Environmental impact assessment : for the proposed refurbishment of Adaaran Club Rannaalhi, South Male' Atoll, Maldives

Abstract

This report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for the redevelopment of Adaaran Club Rannaalhi located in Rannaalhi island in south Male’ atoll. • This project is proposed by Jetan Travel Services Co. Pvt Ltd , to refurbish the resort. The resort will be refurbished without shutting down the operations. • Rannaalhi is located on the south‐western rim of South Male’ atoll and is operated under the name, Adaaran Club Rannaalhi • At present, some of the island infrastructure is old and requires refurbishment in order to compete with other resorts and meet the market demands currently prevailing in the tourism industry. The idea is to renovate the island by upgrading and constructing new facilities in the resort. Hence, the project involves removal of two structures on land, construction of a swimming pool, construction of new water bungalows and internal modifications to the existing water bungalows. • The report has identified that the major impacts of the project will be felt on the marine environment since new water villa construction will take place in the lagoon. Impacts on the marine environment will be felt through sedimentation and siltation caused by the construction activities on the lagoon and the associated indirect impacts on the coral reef, during this period. Baseline data has, therefore, been collected in order to monitor the changes to the marine environment which will be identified in periodical monitoring reports. • Alternatives to the project have also been considered in detail and several alternatives to the proposed project were considered. Due to various reasons, these alternatives have not been considered. The advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives have been discussed and they include environmental as well as financial reasons. Therefore, several design considerations, although initially were considered, has been rejected due to these reasons. • Towards, the end of the report, a monitoring programme has been suggested which mainly covers the marine environment. These include coral cover and marine water quality among many other parameters.