Environmental impact assessment : for the Proposed resort development in Dhoores island, Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives

Abstract

This report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt Ltd for the development of Dhoores Island in Dhaalu atoll in to a resort. This project is proposed by Vermillion Pvt Ltd of Maldives to develop Dhoores as a resort. The resort will be completed and under operation in 2014 with a total bed capacity of 90.  Dhoores is located inside Dhaalu atoll, slightly on the western side on its own reef system. The island will be developed to a resort with 45 rooms.  The development of Dhoores will include only land structures and no over water structures are proposed. All the public facilities including restaurant, kitchen, staff area, fuel storage, waste management area etc. are located inside the island. All of the guest villas will be developed on land, mostly on the periphery of the island to take advantage of the beach environment.The design of Dhoores concentrates the guest villas on the periphery of island and public facilities are concentrated on the western side. The staff and back of house areas will be developed in the centre of the island.  Two jetties are proposed to be constructed in Dhoores, located on the northern side of the island. Access to this jetty (labelled jetty 1 located on the north-west) is aligned with an existing entrance channel. However, this access channel is narrow and hence it is proposed to widen and deepen this entrance channel so that large Dhoni‟s can access the jetty head during construction period as well as during the operational period. It is proposed to construct this jetty first which will also be used as a temporary jetty. The dredged material from the channel will be deposited on thewestern side of the jetty as a means of protecting the leeward side of the channel. The deposited material will protected using jumbo bags which will ensure that the sand remains in one mass. Although the approved site plan indicates an L-shaped jetty head, the construction of the jetty will not consider the L-shaped jetty head for jetty 1.  The second jetty (jetty 2) will be constructed on the east of jetty 1 and will require creation of an access channel and a mooring basin towards the jetty head (refer to the project description section for details of the breakwater and dredging details). The jetty head will be L-shaped with rock boulders placed underneath to create a safe mooring space. The breakwaters underneath the jetty head will prevent wave action inside the mooring basin, creating a protective area for boats to moore at all times. It is proposed to develop this jetty at a later stage of construction. The dredged material from the channel and the mooring basin will be used as core material for the breakwater and excess will be used as backfilling some island infrastructure at the back of house.  During the construction stage, construction waste will be managed by periodically transporting them to Thilafushi. During the operation stage, management of the resort‟s waste will be undertaken through the waste management centre that will address all the types of waste generated in the island. Wastes that can be managed on the island, such as green waste and food wastes will be managed on the island using a combination of incinerators, composting and deep water disposal.  This EIA report has identified impacts during construction and operational stage. During the construction stage, impacts will be felt on the terrestrial, coastal and the marine environment. 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. Coastal impacts will also be felt as a result of alteration brought about. Terrestrial impacts will be felt through land clearing and cutting of trees. The most significant impacts during the operational stage will be felt as a result of the on-going waste generation and how well it is managed during the operational stage.  Baseline data has, therefore, been collected in order to monitor the changes to the terrestrial, coastal and 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. The advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives have been discussed and they include environmental as well as financial reasons. Therefore, several design consideratioalthough initially were considered, has been rejected due to these reasons.  Towards, the end of the report, a monitoring programme has been suggested which covers components of terrestrial, coastal and the marine environment. These include coral cover and marine water quality among many other parameters.  The opening of the resort will increase the bed capacity of Dhaalu Atoll and the Maldives and hence increase job opportunities in the tourism sector. This will have a profound impact on the geographical distribution of jobs and open up opportunities for people of Dhaalu atoll to engage in a job close to their island