First addendum to environmental impact assessment for harbour development project at M. Dhiggaru

Abstract

This report discusses the findings of a study undertaken as an addendum to environmental impact study undertaken by Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure for the harbour development project at M. Dhiggaru at the request of Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure. This Fist Addendum to EIA for the Harbour Development Project at M. Dhiggaru report covers fishing vessel beaching area to be developed as additional work for the harbour development project currently being implemented at M. Dhiggaru. This EIA Addendum report is prepared in accordance with Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2012 under the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Act No. 4/93). The purpose of this EIA is to fulfill the requirement of the Law and to conduct an assessment of possible impacts on environment arising from the proposed fishing vessel beaching area at M. Dhiggaru. The project is at the island of Dhiggaru in Meemu atoll. The island is located at the northern edge of the Meemu atoll. The island is situated in a large reef system. The closest island to Dhiggaru is Madduvari which is about 1 km to the east of Dhiggaru. The harbour development project is proposed by Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure representing the government of Maldives and the Ministry is responsible for all development and regulation of the construction sector. The contractor for the project is Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). The beaching area for the fishing vessel has been proposed as an extension of the harbor development project at M. Dhiggaru. Currently there is no area for beaching of vessel at the island. This has caused a lot of difficulty for the fishing vessel to undertake dry dock repairs which is routinely required. The island has a population size of approximately 1300. The main economic activity of the island is fishing1 The island of Dhiggaru is famous for “dhiggaru rihaakuru” which provides a good economic income to the community. The project involves dredging of 60 m by 45 m basin area to a depth of -3.0 m MSL, an entrance channel of 20 m wide and 117 m long. The dredging is expected to generate 12,600m3 of dredged material. This dredged material would be used to reclaim 8,400 m2 of area on western side of the island. The new land created would be used for boat repair work. All project activities will be in conformance to the laws and regulations of the Maldives, and relevant international conventions that Maldives is party to. The key laws and regulations applicable to this project are Environmental Protection and Preservation Act and Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation 2012 and its subsequent amendments The study for the addendum to EIA was undertaken to assess the environmental impacts of changes to the harbour development project on the island. The proposed site (lagoon) and entrance channel had no visible live corals and was highly turbid. seagrass is found at the lagoon. Based on the assessment, it has been identified that the major impacts of the project will be felt on the marine environment during the construction stage. Dhiggaru is not a large inhabited island but located on a very large reef system. The development of the beaching area on the island will have impacts on marine environment. During the operational stage, environmental concerns are much less and are associated with waste and wastewater management of the fishing vessels. The mitigation measures are provided in the report with alternatives. It is vital to conduct the activities, during both construction and operational stage, in line with mitigation measures emphasized in the report. Socio-economic impacts of the proposed beaching area development project will help the community to beach their vessel onto the island for dry dock maintenance work. This project will create economic opportunities both in the construction and operational stage through creation of both short-term and permanent jobs and business opportunities. Towards the end of the report, a monitoring programme has been suggested which covers components of coastal and marine environment. It is important to follow this monitoring programme not only to comply with the regulation but also to ensure that the impacts are measured in realistic terms.