Environmental impact assessment for the construction of island waste management centers at HA. Uligamu

Abstract

This Report highlights the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) carried out for the Development of Island Waste Management Centre (IWMC) and associated access road in Ha. Uligam proposed by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEE). Development of IWMC is a component of a nationwide two tier waste management concept formulated by MEE to address the challenging waste management issue of the Maldives. The proposed two tier waste management system involves Island Level Waste Management (ILWM) and Regional Level Waste Management (RLWM). ILWM involves: 1. Sorting waste; 2. reducing volume of waste; 3. temporarily storing waste; and 4. composting 20-30% of organic waste at the IWMC. RLWM Involves, routine transport of waste from the IWMC’s of specified zones and managing the waste at the Regional Centre by 1. Sorting waste; 2. Incinerating waste; 3. landfilling rejects; and 4. composting up to 70-80% of the organic waste incoming from allocated zones. The nationwide waste management plan will be implemented according to the Saafu Raajje Waste Management Policy, which forms the basis of waste management framework and lays out the implementation strategy of the waste management plan. The goals of the nationwide waste management plan and policy are to: •Protect the environment and ensure health and wellbeing; •prevent pollution of natural environment and safeguard natural resources; and •promote best practices of waste management and utilise waste as a value addition. The project has been developed in line with these goals. The major components of the project include: 1. Land clearance (IWMC plot area and access road); 2. construction of IWMC; 3. equipping IWMC with relevant waste management machines; 4. operation of IWMC according to approved waste management plan and waste management framework; and 5. monitoring and adaptation of waste management plan/policy. Components one and four of the project will be undertaken by the respective island council. The councils shall prepare island level waste management plans in line with the waste management policy and waste management regulation implemented by EPA. Components two, three and five will be undertaken by MEE. Since the proposed project in the above mentioned island involve significant land clearance preparation of an EIA was commissioned by the EPA after screening the proposed project. The EIA Regulation 2012/R-27 of the Maldives states that projects carried out in the Maldives which require significant land clearance and removal of coconut palm trees (under Annex 4 bullets 8 of EIA 2012/R-27) will have to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment prior to its construction and operation. Hence the EIA report is primarily aimed at capturing and presenting information needed to meet the legal requirements of both Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (4/93) and the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of the Maldives. Major findings of this report are based on as much information as possible that could be gathered within the study time constraints, including field inspection of both the existing environment assessments and the features and possible effects of the planned activities. The assessment also included reviewing of virtually the same types of works and methods that will be used at project island and review of actual effects arising from their construction and operation in very similar island environments. Stakeholder consultations undertaken with the island councils and public was used when assessing the existing waste management situation of the island and alternatives of the project. The following observations and findings were made for the project island based on field surveys and data analysis: Ha.Uligam – The island did not have a proper waste management system. Existing waste management practices have led to the pollution of island. The proposed IWMC plot is located on the northern side of the island and consists weeds shrubs and small bush type trees. The area did not have coconut palms or significantly large tress. There is an access road to the proposed area, however a minor road shall be cleared to access the IWMC. There are nor large trees which will have to be removed at the proposed site. Nearest public areas to the site are the football field and public school. There were no environmentally sensitive or protected sites close to the proposed area. All residential, public and environmental sites are located at the distance recommended by EPA. Alternative site analysis showed that the alternative location at the southern side of the island was more preferred compared to the proposed area based on evaluation of impacts arising from site location. The study has identified a number of potential adverse effects arising out of the project. The study also notes that the developmental phase and operational phase of the project will have equally significant impacts. There are factors which could cumulate into major negative impacts during the operational phase unless proper mitigation and management is not implemented. The assessment has not identified any negative effects of national or regional importance and will not result in the loss of nationally endangered or globally endangered species as a result of the project. The assessment identified the following activities of the project to have impacts on the environmental receptors. Construction phase: 1. Settlement of workers: evaluated to be a minor impact activity; 2. Site demarcation and fencing: evaluated to be a minor impact activity; 3. Material storage: evaluated to be a minor impact activity; 4. Land clearance: evaluated to be a major impact activity; EIA for the construction of IWMC at Ha.Uligam MEECO | xix 5. IWMC construction: evaluated to be a moderate impact activity; 6. Transportation of trees, waste etc: evaluated to be a moderate impact activity; 7. Waste generation: evaluated to be a moderate impact activity; and 8. Resource consumption (Waster, Electricity and Sewerage): evaluated to be a minor impact activity. Operational phase: 1. Waste collection and transportation: A major activity of IWM. Ha.Uligam has a draft waste management plan prepared which has yet to be approved 2. Waste sorting, separating and compost making: The biggest component of IWM. If carried out as per the waste management concept plan, this activity would result in the most positive impacts. However, based on fair assessment of the existing condition, this activity was observed to have the highest potential for failure which would result in major negative impacts; 3. Waste generation: considered a minor impact activity; 4. Resource consumption (water/electricity): considered a minor impact activity; The direct footprint area in Uligam is localized only on land Within this area, the biodiversity richness was observed low since much of the area has been utilized for the wind turbine project. Flora and fauna enclosed within the direct impact boundary will be effected by construction activities. Nesting areas for birds and other fauna will be effected. Habitat fragmentation and permanent change to the existing island ecosystem will occur as a result. Removal of vegetation will also affect the net carbon balance as vegetation act as a carbon sink. Noise generated from these activities are also envisaged to have a direct impact on the biodiversity. Significant volumes of yard waste will be produced during the site clearance works. The island has no waste management system and therefore additional waste created if left on the island will have multiple direct and indirect impacts on the island. During the, operational phase of the project management of waste at the IWMC is considered to have numerous impacts which include emission of GHG, smell/odor impacts and health impacts. These arise from compost pile, sorting activities and volume reduction activities. There is a high risk of accidents and injuries during the operational phase of the IWMC. Due to the volume of incoming organic waste the risk of running out of storage capacity is imminent during the operational phase of the IWMC if not managed properly. This would lead to significant cumulative negative impacts, as a result of burning waste at the IWMC. Continued burning of waste could potentially convert the IWMC into a dumpsite resulting in loss of investment. It would also impede the progress of the waste management framework of the country. However, if the waste management plan is implemented accordingly the overall impact of IWMC during the operational phase will be positive. It would create job opportunities and new markets which would develop the local economies. As a practical and a reasonable mitigation measure to minimize the impacts arising from removal of vegetation, translocating and replanting trees have been proposed (see Section 8.5 for details). Trees at project site, shall be encouraged to be translocated within the island or to other islands. Due to numerous challenges faced by the island council to undertake land clearance and translocation of trees, the report also proposes to procure parties interested in buying and relocating trees (See Section 8.5.2 A for details). Procurement announcement shall be advertised as widely as possible. Evaluation shall be undertaken as described in the report. Except when all options to relocate treeshave been exhausted only the decision to cutting down of a tree for timber or any other use shall be considered. Hence it is strongly recommended to give the highest priority to transplanting trees as an impact mitigation measure. The volume of waste that is expected from land clearance is closely linked to the number of trees that can be salvaged from those that get uprooted. Without a robust tree translocation plan it is believed that up to 5-10 tons of waste will be generated from the island. This would require costly long distance transportation from project island to Thilafushi. With the proposed mitigation measures combined with burning of dried yard waste, waste requiring transportation could be significantly reduced. During the operational phase best practices in compost management, together with strict health/ safety guidelines, emergency planning and implementation of monitoring/management program have been recommended to mitigate noise/odour impacts, avoid injuries and reduce carbon footprint. In order to address the issue of organic waste accumulation at the site, the assessment proposes to install 660 L waste bins at the IWMC. Based on size and population of the IWMC at the project island, a maximum of 1-2 week of organic waste can be stored at the project island using such bins (See Section 2.3.2 for details). Hence it is recommended to schedule waste collection trips more frequently for islands based on population size. Due to the project being located in an inhabited island, negative social impacts arising as a direct consequence of the Project during construction phase have been found to be minor. The project does not involve removal of privately owned palm trees from coconut groves. Cumulative negative impacts have been envisaged during operational phase due to poor management of the IWMC which can result in smell/odour impacts to nearby public areas. Hence the monitoring plan of the project is designed to address the constructional and operational phase impacts by identifying assessable indicators and assigning relevant stakeholders to prepare and assess the outcome of these indicators. The management plan of the IWMC is designed based on adaptability from feedback provided by different levels of management. This is to ensure that cumulative negative impacts do not exceed to a level that could disrupt the proposed waste management system. On the basis that mitigation measures proposed in this EIA report will be implemented by proponent and the robust environmental monitoring plan suggested in the report will be fully taken into consideration and the recommendations set forth in the report will be duly considered, it is concluded that the benefits of the planned Island Level Waste Management when implemented will substantially outweigh its imposition on the environment.