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Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed resort development at Kanbalifaru, Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives(2014-08) SandcaysThis report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed development of a resort on Kanbaalifaru; shaviyani Atoll. The island is about 195,709 m2 in its size. Kanbaalifaru is located close to the eastern rim of Shaviyani atoll at 6° 7'26.84"N and 73°15'18.89"E. There are no other islands within the house-reef of the island. The Proponent of the proposed development is Kanbaaalifaru Development Pvt. Ltd. The Proponent proposes to develop a medium to high end resort on Kanbaalifaru with 201 rooms, having a bed capacity of 402, which comprise of 30 x Beach Villas (2 rooms each); 50 x Ocean view villa; 18 x Family Villas (2 rooms each); 30 x Water villas and 25 x Superior water villas. In addition to these, guest facilities will include an Arrival Jetty; water villa arrival point; Reception and Admin office, a Main Restaurant; Main bar, Specialty restaurant, Spa Complex, Dive Center & Medical Clinic, Shops, Beach Bar/Coffee shops and Sports area. The proposed development will conform to all current environmental legislation including the Regulation on the Protection and Conservation of the Environment in the Tourism Industry. The main negative impact of the proposed development will be the impact of deforestation due to land clearance for proposed buildings. There may also be some degree of sedimentation due to excavation to place footings of jetties and water villa structures, which is considered minor negative. The other impacts due to environmental infrastructure such as power generation, sewage and wastewater disposal and water production are considered general impacts similar to all such developmental projects. There are no specific concerns or environmental impacts related to these. These impacts are inevitable. Yet, every effort is to be made to minimize the impact and footprint of the impact. To minimize the impact of deforestation, buildings will be designed around mature trees minimizing their removal. If a mature tree were to be removed, they will be carefully uprooted and transplanted elsewhere. It is noteworthy that there are very few mature trees in Kanbaalifaru with a few mature coconut palms. The other negative impacts of the water villas include impacts on sediment transport around the north-western side and south-western side of kanbaalifaru and some minor degree of sedimentation on the reef nearby. The impact on hydrodynamics would be minimized by placing water villas as far away from live reef areas and dynamic beach areas as possible especially on the southern end where there is a dynamic sand spit. To minimize the impact on longshore sediment transport, the walkways of water villas will stand on piles with their footings buried in the seabed. Care will also be taken to minimize sedimentation on the reef when placing water villa footings and columns. Precast footings and columns will be used and excavator movements shall be minimized. Excavator is preferably moved on barge to minimize sedimentation and if high bed excavators were to be used, they shall move as far from coral reef flat areas as possible. This impact of sedimentation will be short-lived given that tidal and wind-driven currents would normally carry the sediments away from the reef at all tides and monsoons. It is vital, therefore, to monitor the condition of the reef prior to the start of works, during the works and after the works to establish the true nature of the impact. Transplanting live corals in impacted area would be a priority. There are very few live corals in development zones, which may be impacted. The other environmental impacts of the proposed development include solid waste management, water supply, sewage disposal and energy generation. Solid waste will be generated both during the constructional and operational phase of the resort. Constructional waste will be disposed of by the Contractor to Vandhoo in Raa Atoll or Thilafushi in Kaafu Atoll. During the operational phase, a waste management center established on the island will segregate waste and dispose of them in a manner prescribed in tourism regulations. It is during the construction stage that the waste is often not managed properly and waste ends up in the environment. Therefore, it is vital that waste management procedures are in place during construction phase to ensure waste is appropriately dealt with. Supervision and awareness of construction workforce is highly recommended. Desalination, sewage treatment and power generation are fuel-dependent processes and fuel efficient desalination technology, STPs and, especially, generator sets will be installed in the island. Solar water heaters have been proposed and photovoltaic system incorporated, the costs of which have already been taken into consideration. Gravity sewers will deliver the sewage with multiple pumping stations, which will be minimized by appropriate design. Treated effluent with low levels of BOD (less than 20mg/l) will be disposed to the sea at not less than 10m below MSL and 5m away from the reef edge. Therefore, the impact from sewage disposal will be almost negligible. In fact, the daily peak flows is quite small that the proposed sea outfall would provide over 500-fold dilution to the sewage effluent even if it were raw sewage, which would occur only in the unlikely event that the sewage treatment plant fails. Hence, no further mitigation measures have been considered for sewage disposal and treatment. In order to minimize the energy-intensive nature of wastewater treatment, it has been recommended to avoid wastewater treatment and to consider direct disposal to sea or ground, if possible. Although the island is located within the atoll, the reef on the east is subjected oceanic swells from the channel between Fonadhoo and Eriyadhoo, therefore, the southeastern side or the north-northeastern side of the island is considered appropriate for disposal of raw sewage. Furthermore, due to the narrow nature of the island, the groundwater is quite saline and a proper groundwater lens is not formed, therefore, sewage and wastewater (being primarily domestic in nature) may be disposed into the ground through a septic tank system. The project encompasses clean technology and alternative energy options will be investigated with specific focus on a solar energy system. This will complement the proposed diesel generator sets. In addition, solar water heaters will be installed to provide hot water to all guest units. Also, to minimize fuel and water consumption, it is proposed to install energy and water efficient technology including faucets. The costs of these would be included in the project. Environmental monitoring has also been incorporated into the project. Arrangements for monitoring during constructional and operational phase will be considered immediately upon EIA approval. Monitoring will be undertaken according to the monitoring programme recommended in this report. Recommended monitoring for the project includes the monitoring of shoreline at predetermined and bench-marked tide levels, beach profiles and drogues at locations given in the EIA report, marine water quality at the location of the intake, brine discharge, sea outfall and a control location, air and groundwater at a location close to the powerhouse and desalination plant and a control location and quality of product water at 3 specified locations including product water tank. Fuel and water production data and clean energy initiatives may also be incorporated. Annual monitoring reports have to be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency over the monitoring period and shall include fuel and water consumption data and greenhouse gas emission calculations. The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate matrices and the results indicated that the proposed project has net positive impact. Given that the project has major socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed reclamation of Thilafalhu, Thilafushi, Kaafu Atoll, Maldives(2011-01) SandcaysThis report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed reclamation of 167 hectares of land from Thilafalhu lagoon in Thilafushi, Malé Atoll. The project has been contracted to Heavy Load Pvt. Ltd. by the state owned company, Thilafushi Corporation mandated with the development of Thilafushi as an industrial island. The primary objective of the project is to provide space for the growth of light industrial activities, proper port facilities and the development of related institutions. The provision of space for these activities will subsequently help to minimize congestion and pollution problems in the nation’s capital, Malé. As such, the project encompasses dredging and filling of the entire shallow lagoon area in Thilafalhu comprising a 167hectares of land. The filling will be undertaken with necessary coastal protection measures to ensure that the dredged material remains intact and thus objectives are achieved. Thilafushi, due to its official status as the industrial island and due to its closeness to Malé, the capital, is the industrial hub of the Maldives. Thilafushi also has the national landfill where partially segregated waste is burned at low temperatures and the resulting debris is buried to reclaim land. Although land is scarce at Thilafushi, the potential for reclamation to meet the ever increasing demand for industrial land is quite high. The process of reclamation using garbage of all sorts is slow and only one-fifth of the existing Thilafushi has been, fortunately, reclaimed in this way. The rest has been reclaimed due to demand for land at this so-called industrial island located at 15-minutes boat ride from the national capital, where over a third of the nation’s population live and work. Despite its closeness to Malé, which is probably the most congested city in the world, very little attention has been paid (over the last several years of its operation) to the environmental impacts of the landfill at Thilafushi including the health burden due to air pollution caused by open burning of waste. Hence, there is a pressing need to plan and execute the waste management process as well as the industrial land development at Thilafushi in such a way that long term environmental impacts as well as the health burden are minimized and the project is ecologically sustainable and socially-acceptable. For this reason, the recently formed Thilafushi Corporation and Waste Corporation are working together to separate the two very important tasks of waste management and industrial land development, whereby Thilafushi Corporation is focused on industrial land development at Thilafushi while Waste Corporation is focused on waste management. Due to the lack of land for industrial activities in the Greater Malé region, Malé has been subjected to the effects of development related burdens on land such as international port facilities, warehousing, light industrial activities such as vehicle services, printing services and carpentries mixed with an ever growing demand for residential development. Use of large vehicles for the warehousing and distribution of over 70% of all goods imported to the country is increasing the congestion in Malé. While this has been a result of poor planning in the past, it has created a disproportionate demand for land in the capital, inflating land value in Malé. While this may be plausible to land owners in Malé, it is affecting the overall standard and cost of living in Malé as well as the cost of goods and services nationwide. It is also creating a vacuum in the overall development of the country, increasing the burden of disease and creating environmental, social and economic problems of unforeseen magnitude. Therefore, the proposed project will have enormous socio-economic and environmental benefits associated with it in the short to long term while there will be short term economic and environmental impacts associated with the construction or development phase. The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate methodologies including data collection through a field survey, consultations, purpose-built checklists and professional judgments. The overall results indicated that the proposed project had a high net positive impact. Given that the project has major socio-economic benefits as well as long term health and environmental benefits for the majority of the nation’s population, as discussed earlier, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed. Environmental monitoring recommended for the project includes the monitoring of the shorelines of the newly reclaimed area, water quality and drogue studies around Thilafushi for at least two years from the onset of the proposed project implementation. Monitoring is also expected to cover public views and grievances about the project and future use and development of the reclaimed land and the contribution it makes to the national economy. Annual monitoring reports have to be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency over the monitoring period.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed rehabilitation of harbour Kurendhoo, Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives(2011-02) SandcaysThis report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed harbour rehabilitation in Kurendhoo, Lhaviyani Atoll. The primary objective of the project is to provide safe and adequate access to the island. As such the project encompasses maintenance dredging of existing entrance channel and basin, dredging of an additional 30m to the south with quaywall and a boat beaching area to the south. The replacement of existing quaywall and breakwater is also within the scope of the renovation works. The harbour is located on the northwest corner of the island, which is a natural sand accumulation area (thundi). As a result, the channel gets easily filled and the area behind it gets eroded. Therefore, there are location as well as design issues. Since changing the location would not be feasible now, it would be necessary to make adjustments to the design proposed for the renovation works in consultation with the community. Some senior members of the community have indicated that while the proposed extension of 30m to the south is plausible, it would be worth the while to extend a further 30m and then create the beaching area so that the existing Health Center in the area is not prone to the dust and noise from the boat repair works carried out in the boat beaching area which at present is just opposite the Health Center. The erosion on the northeast of the entrance channel is also a serious cause for concern and the community is desirous of some improvements to that area as part of the harbour renovation works. Therefore, it is also recommended to consider the possibility of placing the dredge material in this area while providing some form of coastal protection to the recreated shoreline. The proposed concept has not been discussed with the community so far. Therefore, community views that have been incorporated in this EIA report needs to be given consideration in finalising the design. However, the community has been waiting for the project for quite some time and the first elected Island Council is under a lot of pressure to initiate the works. Therefore, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed while the additional extension and coastal protection measures can be finalized in consultation with the relevant stakeholders during the construction phase. Taking this into consideration the environmental impacts have been assessed for the worst case scenario in which the Proponent takes into consideration all demands of the community and provide the final detailed design to the EPA in due course. The recommended alternative proposed in this EIA report has been based on informal community consultations held with some key members of the community including some of the nominated members of the Island Council. The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate matrices and the results indicated that the proposed project has net positive impact. Given that the project has several socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed development of a harbour Kurinbi, Haa Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives(2010-08) SandcaysThis report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed harbour development in Kurinbi, Haa Dhaalu Atoll. The primary objective of the project is to provide safe and adequate access to the island. As such the project encompasses dredging and removal beach rock/reef flat, construction of quaywall and breakwaters and the filling of dredged materials on either side of the proposed harbour. The proposed harbour is located on eastern side close to the existing access channel. The proposed harbour project falls within the Access Improvement Programme, the size of proposed harbour under the programme is 150ft x 300ft. However, the island community in the community consultation meeting proposed to increase the width of the harbour from 150 ft to at least 200 ft by extending the harbour into landward side. Extending the breakwater into seaward side may not be possible due to close proximity of outer reef edge to shoreline where high swells and strong wave action take place. There are three access channels in use by the community. The most commonly used access channel is located at southern end of the proposed harbour location. However, the harbour location has been proposed in a fresh location. In the consultation meeting held with IDC the committee suggested that it would still be better if the proposed harbour location moved towards south approximately 200 ft such a way that harbour front will be at the eastern end of main road. The existing access channel at the southern side of the proposed harbour has been decided to use for boat beaching and services. The recommended harbour location, however is to move further south to enclose the existing channel within the proposed harbour basin. In terms of impact to environmental, moving the proposed harbour location to an already damaged location would be beneficial to environment as it would minimize further damage to natural environment dredging cost. The area is already been subjected to the impacts of dredging and is in active use, further cumulative impacts to this area would be preferable to impacts on new fresh areas in their natural state. It was also identified from the environmental surveys that the percentage of dead coral (25%) in the proposed location compared to the percentage (34%) of dead corals in the location already in use is low. Also in the environmental survey conducted in these locations indicated that fish population was more live and more diverse in the proposed location compared to the existing access channel area. Kurinbi located in the middle of the atoll, unlike other islands in the region, is continuously subjected to high swells and strong wave actions in all directions. Hence there is limited space for extending the harbour towards seaward side due to swell induced wave action. Hence the size of the harbour, particularly the width has been maintained at 150 ft by MHE which apparently is the maximum possible width that can draw from the available safe space while minimizing damage to the environment. The IDC raised the issue of small size of the harbour particularly the width of the harbour during the consultation meeting held at Kurinbi office on 17 July 2010. Community suggested increasing the width by extending towards landward side. This area is regarded as the face of the island. The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate methodologies including data collection through a field survey, purpose build checklists and professional judgments. The overall results indicated that the proposed project had net positive impact. Given that the project has major socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed. Environmental monitoring recommended for the project includes the monitoring of the shorelines of Kurinbi water quality and drogue studies of the coastal area for at least two years from the onset of the proposed project implementation. Monitoring is also expected to cover public views and grievances about the project and future harbour management information such as nos. of vessels that use the harbour. Annual monitoring reports have to be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency over the monitoring period.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed rehabilitation of harbour in Holhudhoo, Noonu Atoll, Maldives(2011-03) SandcaysThis report addresses the environmental concerns of the proposed harbour rehabilitation in Holhudhoo, Noonu Atoll. The primary objective of the project is to provide safe and adequate access to the island. As such the project encompasses maintenance dredging of existing entrance channel and basin, replacement of existing quaywall and breakwater and improvement of existing boat beaching area. The harbour is located on the northern side of the island. This location is appropriate in terms of beach dynamics since beach material hardly moves to this location. It may be possible that only part of the beach on the northwest side moves towards the harbour. As a result the northwest shoreline has been severely eroded and it is the primary location identified for placing the dredge material. Since this area needs protection and also the powerhouse is in this area with possible fuelling stations for dhonis and other vehicles, it is recommended that, as an alternative, to consider moving the boat beaching area to this side as the northeastern end where the beaching area currently exists is a predominantly residential area. Therefore, zoning light industrial activities to the powerhouse area would be sensible. It has also been suggested by the community to expand the harbour towards the west after creating a T-jetty at the western end of the existing harbour. Therefore, the recommended alternative given in the report has taken these landuse zoning and community aspirations into consideration. The proposed concept involves the maintenance dredging of the existing harbour basin and provision of new quaywall and breakwater. However, the concept has not been discussed with the community so far. Therefore, community views that have been incorporated in this EIA report needs to be given consideration in finalising the design. Since, the community has been anxiously waiting for the project for quite some time, it is recommended to allow the proposed project to proceed while further modifications can be finalized in consultation with the relevant stakeholders during the construction phase. Taking this into consideration the environmental impacts have been assessed for the worst case scenario in which the Proponent takes into consideration all demands of the community and provide the final detailed design to the EPA in due course. The overall environmental impacts of the project have been assessed using appropriate matrices and the results indicated that the proposed project has net positive impact. Given that the project has several socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed.