far from coral reef flat areas as possible. This impact of
sedimentation will be short-lived given that tidal and wind-driven currents would normally
carry the sediments away from the reef at all tides and monsoons. It is vital, therefore, to
monitor the condition of the reef prior to the start of works, during the works and after the
works to establish the true nature of the impact. Transplanting live corals in impacted area
would be a priority. There are very few live corals in development zones, which may be
impacted.
The other environmental impacts of the proposed development include solid waste
management, water supply, sewage disposal and energy generation. Solid waste will be
generated both during the constructional and operational phase of the resort. Constructional
waste will be disposed of by the Contractor to Vandhoo in Raa Atoll or Thilafushi in Kaafu
Atoll. During the operational phase, a waste management center established on the island will
segregate waste and dispose of them in a manner prescribed in tourism regulations. It is
during the construction stage that the waste is often not managed properly and waste ends up
in the environment. Therefore, it is vital that waste management procedures are in place
during construction phase to ensure waste is appropriately dealt with. Supervision and
awareness of construction workforce is highly recommended. Desalination, sewage treatment
and power generation are fuel-dependent processes and fuel efficient desalination technology,
STPs and, especially, generator sets will be installed in the island. Solar water heaters have
been proposed and photovoltaic system incorporated, the costs of which have already been
taken into consideration. Gravity sewers will deliver the sewage with multiple pumping
stations, which will be minimized by appropriate design. Treated effluent with low levels of
BOD (less than 20mg/l) will be disposed to the sea at not less than 10m below MSL and 5m
away from the reef edge. Therefore, the impact from sewage disposal will be almost
negligible. In fact, the daily peak flows is quite small that the proposed sea outfall would
provide over 500-fold dilution to the sewage effluent even if it were raw sewage, which
would occur only in the unlikely event that the sewage treatment plant fails. Hence, no further
mitigation measures have been considered for sewage disposal and treatment. In order to
minimize the energy-intensive nature of wastewater treatment, it has been recommended to
avoid wastewater treatment and to consider direct disposal to sea or ground, if possible.
Although the island is located within the atoll, the reef on the east is subjected oceanic swells
from the channel between Fonadhoo and Eriyadhoo, therefore, the southeastern side or the
north-northeastern side of the island is considered appropriate for disposal of raw sewage.
Furthermore, due to the narrow nature of the island, the groundwater is quite saline and a
proper groundwater lens is not formed, therefore, sewage and wastewater (being primarily
domestic in nature) may be disposed into the ground through a septic tank system.
The project encompasses clean technology and alternative energy options will be investigated
with specific focus on a solar energy system. This will complement the proposed diesel
generator sets. In addition, solar water heaters will be installed to provide hot water to all
guest units. Also, to minimize fuel and water consumption, it is proposed to install energy and
water efficient technology including faucets. The costs of these would be included in the
project.
Environmental monitoring has also been incorporated into the project. Arrangements for
monitoring during constructional and operational phase will be considered immediately upon
EIA approval. Monitoring will be undertaken according to the monitoring programme
recommended in this report. Recommended monitoring for the project includes the
monitoring of shoreline at predetermined and bench-marked tide levels, beach profiles and
drogues at locations given in the EIA report, marine water quality at the location of the intake,
brine discharge, sea outfall and a control location, air and groundwater at a location close to
the powerhouse and desalination plant and a control location and quality of product water at 3
specified locations including product water tank. Fuel and water production data and clean
energy initiatives may also be incorporated. Annual monitoring reports have to be submitted
to the Environmental Protection Agency over the monitoring period and shall include fuel and
water consumption data and greenhouse gas emission calculations.
The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate
matrices and the results indicated that the proposed project has net positive impact. Given that
the project has major socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative
environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed. |