| Abstract: | Background
Tourism industry is the largest economic sector in the Maldives not only generating the highest
amount of foreign currency revenue in the Maldives but also provides employment for locals as well as
many foreigners. Since the economy of the country is primarily dependent on tourism, in order to expand
the tourism industry, development of uninhabited islands to tourist resorts is inevitable.
With the expansion of the tourism to all atolls of Maldives, the islands strategically earmarked as
tourism islands are becoming less. Recent change to the tourism development strategy in terms of
location has been focused on reclamation and construction of shallow reefs that are part of the atolls.
Several such reefs have been in the process of resort development. In this regard, the government of
Maldives has identified Emboodhoo Falhu as a prospective area for developing as tourist resorts.
Emboodhoo Falhu is located in south Male atoll approximately 12 to 20 km from the Male’
International airport. Therefore, the government of Maldives through Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has
leased approximately 900 ha of Emboodhoo lagoon area to Dream Islands Development Pvt. Ltd. to
reclaim and develop as tourist resorts. Bulk of the fill material for the reclamation works are sourced from
out the boundary demarcated by Ministry of Tourism for this project development. This EIA therefore
fulfills the requirement to approve EIA for the proposed burrow area as required by Environmental
Protection Agency of Maldives.
Project Details
The proposed project includes reclamation of the lagoon area within the boundary delineated
(approximately 900 hectares) to reclaim more islands at this area. It is envisaged that approximately
2,309,000 m3 of fill material will be required for the reclamation of 11 islands with a total area of about
62 hectares. Initial source material for the reclamation will be extracted from the lagoon itself (within the
footprint of the proposed islands) using excavators to initially create a sand bund at the periphery of the
islands. The bulk of the source material for reclamation will come from outside the boundary leased for
the project development, after an extensive soil investigation campaign within north and south Male’
Atoll. , Among several sites for soil investigation to find suitable material the dredging contractor has
identified a location at North Male’ Atoll to source fill material for the project. It is estimated that
approximately 4,602,000 m3 of fill material could be sourced from this location. This is more than the
required volume of 2.3 million m3 of fill material for reclamation of all the islands.
Methodology used
The methodology used to understand the baseline environmental condition at the project site is based
on the specification of the ToR given in Appendix 2 of this report. The protocols used to identify impacts
on major environmental components of the project were based on standards followed by EPA and
adopted by MoT, for environmental impact assessment.
These include collection of baseline data on physical marine environment, biological environment, and
socioeconomic environment. Site specific data as well as socioeconomic information from the relevant
stakeholders relevant to the site was collected on February 2017. Additional information from available
literature on similar projects was used to assess the potential environmental impacts that may arise from
this project in the context of its scale and extent.
Findings
The reef health surveys indicated that the condition of the reef in terms of reef health is relatively
poor. Among the 6 sites surveyed, only 1 location had a significant amount of live coral cover (23 %). All
the other sites had less than 10 % live coral cover. Fish diversity was also not high but comparable to
similar settings in the Maldives, however, fish abundance was high at the nearby marine protected area,
Giraavaru Kuda Haa. Seawater quality assessment was also carried out at the six sites where baseline
biophysical environmental conditions were established. Physical water quality results indicated that they
are within normal range of seawater parameters. Turbidity measure were less than 1 NTU.
It is envisaged that there would be a significant change to the water quality aspects such as turbidity
and nutrient load during the operation namely dredging period.
Key impact
The extent of impact area due to the proposed project is limited to the project boundary and it is
expected that the severity of impacts would decrease further away from the project location. The severity
of impacts is predicted by reviewing duration of dredging and construction methodologies. The impacts
are predicted by reviewing the survey data collected during the field visits and information revealed by
the designers. Data collected during field visits are limited (few days) which limits the overall
understanding of even the short-term environmental conditions.
The time limitation of EIA field data collection and report preparation is also a hindrance to properly
understanding the environmental factors dictating the conditions of the habitat.
Mitigation measures are formulated based on similar projects in the Maldives as well as expert
judgment from the experience of the consultant team. Main impact areas of the project are from:-
•Dredging (sedimentation as negative impact);
•Reef health (negative);
•Water quality
•Economic impacts to resort development (positive).
Uncertainty of impact prediction is inherent to the predictions mainly due to the lack of long term data
(local currents and wave climate), complexity of ecosystem (reef environment, habitat and terrestrial
environment although to a lesser extent) and lack of previous coordinated monitoring programs with
consistent methodologies which can be used to predict outcomes or reliability of predictions of previous
projects.
Impacts
Major direct impacts to the environment (either short term or long term) occur mainly during the
construction phase. Potential direct or indirect impacts on the environment (on land and reef system) from
the proposed works include:
•Re-suspension of dredged materials resulting in increased sedimentation and turbidity;
•Direct loss of habitat and disturbance to the lagoon bottom during the dredging process;
•Impacts on coral reef communities other reef associated organisms at the burrow site and in
the vicinity of the burrow area;
•Changes in water quality;
•Changes in local hydrodynamics and oceanographic conditions.
Mitigation measures
A number of actions are proposed to minimize or avoid impacts altogether. Mitigation measures are
selected to reduce or eliminate the severity of any predicted adverse environmental effects and improve
the overall environmental performance and acceptability of the project.
Mitigation measures are discussed for the construction stage of the project. During the construction
stage it is important to take measures to minimize generation of construction waste, impacts due to
disposal of construction waste may have significant degradation of reef health. Method of dredging also
has to be taken in to account to minimize impact. A dredging method that has the least impact on marine
environment has been proposed to be utilized. Specific emphasis have been given to reduce the amount of
sedimentation into the immediate and surrounding marine environment. The main report outlines details
of the significant mitigation measures proposed.
Alternatives
No alternatives for the project in terms of location and type of economic activity to be carried out,
since that decision has been made by the Government of Maldives as future strategy for tourism
development. Although the project is not under the Tourism Master Plan, the main aim of the project is
to broaden the economic base of the country, thereby increasing the number of jobs and secondary
tourism related economic activities and opportunities for economic gain. If the project were to continue,
it is important to take technical and social aspects of the project into account and ensure that these
concerns are adequately considered before taking decisions. It is therefore important to consider all the
available options such as technology and methodology to make sure that the best available option(s) is/are
chosen to ensure minimal damage to the environment.
Apart from the type of economic activity and project location, other aspects that can have alternatives
include;
•Dredging methodology; and
•Alternative burrow areas
Conclusion and Recommendations
Evaluation of the environmental baselines collected and assessed, assessment of the project and its
components and their likely impact on the overall natural environment lead to conclude as significant.
The proposed project is thought to pose moderate impacts on the marine environment overall. Moreover,
the envisaged impacts are thought to be short term and given that the proper mitigation measures are
followed, the possible impacts could be minimized. The most significant impact from negative
environmental impact perspective is destruction to the marine habitats. Sedimentation and its subsequent
effects on marine biota when prolonged has also been considered significant.
The environmental impact mitigation measures and environmental impact monitoring measures
identified in this report are based on potential environmental impacts that may arise from the project. This
was based on evaluation of the various activities and components of the project, assessment of
environmental components that are likely to be affected. Mitigation measures and monitoring proposed
are judged as sufficient to ensure that negative environmental impacts are addressed adequately ensuring
that they are in compliance with national standards.
From Socio economic perspective, the project is positive. Tourism industry is the largest and most
dynamic industry in the country’s economy, creating a variety of job opportunities for different profiles.
Developing tourist resorts at the proposed area will not only create many jobs, but also provide the option
of returning home easily, which is a privilege not enjoyed by several staffs working at far off resorts.
Based on this, it is evident that the socio-economic benefits from this project outweighs the potential
negative environmental impacts, therefore, given that the proper mitigation measures are followed, the
proposed project is considered feasible. |
