First addendum : EIA for proposed coastal protection works in Th. Kandoodhoo

Abstract

This is the First Addendum to the project’s approved main EIA, which has been prepared for obtaining permit and environmental clearance for additional works to be carried out as part of the proposed coastal protection works in Th. Kandoodhoo island including excavation of 10,484m3 fill material, backfilling works on 320m long eastern shoreline, development of a 15m long geo-bag arm to protect the northern tip of the revetment and extension of a 35m long area between the proposed revetment and existing harbor. The Proponent of the project is Ministry of Environment and Energy and the contractor of the project is SAS e Senok JV Pvt. Ltd. It is a legal requirement under the Amended EIA Regulation 2012 EIAs/Addendums for projects that are believed to generate negative environmental impacts. This Addendum has been prepared as per the approved Terms of Reference (TOR) on 10 August 2017. The scope of this Addendum is to address the existing environmental condition of the proposed project areas and surrounding environment, identify potential environmental impacts, and propose environmental management and mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts as well as propose an environmental monitoring plan with appropriate environmental parameters to monitor changes on a regular basis. A detailed environmental assessment was undertaken as part of the main EIA and marine and coastal environmental assessments relevant for the proposed project have been used as the baseline environmental condition along with some recent observations in this Addendum. The major environmental impact is believed to occur from excavation of fill material from the burrow site including sedimentation within the surrounding environment, direct destruction of some of the lagoon habitats as well as increased turbidity in seawater due to sedimentation. Impacts from other activities such as backfilling and geo-structures development have been identified to be minimal. Careful planning and scheduling of the proposed activities to coincide with calm days and low tide operations has been proposed as the main mitigation measures in addition to regular monitoring of the various aspects of the environment. Although there some environmental impacts from the proposed additional works, some of these can bring permanent changes to the environment of the island, other impacts can be reduced and mitigated by use of appropriate methodology. The effectiveness of these methodologies can be documented by implementing the environmental monitoring programme. Also, with the long-term need to maintain the coastal protection of the project area, the proposed additional works has been considered an important requirement for the overall project.